ITEM:		PUBLIC HEARING
10.	CONSIDER ADOPTION OF APRIL THROUGH JUNE 2017 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET
Meeting Date:			March 20, 2017	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Kevan Urquhart & Jonathan Lear	Cost Estimate:	N/A
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 2001 Conservation Agreement, 2009 Settlement Agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and California American Water to minimize take of listed steelhead in the Carmel River, and SWRCB WR Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2016-0016.

SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment and take action on the April through June 2017 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for California American Water’s (Cal-Am) Main and Laguna Seca Subarea Water Distribution Systems (WDS). The proposed budgets, which are included as Exhibit 10-A and 10-B, show monthly production by source of supply that is required to meet projected customer demand in CalAm’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems, i.e., Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills, during the April through June 2017 period. The proposed strategy and budgets are designed to maximize the long-term production potential and protect the environmental quality of the Seaside Groundwater and Carmel River Basins.

Exhibit 10-A shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am’s Main system for each production source and the actual production values for the Water Year (WY) 2017 to date through the end of February 2017. The anticipated production values assume that Cal-Am’s annual main system production for customer service will not exceed 10,561 acre-feet (AF) in WY 2017, including 2,251 AF from Cal-Am’s wells in the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Groundwater Basin, up to 300 AF from Sand City Desalination Plant, 0 AF to be recovered to date from what has been stored so far by Phase 1 & 2 Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR), and 8,010 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 and 2016-0016. The total from the Seaside Groundwater Basin is consistent with the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision.

Exhibit 10-B shows the anticipated production by Cal-Am’s Laguna Seca Subarea systems for each production source and the actual production values for WY 2017 to date through the end of February 2017. Please note that the budgeted production values assume that Cal-Am’s annual production for WY 2017 will not exceed 48 AF from the Laguna Seca Subarea of the Seaside Groundwater Basin, whereas actual demand will exceed that amount. This total is consistent with the Seaside Basin adjudication decision.

If stream flow in the Carmel River exceeds the instream flow requirements specified by National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a portion of the “excess” water may be diverted by Cal-Am for injection into the Seaside Groundwater Basin as part of Phase 1 and 2 ASR. The amount of water diverted from the Carmel River that is treated and delivered for injection will also depend on competing customer demand and the condition of Cal-Am’s wells in the Carmel Valley at that time.

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 budgets are described in greater detail in Exhibit 10-C, Quarterly Water Supply Strategy Report: April – June 2017.

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 April, May, and June 2017. Staff from the District, Cal-Am, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) cooperatively reviewed and approved this strategy on March 9, 2017. Staff from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights (SWRCB-DWR) were unable to attend.

To meet customer demand in its main system, Cal-Am intends to produce 130 AF per month in April and May, then try to avoid producing any groundwater at all from its wells in the Upper Carmel Valley during June 2017. Cal-Am will focus instead on producing approximately 1,106 897; and 682 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley during April, May, and June 2017, respectively. It is assumed that 500 AF of this total quarterly production would be diverted from the Carmel River and injected for storage into the Seaside Groundwater Basin during April and May 2017. Cal-Am is also budgeted to produce 41 and 16 AF in April and May, respectively, for Table 13 water right holders identified in Water Rights Permit 21330.

It was also agreed that, subject to rainfall and runoff conditions in the Carmel River Basin, Cal-Am would budget to produce 100, 125, and 400 AF of water each month in April, May and June 2017, respectively, from the Coastal Subareas of the Seaside Basin, in addition to 25 AF per month from the Sand City Desalination Plant during this period. It was also agreed that Cal-Am would budget to produce 4, 4, and 5 AF of groundwater from its wells in the Laguna Seca Subarea for its customers in the Ryan Ranch, Bishop, and Hidden Hills systems during this period. No water production is planned from Phase 1 and 2 ASR during this period, but will be conserved for potential allocation within the last quarter of WY 2017 at the fourth and final Quarterly Water Budget meeting of WY 2017 scheduled for June 8, 2017. Cal-Am will operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream-to-upstream order. If actual inflows are more or less than projected for the budget period, the group may reconvene and adjust the diversion and release rates accordingly.

CEQA COMPLIANCE: 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. 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

10-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for CAW Main System: April - June 2017

10-B Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for CAW Laguna Seca Subarea: April - June 2017

10-C Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget Report: April - June 2017

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