September 26, 2003

 

Board of Directors

Monterey Peninsula Water

Management District

P.O. Box 85

Monterey, CA  93942

 

Dear Members of the Board:

 

The following significant events or issues are provided for your information.  If you have any questions, please contact me.  I will be in the District office on Monday, September 29 and Tuesday, September 30, 2003.  You can reach me at the District office at (831) 658-5650.  My email address is fran@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.  I will be in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, October 1, 2003, please contact me at 831-809-4209.   On Thursday, October 2 and Friday, October 3, I will be in Costa Mesa at an ACWA Continuing Legal Education Conference.  In my absence, Rick Dickhaut will serve as Acting General Manager.  Please contact Rick at 658-5615 or rick@mpwmd.dst.ca.us. 

 

1.                Water Supply Project EIR:  District staff and consultants continued work on the Draft EIR.  Staff focused on indirect effects of water supply alternatives on river hydrology and the steelhead fishery.  Consultants focused on direct effects of desalination alternatives on Seaside Basin hydrology and related issues.  A check for $76,537 was received from California-American Water Company (Cal-Am).  Cal-Am has now paid in full for reimbursement invoices to date.  A final billing for the July 1-August 18, 2003 period is being prepared for transmittal to Cal-Am.

 

2.                Progress on Fisheries Analysis for Water Supply EIR:  Staff is preparing a memorandum to the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) and NOAA-Fisheries regarding simplification of the impact analysis for steelhead.  Although completion of the memorandum has been delayed due to work on other tasks, staff is working on the impact analysis in order to meet a September 26, 2003 goal for completion of this work and preparation of the Draft Water Supply Project EIR (DWSPEIR).  Staff will submit the memo to the agencies after completion of the impact analysis.  Following review of the memorandum and comments by agency staff, District staff will make any recommended revisions during the comment period on the DWSPEIR. Contact Dave Dettman at 658-5643/dave@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

3.                Seaside Basin Injection Project Update:  Recovery operations at the Santa Margarita Test Injection Well continued this week, with a total of approximately 130 acre-feet pumped since recovery testing began on September 3, 2003.  Staff plans to continue the testing until at least 200% of the WY 2003 injected volume is recovered, which is projected to occur in late October.  Accordingly, we will be requesting an extension to the temporary permit from the California Department of Health Services to allow the recovery testing to proceed beyond the current October 3 deadline.  Our request will be accompanied by extensive water quality testing results that have been collected since the recovery testing began.  Contact Joe Oliver at 658-5640/joe@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

4.                Request for Meeting with State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB):  Attached is a letter dated September 25, 2003, from General Manager Farina to Harry Schueller requesting a meeting to discuss the District’s applications that are pending before the SWRCB and other issues.  Contact Andy Bell at 658-5620/andy@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

5.                San Clemente Dam Remediation: On September 5, 2003, District staff (Fuerst and Hampson) attended a conference sponsored by the Carmel River Watershed Council (CRWC) regarding remediation of the safety deficiencies at Cal-Am's San Clemente Dam and related opportunities for watershed restoration in the Carmel River Basin.  Representatives from the Department of Water Resources, Division of Safety of Dams, Cal-Am, US Army Corps of Engineers, California Resources Agency, and the Coastal Conservancy presented information regarding the dam safety issue at San Clemente Dam and the current Reservoir Drawdown Program, options for remediating the safety deficiencies, opportunities for related watershed restoration, and possible funding sources. The conference included a tour of San Clemente Dam and the Camp Stephani area.  A summary of the conference presentations is attached.  Contact Darby Fuerst at 658-5651/darby@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

6.                Resolution of Seaside et al v. MPWMD Lawsuit:  The case filed by six cities against the District challenging the enactment of Ordinance No. 102 which terminated the water credit transfer program has been dismissed with prejudice.  The District had filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the case because it had become moot.  Apparently the cities agreed since they requested dismissal.  Contact Fran Farina at 658-5650/fran@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

7.                Water Distribution Systems:  Staff and IDias Consulting met with the General Manager to begin consolidating available information on water distribution systems and subdivision water use.  The purpose of this effort is to highlight existing imbalances between planned and actual water use, and the need for consistent permit conditions and enforcement to ensure adequate water is available for each legal lot within a water system or subdivision.  Once data is consolidated and analyzed, staff plans to prepare recommended action for policy-maker consideration.  Contact Joe Oliver at 658-5640/joe@mpwmd.dst.ca.us. 

