Water Update #4
The saga continues…
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) released their updated draft Cease and Desist Order (CDO) this week. Hopes for sympathy or some level of practical understanding of impacts associated with its implementation, have disappeared into the vast netherworld of bureaucratic machinations.
The amended document stays the course on previous demands and further defines compliance thresholds and requirements. The draft establishes a 5% reduction (549 ac-ft) starting in October 2009 and cumulatively increases by 121 acre feet each year until 2014, at which point the annual reduction doubles to 242 acre feet annually (afa). This formula assumes that a new water supply will be online sometime in the year 2016, the deadline for by which Cal-Am “shall terminate all unlawful diversions from the river”. The total cumulative reduction in water diverted from the Carmel River will be around 25% by the year 2016.
The modified draft puts the onus of responsibility on Cal-Am, it’s users (us) and local leadership to bring a new water supply online - ideally prior to 2014 when the annual reductions double. The California Public Utilities Commission is set to make a determination sometime early next year as to what project they deem to be most appropriate for the region. At this point, the Regional Project seems to make the most sense, both fiscally and environmentally with the least amount of potential legal challenges associated with it.
Interestingly enough, the revised draft CDO acknowledges and applauds Pebble Beach Company for its use of recycled water, and then goes on to say that no exceptions should be made for the Pebble Beach Company, nor should they (this being property owners in PB) be exempt from MPWMD conservation requirements. Essentially, the CDO is underscoring the state Board’s desire to see a moratorium on any new water connection (or change of use resulting in a water demand increase) prior to a new water supply coming online.
In Summary:
Should the SWRCB adopt the draft revised CDO in October, the amount of water Cal-Am can pull from the Carmel River will be reduced by 5% - starting sometime in October or November 2009 (cumulatively increasing to 25% by 2016). The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) will then most likely set their water rationing level to stage 5, resulting in a moratorium on all new connections along with additional mandatory water conservation measures. Per the MPWMD, there will be a window of approximately 60-90 days before the new conservation requirements will be in place. The timing of all of this is not exact. Should litigation follow ratification of the CDO, a delay in any type of MPWMD water rationing/moratorium plan is almost certain, pending a court decision…this could be decided in weeks, months or years. We will need to modify the County Disclosure based on the outcome of October’s SWRCB meeting - should the CDO be adopted. Proper communication with clients is imperative, and we will continue to disseminate information as it becomes available.
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