Halla Razak, P.E., Colorado River Program Director at the Water Authority provides an overview of the Quantification Settlement Agreement, the associated canal linings and the benefits to the San Diego region. Presented as part of the May 1 forum, Water Talks: The Colorado River and its Future

1. May 1, 2012
Halla Razak, PE
Colorado River Program Director

2.  Changes in the Colorado River Basin
 Quantification Settlement Agreement
◦ Water transfer with Imperial Irrigation District
◦ Canal lining projects
 Binational discussions for river management
◦ Rosarito Beach seawater desalination study
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5.  Acre-foot:
◦ A volume of one acre covered with 1 foot of water
◦ 325,851 gallons
◦ Water amount used by 2 typical suburban families
in a year
 Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA)
◦ A set of agreements that quantified California’s
agricultural agencies water use, and allowed
California to live within its apportionment of 4.4
million acre-feet

6. 1962 2012
Demographics / Land Use
•Population served 12 million 30 million
•Acres irrigated < 3 million 3 million
Physical System
•Storage capacity 30 maf 67 maf
•Hydropower generation 6,700 GW 12,400 GW
capacity
Natural System
•Annual mean natural flow at
L.F. 15.5 maf 14.4 maf
•Lowest 10-yr average flow at 12.5 maf 12.0 maf
L.F. (1931-1940) (2001-2010)
* 50-year period ending in year shown
Legal Colorado River
Compact, Boulder
•Acts, agreements, etc Canyon Project Act,
AZ v. CA, NEPA,
ESA, QSA, ICS
Upper Colorado
6 River Basin Compact

7. Upper Basin States
Lower Basin States
1.04 .49
3.86
1.71
.3 .2 .80 1.8
5.1 .05 .02
4.4 2.8 2.4
Apportionments .84 .39
Deliveries in 1990s 2.5
1.5
Mexico

8.  California regularly exceeded 4.4 maf/yr
◦ CA used more than 4.4 maf/yr in 37 of 39 years
prior to 2003
◦ Reclamation delivered water to meet demand out of
unused AZ and NV apportionment and “surplus”
 Growth of Las Vegas, increased use in Upper
Basin
◦ Other Basin States demand CA limit use to “basic
apportionment”
 2001 Interim Surplus Guidelines
◦ Authorize additional surplus supplies for municipal
use to provide a “soft landing” as CA reduces to 4.4
mafy
California’s Colorado River Water
Use
April 20, 2012 8

10.  Quantified California’s Colorado River water
apportionments
◦ PVID
◦ Yuma Project 3,850,000 af
◦ IID and CVWD
◦ MWD………………………………..550,000 af
= 4,400,000af
(California’s apportionment)
 Allowed ag-to-urban water transfers
 Funded the canal lining projects
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11.  Reduces California demand to 4.4 maf
 Improves water supply reliability for urban
and agricultural agencies
 Reduces need to export more water from
Northern California to Southern California
 Funds Salton Sea restoration
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12. Significance of QSA
for San Diego
• SDCWA / IID water transfer
• Largest ag-to-urban water transfer
ever: 200,000 af/yr
• Authority pays IID for farmers to
conserve water, which becomes
available for urban use
• Volume transferred to date:
410,000 af
• Current unit cost: $491/af
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13.  Canal lining projects
◦ Status of projects:
 Constructed parallel concrete-lined sections of All
American, Coachella canals
 Combined projects conserve 78,000 af/yr
 Project costs:
 AACLP: $305 million ($170 million paid by state)
 CCLP: $125 million ($84 million paid by state)
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16. Proposed Lined Section Existing Unlined Section
1.5H:1V side slope 2H:1V side slope
55’
20’ O&M Road
Spoils
40’ – 46’
16’
16

17. 17

18. 18

21. QSA Validation Suit
• 2009 Superior Court ruling that QSA and
related agreements violated California
Constitution and were invalid
• Ruling based on the State’s obligation to
pay environmental mitigation costs in
excess of funds provided by the QSA JPA
• 2011 Court of Appeal reversed Superior Court
ruling
• State’s obligation is “unconditional”
• April 2012 federal district court ruled in favor
of a QSA case regarding challenges to NEPA
compliance. Decision is subject to appeal.
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22. Water Authority/IID Joint Petition
to the SWRCB
• Water Authority and IID ask the State Water Resources
Control Board to modify existing QSA environmental
mitigation requirements.
• Goal is to develop more durable habitat and air
quality projects at the Salton Sea, while protecting the
financial viability of the QSA JPA.
• The Joint Petition seeks to:
• Halt planned delivery of water to Salton Sea from 2014-17
• Transfer some of the water to the Water Authority or MWD to
generate funds for alternative mitigation
• Implement additional habitat and air quality mitigation
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23.  U.S. and Mexico engaged in discussions on
broad array of river management issues
 Formal discussions could lead to Minute 319
◦ Agreement to implement specific projects,
operating guidelines, and management strategies
 Activities include studying potential
binational seawater desalination plant

24.  Otay emergency connection
 Desalination (ocean and brackish)
 Mexicali Valley irrigation improvements
 Drought management
 Operational storage
 Storage in Lake Mead
 Wetlands and habitat restoration, protection
 Mexico water delivery via All American Canal
 New River water
 Aquifer monitoring
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25.  Potential plant at Rosarito Beach, Mexico
 Could supply U.S. or Mexico users
◦ Direct delivery via pipeline to San Diego County
◦ Exchange with U.S. Colorado River users
 Capacity 50-75 million gallons / day
 Four-phase study leading to preliminary
design

26. ● No “fatal flaws” to project were found
● Significant Mexico / U.S. demand for
product water (greater than 50 MGD)
● Suitable building sites are available
● Sufficient electric power is available,
with access to intake and outfall
channels for seawater supply and brine
disposal
● Need to develop alternative pipeline
alignments to deliver product water
● Complex environmental permitting
issues
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27.  Mexico provided funds and is now evaluating
pipeline alternatives to San Diego County
border
 Working within binational cooperative
process
 U.S. funding agencies considering Phase 2
◦ Considering potential impacts from Minute 319
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28. Increasing San Diego County's Water Supply
Reliability through Supply Diversification
1991
5% 2011
4%
2020
11%
95% 14% 3%
10% 13% 6%
13% 11%
7%
Total = 578
44% 4%
TAF 24%
30%
6%
Total = 594 TAF
Total = 779 TAF
Metropolitan Water District Recycled Water
Imperial Irrigation District Transfer
Seawater Desalination
All American & Coachella Canal Lining Groundwater
Conservation (existing and additional) Local Surface Water
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