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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8 Water Shortage Contingency Plan Agenda item # 8 Memorandum To: Board of Directors From: Peter Holzmeister Date: May 13, 2005 Subject: Workshop on Urban Water Management Plan Section on Water Sortage Contingency Plan Why this matter is before the board: At a recent meeting, Neil Kaufman presented a draft Urban Water Management Plan to the board. He stated that there is one section in the document in particular that deserves a special review by the board and suggested that it come back as a workshop item. That is the purpose of this item. History: As already stated, Neil Kaufman has prepared a draft Urban Water Management Plan as required by state law. He recently made a brief presentation to the board on the draft document and specifically directed our attention to Section 7 entitled Water Shortage Contingency Plan and to the proposed ordinance found in Appendix C. Copies of Section 7 and the proposed ordinance are attached for your convenience. New Information: There is no new information. We simply want at this time to discuss this Section with the directors in a workshop setting. Recommendation: This is a workshop. No action required. } Y i Y F SECTION 7 WATER SHORTAGE CONTINGENCY PLAN Law F 10632. The plan shall provide an urban water shortage contingency analysis which includes each of the following elements which are within the authority of the urban water supplier: (a) Stages of action to be undertaken by the urban water supplier in response to water supply shortages, including up to a 50 percent reduction in water supply, and an outline of specific water supply conditions which are applicable to each stage. (b) An estimate of the minimum water supply available during each of the next three water years based on the driest three year historic sequence for the agency's water supply. (c) Actions to be undertaken by the urban water supplier to prepare for, and implement during, a catastrophic interruption of water supplies including, but not limited to, a regional power outage, an earthquake,or other disaster. (d) Additional, mandatory prohibitions against specific water use practices during water shortages, including,but not limited to,prohibiting the use of potable water for street cleaning. (e) Consumption reduction methods in the most restrictive stages. Each urban water supplier may use any type of consumption reduction methods in its water shortage contingency analysis that would reduce water use, are appropriate for its area, and have the ability to achieve a water use reduction consistent with up to a 50 percent reduction in water supply. (f) Penalties or charges for excessive use, where applicable. (g) An analysis of the impacts of each of the actions and conditions described in subdivisions (a) to (f), inclusive, on the revenues and expenditures of the urban water supplier, and proposed measures to overcome those impacts, such as the development of reserves and rate adjustments. (h) A draft water shortage contingency resolution or ordinance. (i) A mechanism for determining actual reductions in water use pursuant to the urban water shortage contingency analysis. The effective management of water supply shortages is an important responsibility of water agencies. Shortages may be caused by failures of major water supply facilities, natural disasters, or other adverse conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to have an effective management program to mitigate water supply shortages. As described in Section 5, by the Summer of 2005, the District should be using groundwater as its sole source of supply. The Martis Valley Groundwater Basin has a volume of about 484,000 acre-feet (AF). Based upon current withdrawals, there is over 20 years worth of water supply available even if there was zero recharge of the groundwater basin. Consequently, the most likely cause of a water supply shortage would be the failure of a major water supply facility such as a well, pump station or transmission pipeline. As a result, water supply shortages are expected to be somewhat short in duration (days or possibly weeks), but may occur without any warning. The District's water system consists of five major components: control valve stations, ,Y groundwater wells, pipelines, pump stations and storage tanks. In May 2004, the District Page 7-1 - Section 7-Water Shortage Contingency Plan completed a Vulnerability Assessment that identified that number of customers that would be impacted by major failure of a given facility. In conjunction with the Vulnerability Assessment, the District has been updating its Emergency Response Plan which identifies actions to be taken in the event of a major failure of a given facility. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM Depending upon the type of failure, the location and the number of customers affected, it would be necessary for the District to implement some form of water conservation— either voluntary or ' mandatory. Table 7-1 identifies the various stages of water conservation measures that would be implemented. Table 7-1. Water Conservation Stages Stage Water Conservation Requirement Compliance Level 1 10%Reduction in Usage Voluntary 2 30%Reduction in Usage Mandatory 3 50%Reduction in Usage Mandatory Stage T Water Conservation Stage I would apply during periods requiring a reduction of 10 percent in water usage. This would be achieved through voluntary measures. All new water connections would be prohibited within the area affected. The withdrawal of water for construction purposes would also be prohibited. Stage 2 Water Conservation Stage 2 would apply during periods requiring a reduction of 30 percent in water usage. All outdoor water