Groundwater Sustainability Planning for the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin
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QUALIFICATIONS Groundwater Sustainability Planning for the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin Photo credit: inyowater.org July 31, 2018 Prepared for Prepared by County of Inyo Water Department 135 S. Jackson Street Independence, California 93526 3916 State Street, Suite 1A Santa Barbara, California 93105 July 30, 2018 Mr. Bob Harrington, Director Inyo County Water Department 135 S. Jackson St. Independence, California 93526 Re: Statement of Qualifications for Groundwater Sustainability Planning for the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin Dear Mr. Harrington: Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc. (DBS&A) enthusiastically proposes to partner with the Owens Valley Groundwater Authority to produce a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) that will build on existing sustainable practices and effectively lay the groundwork for future groundwater management in the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin in compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), while also meshing with the Inyo/Los Angeles Agreement. We are pleased to propose a carefully selected team of experts who have direct water-agency experience in complying with SGMA, possess exceptional knowledge of Owens Valley hydrogeology, and possess SGMA-related communication and consensus-building expertise in Owens Valley, to facilitate development of a stakeholder community that is informed, involved, and supportive. The DBS&A team also provides geographic proximity, local organizational and logistical knowledge, and can be responsive to local needs on short notice. Prior to joining DBS&A, our proposed Project Manager, Tony Morgan, C.HG., was the Deputy General Manager for United Water Conservation District, where he led the District’s SGMA compliance activities, including formation of groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs), creation of GSPs, and conducting groundwater basin studies. While some consultants with SGMA expertise have multiple GSP projects demanding their time, Mr. Morgan has the availability to make your GSP development process his primary focus over the next several years. He also has unique experience from the agency point of view that will enable him to anticipate and avoid challenges and pitfalls inherent in the SGMA process. Mr. Morgan will work closely with Dr. Stephen (Steve) J. Cullen, Ph.D., P.G., Principal Hydrogeologist and Senior Vice President, California Operations Manager for DBS&A. Dr. Cullen is a 14-year veteran of DBS&A, and he has led and provided oversight for dozens of water resources projects in California. Dr. Cullen was the project principal, quality assurance reviewer, and signing California Professional Geologist for DBS&A’s update of the Rose Valley groundwater model conducted for the Inyo County Water Department (ICWD). Dr. Cullen and Mr. Morgan have worked together on several groundwater modeling projects, including DBS&A’s performance of water balance modeling for the Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency, where Mr. Morgan was a Technical Advisory Group member. Mr. Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc. 3916 State Street, Suite 1A 805-683-2409 Santa Barbara, CA 93105 Mr. Bob Harrington July 30, 2018 Page 2 Morgan and Dr. Cullen also recently updated the safe yield for the adjudicated Santa Paula Groundwater Basin — a basin characterized by multiple stakeholders with conflicting water- related interests. Mr. Neil Blandford, P.G. (TX) is our proposed hydrogeologic lead for the DBS&A team. Neil specializes in quantitative groundwater resource analysis, groundwater modeling, and groundwater planning. Working with Dr. Cullen, Mr. Blandford was the Principal Technical Investigator for ICWD’s update of the Rose Valley groundwater model. The remaining proposed technical staff on DBS&A’s team has an average of 10 years of experience with DBS&A. The DBS&A team has broad expertise in the issues pertinent to groundwater planning, including surface and groundwater resources assessments, conjunctive use, groundwater and surface water studies, water supply development, feasibility studies, water system engineering, water rights acquisition, agricultural water conservation, watershed management, funding for water resource projects, stakeholder participation, and community planning. Our team also has local experience through work on the Rose Valley model, experience with the Inyo/LADWP history, and company experience in implementation of groundwater monitoring programs. Through this experience and the involvement of subcontractor TEAM Engineering, we are familiar with many of your stakeholders (Los Angeles, tribes, federal agencies, etc.). Our team will be led by DBS&A, with support from the following subcontractors: • Consensus and Collaboration Program (CCP) will