One thing that’s not in dispute is that the City of Monterey needs water. What is in question is where that water comes from. On Aug. 1, the Monterey City Council discussed the possibility of teaming up with the Marina Coast Water District for an agreement that would potentially deliver whatever water the city needs to make proposed housing developments a reality (like on Garden Road, for example, wherein office buildings near the airport would be converted to apartments).

But like all things water-related, it’s not that straightforward.

The backstory is that the Monterey Peninsula’s water utility – California American Water, which is privately owned – ran afoul of state regulators for over-pumping the Carmel River, leading the State Water Resources Control Board to issue a cease-and-desist order for that over-pumping in 2009. (The Cal Am service area has an annual demand of about 10,000 acre-feet.)

That order has since frozen all new water meters within Cal Am’s service area, hindering new development. That’s in spite of a 2021 request from the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District asking the state to allow the district to allocate 75 acre-feet of water for projects that include affordable housing.

The state denied the request.

The City of Monterey, meanwhile, has been stuck in a standoff with the state over its mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) numbers: The city is tasked with zoning for an additional 3,654 housing units that could be built by 2031.

But one arm of the state government has been at odds with the other: The state’s Department of Housing and Community Development demands housing, while the State Water Board is preventing that housing from happening.

MPWMD General Manager Dave Stoldt questions a long-term agreement with MCWD regarding water supply, for a few reasons. One, it would likely be costly, and two, what’s the point? The necessary water supply will be available in about two years, based on estimates for the Pure Water Monterey recycled water project. (With an expansion, that project is expected to provide 5,750 acre-feet of water a year.)

“We’re all good with creative thinking, but we don’t want to see the Balkanization of water on the Peninsula,” Stoldt says. “When you Balkanize it, with everybody doing these one-off deals, it’s not healthy as a long-term solution.”

Rem Scherzinger, MCWD’s general manager, says nothing has been formalized yet, just that he’s discussed the matter with Monterey City Manager Hans Uslar. “We’re happy to help Monterey solve their problem, even if it’s just as an adviser,” Scherzinger says.

Uslar characterizes his conversations with Scherzinger as, “I like to get water, I like to build housing, let’s keep the conversation going.” He adds that they’ve discussed revamping MCWD’s desal plant, which has been mothballed for two decades. At peak production, it could theoretically provide just under 340 acre-feet annually.