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HomeMy WebLinkAbout13 WATER CONSERVATION UPDATE - JULY 2016• Agenda Item ?3 f AGENDA REPORT Reviewed: City Manager Finance Director fA MEETING DATE: SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 TO: JEFFREY C. PARKER, CITY MANAGER FROM: DOUGLAS S. STACK, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKSICITY ENGINEER SUBJECT- WATER CONSERVATION UPDATE — JULY 2016 SUMMARY As a result of the drought, the City of Tustin is required to provide the State Water Resources Control Board with a monthly report regarding water consumption and restrictions. This report summarizes the information provided to the State for the month of July 2016 and provides the City Counc I and the publ c 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 July 2016 and calculated a 19% savings in water production when compared to July 2013. The City's current cumuiat-ve savings is 25%. Below is the City of Tustin's required report for the month of July 2016, which was submitted to the State on August 15, 2016. State Report Questionnaire Which Stage of your Water Shortage Contingency Plan have you invoked? Stage z Does this Stage include mandatory restrictions on outdoor irn, ation? Yes 13. 1 How many days per week is watering allowed for outdoor irrigation? z How many complaints of water waste or violation of conservation rules were 58 received during the reporting month? How many contacts (written or verbal) were made w th customers for actual orf 163 alleged water waste or for a violation of water conservation rules? Water Conservation Update — July 2016 September 20, 2016 Page 2 6. How many formal warning actions (e.g.: written notifications, warning letter, door 118 hangers) were issued for water waste or for a violation of conservation rules? 7. Wow many penalties (fines) were issued for water waste or for a violation of 29 conservation rules? 8. Optional enforcement actions: $3700 in fines 9. This year's total potable water production for the reporting month (including 1007.1 AF agricultural supply). 1o. Your 2013 water production for the same reporting month. 1238.3 AF 11. The quantity of water delivered for all commercial, industrial, and institutional 12o.9 AF users for the reporting month. 12. The quantity of water used exclusively for commercial agriculture (this water will o be subtracted from the total monthly potable water production for purposes of determining compliance with conservation requirements). 13. The quantity of water used exclusively for commercial agriculture during the same o month in 2013. 14. You may optionally report the total amount of water (e.g.: leakage) calculated for 30.2 AF this past month for which you do not receive revenue. 15. Enter your estimate of the percentage going to residential use only for this 89% reporting month's production (l00% assumed otherwise). 16. Please include any information the Board should be aware of when using this data. CII use is estimate 17. Total Population Served. 67,700 18. Enter your estimate of the residential gallons -per -capita -day (R-GPCD). 138 19. You may optionally report any recycled water beneficially used during the None reporting month. The three charts below have been included to provide a comprehensive overview of the conservation that has been achieved since June 2015 and the citation and penalty data for the same time period. Water Conservation Update — July 2016 September 20, 2016 Page 3 City of Tustin Water Production l axi hm I', im AuS S Sep -15 [kt-113 NI -v i5 t" I - jai 16 . I 'I, M,. 16 A If 6 May.lfp Iun-16 1111-16 — 1+r} ala '" 00 53,700 $4,000 Jua $.2,900 F a 30 $2,600 S2 $3U114 c 11f $] 51,900 Jh7 J ;z $ 1r■IlCilations 5 20 7JFD 7; ry 57,000 «, I try E 15 #SMF J� z 10 57 U S1,Ooxi I 5 Art fol. M1 Ali- ry I 2LO zoo O a 150 lea 130 its 511 9l1? pis i 7d}b 71 UP n' nl {hl tbv On Residential Water Use - Per Person Per Day 109 1y� 10,t 87 83 87 "" 2011 138 17B �F,Iq�rl' 109 112 U hm I', ful-i4 AuS S Sep -15 [kt-113 NI -v i5 t" I - jai 16 . I 'I, M,. 16 A If 6 May.lfp Iun-16 1111-16 Monthly Citation and Fine Data ala '" 00 53,700 $4,000 $.2,900 a 30 $2,600 S2 $3U114 c v 7.S $] 51,900 ;z $ 1r■IlCilations 5 20 5i,0051,�0057, 57,000 «, I E 15 C If7Pw z 10 57 S1,Ooxi I 5 0 5 tih 5�7 tih tip} tih N", ti11 'tiro Nlo No Sfo NIP ;tiro Nb I; pJ qq Cy boa Oec' ,ao dee bac PQc baa ,J� Wa' �r Conservation Update — July 2016 September 20, 2016 Page 4 Other Items 1. During July. the City reduced water usage by 60% and Tustin Unified decreased wager usage by 36% compared to July 2013. Since June 1, 2015, TUSD has conserved 43% and the City has conserved 65%. 2. Code enforcement statistics for the months of May 2016, June 2016, and July 2016 have been provided as an attachment to this report. 