1. Management Objectives

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (District) desires to maximize the long-term production potential and protect the environmental quality of the Carmel River and Seaside Groundwater Basins. In addition, the District desires to maximize the amount of water that can be diverted from the Carmel River Basin and injected into the Seaside Groundwater Basin while complying with the instream flow requirements recommended by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to protect the Carmel River steelhead population. To accomplish these goals, a water supply strategy and budget for production within California American Water’s (CAW) Main and Laguna Seca Subarea water distribution systems is reviewed quarterly to determine the optimal strategy for operations, given the current hydrologic and system conditions, and legal constraints on the sources and amounts of water to be produced.

2. Quarterly Water Supply Strategy: April - June 2011

On March 8, 2011, staff from the District, CAW, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), NMFS, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) met and discussed the proposed water supply strategy and related topics for the April - June 2011 period. Currently, flow in the Carmel River is unregulated and Los Padres Reservoir (LPR) is spilling. LPR is currently at 98% of maximum effective storage capacity, i.e., 1,731 AF with the notch’s flashboard removed vs. the 1,775 AF to be achieved at the end of this quarter when the notch’s flashboard is back in place. Flow in the Carmel River is continuous to the lagoon, and the lagoon mouth is predominantly open, but is being breached intermittently by Monterey County to prevent the lagoon from inundating nearby homes. Rainfall during Water Year 2011 to date at San Clemente Dam in the upper watershed has totaled 15.72 inches or 100 % of the long-term average to date at this site, and 73 % of the long-term annual average of 21.41 inches. Further, unimpaired runoff at San Clemente Dam for WY 2011 through February has totaled approximately 34,432 AF or about 93 % of the long-term average to date for this site, and 50 % of the long-term annual average of 68,900 AF, making this a “Normal” Water Year Type, to date.

Carmel River Basin Given these conditions, and runoff to date, it was agreed that “normal year” inflows would be initially assumed to assess CAW’s operations during the April through June 2011 period. To meet customer demand, CAW would operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream-to-upstream sequence, as needed. For the quarterly budget, it was agreed that CAW would attempt to produce no groundwater from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during April through June 2011. If sufficient flow in the Carmel River at the District’s Don Juan Bridge gage in Garland Park, i.e., five consecutive days of 20 or more cubic feet per second (cfs), continues to occur to justify operations allowed under the less restrictive high-flow period, CAW could operate these wells if needed. In addition, it is projected that CAW would produce approximately 832, 769, and 855 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during April, May and June 2011, respectively. Table 1 shows actual (bold type) and projected (italics) monthly releases and diversions from Los Padres and San Clemente Reservoirs for the October 2010 through December 2011 period. This table will be revised and updated for the May 2011 Board meeting as a formal part of the Annual Low Flow MOA, so values in italics should be considered preliminary at this time.

Lastly, it was assumed that 281 AF of water would be diverted from the Carmel River Basin and injected into the Seaside Groundwater Basin during April 2011. Because of the uncertainty in predicting future rainfall and runoff amounts, this assumption is subject to change.

Seaside Groundwater Basin It was also agreed that, subject to rainfall and runoff conditions in the Carmel River, CAW would reinitiate production at 450, 500, and 500 AF per month from their wells in the Coastal Subareas, for April, May, and June 2011, in addition to the planned 25 AF per month of production from the Sand City Desalination Plant, so as to achieve maximum utilization of the native water available in the basin under the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision and in compliance with SWRCB Orders 95-10 and 2002-0060. It was also agreed that only 17, 24, and 28 AF of groundwater would be budgeted from CAW’s wells in the Laguna Seca Subarea of the Seaside Basin for customers in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills systems during April, May and June 2011, respectively. It is recognized that, based on recent historical use, CAW’s actual production from the Laguna Seca Subarea during this period will likely exceed the proposed monthly targets, which are based on CAW’s allocation specified in the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision. For example, in the April through June 2010 period, CAW produced 26, 37, and 48 AF from the Laguna Seca Subarea to meet customer demand in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills systems. In this context, the production targets represent the maximum monthly production that should occur so that CAW remains within its adjudicated allocation for the Laguna Seca Subarea. Under the amended Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision, CAW is allowed to use production savings in the Coastal Subareas to offset over-production in the Laguna Seca Subarea.

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