May 1, 2012 Halla Razak, PE

Colorado River Program Director

Changes in the Colorado River Basin

Quantification Settlement Agreement ◦ Water transfer with Imperial Irrigation District

◦ Canal lining projects

Binational discussions for river management ◦ Rosarito Beach seawater desalination study

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Acre-foot: ◦ A volume of one acre covered with 1 foot of water

◦ 325,851 gallons

◦ Water amount used by 2 typical suburban families in a year

Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) ◦ A set of agreements that quantified California’s

agricultural agencies water use, and allowed California to live within its apportionment of 4.4 million acre-feet

1962 2012

Demographics / Land Use •Population served •Acres irrigated

12 million < 3 million

30 million 3 million

Physical System •Storage capacity •Hydropower generation capacity

30 maf

6,700 GW

67 maf

12,400 GW

Natural System •Annual mean natural flow at L.F. •Lowest 10-yr average flow at L.F. * 50-year period ending in year shown

15.5 maf 12.5 maf

(1931-1940)

14.4 maf 12.0 maf

(2001-2010)

Legal •Acts, agreements, etc

Colorado River Compact, Boulder

Canyon Project Act, Upper Colorado

River Basin Compact

AZ v. CA, NEPA, ESA, QSA, ICS

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Apportionments

Deliveries in 1990s

Mexico

Upper Basin States

Lower Basin States

1.71

2.8

.3

1.04

3.86

4.4

.84

1.5

.05

.39

.80

2.4

.2

5.1

.49

1.8

2.5

.02

California regularly exceeded 4.4 maf/yr

◦ CA used more than 4.4 maf/yr in 37 of 39 years prior to 2003

◦ Reclamation delivered water to meet demand out of unused AZ and NV apportionment and “surplus”

Growth of Las Vegas, increased use in Upper Basin

◦ Other Basin States demand CA limit use to “basic apportionment”

2001 Interim Surplus Guidelines

◦ Authorize additional surplus supplies for municipal use to provide a “soft landing” as CA reduces to 4.4 mafy

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California’s Colorado River Water Use

April 20, 2012

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Quantified California’s Colorado River water apportionments

◦ PVID

◦ Yuma Project

◦ IID and CVWD

◦ MWD………………………………..550,000 af

= 4,400,000af

(California’s apportionment)

Allowed ag-to-urban water transfers

Funded the canal lining projects

3,850,000 af

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Reduces California demand to 4.4 maf

Improves water supply reliability for urban

and agricultural agencies

Reduces need to export more water from Northern California to Southern California

Funds Salton Sea restoration

Significance of QSA for San Diego

• SDCWA / IID water transfer

• Largest ag-to-urban water transfer

ever: 200,000 af/yr

• Authority pays IID for farmers to conserve water, which becomes available for urban use

• Volume transferred to date: 410,000 af

• Current unit cost: $491/af

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Canal lining projects ◦ Status of projects:

Constructed parallel concrete-lined sections of All American, Coachella canals

Combined projects conserve 78,000 af/yr

Project costs:

AACLP: $305 million ($170 million paid by state)

CCLP: $125 million ($84 million paid by state)

Proposed Lined Section 1.5H:1V side slope

Existing Unlined Section 2H:1V side slope

16’

55’

40’ – 46’

Spoils

20’ O&M Road

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QSA Validation Suit • 2009 Superior Court ruling that QSA and

related agreements violated California Constitution and were invalid

• Ruling based on the State’s obligation to pay environmental mitigation costs in excess of funds provided by the QSA JPA

• 2011 Court of Appeal reversed Superior Court ruling

• State’s obligation is “unconditional”

• April 2012 federal district court ruled in favor of a QSA case regarding challenges to NEPA compliance. Decision is subject to appeal.

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Water Authority/IID Joint Petition to the SWRCB

• Water Authority and IID ask the State Water Resources Control Board to modify existing QSA environmental mitigation requirements.

• Goal is to develop more durable habitat and air quality projects at the Salton Sea, while protecting the financial viability of the QSA JPA.

• The Joint Petition seeks to:

• Halt planned delivery of water to Salton Sea from 2014-17

• Transfer some of the water to the Water Authority or MWD to generate funds for alternative mitigation

• Implement additional habitat and air quality mitigation

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U.S. and Mexico engaged in discussions on broad array of river management issues

Formal discussions could lead to Minute 319 ◦ Agreement to implement specific projects,

operating guidelines, and management strategies

Activities include studying potential binational seawater desalination plant

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Otay emergency connection Desalination (ocean and brackish) Mexicali Valley irrigation improvements Drought management Operational storage Storage in Lake Mead Wetlands and habitat restoration, protection Mexico water delivery via All American Canal New River water Aquifer monitoring

Potential plant at Rosarito Beach, Mexico

Could supply U.S. or Mexico users ◦ Direct delivery via pipeline to San Diego County

◦ Exchange with U.S. Colorado River users

Capacity 50-75 million gallons / day

Four-phase study leading to preliminary design

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● No “fatal flaws” to project were found

● Significant Mexico / U.S. demand for product water (greater than 50 MGD)

● Suitable building sites are available

● Sufficient electric power is available, with access to intake and outfall channels for seawater supply and brine disposal

● Need to develop alternative pipeline alignments to deliver product water

● Complex environmental permitting issues

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Mexico provided funds and is now evaluating pipeline alternatives to San Diego County border

Working within binational cooperative process

U.S. funding agencies considering Phase 2 ◦ Considering potential impacts from Minute 319

Increasing San Diego County's Water Supply Reliability through Supply Diversification

Metropolitan Water District

Imperial Irrigation District Transfer

All American & Coachella Canal Lining

Conservation (existing and additional)

2011

1991

95%

5%

Total = 594 TAF

44%

11%

3% 4% 11%

14%

13%

2020

Total = 779 TAF

30%

6%

4%

6% 13% 10%

24%

7%

Local Surface Water

Groundwater

Recycled Water

Seawater Desalination

Total = 578 TAF

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