DATE: 11/20/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
2024-148
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
SUBJECT:
FUNDING AGREEMENT WITH RIVERSIDE COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL AND WATER
CONSERVATION DISTRICT FOR THE COLDWATER CANYON RECHARGE STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to approve a Funding Agreement with Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District for the Coldwater Canyon Recharge Study which would reevaluate storm-water runoff from Coldwater Canyon and Mayhew Canyon.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Approve the creation of an Operating and Maintenance Project entitled “Coldwater Canyon Recharge Study.”
b. Appropriate $250,000 to the new Operating and Maintenance Project, Coldwater Canyon Recharge Study and increase estimated revenues by the same amount within the Water Utility Fund 570.
c. Approve the Funding Agreement for the Coldwater Canyon Recharge Study with the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District in an amount not to exceed $250,000.
d. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Funding Agreement including any non-substantial changes or amendments to the agreement.
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above actions.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Coldwater Canyon Basin is located in western Riverside County. The basin is separated from the Temescal subbasin to the northwest by a groundwater divide near Bedford Wash. The Bedford-Coldwater subbasin is bound on the east and west by consolidated rocks of Estelle Mountain and the Santa Ana Mountains, respectively. The southern boundary adjoins the Elsinore Valley subbasin and follows a jurisdictional boundary separating the two subbasins. Part of the Coldwater Canyon Basin runs within the City of Corona’s jurisdiction with regard to water rights.
ANALYSIS:
The City desires to create the Coldwater Canyon Recharge Study Capital Improvement Project which plans to review and update designs for the Coldwater Canyon Recharge Project consisting of City-designed retention basins, the Chandler mining pit and associated appurtenances. The Study would reevaluate runoff from the Coldwater Canyon and Mayhew Canyon for water conservation efforts, mitigate downstream flood impacts, and study solutions to potential water quality impacts form the Chandler mining pit.
The City would like to partner with the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District) due to mutual interest in the Coldwater Canyon Recharge Study. The District will contribute funding to support the City’s efforts toward this objective including costs associated with the preparation and development of the Study which will be conducted by a City-selected consultant following the City’s Purchasing Guidelines.
The District’s financial contribution toward the Study shall not exceed $250,000.
The purpose of the Funding Agreement is to memorialize the mutual understanding between the City and the District for the Study and the payment of the total District contribution.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will result in an appropriation in the amount of $250,000 to the newly created Operating and Maintenance Project entitled “Coldwater Canyon Recharge Study” and an increase in estimated revenues by the same amount within the Water Utility Fund 570 for reimbursement by the District upon conclusion of the project.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action involves approval of a Funding Agreement for Recharge Study and there is no possibility this action will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Funding Agreement
2. Exhibit 2 – RCFCWCD Capital Improvement Project Request Form