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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 WATER CONSERVATION UPDATE - MAY 2015Agenda Item 6 -` AGENDA REPORT Reviewed. City Manager Finance Director P1/A MEETING DATE: JULY 7, 2015 TO: JEFFREY C. PARKER, CITY MANAGER FROM: DOUGLAS S. STACK, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS/CITY ENGINEER SUBJECT: WATER CONSERVATION UPDATE — MAY 2015 SUMMARY As a result of the drought, the City of Tustin is required to provide the State Water Resources Control Board with data that will be used to determine if the City is meeting the required 28% conservation target and the various methods being utilized to ensure compliance with the State's mandates. This report summarizes the information provided to the State for the month of May 2015 and provides the City Council and the public with general information on previous and upcoming actions taken by the City. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file this report. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this item. CORRELATION TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN This item contributes to the fulfillment of the City's Strategic Plan Goal D: Strong Community and Regional Relationships. Specifically, by implementing Strategy 2, which is to work collaboratively with agencies within and outside of Tustin on issues of mutual interest and concern. DISCUSSION AND BACKGROUND Staff has provided the Water Board with production data for May 2015 and calculated a 29% savings in water production when compared to May 2013. Staff believes this to be a result of two factors. First, comparatively speaking, May was an exceptionally cool month. Second, the drought and mandatory conservation requirements gained a significant amount of media attention. Both print and television news outlets regularly provided information on the drought and how water agencies are responding. To reach commuters, the Department of Water Resources bought radio ad space to ensure drought messaging played throughout the day on local radio stations. Below is the City of Tustin's required report for the month of May 2015, which was submitted to the State on June 15, 2015. State Report Questionnaire 1. Which Stage of your Water Shortage Contingency Plan have you invoked? Stage 2 Water Conservation Update—May 2015 July 7, 2015 Page 2 2. Does this Stage include mandatory restrictions on outdoor irrigation? Yes 3. How many days per week is watering allowed for outdoor irrigation? 2 How many complaints of water waste or violation of conservation rules were 4. received during the reporting month? 36 How many contacts(written or verbal)were made with customers for actual or 5. alleged water waste or for a violation of water conservation rules? 36 How many formal warning actions(e.g.: written notifications,warning letter, door 6. hangers)were issued for water waste or for a violation of conservation rules? 36 How many penalties(fines)were issued for water waste or for a violation of 7. conservation rules? 0 Dedicated Code Enforcement 8. Optional enforcement actions: Officer This year's total potable water production for the reporting month (including 9. agricultural supply). 811.4 AF 10. Your 2013 water production for the same reporting month. 1147.7 AF The quantity of water delivered for all commercial, industrial, and institutional 11. users for the reporting month. 91.5 AF The quantity of water used exclusively for commercial agriculture(this water will be subtracted from the total monthly potable water production for purposes of 12. determining compliance with conservation requirements). o The quantity of water used exclusively for commercial agriculture during the same 13. month in 2013. o You may optionally report the total amount of water(e.g.: leakage)calculated for 14. this past month for which you do not receive revenue. 48.7 AF Enter your estimate of the percentage going to residential use only for this 15. reporting month's production (l00%assumed otherwise). 88% 16. Please include any information the Board should be aware of when using this data. None. 17. Total Population Served. 67,700 18. Enter your estimate of the residential gallons-per-capita-day(R-GPCD). 110.8 You may optionally report any recycled water beneficially used during the 19. reporting month. None Other Actions Taken 1. A postcard was mailed to all Water Services customers highlighting the new water use restrictions as required under Stage 2 of the City's updated Water Management Plan. Water Conservation Update—May 2015 July 7, 2015 Page 3 2. Message boards have been placed throughout the service area to let customers know about the two day outdoor watering schedule. 3. Conservation measurements boards have been purchased and placed in the lobby at City Hall, the Senior Center, and at Fire Station 21 (Attachment A). 4. A letter has been mailed to all homeowners associations providing information on the City's water use restrictions and offering assistance in identifying strategies to curb outdoor water use. A copy of the letter is attached (Attachment B). 5. Staff has retained the services of an event coordinator to assist in the planning of a Water Expo that is scheduled for September 19 and will be held at Peppertree Park. In addition to providing a forum for local vendors to share their water saving products and experts in the industry to provide our customers with technical information, this expo will be a family friendly event with activities for children, give aways, and food trucks. Marketing to customers will begin in early August and in classrooms shortly after school begins. 