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City Council Staff Report
November 10, 2015
Agenda Item No. 11
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: George Murdoch, Municipal Operation Director
949-644-3011, gmurdochC@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Cynthia Owens, Administrative Manager
PHONE: 949-644-3057
TITLE: Water Conservation Update
ABSTRACT:
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., through an executive order on April 1, 2015, imposed
mandatory water conservation standards on all California water agencies as the State
enters another year of drought conditions. Per the State Water Resource Control Board
(SWRCB), Newport Beach is required to reduce its water use by 28 percent each month
and reach a 28 percent cumulative reduction goal between June 2015 and February
2016. In response to the new regulations, City Council adopted Resolution No. 2015 -
51, declaring a level three water supply shortage as defined in Newport Beach
Municipal Code Section 14.16 on June 9, 2015.
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file.
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
There are no funding requirements for the water conservation update.
DISCUSSION:
Extreme drought conditions persist in California due to a lack of rain and snowfall over
the last several years. The drought is causing economic harm to farmers, ranchers, and
farmworkers throughout the state and is threatening the water supplies for numerous
cities and towns. Currently Orange County receives very little water from Northern
California and relies on the Colorado River to meet our import needs. The Metropolitan
Water District has allocated import water which makes up 25 percent of Newport
Beach's supply. 75 percent of our water comes from groundwater supplies and water
basin levels remain low. This combined with State mandates require an increase in
conservation efforts.
Water Conservation Update
November 10, 2015
Page 2
On the 15th of each month the City is required to report monthly water reduction results
to the SWRCB. In October, the City reported a 20.1 percent water reduction for the
month of September compared to September 2013. Overall, the City's cumulative
reduction since June 2015 is 22.1 percent. This falls short of the City's required
reduction goal and this report discusses in more detail the status by customer class and
actions to achieve our goals.
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• January 17, 2014, Governor Brown declared a State of Emergency for the drought.
• July 15, 2014, the SWRCB adopts an emergency regulation for statewide urban
water conservation.
• September 9, 2014, the City of Newport Beach declares a level one water supply
shortage.
• April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issues Executive Order B-29-15 which ordered the
SWRCB to impose restrictions to achieve a 25 percent reduction in potable urban
water usage through February 28, 2016.
• June 9, 2015, the City of Newport Beach declares a level three water supply
shortage.
Implementation Actions
In order to implement the level three mandatory water conservation requirements, the
City has undertaken numerous actions. These actions include:
• City actions
o Established Drought Taskforce.
o Replaced turf on numerous City medians with drought tolerant landscaping.
o Discontinued the use of potable water to irrigate turf medians.
o Converted Bonita Creek Sports Park to artificial turf.
o Redesigned municipal bill to include information on the customer's 2013 water
usage and their target to reduce water consumption by 25%.
o Changed to monthly reading of water meters.
o Awarded contract to Smart Utility Systems for implementing customer water
use application and website.
• Public outreach
o Door hangers with water conservation information.
o Informational summer brochures on water conservation distributed to short term
rental properties.
o Post cards with information on outdoor irrigation dates sent to customers.
o Public service announcements.
o Distribution of water conservation information at City events.
o Median signs explaining outdoor irrigation days to the community.
o Code Enforcement efforts for watering days and over use by consumers.
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Water Conservation Update
November 10, 2015
Page 3
Water Reduction Status
The chart below displays the monthly and cumulative reductions and February 2016
target goal.
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
City of Newport Beach Water Use
Jun -15 Jul -15 Aug -15 Sep -15 Oct -15 Nov -15 Dec -15 Jan -16 Feb -16
Monthly Reduction Cumulative Reduction — — Target Reduction
Single family residential, commercial, multi family, and sprinkler accounts make up 96
percent of the City's water customers. The table below summarizes the percentage of
accounts not meeting their targets for September compared to September of 2013.
Account
Type
Total
Accounts
Number of
Accounts Meeting
Target
Number of
Accounts Not
Meeting Target
Percentage of
Accounts Not
Meeting Target
Single Family
19,042
12,111
6,931
36%
Commercial
1,153
525
628
54%
Multi Family
4,001
1,995
2,006
50%
Sprinkler
441
274
167
38%
City Meters
405
249
156
39%
All Other
490
384
106
22%
Total
25,532
15,538
9,994
39%
Actions to Achieve Compliance
The Drought Taskforce examined various ways to further encourage water customers to
reduce their water use. While more positive customer outreach was discussed and
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Water Conservation Update
November 10, 2015
Page 4
implemented, it was felt that the requirements of the Municipal Code to reduce water
consumption needed to be further enforced.
Code Enforcement provides a monthly report on enforcement related activities that are
included in the SWRCB monthly report. September's report is shown in the table below.
Of the 44 Penalties, 38 were at $100 each and six were $200 or more for repeat non-
compliance.
Description of Activity
Amount
Water Complaints
331
Contact Follow Ups
99
Warning Actions
296
Penalties
44
Other Enforcement Actions
289
Total Water Enforcement Activities
1,059
The City has been issuing notice of violations and citations for non-compliance such as
permanent restrictions and wrong watering days however. Starting in October the City
has begun issuing notices of violations to include the top 100 residential accounts and
the top 50 commercial accounts that did not meet their reduction targets.
In November Multi -family and Sprinkler accounts will be added to the list. Should the
City continue to not reach its goal, then the number of violation notices and citations will
increase. Continued non-compliance can result in the installation of flow restrictors and
discontinuance of service in compliance with the NBMC 14.16.120 Enforcement.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not
result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment)
and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA
Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no
potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENTS:
None
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