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INCORPORATED
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* JULY 10. 1911
cQ41F0 RN�P MEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: TERESA MCCLISH*OMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE 2014
NORTHERN CITIES MANAGEMENT AREA AND STATUS OF
REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER PROJECTS
DATE: JUNE 23, 2015
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council: 1) receive the presentation for the 2014
Northern Cities Management Area (NCMA) annual report; and 2) provide direction to
staff regarding continued collaboration and participation in the regional recycled water
projects.
IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES:
Expenditures associated with the 2014 annual report and related work ($67,148) are
budgeted in the Water Fund as is the City's participation ($40,877) to match grant funds
for the Water Recycling Facilities Planning Grant from the State Water Resources
Control Board with the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District (SSLOCSD).
Staff will be bringing forward the-work program for the 2015 annual report in July or
August. There are no other financial impacts with potential recycled water projects at
this time. Staff resources will continue to be required for participation in ongoing
regional efforts for both the NCMA work and recycled water projects. Addressing water
supply is one of the City's priorities identified in the Critical Needs Action Plan.
BACKGROUND:
NCMA Annual Report
In 2009, a technical group of the NCMA jurisdictions was formed to meet on a monthly
basis to coordinate water sampling and preparation of an annual report required by the
Court's decision in the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin Adjudication. The Technical
Group includes representatives from Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Pismo Beach and
Oceano Community Services District (OCSD). The Technical Group jointly selects
consultants to provide engineering and water resource technical services in order to
meet court ordered requirements for the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin, as well as for
overall water resource planning.
Recycled Water Projects
After studying numerous supplemental water supply options the City has identified
recycled water as a priority. The City's long-term water supply was identified as a
significant issue during development of the City's 2001 General Plan Update. At the
August 24, 2004 meeting, the City Council reviewed a Water Alternatives Study
identifying 17 alternatives for Council consideration. Since that time, a number of
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CITY COUNCIL
PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE NORTHERN CITIES
MANAGEMENT AREA AND STATUS OF REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER
PROJECTS
JUNE 23, 2015
PAGE 2
studies have been completed on the following alternatives:
➢ Nacimiento Water project
➢ Price Canyon oil field
➢ Recycled water
➢ Desalination
➢ Raising of the spillway at the Lopez Lake dam
➢ Acquisition of State water
➢ Lopez Spillway Raise study
In 2008, it was determined the City had utilized 99% of its water entitlements. At the
August 12, 2008 meeting, the City Council approved a Resolution declaring a "severely
restricted water supply condition." Mandatory conservation measures were enacted.
These measures were later made permanent in 2010. Meanwhile, the City's water
conservation program and tiered rate structure were expanded.
In January 2009, the City entered into a 5-year temporary water purchase agreement
with the OCSD, which expired in March of 2014. Well #10 was completed in 2011 and
Well #11 is currently in design and scheduled for completion by the end of 2014. Also in
2009, low groundwater levels and high chloride concentrations from water quality tests
of one of the sentry wells located along the coast gave indications of incipit seawater
intrusion. At the November 10, 2009 meeting, the City Council adopted an Interim
Urgency Ordinance establishing a development moratorium. The moratorium was
extended at the December 8, 2009 and April 13, 2010 meetings. The moratorium later
expired in 2010.
The State of California also enacted the Water Conservation Act in 2009, which
required a reduction of 20% in per capita water use by the year 2020. In June 2010,
staff presented a water analysis and strategies to the City Council, which identified a
projected need of approximately 400 additional acre feet of water to meet the
community's needs when it reaches its buildout population under the current General
Plan. It was agreed to address these needs by expanding water conservation efforts,
seeking the purchase of State water, and continuing work on the potential for a water
recycling project in the future. The City Council directed staff to prepare a ballot
measure for the June 2012 election to enable the purchase of State water. However,
due to a number of concerns, this was later delayed to obtain additional data and further
study other alternatives.
Meanwhile, in 2009 a comprehensive Water Recycling Study was completed, which
was an update to an original study prepared in 2001. Additional studies were prepared
in 2010 to assess the potential for a distribution system from either the South County
Sanitation District or Pismo Beach wastewater treatment plants to potential users.
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PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE NORTHERN CITIES
MANAGEMENT AREA AND STATUS OF REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER
PROJECTS
JUNE 23, 2015
PAGE 3
The limited number of user sites has been a barrier to making installation of a
distribution system for turf irrigation cost effective and.worthwhile. As a result, the recent
focus has been on determining the feasibility of using recycled water to improve
groundwater supply reliability through recharge by injection or surface spreading, crop
irrigation pumping offsets, and/or streamflow augmentation. Among other
recommendations, the 2010 report proposed to:
Conduct additional feasibility studies to address hydrogeologic issues relative to
aquifer recharge. This study is needed to define the locations suitable for injection
or spreading basins, and to consider well locations for possible seawater barrier
protection.
