BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 831|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 831
Author: Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
Amended: 8/23/16
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
SENATE BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE: 14-0, 8/31/16
(pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10)
AYES: Leno, Nielsen, Block, Glazer, Hancock, Mitchell,
Monning, Moorlach, Nguyen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Stone, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Anderson, Beall
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 65-12, 8/30/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Monterey County Water Resources Agency: Lake
Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill 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.
Assembly Amendments delete the Senate version of the bill and
insert the current language.
ANALYSIS: Existing law establishes the Monterey County Water
Resources Agency (MCWRA) as a flood control and water agency
within the County of Monterey. Existing law authorizes the
SB 831
Page 2
MCWRA to award a design-build contract for the combined design
and construction of a project to connect Lake San Antonio,
located in the County of Monterey, and Lake Nacimiento, located
in the County of San Luis Obispo, with an underground tunnel or
pipeline for the purpose of maximizing water storage, supply,
and groundwater recharge.
This bill appropriates $10 million General Fund for the
Department of Water Resources to provide a grant to the MCWRA 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 MCWRA is authorized to award a
design-build project for an Interlake Tunnel to connect Lake San
Antonio with Lake 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
SB 831
Page 3
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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, 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.
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.
SUPPORT: (Verified 8/30/16)
SB 831
Page 4
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/30/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 65-12, 8/30/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Gallagher,
Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Olsen, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Baker, Chávez, Beth Gaines, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Kim,
Lackey, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Jones, Patterson, Ting
Prepared by:Catherine Freeman / B. & F.R. / (916) 651-4103
8/31/16 16:11:03
**** END ****