EXHIBIT 1-B

 

 

DRAFT MINUTES

 

August 25, 2011

Special Meeting/Board Workshop on Water Supply Alternatives

Board of Directors

Monterey Peninsula Water Management District

 

 

 

1.             Welcome, Pledge of Allegiance and Introductions

                The meeting was called to order at 7:15 pm.

 

                Directors Present:                 Robert S. Brower, Sr., Chair – Division 5

                                                                Brenda Lewis – Division 1 (arrived at 7:20 pm)

                                                                Judi Lehman – Division 2

                                                                Kristi Markey – Division 3

                                                                Regina Doyle – Division 4

                                                                David Pendergrass – Mayoral Representative

 

                Directors Absent:                 David Potter, Vice Chair – Monterey County Board of Supervisors

 

                Also Present:                         Mary Jo Zenk, Facilitator, Avery Associates

Darby Fuerst, General Manager

                                                                Henrietta Stern, Project Manager                                                    

                                                               

2.             Describe the Purpose of the Meeting and Order of Events

                Chair Brower stated that the purpose of the meeting was to describe the District’s water supply projects that are operational and in the planning stages.   He noted that the Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project provided 8 percent of the District’s water supply in 2010.  He explained that break-out sessions would be conducted that evening.  He asked the audience to forgive the District’s checkered past, look to the future and support the District.

 

                The facilitator, Mary Jo Zenk, reviewed the meeting agenda and explained that the breakout sessions are intended to offer the public an opportunity to present their ideas about alternative water supply options.  The District will move forward with the input received at this meeting.  The goal is to develop water supply options as part of a contingency plan in case the  regional desalination project is delayed or does not move forward in time to meet the state deadline.

 

                In response to a request by Director Markey that a public comment/question-and-answer period be conducted instead of the breakout sessions, Chair Brower determined that the time period for the breakout sessions would be limited to 20 minutes.

 

3.             Presentations from MPWMD Staff

                A.            Overview of Water Supply Reductions due to SWRCB Cease and Desist Order WR 2009-0060 and Seaside Groundwater Basin Adjudication Decision

                                General Manager, Darby Fuerst delivered the presentation.  A summary is on file at the District office and can be viewed on the District’s website.   Following the presentation, Director Markey requested that charts be developed that would illustrate the amount of water needed in 2017 based on expected yield from Water Projects 1 and 2 (Aquifer Storage and Recovery) and the City of Sand City Desalination Project.  Mr. Fuerst noted that according to SWRCB Order 95-10, water from those new sources is not additive; rather, it is applied to the 10,730 acre-feet of pumping reductions mandated by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB).

 

                B.            Overview of MPWMD Water Supply Projects 1 through 5

§  Project 1 – Underground Storage Project in Seaside Basin (Aquifer Storage & Recovery)

§  Project 2 – Expanded Underground Storage in Seaside Basin

§  Project 3 – Pursue Local Desalination Project

§  Project 4 – Support Groundwater Replenishment Project Proposed by Monterey                Regional Water Pollution Control Agency

§  Project 5 – Investigate Los Padres Reservoir Expansion

 

Henrietta Stern delivered the presentation.  A summary is on file at the District office and can be viewed on the District’s website. 

               

                4.             Breakout Sessions

                                Before releasing the audience to participate in the breakout sessions, Ms. Zenk introduced the persons that would facilitate each session.

§  Aquifer Storage and Recovery – Joe Oliver, MPWMD Water Resources Manager along with Directors Lewis and Lehman

§  Desalination – Larry Hampson, MPWMD Engineer along with Director Markey

§  Recycled Wastewater/Stormwater – Keith Israel, General Manager and Karen Harris, Community Relations Specialist with the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency, along with Director Pendergrass

§  Reservoir Storage/Other – Henrietta Stern, Project Manager and Darby Fuerst, General Manager with the MPWMD

§  Water Conservation – Gabriella Ayala, MPWMD Conservation Representative and Director Doyle

               

                5.             Summary of Comments Received at Breakout Sessions

                                Each spokesperson was allotted three minutes to summarize the comments received during the breakout session. 

                                Aquifer Storage and Recovery – Joe Oliver reported that ASR expansion is controlled by various constraints.  One constraint is cost.  As ASR capability expands, additional infrastructure is needed to operate the project, which increases the cost.  Currently the ASR project includes two wells at the ASR 1 site, and one well with plans for another at the ASR 2 site.  This project will meet the SWRCB requirement for Cal-Am to develop a small water supply project.

 

                                Desalination –  Steve Hillard reported that the desalination project under consideration by the District is in the early investigative phase.  The proposal is for a 2,000 acre-feet desalination project at the abandoned City of Monterey wastewater treatment plant site on the West side of Highway 1.  The project size may be constrained by limitations at the site.  The District has allocated $150,000 to complete a feasibility study of the project by June 2012.  Concern was raised that brine discharge from the desalination plant could adversely affect squid in the discharge zone.  District staff was asked about the status of previous plans for a desalination project at Sand City, but there was no definitive response to the inquiry.

