CC 2013-03-26_08.h. Letter of Support for Nipomo Water Supply ProjectMEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: TERESA MCCLISH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THE NI POMO
PHASED SUPPLEMENTAL WATER SUPPLY PROJECT
DATE: MARCH 26, 2013
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council submit the attached letter of support for the
Nipomo Community Services District Phased Supplemental Water Supply Project to the
Board of Directors of the Nipomo Community Services District.
IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES:
No Fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
In 2008, a Judgment was entered for the adjudication of the Santa Maria Groundwater
Basin. As part of that Judgment, the Nipomo Community Services District (NCSD) must
purchase and deliver a minimum of 2,500 acre-feet of supplemental water each year to the
Nipomo Mesa. Additionally, in participation with other staff from neighboring jurisdictions
as part of the Northern Cities Management Area (NCMA)Technical Advisory Group, staff
and consultants have agreed that the supplemental water provided by the proposed
Nipomo Supplemental Water Supply Project would significantly help increase water
reliability of the City's groundwater supply. In 2004, the NCSD and the City of Santa Maria
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to establish contract conditions for 3,000
acre-feet of water per year from the City of Santa Maria. In 2010, an Environmental Impact
Report was certified for the project. The project was dependent upon a vote to form an
assessment district. However, in November 2012, the vote failed.
ANALYSIS OF ISSUES:
The City relies upon the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin for a large part of its water
supply. The long term reliability of this regional resource is potentially threatened by a
deepening groundwater depression underlying Nipomo resulting from localized
groundwater pumping. In 2011, the Nipomo Supplemental Water Supply Project included
the construction of a pipeline and pumping facilities so that Nipomo could receive water
from the City of Santa Maria. This would have allowed Nipomo to utilize a mix of
groundwater and over 2,500 acre-feet of supplemental water that would alleviate an
existing imbalance of water supply and demand. Since the 2012 assessment vote did not
pass, the NCSD has further proposed to phase their supplemental water project to include
the pipeline connection to the City of Santa Maria to allow approximately 650-900 acre-feet
Item 8.h. - Page 1
CITY COUNCIL
CONSIDERATION LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THE NI POMO SUPPLEMENTAL
WATER SUPPLY PROJECT
MARCH 26, 2013
PAGE2
of water for the first phase. Future phases would include infrastructure within Nipomo's
distribution system that would provide the full capacity of water to be transferred from
Santa Maria. Although phased, the project would allow a progressive response to alleviate
a growing groundwater depression caused by pumping in excess of recharge and provide a
necessary step towards gaining the stipulated amount of supplemental water in the future.
As the Supplemental Vvater Project is phased, it is critically important that prudent water
conservation and planning continue. As such, the NCMA agencies recommend that the
NCSD avoid further increasing the deficit between water demand and available supply and
suspend new water connections. Further, in early 2013, a Supplemental Water
Alternatives Evaluation Committee (SWAEC) was established and recently developed a
final report that outlined recommendations for significant water conservation related
activities.
The NCMA support letter outlines the urgency for reduced pumping in the NMMA and
support for the phased Supplemental Water Project as a feasible and critical first step.
Additionally, the letter emphasizes the importance of regulating additional water
connections and aggressive conservation consistent with the SWAEC recommendations.
Other NCMA jurisdictions will be considering letters of support of the NCSD project in
upcoming weeks.
ALTERNATIVES:
The following alternatives are provided for the Council's consideration:
• Authorize the Mayor to sign and submit the proposed letter to the NCSD;
• Modify and authorize the Mayor to sign and submit the proposed letter;
• Do not authorize the Mayor to sign and submit the proposed letter ; or
• Provide staff direction.
ADVANTAGES:
Submitting the proposed letter supporting the Nipomo Phased Supplemental Water Supply
Project is consistent with the terms of the 2008 Judgment for the Santa Maria Groundwater
Basin. The project would increase water reliability for the City's groundwater supply and
the Project continues to be an urgent first step for sustainable groundwater resources in
southern San Luis Obispo County.
DISADVANTAGES:
The NCSD Supplemental Water Supply Project will be costly for NCSD residents.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
No environmental review is required for this item.
Item 8.h. - Page 2
CITY COUNCIL
CONSIDERATION LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THE NIPOMO SUPPLEMENTAL
WATER SUPPLY PROJECT
MARCH 26, 2013
PAGE2
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS:
The Agenda was posted in front of City Hall on Thursday, March 21, 2013. The Agenda
and staff report were posted on the City's website on Friday, March 22, 2013. No public
comments were received.
