ITEM: INFORMATION ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
27. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date: March 15, 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 83 WCC forms between February 1 and February
27, 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 February, 116
inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property owners.
The District completed 75 inspections of properties changing
ownership and 67 (89.3%) 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 22 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 130 property transfers
that occurred between February 1 and February 27, 2004 was entered into the
database.
D.
Savings Estimate
Water savings from retrofits
(triggered by changes in ownership) verified in February are estimated at 0.897
acre-feet. This number represents
verification of approximately 57.7% of the properties transferring ownership in
the District during February (e.g. 39 toilets were replaced).
II.
WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT
A.
Permit Processing
District staff processed and
issued 97 water permits in the month of February. The Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocation deductions
totaled 0.074 acre-feet for the Cal-Am system in February. 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 97 water permits issued in
February 2004, 22 were issued under the provisions of Ordinance No. 98.
B.
Permit Compliance
District staff completed 22 water
permit final inspections in February. Five 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 17 properties that were in compliance, 15 passed
on the first visit. In addition, 13 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 February, the District
prepared and recorded 64 documents.
Of the 97 permits that were issued in the month of February 2004,
40 (41.2%) required deed restrictions.
District staff provided deed restriction Notary services for 25 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
|
February-2004
|
2004 YTD Total
|
Total-to-Date (January 1997 - Present)
|
|
I
|
Application Summary
|
|
|
|
|
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A.
|
Applications Received
|
23
|
53
|
3989
|
|
|
B.
|
Applications Approved
|
20
|
39
|
3278
|
|
|
C.
|
Single Family Applications
|
11
|
27
|
3867
|
|
|
E.
|
Multi-Family Applications
|
6
|
10
|
326
|
|
|
G.
|
Commercial Applications
|
0
|
0
|
110
|
|
II
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Types of Fixtures
Rebated
|
|
|
|
|
|
A.
|
Single Family Toilet
|
7
|
17
|
4244
|
|
|
B.
|
Multi-Family Toilet
|
8
|
12
|
1735
|
|
|
C.
|
Commercial Toilet
|
0
|
0
|
685
|
|
|
D.
|
ULF Dishwasher
|
5
|
8
|
10
|
|
|
E
|
ULF Washing Machine
|
3
|
6
|
7
|
|
|
F.
|
Hot Water Demand Pumping
Systems
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
|
G.
|
Cisterns
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
III
|
Total Dollars Rebated
|
$2,300.00
|
$4,278.63
|
$645,025.20
|
|
IV
|
Estimated Water
Savings in Acre-Feet Annually*
|
0.410
|
0.790
|
153.407
|
|
|
|
* Retrofit savings are
estimated at 0.023 AF/toilet, 0.003 AF/dishwasher, 0.015 AF washer
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U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2004\2004boardpacket\20040315\InfoItems_Reports\27\item27.doc