ITEM:

GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT

 

12.

UPDATE ON DEVELOPMENT OF WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS

 

Meeting Date:
February 17, 2016

Budgeted: 

N/A

 

From:

David J. Stoldt,

Program/

 

 

General Manager

Line Item No.:     

 

Prepared By:

David J. Stoldt

Cost Estimate:

N/A

 

General Counsel Review:  N/A

Committee Recommendation:  N/A

CEQA Compliance:  N/A

 

Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project Application

 

Project sizing:

 

Demand

Supply

13,290 AF 5-year customer demand

500 AF for economic recovery

325 AF for Pebble Beach buildout

1,181 AF for legal lots of record

15,296 AF total demand

3,376 AF legally from Carmel River (2017)

1.474 AF legally from Seaside Basin (2021)

(700) AF Cal-Am intends to leave in the Seaside Basin for recharge for 25 years

94 AF available from Sand City long term

1,300 AF assumed available from ASR

3,500 AF assumed from Pure Water Monterey

6,252 AF from small Desal

15,296 AF total supply

 

CPUC Schedule:

 

  DATE

  PHASE 1 (Desalination Plant)

  PHASE 2 (Pure Water Monterey)

December 15, 2015

Supplemental testimony with updated MPWSP costs

 

January 22, 2016

Supplemental testimony on demand and supply, brine discharge, and return water

Testimony, including the WPA and applicant’s showing on the WPA

January to May 2016 [a]

Phase 1 settlement discussions

Phase 2 settlement discussions

March 22, 2016

Concurrent rebuttal testimony

Concurrent rebuttal testimony

April 14-15, 2016

(To be rescheduled)

Evidentiary hearings on Phase 1 updates

Evidentiary hearings for Phase 2

May 2016

 

Opening Brief on Phase 2

May 2016

(2 weeks following)

 

Reply Brief on Phase 2

Same date as Reply Brief

 

Motion for separate Phase 2 decision

July 2016

 

If two decisions: Target for Phase 2 Proposed Decision

August 2016

 

If two decisions: Target for Commission action on Phase 2 decision

TBD (April?)

CPUC’s issuance of combined Draft EIR/EIS

 

45 days after issuance of DEIR/DEIS

Close of comment period on DEIR/DEIS

 

15 days after close of DEIR/DEIS comments

Opening Legal and Policy Briefs

 

30 days after close of DEIR/DEIS comments

Reply Legal and Policy Brief

 

TBD

If two decisions:  Phase 1 PD

 

TBD

If two decisions: Commission

            on Phase 1 PD

 

 

Desalination Facility

 

Cost:  California American Water now has pricing for all of the major project components. While the pipeline and conveyance facility bids were higher than expected, overall the costs for a 9.6 MGD desalination plant are still within the total project budget and within the range of the cost estimate California American Water provided to the California Public Utilities Commission in November 2013.  New cost data was filed with the CPUC on December 15th.

 

Garney Pacific, Mountain Cascade, and Monterey Peninsula Engineering were awarded the pipeline contracts, valued at approximately $95 million for 22 miles of pipeline. Boart Longyear was awarded the contract for the slant wells, valued in therange of $19 to $25 million, depending on 7 to 9 wells.

 

Budget: 

Subsurface Intake System and Supply Return Facilities: $79M (23% spent to date)

Desalination Plant: $115M (12% spent to date)

Pipeline Facilities: $128M (11% spent to date)

 

Test Well:  The test slant well California American Water drilled for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project last year reached its 100th day of operation milestone in late December and is showing salinity levels of 92 percent.  The goal is 96% to 97%.

 

Slant wells are a type of subsurface intake, which are considered environmentally preferable to open ocean intakes by the California Coastal Commission, State Water Resources Control Board, and Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary have each stated a preference for subsurface intakes.

 

Return Water:  Under the County Water Resources Agency Act, all Salinas Valley Basin groundwater must remain in the basin.  In early January, lawyers for the Salinas Valley Water Coalition, Monterey County Farm Bureau, LandWatch Monterey County, and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority agreed on a draft term sheet with Cal-Am and the Castroville Community Services District that would dedicate a portion of the water produced by the proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project desalination facility to serve the water-challenged community of Castroville, satisfying the return flow requirement.

 

Schedule:

Next Governance Committee Meeting Feb 18, 2016

Draft Environmental Impact Report     April 2016

CPUC Decision                                                Nov/Dec 2016

Coastal Commission Permit                 Q1/Q2 2017

Project Operation                                 May 2019

 

Pure Water Monterey

 

Pure Water Monterey will deliver over 3,500 acre-feet of highly purified drinking water annually that will be injected directly into the Seaside Basin for delivery by Cal-Am to the residents and businesses of the Monterey Peninsula. Using scientifically verified technology, the source water will undergo a four-step advanced water purification process, creating a safe and sustainable supply of purified water.

 

This environmentally preferred project will not only reduce discharge into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, but will have lower levels of carbon emissions and energy consumption. With a certified and unchallenged Final Environmental Impact report, the project is anticipated to deliver water by the end of 2017.

 

Budget:

Source Water Diversion and Conveyance: $10.0 million

Advanced Water Treatment Facilities: $31.6 million

Product Water Pipeline: $21.9 million

Product Water Injection Facilities:  $8.7 million

Expended to Date: $15.8 million (through end of FY2015-16)

 

Schedule:

Draft Environmental Impact Report     Complete

CPUC Decision                                                July/Aug 2016

Initial Operation                                   Q4 2017

Full Operation                                      Q1 2018

 

Aquifer Storage and Recovery

 

With heavy winter rains increasing flows on the Carmel River, the District’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project (ASR) is once again able to capture excess water and inject it into the Seaside Groundwater Basin for storage and later use.

