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 (Cal-Am) 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 2013

On March 12, 2013, staff from the District, Cal-Am, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), NMFS, and met and discussed the proposed water supply strategy and related topics for the April - June 2013 period. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) was unable to attend, but staff from the State Water resources Control Board’s, Division of Water Rights participated by conference call for the first time. Currently, flow in the Carmel River is unregulated and Los Padres Reservoir (LPR) is spilling. LPR is currently at ~103% of maximum effective storage capacity, i.e., 1,731 AF that occurs with the Los Padres Dam (LPD) spillway’s notch flashboard removed, or 101% of the 1,775 AF of storage capacity achieved when the notch’s flashboard is back in place, later this spring. The LPD notch is open to hypothetically enhance steelhead smolt emigration, but since this is such a dry water year, the flashboard may be replaced into the notch earlier than normal during the coming Quarter. This is done in order to maximize any potential storage that can be gained each year, so that it can be allocated to sustaining minimum flows in the river over the summer and fall. Flow in the Carmel River is continuous to the lagoon, but the lagoon mouth is predominantly closed, though it is breaching periodically at the prior low point that resulted from prior mechanical breaches that were conducted by Monterey County in December 2012 to prevent the lagoon from inundating nearby homes. Rainfall during Water Year (WY) 2013 to date at San Clemente Dam in the upper watershed has totaled 13.53 inches or 87% of the long-term average to date at this site, and 63% of the long-term annual average of 21.44 inches. Further, unimpaired runoff at San Clemente Dam for WY 2013 through February has totaled approximately 22,628 AF or about 62% of the long-term average to date for this site, and 33% of the long-term annual average of 68,756 AF, making this a “Below Normal” Water Year Type, to date.

Carmel River Basin Given these conditions, and runoff to date, it was agreed that “Below Normal” year inflows would be initially assumed to assess Cal-Am’s operations during the April through June 2013 period. 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 attempt to produce no groundwater from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during April through June 2013. 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, Cal-Am could operate these wells if needed. In addition, it is projected that Cal-Am would produce approximately 1,312, 1,193, and 1,137 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during April, May and June 2013, respectively, for both customer service and Water Project 1 and 2 (ASR) injection to storage. Table 1 shows actual (bold type) and projected (italics) monthly releases and diversions from Los Padres and San Clemente Reservoirs for the October 2012 through February 2013 period. This table will be revised and updated by May 13 for the May, 20, 2013 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 260 and 145 AF of water would be diverted from the Carmel River Basin and injected into the Seaside Groundwater Basin during April and May 2013, respectively. 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, Cal-Am would reinitiate production at 250 AF per month from their wells in the Coastal Subareas, for May and June 2013, 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. For this budget period, projected Coastal Subarea production could vary from the values shown, if flows increase sufficiently to reinitiate Water Project 1 and 2 (ASR) injection operations. These operations may require some minor production from the Seaside wells in April to pressurize the delivery system and enable ASR injection. It was also agreed that only 10, 14, and 16 AF of groundwater would be budgeted from Cal-Am’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 2013, 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 April through June 2012 period, Cal-Am produced 15, 20, and 19 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 Adjudication Decision, Cal-Am is allowed to use production savings in the Coastal Subareas to offset over-production in the Laguna Seca Subarea.

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