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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16 - Update on Water Use and Conservation Efforts December 2015 16-1 NEWPORT BEACH City Council Staff Report CITY OF January 26, 2016 Agenda Item No. 16 ABSTRACT: In June 2015, the State Water Resource Control Board established mandates for the reduction of water use for each water supplier. The City is required to reduce its monthly usage by 28 percent compared to water use in 2013. For December 2015, the City conserved 21.4 percent with a cumulative water use reduction since June 2015 of 18.2 percent. This report provides an update on water conservation efforts undertaken by City staff and water use reduction by the City’s water customers. RECOMMENDATION: Receive and file. FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: There is no fiscal impact related to this item. DISCUSSION: Usage Per the State Water Resource Control Board, Newport Beach is required to reduce its water use by 28 percent from June 2015 to February 2016. As such, City Council adopted Resolution No. 2015-51 on June 9, 2015, declaring a level three water supply shortage as defined in Newport Beach Municipal Code, Section 14.16, in order to meet these established goals. Per this Resolution, residents are required to reduce water use by 25 percent, and the City will reduce its water use to reach the 28 percent total goal. TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: George Murdoch, Municipal Operations Director - 949-644-3011, gmurdoch@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Cynthia Owens, Administrative Manager PHONE: 949-644-3057 TITLE: Update on Water Use and Conservation Efforts December 2015 Update on Water Use and Conservation Efforts December 2015 January 26, 2016 Page 2 16-2 The table below reflects the progress of the City’s efforts to reduce water consumption by month. The green bar is the monthly reduction from 2013 and the blue bar is the cumulative total by month. The below table depicts the reduction per customer class for December 2015 compared to December 2013. Account Type Total Accounts Number of Accounts Exceeding Base Allocation Number of Accounts Meeting Mandated Reduction Percent Accounts Exceeding Base Allocation Single Family 18,179 10,131 8,048 56% Commercial 1,040 692 348 67% Multi-Family 3,717 2,364 1,353 64% Sprinkler 397 180 217 45% City Facilities 73 54 19 74% Update on Water Use and Conservation Efforts December 2015 January 26, 2016 Page 3 16-3 Account Type Total Accounts Number of Accounts Exceeding Base Allocation Number of Accounts Meeting Mandated Reduction Percent Accounts Exceeding Base Allocation City Sprinkler 239 165 74 69% Other 168 104 64 62% Total 23,813 13,690 10,123 57% Messaging and Enforcement The City created a Water Supply Task Force to address the drought and develop strategies to reduce water usage Citywide. Staff has developed and tried a number of strategies to encourage water conservation citywide. Attachment A is a list of all actions taken by the State with regard to the drought and the City’s efforts to educate the public on water conservation. In December 2015, staff created an email message and phone message for notifying customers regarding the drought and the water reduction requirements. In the initial notification the City sent 1,058 emails and 1,059 phone calls. The remainder of the City’s customers will be contacted in January. Code Enforcement has increased its enforcement efforts in order to gain compliance. Beginning with the October billing cycle, 72 customers were sent notices of violation for noncompliance. It is expected that those customers that did not comply with their notice of violation will be issued an administrative citation in January 2016. For the November billing cycle, an additional 346 customers were identified as not meeting their water use reduction target and notices of violation were issued. These notices were mailed prior to the end of November. Should these customers not comply by their next billing cycle, they are at risk of receiving an administrative citation. The table below depicts the number of notices and penalties issued since June 2015. Notices and citations were not sent during the holidays. Month Water Use Warning Issued Other Water Related Warnings Issued Admin istrative Citations June 2015 57 2 July 2015 334 12 August 2015 312 31 September 2015 302 45 October 2015 72 63 128 Update on Water Use and Conservation Efforts December 2015 January 26, 2016 Page 4 16-4 Month Water Use Warning Issued Other Water Related Warnings Issued Admin istrative Citations November 2015 346 122 42 December 2015 1 20 167 Total 419 1210 427 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: Attachment A - Timeline for State Executive Orders & City Council Resolutions ATTACHMENT A 16-5 Timeline for State Executive Orders & City Council Resolutions • January 17, 2014, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a State of Emergency and directed state officials to take all necessary actions to address drought conditions. The proclamation gave state water officials more flexibility to manage water supply throughout California due to the drought. • April 25, 2014, the governor issued an executive order to speed up actions necessary to reduce harmful effects of the drought, and he called on all Californians to redouble their efforts to conserve water. • July 15, 2014, the State Water Resource Control Board adopts an emergency regulation for statewide urban water conservation (Resolution No. 2014 -0038) and requires water agencies to comply. • September 9, 2014, the City of Newport Beach adopts