ITEM:            INFORMATION ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS

 

26.       WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT

 

Meeting Date:           December 15, 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 November 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 145 Water Conservation Certification forms between November 1 and November 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 November, 126 inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property owners.  The District completed 68 inspections of properties changing ownership and 56 (82%) 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 26-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 170 property transfers that occurred between November 1 and November 30, 2003 was entered into the database.  

 

WATER SAVINGS ESTIMATE

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in November are estimated at 0.644 acre-feet.  Details on water savings from retrofits are presented in Exhibit 26-B.

 

WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

 

PERMITS

District staff processed and issued 121 water permits in the month of November.  The Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocation deductions totaled 0.398 acre-feet for the Cal-Am system in November.  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 May 16, 2001, allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing single family dwelling on a single-family residential site. Of the 105-water connection permits issued in the month of November, 14 were issued under Ordinance No.  98.

 

PERMIT COMPLIANCE

District staff completed 48 water permit final inspections in November. Eleven of the final inspections failed for added fixtures or not having low-flow fixtures in place as stated in the permit. Of the 37 properties that were in compliance, 33 passed on the first visit. In addition, ten properties required pre-inspections in response to Water Permit Applications received by the District. Detailed information about permit inspections is provided in Exhibit 26-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.  In the month of November, the District prepared and recorded 59 documents on property titles.  Of the 121 permits that were issued in the month of November, 41 (33.9%) required deed restrictions.

 

District staff provided notary services for 32 water permit applicants.         

                                                                                                                                   

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND PROGRAM

The District continued to promote and administer the Toilet Replacement Refund Program.  Seventeen applications were received during November.  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 November 1 through November 30, 2003:       

 

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND - November 2003

 

 

 

 

November 2003

 

Last Year

 

Total for 2003

 

  Total-to-Date

 

Applications Received

 

16

 

25

 

184

 

3918

 

Pre-Approved

 (# of Toilets)

 

0

 

0

 

 

0

 

 

128

 

 

Applications Approved

 

12

 

15

 

131

 

3227

 

      A:    Single Family

              (# of Toilets)

7

(11)

7

(8)

95

(122)

3834

 (4221)

 

      B:   Multi-Family

              (# of Toilets)

4

(4)

8

 (17)

27

(41)

315

(1722)

 

      C:      Hotels

              (# of Toilets)

0

(0)

0

(0)

0

(0)

38

(592)

 

      D:      Commercial

              (# of Toilets)

1

(1)

0

(0)

3

(3)

34

 (93)

 

Denied

 

4

 

10

53

563

 

Total $ Issued

 (# of Toilets)

$1,600.00

(16)

$2,500.00

(25)

$16,459.19

(166)

$639,550.27

(6628)

 

Estimated Water Savings

 (in AFY*)

 

0.368

 

0.575

 

3.818

 

152.444

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