REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
June 23, 2016
FROM: THOMAS C. ESQUEDA, Director
Department of Public Utilities
SUBJECT
Title
Authorize the City Manager to Execute Agreements for Water Sale and Transfer to the Kern-Tulare Water District for 5,000 Acre Feet, at $500 per Acre Foot.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration recommends Council approve agreements with the Kern-Tulare Water District (KTWD) to purchase and transfer 5,000 acre feet (AF) of Class 1 Central Valley Project (CVP) water (Project Water) at a cost of $500 per AF, and authorize the City Manager to execute such agreements.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of Fresno has a Class 1 water supply contract ("9D Contract") with the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) for 60,000 AF per year. The Bureau's Water Year runs from March 1 to February 28 each year. During Water Years 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, the Bureau was unable to deliver water to the City of Fresno (0-percent declarations) due to severe drought conditions. During this current 2016-2017 Water Year, Bureau has announced a 65-percent Class 1 Declaration (39,000 AF) for the City and all other Class 1 Friant Division Contractors, and the City has been working closely with the Fresno Irrigation District (FID) and the Bureau to increase the volume of water available to the City from Millerton Lake above the 65-percent declaration.
Through the cooperative efforts of the City and FID, the City has been able to secure additional water supply from Millerton Lake through a combination of Uncontrolled Season Release (UcS) water and Unreleased Restoration Flow (URF) water. These additional water supplies will increase the volume of water available to the City during Water Year 2016-2017 from 39,000 AF to 58,880 AF at an average price of $84.18 per AF. With a surplus of water above the official 65-percent declaration, the City is in a position to provide water to other Friant Division Contractors that are in need of additional water supply du...
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