American Water Works : Officials Release Updated Request to Postpone River Cutbacks

46d7c658-b103-447f-8e1f-f96e8b1eb6ae.pdf FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Catherine Stedman

Manager External Affairs

April 25, 2016 California American Water

Office: 831-646-3208

Mobile: 831-241-2990

Email: catherine.stedman@amwater.com

OFFICIALS RELEASE UPDATED REQUEST TO POSTPONE RIVER CUTBACKS

Proposal Finds New Water Supplies to Offset and Reduce River Diversions Until Desalination Project Comes Online

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. (April 25, 2016) - A coalition of stakeholders including California American Water, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, Pebble Beach Company and the City of Pacific Grove plan to submit a revised request to the State Water Resources Control Board seeking more time to develop alternative water supplies for the communities of the Monterey Peninsula before significant cutbacks on pumping from the Carmel River take effect. The new modification request, which will seek an additional year, will be filed with the state before May 1, with a special meeting scheduled Tuesday for the Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority to vote on the newly proposed terms.

The need to further extend the deadline on river cutbacks arose last month after the California Public Utilities Commission announced a new, one-year delay in their environmental review of California American Water's proposed Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project, which is designed to replace current diversions from the Carmel

River. In 2009, the State Water Resources Control Board issued a Cease and Desist Order on Carmel River pumping that included an aggressive cutback schedule. The river, which has long-served as the primary water supply for the Monterey Peninsula, is considered critical habitat for protected species of fish and frogs.

The new modification request seeks to postpone the most significant river cutbacks by five years and lays out a plan to reduce river pumping in the meantime by nearly 4,800 acre feet, approximately 80 percent of the state's total cutback goal.

"This modification request represents a monumental coming together of diverse groups. We have prominent environmental and business groups agreeing on how to balance the needs of the environment and the community. I'm pleased to have played a part in building this consensus. I grew up catching tadpoles and stickleback minnows in the Carmel River, so it is particularly meaningful that, on my last days as mayor, we have developed a win-win plan for returning water to the river and protecting the needs of the community," said Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority president Jason Burnett. "Steinbeck said the Carmel River had everything a river should have but for many years it lacked water. Because of the contributions of so many, the river is well on its way to once again having more water too."

The new sources of supply outlined in the request that will serve as a "one-to-one" offset for current pumping on the river include the development of recycled water through the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and

Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency's Pure Water Monterey Project, which is projected to start delivering recycled water to Monterey Peninsula residents in as little as 24 months pending CPUC approval, increased storage of Carmel River excess winter flows in the Seaside Basin, and a new agreement to compensate a national conservation organization for curtailing Carmel River usage by approximately 300 acre-feet a year. The water savings achieved by this agreement would begin this year and are expected to add in excess of 1,000 acre feet of water to the river before California American Water's desalination plant is complete and serves as a permanent replacement for its diversions.

"The forbearance agreement California American Water has reached will put a significant amount of water back into the Carmel River during this critical period," said California American Water president Rob MacLean. "This, along with the commitment by multiple groups and agencies to move Pure Water Monterey along as quickly as possible, has managed to unite the stakeholders engaged before the state board on the Carmel River issue - even those who had objected to our previous modification request on the grounds that its diversion limit was too high."

The Planning and Conservation League and Sierra Club, two parties that have fiercely advocated for reductions in California American Water's pumping from the Carmel River, had protested the previous modification request which sought to lower California American Water's diversion limit to 8,310 acre-feet a year until the desalination project came online. Those groups have now stated they will not object to the new request, given the significant pumping offsets that have been developed.

"The Planning and Conservation League and the Sierra Club had previously expressed concerns to the State Water Resources Control Board about an extension to the Cease and Desist Order deadline," said Jonas Minton, water policy advisor for the Planning and Conservation League. "We are now excited to see the accelerating progress

on alternative water supplies and on this basis, plan to support the request for a time extension to the CDO."

In addition to support from environmental groups, the proposed CDO modification has also met with approval from local business groups.

"A lot of effort has gone toward finding a compromise that responds to the need to decrease pumping on the river and ensures that, with continued conservation efforts, our local economy is not unduly impacted," said John Narigi, vice-chair of the Coalition for Peninsula Businesses. "We believe this proposal strikes the right balance."

The State Water Resources Control Board is expected to set a hearing on the modification request this summer. The Monterey Peninsula Regional Water Authority's special meeting to vote on supporting the new modification request will be held Tuesday, April 26, 7 pm at the Seaside City Council Chambers.

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