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Home My WebLink AboutCC AG PKT 2015-05-11 #E AGENDA STAFF REPORT DATE: May 11, 2015 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council THRU: Jill R. Ingram, City Manager FROM: Sean P. Crumby P.E., Director of Public Works SUBJECT: WATER CONSERVATION UPDATE SUMMARY OF REQUEST: That the City Council receive and file an update to the City of Seal Beach Water Conservation Program. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS: California is in the midst of one of the longest periods of drought in recorded history. As a result, the State of California has gone through a series of orders and mandates to address the shortage. Traditionally, the City of Seal Beach has responsibly managed water consumption and has responded favorably throughout this drought period. In 2009, the City of Seal Beach adopted a water conservation ordinance (Ordinance 1586 — Municipal Code 9.35). The ordinance implemented several immediate mandatory water conservation measures which include: • Leak repairs on indoor and outdoor plumbing must be completed within seven days of discovery; • Eliminate irrigation water run-off from landscaped areas onto sidewalks and streets; • Prohibition of irrigating between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.; • Limit irrigation duration to less than 15 minutes per station; • Restaurants shall only offer water service to customers upon request; • Decorative water fountains and features shall only use water re-circulating systems; • No installation of single pass cooling systems in connection with new water services; • No installation of non-re-circulating commercial car wash and laundry systems; and • Handheld water buckets or hoses equipped with positive shut-off nozzles may only be used to wash vehicles and equipment. Agenda Item E In addition, the ordinance provides additional options to further reduce water consumption in the event of an extended drought. Those options are divided into three escalating phases which increase the severity of restrictions with each successive phase and are implemented by a resolution of the City Council. The phases are designed to be implemented (approved by the City Council) on a temporary basis as conditions warrant. A chronological background of the current drought is as follows: Drought Status This year marks the fourth consecutive year of drought in California. As of March, the snowpack in California was reported at 14% of normal levels and, in Colorado, as 77% of normal levels. This, combined with lower than normal precipitation levels across the state, has caused the storage of water to become depleted. State Orders and City of Seal Beach Response • January 17, 2014: Governor Brown issued a "Water" State of Emergency. Included within this order was request for a voluntary reduction in water consumption of 20% versus consumption in 2013. The City of Seal Beach issued press releases and encouraged conservation. Water consumption across the state dropped 5%. • July 15, 2014: State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) approved Resolution Number 2014-0038 ordering all retail water agencies to implement and enforce their adopted water conservation measures along with additional requirements. These requirements included limiting outdoor irrigation to three days per week as well as implementing one or more of the City's phased restriction measures. Seal Beach developed an action plan that complied with the Water Board order and, on August 11, 2014, the City Council approved implementation of Phase I conservation measures within the City's Water Conservation Ordinance. The plan included: • Extensive public education and outreach campaign • Utilize consultant services to supplement City staff resources and provide water inspection and enforcement services • Adoption of Emergency Water Conservation Resolution Phase 1 restrictions (Limit outdoor water uses to three nights per week) • Receive, respond, and follow up on every resident call regarding water consumption within the City. Additionally, the City began an audit of water consumption by municipal activities. A few of the activities to reduce municipal consumption are as follows: • Audit irrigation in all City parks, medians, and facilities. Upgrade nozzles and timers to latest water conserving. Repair all leaks. Adjust run times to operate at shortest period possible. • Landscaping projects: Within the landscape maintenance contract are a few planting opportunities that arise every year. Utilize those opportunities to replace high water use landscaping (turf) in areas that are appropriate. Page 2 o Maintenance Contracts: The City has assessed maintenance contracts for opportunities to lower water consumption. One example this year is the Main Street Powerwashing Contract. The service was replaced with a Main Street cleaning contract. The new vendor utilizes a sweeping machine that recycles water and consumes far less than the previous vendor. As the drought is a changing situation, the Water Board Resolution 2014-0038 was in effect for a period of 270 days. • March 17, 2015: Water Board issued Resolution 2015-0013. This order extends the requirements of Resolution 2014-0038 for an additional 270 days. In addition to those requirements, a few additional requirements were added. Several of those requirements were already in place in Seal Beach. Two such requirements have been added and are listed as follows: • The application of potable water is prohibited to outdoor landscapes during and within 48 hours of a measurable rainfall, • 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 guestroom using clear and easily understood language. The order did not provide restrictions that require Seal Beach to increase the water conservation measures to Phase II of the Municipal Code. The Phase I restrictions currently limit watering to three nights per week. The majority of the agencies within Orange County are either currently at or moving to watering limits to two nights per week. • April 1, 2015: Executive Order B-29-15. Governor Brown issued an executive order that announces that, across the state, water consumption will be reduced by 25%. This is not a voluntary request as was done with the original Water State of Emergency, but rather a mandatory cut of 25% across the state. The order delegated the method of how the state will reduce the 25% to the Water Board. It stated that the Water Board shall, "...Impose restrictions to achieve a statewide 25% reduction in potable urban water usage through February 28, 2016. These restrictions will require water suppliers to California's cities and towns to reduce usage as compared to the amount used in 2013. These restrictions should consider the relative per capita water usage of each water supplier's service area, and require that those areas with a higher per capita use achieve proportionally greater reductions than those with low use..." The Executive Order also includes several provisions that impact Seal Beach's municipal operations. One order that will have a significant impact is a requirement that, "The Water Board shall prohibit irrigation with potable water or ornamental turf on public street medians." Currently, within Seal Beach, ornamental turf is located within medians on Seal Beach Boulevard (South of PCH), Marina Avenue, 1St Street, Pacific Coast Highway, and Lampson Avenue. Page 3 In the past, staff has investigated use of reclaimed (grey) water for these medians. The reclaimed water is typically generated by regional organizations. The closest sources to Seal Beach are from the Orange County Sanitation District and the Water Replenishment District. Neither organization has capacity to bring reclaimed water to Seal Beach. It is recommended that the City turn off the irrigation to these medians beginning May 12th. Staff will look for funding opportunities to upgrade the irrigation to a drip system and replace the turf with landscaping to match the majority of medians within the City. • May 5 & 6, 2015: The regional board approved a plan to achieve a statewide reduction of water consumption by 25%. The reduction is not even to all water agencies, but rather varies based upon usage. The first proposal was released by the Water Board on April 7th with a modified version released on April 18th. The adopted system has tiers or levels of reduction requirements. These tiers vary starting as low as 8% and extending as high as 36%. Seal Beach has been placed into the lowest tier and mandated to reduce usage by 8%. The City successfully reduced usage in 2014 by 5% versus the usage in 2013. With additional public education and reduction in municipal usage an additional 3% will be achievable. The ability to achieve the water reduction goals within the City's current program means that no additional water conservation measures are recommended at this time. If further measures become mandated by the State or if Phase II of the water conservation measures are mandated, an update will be presented to the City Council at that time. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT: Adoption of the resolution enforcing water conservation measures is categorically exempt under Section 15321, Class 21 Enforcement of Actions by Regulatory Agencies of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). LEGAL ANALYSIS: The City Attorney has reviewed and approved as to form. FINANCIAL IMPACT: Funding for Water Conservation Inspection will be funded from account number 017-900-44000. RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council receive and file an update to the City of Seal Beach Water Conservation Program. Page 4 SUBMITTED BY: NOTED AND APPROVED: � � . Sean P. Crum y,�E. Ji . Ingram Sea Director of Public Word City Manager Page 5