ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
18.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF JANUARY THROUGH MARCH 2014 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting Date:			January 29, 2014	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Dave Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Kevan Urquhart &	Cost Estimate:	N/A
			Jonathan Lear
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: Notice of Exemption, CEQA, Article 19, Section 15301 (Class 1)
ESA Compliance: Consistent with the September 2001 and February 2009 Conservation Agreements between the National Marine Fisheries Service and California American Water to minimize take of listed steelhead in the Carmel River and Consistent with SWRCB WR Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2009-0060.

SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take action on the January through March 2014 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for California American Water’s (Cal-Am’s) Main and Laguna Seca Subarea Water Distribution Systems (WDS), which are within the Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System (MPWRS). The proposed budget, which is included as Exhibits 18-A and 18-B, shows monthly production by source of supply that is required to meet projected customer demand in Cal-Am’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems, i.e., Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills, during the January through March 2014 period. The proposed strategy and budget is designed to maximize the long-term production potential and protect the environmental quality of the Seaside Groundwater and Carmel River Basins.

Exhibit 18-A shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am’s Main system for each production source and the actual production values for the water year to date through the end of November 2013. Please note that the anticipated production values assume that Cal-Am’s annual Main system production for Water Year (WY) 2014 will not exceed 12,735 acre-feet (AF), including 2,669 AF from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin, 0 AF from ASR Phase 1 and 2 recovery, 300 AF from the Sand City Desalination Plant, and 9,766 AF from the Carmel River Basin. The total from the Carmel River Basin is consistent with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2009-0060, and the total from the Seaside Groundwater Basin is consistent with the Seaside Basin adjudication decision. Both of these limits are subject to change, pending future regulatory actions. For the purpose of this budget, it is assumed that “dry” inflow conditions will occur through September 2014. This approach was taken due to the patterns of minimal rainfall to-date, and long-term weather forecasts.

Exhibit 18-B shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am’s Laguna Seca Subarea systems for each production source, and the actual production values for WY 2014 to date through the end of
November 2013. Please note that the anticipated production values assume that Cal-Am’s annual Laguna Seca Subarea systems’ production will not exceed 147 AF. This total is consistent with the Seaside Basin adjudication decision.

RECOMMENDATION: The Board should receive public input, close the Public Hearing, and discuss the proposed quarterly water supply budget. District staff recommends adoption of the proposed budget. The budget is described in greater detail in Exhibit 18-C, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: January –March 2014.

BACKGROUND: The Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget pertains to production within Cal-Am’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems for the three-month period of January, February, and March 2014. Staff from the District, Cal-Am, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) cooperatively developed this strategy on December 17, 2013. Based on current reservoir and Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer storage conditions, and the rainfall that has occurred to date, it was agreed that “dry” inflow conditions will be assumed to occur through September 2014.

To meet customer demand in its main system, Cal-Am will produce approximately 0 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during January, February, and March 2014. Similarly, Cal-Am will produce approximately 924, 954, and 1,112 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during January, February, and March 2014, respectively. The permitted diversion season for ASR began again on December 1, which is during this first quarter of WY 2014. Diversions to storage for ASR Phase 1 have not yet began, but will be initiated whenever flows in the river are legally adequate to do so. For planning purposes, staff had scheduled diversions to ASR storage in December, based on the long-term average diversion rate predicted by the Carmel Valley Simulation Model (CVSIM) for each month, and had scheduled 230, 320, and 345 AF for the three months of the second quarter, respectively.

It was also agreed that, subject to rainfall and runoff conditions in the Carmel River Basin, Cal-Am would continue to produce water from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Basin during this period, if necessary to meet system demand and facilitate ASR diversions to storage. Cal-Am projected production of native groundwater from the Seaside Basin was 100 AF in each of the months of January, February, and March 2014, respectively. There was also a projected goal of producing an additional 25 AF of treated brackish groundwater from the Sand City Desalination Plant in each of these three months. In addition, it was also agreed that Cal-Am projected production of groundwater from its wells in the Laguna Seca Subarea for its customers in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills systems would be 8, 7, and 8 AF during January, February, and March 2014, respectively. Lastly, it was agreed that Cal-Am would not divert any water from San Clemente Reservoir through the Carmel Valley Filter Plant during this quarter. Cal-Am will operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream-to-upstream order. If actual natural river inflows are less than projected for the budget period, the group will reconvene and adjust the LPD release rates accordingly.

Rule 101, Section B of the District Rules and Regulations requires that a Public Hearing be held at the time of determination of the District water supply management strategy. Notice of this Public Hearing has been published in The Herald. Adoption of the quarterly water supply strategy and budget is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements as per Article 19, Section 15301 (Class 1). A Notice of Exemption will be filed with the Monterey County Clerk's office, pending Board action on this item.

EXHIBITS

18-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for Cal-Am Main System: January – March 2014

18-B Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for Cal-Am Subsystems: January – March 2014

18-C Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget Report: January – March 2014

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