Page 26 - Beaumont Basin Watermaster - 2015 Annual Report

Section 3
Status of the Basin and Administration of the Judgment

addition, these tables show their share of the safe yield and the amount of unused water for each
Overlying Party is shown. It should be noted that these tables have been revised to reflect
updated production records from Sharondale Mesa Owner Association since 2011.

During CY 2015, Overlying Producers produced an estimated 1,838 ac-ft; this level of production
is the lowest on record since accounting began in 2003. Part of the reason is related to revisions
made to production totals by Oak Valley Partners in CY 2015. Production by this Overlying Party
has been reported in the past at approximately 310 ac-ft per year under the assumption that a
significant amount of water has been produced for agricultural purposes. A field visit to the
property conducted in early April 2015 revealed that agricultural production has not taken place in
that area since 2008. In addition, two of the four wells have been abandoned and the other two
produce minimally; annual production has been conservatively estimated at 2.5 ac-ft/yr.
Production quantities from this Overlying Producer were revised for CY 2008 through 2015.

3.2.3 2003-2015 Annual Production Summary
Annual production for all Appropriators and Overlying Parties since 2003 is summarized in Table
3-3 on a calendar year basis. Production from 2003 only includes production for the second half
of the year. Since July 2003, a total of 198,340 ac-ft have been pumped from the Beaumont
Basin; an estimated 83 percent of this total has been pumped by Appropriators. The percentage
of groundwater production from Appropriators has steadily increased since the Judgment
inception from a low of 74.3 percent registered in CY 2003 to a high of 89 percent recorded in CY
2014 and has averaged 86.8 percent over the last five calendar years.

Groundwater production peaked in CY 2007 when close to 20,000 ac-ft were pumped from the
basin; since, it declined steadily through 2010 to approximately 13,600 ac-ft; however, production
during the 2011-14 period increased by 23.6 percent. Total groundwater production from the
basin in CY 2015 was only 12,925 ac-ft; the second lowest recorded since the inception of the
judgment. Of this amount, 11,087 ac-ft were pumped by Appropriators representing close to 86
percent of total production. Annual production for each of the Appropriators and for the Overlying
Producers combined is depicted in Figure 3-4.
3.3 Groundwater Recharge

The Watermaster is responsible for maintaining an annual account of all water artificially
recharged in the Beaumont Basin and any losses of water supplies or Safe Yield resulting
from such recharge water. Sources of groundwater recharge include imported water from the
State Water Project (SWP), recycled water, and new yield sources developed in the basin
since the Judgment inception in July 2003. The Watermaster has maintained the accounting
of groundwater recharge; however, losses from the basin, if any, have not been estimated.
Table 3-4 presents a summary of the annual groundwater recharge in the Beaumont Basin
since 2003 on a calendar year basis.

3.3.1 State Water Project Water Recharge

BCVWD’s Noble Creek spreading facility, located in the vicinity of Beaumont Avenue and
Cherry Valley Boulevard, is the only facility in the Beaumont Basin where deliveries of

Beaumont Basin Watermaster 2015 Annual Report – Final – December 2016 3-5