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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11 SWRCB Emergency Drought RegulationsTo: Board of Directors From. Steven Poncelet Date: March 18, 2015 Subject: Review of the California SWRCB Emergency Drought Regulations 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD This item includes an update on the District's implementation of the California State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB's) 2014 emergency drought regulations along with review of newly, proposed SWRBC 2015 emergency drought regulations. 2. HISTORY The District's Board had multiple meetings to review and implement the California State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB's) 2014 emergency drought regulations. These regulations had a series of prohibition against the waste of water which were state-wide and enforceable by 'sworn officers of the State'. The emergency drought regulations also required that all Urban Water Suppliers (i.e. the District) implement fully the stage of their Water Shortage Contingency Plan that first introduced mandatory restrictions to outdoor irrigation of ornamental landscapes and turf with potable water. The District's Water Shortage Contingency Plan, and implementing Ordinance No. 2005-05, were written for a catastrophic failure of our water system. The State's mandate to implement Stage 2 of the District's Water Shortage Contingency Plan would have created an undue hardship given that the District was not currently experiencing a water supply shortage. At the July 16, 2014 District Board meeting, the Board set a Public Hearing date of September 10, 2014 to consider revisions to our Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). Notice was given to the Town of Truckee, Nevada County, and Placer County regarding the District's intent to update the plan. At the August 12, 2014 special District Board meeting, action was taken to comply with the new regulations and the General Manager was directed to implement the District's Urban Water Management Plan, Water Shortage Contingency Plan and trigger Ordinance No. 2005-05 Stage 2 or the Alternate Plan if approved by the California State Water Resources Control Board. The result was a restriction on irrigation of 2-days per week. At the September 10, 2014 District Board meeting, the Board revised the District's UWMP and adopted Ordinance No. 2014-05. The result was a change on the restriction on irrigation to every other day which remains in effect today. The District took the following actions in response to the SWRCB's 2014 emergency drought regulations: Compliance and enforcement: A press release was sent out on August 13, 2014 regarding the District's action to comply with the regulations and impacts to our customers; The Districts website (www.tdpud.org) was updated and includes detailed information on the new restrictions that our customers must comply with; • A complaint form for alleged violations of the drought regulations is available on the website (See "Forms" button on homepage); • A letter detailing the requirements of the emergency drought regulations was sent to all District customers; • Staff conducted direct outreach to key accounts, other public agencies, Contractors Association of Truckee Tahoe (CATT), driveway sealing companies, and others; and • On -going promotion of the District's Watch Your Water campaign. Modification of the District's UWMP to account for both a drouaht emeraencv and a catastrophic failure of one or more components of our water system that would cause water supply shortages. Key changes to the ordinance included: • The stages have been modified and additional stages have been added to give more granularity in choosing the appropriate stage; • Restrictions have been removed that were unreasonable or would create undue hardship; • The procedures to appeal for hardship or address violations have been improved; and • The revised ordinance is more consistent with the ordinances of other local water agencies. By law, the SWRCB's emergency drought regulations expire 270 days from when they take which is April 24, 2015. It has been well documented that California is experiencing a 4th year of drought and expectations have been that the SWRCB would take further action regarding emergency drought regulations. 3. NEW INFORMATION The District is currently experiencing a drought but continues to not experience a water supply shortage. This is verified by monitoring operations and well levels across the District's water supply system. A prolonged drought will impact everyone and the District continues to promote water conservation and to reduce water production. As shown in Attachment 1, the District's water production had dropped by more than 25% since 2008. This impressive result is a combination of water conservation, fixing leaks in the District's distribution system, and the water meter effect. The SWRCB recently released draft emergency drought regulations that are set to be considered for adoption at the SWRCB's March 17, 2015 board meeting. If adopted, they will take effect 30 days later (which would be before the expiration of the current emergency drought regulations). The new draft emergency drought regulations are shown in Attachment 2. These proposed new 2015 emergency drought regulations build upon the 2014 emergency drought regulations and include new prohibitions against waste of water and additional restrictions on outdoor irrigation with potable water. A summary of the proposed SWRCB 2015 emergency drought regulations follows: Prohibitions against waste (Sec. 864; State regulations enforceable by 'sworn officers of the State'; up to $500 fine for each violation): • The application of potable water to outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes runoff such that water flows onto adjacent property, non -irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots, or structures (EXISTING); • The use of a hose that dispenses potable water to wash a motor vehicle, except where the hose is fitted with a shut-off nozzle or device attached to it that causes it to cease dispensing water immediately when not in use (EXISTING); • The application of potable water to driveways and sidewalks (EXISTING); • The use of potable water in a fountain or other decorative water feature, except where the water is part of a recirculating system (EXISTING); • The application of potable water to outdoor landscapes during and up to 48 hours after measurable rainfall (NEW); • The serving of drinking water other than upon request in eating or drinking establishments, including but not limited to restaurants, hotels, cafes, cafeterias, bars, or other public places where food or drink are serves and/or purchases (NEW); and • To promote water conservations, operators of hotels and motels shall provide guests with the option of choosing not to have towels and linens laundered daily. The hotel or motel shall prominently display notice of this option in each bathroom using clear and easily understood language (NEW). Mandatory actions by Urban Water Suppliers (Sec. 865, Enforceable by District aer Ordinance No. 2014-05): • To promote water conservation, each urban water supplier shall implement all requirements and actions of the stage of its water shortage contingency plan that includes mandatory restrictions on the number of days that outdoor irrigation of ornamental landscapes or turf with potable water is allowed (EXISTING); • Provide prompt notice to a customer whenever the supplier obtains information that indicates that a leak may exist within the end -users exclusive control (NEW); and • More comprehensive monthly regulatory reporting that now includes "descriptive statistics on water conservation and compliance efforts" (EXISTING/NEW). Staff is evaluating the potential impacts of the on -going and new emergency drought regulations and will work with the Town of Truckee on the prohibitions against waste and with the California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA) on the mandatory actions by Urban Water Suppliers. There is a very short window to provide comments to the SWRCB regarding the proposed emergency drought regulations. Staff is most concerned about the requirement to notify a customer 'promptly' if we have information that a leak may exist given the challenges we have faced in the past in distinguishing from a 'continuous flow alarm' and a 'leak'. Significant staff resources would be required to respond to every potential leak regardless of size or duration. Staff will work with CMUA and other water utilities to ensure that our concerns are heard by the SWRCB. If the SWRCB takes action and adopts the new 2015 emergency drought regulations, the next steps would include: Evaluation of final emergency drought regulations; • Continue implementation of District Ordinance No. 2014-05; Notification to our customers regarding the emergency drought regulations and the obligation to comply; • Update of District's website and complaint process to reflect the new regulations; and • Enforcement while the emergency drought regulations are in effect (270 days maximum from adoption). 4. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this workshop item. Fiscal impacts from the 2014 emergency drought regulations included costs to implement and enforce (staff time, web -work, all -customer mailer, etc.) along with decreased District revenue due to mandatory conservation. Fiscal impacts for the 2015 emergency drought regulations are projects to be at least as much as 2014. 5. RECOMMENDATION Receive this report and provide feedback. Steven Poncelet Public Information &Conservation Manager Michael D. Holley General Manager