REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
May 21, 2015
FROM: THOMAS C. ESQUEDA, Director
Department of Public Utilities
SUBJECT
Title
Approve the purchase 2,990 Acre-Feet of Surface Water Supply from Millerton Lake for $1,011,925.94 from the Friant Water Authority and the United States Bureau of Reclamation ("Bureau")
Body
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends that the Fresno City Council approve the purchase of 2,990 acre-feet of surface water supply from Millerton Lake for $1,011,925.94 ($338 per acre-foot) from the Friant Water Authority and the Bureau.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City relies on both groundwater and surface water to meet the daily water supply needs of the City's approximately 130,000 water accountholders. During calendar years 2013 and 2014, the City delivered 46.1 and 41.7 billion gallons of water to the community, respectively.
Given the severity of California's ongoing four-year drought, the City's surface water entitlements from Pine Flat Reservoir and Millerton Lake have been significantly reduced.
* For Pine Flat Reservoir, the Fresno Irrigation District (FID) has notified the City that the 2015 entitlement from Pine Flat Reservoir is estimated to be 24,400 AF for the period spanning from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015. This is a twenty percent entitlement, as the City's entitlement during a normal precipitation year is 120,000 AF.
* For Millerton Lake, the Bureau announced zero percent allocations for the City of Fresno (and all other Friant Dam Contractors) for 2014 and 2015. The City holds a contract with the Bureau for 60,000 acre feet of water annually for a normal precipitation year.
The Administration has actively engaged in discussions with the Friant Water Authority and the USBR to identify options to allow the City of Fresno and other Friant Division Contractors to access the limited supply of water currently available at Millerton Lake. On Thursday, May 7, 2015, the Administration received c...
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