CWA approves performance criteria for local supply

The San Diego County Water Authority board voted May 24 to approve a set of performance criteria for the Local Investigations and Studies Assistance (LISA) program established in January to facilitate studies and investigation of new local supply opportunities.

The LISA program will provide grant funding up to $750,000 per project on an equal match cost share basis. The program and implementing principles were established by the CWA board January 25, a request for proposals for the first funding cycle was released on March 1 and generated five proposals by the April 20 deadline including one from the Fallbrook Public Utility District, and the CWA board is expected to vote on funding the proposals at its June 28 meeting.

The LISA program is intended to support the CWA’s Urban Water Management Plan, and in July 2006 board direction to CWA staff initiated the process which created the Local Investigations and Studies Assistance program. “The program focuses on early development of local supply projects,” said Bob Yamada, whose CWA title is Seawater Desalination Program Manager.

The CWA is investigating regional seawater desalination programs, but some member agencies are contemplating desalination programs on a smaller scale. In addition to seawater desalination, these smaller-scale programs also include treatment of brackish groundwater. Groundwater conjunctive use projects, which utilize surface water for storage in a groundwater basin, are eligible for the LISA program, and other potential local supplies include recycling and non-conjunctive use groundwater. The CWA’s Urban Water Management Plan relies on member agencies to develop an additional 47,000 annual acre-feet of local groundwater and recycled water production between 2005 and 2020.

In July 2006 the CWA board directed staff to meet with member agency general managers to determine the level of need to develop a new grant funding program which would focus on the early conceptual development of new local supplies. The meeting with the general managers was held in August 2006, and the general managers identified a need for “seed money” to initiate the projects and also recommended a ten percent set-aside from SB 1765 funds provided by the state for groundwater conjunctive use projects.

CWA staff then proceeded to work with a Local Projects Ad Hoc Committee, which included representatives from the Fallbrook Public Utility District and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, to develop recommendations for the structure and implementation of the new program. The committee had meetings in November, December, and early January. CWA staff and committee members jointly developed recommendations for a program and implementing principles.

The overall program goal is to fund local groundwater, desalination, and recycling studies and investigations which could lead to new local water supply or increased dry-year supplies. The restrictions on SB 1765 projects currently limit the program application to groundwater conjunctive use projects, but during the budget process money for non-conjunctive use projects will be proposed.

Eligible studies and investigations will include early project development activities such as feasibility studies and subsequent project development up to and including preparation of environmental impact documents for the full-scale project. Detailed design, construction, and operation activities will not be eligible for LISA funding. While only CWA member agencies are eligible for funding, a member agency can apply to sponsor another local agency, although all contracts and funding obligations will be between the CWA and the sponsoring agency.

The January approval also sought further definitions of performance criteria to ensure completion in a timely manner and proper expenditure of grant funds. The criteria approved by the CWA board in May requires work on the approved scope to begin within six months of the funding award and completion on the approved scope within three years of the funding agreement execution date unless prior arrangement between the agency and the CWA has been made. A schedule of work with quarterly milestones must be submitted as part of the funding agreement, and progress reports comparing the schedule of work to the actual work accomplished must be submitted on a quarterly basis. If the work accomplished is more than two quarters behind the schedule of work, a meeting between the CWA and the lead agency will be held to determine cause, remedies, and a possible amendment to the schedule or agreement, and if the work falls behind for an additional two quarters a follow-up meeting will determine the study’s continued viability and the CWA’s general manager will have the authority to terminate the agreement if the study is deemed no longer viable.

Although the CWA had set aside ten percent of the SB 1765 funding for LISA projects, the five proposals total $3.75 million in requests and the available funding is $3.1 million. Fallbrook Public Utility District general manager Keith Lewinger, who is also FPUD’s representative on the CWA board, notes that increasing the set-aside percentage from ten percent to twelve percent would allow all five projects to be funded. “We have five good projects within this county. We ought to fund them first,” he said.

The remainder of the SB 1765 funding would be used for conjunctive use projects bringing water to San Diego County.

A review panel consisting of CWA staff and board members and of representatives from member agencies not submitting proposals will review the five proposals. The FPUD proposal also involves Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton and would evaluate a joint conjunctive use project between FPUD and Camp Pendleton in the Lower Santa Margarita Basin. The project would divert existing surface water flows in the Santa Margarita River to the basin for storage, recovery, and treatment of up to 6,500 acre-feet per year for use in the FPUD service area.

The Yuima Municipal Water District has partnered with the San Luis Rey Indian Water Authority to propose a study of the Pala and Pauma Basins for storage of Yuima’s excess winter importation capacity and the tribal imported water entitlement. The City of San Diego has proposed a San Pasqual Basin study to evaluate potential storage and recovery of imported water within the basin. The Padre Dam and Helix water districts seek an El Monte Basin study, and the Sweetwater Authority and the Otay Water District proposed a study of the San Diego Formation aquifer.

The member agency funding match will be primarily external, or consultant and third-party costs, but may include some specialized in-kind costs of agency staff. However, the CWA will only reimburse external costs.