HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-06-26; Municipal Water District; 030; Request-Confirm Intent to Purchase Reclaimed Water:MWD - AGENDA BILL L
AB# 030 TITLE:
MTG.6/26/90 REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO CONFIRM
DEPT.ADMIN. . INTENT TO PURCHASE RECLAIMED WATER
DED ACTION:
Authorize the General Manager to confirm Carlsbad Municipal Water District's intent to purchase reclaimed water from the Leucadia County Water District for distribution to the La Costa Hotel and Spa for use on its golf course.
ITEM EXPLANATION
As a part of Phase I of the Reclaimed Water Master Plan, La Costa Hotel and Spa will be served with reclaimed water for their golf course irrigation. The north 15 holes will be served by a connection from the Meadowlark Reclamation Facility of the Vallecitos Water District. The remaining holes will be served by the,.Gafner Reclamation Facilities of the Leucadia County Water District.
Leucadia County Water District presently has an application in for a low interest loan to upgrade their treatment facility to Title 22 standards for reclaimed water. In accordance with the Phase I program of the Master Plan, Carlsbad Municipal Water District will purchase reclaimed water from the Leucadia County Water District for resale to La Costa Hotel and Spa for use on their golf course.
In order for the Leucadia County Water District to proceed to secure their loan, a letter of intent to purchase reclaimed water is needed from CMWD.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact as a result of this action. However, there will be an impact when a contract to purchase is negotiated and presented to the Board for approval. The impact of that agreement is not known at this time.
June 18, l-990
TO:
FROM:
Executive Manager, C.M.W.D.
Administrative Manager, C.M.W.D.
WATER FACT SHEET
Introduction
In light of recent activities by state regarding the current water supply situation, a summary of some historical information
and local agencies staff has developed pertaining to the institutional relationships of water purveyors throughout Southern California, as well as various other water issues that are confronting us today. Those areas to be discussed include current status of regional and local situations regarding storage, distribution and acquisition of the potable water
suPPlY*
Institutional Relationships
The District has expended immeasurable amounts of time and money into the development of a water system that provides water of sufficient quantity and excellent quality. However, all of the planning done at our level may be in vein if supplies available to the District are reduced due to earthquake, drought or any other reason. With the exception of a relatively small amount of well and reclaimed water use within the City, there are no other reliable sources of water available at this time. Therefore, the District must depend upon the San Diego County Water Authority (S.D.C.W.A.), who, in turn, contracts with the Metropolitan Water District (M.W.D.), and most importantly, Mother Nature for its water supply.
M.W.D. was created in 1928 to provide a supplemental water supply for Southern California's coastal plain. Spanning more than 5,200 square miles, M.W.D. delivers water to 27 member agencies consisting of 14 cities, 12 municipal water districts and the San Diego County Water Authority. These member agencies then distribute the water supply for 240 cities and unincorporated communities in six Southern California counties. M.W.D. currently supplies about half of the water used by its : service area and is expected to deliver nearly all of the anticipated increase in future water demands. These demands are met by utilizing two major water sources - the Colorado River Aqueduct and the State Water Project.
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At the County - :vel, the San Diego Coul 1 Water Authority (S\D.C.W.A.) is responsible for distribution of the water supply The S.D.C.W.A. was formed in 1944 under the County Water Authority Act of 1943. S.D.C.W.A. consists of six cities, three water districts, two irrigation districts, ten municipal water districts, and the County of San Diego in an ex-officio capacity. Such an organization was needed for the prime purpose of importing Colorado River water to San Diego in order to augment local water supplies which were rapidly becoming inadequate. The S.D.C.W.A. encompasses 907,634 acres with an estimated population of 2.5 million. The Authority operates a distribution system that- receives M.W.D. supplies from Lake Skinner, in Riverside County, and distributes the supply to member agencies throughout San Diego County.
The last piece in the puzzle is the local purveyors. In Carlsbad the primary purveyor is the Carlsbad Municipal Water District. The District was formed in 1954 and presently serves 85% of the geographic area within the City of Carlsbad. The remaining 15% is served by the Olivenhain Municipal Water District and the Vallecitos County Water District. The District imports virtually all of its annual demands of 5.7 billion gallons for its service area of over 20,000 acres with an estimated population of 54,000.
