Yuba Region Drought Emergency Response Proposal

Yuba Region IRWMP

Drought Grant Solicitation 2014

Attachment 2: Drought Impacts

This attachment information is relevant to the drought impacts criteria required by the California Department of Water Resources’ 2014 IRWM Drought Solicitation Proposal Solicitation Package (PSP) and Solicitation Guidelines. The requirements are listed below:

A. Drought Impacts

B. Water Conservation Measures

C. Eligible Project Type

A. Drought Impacts:

The following list identifies potential drought impacts taken directly from the PSP. Relevance and applicability to the North Yuba Water District (NYWD, formerly the Yuba County Water District) is noted, where pertinent.

· At risk of not meeting existing drinking water demands: In “normal” years, the NYWD can meet all domestic supply demands via the water rights to which they have access through the natural flow of seasonal creeks, even with the exceptional losses (upwards of 46%) found in the Forbestown Ditch. In drought years – especially this one – those flows are unavailable, making water supply via the South Feather Water and Power Authority (SFWPA) the exclusive option for the District. This means that water will cost anywhere between $45 and $140/AF due to foregone power production, and the going rate is trending higher this year because of scarcity.

Thus, while water is available to the District, it is at a rate that is outside the District’s ability to pay and the capacity of the canal, with sustained losses of more than 46%, do not allow the District to deliver adequate supplies for domestic uses and fire protection, and allow no irrigation deliveries at all. In 2014, the streams supplying the District’s main source of domestic water dried up in May and June, with the result being that this water supply is not available for the summer of 2014. Continuing to purchase water at the price of foregone power will bankrupt the NYWD, at which point water will truly not be available for any use.

· At risk of not meeting existing agricultural water demands: The NYWD is not delivering water to its agricultural/irrigation customers this year due to the price of water at the diversion as well as the compound losses experienced through conveyance in the Forbestown Ditch as well as losses via agricultural canals to the delivery points. The District delivered minimal water to agricultural customers last year for the same reason. The cost of water diverted via the SFWPA, along with losses doubling the diversion requirement, means that the cost of water to agricultural users far exceeds their ability to pay.

Continued dry years, as projected in most climate change scenarios, indicate that agricultural customers will not be served in the future. Without an alternate source of water supply, it’s likely that agriculture would cease to exist within the NYWD service area.

· At risk of not meeting ecosystem water demands: N/A

· Drinking water MCL violations: N/A

· Groundwater basin overdraft: N/A

· Discharge water TMDL violations: N/A

· Or other drought related adverse impacts: As stated above, if the drought and loss rates continue as they have been for the NYWD service area, it is highly unlikely that they will remain financially solvent. In fact, the likelihood is far greater that the District will go bankrupt and be taken over by another entity. The Board of Directors is currently grappling with this in the near-term by looking at their current rates structure, but the community is disadvantaged, there is not the customer base to spread the high cost of infrastructure, and there is only so much each individual customer can afford to pay before having to turn water service off completely.

B. Water Conservation Measures

The applicant, the NYWD, serves both domestic and irrigation customers, and has instituted measures as follows:

· Domestic water conservation: NYWD domestic customers have conserved between 20 and 25% this summer (2014) over last, and this has been achieved via messaging from the NYWD as well as surrounding District outreach and news articles. The following graphic shows an example of outreach on the NYWD website:

The savings has been accomplished with purely voluntary measures: NYWD customers are extremely responsive, and understand basic conditions of their water supply situation. In addition, much of the NYWD domestic users use water exclusively indoors, making the 25% conservation estimate even more extraordinary. This has saved the District – and water users – thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, in water rate fees.

If the drought continues into 2015, the District will have to implement emergency measures, likely putting the community on a gallons-per-capita-per-day limit and raising rates to pay for the water required from the SFWPA because of the absence of streamflow on those waterways where the NYWD has water rights.

