TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
ITEM:		DISCUSSION ITEMS
1.	REVIEW RESULTS OF PILOT STUDY ON WELLS IN FRACTURED ROCK FORMATIONS
Meeting Date:			August 3, 2010	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Henrietta Stern	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: Counsel has not reviewed this staff note.
Committee Recommendation: N/A—This is a presentation report only.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: District staff will provide an update on tasks associated with review of wells in fractured rock formations, as well as coordination with the Monterey County Health Department (MCHD). The focus of this item will be a slide presentation to the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) by District staff on the results of its pilot study of fractured rock wells.

Pilot Study Of Wells in Fractured Rock: District staff will make a 15-20 minute technical presentation to TAC on its pilot study of wells in the Carmel Woods, Carmel Views and Aguajito areas. This is the general area north of Carmel Valley Road, and somewhat adjacent to Highway One on both sides. An extensive data mining effort has taken place since March 2010; initial findings and recommendations were made to the MPWMD Board’s Water Demand Committee (WDC) on June 18, 2010. The WDC suggested making this same presentation to TAC as it provides an excellent overview of hydrogeology and fractured rock issues wells that could affect the planning process. At its July 21, 2010 meeting, the WDC recommended that the data mining effort be expanded to all fractured wells in the District; this will be addressed by the full Board at its August 16, 2010 meeting. This effort would cost about $31,500 and take about six months. The committee also directed the General Manager to request co-finding by MCHD; a letter was transmitted on July 23, 2010. For reference, the July 21, 2010 WDC agenda materials for the expanded study are available at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/committees/waterdemandcommittee/2010/20100721/06/item6.htm.

MPWMD Ordinance Clarifying Current Practices: District staff has included proposed language for tighter and clearer regulations for fractured rock wells in proposed Ordinance No. 145, which was reviewed by the WDC on July 21, 2010, and will be considered by the MPWMD Board for first reading on August 16, 2010. The fractured rock text includes refinements to Rule 11 (Definitions), Rule 20-C (Exemptions) and Rule 22-D (Mandatory Conditions of Approval) associated with WDS permits. The language shown is subject to change. Information provided to the WDC on July 21, 2010 is at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/committees/waterdemandcommittee/2010/20100721/02/item2.htm.

Coordination with MCHD: District staff met with MCHD and Monterey County Planning Department staff on May 19, 2010 to present the findings of the fractured rock well pilot study described above. We also discussed the then-pending County ordinance regarding fractured rock wells. On May 25, 2010, the County Board of Supervisors approved County Ordinance No. 5160, which imposes a temporary moratorium on issuance of County Well Construction Permits for fractured rock wells in the unincorporated County areas that (a) entail parcels less than 2.5 acres in size, and (b) are in the California American Water (CAW) Monterey Division Main System. A copy of the ordinance is provided as Exhibit 1-A. On June 29, 2010, the County Board of Supervisors extended this ordinance to expire on May 24, 2011. It is notable that MPWMD staff does not accept a WDS Application or Pre-Application/Exemption Request unless a valid MCHD Well Construction Permit is attached.

Monthly Update on WDS Applications: Since late January 2010, District staff has provided an update on well applications in fractured rock as part of the General Manager’s report at Board meetings. Exhibit 1-B provides a summary of the Applications and Pre-Applications in progress for wells in fractured rock as of July 26, 2010. An overview is provided in the “Discussion” section below.

BACKGROUND: At its January 28, 2010 meeting, the MPWMD Board of Directors did not approve Urgency Ordinance No. 143 that would have temporarily suspended receipt and processing of Pre-Applications and Applications for a MPWMD Water Distribution System (WDS) permit that is supplied by a well drilled in “fractured rock.” The Board referred additional research and discussion back to the Water Demand, Rules and Regulations Review, and Technical Advisory Committees. Ordinance No. 143 information is available at:

http://www.mpwmd.dst.ca.us/asd/board/boardpacket/2010/20100128/20/item20.htm

In February 2010, District staff determined it would research the items listed below, and report back to the WDC and other committees on its progress. The tasks include:

1. Obtain copies of well ordinances from each city/county within MPWMD.
2. Develop mailing list of fractured rock well owners in process and other interested parties.
3. Use our well database to identify clusters of wells and production values for those wells to help assess whether there are areas with resource constraints, with emphasis on smaller lots (less than 2.5 acres).
4. Research reasons why people requested replacement wells (exemptions); was it mechanical failure or was the well going dry?
5. Follow-up on wells that had been replaced, but not destroyed, and became identified monitor wells instead; which have potential as promising monitoring sites?
6. What type of monitoring in the Carmel Valley Upland is needed to get a better handle on its hydrologic health? What would the cost be for such a program?
7. Prepare legal overview (summary) on water rights associated with these types of wells, and under what conditions could MPWMD constrain use.
8. Consider a near-term MPWMD ordinance to require that: (a) all new WDS permittees must allow their wells to be monitored by MPWMD for water levels and meter readings; (b) all owners of wells do not have access to Cal-Am water until there is full compliance with SWRCB Order 95-10 and the Seaside Basin adjudication, and a water allocation is available from the affected jurisdiction; and (c) exemption criteria would change to allow a well to be inactive for only 3 years (not 10) and/or any reactivated well must have a 72-hour pumping test and MPWMD hydrogeology assessment within 3 years.
9. Address concerns about cumulative effect on Carmel River and Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer (CVAA).
10. Potentially inquire whether Carmel Woods area property owners would be willing to fund a monitor well in their area to track trends.
11. Update the MPWMD website with a memorandum on wells in the Coastal Zone, similar to the existing memo on wells within the CVAA.

