ITEM:            INFORMATION ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS

 

21.       WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT

 

Meeting Date:           May 17, 2004                                           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                               

 

I.       MANDATORY WATER CONSERVATION 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).

 

A.     Certification

The District received 119 WCC forms between April 1 and April 30, 2004.  Data on property ownership, transfer date and status of conservation requirements from those forms were entered into the conservation database.

 

B.     Verification

In the month of April, 166 inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property owners.  The District completed 119 inspections of properties changing ownership and 108 (90.8%) were in compliance. Three of the properties that passed inspection required more than one visit to verify compliance with all conservation requirements.  The District also verified the replacement of 12 toilets resulting from water permit conditions of approval.

 

C.     Changes of Ownership

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 226 property transfers that occurred between April 1 and April 30, 2004 was entered into the database.  

 

D.     Savings Estimate

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in April are estimated at 1.127 acre-feet.  This number represents verification of approximately 52.7% of the properties transferring ownership in the District during April (e.g. 24 toilets were replaced).

 

II.                WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

 

A.     Permit Processing

District staff processed and issued 108 water permits in the month of April.  The Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocation deductions totaled 0.432 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 May 16, 2001, allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing single family dwelling on a single-family residential site. Of the 108 water permits issued in April 2004, 11 were issued under the provisions of Ordinance No. 98.

 

B.     Permit Compliance

District staff completed 30 water permit final inspections in April. Ten of the final inspections failed due to unpermitted fixtures or for not having low-flow fixtures in place as required by the permit. Of the 20 properties that were in compliance, 18 passed on the first visit. In addition, 17 properties required pre-inspections in response to Water Permit Applications received by the District.


 

C.     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.  In January 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 April, the District prepared and recorded 57 documents.  Of the 108 permits that were issued in the month of April 2004, 45 (41.7%) required deed restrictions.  District staff provided deed restriction Notary services for forty-six water permit applicants.  

 

III.             REBATE PROGRAM

 

In January 1997, the District enacted a program that offered refunds of up to $100 for every older residential toilet replaced with an ultra-low flow model.   The program was expanded in 1998 to provide rebates for voluntary non-residential toilet retrofits.  It was expanded again in 2003 to provide rebates for ultra-low consumption appliances and cisterns.  Water saved through this program is set aside to reduce community water use. 

 

Participation in the rebate program is detailed in the following chart:

 

 

 

REBATE PROGRAM SUMMARY

April-2004

2004 YTD Total

Total-to-Date (January 1997 - Present)

I

Application Summary

 

 

 

 

A.

Applications Received

13

81

4017

 

B.

Applications Approved

11

61

3300

 

C.

Single Family Applications

8

40

3880

 

E.

Multi-Family Applications

1

12

328

 

G.

Commercial Applications

0

0

110

II

Types of Fixtures Rebated

 

 

 

 

A.

Single Family Toilet

12

35

4262

 

B.

Multi-Family Toilet

1

15

1738

 

C.

Commercial Toilet

0

0

685

 

D.

ULF Dishwasher

0

10

12

 

E

ULF Washing Machine

2

10

11

 

F.

Hot Water Demand Pumping Systems

0

0

0

 

G.

Cisterns

0

0

0

III

Total Dollars Rebated

$1,500.00

$6,978.63

$647,725.20

IV

Estimated Water Savings in Acre-Feet Annually*

0.330

1.330

153.956

 

 

* Retrofit savings are estimated at 0.023 AF/toilet, 0.003 AF/dishwasher, 0.015 AF washer

 

 

 

 

 

 

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