ITEM:            INFORMATION ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS

 

22.       WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT

 

Meeting Date:           May 19, 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 April 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 102 Water Conservation Certification forms between April 1 and April 30, 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 April, 127 inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property owners.  The District completed 83 inspections of properties changing ownership and 57 (68.6%) were in compliance.  None 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 22-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 128 property transfers that occurred between April 1 and April 30, 2003 was entered into the database.  

 

WATER SAVINGS ESTIMATE

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in April are estimated at 1.288 acre-feet.  Details on water savings from retrofits are presented in Exhibit 22-B.

 

 

WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

 

PERMITS

District staff processed and issued 111 water permits in the month of April.  The Paralta or the Pre-Paralta allocation deductions totaled 0.131 acre-feet for the Cal-Am system in April. 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 April, 32 were issued under Ordinance No.  98.

 

PERMIT COMPLIANCE

District staff completed 30 water permit final inspections in April. Of the 25 properties that were in compliance, 25 (100.0%) passed on the first visit.  Detailed information about permit inspections is provided in Exhibit 22-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 April, the District prepared and recorded 91 documents on property titles.  Of the 111 permits that were issued in the month of April, 61 (54.9%) required deed restrictions.

District staff provided notary services for 27 water permit applicants.         

                                                                                                                                   

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND PROGRAM

The District continued to promote and administer the Toilet Replacement Refund Program.  Approximately nine calls were received during April.  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 April 1 through April 30, 2003:            

 

 

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND - April 2003

 

 

 

 

April 2003

 

Last Year

 

  Total for 2003

 

  Total-to-Date

 

Applications Received

9

23

71

3805

 

Pre-Approved

 (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

128

(1,022)

 

Applications Approved

8

21

49

3145

 

      A:    Single Family

              (# of Toilets)

 

7

(8)

 

14

(18)

 

34

(45)

 

3773

(4144)

 

      B:   Multi-Family

              (# of Toilets)

1

(2)

1

(3)

8

(11)

296

(1692)

 

      C:      Hotels

              (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

38

(592)

 

      D:      Commercial

              (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

1

(1)

 

32

(91)

 

Denied

 

1

8

22

532

 

Total $ Issued

 (# of Toilets)

 

$1,000.00
(10)

 

$2,100.00

(21)

 

$5,676.43

(57)

 

$628,767.51

(6,519)

 

Estimated Water Savings

 (in AFY*)

 

0.230

 

0.483

 

1.311

 

149.937

 

 

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