CADIZ GROUNDWATER STORAGE AND YEAR PROGRAM DRV- SUPPLY Final Environmental Impact Report Final Environmental Impact Statement Groundwater Monitoring and Management Plan Volume IV SCH. No. 99021039 ? » -*,-. MWD METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICTOFSOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REPORT NO. 1174 U.S. Department ofthe Interior Bureau of Land Management Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/cadizgroundwaterOObure COVER SHEET FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT CADIZ GROUNDWATER STORAGE AND DRY-YEAR SUPPLY PROGRAM SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA LEAD AGENCIES: COOPERATING AGENCIES: The Metropolitan Water District U.S. Department ofthe Interior ofSouthern California National Park Service Los Angeles, California U.S. Department ofthe Interior U.S. Department ofthe Interior Bureau ofLand Management U.S. Geological Survey Riverside, California PROPOSED ACTION: Construction and operation ofthe Cadiz Groundwater Storage and Dry-Year Supply Program (Cadiz Project) including a groundwater monitoring and management program, amendment ofthe California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan for an exception to the utility corridor requirement, and issuance ofassociated right-of-waygrants andpermits. BLM For furtherinformation, contact Metropolitan or at: Metropolitan Water District Bureau ofLand Management Water Resources Management Group California Desert District P.O. Box 54153 6221 Box Springs Boulevard Los Angeles, California 90054-0153 Riverside, California 92507-0714 Attention: Mr. Jack Safely(213) 217-6981 Attention: Mr. James Williams (909) 697-5390 DESIGNATION: Final EIR/EIS . 1 ABSTRACT: In February 1999, Metropolitan issued a Notice ofPreparation ofan EIR forthe Cadiz Project which would be constructed and operated by Metropolitan in the Cadiz and Fenner Valleys ofthe eastern BLM Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California. The determined that an EIS would be required as the proposed action includes an amendment of the CDCA Plan for an exception to the utility corridor requirements and grant(s) of right-of-way across federal lands. The BLM issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS for the proposed action in March 1999. In May 1999, the BLM issued a Notice ofPublic Meeting and extension ofthe scoping comment period. The Draft EIR/EIS was published inNovember 1999 with a 104-daypublic reviewperiodthat ended in March 2000. Because numerous comments raised questions regarding groundwater management issues, a Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS was prepared to provide additional information and to present the Groundwater Monitoring and Management Plan (Management Plan) that has been incorporated into the proposed project. The Management Plan will govern the water storage and extraction operations inthe affected groundwater basinsto ensurethat project operationswill not result in any unacceptable adverse impacts to groundwater resources or air quality. The Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS was circulated foran 80-day public reviewperiodthat ended in January 2001 The Cadiz Project is proposed by Metropolitan who is acting in partnership with the private company Cadiz Inc. The project will involve construction and operation ofa 35-mile pipeline for conveying water between the Iron Mountain Pumping Plant on the Colorado River Aqueduct and the Cadiz/Fenner area, a Cadiz Pumping Plant at Metropolitan's existing Iron Mountain Pumping Plant facility, 390 acres of spreading basins for percolation ofColorado River water into the groundwater basin in the Cadiz/Fenner area, a wellfield for extracting stored Colorado River water and indigenous groundwater, and associated powerpoles and line alongthe conveyancepipeline and inthewellfield. This Final EIR/EIS contains comments received on the Draft EIR/EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS, detailed responses to those comments, and integrates the information contained in the Draft EIR/EIS and Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS with revisions as appropriate in response to BLM comments. The Final EIR/EIS is also available for review on request at the Metropolitan and offices and atthe