usage would be prohibited. Penalties and fines would be imposed for violations of the water conservation program. Stage 3 Water Conservation Stage 3 would apply during periods requiring a reduction of 50 percent in water usage. If necessary, mandatory rationing and temporary outages would be implemented by the District. Penalties and fines would be imposed for violations of the water conservation program. PROPOSED WATER CONSERVATION ORDINANCE #' Attached in Appendix C is an ordinance adopting a water conservation program that was passed by the District's Board of Directors as part of development of this Urban Water Management Plan. This ordinance outlines three stages of water alerts that describe different required conservation savings. These conservation savings range from voluntary compliance with reasonable conservation efforts in Stage 1 to a mandatory 50 percent reduction in Stage 3. This Ordinance also authorizes the General Manager of the District to implement these measures immediately upon occurrence of an event requiring such conservation measures. A public meeting of the Board of Directors would then be scheduled as soon a possible to inform the Board and the public of the emergency, the actions taken by the District and the expected duration until the problem can be corrected. Page 7-2 Ordinance No. 2005 - XX al' FINDING THE NECESSITY FOR AND ADOPTING A WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM IN THE EVENT OF A WATER SUPPLY EMERGENCY WHEREAS, California Water Code Sections 375 et.seq. permit public entities which supply waterat retail to adopt and enforce a water conservation program to reduce the quantity of water used by the people therein for the purpose of conserving the water supplies of such public entity; WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District has determined the need to establish a water conservation program pursuant to California Water Code Sections 375 at seq., based upon the need to minimize the effects of any future shortage; WHEREAS, the Board finds and determines that a water shortage could exist in the event of major failure of one or more components of the water system; WHEREAS, the Board also finds and determines that the water sources available be put to maximum beneficial use to the extent to which they are capable, and that the waste or unreasonable use, or unreasonable method of use, of water be prevented and that the conservation of such water be encouraged with a view to the maximum reasonable and beneficial use thereof in the interest of the people of the District and for the public welfare. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of the District as follows: 1. The General Manager is hereby authorized and directed to implement the provisions of this ordinance. Additionally, the General Manager is hereby authorized to make minor and limited exceptions to prevent undue hardship or unreasonable restrictions,provided that water shall not be wasted or used unreasonably and the purpose of this ordinance can be accomplished. 2. The provisions of this Ordinance shall apply to all water served to persons, customers, and property by the District. The District may declare that only certain portions of the service area are subject to a water supply emergency and the requirements of this ordinance. 3. Water Conservation Stages: No person shall knowingly use water or permit the use of water supplied by the District for commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental, or any other purpose in a manner contrary to any provision of this ordinance, in an amount in excess of the amounts authorized by this ordinance or during any period of time other than the periods of time specified in this ordinance. At no time shall water be wasted or used unreasonably. Unreasonable uses of water are those that violate the Carlsbad Water Ethic,a policy adopted by t 4. The following stages shall take effect upon declaration as herein provided: (a) Stage 1 — 10% Reduction in Water Usage -;Voluntary Compliance: Stage 1 applies during periods that the District determines that water usage should be reduced approximately 10% in order to meet all of the water demands of its customers. Specific mandated restrictions in water r: use for Stage 1 are as follows: 1. All new water connections shall be prohibited in the area affected by the water conservation requirement. z 2. The withdrawal of water for construction purposes shall be prohibited in the area affected by the water conservation requirement. (b) Stage 2 — 30% Reduction in Water Usage - Mandatory_Compliance:--Stage-2-applies during periods that the District determines that water usage should be reduced approximately 30% in order to meet all of the water demands of its customers.Specific additional mandated restrictions in water use for Stage 2 are as follows: 11, 1. All outdoor water uses are prohibited. The District may discontinue service to irrigation services. 2. Customers maybe subject to fines and penalties for failure to comply with this requirement. 3. The District may install flow restricting devices on a customers service. (c) Stage 3 — 50% Reduction in Water Usage - Mandatory Compliance: Stage 3 applies during periods that the District determines that water usage should be reduced approximately 50% in order to meet all of the water demands of its customers. Specific additional mandated restrictions in water use for Stage 3 are as follows: 1. Customers shall be required to repair any known leaks on piping owned by the customer. In the event that such leaks are not repaired in a timely manner, the District may perform the repair or hire a contractor to perform the repair, and then invoice the customer for those costs. 2. The District may implement mandatory water rationing through the use of forced rolling outages. 