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PUBLIC
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8. |
CONSIDER
SECOND |
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Meeting
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September 22, 2008 |
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General Counsel Approval: Yes |
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Committee Recommendation: The Water Demand Committee reviewed the
ordinance on August 5, 2008, and recommended that the full Board consider the
ordinance on a 2-1 vote. |
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CEQA Compliance: Negative Declaration. CEQA Initial Study and Notice of Intent to
Adopt a Negative Declaration filed with County Clerk on April 18, 2008, as
part of the evaluation for Ordinance No. 134.
The comment period ended May 7, 2008.
No comments were received. |
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SUMMARY: As presently
defined, the Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System (MPWRS) refers to the set
of interconnected water resources that supply most of the water in the Monterey
Peninsula area and consists of surface water in the Carmel River and its
tributaries, groundwater in the Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer which underlies
the Carmel River, and groundwater in the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside
Groundwater Basin. As proposed,
Ordinance No. 135 would amend the definition of the MPWRS to include the groundwater
in the Northern Inland and the Laguna Seca Subareas in the MPWRS. A map showing the amended MPWRS is included
as Exhibit
8-A. This change is needed
to reflect the current understanding of the hydrogeologic conditions in the
As part of the MPWRS, water
systems and users in the Laguna Seca Subarea would be subject to the water
conservation and rationing restrictions specified in the District’s Expanded Water Conservation and Standby
Rationing Plan. This plan has been
in effect since 1999. As proposed,
Ordinance No. 135 (Exhibit 8-B) includes specific targets to
move water users in the Laguna Seca Subarea to Water Conservation Stages 2 and
3, when necessary, to respond to reductions in available water supply. The
ordinance affects properties within the Cities of
Ordinance No. 135 will facilitate reduced water production by California American Water (CAW) from the Laguna Seca Subarea to comply with the production allocations specified in the Seaside Basin Decision and administered by the Seaside Basin Watermaster. In addition to the amendment of the definition of the MPWRS to include the Northern Inland and the Laguna Seca Subareas, Ordinance No. 135 also provides a definition for CAW’s “satellite” systems, i.e., Bishop, Hidden Hills and Ryan Ranch.
As proposed, water systems and users in the Laguna Seca Subarea would be required to comply with the requirements of Water Conservation Stages 2 and 3 whenever CAW’s production from the MPWRS for its main and satellite systems exceeds the year-to-date at month-end production shown in amended Table XV-1 and CAW’s production from the MPWRS for its satellite systems exceeds the year-to-date at month-end production shown in Table XV-2. Under this “double” trigger, CAW’s production from the Laguna Seca Subarea to serve its satellite systems can be exceeded without causing the users in its satellite systems to move to Water Conservation Stages 2 or 3, as long as CAW’s production from the MPWRS to serve all of its systems is not exceeded.
It should be noted that, under current rules, all water users within the District, including water users in the Laguna Seca Subarea, are subject to the District’s water waste and non-essential water use prohibitions, i.e., Stage 1 Water Conservation. Examples of these prohibitions include no use of potable water for washing buildings, driveways and parking lots; limits on use of potable water to irrigate turf and gardens between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.; and no excessive use of water that causes it to run to waste. Under Stage 2 Water Conservation, all users with established landscape water budgets are required to maintain their outdoor use within the established budgets. Under Stage 3 Water Conservation, emergency water rates for excessive use become effective. These emergency rates apply to the upper blocks of the residential rate structure.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Board adopt the second reading of Ordinance
No. 135 to better protect and manage the water resources in the Laguna Seca
Subarea. If this ordinance is
adopted, it would take effect on October 22, 2008. If approved, staff
should also be directed to file
the Notice of Determination with the
DISCUSSION: The impetus for amending the definition of
the MPWRS and making the water users in the Laguna Seca Subarea of the
Optional Language: Draft Ordinance No. 135 (Exhibit 8-A) includes optional language suggested by the Hidden Hills Sub-unit Ratepayers Association (HHSRA) representative, Lloyd Lowery, at the August 18, 2008 meeting. Specifically, Mr. Lowery requested that CAW’s Hidden Hills system be identified separately from CAW’s satellite systems in the Laguna Seca Subarea, i.e., Ryan Ranch and Bishop systems. Mr. Lowery’s suggested language is shown as “Option B” on page 4, 12, 15, 16, 19, and page 22.
Changed Language: The language in Finding No. 13 has been changed from the language that was approved by the Board on August 18, 2008. Specifically, the language in Finding No. 13 has been updated, as shown, to reflect CAW’s actual production from the Laguna Seca Subarea expected for the entire water year. This is not considered a substantive change.
Previous Actions: On May 19, 2008, the Board considered the
first reading of Ordinance No. 134 that would have modified the District’s Expanded Water Conservation and Standby
Rationing Plan and incorporated the Northern Inland and Laguna Seca Subareas
of the
On
August 18, 2008, the Board adopted Ordinance No. 134 and approved the first
reading of Ordinance No. 135. During
this time, District staff has conducted five public outreach meetings[1]
and distributed an 18-page Question and
Answer booklet regarding the
http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/seasidebasin/ord135/QAOrd135091108.pdf.
EXHIBITS
8-A Map of
Amended
8-B Draft
Ordinance No. 135
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2008\2008boardpackets\20080922\PublicHrgs\08\item8.doc