On July 10, the Los Osos Community Service District (CSD) Board of Directors approved a request by general manager Ron Munds to provide $630,000 in funding to design and pre-engineer the proposed intertie pipeline for the community. The pipeline would connect to the State Water Project in Morro Bay and bring 200 to 600 acre-feet of water to supplement the community’s groundwater supply.
The basin pumps about 1800 acre feet of water annually to provide both domestic and ag users with water.
Munds expressed some urgency to provide a new source of water for the town of 15,000 after a bombshell hydrologist study showed pumping of groundwater in town is “not sustainable” at the current level. The study was supported by 5 hydrologists in peer reviews, says Munds.
Recent findings from the Basin Management Committee (BMC), including results from a newly developed Transient Groundwater Model, underscore the
urgency of improving water supply sustainability suggesting that seawater is already intruding into the basin and could move 45 feet a year inland long term.
Despite the need, there is no firm commitment of construction funding to build the $8 million, 2.5 miles pipeline.
“I am feeling the pressure to get a shovel ready project ready for an outside funding source. The earliest the Army Corp of Engineers grant funds will be available is their 2027 work plan but there are no guarantees.”
Munds told the CSD board he had a “a great meeting” with representatives for Corps indicating they may fund up to $5 million in the future but this is not guaranteed as of yet. Congress last year earmarked $8 million for the project signed by President Biden.
There are other sources he is working on.
“There are Prop 4, California Climate Bond grants coming up later this year but there are no guarantees there either.”
Munds says an agreement to share costs with all the water purveyors is coming together but not yet in place.
“The CSD does not have a formal agreement with Golden State Water or S&T Mutual at this time, but we are working on it. With the recent update to the status of the groundwater, I’m feeling the urgency to move forward with the project even with the funding unknowns; as a community, we need to do something to address our water supply problems.”
“I believe this project is a giant step forward and a partial solution to our long-term water supply needs. “
Board members agreed the CSD would have a better chance to get funding for construction if the project is shovel ready.
This week the CSD board decided they are willing to take the risk of authorizing the expenditures for the design of the project with no guarantees as long as bids come in no more than 20% higher than estimated.
The board approved funding now of $80,000 toward the $630,00 engineering estimate with the expectation that the other purveyors will partner up.
At the July 10 meeting it was suggested the county should be part of the solution since the rural and ag portions of the basin use about half the groundwater pumped annually but are not paying to fix the water supply shortfall.The urban parts of Los Osos are served by the three water purveyors who are stepping up to the plate.
The staff report says “Given the urgency highlighted by the Transient Model and the importance of project readiness for grant applications, staff recommends proceeding with detailed design services to make the project “shovel ready.” This will better position the project for funding opportunities and will greatly enhance the District’s
chances of securing outside funding from state or local sources.
Staff will continue to discuss the project with the Golden State Water Company and S&T Mutual Water Company, both of which are very supportive. As those talks proceed, staff will bring updates and any framework for agreements to the Board for consideration.”
Meanwhile the basin’s watchdog, the Los Osos Basin Management Committee will continue its study of the new Transient Model including evaluating different recycled water and supplemental water supply alternatives to help improve the Basin’s sustainability. This work should be completed in the August/September timeframe. This portion of the study will provide broad cost estimates which can inform future decisions for water supply development.The BMC is set to meet again in the next week.
Not everyone agrees the new model shows we are pumping too much. BMC member and County Supervisor Bruce Gibson says more study is needed before we come to that conclusion.But Gibson is a fan of the pipeline project.
On the other side of the question, Beth Reineke (S&T Mutual Water Co Mgr) BMC board member offered her take at the June 18 BMC meeting. Fellow board member Bruce Gibson tried to convince the board that since consultant Spencer Harris was not present to discuss his memorandum and the new model, policy decisions should not be discussed prematurely. Mr. Harris was said to be under the weather.
But Reineke,who is a water quality analyst, said the consultant’s written report spoke for itself and added that the impressive peer reviewed information prompted her today to make a call to action to address the “dire state of our basin.”
“We are currently over-pumping by a large and yet-to-be-determined amount.”
She advocates a reduction in pumping to stop and reverse seawater intrusion including connecting to the State Water pipeline to help offset pumping from our basin in wet years. This could prevent the pumping of 200-600 acre feet a year (AFY) from our basin. Reineke also has a half dozen water saving measures she advocates.