ITEM:            INFORMATION ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS

 

25.       WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT

 

Meeting Date:           April 21, 2003             Budgeted: N/A

Program/Line Item No: N/A

Staff Contact:             Shawn Novack           Cost Estimate: N/A

 

General Counsel Approval: N/A

Committee Recommendation: N/A

CEQA Compliance: N/A                                                       

 

 

The following water conservation activities took place during March 2003:                                                                    

MANDATORY RETROFIT PROGRAM

The District continued to carry out District Regulation XIV, which requires the retrofit of water fixtures to ultra-low flow (ULF) 1.6 gallons-per-flush toilets and 2.5 gallons-per-minute showerheads when properties transfer ownership.  Property owners are required to certify the property has the ULF fixtures by submitting a Water Conservation Certification form (WCC).

 

CERTIFICATION

The District received 87 Water Conservation Certification forms between March 1 and March 31, 2003.  Data on property ownership, transfer date and status of conservation requirements from those forms were entered into the conservation database.

 

VERIFICATION

In the month of March, 121 inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property owners.  The District completed 67 inspections of properties changing ownership and 52 (77.6%) were in compliance.  Two of the properties that passed inspection required more than one visit to verify compliance with all conservation requirements.  Detailed information on conservation inspections is provided in Exhibit 25-A.

 

DATA MANAGEMENT

Information is obtained weekly from the Abstract of Monterey County on properties transferring ownership within the District.  The information is entered into the database and compared against the properties that have submitted WCCs.  Properties not in compliance with District law are then identified.  Information on 113 property transfers that occurred between March 1 and March 31, 2003 was entered into the database.  

 

WATER SAVINGS ESTIMATE

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in March are estimated at 1.058 acre-feet.  Details on water savings from retrofits are presented in Exhibit 25-B.

 

 

WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

 

PERMITS

District staff processed and issued 95 water permits in the month of March.  The Paralta or the Pre-Paralta allocation deductions totaled 0.625 acre-feet for the Cal-Am system in March. District Rule 23 requires a water permit application for all properties that propose to expand water demand on a site, including new construction and remodels.

 

Ordinance No. 98, adopted June 16, 2001, allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing single family dwelling on a single-family residential site. Of the 95-water connection permits issued in the month of March, 15 were issued under Ordinance No.  98.

 

PERMIT COMPLIANCE

District staff completed 38 water permit final inspections in March. Of the 33 properties that were in compliance, 31 (93.9%) passed on the first visit.  Detailed information about permit inspections is provided in Exhibit 25-A.

 

DEED RESTRICTIONS

District staff prepares documents that are recorded on the property title to enforce District Rules and Regulations, enforce permit conditions and allow public access to water records.  On December 17, 2001, the District Board of Directors adopted a policy regarding the processing of these documents.  Specifically, an extensive quality control process was put into place and the District is now responsible for thoroughly reviewing and recording these documents.  Permit processing times have increased from 2-3 weeks to 4-6 weeks when a deed restriction is required. In the month of March, the District prepared and recorded 46 documents on property titles.  Of the 95 permits that were issued in the month of March, 31 (32.6%) required deed restrictions.   

                                                                                                                                   

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND PROGRAM

The District continued to promote and administer the Toilet Replacement Refund Program.  Approximately nine calls were received during March.  Both residential and non-residential water users may apply for a rebate of up to $100 per toilet.  The District checks applications for eligibility against District records of properties required to retrofit to ultra-low flow toilets.

 

The following chart shows the refund total from March 1 through March 31, 2003:       

 

 

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND - March 2003

 

 

 

 

March 2003

 

Last Year

 

  Total for 2003

 

  Total-to-Date

 

Applications Received

20

23

62

3796

 

Pre-Approved

 (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

128

(1,022)

 

Applications Approved

14

21

41

3137

 

      A:    Single Family

              (# of Toilets)

 

11

(14)

 

18

(25)

 

27

(37)

 

3766

(4136)

 

      B:   Multi-Family

              (# of Toilets)

2

(2)

3

(4)

7

(9)

295

(1690)

 

      C:      Hotels

              (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

38

(592)

 

      D:      Commercial

              (# of Toilets)

 

1

(1)

 

0

(0)

 

1

(0)

 

32

(90)

 

Denied

 

6

2

21

531

 

Total $ Issued

 (# of Toilets)

 

$1,676.43
(17)

 

$3,013.98

(29)

 

$4,676.43

(47)

 

$627,767.51

(6,509)

 

Estimated Water Savings

 (in AFY*)

 

0.391

 

0.667

 

1.081

 

149.707

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