3. California-American Water Company's
Monterey District
Cal-Am is a Class A investor-owned water utility, regulated by this Commission. Its Monterey District serves most of the Monterey Peninsula, including Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Sand City, and Seaside, as well as the unincorporated areas of Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley, Pebble Beach, and the Del Monte Forest.
Cal-Am supplies the Monterey District with surface water and groundwater from the Carmel River System and the coastal subarea of the Seaside Groundwater Basin (also known as the Seaside Basin). Cal-Am also operates three small independent water systems along the Highway 68 corridor east of Monterey that draw water from the Laguna Seca subarea of the Seaside Basin.
Water supply has long been constrained due to frequent drought conditions on the semi-arid Monterey Peninsula, which obtains its water supply solely from rainfall. In addition, as described in the FEIR, seawater intrusion and excess diversion have existed for decades, first identified in the late 1930s and documented by the State of California in 1946.6
In addition to this Commission, many federal, state, and local agencies are involved in the regulation of water, water rights, and water supply on the Monterey Peninsula. These agencies include, but are not limited to, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD), the MCWRA, Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency (MRWPCA), the Monterey Regional Waste Management District, and the Seaside Groundwater Basin Watermaster. The MCWD is a municipally owned water district, which supplies water to the City of Marina and the Ord Community (formerly known as Fort Ord). Of these agencies, the MCWD, the MPWMD, the MCWRA, and the MRWPCA have actively participated as parties in this proceeding.
6 FEIR at 5-1.
