ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARINGS
27.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2010 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting Date:			June 21, 2010	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Kevan Urquhart	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: 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 and February 2009 Conservation Agreements between the National Marine Fisheries Service and California American Water to minimize take of listed steelhead in the Carmel River and Consistent with SWRCB WR Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2009-0060.

SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take action on the July through September 2010 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for California American Water’s (CAW) Main and Laguna Seca Subarea Water Distribution Systems (WDS). The proposed budget, which is included as Exhibits 27-A and 27-B, shows monthly production by source of supply that is required to meet projected customer demand in CAW’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems, i.e., Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills, during the July through September 2010 period. The proposed strategy and budget is designed to maximize the long-term production potential and protect the environmental quality of the Seaside Groundwater and Carmel River Basins.

Exhibit 27-A shows the anticipated production by CAW’s Main system for each production source and the actual production values for the water year to date through the end of May 2010. Please note that the anticipated production values assume that CAW annual Main system production will not exceed 14,012 acre-feet (AF), including 3,583 AF from the coastal subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin and 10,429 AF from the Carmel River Basin. The total from the Carmel River Basin is consistent with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2009-0060, and the total from the Seaside Groundwater Basin is consistent with the Seaside Basin adjudication decision. Both of these limits are subject to change, pending future regulatory actions. For the purpose of this budget, it is assumed that above normal inflow conditions will occur, which will be similar to those observed in 2006, but with a two-month offset to better match the current pattern of the river’s flow recession.

Exhibit 27-B shows the anticipated production by CAW’s Laguna Seca Subarea system for each production source and the actual production values for the water year to date through the end of May 2010. Please note that the anticipated production values assume that CAW’s annual Laguna Seca Subarea systems’ production will not exceed 246 AF from the Laguna Seca Subarea of the Seaside Groundwater Basin. This total is consistent with the Seaside Basin adjudication decision.

RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive public input, close the Public Hearing, and discuss the proposed quarterly water supply budget. District staff recommends adoption of the proposed budget. The budget is described in greater detail in Exhibit 27-C, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: July – September 2010.

BACKGROUND: The Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget pertains to production within CAW’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems for the three-month period of July, August, and September 2010. Staff from the District, CAW, and NMFS cooperatively developed this strategy on June 3, 2010. Staff from the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) was not available to attend the meeting, but were notified and given the opportunity to comment. No comments were received as of June 8, 2010. Based on current reservoir and Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer storage conditions, and the significant rainfall that has occurred to date, it was agreed that “above-normal” year inflows would be used to assess CAW’s operations and set monthly production targets for CAW’s systems.

To meet customer demand in its main system, CAW will produce 0 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during July, August, and September 2010. Similarly, CAW will produce approximately 938, 933, and 798 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during July, August, and September, respectively. The permitted diversion season for ASR ended May 31, and does not begin again until December 1 of this year, which is during the next Water Year, 2011.

It was also agreed that, subject to rainfall and runoff conditions in the Carmel River Basin, CAW would produce 575 AF each month from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Basin, during this period. Each month’s production from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin would be comprised of 472 AF of native groundwater, combined with 78 AF of storage recovered from ASR, and 25 AF of treated brackish groundwater production from the Sand City Desalination Plant. In addition, it was also agreed that CAW should produce only 30, 30, and 28 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Laguna Seca Subarea for its customers in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills systems during July, August, and September 2010, respectively. Lastly, it was agreed that CAW would not divert any water from San Clemente Reservoir through the Carmel Valley Filter Plant during this quarter. CAW will operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream-to-upstream order. If actual natural river inflows are less than projected for the budget period, the group will reconvene and adjust the Los Padres Dam release rates accordingly.

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.

EXHIBITS

27-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for CAW Main System: July - September 2010

27-B Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for CAW Subsystems: July - September 2010

27-C Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget Report: July - September 2010

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