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Anaheim, CA 92805
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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
DATE: FEBRUARY 27, 2024
FROM: PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: AGREEMENT REGARDING THE ASSIGNMENT OF
EXTRAORDINARY WATER SUPPLY FROM THE SANTA ANA
RIVER CONSERVATION AND CONJUNCTIVE USE PROGRAM
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 20
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion:
1) Approve Agreement No. A0-5296 regarding the assignment of extraordinary supply from the Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program (Agreement) among The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Municipal Water District of Orange County, the Orange County Water District, the City of Anaheim (Anaheim), the City of Fullerton, and the City of Santa Ana, with a term of 61 years; and
2) Authorize the Public Utilities General Manager or designees, on behalf of Anaheim, to execute and deliver the Agreement and any related documents, such as extraordinary supply certifications and cost-neutral amendments of the Agreement that are deemed de minimis by the City Attorney’s Office, and take such actions as are necessary or advisable to implement and administer the Agreement.
DISCUSSION:
At its meeting on January 24, 2024, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) recommended that the City Council approve the Agreement.
Anaheim Public Utilities (APU) seeks to secure surplus water supplies when available for the benefit of Anaheim water customers during periods of drought. The proposed Agreement (Attachment 1) provides a long-term contract for storing and accessing water supplies by leveraging multiple groundwater systems in Southern California. One of the key benefits of this Agreement is that the various agencies benefit by sharing resources with one another, without significant budgetary impacts.
The Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program (Program) is a multi- agency, watershed-wide groundwater storage and recovery collaborative that allows for water banking between multiple basins in the Santa Ana River Watershed. The goal of the Program is to store available water during wet years in local groundwater basins throughout the watershed and extract the stored water during dry years to reduce the impacts of Agreement Regarding the Assignment of Extraordinary Water Supply from the Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program
February 27, 2024
droughts. This Agreement is specific to water banking in the Orange County Groundwater Basin (OC Basin), which is managed by the Orange County Water District (OCWD) and includes the Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) who represents OCWD regarding regional water supply issues managed by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan).
During wet years, when surplus water is available to Metropolitan, MWDOC may purchase the surplus water offered by Metropolitan on behalf of, and whenever requested by, OCWD for water banking. OCWD undertakes all Program responsibilities associated with managing banking throughout the OC Basin.
During dry years, most recently experienced from 2020-2022, Metropolitan may receive only a small percentage of its allocation of imported water from the Bay-Delta area. During such periods of prolonged dry conditions and low annual allocations, Metropolitan may be forced to declare a Water Supply Allocation that limits the water available for purchase by its member agencies, including Anaheim. Water that has previously been purchased and stored in the OC Basin and classified as “Extraordinary Supply” under the Program could be used to offset the reduction of imported water.
The purpose of this Agreement is to provide the mechanism for Anaheim to partner with other Metropolitan member agencies, including MWDOC and the cities of Fullerton and Santa Ana (who overlie and pump water from the OC Basin) to receive Extraordinary Supply credits through the Program. APU is recommending approval of this Agreement to properly account for the use of Extraordinary Supply to take advantage of wet years but would not be obligated to make any purchases.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
There is no budgetary impact as a result of approving the Agreement. Any future water supply purchases made pursuant to this Agreement would be funded through APU’s restricted Water Utility Fund.
Respectfully submitted,
Dukku Lee
Public Utilities General Manager
Attachment:
1. Agreement Regarding the Assignment of Extraordinary Water Supply from the Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program