 

                                Recycled Wastewater/Stormwater – Keith Israel reported that he responded to several questions about the proposed Groundwater Replenishment Project.  He stated that injection of replenishment water must be ˝ mile from a potable well, or the water must remain in the ground for six months before it migrates to a potable well.  His agency plans to conduct a tracer study to monitor movement of water through the aquifer.  Currently 14,000 acre-feet per year of recycled water is used to irrigate food crops in the Salinas Valley.  A 20 million-gallon-per-day treatment plant would need to be constructed to fully utilize the potential for recycled water.  That would be prohibitively expensive.  Instead, the focus is on construction of a 7.5 million gallon per day facility that would provide 2,700 acre-feet of water per year.  One advantage to utilization of recycled wastewater is that the energy cost is 1/3 of the cost for desalination.  The membranes utilized in the reverse osmosis process remove 80 to 90 percent of compounds in the feed water, and an advanced oxidation process removes the remaining 10 percent of impurities before the water is placed into the ground.  The proposed project would provide new employment opportunities for the community. The MRWPCA is seeking grants funds from the MPWMD and other sources to proceed with the project.  Mr. Israel noted that all water is recycled.  He invited any persons interested in participating in a tour of the Orange County Water District’s groundwater replenishment project facilities to contact the MRWPCA.                                   

 

                                Reservoir Storage – Henrietta Stern stated that the following topics were discussed. The SWRCB is processing applications for use of Table 13 water rights (listed in SWRCB Decision 1632) which includes in-basin users who have priority over other water users.  Cal-Am has a Table 13 right for 2,300 acre-feet, and it is possible that the SWRCB could grant Cal-Am use of that right.  However the water could only be used in Carmel Valley.   It was suggested that excess winter flow from the Salinas River could be imported for use in the District.  There is no prohibition on exporting surface water from the Salinas Basin into the District, but there is a prohibition on the exportation of groundwater.   It was also proposed that the District should take advantage of Clark County pre-1914 water rights that might be for sale.  A pre-1914 water right could be used year-round.  However, that right may not be available as the Marina Coast Water District could have an option on that water right.  Another suggestion was that Pueblo Water Rights may be available.  That idea was addressed by the District several years ago, but could be researched again. Use of that water would be limited to within the City of Monterey.  As an alternative to dredging, it was proposed that an auger might be utilized to move sediment from reservoirs during the winter when flow is high.  Another idea was that the margin of allowable production over actual production could be banked for drought protection.

 

                                Water Conservation – Regina Doyle reported a new rebate schedule will be in affect before the beginning of the year,  when funding is available.  There was a suggestion that a rebate could be offered for installation of a pedal sink.  Attendees of the breakout session expressed a need for more public outreach on the rebate program, and the distribution of fact sheets on household water use.

 

6.             Comments from MPWMD Board Members

                The Board elected to receive public comment, and then offer their observations.  (1) Markey stated that she would like the Board to develop a plan for development of 4,000 acre-feet of water by January 2017 to resolve the illegal withdrawals from the Carmel River.  (2) Brower described the basis for the water needs estimate.  (3) Pendergrass spoke in support of development of small water projects such as ASR, that could result in downsizing the Regional Water Project (4) Lehman stated that the Board would like to develop a diverse suite of projects that are fiscally responsible.  (5) Doyle expressed the opinion that the District should remain on its current course.  (6) Lewis had not comments.

 

7.             Receive Public Comment on Agenda Items 1 through 6         

                (1) David Dilworth, representing Helping Our Peninsula’s Environment, thanked the Board for conducting the forum.  He also expressed agreement with the Board’s revival of investigations into a desalination project in Sand City, previously proposed by the District.  (2) Craig Anthony, General Manager of California American Water, Monterey District, stated that yield from ASR will be additive after the water supply shortfall identified in Order 95-10 has been met. (3) Larry Wolf, resident of Carmel Valley, encouraged the District to develop economic viability studies of the proposed water supply projects.  (4) Skip Lloyd, resident of Carmel, encouraged the public to support the efforts of the MPWMD.  (5) George Riley questioned Cal-Am’s assertion that additional water supply will be available from ASR or other projects, after a water project and/or water rights are obtained to offset the 10,000 acre-feet of illegal pumping on the Carmel River. (6) Todd Norgaard, representing the Water Committee of the Carmel Valley Association, expressed support for diversification of water supply sources due to the dependence on new technology.  (7) Dr. Carol Reeb expressed concern about dependence on desalination for the primary water source due to lack of research on long term cumulative effects on the marine ecosystem.  (8) Jan Shriner, member of the Marina Coast Water District Board of Directors, thanked the Board for conducting the meeting and invited the community to attend the Marina Coast Water District meetings at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month.  (9) Ed Mitchell suggested that the District develop a scoring system for the water supply alternatives under consideration.

 

8.             Recap of Meeting and Next Steps

                Ms. Zenk stated that comments submitted at the meeting would be summarized and presented to the District’s Water Supply Planning Committee.

 

9.             Oral Communications

                No comments.

 

10.          Adjourn

                The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:30 pm.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                ________________________________

                                                                                                                                David J. Stoldt, Secretary to the Board

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2011\20110919\ConsentCal\01\item1_exh1b.docx