FPUD approves EIR, design amendment for Conjunctive Use Project

The Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project returned to the Fallbrook Public Utility District board Sept. 26.

A 5-0 vote certified the environmental documentation and a 4-0 vote, with Don McDougal abstaining, approved an amendment to the design contract.

"At this point it was the right time to certify the environmental documents," said FPUD general manager Brian Brady.

The Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project being pursued by FPUD, Camp Pendleton, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation would enhance groundwater recharge and recovery capacity within the lower Santa Margarita River basin and develop a program which would increase available water supplies for Camp Pendleton and FPUD. Facilities within the lower basin would be constructed to capture additional surface runoff, which currently flows to the Pacific Ocean, during high stream flow periods.

The surface water would be recharged through existing groundwater ponds and stored in groundwater basins during wet years while being "banked" for water rights statistics. The water would be used to augment supplies during dry years, which would reduce the reliance on imported water.

The Conjunctive Use Project would include improvements to the diversion works, increased capacity to the headgate and the O'Neill Ditch, improvements to seven existing recharge ponds, installation of new groundwater production wells and gallery wells, water treatment at either an existing or an expanded or new water treatment plant, and a bidirectional pipeline which could deliver water to FPUD while also providing the Marine Corps base with an off-base water supply should conditions warrant.

FPUD is the lead agency for the environmental documentation which combined an Environmental Impact Report to meet California Environmental Quality Act standards and an Environmental Impact Statement which satisfies National Environmental Protection Act requirements.

The draft EIR/EIS was released for public review in May 2014 and received two comments: a letter of support from the Fallbrook Land Conservancy which noted the project's environmental benefits and a letter of concern from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA addressed insufficient information on potential impacts to water resources, habitat, and special status species while also requesting additional mitigation measures to reduce impacts to water quality, air quality, and biological resources and calling for the inclusion of a facility operating plan. The Marine Corps worked with the National Oceanographic and Atmosphere Administration fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on modifications to the draft document.

In addition to the certification of the EIR and EIS, the environmental documentation approved Sept. 26 includes a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program.

The design work included an implementation plan and potential phasing options to balance up-front capacity costs with the project yield. That plan included detailed analyses of system hydraulics, water quality, and system demands to develop the

potential phasing options. In October 2014 the FPUD board awarded a $3,205,140 contract to Infrastructure Engineering Corporation, although at that time only $896,186 for the project phasing, modeling, and preliminary design tasks was authorized. Modifications to the facilities made during the preliminary design reduced the design costs by $158,131.

In September 2015 the FPUD board authorized the expenditures of $1,635,243 to complete the final design. "During the process we had trimmed back the design, and at the very end of the process we recognized and agreed with the consultant that there were additional work items," Brady said.

Camp Pendleton is in the process of awarding a construction contract for the base portion of the Conjunctive Use Project. The Camp Pendleton infrastructure will include piping to deliver the water to the boundary of the Naval Weapons Station behind the FPUD solar facility site on Alturas Road.

Construction of the facilities from the NWS boundary will be FPUD's responsibility. The water will be treated at the Alturas Road plant and delivered into FPUD's distribution system. Some design services were needed to complete the final design and the associated permitting; the design changes will improve the operation and reduce noise and operating costs and the additional permitting activity includes analysis to reduce unknown conditions during construction.

A reduction in piping needs and associated design costs resulted in a previous amendment reducing the contract amount to $3,047,009, and the new amendment adds $160,750 and brings the total amount to $3,207,759. The final design is now expected to be complete in November or December.