R 3549
RESOLUTION NO. 3549
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ARROYO GRANDE APPROVING THE AGREEMENT
REGARDING MANAGEMENT OF THE ARROYO GRANDE
GROUNDWATER BASIN AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR
TO SIGN THE SAME
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the City of Arroyo Grande to responsibly manage
the groundwater resources of the Arroyo Grande Groundwater Basin; and
WHEREAS, the "Gentlemen's Agreement" entered into in 1983 has proven to be a method
for responsible management of those groundwater resources; and
WHEREAS, a stable and assured groundwater supply is in the best interest of the City of
Arroyo Grande and other public entities in the Arroyo Grande Groundwater Basin, now and
into the future;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande
does hereby find and determine that the "Agreement Regarding Management of the Arroyo
Grande Groundwater Basin" is hereby approved and the Mayor of the City of Arroyo
Grande is authorized to execute the agreement in substantially the form attached hereto
as Exhibit "A".
On motion of Council Member Runels, seconded by Council Member Lubin, and on the
following roll call vote, to wit:
AYES: Council Members Runels, Lubin, Dickens, Ferrara, and Mayor Lady
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
the foregoing Resolution was passed and adopted on this 14th day of August, 2001.
RESOLUTION NO. 3549
PAGE 2
MICHA~
ATTEST:
, ~/1L-
KELLY W TM RE, DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICESI
DEPUTY CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
~~~
E N ADAMS, CITY MANAGER
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
-
Exhibit "A"
AGREEMENT REGARDING
MANAGEMENTOF THE
ARROYO GRANDE GOUNDW ATER BASIN
A. Parties
This Agreement is entered into among the San Luis Obispo Farm Bureau, the
Cities of Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach and the Oceano Community
Services District (collectively referred to hereinafter as "Parties"). The Cities of Arroyo
Grande, Pismo Beach, and Grover Beach and the Oceano Community Services District,
are hereinafter referred to collectively as "Urban Parties."
B. Recitals
WHEREAS, in January 1983, a Technical Advisory Committee consisting of
representatives of Arroyo Grande, Grover City, Pismo Beach, Oceano Community
Services District, Port San Luis Harbor District, the Farm Bureau, Avila Beach County
Water District and the County of San Luis Obispo ("Committee") determined in
reliance on the 1979 Report of the Department of Water Resources entitled Ground
Water in the Arroyo Grande Area that the safe yield of the Arroyo Grande Groundwater
Basin ("Basin") is 9,500 acre feet per year;
WHEREAS, in or about February 1983, the Parties agreed to enter into a
voluntary groundwater management plan to provide for effective management of
groundwater resources in the Basin through which each party was given sufficient
water to meet its needs as then projected; such needs being met in part by the City of
Arroyo Grande foregoing 358 acre feet per year of its historical use and the City of
Pismo Beach foregoing 20 acre feet per year of its historical use;
WHEREAS, this management plan provided a reasonable division of the safe
yield of the Basin without court imposed groundwater basin adjudication;
WHEREAS, on February 9, 1983, the terms of the management plan were
incorporated into Resolution No. 83-1 of the South San Luis Obispo County Water
Association Approving the Recommendations of the Committee relating to the Basin
(the "Resolution");
WHEREAS, each of the Parties have adopted individual resolutions endorsing the
provisions of the Resolution;
WHEREAS, the Parties have generally complied with the terms and conditions of
the Resolution; and
WHEREAS, general compliance with the Resolution has proven to be a fair and
efficient means of managing and protecting groundwater resources in the Basin as
confirmed by the revised final draft report prepared by the Department of Water
Resources entitled, Water Resources of Arroyo Grande and Nipomo Mesa, January
2000.
