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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-07-23; Municipal Water District; 340; Water District Transferi .-- -fW@ CARLSbAD MUNICIPAL WATER DlSTrdCT -AGENDA BILL AB# 340 TITLE: DEPT. HD. . MTG. 7123196 WATER DISTRICT TRANSFER BETWEEN THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY olTy ATTY . DEPT. CMWD AND THE IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT CITYMGR. ?b% RECOMMENDED ACTION: This is an informational item only. No action is requested. I ITEM EXPLANATION: At last weeks CMWD Board meeting staff presented an informational update on the potential Imperial Irrigation District water transfer. As a follow-up to that presentation, Mr.*Mark Watton will be present at this Board meeting to make a presentation to the Board on this IID issue. Mr. Watton is Board Chair of the County Water Authority representing the Otay Water District. He also serves on the Metropolitan Water District Board, representing the County Water Authority . A copy of last weeks agenda bill is attached for the Board’s reference at this meeting. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact. EXHIBIT: 1. Agenda Bill No. 335. AB# 335 TITLE: UPDATE OF THE PROPOSED WATER MTG. 07/l 6/96 TRANSFER BETWEEN THE SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY (CWA) AND DEPT. CMWD THE IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT (IID) -.. CARLZ,uAD MUNICIPAL WATER DIS I RICT - AGENDA BILL DEPT. HD. CITY ATTY. 1 CITY MGR. w RECOMMENDED ACTION: This is an informational item only. No action requested. ITEM EXPbNATION: In February 1996, staff presented an update to the Board on the potential plans for water transfer between the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) and the Imperial Irrigation District (IID). The CWA and IID entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a water transfer agreement for up to 500,000 acre feet of water from the Imperial Valley. This MOU is supposed to detail the amount of water to be transferred, the terms of the agreement, the price of the water to be transferred and an enforcement mechanism. New Aqueduct Alternative The CWA has investigated the feasibility of transferring water from the Imperial Valley to the San Diego area. There are two potential alternatives. If the amount of water transferred is about 400,000 to 500,000 acre feet per year, it may be feasible to construct a new aqueduct from Imperial Valley to the San Diego area. The CWA has hired a consultant to determine the preliminary feasibility and approximate cost of a new aqueduct. The consultant studied several possible routes and has determined a range of costs from 1.9 billion dollars to 3.5 billion dollars for the construction. If a new aqueduct is constructed, the alternate selected would probably deliver water to the South County portion of the San Diego area. If this is the case, then it would be logical to bring the water into the San Vicente Reservoir which would act as a terminus reservoir. In order to get water to North County, the water would have to be pumped through very large pumps. This water would not be treated water. Since the CWA is not planning to treat this water, the “treated wdter agencies”(such as Carlsbad) would continue to receive treated water from the Metropolitan Water District (Met). “Wheelinca “ Alternative Usinq the Colorado River Aqueduct (CRAI If the amount of water to be transferred is significantly less than the 400,000 to 500,000 acre feet per year, it would not be feasible to transport this water through a new aqueduct because the cost per acre foot would be prohibitive. A. better solution, in CWA’s view, would be the “wheeling” of this water through the existing Colorado Aqueduct. When approached with the _ question of what this wheeling charge would be, Met and the CWA had substantial differences as to the calculation of this proposed ‘wheeling” charge, Should the CWA be successful in obtaining a water transfer agreement with IID, the water purchases from Metropolitan could be substantially reduced thereby decreasing the revenue necessary to fund Met’s capital improvement program, a program that would still benefit the CWA, as well as the other Met agencies. As a result, the CWA made a proposal to Metropolitan at a special Board of Directors meeting on April 30, 1996. A summary of that proposal is as follows: - Page 2 of Agenda Bill No. ,3 3 ~5’ Authority commits to purchase from Met a minimum of 400,000 acre foot per year. Commencing after 2010, Authority would deliver to Met for transport through the CRA up to an additional -200,000 acre feet per year in exchange for delivery by Met of equivalent amounts on a space-available basis. Cost of.exchange water delivery is variable because fixed costs should be covered by annual “requirement” purchases and Met “premium” water charges. Met would put in place contracts for agricultural water discounts. Met would support Authority transfer facility and Authority willingness to discuss storage opportunities. Support for River re-operation and banking per California position. Provisions for dispute resolution. Resolution of Issues These and other issues have caused difference of opinion between CWA and Met, and must be addressed in order for the proposed water transfer to be successful. In addition, there are concerns that member agencies of the CWA have that must also be addressed so that an informed decision concerning the proposed water transfer can be made. CMWD staff continues to have some concerns and questions that must be