The Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved financing for the work through issuance of $35M in revenue bonds, which will be issued through the Morgan Stanley brokerage firm and managed by Union Bank of California.
The Salinas Valley Water Project’s two major components are the spillway modification at Nacimiento Dam to improve seismic safety and flexibility for flood control, and the rubber dam installation on the Salinas river near Marina, which will divert water during the non-rainy season for treatment and distribution to nearby farms.
Construction began in the spring at Nacimiento and on the river as the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) used a $5.5M grant from the State Water Resources Control Board.
The MCWRA will pay back the bonds over a 30-year period from estimated project revenues of $750,000 a year from sales of electricity generated by the hydroelectric plant at Nacimiento, and from $1.08M a year in assessments from a Proposition 218 ballot approved by 85 percent of landowners in 2003, and from $226,000 a year in ad valorem taxes the MCWRA already receives.
In addition, any fees collected for annexation of property to for the Salinas Valley Water Project area will be used to repay the construction debt.
