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
2. Quarterly
Water Supply Strategy: October - December 2011
On
September 8, 2011, staff from the District and Cal-Am met and discussed the
proposed water supply strategy and related topics for the remainder of
September 2011, and the October through December 2011 period. The California Department of Fish and Game
(CDFG), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) could not attend, but were
consulted by phone afterwards.
Currently, flow in the Carmel River is regulated by releases from
storage at Los Padres Reservoir that are supplementing natural base flow. The intent under the 2011
CDFG/NMFS/Cal-Am/District Low Flow MOA is to sustain 13.5 or more cubic feet
per second (cfs) of flow to the Sleepy Hollow Weir at River Mile (RM) 17.64
through December 2011. Current Los
Padres Reservoir inflow and storage conditions have allowed the District to
recommend an increased target of 16 cfs for September, which will be reviewed
at the end of the month for possible continuation through November. Flow in the Carmel River is continuous from
the headwaters almost to Highway 1, with approximately 6.5 cfs at the USGS Near
Carmel Gage (RM 3.24) and 4.4 cfs at the MPWMD Highway 1 Gage (RM 1.00) on
September 6, 2011. Rainfall during Water
Year (WY) 2011 to date through the end of August at San Clemente Dam in the
upper watershed has totaled 24.73 inches or 116% of the long-term average at
this site. Further, unimpaired runoff at
San Clemente Dam for WY 2011 to date through the end of August has totaled
approximately 101,137 acre-feet (AF) or about 147% of the long-term average for
this site.
Carmel
River Basin: Given these conditions, it was agreed
that it would be appropriate to use a range of “above normal" to “normal”
inflow conditions to assess Cal-Am’s operations during the October through
December 2011 period, with flows ramping down one level of WY type in December
2011. Thereafter, “normal” year inflows
would be used to conservatively assess Cal-Am’s operations and set monthly
production targets for Cal-Am’s systems from January through September 2012.
To
meet customer demand, Cal-Am 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
Cal-Am would produce approximately 0 AF of groundwater each month from its
wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during October, November, and December
2011. These amounts are consistent with
the interagency Low Flow Season MOA and Cal-Am management’s intent to minimize
production in the Upper Carmel Valley at all times. However, production could legally be higher
under Cal-Am’s existing State water rights, and the interagency Low Flow Season
MOA, if the requisite minimum flow triggers are exceeded for five consecutive
days.
In addition, it was agreed that Cal-Am would
produce approximately 588, 367, and 408 AF of groundwater from its wells in the
Lower Carmel Valley during October, November, and December 2011, respectively. Table 1 shows actual and projected
monthly releases and diversions from Los Padres and San Clemente Reservoirs for
the October 2010 through December 2011 period.
Lastly,
it was assumed that 140 AF of water would be diverted from the Carmel River
Basin and injected into the Seaside Groundwater Basin during this period, if
flows are sufficient to allow diversions, since the diversion season for the
Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project ended May 31, and does not resume until
December 1, 2011. The remainder of the
long-term average of 920 AF per WY of ASR Phase 1 (Water Project 1) diversions
to storage are planned for January to May, 2012, as well as an additional 500
AF of pilot injections to test the first existing well for ASR Phase 2 (Water
Project 2). If the minimum bypass flows defined in the joint MPWMD/Cal-Am Water
Right for ASR Phase 1 are sufficient for any significant length of time after
December 1, diversion to storage may begin that month.
Seaside
Groundwater Basin: It was also agreed that Cal-Am would
produce 177, 178, and 178 AF of Seaside native groundwater in October,
November, and December 2011, respectively, in order to better avoid having any
unutilized carry-over water at the end of WY 2012, as has occurred in the past
two WYs. A concurrent production goal is
to complete the recovery of the 1,117 AF water stored in WY 2011 by ASR, with
373, 372, and 372 AF to be recovered on the months of October, November, and December
2011, respectively. There is also a
goal of producing an additional 25 AF of treated brackish groundwater from the
Sand City Desalination Plant in each of these three months. If it cannot make its monthly production
targets, the needed water will be produced from a combination of ASR wells in
Seaside and Cal-Am wells in the Lower Subunits of the Carmel Valley Aquifer.
It
was also agreed that Cal-Am should produce only 14, 10, and 8 AF per month of
groundwater from its wells in the Laguna Seca Subarea of the Seaside Basin for
customers in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills systems during October,
November, and December 2011, respectively.
It is recognized that, based on recent historical use, Cal-Am’s actual
production from the Laguna Seca Subarea during this period will likely exceed
the proposed monthly targets, which are based on Cal-Am’s allocation specified
in the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision. For example, in the October,
November, and December 2010 period, Cal-Am produced 39, 27, and 21 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 Cal-Am remains within its adjudicated allocation for the Laguna
Seca Subarea. Under the amended Seaside
Basin Decision, Cal-Am is allowed to use production savings in the Coastal
Subareas to offset over-production in the Laguna Seca Subarea, if any remains
after maximizing production in order to minimize pumping of the Carmel Valley
Aquifer, in compliance with SWRCB Order WR 95-10, and 2009-0060.
U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2011\20110919\PubHrng\19\item19_exh19c.docx September
13, 2011