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ITEM: |
CONSENT
CALENDAR |
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5. |
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF 2019
ANNUAL MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT FOR RELEASES FROM LOS PADRES RESERVOIR AMONG CALIFORNIA
AMERICAN WATER, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE, AND MONTEREY
PENINSULA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT |
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Meeting
Date: |
August 19, 2019 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
David J. Stoldt, |
Program/ |
Aquatic Resources and |
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General Manager |
Line Item No.: |
Hydrologic Monitoring 2 |
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Prepared
By: |
Kevan Urquhart |
Cost
Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Review: N/A |
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Committee Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance: Consistent
with SWRCB WR Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2016-0016.
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ESA Compliance: Consistent with the September 2001
Conservation Agreement between the National Marine Fisheries Service and
California American Water to minimize take of listed steelhead in the Carmel
River.
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SUMMARY: Representatives from the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD), California American Water (Cal-Am), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) met on July 11, 2019 to negotiate the terms and conditions for the 2019 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for releases and diversions from Los Padres Reservoir to the Carmel River. As has been the case annually since 2010, concurrence was provided only on the minimum low-flow targets for 2019. CDFW and Cal-Am have not yet concurred on additional operational notification language to the existing MOA and are still in negotiation over it.
Based on current storage conditions and expected reservoir inflows, it was agreed that Cal-Am will maintain minimum flows in the Carmel River below Los Padres Dam (LPD) of 13.0 cubic feet per second (cfs) for July through September, and then 11.5 cfs for October through November. Thereafter relying solely on the natural recovery of river base flows from above LPD, to sustain an estimated average of 17.7 cfs for December. Inflows to LPD for July through October were estimated from median inflows for a “wet” Water Year Type (WYT), whereas November through December inflows were conservatively represented by the median inflow for a “normal” WYT.
As has been the case in recent years, it is infeasible to set targets maintaining minimum flows at the District’s Sleepy Hollow Weir gaging station, due to the variable and unpredictable effects of riparian diversions and summer temperatures on river flow. Nevertheless, the aforementioned release targets below LPD are expected to potentially produce minimum flows at the Sleepy Hollow Weir of between 11.4 to 12.8 cfs during July through November, then potentially returning to estimated natural river flows of as much as 25.0 cfs in December 2019.
Cal-Am ceased diversions from its wells upstream of the Narrows by July 27th, 2019 when Carmel River flow at the District’s Don Juan Bridge gaging station in Garland Park had dropped below 20 cfs for the prior five consecutive days. These actions conform to State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Order 2002-0002 and the 2001 NMFS Conservation Agreement with Cal-Am. The Draft 2019 MOA is included as Exhibit 5-A.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board approve the 2019 MOA and direct the General Manager to sign the agreement.
BACKGROUND: Past MOAs determined minimum flow releases to the Carmel River below San Clemente Dam during the low-flow period (i.e., generally May through December), and the District entered annually into an agreement with Cal-Am and CDFW. Historically, the MOA specified the minimum release that must be maintained from San Clemente Reservoir to the Carmel River and the maximum diversion that was allowed from San Clemente Reservoir to Cal-Am’s Carmel Valley Filter Plant (CVFP).
Cal-Am’s ability to divert surface flow at San Clemente Dam or control outflow at that point is precluded forevermore by the implementation of the final year of San Clemente Dam Removal and River Reroute Project completed in 2015. Absent a flow control structure at River Mile 18.61, the MOA must now be managed based on releases from Los Padres Dam at Rive Mile 24.80.
Based on current reservoir storage and projected “wet” to “normal” LPR inflow conditions for most of the remainder of Calendar Year 2019, it was agreed by all parties at the June 11, 2019 meeting that Cal-Am would:
a) follow the natural pattern of LPR inflow recession in July, then
b) maintain a minimum flow of 13.0 cfs for the August and September, stepping down to 11.5 cfs for October and November from LPD to the Carmel River (as measured at MPWMD’s Below Los Padres Gage), and
c) rely on the natural recovery of river base flows from above LPR, thereafter, in order to sustain an estimated monthly average natural river flows of 17.7 cfs in December 2019 (as measured at MPWMD’s Below Los Padres Gage).
The projected monthly inflows, releases, diversions and storage values for the July - December 2019 period are shown on Attachment A of Exhibit 5-A. The parties will continue to monitor runoff throughout the year and may meet either in August or September to reconsider whether or not any further modifications are needed, if actual inflow and storage differ from the expectations. Attachment A of Exhibit 5-A also includes actual values for the October 2018 through June 2019 period, which are shown in bold type.[1]
To maximize the instream flow benefits from the proposed releases, the 2019 MOA also includes a condition that limits the amount of water pumped from Cal-Am's production wells in the Upper Carmel Valley (i.e., above the Narrows) to levels required for maintenance of the wells (Exhibit 5-B). This limitation and schedule also applies to the former Water West wells that are now owned and operated by Cal-Am. Similarly, the MOA includes a provision that Cal-Am will make all reasonable efforts to operate its Lower Carmel Valley production wells beginning with the most downstream well and moving to upstream wells as needed to meet system demand. This provision is consistent with Condition No. 5 of SWRCB Order 95-10.
While all parties agreed to the minimum flow targets shown in Attachment A of Exhibit 5-A, CDFW and Cal-Am did not discuss or agree to additional language requiring faster notification of any operational changes to the Cal-Am system that could result in the need to accelerate or expand fish rescues. CDFW provided draft language in 2010 that Cal-Am rejected, which resulted in the 2010 through 2018 Low Flow MOAs not being signed by CDFW. Cal-Am complied with the Low-Flow MOA targets in 2010 through 2018. District staff provided alternative draft language at a January 26, 2011 meeting which Cal-Am rejected as overly specific and unworkable. Cal-Am’s current position is that CDFW must demonstrate the legal nexus requiring that such additional language be included in future Low Flow MOAs. Even if the Low Flow MOA shown in Exhibit 5-A is only signed by the District and Cal-Am, and not CDFW, as was the case in 2010 - 2018, we expect Cal-Am will once again comply with the low-flow targets for 2019.
The
proposed MOA may be modified by mutual consent of all the parties and will be
monitored weekly by representatives of the three parties. It should be noted that the releases and
operations specified in the MOA are consistent with the releases and diversions
that were proposed in the Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for Cal-Am
for the July-September 2019 period, on June 6, 2019. If approved, the 2019 MOA becomes effective August
1, 2019, and extends through December 31, 2019.
IMPACT ON STAFF AND FISCAL RESOURCES: Due to the current “wet” inflows that are likely to continue or only slightly worsen for the remainder of the year, the lower river is only slowly losing surface flow has not yet begun drying-up, and may never do so this Water Year or Calendar Year. LPD just ceased spilling over the weekend of August 3-4, 2019. Roving steelhead rescue efforts in the tributaries began on April 30, 2019, but main-stem rescues may not be initiated at all, or only on a very limited basis this year, as was the case in 2017. District staff will need to do some fish rescues and relocations, but will not operate the District’s Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility (SHSRF) to rear fish in 2019, due to ongoing reconstruction of the intake and addition of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS).
5-A Draft 2019 Memorandum of Agreement between the State of California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California American Water, and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District to Release Water into the Carmel River from Los Padres Reservoir
5-B Maintenance
and Water Quality Pumping Schedule, 2019
U:\staff\Boardpacket\2019\20190819\ConsentCalendar\05\Item-5.docx