ITEM:            INFORMATION ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS

 

21.       WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT

 

Meeting Date:           February 27, 2003                  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                                                       

 

 

The following water conservation activities took place during January 2003:                                                                  

MANDATORY 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).

 

CERTIFICATION

The District received 99 Water Conservation Certification forms between January 1 and January 31, 2003.  Data on property ownership, transfer date and status of conservation requirements from those forms were entered into the conservation database.

 

VERIFICATION

In the month of January, 128 inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property owners.  The District completed 84 inspections of properties changing ownership and 69 (82.1%) were in compliance.  Two of the properties that passed inspection required more than one visit to verify compliance with all conservation requirements.  Detailed information on conservation inspections is provided in Exhibit 21-A.

 

DATA MANAGEMENT

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 109 property transfers that occurred between January 1 and January 31, 2003 was entered into the database.  

 

WATER SAVINGS ESTIMATE

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in January are estimated at 1.955 acre-feet.  Details on water savings from retrofits are presented in Exhibit 21-B.

 

 

WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

PERMITS

District staff processed and issued 105 water permits in the month of January.  The Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocation deductions totaled 0.182 acre-feet for the Cal-Am system in January.  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 June 16, 2001, allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing single family dwelling on a single family residential site or an existing single family dwelling with less than two bathrooms to add the lacking fixture.  Of the 105-water connection permits issued in the month of January eight were issued under Ordinance No.  98.

PERMIT COMPLIANCE

District staff completed 28 water permit final inspections in January. Of the 21 properties that were in compliance, 20 (95.2%) passed on the first visit.  Detailed information about permit inspections is provided in Exhibit 21-A.

 

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.  On December 17, 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.  Permit processing times have increased from 2-3 weeks to 4-6 weeks when a deed restriction is required. In the month of January, the District prepared and recorded 41 documents on property titles.  Of the 105 permits that were issued in the month of January 26 (24.7%) required deed restrictions.   

                                                                                                                                   

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND PROGRAM

The District continued to promote and administer the Toilet Replacement Refund Program.  Approximately 15 calls were received during January.  Both residential and non-residential water users may apply for a rebate of up to $100 per toilet.  The District checks applications for eligibility against District records of properties required to retrofit to ultra-low flow toilets.

 

The following chart shows the refund total from January 1 through January 31, 2003:    

 

 

TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND - January 2003

 

 

 

 

January

 

Last Year

 

  Total for 2003

 

  Total-to-Date

 

Applications Received

24

27

24

3758

 

Pre-Approved

 (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

128

(1,022)

 

Applications Approved

16

23

16

3112

 

      A:    Single Family

              (# of Toilets)

 

14

(14)

 

18

(23)

 

14

(14)

 

3753

(4113)

 

      B:   Multi-Family

              (# of Toilets)

2

(4)

5

(5)

2

(4)

290

(1685)

 

      C:      Hotels

              (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

38

(592)

 

      D:      Commercial

              (# of Toilets)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

0

(0)

 

31

(90)

 

Denied

 

8

4

8

518

 

Total $ Issued

 (# of Toilets)

 

$1,800.00
(18)

 

$2,800.00

(28)

 

$1,800.00

(18)

 

$624,891.08

(6,480)

 

Estimated Water Savings

 (in AFY*)

 

0.414

 

0.644

 

0.414

 

149.040

U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2003\2003boardpacket\20030227\InfoItems_Reports\21\item21.doc