March 21, Orange Countys Water Story: Regional Water Issues and the Import Supply Stan Sprague General Manager Municipal Water District of Orange County Santiago Canyon College Managerial Issues Class

March 21, Chapter 1 Once upon a time... Water supply development in Orange County

March 21, at the turn of the last century, Early settlements near surface water streams Later development depended on groundwater By turn of the century, settlers were outpacing natures ability to replenish

March 21, …LA turns to Owens Valley Development of L.A. Aqueduct Access for others came at the price of annexation to Los Angeles

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6 Others turn to the Colorado... Metropolitan Water District formed in 1928 to provide imported water to Southern California Anaheim, Santa Ana, Fullerton were original members Coastal MWD formed in 1941 MWD of Orange County formed in 1951

March 21, Meanwhile, Orange County shores up rights on the Santa Ana River Orange County Water District (OCWD) formed in 1933 to file lawsuit to litigate rights vs. upstream diverters Availability of import water leads to agency taking preeminent role in groundwater management

March 21, Eventually, we all look north SWP authorized by voters in 1960 First water delivered in early 70s Contractually agreed to 2 MAF/year to Southern California

March 21, Local Supplies Groundwater & Recycling Where Southern California Gets its Water Today Local Supplies LA Aqueduct Conservation Colorado River Aqueduct SWP Entitlement Transfers & Storage 3

March 21, Chapter Two Who is the Municipal Water District of Orange County?

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March 21, MWD of Orange County is... Wholesale water supplier for Orange County Governed by 7-member elected board 30 retail agencies Among the largest of Metropolitans member agencies Service area of 600 square miles Service area population of 2 million Four (4) directors appointed to Metropolitan board

March 21, MWD of Orange County exists to... Coordinate and plan local water management programs in Orange County Secure a reliable supply of imported water Represent local retail agencies that provide water directly to homes and businesses

March 21, MWD of Orange County as Planner… Initiated and Manages South Orange County Reliability Study Will make recommendations for both system and supply reliability improvements Implementation will be cooperative effort Analyzes data and trends and coordinates projects and programs with retail providers throughout the county

March 21, MWD of Orange County as Advocate… Represents water agencies and cities Influences and helps develop policies at Metropolitan at local government level at State & Federal levels Works with other Orange County water providers Helps to secure funding for local agency projects

March 21, MWD of Orange County as Service Provider… Water-Use Efficiency Programs School Education Water Emergency Response Orange County (WEROC) Water-related legislative tracking, analysis and advocacy

March 21, Chapter Three Traditional Imported Sources Challenged

March 21, Our Countys Supplies Orange County depends on imported water for almost half of its total supply 48% groundwater 46% imported through Metropolitan from Colorado River Aqueduct and State Water Project (Northern California) 4% recycled water 2% local surface water

March 21, Challenges for Orange Countys traditional imported water sources... Questions about water rights and surplus availability Increasing environmental regulations and restrictions Water quality concerns, i.e. impacts of salinity and organic compounds require greater treatment levels, and hamper recycling and groundwater uses

March 21, Colorado River issues Metropolitan has high priority entitlement to approximately 700,000 AF Additional 500,000 AF annually comes from surpluses Arizona & Nevada now taking full shares, other states wary, drought conditions continue to worsen Interior Secretary declares no surplus water in 2003

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March 21, Immediate concerns … Californias inability to agree to a plan to reduce its take of surplus water over 15 years Immediate cutbacks on surplus supplies eliminated soft landing option Southern California will now only receive an 800,000 AF allocation in 2003

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March 21, Long-term concerns … Over allocation Growth in other basin states Native American lawsuits Mexico Water quality concerns Perchlorate Moab tailings Salinity

March 21, Challenges to Northern California water San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta Hub of States water system Degraded ecosystem Poor water quality Supply impacted by endangered species Early 90s drought, regulatory actions create crisis State Water Project Los Angeles Aqueduct Sacramento Colorado River Aqueduct San Francisco Los Angeles

March 21, Challenges to Northern California water Struggle is to maintain what we have Historical annual supplies to exporters from the Bay-Delta have been cut by 25% due to federal actions Future regulatory actions threaten to cut supplies by another 25% This year, State can only promise 45% (approximately 900,000 AF)

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March 21, CALFED Bay-Delta Program CALFED Bay-Delta Program to the rescue Joint state-federal consortium formed in 1994 California Bay-Delta Authority created in January 2003 Collaborative, non-regulatory process to fix problems in the Delta Implementation of Record of Decision Reduce conflict among stakeholders

March 21, Endangered Species Act Protected Species in the Delta Endangered Species Act Protected Species in the Delta Delta Smelt Threatened Delta Smelt Threatened Sacramento Splittail Threatened Sacramento Splittail Threatened Steelhead Threatened Steelhead Winter-Run Threatened Winter-Run Endangered Spring-Run Threatened Winter-Run Threatened Winter-Run Endangered Spring-Run Threatened Chinook Salmon Green Sturgeon Petitioned for listing Green Sturgeon Petitioned for listing

March 21, CALFEDs Ecosystem Accomplishments Status: 382 new projects 382 new projects $398 million $398 million 100,000 acres new wetlands 100,000 acres new wetlands 17 new fish screens 17 new fish screens 10 diversion dams removed 10 diversion dams removed Status: 382 new projects 382 new projects $398 million $398 million 100,000 acres new wetlands 100,000 acres new wetlands 17 new fish screens 17 new fish screens 10 diversion dams removed 10 diversion dams removed

March 21, Delta Smelt Fall Midwater Trawl Index Delta Smelt Nearing Recovery! Environmental Gains Fishery Recovery – Its Working!