followingpublic libraries: Metropolitan Water District • Norman Feldheym 700 NorthAlameda Street Central Library Los Angeles, California 90012 555 West 6th Street San Bernardino, California 92410 BureauofLand Management • Needles Branch Library 6221 Box Springs Boulevard 1111 Bailey Avenue Riverside, California 92507 Needles, California 92363 Bureau ofLand Management • Twentynine Palms Branch Library 101 West Spikes Road 6078 Adobe Road Needles, California 92363 Twentynine Palms, California 92277 • Barstow Branch Library 304 East Buena Vista Street Barstow, California 9231 This Final EER/EIS has been approved forpublic distribution. SEP 13 2001 TimSalt Date DistrictManager CaliforniaDesertDistrict U.S. Bureau ofLand Management SEP 14 2001 SStteepphheennNN.. AArraakkaawwaa Date Manager, WaterResources Management Group MetropolitanWaterDistrict ofSouthern California ) The followingtechnical reports and documents forthe Cadiz Project are available: • Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (September 2001) • Public Participation and Response to Comments on the Draft EIR/EIS (September 2001) • Public Participation and Response to Comments on the Supplement to the Draft EIR/EIS (September 2001) • Groundwater Monitoring and Management Plan (September 2001 • DraftEIR/EIS Public Participation (November 1999) • Environmental Planning Technical Reports: Project Feasibility and Facilities (November 1999) Groundwater Resources (November 1999) Biological Resources (November 1999) Cultural Resources (November 1999) The Final EIR/EIS shall govern over the Environmental Planning Technical Reports in the event of any discrepancies between the documents. The Final EIR/EIS and technical reports are available for review at the Metropolitan Water District office located at 700 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, California and at the BLM offices in Needles (101 West Spike's Road, Needles, California) and Riverside (6221 Box Springs Boulevard, Riverside, California). Table ofContents Section age INTRODUCTION Section 1 1-1 1.1 Location ofProject Area 1-2 1.2 Project Objectives and Description 1-2 1.3 Existing Groundwater Basin Management 1-14 1.4 Purpose and Scope 1-14 Section 2 CRITICAL RESOURCES AND POTENTIAL ADVERSE IMPACTS IN OR ADJACENT TO THE PROJECT AREA 2-1 2.1 Potential Impacts to Springs withinthe Affected Watersheds including Springs withinthe Mojave National Preserve and BLM-Managed Lands 2-1 2.2 Potential Impacts ofthe Projectto the Aquifer System 2-1 2.3 Potential Impactsto Brine Resources on Bristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 2-2 2.4 Potential Impactsto AirQuality 2-2 Section 3 WATER RESOURCES MODELS 3-1 3.1 Description ofWater Resources Models 3-1 3.1.1 Rainfall-RunoffModel 3-1 3.1.2 Unsaturated Zone Flow andTransport Model 3-2 3.1.3 SaturatedZone Flow andTransport Model 3-2 3.1.4 Density Dependent Groundwater Flow andTransport Model 3-2 3.2 Evaluation ofPotential Adverse Impacts UsingNumerical Models 3-3 3.2.1 Evaluation ofVariable Recharge Estimates and Long-Term Impacts 3-3 3.2.2 Model Refinement and Multi-Year Predictions 3-3 Section 4 AD* QUALITY ANALYSES RELATED TO MOBILIZATION OF LAKEBED DUST 4-1 4.1 AirQuality Monitoring at Bristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 4-1 4.2 Regional Meteorological Monitoring 4-2 MONITORING NETWORK Section 5 5-1 5.1 Proposed "S-Series" Observation Wells (Feature 1) 5-1 5.2 Springs (Features 2 and 3) 5-8 5.3 Observation Wells (Features 4through 6) 5-8 5.4 Proposed Observation Well Clusters Withinthe Immediate Project Area (Features 5 and 6) 5-14 5.5 Project Production Wells (Feature 7) 5-14 5.5.1 Existing CadizAgricultural Wells 5-14 5.5.2 NewProduction Wells 5-14 5.6 Recharge Water Quality (Feature 8) 5-14 5.7 Spreading Basins - Water Level StaffGages (Feature 9) 5-14 1 1 Table ofContents (Continued) Section Page 5.8 Land Surface Monitoring (Feature 10) 5-16 5.9 Extensometers (Feature 11) 5-16 5.10 Microgravity Reference Stations (Feature 12) 5-16 5.11 Flowmeter Surveys (Feature 13) 5-17 5.12 Proposed Observation Well Clusters at Bristol Dry Lake (Feature 14) 5-17 5.13 Proposed Observation Well Clusters at Cadiz Dry Lake (Feature 15) 5-17 5.14 Evapotranspiration Stations (Feature 16) 5-17 5.15 Surface Water Monitoring Stations