4. Constraints on Water Supply

Cal-Am has owned and operated the San Clemente Dam and the Los Padres Dam since 1965. As described in the FEIR, the San Clemente Dam was constructed on the Carmel River in 1921 and is the major point of surface water diversion from the river. The Los Padres Dam was constructed in 1949. Sedimentation has reduced the usable storage at both reservoirs over the years, such that by 1995, the primary source of water supply for Cal-Am was multiple wells located along the lower Carmel River. These wells supplied approximately 70 percent of Cal-Am's demand, with the balance of supply provided by storage at the Los Padres Reservoir, diversions from the San Clemente reservoir, and water pumped from the Seaside Basin. Cal-Am's main distribution system also includes eight wells in the Coastal subarea of the Seaside Basin. In addition, Cal-Am owns nine wells in the Laguna Seca subarea, which serve the three independent water systems along Highway 68 described above.

According to the FEIR, as of 1995, Cal-Am served approximately 105,000 customers in its Monterey District, supplying them with approximately 17,000 acre-feet of water per year (afy).⁷ Of this amount, approximately 14,106 afy was supplied from the Carmel River system and 2,700 afy was supplied from the Seaside Basin.⁸

In 1995, the SWRCB issued its Order No. WR 95-10 (Order 95-10). The SWRCB concluded that although Cal-Am had been diverting 14,106 afy from the Carmel River, it has a legal right to only 3,376 afy from the Carmel River system, including surface water and water pumped from the Carmel Valley wells. Thus, SWRCB ordered Cal-Am to replace what SWRCB determined to be unlawful diversions of 10,730 afy from the Carmel River with other sources and through other actions, such as conservation to offset 20 percent of demand.⁹

In 2006, the Monterey County Superior Court issued a final decision regarding adjudication of water rights of various parties who use groundwater from the Seaside Basin. (California American Water v. City of Seaside et al., Case No. 66343). The court's decision established physical limitations to various users' water allocations to reduce the drawdown of the aquifer and prevent additional seawater intrusion and set up a Watermaster to administer and enforce the Court's decision. Cal-Am is currently allocated 3,504 afy from the Coastal subarea of the Seaside Basin and 345 afy from the Laguna Seca subareas. These allocations will be reduced over time until they eventually reach 1,474 afy from the overall Seaside Basin. Prior to the Seaside Basin adjudication, Cal-Am's allocation for the Coastal subarea was 4,000 afy.

Cal-Am developed its PEA assuming that 10,730 afy of replacement water supply would be required to comply with Order 95-10 and that 1,000 afy of replacement water supply would be required for the Seaside Basin adjudication, for a total of 11,730 afy in replacement supply. In 2006, the MPWMD issued a technical memorandum, updating the demand in Cal-Am's service territory. In sum, the replacement water supply required to meet total updated demand is 12,500 afy, as shown in the following table:¹⁰

Replacement Amount	Source to be Replaced
8,498 afy	To replace diversions from Carmel River sources
2,975 afy	To replace allocations from overall Seaside Basin
762 afy	To replace supply from Los Padres Reservoir, due to continuing sedimentation
272 afy	To account for replacement of water from non Cal-Am production from Seaside Basin

The environmental documents were developed to assess and analyze the environmental impacts of replacing 12,500 afy of long-term water supply on the Monterey Peninsula, as we discuss further below.

⁷ An acre-foot of water, described as enough to cover an acre of land with one foot of water, is equivalent to 325,851 gallons of water.

⁸ DEIR at 2-6. The Commission generally refers to number of metered connections rather than number of persons served. In D.09-07-021, we refer to approximately 39,000 connections in Cal-Am's Monterey District. (Appendix B at 7.)

⁹ On July 27, 2009, the SWRCB issued a Draft Cease-and-Desist Order that orders Cal-Am to undertake additional measures. After considering written comments and public testimony, the SWRCB issued a revised Draft Cease-and-Desist Order on September 16, 2009. The SWRCB issued its Cease-and-Desist Order on October 20, 2009 (Order WR 2009-0060), which requires Cal-Am to undertake additional measures to reduce its diversions from the Carmel River and to terminate all such diversions no later than December 31, 2016.

¹⁰ Based on FEIR, Table 2-2 at page 2-7; total replacement supply is 12,507 afy, rounded to 12,500 afy.