RULES AND REGULATIONS REVIEW COMMITTEE

 

4.

DISCUSS REVISIONS TO REGULATION XIV AND IMPACTS ON WATER CREDITS

 

Meeting Date:

June 18, 2009

Budgeted: 

N/A

 

From:

Darby Fuerst,

Program/

 

 

General Manager

Line Item No.:

 

Prepared By:

Stephanie Pintar

Cost Estimate:

N/A

 

General Counsel Approval:  N/A

Committee Recommendation:  N/A

CEQA Compliance:  N/A

 

SUMMARY:  Revisions to Regulation XIV, Water Conservation, have been prepared and are ready for Board consideration.  An outline of the proposed amendments is attached as Exhibit 4-A.  Regulation XIV is the cornerstone of the District’s conservation program.

 

Staff has identified a policy issue between the updated conservation requirements proposed for Regulation XIV and the existing Water Credit policy of the District.  Several of the Residential water fixtures associated with the proposed conservation standards can currently be installed as an option to offset water demand associated with a Water Permit.  When this occurs, the water savings from the retrofit are reinvested in the new use, negating any increase in demand and resulting in a zero net water savings for the District.  The higher standards proposed by the Regulation XIV amendments reduce the availability of Ultra-Low Consumption Appliance Credits (Exhibit 4-B).

 

Non-Residential Water Permit applicants may also receive a water credit when they can identify the water savings associated with the installation and use of ultra-low consumption appliances and fixtures and have an independent third party verify the savings.  In the past ten years, there have been less than ten applications for credit under this provision of Rule 25.5.  However, as water becomes scarcer, there is a likelihood that these applications will increase.  The proposed amendments to the conservation standards will similarly affect Non-Residential projects, where the addition of square-footage often is associated with increased water demand. 

 

Water savings resulting from mandatory District programs, including water savings resulting from the fixtures required by the District’s New Construction, Change of Ownership and Change of Use retrofit requirements, are not available as a Water Use Credit. Such savings must be set aside as permanent water conservation savings essential to the District’s 15 percent conservation goal approved by the Board in March 1984. (Rule 25.5.).  By increasing the amount of water savings in the District’s conservation program through amendments to Regulation XIV, there will be a direct effect on the availability of water credits to offset a new water permit application.

 

 

Proposed amendments to Regulation XIV, Water Conservation, will reduce the District’s water use standards for various fixtures including toilets (from 1.6 gallons per flush to High Efficiency Toilets), dishwashers (currently no restriction to Ultra-Low Water Consumption Dishwasher), and washing machines (from no restriction to High Efficiency Washers).  The proposal to reduce the standards is consisten with the District’s goal to be a leader in water conservation.  Many of the proposed amendments will be required in the near future (High Efficiency Toilets and Urinals) or are considered Best Management Practices by the California Urban Water Conservation Council (of which the District is a member).  Water saved through mandatory conservation requirements contributes to community compliance with regulatory restrictions and reduces the amount of water needed to serve the community. 

 

RECOMMENDATION:  Staff recommends the Rules and Regualations Committee discuss this issue and make a recommendation to the Board that water savings are necessary for the District to maintain regulatory compliance.  The proposed amendments to Regulation XIV, Water Conservation, are expected to be considered by the Board in July 2009.

 

BACKGROUND:  Reducing demand and conserving water through high water efficiency technology is a long-term goal of the District, and the District’s success at conservation has been widely recognized.  In 1984, the District adopted a goal to save 15 percent by the year 2020.  The conservation goal contemplated achievement of the 15 percent reduction in per-capita water use through its Ultra-Low Flush Toilet rules and other conservation programs such as wastewater reclamation.  Through the years, the District has promoted and expanded its conservation program and currently experiences water production levels far below the anticipated 2020 water use estimated in 1984. 

 

Since 1984, a number of unanticipated actions have impacted local water conservation goals.  The 1987-1991 drought, the State Water Resources Control Board Order No. 95-10, and the Seaside Adjudication all resulted in increased voluntary and regulatory conservation measures.  The regulatory restrictions area ongoing and becoming more stringent.  New requirements for water savings, such as the 20x2020 mandate currently under consideration in the State Legislature, will require further cut-backs.  The 20x2020 reduction uses a recent baseline (i.e., post-2000) to make the 20 percent goal determination.  The District’s 1984 conservation goal has essentially been replaced with current restrictions and the new technology to encourage smart water use.

 

 

EXHIBITS

4-A      Regulation XIV Amendment Outline

4-B      Table 4: Ultra-Low Consumption Appliance Credits

 

           

 

 

 

U:\staff\word\committees\RulesRegsReview\2009\20090618\04\item4.doc