It's the moment local developers have feared.

On Nov. 5, California American Water asked the state Public Utilities Commission for permission to halt new and expanded water service connections in the Peninsula cities it serves, along with the Bishop Ranch, Hidden Hills, and Ryan Ranch developments.

 “We’ve pretty much been under a de facto moratorium for the past 15 years, because the water supplies have been so limited," Cal Am spokeswoman Catherine Bowie says. But there have been some exceptions for existing water allocations. “Now we’re asking to eliminate those exceptions.” 

That could be particularly disastrous for the city of Seaside, which has more than a dozen development and redevelopment projects in the planning pipeline. Seaside has roughly 40 of 100 acre-feet of water allocations that haven't been permitted yet.

Other cities will also be impacted, though to a lesser extent. P.G.'s Holman Building, Monterey's fire-damaged Alvarado Street building and Cal Am-served homeowners looking to add bathrooms would not receive water permits under a moratorium.

Pebble Beach gets a break from the requested ban because of water entitlements it secured through an irrigation water recycling system. Sand City will also be able to hook up new water connections, thanks to its brand-spanking-new desalination plant.

The PUC is expected to decide about the moratorium within three months.

Cal Am's moratorium request comes on the heels of the state water board's Oct. 20 adoption of a cease-and-desist order that would halt most new water connections. But in early November Superior Court Judge Kay Kingsley granted a stay on the CDO, pending the outcome of two lawsuits challenging the order, filed by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District and Cal Am.

If Kingsley ultimately overturns the CDO, the water hookup moratorium would be lifted, Bowie says. But if the judge allows the state to proceed with its order to reduce overpumping from the Carmel River and Seaside Aquifer, the moratorium will hold until a new water supply comes online.

“If the judge decides to uphold the order, we are still going to be held accountable for the cutbacks mandated by the CDO," Bowie says. "And if we have allowed for connections, then we are going to be in a difficult position.”

The Coastal Water Project aims to create a new water supply through desalination plants. Three alternative projects--a desalination plant at Moss Landing, a desal plant in North Marina, and a broader Regional Project--are currently under review by the PUC.

The quest for a new water supply got a poke in the “kumbaya” direction when Chief Administrative Law Judge Karen Clopton assigned a mediator to help stakeholders (including Cal Am, the Marina Coast Water District, the county Water Resources Agency and environmental groups) reach a settlement on the CWP. The first meeting is set for Nov. 19.

The final EIR for the CWP was released in early November. A decision on which alternative to pursue is expected this spring.