MPWMD BOARD MEETING--MAR 15, 2004--ITEM 14--CONSIDER ADOPTION OF APRIL THROUGH JUNE 2004 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET

ITEM:	PUBLIC HEARING

14.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF APRIL THROUGH JUNE 2004 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET

Meeting Date:		March 15, 2004	Budgeted: N/A

Staff Contact:		Darby Fuerst/Joe Oliver	Program/Line Item No.: N/A
			Cost Estimate: N/A

General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: Notice of Exemption, CEQA, Article 19, Section 15301 (Class 1) ESA Compliance: Consistent with the September 2001 Conservation Agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and California-American Water Company to minimize take of listed steelhead in the Carmel River, Consistent with SWRCB WR Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002

Additional information presented at Board meeting

SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take action on the April through June 2004 Water Supply Strategy and Budget for the California American Water (Cal-Am) Water Distribution System (WDS). The proposed budget, Exhibit 14-A, is based on near normal inflow conditions for the remainder of the Water Year 2004 (WY 2004). Specifically, the budget utilizes monthly inflows that are exceeded about 55 percent of the time at San Clemente Dam. The proposed strategy and budget is designed to maximize the long-term production potential, allow injection testing of surplus water from the Carmel River Basin into the Seaside Basin, and protect the environmental quality of the Seaside and Carmel Valley basins.

Exhibit 14-A shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am for each production source. Exhibit 14-A also shows actual production values for the water year to date. Please note that the anticipated production values shown assume an annual Cal-Am production not exceeding 15,285 AF, including 4,000 AF from the Seaside Basin and 11,285 AF from the Carmel River Basin. The total from the Carmel River Basin is consistent with SWRCB Order Nos. 95-10 and 98-04.

For the first five months of Water Year 2004, Cal-Am’s production is below the SWRCB-based overall production target by 246 acre-feet or 4.6 %.

Given that the flow below San Clemente Dam is projected to be above 90 cfs during the April 1-15 period and above 80 cfs during the April 15-30 period, for the purpose of this budget it is assumed that an average of 4 AF/day of water from the Carmel River Basin will be injected into the Seaside Basin during April 2004.

RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive public input, close the Public Hearing, and discuss the proposed water supply budget. District staff recommends adoption of the proposed budget. The budget is described in greater detail in Exhibit 14-B, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: April – June 2004.

BACKGROUND: The Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget pertains to production within the Cal-Am Water Distribution System for the three-month period of April, May, and June 2004. This strategy was developed cooperatively with staff from the District, Cal-Am, National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-Fisheries), and the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG). Based on the fact that San Clemente and Los Padres Reservoirs were full and spilling and streamflow at the Don Juan gaging station exceeded 20 cfs on March 3, 2004, it was agreed that for the remainder of March, and in April and May 2004, Cal-Am's diversion through the Carmel Valley Filter Plant would be up to 1.5 cubic feet per second (cfs), including combined production from the Russell Wells Nos. 2 and 4. During June 2004, the proposed budget allows Cal-Am a net diversion of no more than 30 AF in June, from its sources upstream of, and including, Scarlett Well No. 8. This operation will facilitate production at minimal levels in recognition of Cal-Am’s Interim Drawdown Project at San Clemente Dam and the 2001 Conservation Agreement with NOAA-Fisheries, and the relatively low runoff conditions expected in June 2004. The operation of Cal-Am wells in the upper Carmel Valley is based on the assumption that daily inflows will average 125 cfs during April and 45 cfs during May 2004. If actual inflows are more or less than projected for the budget period, the group will reconvene and adjust the diversion and release rates accordingly. These adjustments will take into account flows needed for steelhead emigration and egg incubation.

Streamflow is expected to decline below 40 cfs at the MPWMD gaging station at Highway One Bridge, sometime in May 2004. As a consequence, the group agreed to increase production from Cal-Am wells in the coastal subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin beginning in May 2004. This change is consistent with requirements in SWRCB Order 98-04, requiring that Cal-Am minimize production from the Seaside Basin when Carmel River flow exceeds 40 cfs at Highway One.

In 2003, the California Department of Health Services (DHS) required that all use of Cal-Am’s San Carlos well in the lower Carmel Valley be discontinued until Cal-Am implemented an approved plan of action to ensure that all water from the San Carlos well meets the Surface Water Treatment Rule. Currently, Cal-Am has indicated that they are unable to provide this type of treatment, and consequently, have taken the San Carlos well out of service. When operating, the San Carlos well produces approximately 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm) or 4.45 acre-feet per day. The loss of this production capacity constrains Cal-Am’s ability to meet system demands during peak periods and increases the extent of drying river channel and associated risk of stranding juvenile steelhead in the lower Carmel River.

Rule 101, Section B of the District Rules and Regulations requires that a Public Hearing be held at the time of determination of the District water supply management strategy. Notice of this Public Hearing has been published in The Herald. Adoption of the quarterly water supply strategy and budget is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements as per Article 19, Section 15301 (Class 1). A Notice of Exemption will be filed with the Monterey County Clerk's office, pending Board action on this item.

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