Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Questions for Project Proponents - Due Thursday May 8, 6:00 p.m.
2014 IRWM Drought Project Solicitation
To facilitate the Watersheds Coalition of Ventura County (WCVC) project selection process, WCVC steering committee members submitted the following questions for project proponents.  Project proponents are asked to submit written responses to CalleguasWatershed@gmail.com by 6:00 p.m. on  Thursday, May 8.  The answers will be posted to this site Friday morning, May 9, for the reference of the WCVC steering committee and general membership.

 Questions for All Project Proponents
Please provide/confirm the following information for your project:
  1. Total project cost
  2. Grant funding request
  3. Minimum grant amount acceptable to proceed
  4. Percent matching funds to be provided
  5. Acrefeet/year of new water created/conserved
  6. Other quantified benefits related to the project solicitation guidelines
Regional Project
Ventura County Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Program (Ventura County Watershed Protection District in cooperation with Ventura County Resource Conservation District, Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, and the Farm Bureau of Ventura County)
  1. Please clarify the cost allocation between match and reimbursement and provide a detailed breakdown for the costs.
  2. Please provide examples of the types of water conservation measures that would be implemented and quantify the volume and type of installed devices or implemented measures that would account for the 10,000 to 16,000 af/year referenced in the form.
Santa Clara River Watershed Projects

 County Stormwater Retrofits for Groundwater Recharge (County of Ventura)
  1. Please explain how the project site located in the Oxnard Plain Pressure Plain groundwater basin and the three sites located in the Santa Paula groundwater basin will increase groundwater recharge.  It appears that the sites may be located outside of groundwater recharge areas.  The Oxnard Plain Pressure Basin is generally described as having clay barriers to groundwater infiltration and tile drains to drain shallow infiltrated groundwater.  The Santa Paula Hospital location is on top of a hill while maps of the Santa Paula groundwater basin show it overlying the valley floor.
  2. Please explain how the project site located in the Piru groundwater basin will increase groundwater recharge since most stormwater in the area already infiltrates in the Santa Clara River.
  3. Given the specific site conditions, how much groundwater recharge (as opposed to infiltration) is estimated dry, average, and wet years.  How does the cost of the project compare to the estimated increased groundwater available for beneficial use?
West Ventura County Emergency Water Intertie (City of Ventura - Ventura Water, in cooperation with the City of Oxnard)
  1. Can the City of Ventura handle all their projects (and the application for all 3) if they were to receive funding for all three projects (this project and the two projects in the Ventura River watershed)? Please rate your three projects in terms of what you think is the best fit for this grant application.
  2. What is the status of design and permitting activities and the several necessary encroachment permits (including one from Caltrans)?  Will these be able to be completed in time for the City to begin construction by April 1, 2015?
  3. You requested $9M for a estimated $12M project. What is the minimum amount of money you can accept as a project and still have the project go forward? For example, if you only get $1.5M, can you still build the intertie in the timeframe of the project? 
Pilot ASR Well for Groundwater Replenishment Reuse (City of Oxnard)
  1. Given the staffing constraints currently being experienced by the city, does it have the administrative capacity to begin construction by April 1, 2015?
  2. What are the additional approvals and facilities necessary for this pilot project to result in actual increased water resources?
Calleguas Creek Watershed Projects
Salinity Management Pipeline, Phase 2D (Calleguas Municipal Water District)
  1. Is other infrastructure (desalters) needed to complete the project and reach 3400 AFY water savings? If so what is the status of the other needed work? How certain are you that an ag desalter will be built?
  2. Are ground water levels sustainable to support additional pumping from the aquifer?
  3. With the proposed Moorpark desalter upstream, is there sufficient excess groundwater to support these two desalters?
  4. What approvals will be necessary from the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency to develop this water and, if coordination is necessary, what is the status of that coordination? 
  5. How will reductions of inflows from the development of recycled water in Simi Valley affect the viability of this project?
  6. What is the total estimated cost for both the desalters and the SMP per af of developed water?
PV Well Project (Camrosa Water District)
  1. Can you combine all three of your small projects into one larger project and just ask for one lump sum? Why did you break it into three projects since we have heard it is not worth the effort to get a grant unless it is at least $500,000? Can you combine all the projects on one map and call it a piping upgrade?
  2. CEQA not completed so what are permitting issues? I am not sure I understand the agreement, but can the FCGMA  extraction allocations be met under the current pumping restrictions?  Is the viability of this project jeopardized by recent or potential future FCGMA cutback actions?
West Simi Valley Recycled Water Project, Phase 3 (Ventura County Waterworks District No. 8)
  1. Is the project dependent upon any other infrastructure projects to function?
  2. Is 320 AFY is currently being supplied by state water but will be replaced by recycled water?
  3. What is the plan to secure commitments from customers to use the recycled water?
Meter Station No. 7 and Penny Well (Camrosa Water District) Projects combined.
  1. How would Camrosa rank its own projects in terms of priority (considering these two as separate projects)?
  2. The project description for Meter Station No. 7 is not clear. It seems to say the ag users cannot use recycled water, but the project will allow them to do so. Is it that this project will allow blending of water sources where presently one must use 100% of one or the other?
  3. Regarding the Penny Well project, can we be sure the ground water supply will support this well over the long term without over draft issues?
Moorpark Wastewater Treatment Plant Tertiary Facility Optimization (Ventura County Waterworks District  No. 1)
  1. This project would generate 60 AFY as proposed but you state it could go as high as 200 AFY. Would that require additional infrastructure? Can we assume there is a demand for the recycled water?
  2. Can the additional recycled water generated be utilized by existing or soon-to-be-completed recycled water infrastructure? Or is additional RW infrastructure needed to make use of this additional water supply?
Pancho Road Reclaimed Water Pipeline (City of Camarillo)
  1. What is the plan to secure commitments from customers to use the recycled water?
  2. Is this project dependent on any other projects being completed? If so what is their status?  Provide backup information on how the 1,000 AFY savings is calculated (i.e. who will switch water sources)?
Ventura River Watershed Projects (unranked, as proposed for consideration on May 8)