In 2014, the Council directed staff to pursue the following goals:
➢ Meet the City's future projected water demand of its buildout population by;
• Meeting the reduction in per capita use as prescribed in the Water
Conservation Act of 2009;
• Proceeding with work necessary to develop a recycled water project
that can be used to prevent seawater intrusion in order to provide long-
range protection of the City's groundwater supply; and
➢ Ensure water use efficiency and drought protection through regional
conjunctive use, storage and management of surface and groundwater
supplies.
Additionally, in 2014, the Council supported the NCMA Technical Group's Strategic Plan
that provides a framework for identifying common water resource planning goals and
objectives and to establish a 10-year work plan for implementation of those efforts,
including pursuing recycled water options.
In November 2014, the Regional Recycled Water Strategic Plan (RRWSP) was
completed that was one component of an update to the SLO Integrated Regional Water
Management Plan (IRWMP), and was funded by a Round 2 IRWM Regional Planning
Grant from the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) (See Attachment 1 for
the Executive Study). According to the study, the SSLOCSD has the largest volume of
effluent considered in the RRWSP and the largest opportunities for large-scale reuse;
however, landscape irrigation projects are expensive ($3,000+/af) and the more cost
effective reuse opportunities — agricultural irrigation, industrial reuse, groundwater
recharge, seawater intrusion barrier, and surface water augmentation —require
institutional, legal, outreach, and financial planning to be feasible.
In May of 2015, an Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Plan planning grant
funded a groundwater basin characterization study of the Santa Maria Groundwater
Basin. The objectives of the overall study were to compile previous studies and data,
develop a lithologic database and prepare geologic cross-sections, perform and analyze
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PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE NORTHERN CITIES
MANAGEMENT AREA AND STATUS OF REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER
PROJECTS
JUNE 23, 2015
PAGE 4
pumping tests, and evaluate several key hydrogeologic issues for the study area. It is
primarily intended to be a basis for future studies related to a Salt and Nutrient
Management Plan and the development of a numerical groundwater model.
Also in 2015, two specific recycled water projects have emerged as potential regional
projects. The City of Pismo Beach completed a Recycled Water Facilities Planning
Study and the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitary District (SSLOCSD) is
performing a Recycled Water Facilities Planning Study for a Satellite Water Resource
Recovery Facility (WRRF), potentially located along one of the upstream trunk lines that
conveys Arroyo Grande's wastewater to the regional Wastewater Treatment Plant.
In 2014 Governor Brown issued a proclamation declaring a Drought State of Emergency
for the State of California and in April of 2015, signed Executive Order B-29-15. The
Governor's Executive Order includes a requirement that the State Water Resources
Control Board (SWRCB) impose restrictions to achieve a statewide 25% reduction in
potable urban water usage through February 28, 2016. On May 26, 2015, the Council
adopted a Resolution declaring a Stage 1 Water Shortage Emergency and implemented
Emergency Water Shortage Restrictions and Regulations and an Urgency Ordinance
relating to Penalties and Enforcement for Violations of the Emergency Water Shortage
Restrictions and Regulations in order to meet the state imposed 28% water use
reduction requirement for the City of Arroyo Grande.
ANALYSIS OF ISSUES:
NCMA Annual Report
The 2005 Stipulation, later affirmed in the 2008 Judgement, for the Santa Maria
Groundwater Basin Adjudication requires that each of the monitoring areas, identified in
the adjudication, develop a monitoring program that is sufficient to determine:
• Land and water uses in the basin;
• Sources of supply to meet those uses;
• Groundwater conditions (including water levels and water quality);
• Amount and disposition of developed water supplies; and
• Amount and disposition of other sources of water supply in the NCMA.
The Stipulation additionally requires that each of the Management Areas prepare an
annual report, to be submitted to the court, that summarizes the results of the
monitoring program, changes in groundwater supplies, and any threats to Groundwater
supplies.
In 2009, the Northern Cities Management Area (NCMA) Technical Group selected Todd
Engineers to initiate the NCMA monitoring program, which included collection of water
quality samples from coastal sentry wells, and to begin development of the 2009 NCMA
Annual Report. GEI Consulting Engineers and Scientists performed the monitoring and
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CITY COUNCIL
PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE NORTHERN CITIES
MANAGEMENT AREA AND STATUS OF REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER
PROJECTS
JUNE 23, 2015
PAGE 5
prepared reports for 2010, 2011, and 2012, and Fugro Consultants for 2013 and 2014,
all of which have all been successfully submitted to the Court.
