BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW
Senator Mark Leno, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 831 Hearing Date: 08-31/2016
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|Author: |Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review |
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|Version: |August 23, 2016 As amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Catherine Freeman |
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Subject: Monterey County Water Resources Agency: Lake
Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio
Summary: Appropriates $10 million General Fund for the Department of
Water Resources to provide a grant to the Monterey County Water
Resources Agency to construct a water conveyance between Lake
Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio..
Background:
The currently proposed Interlake Tunnel and Spillway
Modification Project (Project) is a gravity flow water
conveyance tunnel approximately 12,000 feet long connecting Lake
Nacimiento and San Antonio reservoirs in San Luis Obispo and
Monterey Counties, respectively. The Lake Nacimiento Reservoir
fills three times faster than San Antonio resulting in unused
storage in San Antonio when Nacimiento is at capacity and
releasing flood spills. The tunnel connection provides the
conveyance means to transfer water from Lake Nacimiento to Lake
San Antonio before it is spilled in a flood release.
Additionally, water can be transferred from Lake Nacimiento at
appropriate times to maximize the net storage of the combined
reservoirs. In addition to the Interlake Tunnel component, the
proposed project includes consideration of spillway
modifications to increase storage capacity in the San Antonio
reservoir.
Under existing law, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency
(MCWRA) is authorized to award a design-build project for an
Interlake Tunnel to connect Lake San Antonio with Lake
SB 831 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Page 2 of 2
Nacimiento. The MCWRA is responsible for managing, protecting,
and enhancing water supply and water quality, as well as
providing flood protection, in the County of Monterey. The
project has been under consideration since the late 1970s and
was included in the 2013 Greater Monterey County Integrated
Regional Water Management Plan. The MCWRA indicates that in
2014, a group of Salinas Valley growers revitalized the urgency
for the Tunnel project due to heightened awareness from the
multi-year drought. The MCWRA report indicates that
constructing the Tunnel would add approximately 20,000 acre feet
of net water storage. Increasing the capacity of the Lake San
Antonio reservoir would also increase the storage capacity at
that reservoir by 60,000 acre feet. This would provide
additional storage for flood control and conservation releases.
According to the MCWRA, the additional storage and controlled
releases resulting from the project would benefit the watershed
by reducing flood damage and flood safety concerns; increasing
potential for groundwater recharge; improving water quality by
reducing sediments and pesticide residues from flooded
agricultural fields; reducing salinity from sea water intrusion;
and improving instream flows benefitting biological habitat and
wildlife. Reducing reservoir spills would also reduce the
likelihood of White Bass entering the Salinas River and the loss
of juvenile Steelhead to predation.
Proposed
Law: Appropriates $10 million General Fund for the Department of
Water Resources to provide a grant to the Monterey County Water
Resources Agency to construct a water conveyance between Lake
Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio.
Fiscal
Effect: $10 million General Fund, one-time.
Support: (None on file)
Opposed: (None on file)
Comments: According to proponents of the project, the total cost of the
project is approximately $68 million. Given that the proposed
$25 million would not cover the costs of the project, the local
region intends to cover the remaining costs financed by local
farmers and rate payers through a Proposition 218 process.
SB 831 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Page 2 of 2
While the project may have merit, it is unclear what other state
funding, including Integrated Regional Water Management or bond
funds have been exhausted prior to expenditure of General Fund.
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