Efficiency Metering - Westside Ventura (City of Ventura - Ventura Water, in cooperation with Casitas Municipal Water District)
  1. Explain how water savings is calculated. How do we know leaks will be repaired and how many leaks there actually are?
Lake Casitas Aeration Project (Casitas Municipal Water District)
  1. How may AFY will this project produce? Has the proposed method been tested and proven effective? What are the alternatives? 
  2. What technical studies have been done to support the efficacy of this approach in addressing the specific water quality concerns in Lake Casitas?
Foster Park Wells Completion Improvement Project (Ventura County Watershed Protection District in cooperation with the City of Ventura)
  1. Does the project in itself increase the water availability from these wells or are additional approvals necessary to resolve instream issues?
  2. Is the long term ground water supply expected to be sustainable for these wells?
Stormwater Capture Drying Bed Capacity Improvement: Form, Description, and Map (Ojai Valley Sanitary District)
  1. Please elaborate on how the project's captured flows will be managed, released, and/or reused. Please clarify how these flows will be used and provide information about any additional infrastructure that may be required to achieve that reuse.
  2. The application says up to 24 AFY capture but what is the expected recharge? Does the project rely on other future projects to provide this benefit? What is their status? If no CEQA has been completed, will that impact project completions?
San Antonio Creek Arundo Removal Project: Form and Map (Ojai Valley Land Conservancy)
  1.  Has the City of Ventura documented increases in its Foster Park well production from previous arundo removal projects?  
  2. Would the water made available by the arundo removal be available for municipal water supplies or are there other constraints (e.g. in stream use) that limit the water production from these facilities?
  3. Is CEQA needed? 
  4. Will this grant result in the full 320 AFY or projected recharge, or is it dependent on other projects? Can you document water savings? 
  5. Is long term maintenance required and included in this grant proposal?
End of Questions
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