ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITESM/STAFF REPORTS
19.	WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date:			April 17, 2006	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David A. Berger,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Gabriela Ayala	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 105 WCC forms between March 1, 2006 and March 31, 2006. 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 March, 134 inspections were performed in response to requests from agents and property owners. The District completed 72 inspections of properties changing ownership and 60 (83%) were in compliance. Three 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 19 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 97 property transfers that occurred in the month of March was entered into the database.

D. Savings Estimate

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in March are estimated at 2.139 acre-feet. This number represents verification of approximately 89% of the properties transferring ownership in the District during March (e.g. 93 toilets were replaced). Year-to-date total estimated savings is 5.819 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 90 water permits in the month of March. Of the permits issued, one involved a debit of 0.347 acre-feet to Paralta & Pre-Paralta allocations. Four 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 90 water permits issued in March 2006, 10 were issued under this provision.

B. Permit Compliance

District staff completed 47 water permit final inspections in March. 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 37 properties that were in compliance, 21 passed on the first visit. In addition, 15 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 March the District prepared 35 documents. Of the 90 permits that were issued in the month of March 2006, 35 (36%) required deed restrictions. District staff provided deed restriction Notary services for 57 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	March - 2006	2006 YTD Total	Total-to-Date (January 1997 - Present)
Application Summary
A.	Applications Received	52	157	4793
B.	Applications Approved	39	124	3891
C.	Single Family Applications	37	115	4389
D.	Multi-Family Applications	2	8	386
E.	Commercial Applications	0	1	114
Types of Fixtures Rebated
A.	Single Family Toilet	6	24	4495
B.	SFD - Dual Flush	0	22	45
C.	Multi-Family Toilet	2	5	182
D.	Commercial Toilet	0	0	689
E.	ULF Dishwasher	10	38	169
F.	ULF Washing Machine	22	73	281
G.	Hot Water Demand Pumping Systems	0	0	0
H.	Cisterns	0	0	1
Total Dollars Rebated		$4,000.00	$16,371.94	$724,710.30
Estimated Water Savings in Acre-Feet Annually*		0.544	2.534	167.206
· 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\2006\2006boardpackets\20060417\InfoItems\19\item19.doc