on the Dry Lakes (Feature 17) 5-17 5.16 AirQuality Monitoring (Feature 18) 5-17 5.16.1 Monitoring at Bristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 5-17 5.16.2 Regional Meteorological Monitoring 5-18 5.17 Resistivity Survey (Feature 19) 5-18 5.18 Gamma-Ray/Dual Induction Downhole Geophysical Logs (Feature 20) 5-18 5.19 Weather Stations (Feature 21) 5-18 5.20 Stream Gage (Feature 22) 5-19 5.21 Soil Moisture Sensors (Feature 23) 5-19 5.22 Meteorological Towers (Feature 24) 5-19 Section 6 MONITORING, TESTING AND REPORTING PROCEDURES 6-1 6.1 Monitoring ofSprings on MojaveNational Preserve and BLM-Managed Lands inthe Affected Watersheds 6-1 6.1.1 Pre-Operational Monitoring ofSprings 6-1 6.1.2 Operational Monitoring ofSprings 6-2 6.1.3 Post-Operational Monitoring ofSprings 6-2 6.2 Aquifer System 6-3 6.2.1 Pre-Operational Monitoring Aquifer System 6-3 6.2.2 Operational Monitoring ofAquifer System 6-4 6.2.3 Post-Operational Monitoring ofAquifer System 6-5 6.3 Bristol And Cadiz Dry Lakes 6-5 6.3.1 Pre-Operational Monitoring ofBristol and CadizDry Lakes 6-5 6.3.2 Operational Monitoring ofBristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 6-6 6.3.3 Post-Operational Monitoring ofBristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 6-6 6.4 AirQuality 6-7 6.4. Pre-Operational Air Quality and Related Monitoring 6-7 6.4.2 Operational Air Quality Monitoring 6-9 6.4.3 Post-Operational Air Quality Monitoring Stations 6-10 6.5 OtherMonitoring (Regional) 6-10 6.5.1 Pre-Operational Regional Monitoring 6-10 6.5.2 Operational Regional Monitoring 6-1 6.6 QualityAssurance/Quality Control 6-12 6.7 Data Management 6-12 6.8 Reporting Procedures 6-12 6.8.1 Annual Reports 6-12 6.8.2 Five-Year Report 6-13 1 Table ofContents (Continued) Section Page Section 7 ACTION CRITERIA, DECISION-MAKING PROCESS AND CORRECTIVE MEASURES 7-1 7.1 Springs 7-5 7.1.1 Potential for Impacts to Springs in the Mojave National Preserve and BLM Managed Lands in the Affected Watersheds 7-5 7.2 Aquifer System 7-7 7.2.1 Potential Impactsto Indigenous Groundwater Quality due to Project Operations 7-7 7.2.2 Potential Impactsto Wells Owned ByNeighboring Landowners due to Project Operations 7-8 7.2.3 Potential for Land Subsidence 7-9 7.2.4 Potential for Increased Risk ofLiquefaction Related to Project Spreading Operations 7-1 7.2.5 Potential for Hydrocompaction Related to Project Spreading Operations 7-12 7.2.6 Potential for Induced Flow ofLower-Quality Water From Bristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 7-13 7.3 Bristol And Cadiz Dry Lakes 7-14 7.3.1 Potential forImpacts to the Brine Resources Underlying Bristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 7-14 7.4 AirQuality 7-16 7.4.1 Potential Impactsto Air Quality due to Dust Mobilization from Water-Level Declines Beneath Bristol and Cadiz Dry Lakes 7-16 CLOSURE PLAN AND POST-OPERATIONAL REPORTING Section 8 8-1 8.1 Closure Plan 8-1 8.2 Post-Operational Reporting 8-1 TECHNICAL REVIEW PANEL Section 9 9-1 9.1 Representation 9-1 9.2 Responsibilities 9-1 9.3 Annual And Five-Year Monitoring Reports 9-2 BLM 9.4 Recommendationstothe Authorized Officer 9-2 Section 10 BLM AUTHORIZED OFFICER 10-1 10.1 Responsibilities 10-1 10.2 Decision-Making Process 10-1 in 1 Table ofContents (Continued) Appendices ASTM A. D5092-90, Standard Practice for Design and Installation of Groundwater Observation Wells inAquifers B. Groundwater Level Monitoring Protocol C. Groundwater Sampling Protocol D. Water Quality Analytical Protocol E. Data Management Plan List ofTables Tables Pages 1 Proposed Monitoring Features and Frequencies 1-3 2 Summary ofMonitoring Features and Protocols 5-2 3 Spring Classification Criteria 6-1 4 Summary ofAction Criteria, Impacts and Corrective Measures 7-2 List ofFigures Figures Page 1 Location ofthe Bristol, Cadiz, Fenner, and Orange Blossom Wash Watersheds 1-1 2 Proposed Project Wellfield and Spreading Basins 1-12 3 Proposed Project Facilities 1-13 4 Monitoring Features (Regional) 5-9 5 Monitoring Features (Detail ofProject Area) 5-11 6 Typical Observation Well Cluster Cross Section 5-13 7 Typical Production Well Cross Section 5-15 8 Location ofPrecipitation Stations in the Desert Southwest Region 5-20 9 Management Schedule for Proposed Monitoring Activities 5-22 10 Decision-Making Process 7-4 IV