March 21, Spring-run Chinook Salmon -- Butte Creek # of Fish 5,000 10,000 15,000 20, Dam removed New fish ladder 3 new fish screens & ladders 3 dams removed Environmental Gains Fishery Recovery – Its Working!

March 21, Winter Run Chinook Salmon Adult Female Spawner Escapement Current take limit is 15 times higher than initially Winter-Run Chinook Salmon Environmental Gains Fishery Recovery – Its Working!

March 21, What CALFED could mean to Orange Countys future Hope for some long-term regional relief Improved water quality More certainty = Better local resource management and planning Expansion of local projects CALFED wont necessarily result in more water Limited imported supplies means local agency projects will become increasingly critical

March 21, Chapter Four The Local Story

March 21, Where does this leave us? Current total demand on Metropolitan is 2.0 MAF per year Expected to marginally increase over next 10 years Supply reliability to So. Cal. projected to be fairly stable over next 10 years (if no surprises)

March 21, Local reliability issues emerge South County - 500,000 residents - depend on two major pipelines and single treatment plant for 90% of their water service One of two main MWD pipelines feeding South County damaged in December 1999 OCWD proposes lowering pumping percentage to deal with overdraft of groundwater basin Reliability of the water supply and delivery network is a top priority for all

March 21, Orange Countys Population Growth North and South Population (millions) 1990: : : : 2.36 NORTH 20-Year Growth: 0.18 (8%) SOUTH Population (millions) 1990: : : : Year Growth: 0.19 (28%) TOTAL 20-Year Growth 0.37 million (13%) Newport Beach Tustin Rancho Santa Margarita Anaheim Fullerton Santa Ana Huntington Beach Irvine Laguna Niguel San Clemente

March 21, Orange Countys Water Consumption North and South Water Use (acre-feet) 2002: 549, : 634,000 Additional Demand: 85,000 (15%) NORTH SOUTH Water Use (acre-feet) 2002: 134, : 180,000 Additional Demand: 46,000 (34%) TOTAL O.C. Additional Demand 131,000 (19%) Tustin Rancho Santa Margarita Anaheim Fullerton Santa Ana Huntington Beach Irvine Laguna Niguel San Clemente Newport Beach

March 21, Where will additional supplies come from? Santa Ana River/Groundwater Basin Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) Metropolitan Import / Water Transfers Water Use Efficiency Water Recycling Colored water treatment (MCWD, IRWD) Other local supplies Ocean desalination

March 21, Orange County Reliability Study Started looking at system & supply reliability Focus on South Orange County How to meet demands with major facility/system outages Evaluate alternative supply options, including ocean desalination Second Phase to be completed July 2003 Highlights projects/programs for system and supply reliability Ocean Desalination Central Pool Augmentation Regional Storage Water Use Efficiency Expanded interconnections

March 21, Where are we headed? Water Reclamation: Dual plumbing systems (IRWD) Expanding usage from agricultural to urban Irrigation of medians, open space, etc. Brackish water desalination Upstream Santa Ana River Watershed Irvine Ranch Water District City of Tustin San Juan Basin South Coast Water District

March 21, What have we been doing? Water Use Efficiency: $6-7 million spent on WUE programs annually Collaborative partnerships between: MWDOC, OCWD, OCSD, MWD & Local retail agencies U.S. Bureau of Reclamation & EPA County of Orange State of California

March 21, What have we been doing? Water Use Efficiency: 300,000 ULFT toilets have been installed (10,000 AF/year savings) 270,000 showerheads have been installed (1,500 AF/year savings) 3,250 clothes washers have been installed (43 AF/year savings) Computer controlled irrigation system retrofits (8,500 AF/year savings) Weather Based Controllers (Estimated GPD savings) 5,000 controllers will be installed beginning in summer 2003 Funding through Proposition 13, Metropolitan and local agencies Overall WUE savings = 10-15% *Savings based on lifespan of fixtures/controllers

March 21, What have we been doing? Water Use Efficiency: Industrial Water Use MWD overseeing rebate/retrofit programs ($500,000/year) Studies needed to determine how to recapture industrial processed water for reuse (cooling towers, recycling systems in die plants, etc.) Landscape Performance Certification Program Develop landscape irrigation budgets for more than 12,000 landscape meters Technical workshops offered Annual water savings of 12,000–24,000 AF ($5.4–$10.8 million)

March 21, Ocean Desalination in Orange County Pre-development work for Ocean Desalination Plant in Dana Point Submitted to Metropolitan on June 28, 2002 Poseidon Ocean Desalination Plant in Huntington Beach - 50 MGD EIR is being completed by HB MWDOC is assisting two of its agencies, Santa Margarita WD and Southern California WC with implementation of necessary agreements to access water

March 21, Struggle to maintain current imported supply means we must make the most of what we have Local options: Water Recycling Water Transfers Conjunctive Use Water Conservation Desalination Local delivery network must be reliable Coming full circle

March 21, Questions? Stan Sprague (714)