WATER SUPPLY PLANNING COMMITTEE

ITEM:		DISCUSSION ITEMS
2.	UPDATE ON POTENTIAL FOR WATER PROJECT 3 (LOCAL DESAL) WITHIN DISTRICT BOUNDARIES
Meeting Date:			April 6, 2011	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			Darby Fuerst,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Andrew Bell	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: N/A

U.S. Navy Site

As reported in the staff note for the January 28, 2011 meeting of the Water Supply Planning Committee, District Engineer Andy Bell sent to Steven Quimby of the Naval Postgraduate School planning staff a letter transmitting information regarding potential seawater desalination project facilities at the former Monterey wastewater treatment plant site. When contacted by Mr. Bell in mid-February, Mr. Quimby said he had not received the letter and enclosures, and Mr. Bell re-sent the information. When re-contacted by Mr. Bell on February 24 to confirm that the information had been received and to ask if there were any questions regarding the project, Mr. Quimby requested additional information, including how a desalination project operates, what the energy requirements are, what a project’s impacts would be on the site, whether there would be hazards or constraints, what are the staffing and access requirements, what is the environmental review process, and other information. Mr. Quimby asked whether the Navy could get water supply or other consideration as a result the project. Staff is assembling information in response to Mr. Quimby’s requests.

General Manager Darby Fuerst and Andy Bell have scheduled a meeting on March 29, 2011 with Fred Meurer, Monterey City Manager, and Chip Rerig, Chief of Planning, Engineering, and Environmental Compliance for the City of Monterey, to discuss the project.

Moss Landing Water Project

At the November 15, 2010 Committee meeting, David Armanasco and representatives of Desal America, Calera, and Moss Landing Business Park gave a presentation on a proposed desalination project at the former National Refractories site in Moss Landing. Pursuant to the Committee’s direction, staff assembled questions regarding the proposal and sent the questions and the most recent version of the District’s matrix of water supply projects to Mr. Armanasco with a request that the project proponents provide responses to staff’s questions and provide information for the proposed project as listed in the matrix.

Staff contacted Mr. Armanasco on March 16, 2011 to determine the status of the information requested. Mr. Armanasco said that the group is assembling the requested information and that it would be provided as soon as possible. He said the project proponents have been collecting water quality data from a buoy at the end of the seawater intake and that they have been in discussions with Pajaro Sunny Mesa Community Services District representatives regarding the project.

City of Sand City Coastal Sites

At the December 8, 2010 Committee meeting, the Committee directed staff to select the three most promising sites along the coast in Sand City, and to provide Committee members with information regarding potential locations of desalination project facilities and potential yield for each site. Committee members planned to use this information in discussions with the respective property owners regarding their willingness to consider locating water project facilities on their property.

District Engineer Andrew Bell prepared the requested information for three Sand City sites and provided it to the Committee members by e-mail on March 4, 2011.

EXHIBITS

None

U:\staff\word\committees\WaterSupply\2011\20110406\02\item2.docx