ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITESM/STAFF REPORTS
23.	WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date:			November 21, 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 169 WCC forms between October 1, 2005 and October 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 October, 141 inspections were performed in response to requests from agents and property owners. The District completed 95 inspections of properties changing ownership and 79 (83%) were in compliance. Nineteen 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 44 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 154 property transfers that occurred in the month of October was entered into the database.

D. Savings Estimate

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in October are estimated at 2.737 acre-feet. This number represents verification of approximately 62% of the properties transferring ownership in the District during October (e.g. 119 toilets were replaced). Year-to-date total estimated savings is 25.714 acre-feet.

E. Water Waste Response

There were two water waste complaints reported by the public, and 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 214 water permits in the month of October. Of the permits issued, two involved a debit of 0.094 acre-feet to Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocations. Eight 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 214 water permits issued in October 2005, ten were issued under this provision.

B. Permit Compliance

District staff completed 41 water permit final inspections in October. Ten 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 31 properties that were in compliance, 20 passed on the first visit. In addition, 5 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 October the District prepared 44 documents. Of the 214 permits that were issued in the month of October 2005, 32 (15%) 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	October - 2005	2005 YTD Total	Total-to-Date (January 1997 - Present)
Application Summary
A.	Applications Received	43	372	4575
B.	Applications Approved	27	281	3726
C.	Single Family Applications	20	248	4236
D.	Multi-Family Applications	6	22	378
E.	Commercial Applications	0	2	113
Types of Fixtures Rebated
A.	Single Family Toilet	17	85	4453
B.	SFD - Dual Flush	0	23	23
C.	Multi-Family Toilet	5	41	1817
D.	Commercial Toilet	0	3	689
E.	ULF Dishwasher	8	95	120
F.	ULF Washing Machine	9	146	189
G.	Hot Water Demand Pumping Systems	0	0	0
H.	Cisterns	0	0	1
Total Dollars Rebated		$3,696.56	$37,024.85	$703,756.43
Estimated Water Savings in Acre-Feet Annually*		0.665	6.130	163.940
· 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

U:\staff\word\boardpacket\2005\2005boardpackets\20051121\InfoItems\23\item23.doc