The Monterey Peninsula – Getting There on Water?

We are now finally at the stage where the portfolio of projects may be coming together.  Monterey Peninsula needs to reduce the amount of water Cal Am has been taking from both the Carmel River and the Seaside Aquifer.  Replacement projects for that water are either on-line or coming along. 

The current “portfolio” of water projects is really nothing new.  People have been using water from rivers and aquifers for thousands of years, desal technology has been around for a long time, and setting aside water when rivers are flowing with excess water and storing that water only makes sense.  

So, starting in 1996 – and using a concept similar to what the Clint Eastwood proposal had planned to use 30 years ago – the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) started evaluating if an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Project to divert excess water in the Carmel River during high flows to the Seaside Aquifer for use later would work.  The agency first built a “proof of concept” in 1997 to demonstrate its feasibility, and added wells the following year.  Based on the positive results from the demonstration facility, the agency went to work on the full scale project. 

There have been two phases of the project; phase I with a maximum capacity of 2,400 afy, and phase II with a capacity of 2,900 afy.  Because of variations in the amount of water that can be taken from the river, however, average yields are projected to be somewhat lower at about 1.300 and 1,050 afy.  Since the project came on line in 2008 it has diverted 8,561 acre feet of water to the aquifer; which is almost one year’s worth of water at current use rates.

In October 2015 (when I was the Board Chair), the Board of Directors of Monterey One Water (M1W) approved moving ahead with the Pure Water Monterey (PWM) Project.  The Orange County Water District has been producing water using a very similar process since the late 1960’s and, in 2008, expanded their operations to produce 100 million gallons a day (112,000 afy).  Because of legal requirements back in the 1960’ and 1970”s they were required to put their water in streams and rivers before it was sent to homes.  But water experts and politicians have learned over time that more direct use of recycled potable water is safe, and so the local project will put their water into the Seaside aquifer, where it will travel through the soil for 10-12 months before being taken out.

Now, a lot of things came together to make this happen.  The Marina Coast Water District, the City of Salinas, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and the Fort Ord Reuse Authority all pledged their support for the project.  The California Public Utilities Commission also approved a three way water purchase agreement whereby M1W sells the water to the Water District which, in turn, sells it to Cal Am.  The project is designed to produce 3,500 acre feet per year (afy) of highly purified water which will be injected into the aquifer, where it will replace water taken out of the Seaside Groundwater Basin.  This replacement water will allow Cal Am to reduce the water it takes from the river by a similar amount – and also reducing the amount of water that needs to be produced through desalination. 

The overall project also allows for a “drought reserve” of 1,000 acre feet, which will involve putting an extra 200 acre feet per year into the aquifer until that 1.000 AF goal is reached.  That will then remain there to be drawn out in dry years if needed.  In addition, in response to a California Public Utility Commission request, Pure Water Monterey confirmed that it could expand its production by another 2,200 afy (or a total of 5,700 afy) if called on to do so.  The EIR to potentially do that has been completed, but is now in limbo until some regional political issues are resolved. 

The completion of the Pure Water Monterey project was the result of a lot of agencies and organizations working together.  For instance, in addition to building the water recycling plant, M1W worked with the Marina Coast Water District to build a 26 mile pipeline from Marina to Seaside to deliver the water to be injected into the Seaside aquifer.  Access to the well sites had to be worked out with the city of Seaside.  None of these things just happened or were easy.  In fact in order to complete the project we had to obtain over 35 different city, county, state, and federal government permits.  Cal Am had to build a seven mile pipeline to deliver the water to their Pacific Grove water treatment and distribution plant. 

M1W’s partner agency – the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District – was a big part of making all of that happen.  They provided financial assistance, engineering support, and advice all along the project’s development.  The water district worked with all parties to build the plant, developed the injection wells, and work out a water purchase agreement that would benefit all parties.

