PISMO BEACH COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Agenda Item #12.A
SUBJECT/TITLE:
WATER SUPPLY UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION:
1. Receive an update on the City’s water supply; and
2. Discuss the purchase of additional drought buffer and provide staff with direction on how to proceed.
BACKGROUND:
On November 16, 2021 staff provided an update to the City Council on the City’s water supply and committed to return to the Council at the second meeting every other month to provide an update on the City’s water supply.
The staff report for that meeting can be found in the Access Pismo online public records portal1 or by scanning the QR Code at right.
In response to the worsening drought, the City Council has taken actions to protect the City’s water supply and to encourage conservation. On June 1, 2021, the City Council declared a Moderately Restricted Water Supply Condition via Resolution R-2021-049, on January 18, 2022 the City Council declared a Severely Restricted Water Supply Condition via Resolution R-2022-004, and most recently, the City Council declared a Critical Water Supply Condition via Resolution R-2022-043 and adopted an urgency ordinance enacting a prohibition on the installation of natural turf.
Water Use Restrictions
Section 13.24.060 of the City’s municipal code, which defines a Critical Water Supply Condition, states “In addition to the conditions specified in Section 13.24.050, the city council may impose any water rationing requirement as it deems appropriate to protect public health, safety, welfare, comfort and convenience.” The water use restrictions in section 13.24.050 are:
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.
D. Outdoor irrigation
1) Outdoor irrigation is prohibited between the hours of ten a.m. and four p.m.
1 Full URL:
https://accesspismo.pismobeach.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=362819&dbid=0&repo=Laserfiche Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-1
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.
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.
In addition to the above water use restrictions the Council directed the following water use restrictions be imposed:
Water leaks be repaired within 72 hours of notification by the City Extending the prohibited hours for outdoor irrigation from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
No new lawns to be allowed in the City
Other Agencies
Staff has reached out to other local agencies as well as agencies throughout California through the League of California Cities Public Works Department and have found that other municipalities have adopted the following water use restrictions:
Mandatory water reduction based upon 2020 usage
o Amount of reduction ranges from 0% to 30% depending on amount of usage o Irrigation meters must reduce use 25%
o Fines for noncompliance with a one-time “water school” to have the fine dismissed
Landscape irrigation limited to 10 minutes per station on an allowed watering day Outdoor watering limited to one day per week
All pools must be covered when not in use
Mandatory 10% reduction based on 2020 usage
Update on Water Supply
The City’s water supply portfolio is made up of three sources: State Water, Lopez Lake Water, and groundwater from the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin (SMGB).
Santa Maria Groundwater Basin
The SMGB is an adjudicated basin, and the City of Pismo Beach has the right to extract 700 acre-fee per year (AFY) from the basin.
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-2
The NCMA TG has established a “Deep Well Index Threshold” level of 7.5 feet as a level that can induce seawater intrusion into the basin if the basin remains below that level for an extended period of time.
Previous Index Level
Data Collection Date: April 5, 2022
Deep Well Index Level (DWIL): 7.98 feet
0.48 feet above than the Deep Well Index Threshold
Most Current Index Level
Data Collection Date: July 11, 2022
DWIL: 5.34 feet
2.64 feet lower than the Deep Well Index Threshold
The current DWIL is 2.64 feet lower than the previous level and 1.91 feet lower than one year ago (January 2021).
Lopez Lake
Lopez Lake is still operating under the Low Reservoir Response Plan (LRRP), and because the level in Lake Lopez is below 15,000 acre-feet (AF) and expected to drop below 10,000 AF, Zone 3 agencies have reduced their entitlements by 20%. The full list of recommended reductions in municipal diversions under the LRRP are shown in Table
1. Table 1: LLRP Recommended Municipal Diversion Reduction Targets
Amount of Water In
Storage (AF)
Recommended Municipal
Diversion Reduction
Targets
Recommended
Municipal Diversion
(AFY) Targets for Pismo
20,000 0% 892.0
15,000 10% 802.8
10,000 20% 713.6
5,000 35% 579.8
1,700 100% 0
Table 2: Lake Lopez Levels November 2, 2021 – November 4, 2022 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 4, 2022 11,226.1 -6.0%
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-3
The current lake level is 716 AF lower than it was on September 9, 2022.
Current projections show that if the area receives “average rainfall” between now and January of 2023, that storage in the lake will be approximately 10,000 AF in the middle of December 2022, as shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Lopez Reservoir Storage Projections
State Water
There are two components of State Water: Table A allocations and Drought Buffer. “Table A” refers to the amount of water an agency contracts for, while Drought Buffer is an additional allocation that can be delivered when deliveries are set below 100%. The total water delivered (Table A plus Drought Buffer) cannot be more than an agency’s Table A allocation. Further, State Water can be stored, and the amount of storage calculated based upon the total available water (Table A plus Drought Buffer) and the delivery percentage. The City has a contract for 1,240 AFY Table A allocation and 1,240 AFY of Drought Buffer.
