HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 Implement Stage 4 Drought RegulationsAgenda Item #15
T o:
From:
Date:
Subject:
Board o f Directors
Steven Ponce let
May 20, 2 015
Considerat ion to Implement Stage 4 of Ordinance 2014-05 to
Comply wit h the Cali fornia SWRCB Emergency Drought Regulations
A CTION
1. WHY T HIS MAT T ER IS BEFORE T HE BOARD
This item includes an update on the Distri ct's implementati on of the California State
W ater Resources Control Board's (SW RCB's) 2015 emergency drought regul ations
al ong wi th action to implement the latest SW R CB emergency drought regul ati ons.
2. HIST ORY
The Di stri ct, as require d by the Cal i fornia D epartment of W ater Reso urces, has an
Urban W ater Management Plan (UW MP) whi ch gets updated every 5-years. The
UW MP i ncludes a W a ter Shortage Conti n gency Plan and impl ementing Di strict
Ordinance. The UW MP was last a dopte d i n 2011 and the W ater Shortage
Conti ngency Plan was u pdated i n Septe mber 2014. T hese are some of the tools that
the District has in pl a ce to respond to water shortages or emergency drought
regulations.
The District's Board ha d many meeti ngs ove r the l ast year to review and impl ement
the SW RCB's 2014 and 2015 emergency dro ught regulati ons. These r egulations had
a seri es of prohibi tions against the wa ste o f water whi ch appl y to all Cal i fornian's.
The prohibitions against waste that are i n effe ct today i ncl ude:
Waste o f potable water i n i rrigatio n systems from runoff;
Washing a motor vehi cle with pota ble water from a hose that does not have
a shut-off valve;
Applicati on of potable water to dri veways and si dewalks;
Use of potable water in a fountain/water feature that doe s not recircul ate;
The app l icati on of potab l e water to outdoor landscapes during and up to 48
hours after measurabl e rainfall;
The serving of dri nking water othe r than upon request in eating or dri nking
establ i shments; and
Option o f not choosing to have towels and linens laundered dai l y in hotel s or
motel s.
The emergency drought regul ati ons also have mandatory actions for all Urban W ater
Suppliers (i.e. the District) to impl ement fu lly the stage of their W ater Shortage
Conti ngency Plan that first introduced manda tory restricti ons to outdoor i rrigation of
ornamental landscapes and turf wi th po tabl e water alon g with regulator y reporting and
other requirements i ncluding:
Restricti on on irrigation wi th potab le water of ornamental landscapes and turf
to every other day;
Provide prompt notice to a customer whenever the supp l i er obtains
information that a leak may exist wi th the end-user's exclusi ve control; a nd
More comprehensive monthly regul atory reporting that n ow incl udes
“descri ptive statisti cs on water con serva tion and compli ance efforts”.
The District has had a robust outreach eff ort over the last year to educate our
custome rs and commun ity on the Distr i ct's water supply, the impacts of a long-term
drought, and the need to compl y with the SW R CB emergency drought regulations and
District Ordinance No. 2015-05. The Di stric t has b een monitoring water usage an d
submi tting the regulatory reporting as requi red by the SW RCB. Enforcement has
been on-going and remains compl aint driven th r ough a formal process whi ch requires
wri tten complai nts (anonymous compl a i nts a re not accepted). Al l eged viol ati ons are
i nvestigated by District staff.
The SW RCB emergen cy drought reg ul ati on s do include provi sions for fines and
penal ties that incl ude $500 per day for vi ol ations against the prohi b i tions that are
enforceable by Truckee Police, Nevada or P l acer Sheri ff, or other sworn officers of
the state. There is also a $10,000 per day f ine for ur ban water supp l i ers that fail to
compl y with the SW RCB emergency droug ht regulations. Di strict Ordinance No.
2015-05 has provisions for fi nes and penal ti es for violations against the restri cti ons
on outdoor watering or other provi sions of the ordinance.
3. NEW INFORMAT ION
The District has been conducting a robust p ubl i c outreach and educa tion regardi ng
the current SW RCB emergency drought regul ations. Since our l ast drought workshop
i n March, staff has taken the followi ng steps to comply:
A press release was sent out regarding the Distri ct's acti on to compl y with the
regul ati ons and impacts to our custome rs;
A l etter detailing the re quirements of th e emergency d rought regul ati o ns was
sent to al l District customers;
The Districts websi te (www.tdp ud.org ) was updated and incl udes detai l ed
informati on on the new restrictions that our customers must comply with;
A compl aint form for alleged viol ati on s of the drought regulations remains
availabl e on the websi te (See "Forms" b utton on homepage);
The Di stri ct conducted a workshop for l a ndscape professionals;
Staff presented to the T own of Truckee counci l ;
Staff conducted di rect outreach to k ey accounts, o ther public ag encies,
Contractors Associ ati on of Truckee Tah oe (CATT), and others;
On-goi n g promoti on of the Distri ct's W a tch Your W ater campaign; and
Continuous fl ow notificati ons are now in cluded on customer bills.
