Ventura’s proposed “Net Zero” water policy does not solve our water shortages
By Dan Cormode
The San Buenaventura City Council is considering the adoption of a Water Resource Net Zero Fee Ordinance which would supposedly help prevent further strain on the City’s existing water supplies while still allowing development projects to move forward.
Future developments are not being charged their fair share of the real cost of developing new water supplies so that current customers of Ventura Water would be obligated to pay the remainder of the costs.
Those costs are quite high. The sum of the Proposed 2016-2022 Capital Improvement Plan project costs plus estimated financing costs are $416 million, while Ventura Water only estimates a $214 million cost with only $133 million in Net Zero Fees collected. Where will the additional $283 million come from?
Project Fee Accruals are expected to be less than the $133 million since credits for Historical Baseline, Water Rights, or Extraordinary Conservation Offset credits are not included and all future water demand is computed at the highest demand factor. The shortfall is estimated to cost an additional $6,571 per Ventura household.
Ventura Water erroneously anticipates improvements resulting from the Foster Park Well Field Restoration will produce of up to 6,700 acre-feet of water per year. The historical production estimate is erroneously based on operational scenario comparable to the 50 year average historical city production records between 1960 and 2009. But, the surface diversion capability was destroyed in 2005, thereby, invalidating the results of the use of 50 year average historical city production records. The average 1995-2004 production was 7,041 acre-feet and the 2005-2009 average production was 2,250 acre-feet.
Most of the Foster Park Restoration appears to be related either to maintenance or repair of the facilities and not to developing new sources of water. Yields are unreliable and no sustainable yields are identified for the new wells.
The City Council must return the proposed ordinance to City Staff for clarification and accurate budget figures. NetZero needs to be clear about how much water it will actually provide.