6. A professional services agreement has been executed to retain the services of an experienced Code Compliance Officer. After reviewing a number of candidates, staff determined that AndersonPenna Partners could provide the best person for the City's service area and customer base. The primary duties of this position are responding to complaints of water waste, canvassing the service area to identify customers in violation of the City's Water Management Plan, and providing compliance related education to all customers. The administrative citation process will be used to ensure those that refuse to comply with the rules are appropriately and fairly cited. This will be a full time position until it is determined the need for a full time Code Compliance Officer is no longer necessary. This individual has been assigned to the Water Billing and Customer Service Division and began on June 21. In Progress 1. A variety of signs have been ordered to place within the City's medians and parks(Attachment C). Some of the signs will be placed in turf medians that are no longer receiving water, per the Governor's direction. Others will be placed around parks to inform park users of why the turf is showing signs of stress. Any extra signs will be provided to customers who have elected to eliminate irrigation of turf on their property. One other sign will be placed in turf medians and in parks that are irrigated with recycled water to ensure the public understands where recycled water is being used. 2. Staff is coordinating bus shelter advertising with Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO). Under an existing agreement with the City, CCO is authorized to construct, maintain and advertise on specific bus shelters throughout the City. As part of this agreement, the City is granted ad space each year that can be used at the City's discretion. Beginning July 6, general drought messaging will be displayed on several bus shelters throughout the Tustin Water Services area and will be posted for six weeks (Attachment D). During this time, drought messaging that is specific to the water use restrictions adopted as part Water Conservation Update— May 2015 July 7, 2015 Page 4 of Ordinance No. 1457 will be created. This messaging will run for another six weeks, ending on September 27. The artwork will be presented at an upcoming City Council meeting. As //c .ou%l . Stack, P.E. Dir=ctT of Public Works/City Engineer Attachment A: Conservation Measurement Board Attachment B: Letter to Homeowners Associations Attachment C: Median and Park Signs Attachment D: Bus Shelter Advertisement • 5'Ciry Canal I1am11015 Cord Itemal.07-A1SWu'evanul Update May 2015 Wo ATTACHMENT A Conservation Measurement Board ATTACHMENT B Letter to Homeowners Associations Department of Public Works 1�Y O Douglas S. Stack, P.E. G vollt Director i July 7, 2015 Dear Valued Customer, The State of California is in the fourth year of a serious drought. Governor Brown and the State Water Resources Control Board have mandated Tustin Water Services cut back on water use by 28%. Outdoor water use accounts for half of urban water use in California and new regulations for Tustin Water Services customers are in place. The restrictions are enclosed for your review. We need your help to meet our goal. How can you help? • Meet with your landscape/gardener/maintenance people and explain the watering restrictions. Work with them to adjust watering times. • Meet with your Board/homeowners/residents and explain why the landscaped grounds will be or are looking stressed. • Do what you can to ensure the trees on the property are well cared for. They provide many environmental and aesthetic benefits for the community. • Walk the grounds after a scheduled watering to inspect for broken sprinklers, runoff, wet pavement and overspray. Fix leaks and broken irrigation immediately. • Remind residents of the drought in your newsletters. • Remind users that we can do more to reduce water use indoors. • Replace turf and sprinklers with plant material and drip irrigation for effective use of water. • Visit www.ocwatersmart.com for rebates and other drought information How can we help you? • Tustin Water Service staff is available to attend your next Board meeting to give you updates on the drought as well as resources available to you. • We can provide drought awareness materials for your kiosk or if your residents are not billed individually, we can provide you with our bill stuffers to ensure they are aware of the water use restrictions and water conservation techniques. • Our drought education staff is available to meet on site to discuss water conservation methods appropriate for your property. We will be following the State's water restriction mandates closely and will post information at www.tustinca.org as it becomes available. Please contact us at (714)573-3375 to speak with our drought education staff to answer any questions you may have. We are all in this together. Let's continue doing our part to get to our 28%goat 300 Centennial Way, Tustin, CA 92780 • P: (714) 573-3150 • F: (714) 734-8991 • www.tustinca.org ATTACHMENT C Median and Park Signs ATTACHMENT D Bus Shelter Advertisement FM WATER Is PRECIOUS. IT'S TIME WE GOT SMART ABOUT IT. 1, N - l. op LET'S GET'-- on Im SMART,0 .,VVATER LEARN MORE AT WWW.00WATERSMART.COM 46 G 111 AW e��iter Ybrb. Ud. Wliler District