On April 1st, Governor Brown issued a droug ht executi ve order directing the SW RCB
to create addi tional emergency drou ght re gulations to achi eve an overall 25%
reduction in water production (as compared to 2013 usage). The e xecutive order
required that higher users be asked to redu ce proportionality more and additional
prohibitions against wa ste were adopted. T he SW RCB i ssues a 'F ramerwork' for
these new regul ations on April 7th, draft regul ations on Apri l 17th, and the fi nal Noti ce
of Proposed Emergency Regulations on April 28th. Th e Distri ct, al ong with the Town
of Truckee, Tahoe Ci ty PUD, and many other s, i ssued formal comment l etters at each
step along the way detai l i ng why the u se of Residenti al Gallons per Capita per Day
(RGCPD) was not appr opri ate for communities wi th high transient population. The
problem was that the SW RCB had directed th e Di strict to use onl y ful l -time population
i n our RGCPD regul ato ry reporting not count i ng 2nd h ome owners an d visi tors. The
result was an overstating of the District's RGC PD by a factor of 2.
The new SW RCB emer gency drought regul a tions also incl uded two n ew prohi bi tions
against the waste of wa ter that deal with new construction i rrigation and the irri gati on
of ornamental turf on publ i c street me di ans. Neither of these new prohibitions will
have a big impact on our communi ty.
On May 5th, the SW RCB took action to adopt the new emergency drought regul ations
which, at the time of wr i ting of this Board do cket, were still in legal re vi ew but whi ch
are expected to be finalized by mid-May and wi l l take effect June 1, 2015. The end
result of the RGPCD discussion with the SW RCB was that the Distr i ct was able to
submi t more accurate RGCPD to the SW RC B. The Distri ct was moved from a 36%
conservation target to a 28% conservati on target tier (as measured agai nst 2013
water production, month to month and cumula tive).
District Staff has been evaluating the 28% conservati on target re quirement and
opportuniti es to reduce water usage b y a c ombinati o n of additi onal restrictions on
outdoor i rrigation, water conservati on op portu niti es, customer leaks, and unaccounted
for water. The 28% target will require sig nificant effort by the Distri ct and our
custome rs; especial l y given the 30% reduction i n Distri ct water producti on since 2006.
Another concern is the l arge i nfl uence that weather and vi sitors have o n water usage
which i s beyond the District's control.
To compl y wi th the SW RCB 28% conservati o n target, Di strict Staff are recommendi ng
the followi ng:
Initi ate Stage 4 of Ord i nance No. 201 4-05 and defi n e the 2-day per week
restri cti on on outdoor irri gation as only o n Tuesday's an d Friday's;
Steven Poncelet Mi chael D. Holley
Public Informati on & Con ser vati on Mana ger General Manager
Consider petitions for hardshi p from co mmerci al, non-ornamen tal l andscapes
users to be given a target i n l i eu of the p rescri pti ve restricti on;
Continue to promptl y noti fy customers o f continuous flow alarms and promote
prompt action to fis customer l eaks; and
Continue to promote the Di strict's "W atc h You W ater" campaign.
District staff is prepari ng another robust ou treach and communicati on program to
i mpleme nt the new 28% conservation targ et and to hel p the Di stri ct and our
custome rs compl y. District staff will aga in i ss ue a press rel ease, customer bill stuffer,
KTKE radi o spots, etc.. Di strict staff also plans to conduct direct outreach to
agencies, key accounts, service groups, HOA's, and others. New outreach, such as
mobile message boards, will also be consider ed.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal i mpact associated wi th this item i s unknown at thi s time. Fiscal impacts
from the 2014 & 2015 emergency dro ught r egulation s incl uded costs to impl ement
and enforce (staff time, web-work, all-customer mailer) along with decreased Distri ct
revenue due to mandatory conservati on. Fi scal impacts for the n ew emergency
drought regulations are projected to be at l eas t as much the resources spent to date.
Reduced revenue estimates have not be en anal yzed at this time;
Increased l abor cost esti mated to be $7 8,000, and;
Direct mai l ers esti mated to be $25,000.
5. RECOMMENDAT ION
Direct the General Man ager to i mpleme nt St age 4 of Ordinance 2014 -05 and define
the restr iction on outdo or i rrigation of 2-day s pe r week to be restricted to Tuesday's
and Friday's.