Item 27 - Water Supply Assessment for Cabrillo Town Center Project

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Santa Ana 2020 Urban Water Management Plan arcadis.com 6-31 Project would consist of a subsurface slant well intake system (constructed within Doheny Beach State Park), raw (sea) water conveyance to the desalination facility site (located on SCWD owned property), a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination facility, brine disposal through an existing wastewater ocean outfall, solids handling facilities, storage, and potable water conveyance interties to adjacent local and regional distribution infrastructure. The Doheny Ocean Desalination Project has been determined as the best water supply option to meet reliability needs of SCWD and south Orange County. SCWD is pursuing the Project to ensure it meets the water use needs of its customers and the region by providing a drought-proof potable water supply, which diversifies SCWD’s supply portfolio and protects against long-term imported water emergency outages and supply shortfalls that could have significant impact to our coastal communities, public health, and local economy. Phase I of the Project (aka, the “Local” Project) will provide SCWD and the region with up to 5 MGD of critical potable water supply that, together with recycled water, groundwater, and conservation, will provide the majority of SCWD’s water supply through local reliable sources. An up to 15 MGD capacity project has been identified as a potential future “regional” project that could be phased incrementally, depending on regional needs. On June 27, 2019, SCWD certified the final EIR and approved the Project. The Final EIR included considerable additional information provided at the request of the Coastal Commission and the Regional Board, including an updated coastal hazard analysis, updated brine discharge modeling, and updated groundwater modeling, updated hydrology analysis. The approval of the Project also included a commitment to 100 percent carbon neutrality through a 100 percent offset of emissions through the expansion of Project mitigation and use of renewable energy sources. SCWD is currently in the permitting process and finalizing additional due diligence studies. If implemented, SCWD anticipates an online date of 2025. Under guidance provided by DWR, the Doheny Seawater Desalination Project’s projected water supplies are not included in the supply projections due to its current status within the criteria established by State guidelines (DWR, 2020c). 6.7.2 Groundwater Desalination There are currently no brackish groundwater opportunities within the City’s service area. Water Exchanges and Transfers Interconnections with other agencies result in the ability to share water supplies during short term emergency situations or planned shutdowns of major imported water systems. However, beyond short term outages, transfers can also be involved with longer term water exchanges to deal with droughts or water allocation situations. The following subsections describe the City’s existing and planned exchanges and transfers. 6.8.1 Existing Exchanges and Transfers Interconnections with other agencies result in the ability to share water supplies during short term emergency situations or planned shutdowns of major imported systems. The City maintains seven connections to MET's system and nine emergency connections with surrounding agencies, including the