ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
8.	Receive AND FILE WATER YEAR 2012 AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS REPORT
Meeting Date:			July 22, 2013	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Joe Oliver	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: A draft report documenting the summary of operations for Water Year 2012 at the Seaside Basin Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project sites has been prepared by the District’s technical consultant on the project, Pueblo Water Resources, Inc. The draft report can be viewed on the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD or District) home webpage under “Water Supply Projects”. The report documents the ASR activities conducted cooperatively with California American Water (Cal-Am) at the Phase 1 and 2 ASR sites during WY 2012, including: (a) summary of project status and injection well performance, (b) seasonal recharge operations, and (c) water-quality monitoring. During WY 2012, which was a hydrologic “dry year”, injection operations a relatively limited volume of 131.27 acre-feet (AF) of Carmel River Basin source water was injected and stored in the Seaside Basin during the winter high-flow season for subsequent recovery during the low-flow dry season. This contrasts with the over 1,100 AF that were injected in the previous two recharge seasons. The completion of this annual report is a requirement of the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) as part of their ongoing oversight of the ASR program in the Seaside Basin.

RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive the draft report documenting ASR activities at the ASR project sites during WY 2012. If this item is adopted along with the Consent Calendar, the report will be finalized and distributed, subject to inclusion of comments from the District, Cal-Am or other interested parties.

BACKGROUND: The District has been pursuing Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) in the Seaside Basin since 1996. The project concept entails diverting excess winter flows from the Carmel River Basin approximately six miles through existing Cal-Am distribution system pipelines to the hydrologically-separate Seaside Basin, where the water is injected into specially-constructed ASR wells, for later recovery during dry periods. Prior to injection, the diverted water is treated at Cal-Am’s Begonia Iron Removal Plant in Carmel Valley so that it meets potable drinking water standards. In 1998, the District constructed a pilot injection well, known as the Paso Robles Test Injection Well (PRTIW) in the northeastern portion of the City of Seaside. The 460-feet deep pilot well was screened in the Paso Robles Formation aquifer. Subsequent injection testing at the pilot well provided data that allowed the District to proceed with construction of a larger injection test well, SMTIW No. 1 (now referred to as ASR-1), which was completed in 2002 on the former Fort Ord Military Reservation, approximately 300 feet east of the PRTIW. ASR-1 is an 18 inch-diameter, 720 feet deep stainless steel well screened in the Santa Margarita Sandstone aquifer. The Santa Margarita aquifer has more favorable hydrogeologic characteristics, and is therefore more conducive to a full-scale ASR project in the basin. ASR-2 was drilled in 2007 and equipped with permanent pump and motor in 2008. ASR-2 is larger and deeper, at 22 inches in diameter and 790 feet deep.

Also in 2008, the District began negotiations with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (MPUSD) for potential use of an unused portion of the Seaside Middle School property for ASR expansion. This was followed by successful exploration work at the site in 2009 and an easement for the site was acquired by Cal-Am in 2011. The District has been working under contract with Cal-Am to complete construction of permanent ASR facilities at this Phase 2 ASR site.

The draft WY 2012 report has been sent to Cal-Am staff for their review and comment. The report, once finalized, will be provided to the resource agencies that are overseeing authorization of the ASR activities, including the RWQCB. The report will also be a useful reference document to support future operations and testing at the ASR Project sites.

IMPACT ON STAFF/RESOURCES: A significant staff effort has been expended planning, coordinating, and overseeing work on the District’s ASR program in the Seaside Basin. It is planned to continue this level of effort during the remainder of this year and into the next recharge season.

EXHIBIT

None

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