3. The City's website has a page dedicated to water conservation and information on the drought. The page provides the public with a brief statement regarding the upcoming weather forecast, a summary of the C-ty's monthly conservation results, and information on the City's Water Management Plan. Staff reviews the content weekly and updates the information as appropriate. This webpage is located at http://www.tustinca.org/depts/cw/water/drought.asp. Stack, P.E. Public Works/City Engineer Attachment: 1. Enforcement Statistics — May 2016, June 2016, and July 2016 2. Articles of Interest S4LiryCaad MemsU'-1¢Cour�NrreU9,�171pK1Aiy ybia Catwvr.. �J�drylCuiae�yippn Updele JGy :J�7x ATTACHMENT 1 Enforcement Statistics May 2016 — July 2016 tD N N w CIO o m Fp W N v1 0 o a o o O N H ®-1�'va0000 c `R M N C 3 ®N n o o o o 0 ® N LM o o a a 0 Q 0 0 p D a a 0 0 0 0 0 4) � N m � V aCA Q Tpm m w 4 a a o O k po 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 LLJ ®o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 V ! � a �p LL® O 6f% 0 0 0 Q p- N W .� O O o 0 LU 3®�n<n00000 'n W o 0 0 0 0 pry W iD O a a C 0 ' � 70 Z W N r C h C� c }}o' c a v v v O N LL d O W M N M 4 ��_� ,o o m r� y ; 'u 'c� u 'ca » — Ri m Oj OL o > S > c 2 z'ui�i�i�iz VLLI tD N Q � � m, v r+ r4 N Lo B yqZr " Q Q o 0 0 eLnmQ0000npp LO LL® C r0.1 N M LL B N IH� N •i Q Q S a m '�m 4 1oonS r ® n V N n 0 0 0 0 Vf o V®'rLnnoOooQ _ tA M®O C �0 `a V ) W pN a© Q C W W o o 0 0 r A CW m m N O O O N a��omn..nQo� -g© Se" W co kD 1100 o n LU �0 a 72M, ©, n Ln a N 7 � m Q R Cwt �Np yy Q, O z C G7 Oh h N h T V .- =^ _ S {C F W O C C C C o a .2 .2 N o a A m v 9 z = &� V uuul ` 1� A O O > > > ? C �3 °zLPuVuL� V Lu UD N F ;?rye v '+ cn -CEO co0 4. 008 m ®N - rr m o o ,4 o m 4-0 °B � o E �pm " O 0 � o.Q.�ui,-goo $ H r (J m® �omooO pm a �paaoOooOo LLJ �m ap LA 'y �y W O o 0 0 �n�rnaaaao W g2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a N a 0 O Z©Q7 N p cu Ni t - r N N N m Q CL o c a a a ° 3 > > LL E O y 3 teo 32z°d-UUij V ATTACHMENT 2 Articles of interest Most water a, .enc cs can ease up on co I4 L nation under new standards - LA Times Most water agencies can ease up on conservation under new standards Pari. 1 of 4 The Badge Bay Mar na at Lake Shaft -3, seen in May, ai;er i way + lied by -ain and snowmel . (Al'en J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) By Matt Stevens AUGUST 16, 2019. 4:00 PM alifornia may be in its fifth y�,ar of drought, but on Tuesday, state water rc ul ,tors effectively turned back the clock to 2013. Staff members of the State Water Resources Control Board announced that 343 of the state's 411 water districts reported having; enou,;h water to meet their customers' demands -- even if the next three years are unusually dry. To blunt the impact of drought, the state required water providers to reduce their consumption compared to 2013 levels. Each provider was assigned a so-called conservation standard, which was expressed as a percentage. As of Tuesday, the vast majority of those standards have been officially set at o%. http:r,'www.latinics.com.'locallilanowI 81712016 Most water agencies can ease up on conservation under new standards - LA Times Page 2 of 4 The chap ,es signal the latest benchmark in regulators' ongoing struggle to keep Californians drought -conscious while simultaneously easing the unprecedented restrictions that helped the state slash its statewide urban water use by almost 25%. Regulators acknowledged Tuesday that drought conditions have improved enough to lift the top- down mandates, but they were quick to warn against the return of lush green lawns and lengthy showers. "A bit of relaxation is OK," water board Chairwoman Felicia Marcus said. "Abandoning water conservation is not." The new numbers came after districts submitted documents meant to show whether they could meet the state's "stress test." Since regulators adopted the stress -test approach in May, environmental advocacy groups have worried that most water suppliers would set their conservation standards at o%. According to the water board's analysis, only 36 suppliers indicated that they would face a supply shortage in 201g and gave themselves a conservation target higher than o%. Montecito Water District save itself a 31% conservation standard; Azusa set a 3% standard. Suppliers including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Long Beach Water Department and Coachella Valley Water District set their conservation targets at 0%. Staff members said 32 suppliers did not complete their paperwork and would therefore retain their current reduction targets from 2013, ranging from 8% to 33%. But Tracy Quinn, a senior water policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the new rules deficient. Under the latest regulations, "a water supplier could chart a course of usage that would deplete every last drop of water — including emergency supplies — and still not be required to implement mandatory conservation," Quinn said in a statement. The water board's "history of lax enforcement is resulting in a lack of respect from some water agencies and encouraging them to cut corners," she said. State officials pledged to investigate any allegations that "stress test" data are inaccurate. The water board can reject submissions found to be wrong or misleading, officials said. