ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
3.	AUTHORIZE EXPENDITURE OF BUDGETED FUNDS TO CONDUCT WATER YEAR 2006 SEASIDE BASIN AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY TESTING PROGRAM
Meeting Date:			November 21, 2005	Budgeted:	Yes
From:			David A. Berger,	Program/	1.2 Water Supply
			General Manager	Line Item No.: 1-2-1 A 1, 5 b, c
Prepared By:			Joe Oliver	Cost Estimate:	$164,969
General Counsel Approval: Yes
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on November 10, 2005 and recommended approval.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: The Board will consider whether or not to amend an existing contract with Padre Associates, Inc. (Padre) to assist staff with implementation of the planned Water Year (WY) 2006 Seaside Basin ground water injection testing program (also know as aquifer storage and recovery, or ASR). Specifically, this authorization will allow for a continuation of the injection testing at the District’s Santa Margarita Test Injection Well (SMTIW), located on the former Fort Ord Military Base adjacent to General Jim Moore Boulevard. Testing will continue to focus on injection well hydraulics and water quality considerations. In addition, it is planned to conduct a formal well rehabilitation as part of the testing program this coming season. Experience at other injection projects has shown that periodic rehabilitation of injection wells is necessary to maintain injection well field performance, and this type of work has not been conducted on the SMTIW since its completion in 2001. The WY 2006 work plan will also include technical assistance in support of required permits for a second ASR well, consistent with the District’s Phase 1 ASR Project proposal. A detailed description of the planned WY 2006 testing and monitoring activities is provided in Exhibit 3-A. The cost estimate for this work is $149,972. The total not-to-exceed cost, including a 10% budget contingency ($14,997) is $164,969, which is within the Fiscal Year 2005-2006 budget.

RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board authorize the General Manager to amend the Padre contract for assistance in conducting WY 2006 ASR testing in an amount not-to-exceed $164,969. This includes a “baseline” amount of $149,972 as described in Exhibit 3-A and a $14,997 (10%) contingency that would only be utilized if authorized by the District, based on written justification. At its November 10, 2005 meeting, the Administrative Committee voted 3 to 0 to recommend approval.

BACKGROUND: The SMTIW was installed in 2001 and improvements to the California American Water (Cal-Am) system to facilitate delivery of the injection water to the well were completed in 2002. Approximately 856 acre-feet (AF) of water have been injected at this facility through WY 2005. Earlier injection testing at the Paso Robles Test Injection Well was 596 AF, for a total of 1,452 AF injected into the Seaside Basin to date. In WYs 2003 and 2004, 1,140 AF of water were recovered from the SMTIW under interim approvals from the California Department of Health Services (CDHS), and this water was transmitted through the Cal-Am system for delivery to users on the Monterey Peninsula. Water quality testing has been conducted during both injection and recovery phases as a means to better evaluate chemical and biological interactions with the native ground water and aquifer materials, and to respond to concerns regarding the stability and fate of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in the injected and recovered waters. It is planned to continue water quality testing during a full “injection/storage/recovery” cycle during WY 2006. If authorization from the CDHS is not received to allow recovery of the injected water back into the Cal-Am distribution system, then it is anticipated that water quality testing will continue to monitor chemical interactions occurring in the ground water system during aquifer storage. This would be similar to the program conducted this past season (i.e., WY 2005) when CDHS authorization was not received due to the lack of a long-term ASR agreement with Cal-Am. However, Padre’s assistance is on a time and materials basis and should the District decide not to proceed with continued water quality testing in the event that recovery is not allowed by CDHS during WY 2006, then Padre’s cost would be reduced accordingly.

Planned work during WY 2006 will also include a formal well rehabilitation of the SMTIW to assess the efficiency of periodic well redevelopment, which would likely be conducted routinely under permanent ASR project operations. In addition, District staff, with assistance from Padre, will also be preparing preliminary plans, drawings and applications in support of permit approvals and authorizations needed for installation of a second ASR well at the existing site, consistent with the Phase 1 ASR Project plans. A detailed breakdown by task is provided in Exhibit 3-A.

IMPACT ON STAFF/RESOURCES: A significant staff effort has been expended planning, coordinating, and overseeing work on the District’s ASR project in the Seaside Basin. It is intended to continue this level of effort during the WY 2006 season. The Fiscal Year 2005-2006 Budget includes specified line items totaling $165,000 for this work (Summary of Project Expenditures, 2005-2006 Budget, Goal: Augment Water Supply, Objective 1-2-1 A 1, 5 b & c, Page 21). The cost estimate for assistance from Padre for WY 2006 injection testing (with 10% contingency) is $164,969. This cost is within the budgeted amount.

EXHIBITS

3-A October 28, 2005 Proposal for Hydrogeologic and Engineering Services, Santa Margarita Test Injection Well, Water Year 2006 Program

U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2005\2005boardpackets\20051121\ConsentCal\03\item3.doc

J. Oliver, 11/4/05, 2 pages