Water Supply, Storage and Distribution
As of April 1, 1990, (the most recent compilation of figures available), the water supply outlook remained bleak. A lack of rain in many areas in December, normally one of the wettest months, started the backslide. January, February and March all provided below normal rainfall. While a series of spring storms staved off more immediate concerns, they left little in the form of bankable supplies. And with the bulk of the "weather" season over, few are anticipating any last minute bail-outs. Sierra snowpack, which provides much of the spring runoff that is captured in the state's reservoirs, is much below normal. In a normal year, the seasonal snowpack remaining on California's mountains is at its peak around April 1. This year snowpack peaked in early March, and by April 1 was half of normal. The April 1 water year runoff forecast predicted a meager 40 percent of average for the year. For informational purposes only, the rainfall record for San Diego has been included as Appendix A.
The Colorado River serves as a major source of water for much of southern California. In years past, California has been able to use amounts in excess of its allotted 4.4 million acre feet (1 acre foot = approx. 326,000 gallons) because of a surplus on the river and the fact that other states were not using their apportionments. In 1989 the three lower basin states used their full allotment for the:first .time. Most significantly, the Central Arizona Project has come on line and as more and more water is channeled off to Arizona, less is available for California.
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M.W.D. is hit hard by this situation. Fourth in priority out of seven California entitlements on the Colorado River, M.W.D.'s entitlement to the Colorado is 550,000 acre feet annually. But the M.W.D.' s system can transport 1.2 to 1.3 million acre feet annually.
The State Water Project also plays a role in long-term water supply problems of the state as well. The Project was originally conceived to provide 4.2 million acre feet by transporting supplies from the northern sections to the southern sections of the state. The project has yet to be completed due to political impasses and environmental concerns. Although municipal customers senred by the State Water Project appear to be safe from cutbacks this year, reductions are planned in agricultural deliveries, in some areas as much as 50%.
At the local level the S.D.C.W.A. has been pursuing the siting of a large storage facility within the County. This effort has been relatively unsuccessful so far. One of the more feasible projects is the Mt. Israel Reservoir. Although not large enough to provide storage for the entire county, this facility is planned to create emergency storage of as much as 26,000 acre feet for use by north San Diego County agencies, including C.M.W.D.. The initial study is being developed by Olivenhain Municipal Water District as the lead agency on this project.
Within the boundaries of the City, a growth management standard of 10 days of storage capacity has been set. The 10 day standard was developed by the Planning Department with concurrence from the Engineering Department of C.M.W.D. The standard represents the length of aqueduct shutdowns for scheduled or even moderate emergency conditions. As evidenced by the institutional relationships previously outlined, the District must rely on other agencies for acquisition of its water supply. Therefore, the standard exists for storage capacity. The S.D.C.W.A. has recently requested that each of its member agencies develop a similar 10 day storage capacity standard. The C.M.W.D. currently maintains 14.5 days of storage capacity within its service area. The District's capital improvement plan recommend facilities that will keep the day of storage capacity above the 10 day benchmark through buildout. Calculations done by staff estimate storage capacity in other Districts within Carlsbad to be approximately 6.3 days for Olivenhain M.W.D. and 3.6 days for Vallecitos.
Another major component of the capital improvement plans of both the S.D.C.W.A. and C.M.W.D. is improvements within the distribution system. A problem just as significant for the S.D.C.W.A. as the supply shortage is the "bottlenecksl' that occur within the distribution system. The aqueducts are running at i volumes above design capacity on numerous occasions during the year.
On a smaller s Ale, the C.M.W.D. most critical lines within its system.
is ret,acing one of the
The pipeline in El Camino Real between Tamarack Ave. and Marron Rd. is scheduled for replacement during the 1990-91 fiscal year. This will be the last waterline to be replaced on the portion of El Camino Real north of Palomar Airport Road.
As previously mentioned, M.W.D. is the sole source of supplemental water to the Authority and provides an average of 90% of its water. The member agencies of the Water Authority use approximately 27.5 percent of M.W.D.'s supply. The S.D.C.W.A. has a preferential right to 11.23 percent of M.W.D.*s total supply. M.W.D. has never invoked preferential rights as a basis for curtailment of water deliveries. However, that situation may soon change due to requests for additional deliveries to Los Angeles to supplement the amount of water lost in the court decision regarding the Mono Lake basin. The supplies received by San Diego in excess of the preferential right have come from rights held by other agencies such as Los Angeles.