Since April 2009, the NCMA Technical Group has coordinated the data compilation and
analysis required in the annual report for court submittal. The most recent report was
submitted in April, 2015 (Attachment 1). Findings from the report were similar to those
presented in 2014 and include:
• Substantial lower than average rainfall;
• A significant drop in water levels from 2012 and 2013;
Declining water levels in the NCMA, even though total pumping is currently 42% of
the basin safe yield, which will be exacerbated if the NCMA agencies are required
to increase their dependency on groundwater withdrawals due to reductions or
interruptions in local surface water supplies or State Water Project deliveries;
• Excessive pumping on the Nipomo Mesa has created a landward gradient that
eliminates the historic recharge volume of subsurface inflow into the NCMA
(thereby reducing the yield of the aquifer), and creates conditions favorable to
seawater intrusion in the NCMA and Nipomo Mesa Management Area; and
• Continued average water level values, in the sentry wells, that are below the index
established by the NCMA Technical Group for indicating when there is a potential
environment that increases the risk of seawater intrusion.
As previously reported, the last factor is important considering effects of any increased
pumpage related to cutbacks in surface water deliveries (state water and Lopez surplus
water) because the index level is similar to the level seen in 2008-2009 just prior to
observing the elevated chloride concentrations in one of the sentry wells. Data analysis
indicates there is a probable lag time before signatures of seawater intrusion would be
observed after a period of several months of low water levels. A summary of the
annual report from the consultant will be presented at the Council meeting.
Recycled Water Projects
Pismo Beach Recycled Water Facilities Planning Study - The City of Pismo Beach
recently completed a Recycled Water Facilities Planning Study to evaluate potential
recycled water beneficial uses. The study evaluated several recycled water system
alternatives (e.g. landscape irrigation; inland recharge; seawater intrusion barrier) that
would allow the City of Pismo Beach and potential regional partners to offset water
demands and/or provide a new, drought proof source of water supply for the region.
Each of the alternatives was analyzed using a scoring and ranking process that
included economic and non-economic criteria. Based on the results of the scoring and
ranking process, both the inland recharge and seawater intrusion barrier groundwater
recharge alternatives were selected as the preferred alternative for moving forward.
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CITY COUNCIL
PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE NORTHERN CITIES
MANAGEMENT AREA AND STATUS OF REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER
PROJECTS
JUNE 23, 2015
PAGE 6
The next phase of the project will include development of a preliminary design for the
project to support preparation of a CEQA document to enable the City to apply for grant
funding. Additionally, included in the next phase will be additional stakeholder outreach
and engagement to develop a recycled water project that benefits all of the NCMA
agencies and sets the stage for integration with potential a future recycled water project
at the SSLOCSD plant.
SSLOCSD Recycled Water Facilities Planning Study - The South San Luis Obispo
County Sanitary District (SSLOCSD) is currently completing a Recycled Water Facilities
Planning Study for Satellite Water Resource Recovery Facility (SWRRF). For this study,
the SSLOCSD has received a grant from the State Water Resources Control Board to
fund approximately 50% of the project cost ($75,000). The remaining costs are being
split evenly between the SSLOCSD and the City of Arroyo Grande. The study is
evaluating options for a SWRRF, potentially located along one of the upstream trunk
lines that serves the City of Arroyo Grande. This proposed facility, commonly referred
to as a decentralized wastewater scalping plant, could provide recycled water for
irrigation and groundwater recharge and would be located outside of the coastal zone.
Water Systems Consulting will provide a summary and status of each of these projects.
ALTERNATIVES:
The following alternatives are provided for the Council's consideration:
1. Receive presentations and direct staff to continue to work collaboratively on
the regional recycled water projects;
2. Provide staff other direction.
ADVANTAGES:
The NCMA Annual Report is required by the court and includes important monitoring
information pertinent to the City's groundwater supply. The recycled water projects are
potentially viable options to protecting and augmenting existing water supplies.
DISADVANTAGES:
No disadvantages have been identified.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
No environmental review is required for this item.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS:
The Agenda was posted in front of City Hall on Thursday, June 18, 2015. The Agenda
and staff report were posted on the City's website on Friday, June 19, 2015. No public
comments were received.
Item 11.a. - Page 6
CITY COUNCIL
PRESENTATION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE NORTHERN CITIES
MANAGEMENT AREA AND STATUS OF REGIONAL RECYCLED WATER
PROJECTS
JUNE 23, 2015
PAGE 7
Attachments:
The following attachments were provided to the City Council. They are available at City
Hall and on the City's website for public review.
1. NCMA 2014 Annual Report.
2. City of Pismo Beach Recycled Water Facilities Planning Study, April 2015.
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