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CC - Item 5B - Mandatory Water Conservation Measures E M F ,K° ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL CIVIC PRIDE STAFF REPORT TO: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM: JEFF ALLRED, CITY MANAGER DATE: NOVEMBER 10, 2014 SUBJECT: MANDATORY WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES SUMMARY Recently, the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District declared a water supply emergency as the amount of imported water that can be obtained for purposes of recharging the Main San Gabriel Basin is being restricted. As a result, the City Council will consider a declaration of mandatory Phase II water conservation measures contained in Chapter 13.04 of the Rosemead Municipal Code. Upon adoption of the resolution, enhanced public information outreach efforts will be made in concert with local water companies. Warning notices will be issued for observed violations of the water conservation regulations. If the violators refuse to comply with the water conservation regulations, staff would then be empowered to issue administrative citations. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2014-57 declaring a Phase II water shortage with mandatory water conservation measures. BACKGROUND Rosemead Municipal Code Chapter 13.04 on Water Conservation provides for the declaration of voluntary and mandatory conservation measures in the event of a water shortage. For the past several months, the City of Rosemead has been in a Phase I water shortage status with voluntary water conservation measures in effect. On January 17, 2014, the Governor declared a state of emergency due to California's severe drought conditions. Also, on April 25, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board approved and adopted statewide emergency regulations for urban water conservation due to drought conditions. As a result of those State actions, the City of Rosemead has implemented voluntary Phase I water conservation measures within the a ITEM NO. City Council Meeting November 10, 2014 Page 2 of 2 community over the past several months. The City and the local water purveyors serving the Rosemead community have made public information outreach efforts to communicate the State's water conservation regulations. As violations of the State water conservation regulations have been observed, the City has sent letters to the violators requesting compliance. Most recently, on October 21, 2014, the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District ("Upper District") adopted a resolution declaring a water supply emergency for all areas serviced by the Upper District, which includes Rosemead. The Upper Districts declaration states that the Metropolitan Water District is currently restricting the amount of imported water that can be obtained by the Upper District for recharging the Main San Gabriel Basin. The restrictions on the delivery of imported water to Upper District for groundwater basin recharging will have significant negative impacts upon local water purveyors serving Rosemead as they are all dependent upon groundwater wells for production and delivery of potable water. The Upper District's action has prompted the need to activate mandatory Phase II water conservation measures within the community pursuant to Section 13.04.050 of the Rosemead Municipal Code. City Council adoption of the attached regulation is requested to enable effective implementation of the mandatory conservation measures listed on Attachment A and provided for in Section 13.04.050 of the Rosemead Municipal Code (refer to Attachment C). Implementation measures will include enhanced public outreach efforts including press releases, social media and other publicity along with the issuance of warning notices. The City will also coordinate with the private water companies serving Rosemead on public information outreach effects. If violators refuse to comply with the Phase II water conservation measures, the City will be empowered to take enforcement actions through the administrative citation process. The amount of civil fines for violations of the water conservation provisions of the Rosemead Municipal Code is $100 for the first violation, $250 for the second violation, and $500 for subsequent violations. It is the intent and prevailing practice of the Code Enforcement Division to issue warnings before such fines are levied. Attachment A—Listing of Mandatory Phase II Water Conservation Measures Attachment B—Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District correspondence Attachment C—Chapter 13.04 of the Rosemead Municipal Code on Water Conservation Attachment D—City Council Resolution No. 2014 ATTACHMENT A The City of Rosemead is implementing Mandatory water conservation measures in an effort to save water. Section 13.04.050 of the Rosemead Municipal Code provides for mandatory water conservation measures including the following: There shall be no hose washing of sidewalks, walkways, buildings, walls, patios, driveways, parking areas or other paved surfaces, except to eliminate conditions dangerous to public health or safety or when required as surface preparation for the application of architectural coating or painting; All lawns, landscaped or other turf area shall be watered not more often than every other day and with watering only during the hours between 5:00p.m. and 10:00a.m. No water users shall cause or allow the water to run off landscaped areas into adjoining streets, sidewalks or other paved areas due to incorrectly directed or maintained sprinklers or excessive watering; Washing of motor vehicles, trailers, boats and other types of equipment shall be done only with a hand-held bucket or a hose equipped with a positive shutoff nozzle for quick rinses, except that washing may be done with reclaimed wastewater, or by a commercial car wash using recycled water; All water users shall repair all leaks from indoor and outdoor plumbing fixtures within forty-eight (48) hours of discovery; No water shall be used to refill a swimming pool, spa or hot tub emptied after the commencement of Phase II; No restaurant, hotel, cafe, cafeteria or other public place where food is sold, served or offered for sale, shall serve drinking water to any customer unless expressly requested and shall display a notice to that effect; The owner and manager of every hotel, motel, inn, guest house, bed and breakfast facility, and short-term commercial lodging shall post a