ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITESM/STAFF REPORTS
25.	WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date:			June 20, 2005	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David A. Berger,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Robert Cline	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Approval: 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).

A. Certification

The District received 140 WCC forms between May 1 and May 31, 2005. Data on property ownership, transfer date and status of conservation requirements from those forms were entered into the conservation database.

B. Verification

In the month of May, 141 inspections were performed in response to requests from agents and property owners. The District completed 76 inspections of properties changing ownership and 65 (86%) were in compliance. Four 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 29 toilets resulting from water permit conditions of approval.

C. Changes of Ownership

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 106 property transfers that occurred between May 1 and May 31, 2005 was entered into the database.

D. Savings Estimate

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in May are estimated at 1.725 acre-feet. This number represents verification of approximately 46% of the properties transferring ownership in the District during May (e.g. 75 toilets were replaced). Year-to-date total estimated savings is 11.109 acre-feet.

E. Water Waste Response

There were no water waste complaints reported by the public, but staff made several verbal warnings while in the field on observed water waste activities. Letters were written to the water waste perpetrators who were in violation of Ordinance 92, Section 6,”Water Waste” Paragraph 4.

II. WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

A. Permit Processing

District staff processed and issued 108 water permits in the month of May. Of the permits issued, none involved a debit to Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocations. Seven permits were issued to other entitlements (Macomber, Pebble Beach Company, Griffin Estates, Quail Meadows, etc). The remainder of the permits issued did not involve a debit to a jurisdiction’s allocation or were debited from a public water allocation. 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.

District Rule 24-C (1) (C), allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing single family dwelling on a single-family residential site. Of the 108 water permits issued in May 2005, 19 were issued under this provision.

B. Permit Compliance

District staff completed 47 water permit final inspections in May. Thirteen 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 34 properties that were in compliance, 23 passed on the first visit. In addition, 18 properties required pre-inspections in response to Water Permit Applications received by the District.

C. 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. In March 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 May the District prepared and recorded 61 documents. Of the 108 permits that were issued in the month of May 2005, 48 (44%) required deed restrictions. District staff provided deed restriction Notary services for 58 water permit applicants.

III. REBATE PROGRAM

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	May - 2005	2005 YTD Total	Total-to-Date (January 1997 - Present)
Application Summary
A.	Applications Received	63	164	4367
B.	Applications Approved	54	131	3576
C.	Single Family Applications	43	112	4100
D.	Multi-Family Applications	3	9	365
E.	Commercial Applications	0	2	113
Types of Fixtures Rebated
A.	Single Family Toilet	7	28	4396
B.	SFD - Dual Flush	22	22	22
C.	Multi-Family Toilet	13	30	1806
D.	Commercial Toilet	0	3	689
E.	ULF Dishwasher	20	31	56
F.	ULF Washing Machine	28	77	120
G.	Hot Water Demand Pumping Systems	0	0	0
H.	Cisterns	0	0	1
Total Dollars Rebated		$8,692.41	$18,687.80	$685,419.38
Estimated Water Savings in Acre-Feet Annually*		1.598	3.309	161.119
· Retrofit savings are estimated at 0.023 AF/toilet, .0299 AF/dual flush toilet, 0.003 AF/dishwasher, 0.015 AF washer · Documentation for retrofit savings on Dishwashers and Washing Machines began 12/2003

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