Imported Water Committee May 23, 2013

Dennis Cushman, Assistant General Manager 1

LAKE SHASTA

LAKE OROVILLE

State Water Project (Bay-Delta)

22% Colorado River

63%

Local Supplies and Conservation

15%

2

Listings of salmon, smelt, and other species under ESA have led to restrictions on water exports

Loss of 586,000 acre-feet of SWP and CVP supply in an average water year

3

Delta smelt

Longfin smelt

Green sturgeon Chinook salmon

Central Valley steelhead

Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant

Water Authority and San Diego business community support a Bay-Delta fix ◦ Water Authority and San Diego business leaders

worked together to pass 2009 legislation that established coequal goals: Water Supply Reliability Ecosystem Restoration 2014 water bond would provide public share of cost of

ecosystem restoration Water Authority has not endorsed a specific

conveyance project ◦ Information still needed to do cost-benefit analysis ◦ Unanswered question: what do we get for the

investment?

4

Commented on various drafts of the Delta Stewardship Council’s Delta Plan and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan ◦ Staff testified at the DSC’s EIR public hearing (January 2012

in San Diego)

Participated in BDCP Governance and Financing Workgroups

Participated in ACWA Ag-Urban Caucus, which submitted an Alternate Plan to DSC’s 4th draft (June 2011)

5

6

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Agricultural water district stakeholder - Westlands

Jason Peltier, Chief Deputy General Manager

Environmental stakeholder – Environmental Defense Fund

Cynthia Koehler, California Water Legislative Director

In-Delta region - Contra Costa County

Mary N. Piepho, County Supervisor

North Delta Water Agency Melinda Terry, Manager

7

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Metropolitan Water District Roger Patterson, Assistant General Manager

State and Federal Water Contractors Authority

Byron Buck, Executive Director

Delta Stewardship Council Phil Isenberg, Chair

State Water Resources Control Board

Tom Howard, Executive Director

Delta Protection Commission Mike Machado, Executive Director

The Board unanimously adopted Bay Delta policy principles in February 2012 and reiterated the principles in adopting the Legislative Policy Guidelines in November 2012

8

Encourage a Bay Delta solution that promotes local water supply development

Encourage a Bay Delta solution that is cost-effective when compared to other sources of water reliability

Require independent technical analysis of key elements of the Bay Delta solution, including real urban and agricultural demands for water

Support “right-sized” facilities to match firm commitments to pay

Continue to support the co-equal goals of water supply reliability and ecosystem restoration

9

Support a deliberative process that is designed to ensure a meaningful dialog among the various stakeholders

Improve the ability of water users to divert more water in wet years, when impacts on the ecosystem are less

Encourage the development of a statewide water transfer market

Work with all stakeholders to ensure a meaningful dialog and that water supply and ecosystem restoration processes are conducted in an open and transparent manner

10

Natural Resources Defense Council contacted a variety of water agencies to seek support for an alternative solution for the Bay Delta ◦ A conceptual alternative to the current proposed

project for the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan called the “Portfolio Approach”

Water Authority was a signatory, along with a group of water agencies, on a Jan. 16, 2013 letter asking that the NRDC alternative be evaluated in the BDCP ◦ Presentation on Portfolio Alternative at the Board’s

Jan. 24, 2013 meeting

11

12

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Department of Water Resources Paul Helliker, Deputy Director

Natural Resources Defense Council

Barry Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst

California Farm Water Coalition Mike Wade, Executive Director

Alameda County Water District Walt Wadlow, General Manager

Thursday, May 23, 2013

California Natural Resources Agency

Jerry Meral, Deputy Secretary

Review of Administrative Draft of BDCP and Environmental Documents ◦ Operations, flow criteria, supply benefits, demand

assumptions ◦ Cost impact analysis

Public Draft expected in October 2013 Additional board workshop/discussions on BDCP and

alternatives later this year

13

14

Encourage a Bay Delta solution that promotes local water supply development ◦ Portfolio Approach calls for local supply development as

part of a comprehensive Bay Delta solution Encourage a Bay Delta solution that is cost-effective when

compared to other sources of water reliability ◦ Portfolio Approach recognizes that financial resources are

not unlimited and outlines a solution that may be more cost-effective

Require independent technical analysis of key elements of the Bay Delta solution, including urban and agricultural real demands ◦ BDCP has not addressed real demands to date, as the

Water Authority has consistently urged

15

Support “right-sized” facilities to match firm commitments to pay ◦ Analysis of the Portfolio Approach could lead to a better

understanding of the right size for the Bay Delta solution Continue to support the co-equal goals of water supply

reliability and ecosystem restoration ◦ Portfolio Approach is intended to be balanced approach to

achieving both the co-equal goals Support a deliberative process that is designed to ensure a

meaningful dialog among the various stakeholders ◦ Signers of the January 16 letter, representing 22 percent of

the state’s population, are encouraging a wider dialog

16

Improve the ability of water users to divert more water in wet years, when impacts on the ecosystem are less ◦ Emphasis on south of Delta storage allows the diversion and

storage of more water in wet years Encourage the development of a statewide water transfer

market ◦ Portfolio Approach calls for greater coordination among

water agencies to make more effective use of existing facilities, including MWD’s, for moving water to where it is needed

Work with all stakeholders to ensure a meaningful dialog and that water supply and ecosystem restoration processes are conducted in an open and transparent manner ◦ The Water Authority has maintained an open dialog with a

diverse array of stakeholders in the Bay Delta solution

17