Water Supply Update
November 15, 2022
By: Benjamin A. Fine, P.E. –Director of Public Works/City Engineer Item 12.A
Background
•November 16, 2021
•Update on water supply and committed to return to Council at the second meeting every other month.
2 Past Council Action
•June 1, 2021 –Moderately Restricted Water Supply
•January 18, 2022 –Severely Restricted Water Supply
•May 17, 2022 –Critical Water Supply
3 Drought
4 Drought
5 Water Use Restrictions
A.Use of water which causes runoff onto adjacent
properties,non-irrigated areas,private and public
walkways,roadways,gutters,parking lots,or structures
is prohibited.
B.Outdoor water use for washing vehicles,boats,paved
surfaces,buildings,and other similar uses shall be
attended and have hand-controlled water devices,which
shut off the water immediately when not in use.
C.No water shall be used for cleaning driveways,patios, parking lots,sidewalks,streets,or other such uses
except as found necessary by the city to protect the
public health or safety.
6 Water Use Restrictions
D.Outdoor irrigation
1)Outdoor irrigation is prohibited between the hours of ten a.m.and four p.m.
2)Applying water to outdoor landscapes during and
within 48 hours after measurable rainfall is
prohibited.
3)Irrigation of private and public landscaping ,turf areas and gardens is permitted at even-numbered
addresses only on Mondays and Thursdays,and at
odd-numbered addresses only on Tuesdays and
Fridays.All customers are directed to use no more
water than necessary to maintain landscaping.
7 Water Use Restrictions
E.Restaurants shall serve drinking water only in response to a specific request by a customer.
F.Using water in a fountain or other decorative water
feature,except where the water is part of a recirculating system ,is prohibited.
G.Use of potable water for compaction or dust control
purposes in construction activities is prohibited.
H.Emptying and refilling swimming pools and commercial
spas is prohibited except to prevent structural damage
and/or to provide for the public health and safety.
8 Water Use Restrictions
•Water leaks be repaired within 72 hours of notification by the City
•Extended prohibited hours
•10 am –4 pm
•8 am –6 pm•No new lawns to be allowed in the City
9 Other Agencies –Water Use Restrictions
•Mandatory water reduction based upon 2020 usage
•Amount of reduction ranges from 0%-30%depending on
amount of usage
•Irrigation meters must reduce use by at least 25%
•Fines for noncompliance with a one-time “water school”to have the fine dismissed•Landscape irrigation limited to 10 minutes per station on allowed watering days
•Outdoor watering limited to one day per week
•All pools must be covered when not in use
•Mandatory 10%reduction based on 2020 usage
10 Rainfall Through November 15th
Month Average
Rainfall (in)
2020
Rainfall (in)
Delta
(in)
2021
Rainfall (in)
Delta
(in)
2022
Rainfall (in)
Delta
(in)
Jan 3.59 0.61 -2.98 6.46 2.87 0.05 -3.54
Feb 3.87 0 -3.87 0.03 -3.84 0.10 -3.77
Mar 3.46 8.02 4.56 2.53 -0.93 1.08 -2.98
April 1.13 1.72 0.59 0 -1.13 0.49 -0.64
May 0.41 0 -0.41 0.1 -0.31 0 -0.41
June 0.07 0 -0.07 0 -0.07 0 -0.07
July 0.03 0 -0.03 0.03 0.03 0 -0.03
Aug 0.02 0 -0.02 0 -0.02 0 -0.02
Sep 0.32 0 -0.32 0 -0.32 2.03 2.30
Oct 0.62 0.04 -0.58 1.95 1.33 0 -0.62
Nov 1.7 .049 -1.21 0.46 -1.24 1.06 -0.64
Dec 2.57 1.21 -1.32 7.69 5.12
Total 17.79 12.09 -5.7 19.25 1.46 4.81*-12.98
Santa Maria Groundwater Basin
•Adjudication = 700 AF
•Deep Well Index Threshold = 7.5 feet
•April 2021 DWIL = 9.06 feet (1.56 above TH)
•July 2021 DWIL = 6.53 feet (0.97 below TH)
•April 2022 DWIL = 7.98 feet (0.48 above TH)
•1.08 feet lower than April 2021
•July 2022 DWIL = 5.34 (2.16 below TH)
•2.64 feet lower than April 2022
•1.91 feet lower than July 2021
12 Lopez Lake
13 Measurement Date Lake Level (AF)% Change
November 2, 2021 14,763.0
January 12, 2022 14,942.8 1.2%
March 9, 2022 14,508.7 -2.9%
April 5, 2022 14,331.6 -1.2%
September 9, 2022 11,942.1 -16.7%
November 14, 2022 11,156.4 -6.6%
*December 20, 2022*10,000 -10.4%
Lopez Lake
•Low Reservoir Response Plan (LRRP)
14 Lopez Lake Projections
•Assuming average rain
•Storage will drop to 10,000 AF –December 2022
•Storage will drop to 8,000 AF –April of 2023
15 Impact From Recent Rain
16 11,189.5 AF
11,229.4 AF
39.9 AF
39.9 AF = 3 days of water
State Water
•Two components
•Table A
•Drought Buffer
•Table A –Allocation
