Micheli

INTRODUCTION

City, through its Water Division, operates a large public water system to supply its constituents with drinking water. For most of its history, the drinking water City supplied to its customers was sourced from natural groundwater reserves. Over the years, this groundwater resource has been receding. In 1991, City “formed a technical advisory committee with other local agencies” to develop a plan “to ensure the Fresno metropolitan area has a reliable water supply through 2050.” Pursuant to the plan, City commissioned the development of the Northeast Surface Water Treatment Facility [NE treatment facility] to treat surface water (e.g., water obtained from lakes, reservoirs, rivers and/or canals) for use as drinking water. City began operating the NE treatment facility in 2004 upon receiving interim approval from the California Department of Health Services (DHS) to use the Enterprise Canal as a source of raw water supply for the facility. DHS (and a successor entity, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Board)) subsequently issued amendments to City’s water supply permit to govern its continued operation of the NE treatment facility. Plaintiffs, residents of…