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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