18. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date: March
17, 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 February 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).
The District received 73 Water Conservation Certification forms between
February 1 and February 28, 2003. Data
on property ownership, transfer date and status of conservation requirements
from those forms were entered into the conservation database.
In the month of February, 120
inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property
owners. The District completed 80
inspections of properties changing ownership and 67 (82.3%)
were in compliance. One 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 18-A.
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 98 property transfers
that occurred between February 1 and February 28, 2003 was entered into the
database.
WATER SAVINGS ESTIMATE
Water savings from retrofits
(triggered by changes in ownership) verified in February are estimated at 0.736
acre-feet. Details
on water savings from retrofits are presented in Exhibit 18-B.
District staff processed and
issued 75 water permits in the month of February. There were no debits to the Paralta or the
Pre-Paralta allocations. 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. Of the 75-water connection
permits issued in the month of February, 14 were issued under Ordinance
No. 98.
District staff completed 26
water permit final inspections in February. Of the 22 properties that were
in compliance, 19 (86.3%) passed on the first visit. Detailed information about permit inspections
is provided in Exhibit 18-A.
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
February, the District prepared and recorded 43 documents on property
titles. Of the 75 permits that were
issued in the month of February, 28 (37.3%) required deed restrictions.
TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND PROGRAM
The District continued to
promote and administer the Toilet Replacement Refund Program. Approximately ten calls were received
during February. 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 February 1 through February 28, 2003:
|
TOILET REPLACEMENT REFUND - February 2003 |
||||
|
|
February |
Last Year |
Total for 2003 |
Total-to-Date |
|
Applications Received |
18 |
19 |
42 |
3776 |
|
Pre-Approved (# of Toilets) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
128 (1,022) |
|
Applications Approved |
11 |
9 |
27 |
3123 |
|
A: Single Family (# of Toilets) |
2 (9) |
7 (8) |
16 (23) |
3755 (4122) |
|
B: Multi-Family (# of Toilets) |
3 (3) |
2 (4) |
5 (7) |
293 (1688) |
|
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 |
7 |
10 |
15 |
525 |
|
Total $ Issued (# of Toilets) |
$1,200.00 |
$1,200.00 (12) |
$3,000.00 (30) |
$626,091.08 (6,492) |
|
Estimated Water Savings (in AFY*) |
0.276 |
0.276 |
0.690 |
149.316 |
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