AV water districts seek compromise

By ALISHA SEMCHUCK
Valley Press Staff Writer

AVEK board members have all agreed in principle to grant Rosamond's request for delivering water that can be stored underground for use later, AVEK Director George Lane said during a board meeting last week.

AVEK staff is working with the agency attorney "to make sure we have a proper agreement," he added, noting they want a memorandum of understanding that promises the water will not be sold outside of the Antelope Valley.

"We did get a letter from RCSD saying water will stay here, but the board wants more," Lane said.

A letter from the Rosamond agency to AVEK, dated Oct. 14, states that the 500 acre-feet of water for banking "is for future use by RCSD within the Antelope Valley and will not be moved out of the Antelope Valley."

A prior letter from Rosamond to AVEK, dated Sept. 14, asked for the 500 acre-feet of carryover water to be delivered prior to Dec. 31. Carryover water refers to supplies that were allocated from the State Water Project but not used, so they can be rolled over to the following year.

An acre-foot equals 325,851 gallons, the amount that gets consumed in an average Antelope Valley single-family home in one year, according to water experts.

That first letter further states, "RCSD is also interested in the water that is being made available for in-lieu banking. As discussed at (a meeting), RCSD would prefer to have the water delivered to the Van Dam turnout for surface spreading in the (Semitropic-Rosamond Water Bank Authority) project over an in-lieu agreement. RCSD is interested in purchasing 1,000 acre-feet for this use ..."

Rosamond district General Manager Jack Stewart said his agency wants to spread the water for recharge in the water bank. "Those were two requests we were asking for. We would like the board agreement before the end of the year."

Administrators from the Rosamond agency have been asking AVEK to put water from the State Water Project - the California Aqueduct - in their Kern County water bank for roughly two years, shortly after Rosamond officials bought into a water bank initiated by Western Development and Storage, a private firm based in Los Angeles.

The bank sits between 150th and 170th streets west, from Avenue A north to Holiday Avenue, on land formerly owned by Van Dam Farms and used for growing crops such as alfalfa.

Although AVEK, a state water contractor, has supplied the Rosamond agency with surface water for many years, its officials questioned why Rosamond initially requested untreated water delivered to the bank in the summer months when water consumption peaks, making it uncommon to put water in the ground.

AVEK officials also wanted assurance that the water Rosamond banked would remain in the Antelope Valley because Western Development, the project innovator, deals in water sales around the state.

AVEK Interim General Manager Mike Flood said based on an agency program, if customers use less water than they've been allocated "we allow them to carry that into the next year."

That carryover water is stored in the San Luis Reservoir "until either they use the water or it spills," Flood said.

A spill occurs when the reservoir fills up to capacity, for instance in years when rainfall is heavy and the reservoir overflows. In those instances, Flood said, "that water is lost. I don't think there's any danger of that this year. You never know, but this year I think the likelihood is pretty low."

Rosamond has more than the 500 acre-feet of carryover water requested, Flood said, but he didn't have figures handy on the total amount.

"They decided they want to bring 500 acre-feet of that down and spread it. Instead of delivering it to their customers, it's going to be spread for direct recharge," Flood said. That means it will percolate into the ground and down to the water table naturally.

Flood said AVEK hesitated to respond to Rosamond's request a couple of years ago because "with the drought, we weren't allowing spreading." That policy began in fall 2007, he added.

"Once we got word from (the Department of Water Resources) that allocations were in the 20% range, we decided that it doesn't make sense to spread water on the ground and have shortages for direct use," Flood explained.

Stewart said that the Rosamond agency, which has 5,000 customers, uses about 3,500 acre-feet of water a year to fill their needs.

"Depending on weather, we run anywhere from 3,500 acre-feet to 4,000 acre-feet a year," Stewart said, adding that three-quarters of an acre-foot per customer is "pretty much the average."

Though they plan to spread 500 acre-feet on the ground, Rosamond will only be allowed to pump out 450 acre-feet. Stewart said the water bank permit granted by Kern County includes a stipulation that 10% of the water banked must be left in the ground to allow for evaporation and other conditions.

Once drafted, the memorandum of understanding must be approved by he Rosamond and AVEK boards. Stewart said he hopes for approval in November, with the water delivered to the bank by January.

Stewart also said his agency has "committed to AVEK that we would use the water in the Rosamond area for future development.

But Flood said the water bank operators intend to have outside customers who would have to pay "a lot more than the $206 an acre-foot," the cost AVEK charges Valley users for untreated water that's banked.

"The folks outside the Valley haven't participated in paying for the facilities that taxpayers and ratepayers have paid for," Flood said, referring to the water delivery infrastructure and treatment plants.

"We just need to get an MOU," he said, "so everyone's clear on that."

asemchuck@avpress.com