Adjudication Background and the Watermaster. ABC s of Water Jeffrey Ruesch November 15, 2016

Transcription

1 Adjudication Background and the Watermaster ABC s of Water Jeffrey Ruesch November 15, 2016

2 The MWA Mission N MWA Boundary Manage the region s water resources for the common benefit to assure stability in the sustained use by the citizens we serve El Mirage Victorville Apple Valley Hesperia Barstow Newberry Springs Lucerne Valley Yucca Valley Joshua Tree

3 What is an Adjudication? Ad-ju-di-cate: To hear and settle (a case) by judicial procedure. The Adjudication was the process in City of Barstow et. al vs. the City of Adelanto et. al The Judgment was the product The Riverside Superior Court is a court of equity and has continuing jurisdiction

4 Why Would You Adjudicate? To determine who has the right to use the available natural water supply (surface or groundwater) A fair way to determine who will pay for imported water It has the power of law behind it and a Court readily available to handle disputes Certainty in water supply Adjudications are a widely used water management tool

5 Why was an Adjudication needed in the Mojave Basin? Overdraft since the 1950s Failed Adjudication attempt ( ) There was unmitigated pumping City of Barstow filed a lawsuit on Rancho Las Flores Project in the Summit Valley area May 1990 Barstow Files a lawsuit in San Bernardino Superior Court Named those parties pumping more than 10 acre-feet upstream Claimed development and pumping in the Victor Valley had reduced their water supply Demanded delivery of 30,000 AFY surface flow at the Barstow Gage Demanded that MWA be compelled to import water

6 A USGS model showed that overdraft lowered water levels up to 200 feet

7 The Adjudication Process was Complicated Geology and Hydrology are complex The area is large and the parties are numerous Downstream parties blamed upstream development for their problems Parties wanted to preserve historic uses

8 The Adjudication process was complicated further by.. Fights over priority Overlying, Riparian, Pre-1914 water right claims Claims of prescription Agricultural pumping rights exceeded the natural supply by 200% M&I claims totaled 650,000 acre feet (about 10 times the natural flow of the River) The group threw out traditional water rights claims Complicated and difficult to prove Time and money involved would be tremendous Claims greatly exceeded supply Stipulated Judgment drafted and presented to the Court

9 Final resolution took about 12 years City of Barstow filed lawsuit Mojave Water Agency filed a cross complaint initiating the Adjudication of the entire basin due to the overdraft condition in all areas of the Mojave Basin Parties were sued, there were many competing interests, but most agreed to meet in good faith to form a solution Proposed solution came in the form of a Stipulated Judgment that only bound the parties that agreed to it MWA was appointed as Watermaster for the Mojave Basin Area Trial was held Final Judgment entered Judgment was appealed Appellate Court ruled in favor of Cardozo Group and Jess Ranch Supreme Court upheld the Appellate Court s ruling, but also affirmed the physical solution and Judgment relative to stipulating parties Settlement with Cardozo Group and Jess Ranch

10 The Judgment a binding Court mandate administered by Watermaster

11 Key Definitions Base Annual Production (BAP): The relative Annual right of each Producer to the Free Production Allowance within a given Subarea, expressed as a percentage of the aggregate of all Producers Base Annual Production in the Subarea. Free Production Allowance (FPA): The total amount of water, and any Producer s share thereof, that may be produced from a Subarea each year free of any Replacement Obligation. Production Safe Yield (PSY): The highest average annual amount of water that can be produced from a Subarea: (1) over a sequence of years that is representative of long-term average annual natural water supply to the Subarea net of long-term average annual natural outflow from the Subarea, (2) under given patterns of production, applied water return flows and consumptive use, and (3) without resulting in a long-term net reduction of groundwater in storage in the Subarea.

