24. WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date: February 19, 2004 Budgeted: N/A
Staff Contact: Shawn Novack Cost Estimate: 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).
The District received 95 WCC forms between January 1 and January 31, 2004. Data on property ownership, transfer date and status of conservation requirements from those forms were entered into the conservation database.
In the month of January, 95 inspections were scheduled in response to requests from agents and property owners. The District completed 55 inspections of properties changing ownership and 46 (83.6%) were in compliance. Two 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 15 toilets resulting from water permit conditions of approval.
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 118 property transfers that occurred between January 1 and January 31, 2004 was entered into the database.
D. Savings Estimate
Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in January are estimated at 2.806 acre-feet. This number represents verification of approximately 39% of the properties transferring ownership in the District during January (e.g. 120 toilets were replaced).
II.
WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT
District staff processed and issued 99 water permits in the month of January. The Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocation deductions totaled 0.331 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 May 16, 2001, allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing single family dwelling on a single-family residential site. Of the 99 water permits issued in January 2004, 18 were issued under the provisions of Ordinance No. 98.
B.
Permit Compliance
District staff completed 27 water permit final inspections in January. Six 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 21 properties that were in compliance, 17 passed on the first visit. In addition, 13 properties required pre-inspections in response to Water Permit Applications received by the District.
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 January, the District prepared and recorded 54 documents. Of the 99 permits that were issued in the month of January 2004, 33 (33.3%) required deed restrictions. District staff provided deed restriction Notary services for 17 water permit applicants.
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 |
January-04 |
2004 YTD Total |
Total-to-Date (January 1997 - Present) |
|
I |
Application Summary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. |
Applications Received |
30 |
30 |
3966 |
|
|
B. |
Applications Approved |
20 |
20 |
3259 |
|
|
C. |
Single Family Applications |
16 |
16 |
3856 |
|
|
E. |
Multi-Family Applications |
4 |
4 |
320 |
|
|
G. |
Commercial Applications |
0 |
0 |
110 |
|
II |
Types of Fixtures
Rebated |
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. |
Single Family Toilet |
10 |
10 |
4237 |
|
|
B. |
Multi-Family Toilet |
4 |
4 |
1727 |
|
|
C. |
Commercial Toilet |
0 |
0 |
685 |
|
|
D. |
ULF Dishwasher |
3 |
3 |
5 |
|
|
E |
ULF Washing Machine |
3 |
3 |
4 |
|
|
F. |
Hot Water Demand Pumping
Systems |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
G. |
Cisterns |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
III |
Total Dollars Rebated |
$1,978.63 |
$1,978.63 |
$642,725.20 |
|
|
IV |
Estimated Water
Savings in Acre-Feet Annually* |
0.38 |
0.38 |
152.981 |
|
|
|
|
* Retrofit savings are
estimated at 0.023 AF/toilet, 0.003 AF/dishwasher, 0.015 AF washer |
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