· Irrigation water conservation: Irrigation was curtailed last year (2013) due to dry conditions, and this year it was cancelled completely. If the drought continues, irrigation water will continue to be unavailable. This is due to the lack of water, as well as the cost of resources available to irrigators without addressing the nearly 50% losses on the Forbestown Ditch. Below is a public notice on the NYWD website sharing this information:

Information regarding the lack of irrigation was also shared with agricultural water customers via a mailer, along with direct outreach via the elected officials within their divisions. Agricultural water users have had to move their animals, refrain from planting temporary crops, and generally forgo income from their businesses this year. This leads to a much lower economic output within a region already considered disadvantaged.

C. Eligible Project Type

Section II.C, in the PSP requests detail regarding the type of project for eligibility purposes. This direction gives four eligible project types, indicating that consistency with at least one is required. The NYWD project for increasing Forbestown Ditch efficiency is responsive to two of those four project types:

1. Provide immediate regional drought preparedness; and

2. Increase local water supply reliability and the delivery of safe drinking water

Provide Immediate Regional Drought Preparedness: Immediate drought preparedness suggests projects that contribute to sustainable long-term water supply, adding a level of “robust-ness” to a region’s water system and thereby helping with immediate needs as well as adding adaptability over the long term. This project to increase the efficiency of Forbestown Ditch, which currently has upwards of 46% losses, resulting in the loss of more than 3,300 AF on an annual basis, would conserve very close to 100% of this water over the long term. The combination of piping and lining proposed for this piece of infrastructure originally constructed in the 1800s would decrease leaks to a negligible amount.

The NYWD current receives their first 6,060 AF annually from their water rights on Oroleve and Dry Creeks. When these creeks aren’t flowing, as in 2013 and 2014, they must take water via their agreement with the South Feather Water and Power Authority (SFWPA), off of a diversion point on the SFWPA penstock. After their first 3,700 AF annually, water is purchased from the SFWPA at the price of forgone power. Because of the losses incurred on the system, the 3,700 AF is actually equal to less than 1,850 AF at the water treatment plant. Purchased water goes for between $40 and $140/AF due to the cost of foregone power. This rate is unaffordable for the domestic users within the NYWD system, and even more so for the irrigation customers. Decreasing losses on Forbestown Ditch, the artery of the NYWD system, would allow for greater reliability for the provision of agricultural water and for more affordable water throughout the entire system.

Because of the losses incurred along Forbestown Ditch, the NYWD is not able to provide the health and safety requirements of water supply for fire suppression, nor are they able to supply adequate domestic demand, especially as the community grows. Increasing Ditch efficiency will allow the NYWD to meet health and safety requirements and assure the region of water supply for years to come, adding flexibility to the system for drought years such as this one.

In addition, through upgrading ditch efficiency, more water could stay within the SFWPA system (the source of much of the NYWD water), thereby increasing their adaptability to climate change and drought occurrence from a hydropower perspective. This water also enlarges the coldwater pool available to the SFWPA, helping to ameliorate environmental concerns within the Feather River system.

Increase Local Water Supply Reliability and the Delivery of Safe Drinking Water:

Reliability of water supply for agricultural is more important that total supply available. When agriculturalists know what is going to be available, they can plan accordingly. That is one of the biggest challenges for agriculturalists served by the NYWD system: they don’t know, from year to year, what will be available and what the cost will be. Decreasing losses on the Forbestown Ditch will enhance reliability for agricultural users.

This project will also enhance reliability for the NYWD as a whole, from a water supply and a cost perspective. While predicting droughts will always remain a challenge, expanding the capacity of the system through the restoration of the Forbestown Ditch will allow the NYWD greater leeway in the amount of water they can get through the SFWPA system without the cost of foregone power. In addition, even in drought years the water that is available to them through their water rights on the tributary creeks in the Yuba watershed will be used efficiently, without system losses.

Safe drinking water is a challenge in the current system. The Forbestown Ditch is an open ditch, which results in the deposition of leaves and needles from the surrounding forested area, as well as sediment. In some cases in the recent past, biologically harmful pollution has been accidentally put into the canal. In one particular case, a septic cleaning service truck tipped over near the canal, flooding this waterway with the material from pumped septic tanks. Open ditches lend themselves toward this type of accident. While the primary goal of this project is to address losses, a secondary goal is to ensure that the water on its way to the water treatment plant, for delivery to potable systems throughout the region, remains clean and contaminant-free.