5. Implementation of Conservation Stages.The District shall monitor the projected supply and demand for water by its customers on a daily basis. In the event of an emergency,the General Manager shall determine the extent of the conservation required through the implementation and/or termination of particular conservation stages in order for the District to prudently plan for and supply water to its customers. Thereafter, the General Manager may order that the appropriate stage of water conservation be implemented or terminated in accordance with the applicable provision of this Ordinance. The declaration of any stage shall be made by?????a mass mailing and public announcement and notice shall be published a minimum of three (3) consecutive times in a newspaper of general circulation. The stage designated shall become effective immediately upon announcement.The declaration of any stage shall be reported to the Board at its next meeting, or at a Special Meeting, if deemed appropriate bythe President of the Board. The Board shall thereupon ratify the declaration, rescind the declaration, or direct the declaration of a different stage. 6. Penalties and Fines. It shall be unlawful for any customer of the District to fail to comply with any of the provisions of this ordinance. Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall be as follows: (a) For the first violation by any customer of any of the provisions of this Ordinance,the District shall verbally notice the fact of such violation. (b) For a second violation by any customer of any of the provisions of this Ordinance, the District shall issue a personal notice of the fact of such violation to the customer. (c) For a third violation by a customer of any provision of this ordinance, the District may install a flow restricting device of one gallon per minute (1 GPM) capacity for services of up to 1.5" in size and comparatively sized restrictors for larger services upon a prior determination that the customer has repeatedly violated the provisions of this Ordinance and that such action is reasonably necessary to assure compliance with this ordinance. Such action shall be taken only after a hearing held by the General Manager, where the customer has an opportunity to respond to the District's information or evidence that the customer has repeatedly violated the provisions of this Ordinance. As determined by the General Manager, any such restricted service may be restored upon application of the customer made not less than forty-eight(48) hours after the implementation of the action restricting service and only upon a showing by the customer that the customer is ready, willing and able to comply with the provisions of this Ordinance. Prior to any restoration of service,the customer shall pay all District charges for any restriction of service and its restoration as provided for in the District's rules governing water service. Any willful tampering with or removal of any flow restriction device shall result in termination of service for a period to be determined by the General Manager. (d) Notice.The District shall give notice of each violation to the customer committing such violation as follows: 1. For any violation of the provisions of this Ordinance,the District may give written notice of the fact of such violation to the customer personally or by U. S. mail, first class, registered postage paid. 2. If the penalty assessed is, or includes, the installation of a flow restrictor to the customer, notice of the violation shall be given in the following manner: a. By giving written notice thereof to the customer personally; or b. If the customer be absent from or unavailable at either his place of residence or his assumed place of business, by leaving a copy with some person of suitable age and discretion at either place, and sending a copy through the U.S. mail, first class, registered postage prepaid, addressed to the customer at his place of business, residence, or such other address provided by the customer for bills for water or electric service if such can be ascertained; or r C. If such place or residence, business or other address cannot be ascertained, or a person of suitable age or discretion at any such place cannot be found, then by affixing a copy in a conspicuous place on the property where the failure to comply is occurring and also be delivering a copy to a person of suitable age and discretion there residing, or employed, if such person can be found, and also sending a copy through the U.S. mail, first class, registered postage prepaid, addressed to the customer at the place where the property is situated as well as such other address provided by the customer for bills for water or electric service if such can be ascertained. 3. Said notice shall contain, in addition to the facts of the violation, a statement of the possible penalties for each violation and statement informing the customer of his right to a hearing on the violation. (e) Appeals.Any customer against whom a penalty is levied pursuant to this section shall have a right to an appeal, in the first instance to the General Manager with the right of appeal to the District's Board of Directors, on the merits of the alleged violation, upon written request of that customer to the District within fifteen days of the date of notification of the violation. u, :j; PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Directors at a meeting duly called and held within the District on the_ day of 2005 by the following roll call vote: AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: N,. TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT By President of the Board ATTEST: Peter L. Holzmeister, Clerk of the Board i i t s s s` z