On December 1, 2021, the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) set initial 2022 State Water Project (SWP) available supplies on a basis that ensures the SWP long-term water supply contractors can meet their outstanding minimum human health and safety Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-4
demands for water (health and safety allocation). This allocation is based on minimum unmet water demands to meet domestic supply, fire protection, and sanitation needs during the year. These health and safety needs are determined to be not more than 55 gallons per capita per day (gpcd), consistent with the recent State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) emergency curtailment regulations. Agencies with stored water, or other sources of water will not receive a SWP delivery at this time.
On January 20, 2022 the DWR increased SWP deliveries to 15%, however on March 18, 2022 the deliveries were reduced to 5% This means that the City of Pismo Beach can expect to receive 62 AF of Table A allocation and 62 AF of Drought Buffer for a total of 124 AF of State Water. However, the County of San Luis Obispo has agreed to make its subcontractors whole, meaning the City can take delivery of 1,240 AF of State Water from the County.
The City’s current water supplies without additional State Water from the County are shown in Table 3, below.
Table 3: Current Pismo Beach Water Supplies
Source
Full
Allocation
(AF)
Percent of
Allocation Allocation (AF)
SMGWB* 700 30% 210.0
State Water** 1,240 5% 62.0
Drought Buffer*** 1,240 5% 62.0
Stored State Water 0.0
Lopez Water# 892 80% 713.6
Lopez Surplus 300.8
Total 2,692 1348.4
*Santa Maria Groundwater Basin
**In previous reports the City’s Table A water was reported as 1,140 AF, however since the last update to the City Council the City reached a settlement with an outside agency for the return of 100 AF of State Water that was previously sold to the outside agency.
***Drought buffer is an additional allocation of water that can only be delivered when State Water Deliveries are less than 100%. The total amount of State Water delivered including drought buffer cannot exceed 1,240 AF in a given year.
#Lopez Lake is projected to drop below 10,000 AF in December of 2022. At that time allocations from the lake would drop to 80% retroactively, therefore for planning purposes an 80% allocation is assumed.
Taking into account the State Water the County has agreed to deliver to the City of Pismo Beach, the City’s total available water supply is 2,464.4 AF for 2022.
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-5
Precipitation
The City’s two local water supplies, Lopez Lake and the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin, are highly dependent on rainfall. Calendar year 2020 saw a significant short fall in precipitation, while 2021 saw only a small surplus of rain. So far, 2022 has proven to be drier than both of the previous years. Rainfall data for these years is shown in Table 4, below.
Table 4: Average and Actual Rainfall from January 2020 to October 2022 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 0.0 -3.59
Feb 3.87 0.0 -3.87 0.03 -3.84 0.08 -3.79
Mar 3.46 8.02 4.56 2.53 -0.93 1.08 -2.38
Apr 1.13 1.72 0.59 0.0 -1.13 0.49 -0.64
May 0.41 0.0 -0.41 0.1 -0.31 0.0 -0.41
Jun 0.07 0.0 -0.07 0.0 -.07 0.0 -0.07
Jul 0.03 0.0 -0.03 0.03 0.0 0.0 -0.03
Aug 0.02 0.0 -0.02 0.0 -0.02 0.0 -0.02
Sep 0.32 0.0 -0.32 0.0 -0.32 2.62 2.30
Oct 0.62 0.04 -0.58 1.95 1.33 0.0 -0.62
Nov 1.7 0.49 -1.21 0.46 -1.24
Dec 2.57 1.21 -1.36 7.69 5.12
Total 17.79 12.09 -5.7 19.25 1.46 0.08 -9.25**
*Average rainfall from http://longrangeweather.com/
** total difference for only the months shown
Options for Drought Mitigation: Purchase Additional Drought Buffer Through State Water
The Department of Water Resources administers long-term water supply contracts to 29 local water agencies for water service from the State Water Project. The County of San Luis Obispo Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District) is one of the 29 State Water Contractors with a contract for 25,000 AF of water and has subcontracts with local agencies within San Luis Obispo County. Table 5, below, shows the eleven State Water Subcontractors with the District as well as their Table A and Drought Buffer contracted amounts.
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-6
Table 5: Table A and Drought Buffer allocations by subcontractor Agency Table A
(AFY)
Drought
Buffer
(AFY)
Total
(AFY)
Subscription
Percentage
CSA 16 (Shandon) 100 0 100 0.40%
Morro Bay 1,313 2,290 3,603 14.41%
CMC 400 400 800 3.20%
County Ops Center 425 425 850 3.40%
Cuesta College 200 200 400 1.60%
Pismo Beach 1,240 1,240 2,480 9.92%
San Miguelito MWC 275 275 550 2.20%
Avila Beach CSD 100 100 200 0.80%
Avila Valley MWC 20 60 80 0.32%
San Luis Coastal USD 7 7 14 0.06%
Subcontractor Total 4,830 5,747 10,577
District’s Unsubscribed Total 14,423
In the past, including this year, the District has used its unsubscribed State Water Allocation and Stored State Water to make its subcontractors whole (i.e. delivered their full Table A allocation) when State Water Deliveries have been low. At the July 8, 2022 State Water Subcontractors Advisory Committee meeting, County staff, representing the District, informed the subcontractors that the District would be announcing by the end of the year a “first right of refusal” to the subcontractors to purchase the District’s unsubscribed allocation. Any portion of the unsubscribed allocation that is not purchased by subcontractors will likely be sold, or otherwise obligated and would not be made available to subcontractors to make them whole in the future.