Another way to increase supply is to reduce current demands through various conservation measures. A comprehensive list of measures have been forwarded to staff for review ,by the Water Commission, and ultimately for consideration by the Board of Directors. In order to target consumers that may provide the greatest water savings, the types of users must be considered. Major classifications of users within the District's service area are:
Residential 42% Commercial 25% Agriculture 15% Irrigation 12% Industrial 6%
One 'measure in determining the effectiveness of such programs is to analyze the trend in per capita demands. The following list displays this information:
‘79-‘80 357 gal/day f80-'81 330 !' '81-'82 312 11 '82-'83 285 " /83-'84 294 "
'84-'85 '85-'86 '86-'87 '87-'88 ' 88-'89
303 gal/day 294 " 276 " 276 tt 267 tt
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The most recen attempt to encourage the efficient use of waker was the declaration of a Stage II-Water Alert. The purpose of this stage is to promote a new water ethic in Carlsbad. The District's Emergency Water Management Ordinance incorporates four increasingly severe stages of water usage restrictions. In graphic form, they are displayed in Appendix B.
The declaration of the Stage II Water Alert has reaffirmed the District's commitment to public education. The District currently has programs aimed at a variety of water users. Resources are now available to expand upon the current public information activities. The District has recently filled an Administrative Analyst position to carry out the public information programs. As previously mentioned, a number of new programs have been proposed by the Board of Directors. These proposed programs include an increasing block water rate structure, system leak detection, and residential water audits, to mention a few. Staff has evaluated all of these programs and will be making recommendations to the Water Commission at their June 20, meeting.
The Emergency Water Management Ordinance deals with existing consumers and their water habits. However, through the City's planning and engineering departments, an option exists to condition new development to include the installation of water conserving fixtures. Currently, the City of Carlsbad complies with all applicable laws pertaining to the installation of water conserving devices. In addition, research is being conducted to revise these standards to include increasingly stringent provisions.
Another method to reduce demands upon the potable water supplies is through the creation of a dependable reclaimed water system. Carlsbad is in a unique situation where there are a number of local reclaimed water sources. A draft Reclaimed Water Master Plan is complete, and currently under review by a number of local agencies prior to submittal to the Board of Directors. Approval of this document is scheduled for mid to late summer of 1990.
The aforementioned information gives a broad overview of crucial topics facing the water industry in the days of a fourth year drought. Representatives from the District are constantly responding to requests for information of this type from the public. Hopefully, this document would provide a good base of information to assist all of us in dealing with these vital issues.
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Geoffrey Poole
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June 20, 1990
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* FOR THE INFORMATION OF
THE CITY COUNCIL
TO: EXECUTIVE MANAGER, C.M.W.D.
FROM: ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER, C.M.W.D.
PUBLIC INFORMATION UPDATE - STAGE II-WATER ALERT
Some significant actions have been taken regarding the public education efforts in conjunction with the recently declared Stage II-Water Alert. Most significantly, enough time has elapsed that we can now estimate water savings. Factoring in the effects of growth and weather patterns in Carlsbad, a 9.1% reduction in demands has been observed during the month of May, when compared to previous demands during the same time period . One might ask how this was accomplished. The District has committed a tremendous amount of time, money and effort during May in a variety of areas. This memorandum will outline all activities performed during the month of May and through June 20. For the purpose of this document, the activities are segregated into two categories - public information and ordinance enforcement.
PUBLIC INFORMATION
** Attended the Carlsbad Village Faire where over 3,300 pieces of various water conservation materials were distributed
** Responded to over 200 telephone requests from consumers requesting further information regarding the restrictions
** Placed advertisements in San Diego Union, Tribune and Blade Citizen on Stage II (attached)
** Developed and produced 30,000 copies of a brochure detailing specific information that pertains to the Stage II declaration (attached)
** Mailed an average of 30 water conservation kits per day to consumers since distribution of brochure
** Distributed 645 table tents to local restaurants stressing the need for water conservation
ENFORCEMENT
** Committed over 280 staff hours to patrol the area in search of water wasters
** Contacted over 140 residents during patrols discussions regarding Stage II
** Responded to over 60 reports of water waste
District service
in face-to-face
** Expanded patrols to include weekends and evenings
** Provided customers with over 500 pieces of information during patrols
SUY
An encouraging fact is that the District has received positive comments from consumers who have been contacted during the patrols. The level of acceptance of all of these activities has been quite remarkable. This evidence seems to indicate that the residents of Carlsbad are concerned with the current water supply situation, and they are willing to take positive summer progresses, staff will keep your office situation.
actions. As the informed on the
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