South Coast Water District Partnering With The Community September 8, 2022 The Honorable Erick L. Larsh Presiding Judge*

- A singular water authority for Orange County's wholesale water supply likely would result in further opportunities at the local, State, and federal levels in legislation, policy making and receiving subsidies and grants. Response: DISAGREES WHOLLY SCWD disagrees that having a single water authority would result in further opportunities at the local, state, and federal levels in legislation, policy-making, and receiving subsidies and grants. SCWD has worked to develop our own resources in legislation, policy-making, and for the pursuit of grants that are appropriate for our agency. South Coast Water District has been successful in securing grants for a variety of projects including a Prop. 84 recycled water grant BOARD OF DIRECTORS in the amount of $1.25 million, a WaterSmart grant for an Automatic Metering Infrastructure Rick Erkeneff pilot project in the amount of $300,000, grants for the proposed Doheny Ocean Desalination President Doug Erdman project totaling $32.4 million, and most recently, a $3.5 million Federal earmark grant for a Vice President Scott Goldman Director Bill Green Director Wayne Rayfield 🗏 31592 West St. Laguna Beach, CA 92651 🔧 (949) 499-4555 🚆 SCWD.ORG Director recycled water main project. Furthermore, SCWD has also been successful in developing legislation that will benefit our ratepayers, such as AB 1752 (authored by Assemblywoman Petrie-Norris) that now allows SCWD to deliver the Doheny Ocean Desalination project as a Design-Build-Operate (DBO) project and still be eligible for state funding (significantly minimizing risk to our ratepayers). Additionally, SCWD works closely with MWDOC, regional water agencies, and others in the industry to identify and pursue joint opportunities when the synergies make sense.

- The current fragmented water system structure and operations provides challenges as it relates to development of new interconnected infrastructure as well as maintenance of existing systems. Response: DISAGREES WHOLLY SCWD disagrees that "current fragmented water system structure and operations" is the source of the challenges related to developing interconnected infrastructure. Every structure and operations will have challenges with connecting both new and existing infrastructure as that is the nature of infrastructure. Interties, operations, and maintenance agreements already exist and the Joint Regional Water Supply System that SCWD is contracted to operate is a prime example of how well the existing structure currently works. Additionally, MWDOC is the catalyst for reliability and emergency planning (i.e., Metropolitan Water District (MWD or MET) shutdowns and Water Emergency Response Organization of Orange County (WEROC) for emergencies) for South County agencies, and this structure has been working well.

- There is a great disparity between the North/Central and South Orange County water sources, management, and operations carried out by OCWD and MWDOC. Response: DISAGREES PARTIALLY A disparity in management and operations is not apparent to SCWD - OCWD manages groundwater, and MWDOC manages imported water; by their nature, they have different roles and responsibilities. SCWD's perspective is that MWDOC has been effective in understanding and representing the needs of all its member agencies. There is a disparity in water sources as the groundwater supply available to North/Central County is typically not available to South County agencies. South Orange County therefore has to look at water sources outside of groundwater such as expanding recycled water, ocean desalination and possible ocean water augmentation. MWDOC has provided leadership to the South County agencies in studying new and emerging water sources.

- South Orange County has many smaller retail water districts that lack a formal centralized leadership. Notwithstanding this lack of structure, South Orange County retail water districts have displayed effective collaboration when dealing with one another. Response: AGREES SCWD agrees that formal centralized leadership does not exist within South County however, effective collaboration has allowed South County agencies to work well with each other. Examples of this effective collaboration includes the Joint Regional Water Supply System (JRWSS), South Orange County Wastewater Authority (SOCWA), and South County Agencies Group which is composed of water districts in South Orange County and holds regular meetings to discuss regional water issues, drought and conservation mandates, and issues related to Metropolitan Water District.

- Orange County Water District is a recognized worldwide leader in groundwater resource management and reclamation. Its leadership, innovation, and expertise can be further utilized to serve all of Orange County in developing additional innovative and beneficial programs. Response: DISAGREES PARTIALLY SCWD doesn't believe that substantive value will be added from OCWD being "further utilized to serve all of Orange County in developing innovative and beneficial programs". SCWD believes that OCWD is already being properly utilized where their expertise is most relevant, groundwater recharge and supply. SCWD does not believe that OCWD's responsibilities should be expanded to South County because of their lack of experience with specific South County issues. Furthermore, there is a lack of similar robust groundwater aquifers in South County, which is where their expertise lies. SCWD acknowledges that OCWD is a worldwide leader in groundwater resource management and would welcome OCWD's partnership in programs that are within their areas of expertise.

- Orange County currently does not have a countywide coordinated policy regarding water conservation, which results in difficulty when complying with any new State- mandated conservation regulations. Response: DISAGREE PARTIALLY While Orange County does not have a countywide policy regarding water conservation, SCWD has been a significant participant in MWDOC water conservation and water loss programs, which has positively contributed to SCWD having one of the best water loss and conservation levels in the region and the State. Hence, SCWD has not experienced any difficulties in complying with any new State-mandated conservation regulations. MWDOC has been effective in leading and supporting the promotion, engagement, and implementation of State-mandated conservation regulations with its member agencies. A recent example of MWDOC providing water conservation assistance to its Member Agencies was their introduction of a new product called the "flume" which allows residents/ratepayers to download an app and follow real-time water usage at their residence. SCWD agreed to be part of the trial for this product (provided at a very low cost to the ratepayer). The reception from our ratepayers was overwhelmingly positive and the program sold out in hours. In addition to assistance received from MWDOC, each agency retains their own conservation expertise and implements their own policies, programs, and outreach tailored to their geographical area and district needs.