ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
3.	CONSIDER EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS FOR CONTRACTING WITH CERTIFIED LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION AUDITORS
Meeting Date:		October 4, 2007	Budgeted:	Funds are available through reimbursement agreement with CAW under SR7 (see below)
From:		David A. Berger, General Manager	Program/	Promote Best Management Practices
			Line Item No.:	4-2-1
Prepared By:		Robert Cline	Cost Estimate:	$300,000
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this item on October 4, 2007 and recommended ___________.
CEQA Compliance: N/A

SUMMARY: Staff has been meeting with California American Water (CAW) to implement a plan for contracting with certified landscape irrigation auditors to address the requirements of District Rule 162 and Rule 172. District Rule No. 172 requires landscape water audits and landscape water budgets to be offered by the District and/or CAW or their agent free of charge to all water users of CAW that have dedicated landscape meters or large irrigated areas over three acres, and to all large residential water users that use more than 32 units per month average. Stage 2 Water Conservation (and higher stages) requires implementation of landscape water budgets to attain water reductions to stay within the annual water use limit. During Stage 2, all water users required to have a landscape water budget are required to manage outdoor irrigation within their budget. Use in excess of the established landscape water budget is considered water waste and is subject to water waste fees and enforcement. To date, CAW has not established water budgets for all water users required to have a budget.

The District and CAW’s staff have identified completion of the audits as a top priority to success of the Expanded Water Conservation and Standby Rationing Program. The District has funding available for the remainder of calendar year 2007 from CAW’s last rate case to pay for contractors to complete the required audits. CAW does not have similar revenues at this time. Additional funding will be available from the same source beginning January 1, 2008. As District Rule 172 requires that landscape water audits be conducted under the supervision of a certified landscape irrigation auditor (by the Irrigation Association), District staff contacted certified landscape irrigation auditors (CLIA) in the 831 and 408 area codes who were not already employed with another water company or agency. Pacific Water Management (PWM) and Spot Water Management (SWM) both responded.

District Staff and CAW representatives have reviewed the list of properties that are currently required to have landscape water audits and budgets, and have prioritized the list according to consumption and water savings potential. Based on these results, 163 sites were identified as “high priority.” The high priority sites include 65 residential properties which average over 32 units per month (one unit is approximately 748 gallons), 14 properties that are over three acres in size and use an average of over 32 units per month, and 84 properties with dedicated irrigation meters that use an average of over 20 units per month. With the possibility of implementing Stage 2 or 3 Water Conservation by January 2008, District and CAW staff concur that there is a serious and urgent need for these “high priority” landscape water audits and budgets to be undertaken immediately.

PWM and SWM have met with District and CAW Staff to review the required landscape water audit and budget procedures of Rule 172. During the meeting all parties agreed that audits should begin as soon as possible, as rainy weather negatively effects the landscape irrigation audits. The work proposals with cost estimates given to the District by PWM and SWM are attached as Exhibit 3-A and Exhibit 3-B, respectively. After reviewing these estimates and checking with industry sources, staff has determined that the costs proposed by both PWM and SWM are reasonable and in keeping with industry standards.

RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the Administrative Committee support the District entering into contracts with PWM and SWM in a not-to-exceed amount of $300,000 for the purpose of completing Landscape Water Audits and Landscape water budgets to comply with the requirements set forth in District Rule 172. Staff expects to spend up to $230,000 on this project before January 2008. Staff should further be directed to work with CAW to cost share this endeavor during calendar 2008 to reduce the impact of these contracts on other planned conservation programs in the next calendar year.

IMPACT TO STAFF/RESOURCES: Funding is available through reimbursement by CAW through Special Request 7 (SR7) of the last General Rate Case. Funds for this expenditure were not specifically budgeted in Line Item 4-2-1, because at the time the District’s fiscal year budget was developed, the use of SR7 funding was not entirely clarified. It has since been documented as financial support in the amount of $300,000 per calendar year to the District. Since the available amount was unknown at the time, the District did not budget to use the full $300,000 available during calendar 2007. The “use or lose” SR7 funds are specific to water conservation projects, making this proposal appropriate for funding. This proposal will accomplish a requirement of the Expanded Water Conservation and Standby Rationing Plan, making the plan more effective. Staff will submit modifications to the Water Conservation Program budget at the mid-year adjustment.

EXHIBITS

3-A Pacific Water Management and Spot Water Management Proposals

3-B Spot Water Management Proposal

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