The Monterey Peninsula needs to reduce the amount of water Cal Am has been taking from both the Carmel River and the Seaside Aquifer illegally.  Replacement projects for that water are either on-line or coming along, and we are now finally at the stage where the portfolio of projects may be coming together. 

In order to get away from over-reliance on the Carmel River and Seaside Aquifer, it was decided to obtain water from several other sources with a “portfolio” of water projects.  This includes Aquifer Storage and Recovery, Ground Water Replenishment, and a desalination plant (and includes some help from Pacific Grove’s own Local Water Project).  People have been using water from rivers and aquifers for thousands of years; desal technology has been around for a long time; and setting aside water when rivers are flowing with excess water and storing that water only makes sense.  

Using a concept similar to what Clint Eastwood organization proposed 30 years ago, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) started evaluating if an Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) project to divert water from the Carmel River during high flows, to the Seaside Aquifer for later use, would work.  The agency first built a “proof of concept” to demonstrate its feasibility, and added wells the following year.  Based on the positive results from the demonstration facility, the agency went to work on the full scale project. 

Because of year to year variations in the amount of water that can be taken from the river, average yields are projected to be around 1,050 and 1,300 acre feet per year.  Since the project came on line in 2008 it has diverted 8,561 acre feet of water to the aquifer; which is almost one year’s worth of water at current use rates.

In October 2015 (when I was the Board Chair), the Board of Directors of Monterey One Water (M1W) approved moving ahead with the Pure Water Monterey (PWM) Project.  The Orange County Water District has been producing water using a very similar process since the late 1960’s and, in 2008, expanded their operations to produce 100 million gallons a day (112,000 afy).  Because of legal requirements back in the 1960’s and 1970’s they were required to put their water in streams and rivers before it was sent to homes.  But water experts and politicians have learned over time that more direct use of recycled potable water is safe, and so the local project will put their water into the Seaside aquifer, where it will travel through the soil for 10-12 months before being taken out.

The PWM plant has been completed.  Because of the time we knew it would take to get the processing equipment for the plant, it was purchased years ago – before the plant building was even built – from four different manufacturers.  Just as the systems were ready to be started up, it was discovered that the computers controlling them didn’t communicate well.  Since the different modules require the use of different pressures, chemicals, and flow rates, they have to work together seamlessly.  That is being worked on, but it is taking some time to work out all the kinks in several very complex systems.

To be successful, the project relied on a lot of agencies and organizations to work together.  The Marina Coast Water District, the City of Salinas, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and the Fort Ord Reuse Authority all pledged their support for the project.  In addition to building the water recycling plant, M1W worked with the Marina Coast Water District to build the pipeline from Marina to the Seaside aquifer.  Access for the injection well site had to be worked out with the city of Seaside.  None of these things just happened or were easy.  In fact in order to complete the project we had to obtain over 35 different city, county, state, and federal government permits. 

The project is designed to produce 3,500 acre feet per year (afy) of purified water which will be injected into the aquifer, where it will replace water taken out of the Seaside Groundwater Basin.  This replacement water will allow Cal Am to reduce the water it takes from the river by a similar amount.  Cal Am was then able to build a seven mile pipeline to deliver the water from Seaside to their Pacific Grove water treatment and distribution plant.  Because of legal requirements, the water district worked with all parties to build the plant, developed the injection wells, and worked out a water purchase agreement where they purchase the water and then resell it to Cal Am.

The overall project also calls for a “drought reserve” of 1,000 acre feet to be injected in the aquifer.  That water will then remain there to be drawn out in dry years if needed.  In addition, in response to a California Public Utility Commission request, Pure Water Monterey confirmed that it could expand its production by another 2,200 afy (for a total of 5,700 afy), if called on to do so. 

Whether the Plant expansion goes forward or not, however, two of the three parts of the water portfolio are basically in place.  The plant is on-line and producing water that is being sent to the injection wells.  Because of some problems with the shallow Vadose wells (about 100 feet deep), the agency is looking at putting in more deep injection wells which can put 600 to 1,000 gallons a minute into the aquifer.