HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 12b - Outdoor Irrigation and Prohibited Water UsesResolution No. 7430 Concerning Outdoor Irrigation
May 17, 2022
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DATE: May 17, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Paul Cranmer, Public Works Services Director
By: Mandy Jiang, Management Analyst
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION NO. 7430 REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 7138
CONCERNING OUTDOOR IRRIGATION AND PROHIBITED WATER
USES AND ADOPTING NEW RESTRICTIONS ON OUTDOOR
IRRIGATION AND PROHIBITED WATER USES
Recommendation: Adopt
SUMMARY
The State of California is entering a third year of a drought and at the end of April,
California’s snowpack was only 5% of normal. In response, Governor Newsom signed an
Executive Order directing the State Water Resources Control Board to consider adopting
emergency regulations. If adopted, the emergency regulations will require urban water
suppliers to implement Level 2 of their respective Water Shortage Contingency Plans.
Based on the need for water conservation and to ensure water supply, it is recommended
that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 7430 repealing Resolution No. 7138 to amend
the summer watering schedule from three days to two days per week on Tuesdays and
Saturdays, and adopt new restrictions on outdoor irrigation and prohibited water uses.
BACKGROUND
On March 28, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-7-22 calling on
Californians to limit summertime watering. He directed the State Water Resources Control
Board to consider adopting emergency regulations by May 25, 2022, which includes
banning irrigation of “non-functional” turf in commercial, industrial, and institutional
sectors and for urban water suppliers to move to Level 2 of their Water Shortage
Contingency Plans. Non-functional turf is defined as turf that is ornamental and not used
for human recreation purposes such as school fields, sports fields, and parks. Watering
trees and other perennial non-turf plantings would be exempt from the ban. Commercial,
industrial, and institutional (“CII”) water users are defined in the California Water Code,
Section 10608.12, Subdivisions (e), (i), and (j), and include homeowners’ associations,
common interest developments, community service organizations, and other similar
entities.
Resolution No. 7430 Concerning Outdoor Irrigation
May 17, 2022
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On April 26, 2022, Metropolitan Water District declared a Water Shortage Emergency
Condition and adopted an Emergency Water Conservation Program for water suppliers
dependent on State Water Project (“SWP”) supplies. The Program requires agencies
dependent on the SWP deliveries to immediately cut water use by implementing one day
per week watering restrictions, or the equivalent, by June 1, 2022. Included as an option
as part of their adopted Emergency Water Conservation Program, member agencies can
manage demand within a Volumetric Limit for SWP deliveries of the remainder of this
calendar year, which does not require the one day per week water restriction. As such,
Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District (“Upper District”) is encouraging local
water providers, including the City, to implement watering restrictions to two days a week.
DISCUSSION
The City is primarily dependent on its adjudicated water rights in the Main San Gabriel
and Raymond Basins, with emergency connection to Metropolitan Water District’s water
supply through Upper District. While the City is not dependent on SWP water and is not
required at this time to reduce watering days to only one day per week, Upper District has
forecasted that if current extractions continue to remain the same as the previous three
years, the Main San Gabriel Basin Key Well will reach a new historic low in November
2022. They have stressed the need for continued water conservation by all agencies, no
matter their source of water, and are encouraging local water providers to implement a
two day per week outdoor watering restriction this summer.
To enhance water savings, Resolution No. 7430 will amend the City’s codified Water
Conservation Plan Phase I water use restrictions to include:
• No lawn, landscape, or other turf areas shall be watered or irrigated more than two
days per week (Tuesday and Saturday) in winter months (November through April)
and two days per week (Tuesday and Saturday) in summer months (May through
October)
• The use of potable water is prohibited for the irrigation of non-functional turf at
commercial, industrial, and institutional sites; except for ensuring the health of
trees and other perennial non-turf plantings or to the extent necessary to address
an immediate health and safety need.
With outdoor irrigation making up to 70% of customer water use, adjusting the outdoor
watering schedule is the most impactful way to achieve significant water use reduction.
The City has reached a 20% water savings before, as certified in the 2020 Urban Water
Management Plan, and also achieved a 36% mandated water savings at the height of the
drought in 2015 by effectively implementing the water conservation program. The
program is comprised of a combination of expansive public outreach, education, and
enforcement of water waste prohibitions. Further, the City’s existing water use
prohibitions are incorporated within the Water Shortage Contingency Plan, which parallel
the State’s proposed emergency regulations and Governor’s Executive Orders. The City’s
water use prohibitions include:
Resolution No. 7430 Concerning Outdoor Irrigation
May 17, 2022
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• No lawn, landscape, or turf areas shall be watered or irrigated between the
hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• No hose washing of sidewalks, walkways, driveways, or parking areas.
• No washing of motor vehicles, except where the hose is fitted with a shut-off
nozzle or similar device that ceases dispensing water when not in use.
• No water shall be used to clean, fill, or maintain levels in decorative fountains,
unless such water is part of a recirculating system.
• No lawn, landscape, or turf areas shall be watered in a wasteful manner.
• No lawn, landscape, or turf areas shall be watered or irrigated during and within
48 hours after measurable rainfall.
• No Arcadia water customer shall permit water to leak from any facilities on their
premises.
• No restaurant, hotel, café, cafeteria, bar, or other public places where food or
beverage is served or offered for sale shall serve drinking water to any customer
unless expressly requested by the customer.
• No hotel or motel shall launder towels and linens of an occupied guestroom on
a daily basis unless expressly requested by the guest.
To immediately notify water customers of the new two day a week summer watering
schedule and prohibit the watering of non-functional turf by CII water customers, the City
will employ a variety of public outreach efforts including the City website, water bills,
mailers, social media channels, Hot Sheets, the City Newsletter, WaterSmart Home
Water Reports, and additional resources. The water conservation program will partner
with Upper District and the Metropolitan Water District to amplify unified water
conservation messaging in the region and offering incentives for turf reduction, low flow
appliances, and the like.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The adoption of Resolution No. 7430 is exempt from the California Environmental Quality
Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15268 and California Public
Resources Code Section 21080(b)(1) as it is deemed a ministerial action. The State’s
emergency regulation mandates that each urban water supplier implement all
requirements and actions of the stage of its water shortage contingency plan that imposes
mandatory restrictions on outdoor irrigation. Therefore, the City’s action to amend and
implement Phase II of the City’s Water Conservation Plan is not a discretionary action
and as such it is statutorily exempt from CEQA.
Resolution No. 7430 Concerning Outdoor Irrigation
May 17, 2022
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FISCAL IMPACT
Conservation efforts will result in decreased demand, which will result in the reduced
necessity to purchase expensive Replacement Water from the Upper District. It is
anticipated that water revenue may decrease in a commensurate amount during
implementation of the amended watering schedule and prohibitions; however, the specific
amount is not known at this time.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council determine that this action does not constitute a
Project and is, therefore, exempt under, the California Environmental Quality Act
(“CEQA”); and approve Resolution No. 7430 repealing Resolution No. 7138 concerning
outdoor irrigation and prohibited water uses and adopting new restrictions on outdoor
irrigation and prohibited water uses.
Attachments: Resolution No. 7430
Executive Order N-7-22