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AGREEMENTS ARE APPROVED:Note: the information contained in this box supercedes information contained elsewhere in this new agreement web site. Subsequent to July 25, 2005, consideration of formal approval of the proposed new Restructured Agreement for Water Supply and extension of the Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Water Transmission System Capacity Allocation During Temporary Impairment (impairments due to lack of aqueduct transmission capacity during hot spells) was undertaken by the elected decision makers of the parties. Two major issues reemerged during this process: (1) adequacy of the Potter Valley Project language (an issue first raised by North Marin Water District Board of Directors) and (2) final agreement by the parties on a methodology for allocating water during a water supply deficiency (i.e. drought or other such relatively long term shortage) with particular and specific consideration of demand hardening due to long term conservation efforts (an issue pressed by the Cities of Santa Rosa and Petaluma). At the December 2005 WAC meeting, the City of Rohnert Park suggested alternative language to be considered in Section 2.4 concerning the Potter Valley Project. After intensive efforts, language supported by WAC representatives was agreed to by the February 2006 meeting. Efforts of the technical experts then turned to the demand hardening issue and a final methodology prepared by JONWRM was approved by the WAC in April 4, 2006 and was formally approved by the SCWA Board of Directors in May 2006. Regarding extension of the MOU addressing temporary impairments, at the May 1, 2006 WAC meeting, Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) announced its opposition. The MOU was subsequently modified, excluding MMWD. This was possible since MMWD receives water during hot spells only when and if available after aqueduct system deliveries to the Water Contractors are made. Final versions of the Restructured Agreement and MOU regarding interim impairments were subsequently approved by the parties in June and July of 2006. The Water Advisory Committee (WAC) to the Sonoma County Water Agency (Agency) is comprised of representatives designated by five cities (Cotati, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma) and three water districts (Forestville, North Marin, and Valley of the Moon). Currently the water supply arrangements between the WAC and the Agency are defined in two agreements:
Since September 2001, the WAC member cities and districts and the Agency have been negotiating a new water supply agreement that would replace the existing agreement and address other issues. In January 2004, consideration of a new or "extension" of the existing MOU was added to the negotiation process. The Town of Windsor and the Marin Municipal Water District also receive water from the Agency and, though signers of the MOU, have separate agreements with the Agency that define their basic water supply arrangements. While both entities expressed interest in the new water supply agreement and were invited by the WAC and the Agency to participate in negotiations, only the Town of Windsor pursued "buyin" negotiations and opted to consider becoming a signer of the new agreement. This web site, sponsored by the WAC, was part of a community outreach effort foundational to negotiation of the new agreement. This site provided opportunities for becoming involved in the negotiation process and the following information:
Negotiations by the parties were concluded by July 2005 with the WAC recommending the following two agreements be considered for adoption by the participating parties during the fall of 2005:
To assist in understanding the documents the following summaries and "strike-out" comparisons have been prepared:
To assist the WAC with the negotiation and the public outreach process, a consultant was hired. Please feel welcome to contact the consultant with any questions you may have: Consultant:
Updated: 11/1/06
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