•Drought Buffer makes State Water more reliable
•Table A + Drought Buffer ≤ 1,240 AF
17 State Water
18 State Water
•December 1, 2021 DWR Bulletin 21-07
•Set initial 2022 supplies “Health and Safety Demand” 55 gpcd •January 20, 2022 –15%
•March 18, 2022 –5%
•County Storage = 12,000 AF
•Total Table A allocations = 4,830 AF
•2.5 years of water (including 2022)
•Snowpack lowest level in 7 years
19 Current Pismo Beach Supplies
20 Source Full Allocation
(AF)
Percent of
Allocation
Allocation (AF)
SMGWB*700 30%210
State Water 1,240 5%62
Drought Buffer 1,240 5%62
Stored State
Water ---
Lopez Water 892 80%713.6
Lopez Surplus --300.8
Total 2,692 1,348.4
2021 Production 1,770.9
Deficit (422.5)
Current Pismo Beach Supplies
21 Source Full Allocation
(AF)
Percent of
Allocation
Allocation (AF)
SMGWB*700 30%210
State Water 1,240 5%62
Drought Buffer 1,240 5%62
County State
Water --1,116
Lopez Water 892 80%713.6
Lopez Surplus 300.8
Total 2,692 2,464.4
2021 Production 1,770.9
Surplus 693.5
State Water Subcontractors
22 Agency Table A (AF)DB (AF)Total (AF)
SLO County Flood Control and Water Conservation District 25,000 Shandon 100 0 100
Morro Bay 1,313 2,290 3,603
CMC 400 400 800
County Ops Center 425 425 850
Cuesta College 200 200 400
Pismo Beach 1,240 1,240 2,480
Oceano CSD 750 750 1,500
San Miguelito MWC 275 275 550
Avila Beach CSD 100 100 200
Avila Valley MWC 20 20 40
San Luis Coastal USD 7 7 14
Subcontractor Total 4,830 5,707 10,537
SLOCFCWCD Unallocated Table A 14,463
Options for Additional Drought Buffer
•Unsubscribed Allocation = 14,423
•Has been used for:
•Storage
•Make subcontractors whole
•BOS seeking to remove costs from county tax rolls
•July 8th State Water Subcontractors Advisory Committee •Informal announcement that a “first right of refusal” will come by years end.
23 Options for Additional Drought Buffer
•District staff gathering info as to how much if any
subcontractors may want to add to their portfolio
•Staff has prepared two options for Council to consider •Drought buffer is approximately $205/AFY
24 Option A
•Goal = 1,240 AF of State Water @ SWP delivery of 20%
•Increase drought buffer by 3,720 AFY to 4,960 AFY
25 Delivery Table A
(AFY)
Drought
Buffer (AFY)
Total
5%62 248 310
10%124 496 620
20%248 992 1,240
30%372 1,488 1,860
40%496 1,984 2,480
50%620 2,480 3,100Fiscal Impact
•$762,600/year
Option B
•Goal = 1,800 AF @ SWP delivery of 20%
•Average annul production 2014 –present = 1,713 AFY
•Assumptions
•80% Lopez delivery = 713.6 AF
•200 AF ground water
•Need 886.4 AF of State Water
26 Option B
•886.4 AF of water at a 20% delivery
•Increase drought buffer by 1,952 AFY to 3,192 AFY
27 Delivery Table A
(AFY)
Drought
Buffer (AFY)
Total
5%62 159.6 221.6
10%124 319.2 443.2
20%248 638.4 886.4
30%372 957.6 1329.6
40%496 1,276.8 1,772.8
50%620 1,596 2,216Fiscal Impact
•$400,160/year
State Water Storage
28 Delivery Maximum Storage
0 –50%25% of Total Water
51% -75%25% + 1% for every point over 50%
of Total Water
D >74%50% of Total Water
State Water Storage
•Option A total available water = 6,200 AFY
•Option B total available water = 4,432 AFY
29 Delivery
Percentage
Option A Option B
Total
Available
Max
Storage
Total
Available
Max
Storage
10%620 155 443.2 110.8
25%1,550 387.5 1,108 227
50%3,100 775 2,216 554
65%4,030 1,612 2,880.8 1,152.3
85%5,270 2,635 3,767.2 1,883.6
100%6,200 3,100 4,432 2,216
Pismo Water at Start of Year
30 Amount of Stored State Water By Year
31 Tree WellsConclusion and Recommendations
Staff Recommendations
Should Council choose to add additional drought buffer, staff recommends that the City Council consider
relinquishing a portion of or all of the additional state water back to the County after Central Coast Blue is online and producing water
33 Tree Wells Fiscal Impacts
Fiscal Impacts
•An increase to the City’s State Water Drought Buffer
would be paid for from the Water Enterprise Fund
•Option A –Increase SWDB to 4,960 AFY
•$762,200/year (FY23 –FY26)
•Total $3,050,400
•Option B –Increase SWDB to 3,192 AFY
•$400,160/year (FY23 –FY26)
•Total $1,600,640
35 Fiscal Impacts
•Proposed Water/Wastewater Rate Study includes
$379,000 per year for water main replacement as a
preventive measure for FY23 –FY 26.
36 Alternatives
•Purchase other quantities of drought buffer
•Provide Staff with direction to seek other alternatives for additional water
•Request more information
37 Questions?