City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JUNE 14, 2022 FROM: PUBLIC UTILITIES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL
SUBJECT: Annual water Supply and Demand Assessment
ISSUE:
Receive a report and adopt Riverside’s Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment.
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council receive a report and adopt Riverside’s Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment.
BOARD RECOMMENDATION:
The Board of Public Utilities met on May 23, 2022, with Chair Crohn, Vice Chair Goldware and Members Gujral, Melendez, Montgomery, Oceguera, and Wohlgemuth present, and Members Cherney and Heru absent, to consider the Riverside Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment. After discussion, the Board Members present voted unanimously to approve the Riverside Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment and recommend that the City Council adopt the Riverside Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment.
BACKGROUND:
California Water Code Section 10632.1 requires that urban water suppliers prepare an Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment (AWSDA) and submit an Annual Shortage Report to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) by July 1 of every year starting in 2022 and every year after.
The purpose of the Annual Assessment is to:
Evaluate the water supply reliability for the current year and one dry year; and Generate and submit an AWSDA and results regarding anticipated shortages to DWR by July 1 every year starting on July 1, 2022.
The AWSDA and associated Annual Shortage Report are to be prepared by water agencies based on the procedures detailed in their adopted Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) and the recommendations provided by the DWR AWSDA Guidance document.
The AWSDA final guidance document was published on April 19, 2022.
DISCUSSION:
The following table (Table 1) summarizes the topics that DWR requires as part of the AWSDA:
Table 1. Elements of the AWSDA Required Submittal
Report Topic
Table 1
Annual Assessment Information
Table 2
Key Data - Demands, containing estimated unconstrained demand from July – June of next year Table 3
Key Data - Supplies, containing estimated available supplies from July – June of next year Table 4
Annual Water Shortage Assessment, showing a summary of monthly supply/demand balances and shortages and results of planned actions Table 5
Planned Water Shortage Response Actions, containing information on planned water shortage response actions (if any) RPU Methodology
Optional attachments to include details on implementing the procedures that took place this year. Information may consist of descriptions of the steps followed, data sources considered, methodologies used, and the decision-making process Riverside’s Available Water Supply Projection for 2022-2023 Riverside Public Utilities’ (RPU) AWSDA reflects the available water supply from groundwater extraction rights in the San Bernardino Basin Area (SBBA), Riverside Basins, and the Rialto-Colton Basin, as shown in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Riverside’s Annual Extraction Rights (in acre-feet) Groundwater Basin
RPU Annual Extraction (AF)
SBBA
55,263
Rialto-Colton
2,728
Riverside North
10,902
Riverside South
16,880
Total
85,773
In addition to the extraction rights shown above, RPU also has an agreement with Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) to access up to 21,700 Acre Feet per Year (AFY) of imported potable water and recycled water for non-potable uses which is supplied from the City of Riverside Regional Water Quality Control Plant that supplies up to 800 AFY of irrigation demands.
RPU generally produces below its fixed extraction rights. Should a drought increase local water demand, RPU has the capacity and rights to increase pumping to maximize its fixed extraction rights in that drought year. As of 2022, RPU is able to meet all current demands with local groundwater supplies.
Riverside’s Water Demand for 2022-2023
The total potable and non-potable monthly water demand projections for RPU from July 2022 to June 2023 are estimated by adding next year’s projected water demand for all customer categories. The estimated demands are based on the last five years’ monthly average gallon per capita per day (GPCD) and the projected population changes, weather, and growth and 20% demand reduction per RPU WSCP stage 3.
Projected Water Supply vs. Water Demand
Based on the calculation method provided in the DWR AWSDA guidebook, RPU’s supply projection will be able to meet demand for next year with unconstrained water demand projections. However, and due to the Governor’s EO N-7-22 Drought Emergency Declaration, DWR has asked that every water agency submitting AWSDA include up to a Level 2 per state restriction which corresponds to stage 3 in RPU WSCP in their Annual assessment. Therefore, RPU is including Stage 3 (20% demand reduction) of the Water Supply Shortage Contingency Plan stages in the 2022-2023 AWSDA and the results are highlighted in the graph above. The anticipated 20% reduction in demand would amplify the difference between supply and demand, further demonstrating that Riverside would have sufficient supply to meet all of Riverside’s needs.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The AWSDA aligns with Strategic Priority 4 - Environmental Stewardship and contributes to the achievement of Goal 4.2: Sustainably manage local water resources to maximize reliability and advance water reuse to ensure safe, reliable, and affordable water to our community.
This item aligns with each of the five Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – The AWSD assessment identifies the next year’s supply and demand for RPU customers to ensure their water needs are met, thereby enhancing community trust.
Equity – All customers within RPU’s service area will benefit from the assessment of having reliable drinking water to meet demand.
Fiscal Responsibility – The AWSD assessment will help keep the cost of water affordable to customers by ensuring RPU’s anticipated supplies will meet demand in the near-term without purchasing imported water.
Innovation – Riverside is proactively preparing the AWSD assessment to evaluate water system reliability for the coming year and determining if any water shortage response actions are currently needed.
Sustainability & Resiliency – Riverside is committed to meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future and ensuring the City’s capacity to persevere, adapt and grow during good and difficult times alike.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this informational report.
Prepared by: Todd M. Corbin, Utilities General Manager Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Interim Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer
Approved by: Kris Martinez, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
RPU Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment Methodology RPU Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment Tables
Presentation
Annual Water Supply and Demand Assessment ● Page 3