ITEM:		CONSENT CALENDAR
7.	AuthorizE the General Manager of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to File with the State Water Resources Control Board Applications to Appropriate Waters of the Reclamation Ditch, Tembladero Slough and Blanco Drain in the Salinas Valley for the Purpose of Providing Source Water to the Pure Water Monterey Project
Meeting Date:			April 21, 2014	Budgeted:	Partially
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	Augment Water Supply
			General Manager	Line Item No.:	Program 1-5-1/5-7860.10
Prepared By:			Larry Hampson	Cost Estimate:	$90,000
General Counsel Review: Reviewed
Committee Recommendations: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on April 14, 2014 and recommended approval. The Water Supply Planning Committee reviewed this item on April 18. Staff will report on the committee’s recommendation at the April 21 Board meeting.
CEQA Compliance: Certified Environmental Impact Report Required

SUMMARY: The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD or District) is proposing to apply to the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for permits to divert portions of the surface water flows within two sub-watersheds in northern Salinas Valley in order to provide source water for recycling and indirect potable supply and reuse in the Seaside Groundwater Basin (SGB). Transfers of source waters flowing in known and definite channels, such as the Reclamation Ditch, Tembladero Slough, and the Blanco Drain, to the Pure Water Monterey Project (also described as the Groundwater Replenishment Project or GWR) and thence out of the Salinas Valley to the Monterey Peninsula would be a consumptive use that would require an appropriative permit from the SWRCB.

One of the GWR Project goals is to identify and secure several source waters that, together, would provide a portfolio that could be relied on for a minimum of 4,330 acre-feet per year (AFY) in source water in order to provide 3,500 AFY in finished product water to the SGB. Other source waters being considered for the GWR Project include industrial waste water from the City of Salinas used primarily for washing agricultural produce, stormwater from the Cities of Salinas and Monterey, and unused winter wastewater flow from the Regional Treatment Plan.

Staff recommends that MPWMD consider applying jointly with the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA) to SWRCB on a total of three applications; however, should MRWPCA decline to be a co-applicant, MPWMD could be the sole applicant. The total amount of flow to be applied for and points of diversion will be determined by the final water availability analysis. Processing permit applications through SWRCB is expected to take at least one year. Initial costs would be for District Counsel to provide assistance with permit preparation and for the filing fee. SWRCB normally charges $1,000 plus $15/afy up to a maximum of $472,248; however, staff is investigating whether the fee can be waived or considered diversion of wastewater, which would reduce the permit fees. Unknown future costs may be incurred if permit applications are protested or the environmental review is more complex that expected. MPWMD would be the CEQA lead agency and would rely on the EIR for the GWR Project that is being jointly funded by MPWMD with MRWPCA as the Lead Agency.

RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends approval of the expenditure of up to $90,000 in District funds to prepare three permit applications to the State Water Resources Control Board for surface water rights in northern Salinas Valley. If this item is adopted with the Consent Calendar, the General Manager would be authorized to prepare the necessary materials and supporting documents and submit permit applications.

DISCUSSION: The Blanco Drain (see Exhibit 7-A) is an existing system of dirt ditches and short pieces of pipe that collects and conveys agricultural tile drain water and some storm water from about 6,000 acres (9.4 sq. mi.) of land to the Salinas River, about three miles upstream of Highway 1. The drainage area is roughly bounded by Blanco Road and Nashua Road to the north, Highway 68 to the east, the Salinas River to the south and Highway 1 on the west. Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) administers a zone of benefit and operates a pump station to convey water to the Salinas River at the Salinas River Diversion Facility (SRDF aka “Rubber Dam”). Flow records are incomplete and estimates of annual flow range from 1,500 AFY to 2,500 AFY. About 97% of the watershed area is in agricultural use, which causes the Blanco Drain to normally flow throughout the dry season due to the large quantity of agricultural tile drain flows. According to the SWRCB electronic filing system, SWRCB has not issued any surface flow water rights permits within this drainage basin. There are a few claims to “underflow of the Salinas River”; however, the SWRCB has not ruled on this aspect of water rights within the Salinas Valley Groundwater Basin.

The Reclamation Ditch (also known as the Reclamation Canal and Rec Ditch) drains a 157 square-mile area that includes headlands, agricultural areas, the City of Salinas, the Castroville area, and a part of Prunedale (see Exhibit 7-A). The Ditch, created between 1917 and 1920, is a network of excavated earthen channels used to drain surface runoff generated in the watershed. The Rec Ditch is a major drainage channel that flows from east to west through Salinas and continues west where it drains into Tembladero Slough, then the Old Salinas River Channel, and ultimately into Moss Landing Harbor through the Potrero Tide Gates.

The Reclamation Ditch is perennial downstream of agricultural and urban development. According to USGS estimates, flow west of Salinas at the San Jon Road gage only ceased on three days between 1971 and 1985, and on those days, standing water was probably still present throughout most of the Reclamation Ditch. The presence of standing water is reflective of historical conditions, since the area was a system of lakes. However, the presence of dry-season flow is a consequence of dry-season urban discharges and agricultural tailwater. Annual runoff at the USGS gage station at San Jon Road (drainage area of 106.5 square miles) for Water Years 1971-2013 has averaged 11,000 AFA.

The Blanco Drain and all of the Reclamation Ditch tributary streams are considered impaired waters and are on the California Listing of Water Quality Limited Stream Segments, as reported under Section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act. In its biological opinion for the SRDF Project concerning impacts to steelhead, the National Marine Fisheries Service recommended that Blanco Drain flows be conveyed to the MRWPCA Regional Treatment Plant (RTP) in order to improve water quality in the lower Salinas River and lagoon. The Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) found in Order No. R3-2012-0111 that the Blanco Drain and Tembladero Slough are “Some of the most seriously polluted waterbodies... [in the Central Coast Region]. In order to be beneficially used, these streams must be treated to remove pesticides, herbicides, nitrates, and sediment. Diversion of these waters to the GWR Project could reduce the amount of pollutants entering into the Salinas River and Tembladero Slough from agricultural and urban runoff.

The FY 2013-14 budget adjustment included $130,000 for water rights permits. MPWMD has committed up to $78,000 for a water availability analysis, leaving $52,000 for a water rights application. Currently, it appears that the water availability analysis may cost less than anticipated. If permit application fees cannot be waived or reduced and the water use availability funds are completely exhausted, MPWMD would need to expend an additional $38,000 more than budgeted for these applications.

EXHIBIT

7-A Waterbodies in the Lower Salinas Valley

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