A judge recommends approving Pure Water Monterey expansion, in what could change the water landscape.

The future water supply of the Monterey Peninsula got a big boost Sept. 30 when Anne Simon, an administrative law judge appointed by the California Public Utilities Commission, issued a proposed decision that, if approved by the CPUC next month, would authorize an expansion of the Pure Water Monterey recycled water project.

If commissioners approve it, the ruling could theoretically result in the lifting of the state-imposed cease-and-desist order that has led to more than a decade of water poverty on the Monterey Peninsula and hampered new development.

As proposed, the decision authorizes the commission to approve a water purchase agreement between Cal Am and publicly-owned purveyors Monterey One Water and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, which have partnered in the recycled water project. As originally approved by the CPUC in 2016, the project compels M1W and MPWMD to deliver 3,500 acre-feet of recycled water to Cal Am for 30 years; under the expansion, an additional 2,250 acre-feet of recycled water annually would be added to that delivery, for a total of 5,750 acre-feet annually.

The proposed decision comes after a series of letters were sent to the CPUC questioning the viability of the project, sustainability of the Pure Water Monterey’s source waters in the Salinas Valley, and MPWMD’s estimates for water demand.

On Sept. 14, Mark Watson, chair of the Monterey County Hospitality Association, sent a letter arguing that the hospitality industry needs an additional 500 acre-feet annually. Without it, he wrote, “Monterey’s hospitality industry will not be able to reach its full potential.” (Cal Am’s proposed desal plant in Marina would provide 6,250 acre-feet annually. That’s 500 acre-feet more than Pure Water Monterey, plus its expansion, promises to provide.)

On Sept. 19, Pebble Beach Company General Counsel Diane Goldman sent a letter arguing that MPWMD General Manager Dave Stoldt’s testimony filed with the CPUC was “false and biased” in terms of its water demand projections.

On Sept. 27, Monterey County Water Resources Agency General Manager Brent Buche sent a letter calling into question the quantity estimates of the source water for Pure Water Monterey.

It appears none of the letters persuaded Simon, the administrative law judge.

Cal Am spokesperson Josh Stratton writes via email that Cal Am is pleased with the decision, and intends to sign the water purchase agreement expeditiously if approved by the CPUC, adding that Cal Am had no part in the letters written by outside parties “who are stakeholders in our water supply crisis who believe their interests were misrepresented.”

Once, or if, the agreement is approved by the CPUC, it still needs to be signed by all three parties – M1W, MPWMD and Cal Am. M1W General Manager Paul Sciuto estimates that, unless Cal Am balks at signing the agreement, a bid to construct the expansion would be accepted within a few months. The project, which expected to take about two years to build, could come online in the first quarter of 2025.

Then, finally, the Monterey Peninsula might finally find its way out of water poverty.