Page 30 - Beaumont Basin Watermaster - DRAFT 2016 Annual Report

Section 3
Status of the Basin and Administration of the Judgment

3.4.3 Allocation of Unused Overlying Water
Section 7.8 of the Rules and Regulations, adopted on September 9, 2008, by Watermaster,
outlines the process for distributing the volume of adjudicated water not produced by the
Overlying Parties to the Appropriators. Under this section, if an Overlying Party produces
less than five times of their share of the safe yield in any five-year period, the quantity of
groundwater not produced by that Overlying Party shall be made available for allocation to
the Appropriators. Transferring of unused production from Overlying Users does not diminish
their legal right to produce in subsequent years.

Since the inception of the Judgment, transfers of unused production by Overlying Users has
been made on a fiscal year basis coinciding with the preparation of the annual report.
Preparing the annual report on a calendar year basis required that the transfers of unused
production also be made on the same basis. Based on the five-year format used in the Rules
and Regulations, transfers to the Appropriator Parties for CY 2016 were based on unused
production from Overlying Users in CY 2011. This required the recalculation of Overlying
Users production, back to July 2003, on a calendar year basis. Under this format, unused
production from the second half of 2003, with adjusted water rights for half of the year, was
allocated to Appropriators for CY 2008. Table 3-7 summarizes the volume of unused
Overlying water for CY 2003 through CY 2016. While groundwater production by Overlying
Users has decreased by over 40 percent since 2004, the volume of unused overlying water
has correspondingly increased from 5,053 ac-ft/yr in CY 2006 to a maximum of 6,679 ac-ft
during CY 2011. The amount of unused production decreased significantly in CY 2014 and
CY 2015 to slightly over 4,800 ac-ft/yr because of reduced Overlying allocations resulting
from the new basin Safe Yield of 6,700 ac-ft/yr.

Table 3-7 presents the allocation of unused Overlying water to each Appropriator based on
their shares of the safe yield and the schedule set forth under Section 7.8 of the Rules and
Regulations. It should be noted that this schedule has been modified to reflect a calendar
year basis for allocation. Under the modified schedule, unused Overlying production in CY
2011, estimated at 6,679 ac-ft, is allocated to Appropriators during CY 2016. Unused
Overlying production during CY 2016, estimated at 5,017 ac-ft and subject to revision, would
be allocated to Appropriators during CY 2021.

3.5 Storage Accounting

Section 6.7 of the Watermaster Rules and Regulations indicates that Watermaster shall
calculate additions, extractions, and losses of all water stored and any losses of water
supplies or Safe Yield resulting from such water stored. This section further indicates that
Watermaster shall keep and maintain for public record an annual accounting thereof. While
additions (spreading) and extractions (pumping) are easily quantifiable, losses from storage
are more difficult to estimate. A methodology for estimating groundwater losses from the
Basin is anticipated to be developed after the completion of the groundwater model update of
the Beaumont Basin in CY 2015.

Beaumont Basin Watermaster 2016 Annual Report – DRAFT – August 2017 3-9