 

8.                CEQA Compliance:  Staff commented on the Marina Coast Water District's Notice of Preparation on its Regional Urban Water Augmentation Project (letter attached).  The project is aimed at providing 2,400 acre-feet per year of additional water supplies to the Marina and former Fort Ord areas, including 300 acre-feet per year within Cal-Am’s Monterey Division service area.  Primary project alternatives are recycled wastewater from the regional treatment plant at Marina and seawater desalination.  Contact Henrietta Stern at 658-5621/henri@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

9.                Annual Water Production Reporting:  As part of the District's Well Registration and Well Reporting program, staff prepared and mailed letters for owners and operators of approximately 880 water production facilities, i.e., wells and surface water diversions, registered within the District.  The mailing is timed to provide water production information for Water Year 2003, which covers the period from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003.  Letters for Cal-Am production facilities and 38 other wells that District staff monitors will be mailed after September 30, 2003.  Contact Tom Lindberg at 658-5642/tom@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

10.             NOAA Fisheries Letter Regarding Carmel River Lagoon:  By letter dated September 18, 2003 (attached), NOAA Fisheries expressed concern regarding management of the Carmel River Lagoon, and indicated it would like to convene a meeting of regulatory agencies to clarify and delineate respective roles and responsibilities.  In response to certain statements in the letter, the General Manager sent a written response (attached) requesting retraction or clarification.  Contact Andy Bell at 658-5620/andy@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

11.             2003 Rescue Season and Cal-Am Reservoir Releases:  Since June 30, 2003, approximately 55,000 fish have been rescued from the lower six and one-half miles of stream. Rescues are currently on hold, as District staff and Cal-Am’s dam operator attempt to keep the riverfront stable in the reach downstream of  Cal-Am’s Schulte Well at River Mile 6.5.  On Tuesday, September 23, 2003, in response to staff’s request, Cal-Am’s operator reduced the flow release from Los Padres Dam by 0.5 cubic feet per second (cfs) to compensate for a portion of the 2 cfs increase that was made during the second week of September.  Currently, staff is monitoring flow conditions at the riverfront with the goal of making further reductions in releases to conserve storage in Los Padres Reservoir.  Contact Dave Dettman at 658-5643/dave@mpwmd.dst.ca.us, or Cory Hamilton at 658-5646/cory@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

12.             Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility (Facility): Currently, the Facility is in production mode and the cooling tower is operating.  By August 31, 2003, staff had stocked approximately 28,500 fish at the Facility.

 

On Sunday evening, September 14, at 09:30 PM staff was alerted by an alarm call from Sleepy Hollow.  As reported last week, Pump No. 5 had failed, due to a primary seal, which was ordered on Monday, September 15, 2003.  The seal did not arrive at Alsop Pump Inc. until Friday morning, September 19 and was installed in the pump by noon that same day.  Due to the importance of this pump, staff decided to immediately reinstall the pump and completed the reinstall by COB on Friday.  Contact Dave Dettman at 658-5643/dave@mpwmd.dst.ca.us, or Beverly Chaney at 658-5644/Beverly@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

13.             Carmel River Watershed Assessment:  The Carmel River Watershed Council has requested that the District assist in conducting an environmental and biological assessment of portions of the Carmel River watershed.  Assessment tasks would include gathering and analyzing biological, geomorphic, and riparian data along the main stem of the Carmel River.  Information would be used in an overall

assessment of watershed conditions.  The estimated cost for District staff time is approximately $48,000, for which MPWMD would be reimbursed through the Carmel River Watershed Conservancy (the Council administers the Conservancy).  District staff expects to present the CRWC’s proposal in the form of a contract for services at the October 30, 2003 Board meeting.  Contact Andy Bell at 658-5620/andy@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

14.             Resolution 2003-08 Regarding ACWA Election:  On September 15, 2003, the Board adopted Resolution 2003-08 recommending the nomination of Greg Zlotnick to the position of ACWA President.  Following the Board meeting, staff learned that Mr. Zlotnick sought the position of ACWA Vice President.   Resolution 2003-08 was revised and transmitted to ACWA.  A copy of the revised resolution is attached.  Contact Arlene Tavani at 658-5652/arlene@mpwmd.dst.ca.us.

 

15.             Ex-Parte Communications List:  Attached for your review is the list of persons subject to ex parte communications rules.  The list was last updated on September 19, 2003.

 

16.             Letters Received:  Enclosed are three letters received between September 15 and September 24, 2003.

 

17.             Important Dates:

·             Water Demand Committee                                                       October 10, 2003               8:15AM

·             Administrative Committee                                                         October 14, 2003               8:15 AM

·             Closed Session of the Board                                                   October 20, 2003               6:30 PM

·             Regular Board Meeting                                                             October 20, 2003               7:00 PM

·             EIR Update Meeting                                                                  October 30, 2003               5:15 PM

·             Special Board Meeting                                                             October 30, 2003               7:00 PM

                                                                          

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Fran Farina

General Manager

 

Attachments:        September 25, 2003 Letter to Harry Schueller, SWRCB

Memo from Darby Fuerst re San Clemente Dam, Carmel River Watershed Conference

               September 24, 2003 Letter to Dave Meza, Marina Coast Water District

               September 18, 2003 Letter from Patrick Rutten, NOAA Fisheries

               September 26, 2003 Letter to Patrick Rutten, NOAA Fisheries                                   

               MPWMD Resolution No. 2003-08

               September 9, 2003 Letter from Janice M. O’Brien

               September 17, 2003 Letter from Leda Jelinek

               September 22, 2003 Letter from Steve Matarazzo

               List of Projects Subject to Ex Parte Communications Rules