For City Council and Rialto Utility Authority Meeting [November 15, 2022]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Marcus Fuller, City Manager
FROM: Thomas J. Crowley, P.E., Utilities Manager
Title
Request City Council/Rialto Utility Authority Board to Approve the Water Replacement Order Agreement Extending the Agreement Between the City of Rialto and San Bernardino County for an Additional Three Years, Authorizing County to Continue Utilizing Up to 1,600 Acre-Feet of Water of the City of Rialto's Water Rights from the Rialto Basin, and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Agreement and any Related Documents.
(ACTION)
Body
BACKGROUND
The City of Rialto, (Rialto) and the County of San Bernardino (County) previously entered into an agreement, dated May 20, 2000, wherein the County agreed to pay Rialto in consideration for the grant of water rights by Rialto to Fontana Union Water Company (FUWC) to pump 1,600 acre-feet of water in the Rialto/Colton Groundwater Basin. This action was necessary for the County to comply with Order No. 99-86 Revising Clean-up and Abatement Order No. 98-96 issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region ("Regional Board Order"). Rialto then entered into a Standby Water Lease with FUWC for the lease of 1,600 acre-feet of water in the Rialto/Colton Groundwater Basin dated May 9, 2000.
The original agreement between Rialto and the County expired on May 20, 2020, and the County requested a two-year extension of the agreement to be terminated on December 31, 2022. This extension was approved by the City Council on September 14, 2021, included as Attachment 1. The purpose of this extension was to allow the County to continue utilizing up to 1,600 acre-feet of water for compliance with the Regional Board Order for the current water year, commencing October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021, and the subsequent water year, commencing October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022, and to reimburse R...
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