 

This year, through February 5th the project has been capturing approximately 3.6 million gallons of water per day, enough daily volume to serve 40 homes for an entire year.  To date in 2016, ASR has diverted and injected over 80 million gallons or over 245 acre-feet of water.

 

This winter’s rains have swollen the Carmel River and connected it back to the Ocean for the first time since June, allowing the District to begin seasonal diversions.   The injection season lasts from December through May.

 

ASR is a joint partnership between the District, which owns the first two ASR wells, and California American Water Company who diverts, treats, and delivers the Carmel River water to wells located along General Jim Moore Boulevard in Seaside. Since testing began in 1998, the ASR program has injected a total of 5,233 acre-feet into the Seaside Basin.

 

Cease and Desist Order

 

The Company, the District, and the Authority estimate that the community will not be able to make the current cease-and-desist order deadline of December 31, 2016. As a result, the parties worked together to develop a proposal to extend the deadline to provide the time needed for the project to work its way through the regulatory approval process.  The parties on November 20th filed a joint petition to modify the State Water Resources Control Board’s 2009 cease-and-desist order The proposal would extend the deadline until December 31, 2020, with modest reductions in pumping from the river required in the interim. During the extension period, the company would be required to meet annual milestones related to the development of the project.  The proposal would impose additional reduction penalties of 1,000 acre-feet each if any of the milestones are not met.

 

The State Board has not announced a hearing date for consideration of the proposal.  Action is expected by summer.

 

Local Water Projects

 

Projects grant funded by the District include:

 

$200,000 City of Pacific Grove – Local Water Project to provide non-potable supplies to golf course and cemetery ($100,000 spent to date);  District approved Ordinance establishing Pacific Grove water entitlement at January Board meeting.  Pacific Grove will get 66 acre-feet of usable water to its allocation, 13 acre-feet permanently retired to benefit the Carmel River, and 9 acre-feet reserved by the District for allocation elsewhere.

 

$80,000 Pebble Beach Company - Test well at Del Monte Golf Course to remove from Cal-Am potable supply system.  Well completed and results look promising.

 

$85,000 City of Monterey - Examine the feasibility of Peninsula-wide water recovery and reclamation system and possibilities for sources, including finding uses of storm and non-storm water flows.  Just getting started.

 

$106,900 City of Seaside - Modifications and improvements to Laguna Grande well for non-potable uses to offset existing potable uses.  Just getting started.

 

$30,000 Monterey Regional Airport – Remediation well retrofit for non-potable water supply ($14,000 spent to date)

 

$75,000  Monterey County Fairgrounds – Use well water to flush toilets (currently under review following toilet retrofit.)

 

Malpaso Water (Eastwood/Odello)

 

In August 2015, the District passed Ordinance No. 165 which establishes a Water Entitlement for the Malpaso Water Company LLC (Malpaso) of 80 Acre-Feet Annually (AFA) to be used for new and intensified water uses by properties located within the California American Water service area that are within the Carmel River watershed or the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

 

A Water Entitlement is a discrete quantity of water designated by a District ordinance to a specified Water Entitlement Holder for new or Intensified Water Use. Water Entitlement Holders established by previous MPWMD ordinances include the Pebble Beach Company and the other fiscal sponsors of the CAWD/PBCSD Wastewater Reclamation Project, the City of Sand City, DBO LLC, and Cypress Pacific Investors LLC. 

 

For the Malpaso Water Company Water Entitlement, the Water Entitlement Holder assigns water to its subscribers via Assignment Documents that the subscribers then use to obtain Water Use Permits from the District. The Water Use Permit can then be used to permit new or intensified water use up to the amount specified.   Malpaso has begun processing Assignment Documents at $2,400 per fixture unit or approximately $240,000 per acre-foot.  However, as of February 8, 2016 the District has not received any requests for Water Use Permits based on a Malpaso entitlement.

 

Alternative Desal (DeepWater Desal)

 

Had kick-off meeting for EIR/EIS on November 19th.  Working with Dudek environmental engineers, the same firm that did the Carlsbad Poseidon desalination project EIR.  Lead agencies are the State Lands Commission and the National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA).  Most of the studies feeding into the EIR will be completed by March.  Q4 2016 completion of the final study.

 

Signed contract with Black and Veatch to act as Owners Engineer for the project.  They are preparing to start the site plan, sub-station plan and possibly additional R/O design.

 

EMC environmental is working on wetlands delineation and studies required for the biological assessment.  Tenera is doing the same for any additional oceanographic studies.

 

Brierley Associates is finishing up the constructability study and starting the 15% design for the pump station.

 

Project sponsors are meeting with potential offtakers such as Cal Water Service (Salinas) and Soquel Creek WD. Pajaro Sunny Mesa was considering memorandum of intent to work with the project sponsors at its January meeting.

 

They hired another full time employee at the end of last year, an engineer who worked at Soquel Creek WD and headed up the joint desal project there.

 

Pebble Beach Reclamation Project

 

Last year’s Usage:        1,062 AF

Last 5 Year Average:      948 AF

20-Year Average:           979 AF

 

As of February 4, 2016 the Forest Lake Reservoir was almost at full capacity the earliest in the year since 2011.

 

 

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