August 2016
7-1
City of Morgan Hill
2015 Urban Water Management Plan
2015
City of Morgan Hill
7.0
CHAPTER 7 – WATER SUPPLY RELIABILITY ASSESSMENT
Water supply reliability addresses the capability of the water supply during emergency events in
normal existing conditions, single dry years and multiple dry years. The reliability also must be
projected out for 20 years.
7.1 CONSTRAINTS ON WATER SOURCES
Law
7.1.1
Legal Factors
The City’s sole source of supply is groundwater extracted from the Llagas subbasin of the Gilroy-
Hollister Groundwater Basin and the Coyote Valley subarea of the Santa Clara subbasin, which is
a part of the Santa Clara Valley Groundwater Basin. These groundwater basins and subbasins
are not adjudicated basins and no legal factors are expected to limit the availability of supply.
7.1.2
Environmental Factors
Environmental concerns can arise during the water planning process when a project’s impact on
the ecosystem is taken into a consideration. These concerns can subsequently cause a lack of
supply due to the enforcement of environmental legislation. The City’s groundwater sources are
not expected to be limited by any environmental factors.
7.1.3
Water Quality Factors
Water quality factors that could affect the availability of supply include water contamination due to
biological or chemical constituents. The primary water quality factors that could potentially impact
the City are related to perchlorate, nitrate, and hexavalent chromium contamination. In order to
estimate the potential impact on supply due to water quality contamination, the production
capacity of the largest capacity well is assumed to no longer be available to the City. This would
result in a supply capacity reduction of approximately 2,400 afy.
10631 (c)(2) For any water source that may not be available at a consistent level of use, given
specific legal, environmental, water quality, or climatic factors, describe plans to
supplement or replace that source with alternative sources or water demand
management measures, to the extent practicable.
10634 The plan shall include information, to the extent practicable, relating to the quality of
existing sources of water available to the supplier over the same five-year increments
as described in subdivision (a) of Section 10631, and the manner in which water
quality affects water management strategies and supply reliability.