Title
Consider recommending that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors adopt "Standards and Guiding Principles of Reservoir Operations During Drought Conditions".
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Reservoir Operations Advisory Committee:
Recommend that the Monterey County Water Resources Agency Board of Directors adopt "Standards and Guiding Principles of Reservoir Operations During Drought Conditions".
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
In the summer of 2020, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) formed and convened a Drought Operations Technical Advisory Committee (D-TAC) to develop a document of standards and guiding principles which would be used in the development of a proposed reservoir release schedule, when triggered under specific, seasonally defined conditions (Attachment 1). The D-TAC met formally on three occasions in August, November and December of 2020 to deliberate on a set of standards and guiding principles, ultimately reaching consensus at their December 28, 2020 meeting. The final document not only captured those standards and guiding principles, but also the triggers and procedures in which the D-TAC would reconvene to develop a proposed reservoir release schedule.
The D-TAC was formed through a litigation settlement agreement (Attachment 1, Appendix A) as an ad hoc committee of independent third-party experts with expertise in any of the following fields: hydrology, hydrogeology, hydrologic modeling, civil engineering, ecology, or fish and wildlife biology. In January 2020 the MCWRA opened an application cycle, via its website, available to all interested organizations and parties wishing to participate. The experts are retained and paid for, but not employed by any interested person or organization.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
None
FINANCING:
None
Prepared by: Howard Franklin, Senior Hydrologist, (831) 755-4860
Nicole Koerth, Hydrologist (831) 755-4860
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