History

• Cal-Am has been the water provider for the Monterey County district since 1966, when its parent company, American Water Works Company, purchased California Water and Telephone Company (which was the previous water company since 1935).
• In 1995, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) found that California-American Water did not have the legal right to about 10,730 acre-feet annually of its then-current diversions from the Carmel River and that the diversions were having an adverse effect on the public trust resources of the river. [SWRCB Order 95-10]
• Cal-Am hoped it would be able to obtain water from MPWMD's proposed Los Padres dam, but  was unable to get public support for funding the dam.
• Cal-Am then applied to the California Public Utilities commission (CPUC) for its own Carmel River Dam project as a replacement water supply.
• While the application was pending, the state legislature [law AB 1182] directed the CPUC to develop a long-term water supply contingency plan to replace the 10.7 acre-feet drawn from the Carmel River.  The resulting "Plan B report" was issued by CPUC in 2002. Plan B proposed a desalinization facility with aquifer storage and recovery and associated transmission facilities. This combination of programs came to be known as the "Coastal Water Project."
• In the meantime, various natural resource agencies and environmental groups objected to Cal-Am's Carmel River plan. In response, in 2003 Cal-Am dropped its Carmel River proposal and the application was dismissed by the CPUC.
• In September 2004, Cal-Am proposed the Regional Desalinization Project (RDP) and requested approval of increased water charges to fund construction. The Commission approved Surcharge 1 for the collection of approved pre-construction costs, to be tracked in a memorandum account, and Surcharge 2 to fund construction of the facilities on a pay-as-you-go basis.
• The CPUC conducted environmental reviews of the Regional Desalinization Project. Eventually, in 2010, implementation of the RDP was approved. It was to be a joint project of Cal-Am, and two water agencies: Marina Coast Water district (MCWD), Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA).
• Just-in-time, because in 2009 the SWRCB issued a cease-and-desist order prohibiting Cal-Am from illegally diverting water from the Carmel River after December 31, 2016.
• In 2011, project consultant Stephen Collins was found to have a serious conflict-of interest and was charged with various felonies. (He has denied guilt and is awaiting trial.) In addition, there were disagreements amongst the three partners over water rights, permits, financing, and other issues. By the end of 2011, it became clear that the RDP was no longer viable. 
• Cal-Am determined it would be unable to meet the December 2016 deadline if it continued to pursue this project. In January 2012 Cal-Am announced the end of RDP. 
• In April 2012, Cal-Am filed an application for approval of an alternative plan--the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project (WSP). This plan comprises a three-pronged approach: a desalinization plant, groundwater replenishment (GWR), and aquifer storage and recovery (ASR).