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/ 8/17/2016 Most water agencies can ease up on conservation under new standards - LA Times Page 3 of 4 Faced with the most dismal snowpack in hundreds of years, Gov. Jerry Brown mandated statewide water conservation in April 2016. By then, scores of wells had gone dry across the San Joaquin Valley, groundwater was so depleted that in some places the land was sinking, and residents in some of the hardest hit towns were suffering without enough water to bathe. So, for nine months beginning in June of last year, water districts were instructed to cut their water consumption by varying amounts or face fines. By February, water regulators began to ease the restrictions, reducing some suppliers' conservation standards by a few percentage points on the hopes of a wet winter. California never got the massive El Nino that some hoped would end the drought altogether. Instead, the northern part of the state enjoyed rains that were slightly above average while California's snowpack recovered to levels just below normal. Still, the state's hydrology had improved enough by the spring to persuade regulators to revise the rules again in May; the changes gave water districts the power to return to 2013 water -use levels if they could prove that they have enough supply to meet their customers' water needs through 2019. Officials from the Assn. of California Water Agencies have said that water providers that set their targets at 0% can do so only because they are well-prepared to cope with a prolonged water shortage. They reject the notion that water districts no longer care about conservation, pointing to the 160 suppliers statewide who still have voluntary water conservation targets. And although many local water suppliers will no longer be required to save a specific amount of water under state rules, some districts have indicated that they plan to continue mandatory water conservation anyway. For example, Beverly Hills, which set its state conservation standard at o%, still requires a 30% cut in water use. The conservation standards released Tuesday are in effect only until the state regulations expire in January. State officials said they will also closely monitor conservation in the months to come and could return to mandatory statewide conservation next year if drought conditions persist. Max Gomberg, the water board's climate and conservation manager, said that if residents and businesses continue to cut their consumption by more than 20% compared with 2013, the state would "be in good shape." But he added that if savings percentages "fall significantly, that will be cause for concern." The rules apply only to urban California, but roughly 75% of Californians' water use is by agriculture. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/ 8A 7/2016 Most water agencies can ease up on conservation under new standards - LA Times Page 4 of 4 Significantly more water flowed to most Central Valley growers this year than in 2015. The federal Central Valley Project gave Sacramento Valley irrigation districts and senior rights holders in the San Joaquin Valley l00% of their contract amounts. On the San Joaquin Valley's east side, farmers who last year received zero federal deliveries this year benefited from a 75% allocation. The one glaring exception to that brighter picture is the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, which includes the sprawling Westlands Water District. There, federal deliv�°ries are up just slightly this year, to 5°/,, of contract amounts. Times staff writer Bettina Boxall contributed to this report. matt.stevens@latimes.com Twitter: @bymattstevens UPDATES: 8:02 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details on the new conservation standard. 5:05 p.m.: This article was updated with additional background. 3:50 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reactions and background. This article was originally published at is ,o p.m. Copynght 0 2016 Lo , Angele, Tim eti http://www.latimes.com;'local'Ilanow' 8/17/2016 California water guzzlers to face new penalties, possible public disclosure of names By Paul Rogers, progers@bayareanewsgroup.com SACRAMENTO -- California's top water guzzlers -- the people who use tens of thousands of gallons more than their neighbors to keep lawns bri-,ht &reen during serious droughts -- could soon be hit with higher water bills and their names made public if the drought continues. A law signed late Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown requires retail urban water suppliers with more than 3,000 customers to put in place rules that define "excessive v,-ater use" and impose them during drought emergencies. =panies have two choices: The front entrance to the home of Steven Burd, of Alamo, is photographed Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. The East Bay Municipal Utility District named Burd as on? of he top water use s. (Doug Duran/Say Area News Group) They can impose tiered rates that charge a higher amount to people who use