PAGE 1 or5 AGREEMEN1' REGARDING
ARROYO GRANDE GROUNDWATER BASIN
NOW, THEREFORE, THE PARTIES AGREE AS FOLLOWS:
1. Division of Safe Yield.
a. The parties agree to a division of the safe yield of the Basin as follows:
Applied Irrigation 5,300 acre feet
Subsurface flow to ocean 200 acre feet
Urban Use:
City of Arroyo Grande 1,202 acre feet
City of Grover Beach 1,198 acre feet
City of Pismo Beach 700 acre feet
Oceano Community Services District 900 acre feet
b. Any increase or decrease in the safe yield of the Basin attributable to changed
operation of the Lopez Reservoir, or any other cause, shall first be divided between the
Urban Parties and applied irrigation on a pro rata basis using the formula from the
1983 Gentlemen's Agreement, sixty percent (60%) to applied irrigation and forty
percent (40%) to the Urban Parties. Thereafter, the first 378 acre feet per year of any
increase of safe yield allocated to the Urban Parties shall be divided between the City of
Arroyo Grande and the City of Pismo Beach on a pro rata basis (95% to Arroyo Grande
and 5% to Pismo Beach).
c. The entitlements of each respective Urban Party may be increased based
upon the conversion of irrigated agricultural lands to urban use. An Urban Party to
this Agreement may increase its entitlement for urban use by a factor of three (3) acre
feet per acre per year minus the calculated urban usage per acre per year upon the
conversion of irrigated agricultural land to urban usage. "Irrigated agricultural land"
shall be that land within the corporate limits of the party that was identified as irrigated
agricultural land in the 1979 Department of Water Resources Report entitled Ground
Water in the Arroyo Grande Area. This agricultural conversion factor may be applied
to all acreage converted to urban use from January 1, 1983, throughout the life of this
Agreement. Such an agricultural conversion factor is in the best interests of the overall
Basin in that it will not result in any decline in the groundwater service over time. The
Parties agree that no water should be converted to urban use within the Basin without
establishing that it was irrigated agricultural land as defin~d in the 1979 Department
of Water Resources Report, Groundwater in the Arroyo Grande Area.
d. The Parties agree and understand that the safe yield figures utilized in
this Agreement are a product of the 1979 Department of Water Resources Report
regarding the Arroyo Grande Basin as adjusted by the 1983 ad hoc Technical Advisory
Committee and that the division of the resources is based upon the historical use of
each party and a practical accommodation of each Party's needs as they existed at the
time of the adoption of the 1983 agreement. It is agreed that the Parties will meet and
confer on issues related to safe yield and division of existing water resources upon the
PAGE2or5 AGREEMENT REGARDING
ARROYO GRANDE GROUNDWATER BASIN
final adoption of the new Arroyo Grande Basin study performed by the Department of
Water Resources, which is currently in draft.
2. Shared Information and Monitoring: The Urban Parties to this Agreement shall
freely share information with each other regarding each of their respective uses of
groundwater in the Basin, including all pumping data such as amounts of water
extracted, well static water levels, and water quality. The Urban Parties to this
Agreement shall meet on a quarterly basis to share this information and to discuss
water usage and impacts upon the Basin. The Parties shall conduct a review of water
usage and the impacts on Basin hydrology in 2010 and 2020.
3. Term:
a. This Agreement shall bind the Parties indefinitely absent a significant
change of circumstances as to available water, water quality, or hydrogeology of the
Arroyo Grande Basin. A significant changed circumstances shall allow any party to opt
out of this Agreement if the significant change of circumstances put that party at risk of
not being able to meet its potable water needs.
b. Significant changed circumstances shall include changes within the
Basin or outside of the Basin, including but not be restricted to, a change in the Lopez
Reservoir safe yield or an increase in Lopez Reservoir discharges for conservation
purposes that threatens the ability of the urban Parties to obtain their contractual
allotments under their Lopez agreements, or a significant change in groundwater yields
or quality, or a reduction in foreign water imported by any Urban Party. The Parties
recognize that rainfall within the watershed is the most significant factor in affecting
the yield of Lopez Reservoir and the Basin.
c. The Parties shall revisit the issue of the allocation of groundwater
resources within the Arroyo Grande Basin in 2010 and 2020 in the context of the
review provided for in section 2 of this Agreement. The Parties shall make new
allocations of groundwater resources at that time if circumstances justify it and if no
harm will result to other groundwater users. Priority shall be given to reallocation of
historical use of groundwater to Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach that those agencies
chose not to pursue in the entering into of the original Gentlemen's Agreement in 1983
should such. new allocations be made.
d. A Party may opt out of this Agreement if significant changed
circumstances arise as defined in this section. Such a party shall give all other parties
to the agreement not less than six months written notice of its intention to opt out. The
written notice shall describe in detail the significant changed circumstances upon
which the Party bases its election to opt out of the Agreement.