Resolution 2014-79 declaring a level one water supply shortage. This resolution implemented the following watering restrictions: o Outside irrigation of landscape restricted to four days a week from April through October and two days a week from November through March. o No water use greater than 100 percent of a customer’s three-year moving average. o Leaks must be corrected within 72 once notified by the City. o Swimming pools can be filled no more than one foot per week. • December 22, 2014, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-28-14. This new Executive Order extended the operation of the provisions of the previous executive orders through May 31, 2016. • March 27, 2015 the State Water Resources Control Board readopted emergency regulations to keep in effect water conservation requirements throughout California. • April 1, 2015 the governor issued Executive Order B-29-15. Key provisions include: o Ordering the State Water Resources Control Board to impose restrictions to achieve a 25 percent reduction in potable urban water usage through February 28, 2016 o Directing the California Department of Water Resources to lead a statewide initiative, in partnership with local agencies, to collectively replace 50 million square feet of lawns and ornamental turf with drought tolerant landscapes o Directing the California Energy Commission to implement a statewide appliance rebate program to provide monetary incentives for the replacement of inefficient household devices. • June 9, 2015 City Council adopted Resolution No. 2015-51, declaring a level three water supply shortage as defined in Newport Beach Municipal Code Section 14.16. The resolution implemented the following water restrictions: o No irrigation between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. o No water use greater than 75% of the water used in the same billing period as 2013. o Outside irrigation of landscape restricted to two days a week from April through October and one day a week from November through March. o Leaks must be corrected within 24 hours once notified by the City. o Swimming pools can be filled no more than 3 inches per week. o No outdoor irrigation of landscape within 48 hours of rainfall. 16-6 Timeline for Actions Taken by City for Water Conservation • Actions taken by staff prior to mandatory water conservation established by Council Resolution No. 2015-51on June 9, 2015: o Establishment of drought taskforce o Water Crews notifying residents of excessive use, broken irrigation sprinklers, and potential water leaks with door hangers when unusually high consumption is noticed during monthly review of water use o Preparation of drought public service announcement materials including post cards, door hangers and median signs o Potable water to ornamental turf at public center medians discontinued o City medians with turf identified for replanting with drought tolerant landscaping o Provided drought tolerant and California friendly gardening classes • June 2015 o Drought taskforce begins to meets biweekly o Drought website launched on new City website o City monitors inside City buildings set to display water conservation messaging o Four public service announcements placed on website and Newport Beach Television (NBTV) o Homeowners Associations are notified to discontinue watering grass medians o Irrigation drip lines are established in medians for the watering of trees only o Postcards mailed to water customers notifying them of their landscape irrigation days o Drought informational brochure mailed to all water customers o Provided information on irrigation, rebates and conservation tips at public meetings o Informational summer visitor brochure for guests of short term rentals distributed • July 2015 o Staff provide educational outreach to the public at City events including:  Concerts on the Green  Shakespeare in the Park – rained out  Movies in the Park o Web based relief from compliance form developed o Staff posts drought signs in City medians and parks  Brown is the new green  Area irrigated with recycled water o Placement of irrigation signs on medians throughout Newport Beach notifying them of their watering days begins o Customer call center established for drought related inquiries from the public o Request for Proposal developed for implementing a water use application and website for the customer data reports o Code Compliance performing sweeps in the field to notify residents who are watering on the wrong days of the week or who have water runoff that they are in violation of established watering restrictions o Restaurants and food service establishments notified of Governor’s mandate to serve only water upon request o Hotels and motels contacted regarding use of materials prepared by the Municipal Water District of Southern California encouraging guests to limit the use of towels and linen exchange 16-7 o Social media outreach begins with informational posts, links to rebates and ongoing efforts o Customer service training provided to call center staff regarding the City’s drought messaging to the public o Reduction of watering times and duration for City parks and facilities o Water management audit performed at Big Canyon Homeowners Association o Bonita Creek Turf conversion to artificial turf begins o Two water conservation public service announcements begin to be shown at all Edwards/Regal Cinemas Newport Beach Theaters o YouTube site goes live with water conservation messaging o Redesign of municipal bill and envelope completed for communicating conservation messaging to customers beginning with the August invoices • August 2015 o Staff provide educational outreach to