Consent Item 4k
STAFF REPORT
City Council Consent Item
DATE: June 17, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
FROM: Andrew S. Bowles, Chief Plant Operator
SUBJECT: 2024 Water Supply and Demand Assessment
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Receive Assessment as an informational item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
In 2021 the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) issued a requirement for all public water systems to submit an annual assessment of their potable water supply versus demand for the upcoming year (code section 10632(a) (2)). The City owns and operates a public water system and must comply with this requirement. Staff retained Freshwater Environmental Services to complete the assessment. A summary of the method and results are presented below.
To perform the water supply assessment, staff examines the annual rainfall as measured at the Woodley Island weather station (Eureka) and the groundwater levels at various wells in the Eel River basin. The current annual values for rainfall and groundwater levels are compared to data collected from previous years in order to make a determination on the availability of groundwater in the Eel River aquifer. This past year total annual rainfall was approximately 20% above normal, and therefore staff anticipate that sufficient supply will be available within the groundwater basin.
Staff would also like to note that even during past successive years of drought, the reduced rainfall did not appear to impact seasonally low groundwater, and therefore even if the coming winter brings less than normal rainfall, supply would still be anticipated to exceed demand. To quantify demand, staff considers demands trends from recent years, and projects for growth based on the anticipated development activity within the City. In the coming year staff anticipate demand to remain relatively unchanged from recent previous years.
After consideration of the supply and demand data, staff anticipates that there is sufficient groundwater supply to cover municipal water demand over the coming year. A copy of the full assessment completed by Freshwater Environmental Services has been included as Attachment A.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
Staff recommends that Council approve the City’s Assessment; By Consent Agenda Vote.
ATTACHMENTS:
A. 2024 Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment