SLO County may max out allotments of Nacimiento water
December 9, 2015
San Luis Obispo County is considering maxing out its total allocation of Lake Nacimiento water. The county board of supervisors is scheduled to vote on the issue in March.
The cities and communities involved in the Nacimiento Water Project have a combined yearly allotment of 15,750 acre-feet of water. They are currently using 9,655 acre-feet, leaving an annual reserve of 6,095 acre-feet.
Each of the cities and communities have requested an increase in their annual share of Lake Nacimiento water. Also, two other agencies are asking for allocations of Nacimiento water.
The five current users are: Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Atsacdero Mutual Water Co., Templeton Community Services District and the county service area in Cayucos.
Paso Robles currently has an allotment of 4,000 acre-feet. The city is requesting an additional 2,477 acre-feet for a total of 6,477.
San Luis Obispo currently has an allotment of 3,380 acre-feet. SLO is asking for an additional 2,093 acre-feet for a total of 5,473.
The Atascadero Mutual Water Co. is currently entitled to 2,000 acre-feet. It is requesting an additional 1,239 acre-feet for a total of 3,239.
The Templeton CSD has an allotment of 250 acre-feet. The CSD is seeking an additional 155 acre-feet for a total of 405.
Cayucos’ county service area is entitled to 25 acre-feet. On behalf of the area, the county plans to increase the allotment by 15 acre-feet to a total of 40.
The two additional water purveyors that have applied for allocations are the Bella Vista mobile home park in Cayucos and the Santa Margarita Ranch Mutual Water Co. The Cayucos mobile home park is requesting 12 acre-feet for its 84 units.
The Santa Margarita Ranch Mutual Water Co. is requesting 104 acre-feet for a proposed 111-home development on the Santa Margarita Ranch. In that case, the Nacimiento pipeline would be the main source of water for the development.
Supervisor Frank Mecham said during a board meeting Tuesday that full allocation of Lake Nacimiento water is a good way for purveyors to nail down their supplies, and he has been pushing for it for about 10 years. Mecham noted that unused water allotments do no roll over from year to year.
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