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City of Santa Ana <br />MainPlace Mall Transformation <br />Water Supply Assessment <br />held and based upon the public hearing testimony, presented data, and reports provided at that <br />time. <br />• OCWD endeavors to transition to the 75 percent BPP between 2013 and 2015 as construction of <br />the GWRS Initial Expansion Project is completed. This expansion will provide an additional 31,000 <br />AFY of water for recharging the groundwater basin. <br />OCWD must manage the OC Basin in a sustainable manner for future generations. The BPP will be <br />reduced if future conditions warrant the change. <br />■ Each project and program to achieve the 75 percent BPP goal will be reviewed individually and <br />assessed for their economic viability. <br />The OC Basin's storage levels are managed in accordance to the 75 percent BPP policy. It is presumed that <br />the BPP will not decrease as long as the storage levels are between 100,000 and 300,000 (acre-feet) AF <br />from full capacity. If the OC Basin is less than 100,000 AF below full capacity, the BPP will be raised. If the <br />OC Basin is over 350,000 AF below full capacity, additional supplies will be sought after to refill the OC <br />Basin and the BPP will be lowered. <br />The OC Basin is managed to maintain water storage levels of not more than 500,000 AF below full <br />condition to avoid permanent and significant negative or adverse impacts. Operating the OC Basin in this <br />manner enables OCWD to encourage reduced pumping during wet years when surface water supplies are <br />plentiful and increase pumping during dry years to provide additional local water supplies during <br />droughts. <br />OCWD determines the optimum level of storage for the following year when it sets the BPP each year. <br />Factors that affect this determination include the current storage level, regional water availability, and <br />hydrologic conditions. When the OC Basin's storage approaches the lower end of the operating range, <br />immediate issues that must be addressed include seawater intrusion, increased risk of land subsidence, <br />and potential for shallow wells to become inoperable due to lower water levels. <br />The overall BPP achieved in the 2013 to 2014 water year within OCWD for non -irrigation use was 75.2 <br />percent. However, a BPP level above 75 percent may be difficult to achieve. Therefore, a BPP ranging from <br />65 percent to 70 percent is currently being proposed for the ensuing FY 2015-16. Analysis of the OC Basin's <br />projected accumulated overdraft, the available supplies to the OC Basin (assuming average hydrology) <br />and the projected pumping demands indicate that this level of pumping can be sustained for 2015-16 <br />without harming the OC Basin. <br />BPP of 70 percent corresponds to approximately 320,000 AF of groundwater production including 22,000 <br />AF of groundwater production above the BPP to account for several groundwater quality enhancement <br />projects discussed earlier. <br />In FY 2015-16, additional production of approximately 22,000 AF above the BPP will be undertaken by the <br />City of Tustin, City of Garden Grove, Mesa Water District, and Irvine Ranch Water District. These agencies <br />use the additional pumping allowance to accommodate groundwater quality improvement projects. As in <br />prior years, production above the BPP from these projects would be partially orfully exempt from the BEA <br />Page (14 <br />Kimley>»Horn 55(;-22 <br />