TO: Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
FROM: Richard Thomasser - District Manager
REPORT BY: Christopher Silke - Engineering Manager, Water Resources
SUBJECT: Amendment No. 4 with Somach Simmons & Dunn Agreement No. F-103 (FC)
RECOMMENDATION
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Approve and authorize Amendment No. 4 to Agreement No. F-103 (FC) with Somach, Simmons & Dunn for Fiscal Year 2023-24, with an annual maximum cost of $85,000 for specialized services necessary to advise, assist, and represent the District in its dispute over proper interpretation of the 2013 Area of Origin Settlement Agreement with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). (Fiscal Impact: $25,000 Expense; Flood District; Budgeted; Discretionary)
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BACKGROUND
Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (Napa), Solano County Water Agency (Solano), and City of Yuba City (Yuba City) (collectively, "NOD 3 Contractors") are in dispute of the California Department of Water Resources' (DWR) Water Year 2020 accounting for the NOD 3 Contractors. Specifically, the NOD 3 Contractors disagree with DWR's interpretation of their respective 2013 Area of Origin (AOO) Settlement Agreements as implemented through the State Water Project (SWP) contract provisions that concern use and carryover of each contractor's unique Table A Allocation provided by their Settlement Agreement. For Water Year 2020, DWR's determinations are documented in its 2020 Finalization Report issued by DWR on January 15, 2021. On February 18, 2021, DWR issued a revised version of the 2020 Finalization Report to Yuba City correcting an accounting error for Yuba City's use of carryover. DWR's determinations resulted in a loss of water in carryover storage for each contractor as follows: Napa: 1,208 acre-feet (AF); Solano: 2,533 AF; and Yuba City: 960 AF; for a total loss of 4,701 AF.
NOD 3 Contractors attempted to resolve the dispute with DWR in 2021. Outside special water counsel, Somach, Simmons & Dunn (SSD), pre...
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