1. Orange County’s 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, 2003

2. Water supply development in Orange County
Chapter 1
Water supply development in Orange County
Once upon a time...
March 21, 2003

3. ...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 nature’s ability to replenish
March 21, 2003

4. …LA turns to Owens Valley
Development of L.A. Aqueduct
Access for others came at the price of annexation to Los Angeles
March 21, 2003

5. March 21, 2003

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, 2003

7. 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, 2003

8. 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, 2003

9. Where Southern California Gets its Water Today
Transfers & Storage
Local Supplies
LA Aqueduct
Colorado River Aqueduct
SWP Entitlement
Local Supplies
Groundwater & Recycling
Conservation 3
March 21, 2003

10. Who is the Municipal Water District of Orange County?
Chapter Two
Who is the Municipal Water District of Orange County?
March 21, 2003

11. March 21, 2003

12. MWD of Orange County is... Wholesale water supplier for Orange County
Governed by 7-member elected board
30 retail agencies
Among the largest of Metropolitan’s member agencies
Service area of 600 square miles
Service area population of 2 million
Four (4) directors appointed to Metropolitan board
March 21, 2003

13. 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, 2003

14. 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, 2003

15. 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, 2003

16. 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, 2003

17. Chapter Three
Traditional Imported
Sources Challenged
March 21, 2003

18. Our County’s 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, 2003

19. Challenges for Orange County’s 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, 2003

20. 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
March 21, 2003

21. March 21, 2003

22. Immediate concerns …
California’s 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
March 21, 2003

23. March 21, 2003

24. Long-term concerns … Over allocation Growth in other basin states
Native American lawsuits
Mexico
Water quality concerns
Perchlorate
Moab tailings
Salinity
March 21, 2003

25. Challenges to Northern California water
State
Water
Project
Sacramento
San Francisco Bay/ Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Hub of State’s water system
Degraded ecosystem
Poor water quality
Supply impacted by endangered species
Early 90s drought, regulatory actions create crisis
San Francisco
Los Angeles Aqueduct
Colorado River Aqueduct
Los Angeles
March 21, 2003

26. 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)
March 21, 2003

27. March 21, 2003

28. 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, 2003

29. Endangered Species Act
Protected Species in the Delta
Winter-Run Threatened
Winter-Run Endangered
Spring-Run Threatened
Chinook Salmon
Delta Smelt
Threatened
Steelhead
Threatened
Winter Run: [from Rick Sitts] The current take limit is for last season ( ) and is 39,823, 15 times higher than 2,700, set in early 1993 following the run being listed as threatened in late NOTE, that these two take estimates are based on 1 and 2 percent take criteria for 1993 and 2002, respectively, so the "times higher" can be an artifact of the calculation. If based on a 2% take limit level for both years, 2002 is 7.4 times higher than for /
Green Sturgeon
Petitioned for listing
Sacramento Splittail
Threatened
March 21, 2003

30. CALFED’s Ecosystem Accomplishments
Status:
382 new projects
$398 million
100,000 acres new wetlands
17 new fish screens
10 diversion dams removed
March 21, 2003

31. Environmental Gains Fishery Recovery – It’s Working!
Delta Smelt
Nearing Recovery!
Delta Smelt Fall Midwater Trawl Index
Delta smelt Fall Midwater Trawl Index and some delisting criteria; indices of 239 or greater in 2 of 5 years and not less than 84 more than 2 years in a row, during 2 extreme flow years in a row with one dry or critical year (Still need extreme years) [Sitts]
March 21, 2003

32. Spring-run Chinook Salmon -- Butte Creek
Environmental Gains Fishery Recovery – It’s Working!
20,000
15,000
3 new fish screens & ladders
3 dams removed
# of Fish
10,000
New fish ladder
5,000
Information based on page 52 of CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program, Draft Stage 1 Implementation Plan, August 6, 2001.
Dam removed
1981
1986
1991
1996
2001
Spring-run Chinook Salmon -- Butte Creek
March 21, 2003

33. Environmental Gains Fishery Recovery – It’s Working!
Current take limit is 15 times higher than initially
Winter-Run Chinook Salmon
Winter Run Chinook Salmon Adult Female Spawner Escapement
The current take limit is for last season ( ) and is 39,823, 15 times higher than 2,700, set in early 1993 following the run being listed as threatened in late NOTE, that these two take estimates are based on 1 and 2 percent take criteria for 1993 and 2002, respectively, so the "times higher" can be an artifact of the calculation. If based on a 2% take limit level for both years, 2002 is 7.4 times higher than for
Wild winter run chinook salmon adult female spawner escapement (Delisting criteria include 13 consecutive years at >10,000 female spawners.)
* Source: Kano (CDFG), except 2001 from Hight (CDFG 1/16/02)
** Spawning females = total * 0.8 * 0.5, with 0.8 to adjust for 80% adults (not jacks), and 0.5 for 50% female adults.
[from R. Sitts]
March 21, 2003

34. What CALFED could mean to Orange County’s future
Hope for some long-term regional relief
Improved water quality
More certainty = Better local resource management and planning
Expansion of local projects
CALFED won’t necessarily result in more water
Limited imported supplies means local agency projects will become increasingly critical
March 21, 2003

35. Chapter Four
The Local Story
March 21, 2003

36. 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, 2003

37. 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, 2003

38. Orange County’s Population Growth North and South
Population (millions)
1990: 1.89
2000: 2.18
2010: 2.30
2020: 2.36
Fullerton
Anaheim
Tustin
SOUTH
Santa Ana
Population (millions)
1990: 0.51
2000: 0.68
2010: 0.79
2020: 0.87
20-Year Growth:
0.18 (8%)
Rancho Santa Margarita
Irvine
Huntington Beach
TOTAL
20-Year Growth
0.37 million (13%)
Newport Beach
20-Year Growth:
0.19 (28%)
Laguna Niguel
San Clemente
March 21, 2003

39. Orange County’s Water Consumption North and South
Water Use (acre-feet)
2002: ,000
2025: ,000
Additional Demand: ,000 (15%)
Fullerton
Anaheim
Tustin
Santa Ana
Rancho Santa Margarita
Irvine
Huntington Beach
SOUTH
Water Use (acre-feet)
2002: ,000
2025: ,000
Additional Demand:
46,000 (34%)
Newport Beach
TOTAL O.C.
Additional Demand
131,000 (19%)
Laguna Niguel
San Clemente
March 21, 2003

40. 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, 2003

41. 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, 2003

42. 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, 2003

43. 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, 2003

44. 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, 2003

45. 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, 2003

46. 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, 2003

47. Coming full circle
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
March 21, 2003

48. Questions?
Stan Sprague (714)
March 21, 2003