lead the public engagement and stakeholder processes • TEAM Engineering & Management, Inc. will provide local field and engineering staff for monitoring and local data collection • Stillwater Sciences (Stillwater) will provide expertise in biology and aquatic ecology to assist in addressing sustainability of Fish Slough and to lead California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) permitting. • Lechowicz & Tseng Municipal Consultants (L&T) brings expertise in financial planning, utility rate and fee studies, and impact fee/capacity charge studies. We invite the opportunity to further discuss how the DBS&A team can provide quality assistance to the Inyo County Water Department. Dr. Cullen and Mr. Morgan can be reached at 805-683- 2409, if you have any questions or need additional information. Thank you. Sincerely, DANIEL B. STEPHENS & ASSOCIATES, INC. Tony Morgan, PG, CHG Stephen J. Cullen, Ph.D., P.G. Vice President Principal Hydrogeologist Principal Hydrogeologist Senior Vice President, California Operations Groundwater Sustainability Planning for the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin CONTENTS Executive Summary ................................................... 2 1. Staff Capabilities .................................................... 4 2. Recent Experience ...............................................18 3. Approach and Scope of Work ............................24 Assumptions ..............................................................26 Schedule ....................................................................27 Budget Summary ......................................................28 Detailed Budget .......................................................29 References .................................................................60 4. References ............................................................62 5. Specialty Subconsultants ...................................63 6. Meeting Deadlines on Similar Projects ...........68 7. COI Disclosure ......................................................70 8. Contract Acceptance ...........................................71 9. Other Appendix A: Resumes Appendix B: Project Experience engineering DBS&A 1 geoscience Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc. hydrology www.dbstephens.com Groundwater Sustainability Planning for the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin ACRONYMS AET - actual evapotranspiration BLM - Bureau of Land Management CASGEM - California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring CCP - Consensus and Collaboration Program CDFW - California Department of Fish and Wildlife CEQA - California Environmental Quality Act CSD - Community Services District DBMS - database management system DBS&A - Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc. DPWM - Distributed Parameters Watershed Model DWR - California Department of Water Resources ET0 - reference evapotranspiration GDE - Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem GIS - geographic information system GSA - Groundwater Sustainability Agency GSP - Groundwater Sustainability Plan ICWD - Inyo County Water District LADWP - Los Angeles Department of Water and Power LTA - Long-term Agreement OVGA - Owens Valley Groundwater Authority OVGB - Owens Valley Groundwater Basin SGMA - Sustainable Groundwater Management Act SWRCB - State Water Resources Control Board TCEQ - Texas Commission on Environmental Quality TNC - the Nature Conservancy TWDB - Texas Water Development Board USFWS - US Fish and Wildlife Service USGS - US Geological Survey engineering DBS&A geoscience Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc. hydrology www.dbstephens.com Groundwater Sustainability Planning for the Owens Valley Groundwater Basin Districts and Groundwater Management Areas in Executive Summary Texas, for example, for over a decade providing DBS&A is a water strategic direction and technical analysis for resources, development of their Desired Future Conditions environmental, and (DFCs), which are analogous to California’s engineering Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs). As a result consulting firm of this experience, we have built strong in-house founded in 1984 with offices throughout California. As a capabilites to the perform planning and technical wholly owned subsidiary of Geo-Logic Associates (GLA), studies required by SGMA. based in Ontario, California, we have access to 245 Our proposed Project Manager, Tony Morgan, P.G., professionals in 25 offices in total, including 80 C.HG., has exceptional knowledge of SGMA from professionals and 11 offices in California (Anaheim, both the consultant’s and the GSA's point of view Costa Mesa, Grass Valley, Morgan Hill, Oakland, Ontario, to anticipate and guide the OVGA through Petaluma, Roseville, San Bernardino, San Diego, and technical and administrative challenges inherent Santa Barbara). in SGMA compliance. DBS&A’s water resource professionals have As the former Deputy General Manager