The District is currently gathering information as to how much, if any, additional State Water each subcontractor would like to add to their portfolio. Once District staff receives requests from each of the subcontractors, it will be able to determine if the full request can be fulfilled, or if requests will need to be modified to accommodate all of the subcontractors’ requests.
Staff has looked at different scenarios of how a portion of the unsubscribed allocation could be put to beneficial use for the City of Pismo Beach and has included two of them in this report for the Council’s consideration.
Option A – Full State Water Allocation at 20% DWR Delivery This option provides for the City of Pismo Beach to take full delivery of the 1,240 AF Table A allocation when deliveries from the State Water Project are set to 20%. This would be achieved by increasing the City’s drought buffer allocation by 3,720 AFY from 1,240 AFY to 4,960 AFY. At a 20% delivery, the City could expect to receive 248 AF of Table A deliveries plus 992 AF of drought buffer for a total delivery of 1,240 AF. The cost of drought buffer is approximately $205/AFY, therefore this option would have a fiscal impact of an additional $762,600 per year to the Water Enterprise Fund.
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-7
Option B – 1,800 AF of Total Water Supply at 20% DWR Delivery The goal of this option is for the City to be able to take delivery of 1,800 AF of water when SWP deliveries are set to 20%. This option assumes that the City can take delivery of 80% of its Lopez Lake deliveries (or 713.6 AFY) and pump 200 AF from the Santa Maria Ground Water Basin. That means the City would need to take delivery of 886.4 AF of State Water. This could be achieved by increasing the City’s drought buffer allocation by 1,952 AFY from 1,240 AFY to 3,192 AFY. This option would have a fiscal impact of an additional $400,160 per year to the Water Enterprise Fund.
When evaluating the available options, State Water Storage must be considered. State Water storage follows a series of equations depending on the delivery percentage. When deliveries are from 0–50%, the maximum storage amount is 25% of the total available water (Table A plus drought buffer). When deliveries are from 51–74%, the maximum storage amount is 25% plus 1% for every point over 50%. Finally, when deliveries are over 74%, the maximum storage amount is 50% of the total available water.
Option A gives a total contracted amount (Table A plus drought buffer) of 6,200 AFY, while Option B gives a total contracted amount of 4,432 AFY. Table 6, below, shows the amount of storage that could be generated from each option under different delivery scenarios
Table 6: Total Available Water and Maximum Storage Amounts for Various Deliveries for Option A and Option B
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 1,108 277
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
The actual amount that will be put into storage is equal to the maximum storage amount minus the amount of State Water used.
Figure 2, below shows the amount of water available to the City at the beginning of each year from 2021 for our current water supply, as well as the two options being considered for additional State Water Drought Buffer. The chart assumes a full Lopez entitlement and 300 AF of groundwater. Figure 3, below, shows the amount of stored State Water generated each year for our current water supply as well as the two options being considered.
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-8
Figure 2: Amount of Available Water at Start of Year
Figure 3: Amount of Stored State Water Generated by Year Should the City Council choose to add additional drought buffer to the City’s water supply portfolio, staff recommends that the City 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.
0.00 1000.00
2000.00
3000.00
4000.00
5000.00
6000.00
7000.00
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Water at Start of Year
Current Opt A Opt B
0.00 200.00
400.00
600.00
800.00
1000.00
1200.00
1400.00
1600.00
1800.00
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Stored State Water
Current Option A Option B
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-9
Conclusion and Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss the options for increasing State Water Drought Buffer and provide staff with direction on how to proceed. Should the Council direct staff to move forward with increasing State Water Drought Buffer, staff will return at the next available Council meeting with a Resolution to that effect.
FISCAL IMPACT:
An increase to the City’s State Water Drought Buffer would be paid for from the Water Enterprise Funds.
Option A, increasing State Water Drought Buffer to 4,960 AFY would cost an additional $762,600 per year for fiscal years (FY) 2023 through 2026 for a total of $3,050,400.
Option B, increasing State Water Drought Buffer to 3,192 AFY would cost an additional $400,160 per year for FY 2023 to FY 2026, for a total of $1,600,640.
The proposed Water/Wastewater Rate Study includes approximately $379,000 per year for water main replacement as a preventive measure for FY 2023 through FY 2026.
Should the Council direct staff to purchase additional drought buffer, staff recommends postponing this maintenance and using the funds for the additional expenditure associated with the additional drought buffer.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Purchase other quantities of drought buffer.
2.Provide Staff with direction to seek other alternatives for water delivery.
3. Request more information.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
Submitted by: Meeting Date: November 15, 2022
Benjamin A. Fine, P.E., Director of Public Works/City Engineer City Manager Approval:
Council Agenda 11-15-2022 12.A-10