DISCUSSION: The following paragraphs describe MPWMD staff progress on the 11 tasks enumerated above. Important Note: TAC members should provide a recent copy of any well-related ordinance to District staff at the August 3, 2010 meeting (see Task 1):

TASK	ACTION TO DATE (6/10/2010)
Task 1: Obtain copies of well ordinances from each jurisdiction within MPWMD.	In progress. Certain ordinances are already on file; need to update file and assess if changes have occurred in recent years.
Task 2: Develop mailing list of fractured rock well owners and interested parties.	Completed by March 31, 2010.
Task 3: Data research of MPWMD well database and related documentation to help assess potential resource constraint areas.	Pilot project that encompasses wells in the Aguajito, Carmel Woods and Carmel Views areas completed in June 2010; presentations made to WDC on June 18, 2010 and to TAC on August 3, 2010. This includes geographic information, geology, physical characteristics of the wells, individual and cumulative production capacities, etc. Staff generated a series of charts and 3-D graphics for presentations of the initial findings to be followed by a detailed technical memorandum in summer/fall 2010. District staff and the WDC have recommended funding an expanded study of all fractured rock wells within the District in FY 2010-2011. This will be considered by the MPWMD Board at its August 16, 2010 meeting.
Task 4: Research reasons why people requested replacement wells (exemptions).	This task has been delayed due to other well-related priorities. On June 9, 2010, staff received a well replacement application due to inadequate supply in the pilot study area. Staff worked with the property owner to obtain more field data about the well and local hydrogeology.
Task 5: Assess whether replaced wells have potential as monitoring sites.	This task will be part of the proposed expanded study, where six automatic data loggers are proposed for six (yet-to-be-determined) wells. Data logging has occurred at the one well noted in Task 4.
Task 6: What type of monitoring program (and costs) in the Carmel Valley Upland areas is needed to assess its hydrologic health?	A decision on this task is associated with the expanded study before the Board on August 16, 2010 (see Task 3).
Task 7: Prepare legal overview (summary) on water rights associated with these types of wells, and under what conditions could MPWMD constrain use.	Due to higher priorities for District Counsel, this task has not been requested to date. In general, property owners with overlying water rights to percolating groundwater have correlative (shared) water rights, and may use water for a “reasonable and beneficial use.”
Task 8: Consider MPWMD ordinance to require access for well monitoring, prohibit Cal-Am bailout, and allow exemption for an inactive well for only 3 years, with proof of adequate 72-hour pumping test.	This text is part of proposed Ordinance No. 145 to be considered by the Board on August 16, 2010 for first reading.
Task 9: Address concerns about cumulative effects on Carmel River and Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer (CVAA).	These concerns would be addressed after the District-wide assessment of wells is completed, if approved by the Board. See Task 3.
Task 10: Assess whether Carmel Woods property owners would fund a monitor well in their area to track trends.	This task depends on the results of pilot study, and whether a suitable existing monitor well is already available. A well in the Aguajito area has been located and is being monitored.
Task 11: Update the MPWMD website with a memorandum on wells in the Coastal Zone.	This task has not been completed due to other well-related updates for the website completed in July 2010. Goal for a new WDS Memorandum on the website is late August 2010.

In the nine years since Ordinance No. 96 was adopted in March 2001, 80 WDS permits have been issued, primarily for residential use. Roughly 85% of these permitted WDS (68 approvals) are served by wells extracting water from “fractured rock” formations. An estimated 47 Applications or Pre-Applications in progress could potentially be approved for wells in fractured rock (39 Pre-Applications/Exemption Requests + 8 WDS Applications).

The Water Year 2009 production report lists nearly 400 existing non-CAW wells in fractured rock formations, including 287 wells in the Carmel Valley Upland area, 95 wells in the “Miscellaneous” area (primarily Jack’s Peak, Carmel Highlands and Highway 68 near the Monterey Airport) and 15 wells in the Cachagua area. The 13 non-Cal-Am wells in the Seaside Groundwater Basin are not considered to be fractured rock. Wells owned and operated by CAW are either alluvial or within the Seaside Basin.

Exhibit 1-B provides an overview of Applications and Pre-Applications in six categories:

Ø Recently submitted Applications that are being reviewed for completeness, especially the submitted hydrogeologic report (0 projects);

Ø Applications deemed complete; permit documents in preparation for approval by District Engineer (2 projects);

Ø Applications that are incomplete or are suspended for some other reason, such as County well status for Coastal Zone parcels (6 projects);

Ø Pre-Applications/Exemption Requests received but not completed (14 projects);

Ø Pre-Applications that need review to provide guidance before applicant submits a full Application package (18 projects)

Ø Pre-Applications that have been reviewed, but formal Applications have not yet been submitted (22 projects).

EXHIBITS

1-A Monterey County Ordinance No. 5160 affecting certain fractured rock wells

1-B Pending WDS Applications for Fractured Rock Wells as of July 26, 2010

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