ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT
21.	WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT
Meeting Date:			March 21, 2022	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.
Prepared By:			Kyle Smith	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378.

I. MANDATORY WATER CONSERVATION RETROFIT PROGRAM

District Regulation XIV requires the retrofit of water fixtures upon Change of Ownership or Use with High Efficiency Toilets (HET) (1.28 gallons-per-flush), 2.0 gallons-per-minute (gpm) Showerheads, 1.2 gpm Washbasin faucets, 1.8 gpm Kitchen, Utility, and Bar Sink faucets, and Rain Sensors on all automatic Irrigation Systems. Property owners must certify the Site meets the District’s water efficiency standards by submitting a Water Conservation Certification Form (WCC), and a Site inspection is occasionally conducted to verify compliance. Properties that do not require an inspection are issued a Conservation Certification document.

A. Changes of Ownership

Information is obtained monthly from Realquest.com on properties transferring ownership within the District. The information is compared against the properties that have submitted WCCs. Details on 109 property transfers that occurred between February 1, 2022, and February 28, 2022, were added to the database.

B. Certification

The District received 75 WCCs between February 1, 2022, and February 28, 2022. Data on ownership, transfer date, and status of water efficiency standard compliance were entered into the database.

C. Verification

From February 1, 2022, and February 28, 2022, 73 properties were verified compliant with Rule 144 (Retrofit Upon Change of Ownership or Use). Of the 73 verifications, 23 properties verified compliance by submitting certification forms and/or receipts. District staff completed 50 Site inspections. Of the 50 properties verified, 29 (58%) passed.

D. CII Compliance with Water Efficiency Standards

Effective January 1, 2014, all Non-Residential properties were required to meet Rule 143, Water Efficiency Standards for Existing Non-Residential Uses. To verify compliance with these requirements, property owners and businesses are sent notification of the requirements and a date that inspectors will be on Site to check the property. In February, District inspectors performed three verification inspections.

MPWMD is forwarding its CII inspection findings to California American Water (Cal-Am) for their verification with the Rate Best Management Practices (Rate BMPs) that are used to determine the appropriate Non-Residential rate division. Compliance with MPWMD’s Rule 143 achieves Rate BMPs for indoor water uses. Properties with landscaping must also comply with Cal-Am’s outdoor Rate BMPs to avoid Division 4 (Non-Rate BMP Compliant) rates. In addition to sharing information about indoor Rate BMP compliance, MPWMD notifies Cal-Am of properties with landscaping. Cal-Am then conducts an outdoor audit to verify compliance with the Rate BMPs. During February 2021, MPWMD referred three properties to Cal-Am for verification of outdoor Rate BMPs.

E. Water Waste Enforcement

The District has a Water Waste Hotline 831-658-5653 or an online form to report Water Waste occurrences at www.mpwmd.net or www.montereywaterinfo.org. There were two Water Waste responses during the past month. There were no repeated incidents that resulted in a fine.

II. WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

A. Permit Processing

As of July 6, 2021, the District has been processing both electronic and in person applications for Water Permits. Information can be found at https://www.mpwmd.net/regulations/water-permits.

District Rule 23 requires a Water Permit application for all properties that propose to expand or modify water use on a Site, including New Construction and Remodels. District staff processed and issued 50 Water Permits from February 1, 2022, and February 28, 2022. Six Water Permits were issued using Water Entitlements (Pebble Beach Company, Malpaso Water, etc.). No Water Permits involved a debit to a Public Water Credit Account. In addition to those Water Permits issued in February, six Meter Permits and four Hydrant Meter Permits were issued. All Water Permits have a disclaimer informing applicants of the Cease-and-Desist Order against California American Water and that MPWMD reports Water Permit details to California American Water.

District Rule 24-3-A allows the addition of a second Bathroom in an existing Dwelling Unit. Of the 50 Water Permits issued from February 1, 2022, and February 28, 2022, two were issued under this provision.

B. Permit Compliance

District staff completed no conditional Water Permit finals during February 2021. Staff completed 36 site inspections. Twenty-four properties passed and seven failed due to unpermitted fixtures.

C. Deed Restrictions

District staff prepares deed restrictions that are recorded on the property title to provide notice of District Rules and Regulations, enforce Water Permit conditions, and provide notice of public access to water records. In April 2001, the District Board of Directors adopted a policy regarding the processing of deed restrictions. District staff provided Notary services for 26 Water Permits with deed restrictions.

D. Rebates

The full list of available rebates can be found in Rule 141: https://www.mpwmd.net/rules/Rule141-TableXIV-1.pdf. Below is the rebate information for February 2022.

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