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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-04; Governor's Executive Order on Voluntary Drought Measures (Districts - All); Gomez, PazTo the members of the: CITY COUNCIL Date 11l't l-M CA ...J... CC ...L CM ~ACM V DCM (3) ✓ Nov. 4, 2021 CMWD Board Memorandum To: From: Carlsbad Municipal Water istn t Board of Directors Paz Gomez, Deputy City Mana , P lie Works Vicki Quiram, General Manager: Via: Scott Chadwick, Executive Ma ger Ccarlsbad Municipal Water District Memo ID #2021206 Re: Governor's Executive Order on o untary Drought Measures (Districts -All) This memorandum provides an update to a previous Carlsbad Municipal Water District (CMWD) Board Memorandum dated Sept. 30, 2021, on the State of California Executive Order N-10-21 on voluntary drought measures (Attachment A). Background In February 2009, for the first time in California history, Governor Schwarzenegger proclaimed a statewide water shortage emergency, which was associated with the drought period of 2007 to 2009. In 2009, the CMWD Board of Directors adopted the following ordinances: • Ordinance No. 44, Drought Response Plan and Water Conservation Program (Drought Ordinance) (Attachment B). The CMWD's water conservation program that was implemented at that time amounted to a Drought Level 1 response, but Ordinance No. 44 added other drought response levels. The Level 1 condition drought response measures are voluntary and are reinforced through local and regional public education and awareness measures that may be funded in part by customer rates. • Ordinance No. 46, which includes watering schedules and revised Drought Response Levels 2 and 3 (Attachment C). These ordinances guided the CMWD's actions through the next drought period, which formally began on Jan. 17, 2014, when Governor Brown declared a drought state of emergency, and ended on April 7, 2017. On June 13, 2017, after the end of the drought emergency, the CMWD Board returned the district to a permanent Drought Response Level 1 Condition. Attachment D contains the June 13, 2017, Staff Report. The CMWD has stayed in the Drought Response Level 1 Condition since that time. On Oct. 19, 2021, due to the 2021 water year (Oct. 1, 2020 to Oct. 1, 2021) being the second driest year on record, and with near record low storage in California's largest reservoirs, Governor Newsom issued a proclamation extending the drought emergency from only select Carlsbad Municipal Water District 5950 El Camino Real I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-438-2722 t Board Memo -Governor's Executive Order on Voluntary Drought Measures (Districts -All) Nov. 4, 2021 Page 2 counties to all California counties. This proclamation adds the eight counties not included in the previous drought states of emergency: Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco and Ventura. The Governor urged all California residents to step up water conservation efforts and reduce water use by at least 15% because the western United States is facing a potential third year of drought conditions. The proclamation requires local water suppliers to implement water shortage contingency plans that are responsive to local conditions and to prepare for the possibility of a third year of drought. Discussion CMWD customers are joining the statewide effort to conserve even more water than they have in the past. These customers have made water conservation a way of life by reducing their water use on average by 48% since 2008 and continue to be committed to conserving water. While the San Diego County region has reliable water supplies due to decades of investments, the entire western portion of the country is facing dry and hot weather conditions. The CMWD, working with the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority), can help our customers take additional meaningful actions to reduce water use further. On Oct. 28, 2021, the Water Authority's 36-member Board of Directors activated the Level 1 Voluntary Conservation actions of its Water Shortage Contingency Plan in support of the Governor's proclamation. The CMWD's most recent Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) was adopted by the CMWD Board of Directors on June 8, 2021, as a part of CMWD's 2020 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). It mirrors the previous plan and is consistent with CMWD Ordinance Nos. 44 and 46. The CMWD has stayed at Drought Response Level 1 since June 13, 2017, when the Board of Directors adopted a resolution (Attachment D) to rescind the Drought Response Level 2 -and returned CMWD to a Drought Response Level 1. The CMWD's Drought Response Level 1 is in alignment with the Water Authority's Drought Response Level 1 that was adopted on Oct. 28, 2021. Ordinance No. 44 includes actions that are always active and additional Drought Response Level 1 actions, which will both continue to be followed during the current drought period. Below are the actions that are currently in place. If required, CMWD is poised to go to higher drought response levels, as summarized in Attachment E. Active at All Times per Ordinance No. 44 • Prohibition from washing down impervious surfaces, including but not limited to sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts or patios with water from a pressurized source, such as a garden hose, except when it is necessary to alleviate safety or sanitation hazards. When used in this section, impervious surface means any surface covered with non-porous material. • Water waste resulting from inefficient landscape irrigation, such as runoff, low head drainage, or overspray, etc., is prohibited. Water flows onto non-targeted areas, such as adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, hardscapes, roadways, or structures is prohibited. Board Memo -Governor's Executive Order on Voluntary Drought Measures (Districts -All) Nov. 4, 2021 Page 3 • Use a hand-held hose equipped with a positive shut-off nozzle or bucket to water landscaped areas, including trees and shrubs located on residential and commercial properties that are not irrigated by a landscape irrigation system. • Use re-circulated water to operate ornamental fountains. • Wash vehicles using a bucket and a hand-held hose with positive shut-off nozzle or a mobile high pressure/low volume wash system. • Serve and refill water in restaurants and other food service establishments only upon request. • Offer guests in hotels, motels, and other commercial lodging establishments the option of not laundering towels and linens daily. • Use recycled or non-potable water for construction purposes when available. • Single pass-through cooling systems as part of new water service connections will be prohibited. Non-recirculating systems in all new conveyer car wash and commercial laundry systems will also be prohibited. • Prohibition from the excess use, loss or escape of water through breaks, leaks or other malfunctions in the water user's plumbing or distribution system for any · period of time after such escape of water could have reasonably been discovered and corrected. During a Level 1 Drought Watch Condition per Ordinance No. 44 . CMWD will increase its public education and outreach efforts to