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ITEM: |
PUBLIC HEARING |
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29. |
CONSIDER
ADOPTION OF APRIL THROUGH JUNE 2021 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND BUDGET |
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Meeting Date: |
June
21, 2021 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
David J. Stoldt, |
Program/ |
N/A |
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General Manager |
Line Item
No.: |
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Prepared By: |
David J. Stoldt |
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: Notice
of Exemption, CEQA, Article 19, Section 15301 (Class
1) |
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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 2016-0016. |
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SUMMARY: The Board will accept public comment
and take action on the July through September 2021 Quarterly Water Supply Strategy and Budget for California
American Water’s (Cal-Am’s) Main and Satellite Water Distribution Systems (WDS), which are within the Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System (MPWRS). The proposed budget, which is included as Exhibit 29-A, outline monthly
production by source of supply that will be
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 July through September 2021 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 29-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 May 2021. Cal-Am’s annual Main system production for Water Year (WY) 2021 will not exceed 8,784 acre-feet
(AF). Sources available to meet
customer demand are 1,474 AF from the Coastal
Subareas of the Seaside
Groundwater Basin
as set by the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision and 7,310 AF from the Carmel
River as set by WRO 2016-16. Additional
water projects and water rights available are an estimated 900 AF of Pure Water
Monterey Injection over this quarter, an estimated 1,100 AF from ASR Phase 1 and 2 storage
remaining from WY 2020 and 2021 injection, an estimated 150 AF from the Sand City Desalination Plant, and an estimated 100
AF from Cal-Am’s Table 13 water rights. Under Table 13 water
rights, Cal-Am is allowed to produce water for in-basin
uses when bypass flows are in
excess of permit conditions. This water
budget proposes to inject an estimated 1,000 AF of Pure Water Monterey and
recover about 700 AF. The goal is to use
the last quarter of WY 2021 to build up the PWM operational reserve prior to
the start of WY 2022. The schedule of production from the Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer is consistent with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB)
Order Nos. 95-10, 98-04, 2002-0002, and 2016-0016. In compliance with WRO 2016-0016, any water diverted under these rights must be used to reduce
unlawful diversion from the Carmel River
Basin.
According
to the Seaside Basin Adjudication Decision, CalAm’s production has been reduced
to 0 AF. The Quarterly Water Budget
Group recognizes that CalAm will need to produce water to serve its customers in
the Hidden Hills Distribution System and not all of the demand can be served by
the intertie with the main system.
Therefore, production in Laguna Seca will be tracked as a ministerial
component of tracking production against the 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 detail in Exhibit
29-B, Quarterly
Water Supply Strategy
Report: July – September
2021.
BACKGROUND: The Water Supply Strategy and Budget prescribes production within CalAm’s Main and Laguna Seca Subarea systems
and is developed on a quarterly schedule. Staff from the District, CalAm, the National
Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS), State Water Resources Control Board’s Division of Water Rights
(SWRCB-DWR), and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) cooperatively develop this strategy
to comply with regulatory requirements and maximize the environmental health of
the resource system while meeting customer demand. To the greatest extent pumping in the Carmel
Valley is minimized in the summer months and the Seaside wells are used to meet
demand by recovering native water and banked Carmel River water. Also, it was agreed that CalAm will operate its wells in the Lower Carmel Valley in a downstream to upstream order.
If flows exceed 20 cfs at the District’s Don Juan Gage, CalAm is allowed to produce from its Upper Carmel Valley Wells,
which are used to supply water for injection into the Seaside
Groundwater Basin. The permitted
diversion season for ASR is between December 1 and May 31. Diversions to storage
for ASR will be initiated whenever flows in the river are above
permit threshold values. For planning purposes, the
QWB group schedules diversions to ASR storage
based on operational days that
would occur in an average
streamflow year. CalAm may also divert
under Table 13 Water Rights for in-basin use within Carmel Valley when flows are adequate. This schedule is estimated with average year
streamflow conditions and daily demand for Carmel Valley. CalAm will schedule the recovery of Pure
Water Monterey water stored in the Seaside Basin with the goal of removing all
water injected over the operational reserve for WY 2021. There is also a projected
goal of producing 25 AF of treated brackish
groundwater from the Sand City Desalination Plant
in each of these three months.
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.
29-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy
and Budget for Cal-Am Main System: April - June 2021
29-B Quarterly Water
Supply Strategy
and Budget Report: April - June 2021
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Hearings\29\Item-29.docx