4. Mediation Agreement: The Parties agree to mediate any disputes that arise out
of the Parties' performance under this Agreement, or the interpretation of the terms of
this Agreement, prior to instituting any litigation against or between any other party to
this Agreement. Should a party institute litigation without first offering in good faith to
mediate any such dispute, any party may move for an order compelling mediation and
staying the proceedings in the litigation until after mediation has been completed. The
prevailing party on a motion to compel mediation shall be entitled to recover its
attorney's fees against any resisting party or any party who filed litigation without first
PAGE3or5 AGREEMENT REGARDING
ARROYO GRANDE GROUNDWATER BASIN
making a good faith attempt to mediate the dispute. This mediation requirement shall
not apply where the health and safety of any of the Parties, or any of the Parties'
residents, is threatened and they must seek, and have obtained, preliminary relief for
the purposes of preserving health and safety.
5. No Third Party Beneficiaries: The Parties are entering into this Agreement in
order to reasonably allocate existing groundwater resources between themselves and
not to benefit any third parties. This agreement shall only be enforceable between the
Parties themselves. This Agreement does not create any right enforceable by any person
or entity that is not a party to this Agreement.
6. General Provisions:
a. The Parties warrant that all necessary approvals and authorizations have
been obtained to bind them to all terms of this Agreement, and further warrant that the
persons signing have authority to sign on behalf of their respective Parties.
b. Written notice under this Agreement shall be given by placing such
notice in the first class mail, postage prepaid, or by hand delivery to the current address
of the office of any Party to this Agreement.
c. No amendment to this Agreement will be binding on any of the Parties
unless it is in writing and signed by an authorized representative of all of the Parties.
d. This Agreement will be construed in accordance with, and governed by,
the laws of the State of California as applied to contracts that are executed and
performed entirely in California.
e. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable by
any final judgment, it is the intent of the Parties that all other provisions of this
Agreement be construed to remain fully valid, enforceable, and binding on the Parties.
f. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in one or more
counterparts, each of which will be considered an original, but all of which together
will constitute one and the same instrument.
g. The Parties represent that prior to the execution of this Agreement, they
consulted independent legal counsel of their own selection regarding the substance of
this Agreement.
WHEREFORE, the Parties publicly consent to the terms and conditions of this
Agreement by executing the same as set forth below.
PAGE 4 OF 5 AGREEMENI' REGARDING
ARRoyo GRANDE GROUNDWATER BASIN
Dated: , 2001. City of Arroyo Grande
By: ?64:l
Print Name and Title:
Dated: , 2001. City ofPismo Beach
By:
Print Name and Title:
Dated: , 2001. City of Grover Beach
By:
Print Name and Title:
Dated: ,2001. Oceano Community Services District
By:
Print Name and Title:
Dated: , 2001. San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau
By:
Print Name and Title:
H: IPBClYIPWlagr.ARGroundwaterBasin.O 1073 I.doc
PAGE 5 OF 5 AGREEMENT REGARDING
ARROYO GRANDE GROUNDWATER BASIN
RESOLUTION NO. 3549
OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION
I, KELL Y WETMORE, Director of Administrative Services/Deputy City Clerk of
the City of Arroyo Grande, County of San Luis Obispo, State of California, do
hereby certify under penalty of perjury, that Resolution No. 3549 is a true, full,
and correct copy of said Resolution passed and adopted at a regular meeting of
the City Council of the City of Arroyo Grande on the 14th day of August, 2001.
WITNESS my hand and the Seal of the City of Arroyo Grande affixed this 17th
day of August, 2001.
~ L J
RE, DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES/
DEPUTY CITY CLERK