12 Key Pieces of the Judgment The Physical Solution Overdraft was declared by the Court Judgment formed the basis of Parties Production Rights (equitably) Transferability of Production Rights Administrative Assessments Biological Resources Assessments Rampdown to achieve balance Specific to each Subarea Goal to balance Free Production Allowances with Production Safe Yield in each Subarea of the basin 20% reduction in parties Free Production Allowances was required by the Court in the Judgment immediately Replacement Obligations Parties have responsibility to offset production in excess of production rights Replacement water purchases or water transfers Fundamental purpose of the Judgment was to create a mechanism for Watermaster to raise money to purchase imported water supplies to arrest overdraft and provide a reliable long-term water supply Subarea Obligations Surface and subsurface Makeup Water Obligations One Subarea cannot cause depletion of supply to another Subarea

13 The Mojave Basin Area was organized into 5 Subareas to Administer the Judgment

14 What is the Watermaster MWA Board serves as the Mojave Basin Area Watermaster Job is to implement the Mojave Basin Area Judgment Or simply put, act as the Court Appointed Contract Administrator

15 What does Watermaster do? Implement the Judgment (Administer the Contract) Verify water production for all parties under the Judgment (approximately 450 parties and 1,800 wells within the Mojave Basin) Process water transfer requests (about 250/Yr.) Maintain Subarea Balances Make Rampdown recommendations to the Court FPA = PSY Any production over FPA is purchased and replaced in the basin Water level monitoring Collect Assessments For mitigation of over use of water supply For administration of the Watermaster For Biological Resources Trust Fund (Department of Fish & Wildlife) Provide for Downstream Assurances Determine Makeup water obligations and assessments from available hydrologic data Biological Resource Mitigation Maintain water levels Consideration of public trust resources Annually Report back to the Court

16 What is Rampdown? Judgment Requires that Free Production Allowance = Production Safe Yield Equitable allocation of the natural water supply ( fair share ) Those who pump more than their share have to pay for it Annual determination, specific to each Subarea Example: If FPA is set at 80%, then a Party with an original right of 100 acre-feet can produce 80 acrefeet without a Replacement Obligation

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21 Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, Zone 7 Alameda County Water District Antelope Valley - East Kern Water Agency City of Yuba City Castaic Lake Water Agency Coachella Valley Water District County of Kings Crestline - Lake Arrowhead Water Agency Desert Water Agency Dudley Ridge Water District Empire West Side Irrigation District Kern County Water Agency Littlerock Creek Irrigation District Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Mojave Water Agency Napa County Flood Control Agency and Water Conservation District Oak Flat Water District Palmdale Water District San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency San Luis Obispo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Santa Clara Valley Water District Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (Central Coast Water Authority) Solano County Water Agency Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District Ventura County Flood Control District * Butte County * Plumas County A key asset is the ability to import water from the State Water Project (up to 85,800 acre-feet/yr.)

22 How do we get Supplemental Water under the Judgment? Follow the Money Producers over pump and incur a replacement water obligation Producers make payments to Watermaster Watermaster buys water from MWA and specifies the Subarea to receive the water MWA buys supplemental water from DWR and recharges within that Subarea MWA has discretion Manage the basin to maximize benefits

23 ,000 Verified Water Production - All Subareas through Water Years (Red denotes Replacement Water Obligation) 180, , , , ,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0

24 Water Uses Comparison: Base Period to Current BAP Water Uses 2015 Water Uses All Other Uses 40% Agricultural 30% Agricultural 60% All Other Uses 70%

25 MWA maintains a checking account balance to measure performance

26 2,032 7,459 13,991 28,890 41,729 43,901 48,409 51,662 53,583 53,824 56,296 56,342 58,835 68,138 64,424 74,545 81,084 78,818 86,155 85,116 94, , ,504 99, , ,287 MWA Storage Account Balance Alto Subarea

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30 Watermaster s and MWA s organizational role in the Judgment Watermaster Producers over pump and incur a Replacement Water Obligation Producers make payments to Watermaster who in turn buys water from MWA and specifies which Subarea is to receive water from the purchase MWA Implements the RWMP and supports implementation of the Judgment Develops facilities for conveying and spreading water Provides supplemental water to the Subareas through its SWP contract Sets water rates and prioritizes deliveries using the Judgment as a guide

31 Success of the Adjudication was about striking a balance What was achieved? Physical balance the tools necessary to balance supply and demands in the basin area Arrest overdraft Pay for imported supplies Political balance equity in determination of Production Rights was a concession by all parties and put competing uses on the same playing field Everyone was equally unhappy Economic balance the area is preserved by the ability to pay for and receive supplemental water supply for current and future needs

32 QUESTIONS???