emphasize increased public awareness of the need to implement the following water conservation practices: • Irrigate residential and commercial landscape before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. only. • Irrigate nursery and commercial grower's products before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. only. Watering is permitted at any time with a hand-held hose equipped with a positive shut-off nozzle, a bucket, or when a drip/micro-irrigation system or equipment is used. Irrigation of nursery propagation beds is permitted at any time. Watering of livestock is permitted at any time. • Repair all water leaks within five days of notification by the CMWD unless other arrangements are made with the General Manager or Designee. More information about California's current drought situation is available at this website: https://www.drought.gov/states/california Next Steps Continue water efficiency efforts as detailed in the CMWD's Drought Response Level 1. Increase outreach and social media on water conservation and encourage the CMWD customers to eliminate water waste to the best of their ability. Board Memo -Governor's Executive Order on Voluntary Drought Measures (Districts -All) Nov. 4, 2021 Page 4 Attachments: A. CMWD Board Memorandum, dated Sept. 30, 2021 B. Ordinance No. 44, Drought Response Plan and Water Conservation Program C. Ordinance No. 46, Watering Schedules D. Staff Report, dated June 13, 2017 E. Summary of Drought Response Levels cc : Geoff Patnoe, Assistant Executive Manager Celia Brewer, General Counsel Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services Kristina Ray, Community & Engagement Director Robby Contreras, Assistant General Counsel ATTACHMENT E Carlsbad Municipal Water District's Water Prohibitions The following water waste prohibitions are always in effect within Carlsbad Municipal Water District's (CMWD) service area: Washing down impervious surfaces with potable water Water waste resulting from inefficient landscape irrigation Use a hand-held hose with a positive shut-off nozzle or bucket to water landscaped areas that are not irrigated by a landscape irrigation system Use re-circulated water to operate ornamental fountains Wash vehicles using a bucket or a hand-held hose with a positive shut-off nozzle or a mobile high pressure/low volume wash system Serve and refill water in restaurants upon request only Offer guests in hotels and motels the option of not laundering towels and linens daily Use recycled or non-potable water for construction purposes, when available Single pass-through cooling systems as part of new water service connections will be prohibited. Non-recirculating systems in all new conveyer car wash and commercial laundry systems will also be prohibited Breaks, leaks, or other malfunctions in water user's plumbing or distribution system resulting in excess use, loss, or escape of water must be repaired in a timely manner CMWD Water Shortage Levels and Response Actions LEVEL 1 Drought Response and Drought Watch -CMWD will increase its public education and outreach efforts to emphasize the need to implement the following conservation practices in addition to the previous listed measures: • Irrigate residential and commercial landscape before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. only • Irrigate nursery and commercial grower's products before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. only • Repair all water leaks within five days of notification by the CMWD -In addition, under Level 1, the CMWD will either directly offer or refer customers to programs that offer rebates on indoor and outdoor water use efficiency or turf replacement. LEVEL 2 Drought Response and Drought Watch -All water conservation measures under Level 1 must be adhered to, with the addition of the following mandatory conservation measures: • Limit residential and commercial landscape irrigation to specified assigned days per week, which will be established by the CMWD's General Manager • Limit irrigation using sprinklers to time limits per watering station per assigned day as established by the CMWD's General Manager • All leaks must be repaired within 72 hours of notification by the CMWD • Stop operating ornamental fountains or similar decorative water features unless recycled water is used LEVEL 3 Drought Critical Conditions -Conservation measures under Level 1 and Level 2 shall continue, with the implementation of the following additional mandatory measures: • Limit landscape irrigation using sprinklers to time limits water station per assigned day as established by the General Manager • Stop filling or re-filling ornamental lakes or ponds, except to the extent needed to sustain aquatic life • Stop washing vehicles except at commercial car washes that re-circulate water or by high pressure/low volume wash systems • Repair all leaks within 48 hours of notification by the CMWD -Additionally, under a Level 3 drought response, no new potable water service shall be provided, no new temporary meters or permanent meters shall be provided, and no statements of immediate ability to serve or provide potable water service shall be issued, with the exception of the circumstances listed in CMWD Ordinance No. 44, Drought Response Plan and Water Conservation Program (Drought Ordinance). -The CMWD Board of Directors will suspend consideration of annexations to its service area and may establish a water allocation for property served by CMWD. 2020 Urban Water Management Plan Water Shortage Contingency Planning CMWD Final June 2021 8-10. LEVEL4 Drought Emergency Declaration -All water conservation measures under Levels 1, 2, and 3 must be adhered to with the addition of the following mandatory conservation measures: • Stop all landscape irrigation, except crops and landscape products of commercial growers and nurseries • Repair all leaks within 24-hours of notification by the CMWD • The CMWD may install a flow restricting device for services of up to one and one-half inch size and comparatively sized restrictors for larger services upon a prior determination that the customer has repeatedly violated the provision of CMWD Ordinance 44. Additionally, the CMWD may establish a water allocation for property served by CMWD. To act on the July 8, 2021, Governor's call for a 15% voluntary reduction, the CMWD, working with the Communications Department, has been increasing the frequency of public information, refreshing and enhancing the district's presence on social media, continuously updating the city's web site with outreach material including the resources that are available to customers. The San Diego County Water Authority offers numerous tools to make the most of every drop at www.watersmartsd.org. The Water Authority is also developing a new program to increase installation of low-flow toilets in low-income communities, and it is looking for opportunities to help the parts of the state that are suffering from extreme water shortages. The Water Authority has groundwater stored in the Central Valley that could be exchanged or sold, and the Water Authority is seeking partners who could benefit from increasing water production at the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant.