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ITEM: |
PUBLIC
HEARING |
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9. |
CONSIDER ADOPTION OF JANUARY THROUGH MARCH 2025 QUARTERLY WATER SUPPLY
STRATEGY AND BUDGET |
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Meeting
Date: |
December
16, 2024
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Budgeted:
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N/A
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From: |
David
J. Stoldt, |
Program/ |
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General
Manager |
Line
Item
No.: |
N/A |
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Prepared
By: |
Jonathan
Lear |
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 January through March
2025 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 9-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 January through March 2025 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 9-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 November
2024. Cal-Am’s
annual Main system production from the Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System
(MPWRS) for Water Year (WY) 2025 will not exceed 3,376 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 3,376 AF from the Carmel
River as set by WRO 2016-16. Additional
water projects and water rights available are an estimated 1,050 AF of Pure
Water Monterey Injection over this quarter, an estimated 3,677 AF from ASR Phase 1 and 2 storage remaining
from WY 2022, 2023, and 2024 injection are available but is being banked for
drought reserve, an estimated 75 AF from the Sand City Desalination Plant,
and an estimated 138 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 1,050 AF of Pure Water Monterey and recover about 1,050 AF. 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.
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 9-B, Quarterly
Water Supply Strategy
Report: January
to March 2025.
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 and the Upper Valley wells will be used to
support ASR injection.
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 2024. 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.
9-A Quarterly Water Supply Strategy
and Budget for Cal-Am Main System:
January to March 2025
9-B Quarterly Water
Supply Strategy
and Budget Report: January to March 2024
U:\staff\Boardpacket\2024\12162024\Public
Hearings\09\Item-9.docx