addressed as well. Some of these are as follows: + Should IID water transfer prove to be viable, facilities probably would be constructed to bring water into South County. As a result, this water would have to be pumped to North County member agencies. However, the water would not be treated and therefore Carlsbad would, continue to receive treated water from Met. It would appear that Carlsbad would have to pay for the capital program for Met and for the CWA which would include the IID water transfer project, although Carlsbad would receive no direct benefit from the water transfer. + Should the IID water transfer prove viable, the amount of water purchased from IID plus the supplemental water purchased from Met would provide 100% reliability. Will CWA continue to provide incentives (e.g., rebates, etc.) to member agencies for the continued development of local supplies such as reclaimed water? Since Carlsbad is ready to embark on a $20 million Phase 2 of its reclaimed water master plan, the present program of rebates from CWA and Met are needed to make the project feasible. .- Page 3 of Agenda Bill No. 33? + The proposed water transfer from IID is estimated to cost from $1.9 billion to $3.5 billlion. This does not include the cost of purchasing the water from IID. The Emergency Storage Project (ESP) is estimated to cost $525000,000. With Carlsbad’s ultimate water usage calculated at approximately 3.4Ok of CWA’s total water sales, Carlsbad’s share of the capital costs would amount to over $80,000,000. These costs do not include the costs of operation and maintenance nor the interest for financing these projects. What is the total estimated cost per acre foot for these projects? + Should CWA enter into an agreement with IID, it is anticipated that the term of this agreement will be for a 50 to 100 year period. Is it wise to commit to an agreement for this long term given the possibility that desalination may become less costly than the water transferred from IID? For the upcoming Board meeting of July 23, 1996, staff has arranged for Mark Watton, Board Chairman of the CWA and a Met Director, to be present to make a presentation to the Board on this subject. The information in this agenda bill is to inform the Board in advance of some of these issues and to provide a basis for discussion of the concerns and questions to be addressed at the July 23 meeting. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact. EXHIBITS: None. San Diego County Water Authority and Imperial Irrigation District JOINT RESOLUTION Addressing Cooperative Water Conservation and Transfer Program This Joint Resolution is adopted by the San Diego County Water Authority (“Authority”) this - day of July, 1996, and the Imperial Irrigation District (“District”) this day of July 1996. The Authority and the District are sometimes referred to in this Glution as the “Parties” and as the “Agencies.” RECITALS WHEREAS, on September 19, 1995, the Parties entered a Memorandum of Understanding.memorializing their intention to jointly explore the viability of a cooperative program for water conservation within the District and for the delivery of a portion of the Districts entitlement to Colorado River water to the Authority; WHEREAS, the District seeks to protect the District’s water rights and improve the economic well being of the Imperial Valley by conserving water and promoting and . supporting opportunities for the delivery of water supplies to the Authority; WHEREAS, the Authority seeks a long-term water supply of 500,000 acre-feet to allow for appropriate long-term planning and that is reliable, certain and specific as to quantity and quality and affordable and certain as to cost to meet San Diego County’s need, as well as for the general well being of Southern California; WHEREAS, the Parties have committed themselves to an open and complete dialog with those who would be impacted through such a program; WHEREAS, the Boards of Directors of the Agencies have provided policy direction to their respective staffs to develop the essential terms of the agreements which would implement such a program; WHEREAS, staffs have conducted technical studies and participated in extensive public outreaach programs to identify a possible framework for program implementation; ‘WHEREAS, staffs have prepared a draft of “Summary of Draft Terms” for consideration by the Boards of Directors and the broader communities of interest; and WHEREAS, the Parties desire that the Summary of Draft Terms be given broad review and consideration and, based upon the outcome of that review, possibly form the basis for the final agreements necessary for implementation of a Cooperative Water Conservation and Transfer Program. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the staffs of the Authority and the District are directed to proceed as follows: 1. Disseminate broadly the draft Summary of Draft Terms and seek the views of interested parties as to any areas of concern which the Boards of Directors of the Agencies should take into consideration as they act in the future; 2. Brief the Boards of Directors of the Agencies on the input received from interested parties; and 3. Based upon the results obtained from actions 1 and 2, above, prepare a form of such final agreements that would be necessary for implementation. IN WITNESS THEREOF, the Parties have approved this Joint Resolution as of the day and year first written above. SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT By: Mark Watton, Chairman By: William R. Condit, President ATTEST: Secretary ATTEST: Secretary