Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout17 California Emergency Drought RegulationsAqenda Item # ACTION To: From: Date: Subject: Board of Directors Steven Poncelet April 06, 2016 New California Emergency Drought Regulations 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD 17 This item includes an update on the District's implementation of the California State Water Resources Control Board's (SWRCB's) 2015 emergency drought regulations along with the need for Board action to implement the latest SWRCB 2016 emergency drought regulations. 2. HISTORY The District, as required by the California Department of Water Resources, has an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) which gets updated every 5-years. The UWMP includes a Water Shortage Contingency Plan and implementing District Ordinance. The UWMP was last adopted in 2011 and the Water Shortage Contingency Plan was updated in September 2014 to be applicable to both and actual water shortage and to state -mandated emergency drought conservation. These are some of the tools that the District has in place to respond to water shortages or emergency drought regulations. The District's Board had many meetings over the last few years to review and implement the SWRCB'0 2014 and 2015 emergency drought regulations. These regulations had a series of prohibitions against the waste of water which apply to all Californian's. The prohibitions against waste that remain in effect today include: • Waste of potable water in irrigation systems from runoff; • Washing a motor vehicle with potable water from a hose that does not have a shut-off valve; • Application of potable water to driveways and sidewalks, • Use of potable water in a fountain/water feature that does not recirculate; • The application of potable water to outdoor landscapes during and up to 48 hours after measurable rainfall; • The serving of drinking water other than upon request in eating or drinking establishments; • Option of not choosing to have towels and linens laundered daily in hotels or motels; • Irrigating outside new construction not in accordance with regulations or codes; and • Irrigating turf on public street medians. The SWRCB 2015 emergency drought regulations also had mandatory actions for all Urban Water Suppliers (Le. the District) which included conservation targets based on residential gallons per capita per day along with regulatory reporting and other requirements including: • 28% Conservation Target; • Provide prompt notice to a customer whenever the supplier obtains information that a leak may exist with the end -user's exclusive control; and • More comprehensive monthly regulatory reporting that now includes "descriptive statistics on water conservation and compliance efforts". To comply with the SWRCB 28% conservation target, the District took the following actions in starting in May, 2015. • Initiated Stage 4 of Ordinance No. 2014-05 and defined the 2-day per week restriction on outdoor irrigation as only on Tuesday's and Friday's; • Considered petitions for hardship from commercial, non -ornamental landscapes users to be given a target in lieu of the prescriptive restriction; • Continued to promptly notify customers of continuous flow alarms and promote prompt action to fix customer leaks; and • Continued to promote the District's "Watch You Water" campaign. The District has had a robust outreach effort over the last 2+ years to educate our customers and community on the District's water supply, the impacts of a long-term drought, and the need to comply with the SWRCB emergency drought regulations and District Ordinance No. 2015-05. The District has been monitoring water usage and submitting the regulatory reporting as required by the SWRCB. Enforcement has been on -going and remains complaint driven through a formal process which requires written complaints (anonymous complaints are not accepted). Alleged violations are investigated by District staff. The SWRCB emergency drought regulations do include provisions for fines and penalties that include $500 per day for violations against the prohibitions that are enforceable by Truckee Police, Nevada or Placer Sheriff, or other sworn officers of the state. There is also a $10,000 per day fine for urban water suppliers that fail to comply with the SWRCB emergency drought regulations. District Ordinance No. 2015-05 has provisions for fines and penalties for violations against the restrictions on outdoor watering or other provisions of the ordinance. The District's conservation results during the compliance period between June - December, 2015 was ^26% as compared to our 28% target. The District conservation results over the irrigation season of 2015 were very solid and well above the 28% SWRCB conservation target. This demonstrated that the 2-day restriction was effective in reducing outdoor irrigation. However, the 2-day restriction of Tuesday's and Friday's only for all customers did lead to very high peak demands which could stress the District's water distribution system and which could lead to reliability concerns should we loose a key production facility during these peak demands. The District's conservation results since our irrigation systems were shut off have dropped to ~10% which is consistent with what we told the SWRCB would occur based only on in -door water use (plus snow making). The District did receive a warning letter from the SWRCB in early 2016 indicating that we were below our target. Overall District conservation results from June 2015 through February 2016 are shown in Attachment 1. 