more than a certain target, as San Jose Water Co. and some other providers are already doing this year. Or they can put in place a fine for households using more than a set amount, which then triggers a requirement in state law mandating that their namcas be made public. "Households that guzzle water -- while their neighbors and most other Californians abide by mandatory reductions -- will no longer be able to hide and persist in their excess," said state Sen. Jerry Hill, D -San Mateo, who wrote the measure. Hill said he pushed the bill, SB 814, after reading about a few individual customers who blatantly disre.garded calls for conservation during the current drou ;ht, such as one Beverly Hills homeowner who used 12 million gallons of water last year. Some water agencies charge the same amount per unit of water no matter how much water a customer uses, which allows wealthy homeowners to simply write a check and continue the practice. The bill was supported by environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, along with the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The district, which serves 1.4 million people in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, last year passed an "excessive water use ordinance" that penalized households using 984 gallons of water or more per day, which is four times the district's avera,,e household use of 246 gallons per day. The ordinance charged a penalty of $2 per water unit (each unit is 748 gallons) for all use above 984 gallons a day. Although that amount didn't result in sky-high bills for the district's most heavy water users, it did trigger a requirement in the state Public Records Act that the names of water customers who are fined for excessive use be made public. California Gov. Jerry Brown gestures dur,ng a community event in Sacramen+o on May 18, 2016. (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press Arch ves) Normally, water bills are not public record. A number of celebrities and business Ieaders -- including Oakland A's a &ecutive Billy Beanc, of Danville; Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil, of Lafayette, and Chevron vice president George Kirkland, of Danville -- all turned up on the list of water was wrs. "For us, it wasn't perfect, but it did get people'., attention and provided more opportunitie,�� for conservation," said East Bay MUD spokeswoman Andrea Pook. "Most of them we -re never on the list a ain," she said. "We don't have any h: ,rd data about how much of it wits public shamin ,, and how much of it was financial. People are motivated by different thin. ;s." After winter rains boosted supplies, East Bay MUD dropped the excessive use ordinance for this summer. The new law will be required anytime California is in a drought emergency as declared by the governor, and when a water agency is subject to mandatory conservation from the state or from its own water management plan. California remains in a drought emergency that Brown declared in January 2014. And from June 2015 to May of this year, the state imposed mandatory water conservation targets on cities and water districts, with potential fines for agencies that failed to meet them. Brown's State Water Resources Control Board lifted those rules in June, however, allowing local agencies to set their own targets because winter rains improved the water picture in some parts of California. But Brown administration officials have said they could bring back the mandatory targets starting in January if statewide conservation levels fall and rains don't materialize this upcoming winter. That would kick in the rules required under Hill's measure. The bill was opposed by the Association of California Water Agencies, which argued that because drought conditions have eased enough for Brown to drop mandatory water conservation targets that he had previously imposed on cities statewide, the bill "would institute an unnecessary mandate." In a letter, the association called the bill "a top down statewide approach," arguing that "local control is the most effective path to mitigating the effects of drought." One complicating factor: If a local water agency chooses to use tiered rates, rather than a penalty with public disclosure, to punish excessive water users, it could run afoul of a recent court decision. Last year, a state appeals court ruled that tiered water rates are unconstitutional if they charge more for water than a water agency spends to provide the service. That didn't invalidate tiered rates, but it required water agencies to begin documenting much more specifically how they arrived at those rates -- spending more to drill a new well or buy water from out of the area, for example, to justify the higher tiers. But Hill says there's only so much water -- and water used on lawns in excess means less to fight fires with or use in hospitals and other important needs. "Water is a limited resource," he said. "We have to take droughts seriously. All of us. Just because you can afford your way out of it, that's not right."