ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/STAFF REPORTS
25.	WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date:			October 15, 2007	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David A. Berger,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.:
Prepared By:			Michael Boles	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: Exempt

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 64 WCC forms between September 1, 2007 and September 30, 2007. 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 September, 119 inspections were performed in response to requests from agents and property owners. The District completed 78 inspections of properties changing ownership and 69 (89%) were in compliance. Seven 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 20 toilets resulting from water permit conditions of approval.

C. Changes of Ownership

Information is obtained weekly from the RealQuest.Com 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 76 property transfers that occurred in the month of September was entered into the database.

D. Savings Estimate

Water savings from retrofits (triggered by changes in ownership) verified in September are estimated at 2.806 acre-feet. This number represents verification of approximately 62% of the properties transferring ownership in the District during September (e.g. 122 toilets were replaced). Year-to-date total estimated savings is 26.565 acre-feet.

E. Water Waste Response

There were ten water waste complaints reported by the public, and staff made several verbal contacts in the field after observing water wasting actions. Letters were sent as a follow up to the water waste.

II. WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

A. Permit Processing

District staff processed and issued 80 water permits in the month of September. Of the 80 permits issued, two involved a debit of 0.187 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 24-3, allows the addition of a second bathroom to an existing single family dwelling on a single-family residential site. Of the 80 water permits issued in September, eight were issued under this provision.

B. Permit Compliance

District staff completed 30 water permit final inspections in September. 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 20 properties that were in compliance, 16 passed on the first visit. In addition, 11 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 September, the District prepared 32 documents. Of the 80 permits that were issued in September, 25 (31%) required deed restrictions. District staff provided deed restriction Notary services for 33 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	September-2007	2007 YTD Total	Total-to-Date (January 1997 - Present)
I	Application Summary
	A.	Applications Received	81	624	6056
	B.	Applications Approved	63	497	4818
	C.	Single Family Applications	80	597	5491
	D.	Multi-Family Applications	1	20	415
	E.	Commercial Applications	0	7	123
II	Types of Fixtures Rebated
	A.	Single Family Toilet	11	103	4697
	B.	SFD-Dual Flush	7	90	141
	C.	Multi-Family Toilet	0	26	1873
	D.	Non-Residential - Toilet	0	4	698
	E.	Non-Residential - Dual Flush Toilet	0	5	25
	F.	SFD ULF Dishwasher	9	101	356
	G.	Non-Residential ULF Washing Machine	0	32	586
	H.	SFD ULF Washing Machine	41	275	530
	I.	Instant Access Hot Water Systems	1	11	14
	J.	Cisterns	0	3	7
III	Total Dollars Rebated		$9,650.00	$66,410.84	$844,300.15
IV	Estimated Water Savings in Acre-Feet Annually*		1.105	10.817	189.952

· Retrofit savings are estimated at 0.023 AF/toilet, 0.030 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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