HomeMy WebLinkAbout4853_CCv0001.pdf RESOLUTION NO. 4853
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF REDLANDS SUPPORTING THE RELICENSING OF THE
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY'S HYDRO-
ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITIES ON THE SANTA
ANA RIVER AND MILL CREEK
WHEREAS, the citizens of Redlands rely upon the City to
provide them with safe, reliable, high quality water for domestic
use; and
WHEREAS, Redland's water supply is derived from several
different sources of varying quality; and
WHEREAS, increasingly stringent water quality standards
are promulgated by state and federal regulatory agencies for
drinking water, and there is some uncertainty whether existing
water treatment technology alone can remove contaminants suffi-
ciently to meet such standards; and
WHEREAS, because technology alone may not be sufficient
to ensure high quality drinking water, Redlands must endeavor to
use the highest quality uncontaminated sources of water available
to it, and must protect such sources from contamination; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Redlands
believes it is in the best interests of its citizens to provide the
highest quality water reasonably available to it for domestic use
by its water users; and
WHEREAS, it is also necessary to ensure a dependable
water supply for the City from many sources, to prevent shortages
caused by contamination, droughts or emergencies; and
WHEREAS, the City of Redlands derives a major proportion
of its highest quality domestic water supply from the Santa Ana
River and Mill Creek watersheds; and
WHEREAS, since the late Nineteenth Century, water from
both river systems has been diverted and conveyed through facili-
ties which are owned, operated and maintained by SCE where it is
first used for hydrogeneration of electricity prior to being
delivered to the City of Redlands for treatment and domestic use;
and
WHEREAS, SCE currently holds Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) licenses for the Santa Ana River 1 and 2 and Mill
Creek 2/3 Hydroelectric Projects (FERC Project Nos. 1933 and 1934 ,
respectively) , San Bernardino County, California and all three
licenses expire on April 30, 1996; and
WHEREAS, On April 23 , 1991, Edison filed with FERC a
Notice of Intent (NOI) to relicense that was published in the
Federal Register (Vol. 56, No. 118 , June 19, 1991) ; and
WHEREAS, in the event that relicensing is denied and the
Santa Ana River and Mill Creek are allowed to revert to free
flowing conditions, the City will suffer severe limitations to its
ability to provide the consumer with high quality domestic water at
a reasonable cast due to degradation in water quality and a
dramatic decrease in the available flow, due to evaporation and
phreatophytes, and this water loss is often in excess of one third
of the available flow during warm weather; and
WHEREAS, Redlands and others currently own and operate
wells in both the Santa Ana and Mill Creek canyons which receive
free pumping energy from SCE in exchange for the nonconsumptive use
of the water from the wells for power generation and during periods
of drought, the wells located in Mill Creek Canyon constitute
nearly fifty percent of the entire flow from Mill Creek, and the
loss of SCE cooperation in providing electricity for these
facilities would result in major increases in current energy costs,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the
City of Redlands, as follows:
1. The City supports FERC's relicensing of SCE's
hydroelectric generating, diversion and conveyance facilities, on
the Santa Ana River and Mill Creek, to protect these high quality
water supply sources from contamination and diminution to meet the
present and future needs of its citizens.
2 . Staff is directed to coordinate the City's activi-
ties and resources to fully support the policy expressed in this
resolution.
RESO 4853
Page 2
PASSER, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 3rd day of March, 1992 .
t
ATTEST:
City CfeArk of tY City of
Redland
RESO 4852
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