the public at City events including:  Concerts on the Green  Movies in the Park o Provided information on irrigation, rebates and conservation tips at several homeowner association meetings and to community groups o Monument signs placed at five locations in Newport Beach displaying the current water reduction savings by water customers o Resident yard signs become available o Water conservation recognition program developed o Municipal bill mailed that shows residents their 2013 water consumption, their target for reducing the 2013 water consumption by 25%, and their 2015 water consumption and provides information on landscape irrigation days o Municipal bill mailed in envelopes with messaging for two day a week landscape irrigation o Monthly readings of water meters begins o Turf replacement projects for center medians continues throughout Newport Beach o Placement of irrigation signs on medians throughout Newport Beach notifying them of their watering days completed • September 2015 o Staff provide educational outreach to the public at City events including:  Concerts on the Green  Coastal Cleanup Day  Green Expo o Door hangers distributed with information on level three watering restrictions and conservation actions residents can take to reduce water use o Public service announcement featuring George Murdoch filmed o Resident identified for recognition by City Council for developing a unique water conservation technique o Implementation plan enters final stages of approval o Meetings with interest groups and homeowners associations continue o Enforcement of level three watering restrictions continues by Code Compliance for overwatering and watering on the wrong days o Discussion begins on enforcement actions for water customers who are not meeting the 25% reduction goal o Bonita Creek Sport Park reopens with artificial turf fields o Turf replacement projects for center medians continues throughout Newport Beach 16-8 • October 2015 o Four public service announcement featuring George Murdoch are published by NBTV o Notices of Violations prepared for the top 100 residents and 50 commercial businesses who are not meeting the 25% water reduction established by the level three water supply restrictions o Smart Utility Systems awarded contract for implementing customer water use application and website o Avery Maglinti with Technology Services develops web log in for customers to check water use history o New postcard identifying watering days as one day per week from November through March are developed and will be sent in November o Meetings with interest groups and homeowners associations continue o Enforcement of level three watering restrictions continues by Code Compliance for overwatering and watering on the wrong days o Council authorizes the hiring of two contract Code Enforcement Officers to help with the additional enforcement work o Begin development of apartment door hangers o Attend OC Realtor Breakfast to communicate information on the drought and outdoor watering restrictions • November 2015 o Implementation Plan revised o Revised landscape ordinance which was based on the State modify that was then modified by Orange County & all of the jurisdictions in the County o Meeting conducted with Police Senior Volunteers. Volunteers will take photographs of any watering violations and send to Code Compliance for warning or citation o Arrow boards set out in City at certain locations with drought messaging o Drought posters recommended for City Facilities or message board o 300 notices of violations issued to residents, commercial businesses and sprinkler accounts for high water consumption o Magnets placed on City vehicles with drought messaging o One day a week watering postcards were sent out to all water customers o Water Conservation Coordinator met with the top ten commercial water user accounts to discuss conservation o Avery developed a system to mail merge high water use accounts to printing on notice of violation o Avery developed a system for tracking information related to the water account based on the person calling in, notice of violation issued, administrative citation issued, relief for compliance information, etc. Uses same system as the customer can use but has an administrative log in. o Decision made by taskforce to robocall and email all customers with water conservation information and the potential to be cited o Mary working on a presentation for the restaurant association’s annual meeting • December 2015 o 500 customers identified for notices of violation for water consumption and given to Code Enforcement. Notices to be sent January 4, 2016 o Apartment door hangers ready for distribution o Robocalls and emails sent to 1,000 customers. Due to the call volume, it was decided staff can handle approximately 3,000 robocalls & emails every two days 16-9 due to the increase in calls from customers. Robocalls and emails to be completed in January o Ad placed in the Navigator promoting water conservation o Water Conservation Booth set up at the Marina Park Grand Opening on December 5 o Banners to be printed with water conservation messaging – will distribute to City facilities in January due to ongoing holiday messaging o Social media posts via Twitter and Facebook continue o More median signs placed throughout City communicating what days of the week to water o Tara checking with the Library to see about having drought messaging added to check out receipts and creating bookmarks for Library patrons o Smart Utility Systems to have City facing portal ready the first week of January with the full portal open the last week of January. To be presented to Council 1/26/16.