Page 26 - Beaumont Basin Watermaster

Section 3
Water Quality Conditions

ƒ Conversion of Overlying rights to Appropriative rights

ƒ Water withdrawn from their storage account, and
ƒ New yield created by the Appropriator.

It should be noted that beginning in CY 2014, the Temporary Surplus is no longer available to the
Appropriators as it officially ended after 10 years during Fiscal Year 2013.

Annual production by well for each of the five Appropriative Parties for the CY 2003-2013 period is
summarized in Table 3-1A; this table also includes the Temporary Surplus Allocation and the
amount of unused production that is eligible for storage for each Appropriator. Monthly production
for the last five years of operation (CY 2014-18) are presented in a series of tables starting with
Table 3-1B for CY 2014 and continuing on an annual basis through Table 3-1F for CY 2018. It
should be noted that all production by Appropriators is currently being metered; however, no
information is available as to the accuracy of existing meters.

During CY 2018, Appropriators pumped a combined amount of 15,026.10 ac-ft of groundwater
from the Beaumont Basin. Production for the year was 11.6 percent higher than in CY 2017 and
25.3 percent higher than in CY 2016. Groundwater production in CY 2018 was 12.8 percent
higher than the five-year average of 13,326 ac-ft.

Compared to groundwater production totals for CY 2017, production for individual agencies in CY
2018 was by and large higher. The City of Banning production increased by 48 percent while
BCVWD increased by six percent over 2017 production. Production by SMWD was less than one
percent lower than in 2017 and YVWD produced close to 200 ac-ft in 2018 compared to less than
one ac-ft the preceding year.

3.2.2 Overlying Party Production
Overlying Parties are defined in the Judgment as persons, or their assignees, that are part of the
Judgment and who are owners of land which overlies the Beaumont Basin and have exercised
Overlying Water Rights to pump therefrom. Overlying Parties include successors in interest and
assignees. Overlying Producers were assigned a share of the Basin’s Safe Yield, estimated in
2003 at 8,650 ac-ft/yr. Individual Overlying Producers may not pump more than five times their
assigned share of the Basin’s Safe Yield in any five-year consecutive period without incurring a
replenishment obligation.

Currently, there are 17 Overlying Producers in the Basin pumping from 21 groundwater wells. All
active wells operated by the larger producers are metered. Meters were installed by individual
owners or as part of an effort initiated by Watermaster in 2013 to obtain a closer production
accounting from Overlying Parties. Production from metered wells represented close to 99
percent of the total production by Overlying Parties in CY 2018.

The remaining wells, operated by smaller producers, did not have meters for some or most of
2018 and their production is estimated using the water duty method. This method was initially
proposed by Wildermuth Environmental Inc. (WEI), during the preparation of the 2005-06 Annual
Report. After being accepted by the Watermaster, an updated water duty method was developed

Beaumont Basin Watermaster 2018 Annual Report – DRAFT - February 2019 3-4