Attachment:
Draft letter of Support for the Nipomo Supplemental Water Suppiy Project
Item 8.h. - Page 3
March, 2013
Nipomo Community Services District Board of Directors
P.O. Box 326
Nipomo, CA 93444-0326
SUBJECT: Letter of Support for the Nipomo Phased Supplemental Water Project and Other
Groundwater Restoration Projects
Dear Honorable Directors,
This letter communicates the City of Arroyo Grande support for the Nipomo Community Services
District's (NCSD) Phased Supplemental Water Project and outlines why this project is so critically
important to the health of the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin (SMGB).
The Northern Cities Management Area (NCMA) agencies, consisting of the Oceano Community Services
District and the Cities of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and Pismo Beach, rely upon groundwater within
the SMGB as a crucial component of their water supply portfolio. For nearly 30 years, the NCMA
agencies have limited their pumping and invested in surface water supplies so as to not exceed the safe
yield of the NCMA of the SMGB.
However, the NCMA is not hydrologically isolated from the rest of the SMGB; arid increased growth and
excessive pumping on the Nipomo Mesa have contributed to a deepening groundwater depression
underlying the Nipomo Mess Management Area (NMMA) that threatens the NCMA's groundwater
supplies. This excessive pumping and the associated groundwater depression have eliminated the
historical inflow from the NMMA to the NCMA of approximately 1300 acre-feet per year and threaten to
reverse flow between the two management areas, further reducing the groundwater available to urban
and agriculture users in the NCMA.
To address the pumping in excess of local recharge and the growing groundwater depression in the
NMMA, the Settlement Stipulation and Judgment require the NCSD to purchase and deliver a minimum
of 2,500 acre-feet per year (AFY) of supplemental water to the Nipomo Mesa. The NCMA agencies
support the NCSD's implementation a Supplemental Water Project because it is urgently needed to help
correct the imbalance of water supply and demand in NMMA.
Item 8.h. - Page 4
ATTACHMENT 1
In addition to the development of supplemental water supplies, NCSD and other water purveyors must
prudently manage growth in the NMMA to avoid further increasing the deficit between water demand
and available supply. The NCMA agencies are gravely concerned about the NCSD's Board of Director's
recent action to suspend Ordinance 2012-117 and to begin processing new applications for water
service. While the NCMA agencies support the currently proposed plans to construct a phased
Supplemental Water Project that will deliver approximately 650-900 AFY, they oppose the development
of any additional connections to the NCSD distribution system and any other increasing demands on the
Nipomo Mesa groundwater supply until such time as groundwater pumping in the NMMA no longer
exceeds the supply.
Upon review of the Draft Final Report by the Supplemental Water Alternatives Evaluation Committee
(SWAEC), the NCMA agencies are in support of the committee's recommendations to the NCSD to
develop a groundwater model for the SMGB and for improved water conservation.
Through the SMGB Management Areas Technical Subcommittee, which includes technical
representatives from each of the management areas, the NCMA representatives have advocated for the
coordinated development of a groundwater model for the NCMA and NMMA since 2010. The NCMA
agencies funded the development of an Integrated Regional Water Management Planning Grant
application to characterize the groundwater basin and a Local Groundwater Assistance (LGA) grant
application to develop a Salt and Nutrient Management Plan for the NCMA and NMMA. These projects
were intended to allow the NCMA and NMMA agencies to improve their understanding of the basin's
hydrology and hydrogeology, quantify the safe yield of each of the management areas and protect the
groundwater water quality.
Additionally, the NCMA agencies support the recommendations of the SWAEC for increased
conservation measures by the NCSD. As identified in the Final Draft SWAEC report, conservation in the
NCSD can be improved through implementation of the following measures:
~ Expand membership on the NCSD Water Conservation Committee
~ Re-establish NCSD Water Conservation and Public Outreach Position
~ Provide better public education programs and improve media outreach
~ Become more accessible to community members through events
~ Develop graywater demonstration projects
In closing, the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin is a critical water resource that provides water supplies
to more than 53,000 residents and thousands of acres of irrigated cropland in the NCMA and NMMA.
Pumping in excess of local recharge on the Nipomo Mesa is creating a deepening depression that
threatens the long term reliability of the SMGB. The Nipomo Supplemental Water Supply Project is a
small but urgently necessary first step to begin to address this issue., However, the NMMA must obtain
additional supplemental supplies, coupled with growth management, enhanced conservation, and
improved understanding of the hydrogeology and geology of the groundwater basin -all of these are
urgently needed to restore the sustainability of the NMMA's and the NCMA's groundwater resources.
Item 8.h. - Page 5
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