3. NEW INFORMATION Governor Brown, in late 2015, again extended California's drought emergency and directed the SWRCB to adopt new 2016 emergency drought regulations. The SWRCB solicited feedback from the public and took action in February, 2016 to, essentially, continue the emergency drought regulations with only minor changes. The District, along with our sister Urban Water Suppliers in the Truckee -Tahoe region, provided multiple comments letters to the SWRCB addressing the facts that we are not in a water supply shortage, that our water usage is dominated by weather and visitors, and that the conservation targets are not feasible during the winter months when there is no outdoor irrigation (6+ months of the year). The SWRCB, despite acknowledging the validity of our comments, chose not to address our concerns in the new regulations. The new impacts to the District from the 2016 SWRCB emergency drought regulations include: • 25% Conservation Target; • Compliance period from March, 2016 through October, 2016; • On -going prohibitions against wasting water; and • On -going notification, regulatory reporting, and enforcement requirements. District Staff has been evaluating the 25% conservation target requirement and opportunities to reduce water usage by a combination of restrictions on outdoor irrigation, water conservation opportunities, customer leaks, and unaccounted for water. Staff have also considered ways to minimize impacts to the water system from limiting outdoor irrigation to only Tuesday's and Friday's. Regardless, the 25% target will continue to require significant effort by the District and our customers; especially given the well over 30% reduction in District water production since 2006. The large influence that weather and visitors have on water usage, which is beyond the District's control, remains a major concern. To comply with the SWRCB 25% conservation target, District Staff are recommending the following: • Continue with Stage 4 of Ordinance No. 2014-05 and define the 2-day per week restriction on outdoor irrigation as follows: Residential Customers only on Tuesday's and Friday's; Non -Residential Customer's only on Mondays and Thursday's. • Continue to consider petitions for hardship from commercial, non -ornamental landscapes users to be given a target in lieu of the prescriptive restriction; • Continue to promptly notify customers of continuous flow alarms and promote prompt action to fix customer leaks; and • Continue to promote the District's "Watch You Water" campaign. District Staff are preparing another robust outreach and communication program to implement the new 25% conservation target and to help the District and our customers comply. District Staff will again issue a press release, customer bill stuffer, KTKE radio spots, mobile message boards, etc. and update our website. District staff did host a workshop for the landscaping industry to let them know early about the new restrictions and to help them plan for the Summer season and plans to conduct direct outreach to agencies, key accounts, service groups, HOA's, and others. The District must take steps to comply with the 2016 SWRCB's emergency drought regulations. However, Governor Brown did also direct the SWRCB to evaluate the status of the drought at the end of April, 2016 and to take action if the situation has gotten significantly better or worse. This winter, as has been well document, has been fairly wet for much of the State and many regions are no longer experiencing a water shortage. There is mounting pressure on the SWRCB to relax or remove restriction on water use for regions that are not experiencing a water supply shortage (which has included the Truckee -Tahoe region since the beginning but which now includes numerous regions across California). Again, the District must take steps to comply with the 2016 SWRCB's emergency drought regulations today. However, Staff are concerned that the District will expend significant resources to to comply and enforce the new regulations only to have the SWRCB change or rescind the emergency drought regulations in May, 2016. District Staff are working with the sister agencies in the Truckee -Tahoe region, along with other water agencies across California and the California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA), to encourage the SWRCB to make exceptions for regions that are not experiencing a water supply shortage. 4. FISCAL IMPACT The full fiscal impact associated with this item is unknown at this time. Fiscal impacts from the 2014 & 2015 emergency drought regulations included costs to implement and enforce (staff time, web -work, all -customer mailer) along with decreased District revenue due to mandatory conservation. Fiscal impacts for the new emergency drought regulations are projected to be similar. It is estimated that the labor and direct cost to comply with the SWRCB's emergency drought regulations are ~$100,000 per year. Reduced revenue estimates have not been analyzed at this time. 5. RECOMMENDATION Direct the General Manager to continue Stage 4 of Ordinance 2014-05 and define the restriction on outdoor irrigation of 2-days per week to be restricted to: Residential Customers Tuesday's and Friday's only; Non -Residential Customers Monday's and Thursday's only. Steven Poncelet Public Information &Conservation Manager Michael D. Holley General Manager