Page 20 - Beaumont Basin Watermaster

Section 3
Status of the Basin and Administration of the Judgment

2.2.4 Redetermination of Safe Yield
Under the Judgment (2003) the Safe Yield of the Beaumont Basin was established at 8,650
ac-ft/yr. to be distributed among the Overlying Producers. The Judgment indicates that the
Safe Yield of the Beaumont Basin shall be redetermined at least every 10 years beginning 10
years after the date of entry of the Judgment (February 4, 2004).

At the February 2013 Watermaster meeting, the Watermaster Committee authorized a study
to develop a hydrologic model of the groundwater basin to be used as a tool in the re-
evaluation of the Safe Yield of the basin. At the February 2015 Watermaster meeting a
formal presentation of the final-draft document was made to provide members of the
Committee with an opportunity to ask questions and addressed any unresolved issues. The
final document was presented for approval and adoption at the April 2015 Watermaster
meeting.

st
Resolution No. 2015-01 was adopted at the April 1 , 2015 Regular Watermaster Committee
meeting. Through this resolution, the Final 2013 Reevaluation of the Beaumont Basin Safe Yield
Report and Redetermination of the Safe Yield of the Beaumont Basin were adopted.

The Beaumont Basin Watermaster re-determined the Safe Yield of the Beaumont Basin to be
6,700 ac-ft per year.

2.3 Storage Applications and Agreements

The first applications to use the Basin for storage purposes were approved in FY 2005-06
when Watermaster approved applications by Banning, BCVWD, SMWC, and YVWD to store
up to 135,000 ac-ft of water in the Basin. The City of Beaumont’s application to store water
was approved by Watermaster in FY 2007-08 bringing the total storage allocation to 157,000
ac-ft. In FY 2009-10, Watermaster approved additional applications by Banning, BCVWD,
Beaumont, and YVWD to increase the total storage allowed to 260,000 ac-ft. It is our
understanding that the Watermaster Committee has not yet amended the respective Storage
Agreements to reflect the current storage limits.

An application for a storage agreement was received by the Watermaster from the San
Gorgonio Pass Water Agency (SGPWA) in mid 2010 and brought for discussion at the
summer of 2012. The initial application was rejected because it was determined to be
incomplete.

An application for a storage agreement was also received from the Morongo Band of Mission
Indians at the December 2012 meeting. Watermaster deemed the application incomplete and
requested further information from the applicant to address questions posed by members of
the Watermaster Committee. This application was subsequently approved at the June 5,
2013 meeting allowing the Morongo Band of Mission Indians to store up to 20,000 ac-ft of
imported water in the basin.

A new application for Groundwater Storage Agreement was developed in early 2013; the
application was presented and discussed at several Watermaster Committee meetings where

Beaumont Basin Watermaster 2017 Annual Report – DRAFT – February 2018 2-7