notice of water shortage and any necessary compliance measures; ATTACHMENT B // t,r WHERESOLUTIONS/kW1 6 - ';_yvil•• MEMORANDUMUPPER SAN GAM EL VALLEY MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT : 8. (a) DATE: October 20,2014 TO: Board of Directors FROM: General Manager SUBJECT: Adoption of Resolution No. 10-14-543,Declaring a Water Supply Emergency. Recommendation Adopt Resolution No. 10-14-543,Declaring a Water Supply Emergency. Background The State is in the grip of the worst drought in recorded history. Following three consecutive years of below average local precipitation and limited availability of imported water needed for groundwater replenishment, the Main San Gabriel Basin (Basin) is at a record low level of 182' as measured at the Baldwin Park Key Well, To return to just average rainfall conditions, over 36"of rain is needed to make up for the current shortfall over the last three years. Significantly more is needed to replenish the Basin to levels significantly above the Basin's lower operating range,last seen in 2012. The attached resolution, adopting a water supply emergency, endorses the drought emergency water conservation regulations mandated by the State Water Resources Control Board,directs staff to work with all local water providers to help them implement their local ordinances and also demands that Upper District be treated fairly by the Metropolitan Water District. Governor Brown declared a Drought State of Emergency in January of 2014. The State Water Resources Control Board adopted Emergency Water Conservation Regulations that became effective in August of 2014. The State Board Regulations include the following actions: - Prohibitions for all urban water users in California: • The application of potable water to any driveway or sidewalk. • Using potable water to water outdoor landscapes in a manner that causes runoff to adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots or structures. • Using a hose that dispenses potable water to wash a motor vehicle, unless the hose is fitted with a shun-off nozzle. • Using potable water in a fountain or decorative water feature, unless the water is recirculated.Recycled water is not mandated,but encouraged for fountain use. I of] Page Requirements for Urban Water Suppliers(serving more than 3000 connections): • Implement water shortage contingency plans to a level where restrictions on outdoor irrigation are mandatory. • Urban water suppliers without a plan,or without an adequate plan,must either mandate that outdoor irrigation be reduced to no more than twice a week or implement other mandatory use restrictions that provide a comparable level of savings. • Report monthly water production beginning August 15. Include an estimate of the gallons per capita per day used by residential customers beginning with the October 15 report. Requirements for Other Water Suppliers(serving less than 3000 connections): • Mandate that outdoor irrigation be reduced to no more than twice a week or implement other mandatory use restrictions that provide a comparable level of savings. The imported water system conditions will end calendar year 2014 in better condition than the end of calendar year 2009 (at the height of the last prolonged drought and previous record low in the Basin), estimated between 1.1 million and 1.4 million acre-feet in.storage. This is'equivalent to over 50 percent of the total projected imported system demand for next year. However, Metropolitan has been challenged by the severe lack of supply from the State Water Project (only 5 percent allocation in 2014). This condition led Metropolitan to restrict deliveries of State Project Water to Central Basin MWD and Upper District. By doing so, Metropolitan preserves State Water Project storage and supports the reliability of other member agencies exclusively dependent upon State Water Project supplies. Metropolitan has operated in this fashion without declaring a water shortage emergency and without explicit policy set by the Board as to how Metropolitan may treat two customers in the same customer class differently. All other member agencies have enjoyed the benefit of receiving their full orders so far in calendar year 2014. Some member agencies have had to incur additional operating costs to take additional Colorado River water. Metropolitan's staff is currently leading discussions to update Metropolitan's Water Supply Allocation Plan (WSAP). Metropolitan staff estimates that unless the 2015 State Water Project Allocation is 40 percent or greater, Metropolitan's board will need to declare a water shortage for 2014/15 and allocate supplies. How replenishment needs are treated by the WSAP is one of four controversial issues under discussion. So far Metropolitan has not offered a means of treating replenishment in the WSAP in a manner that reflects Upper District's unique circumstances. These include: over 40,000 acre-feet per year being exported from the Basin to support the reliability of communities in the Central Basin and Orange County; a limited ability to take treated water due to local distribution systems being constructed (as encouraged by Metropolitan) to rely on groundwater; and consent decrees that require a set rate of groundwater production and treatment to prevent contaminants front migrating to other parts of the Basin or into the Central Basin. In response to the extreme local dry conditions and the restrictions placed on imported water supply from Metropolitan, Watermaster formed an ad hoc committee of the Basin Water Management Committee to prepare an Emergency Water Supply Plan. The ad hoc committee has focused on developing a detailed understanding of the impacts to groundwater production by well if the 2014/15 winter is a repeat of the 2013/14 winter and no water is delivered by Metropolitan. An "in-lieu" operating plan is also being finalized to identify by producer the ability to deliver treated imported water in-lieu of groundwater production. All existing interconnections between producers were identified that can be used to support areas that will likely lose the ability to produce groundwater in this worst case scenario. Further work is underway to identify additional interconnections that may be needed. The results of the ad hoc committee's work show that a total of 12,000 acre-feet of groundwater production capacity will be lost if the Key Well drops to 160'. Eighteen wells will be impacted with ten wells completely out of production. Attachment 2of21Page ATTACHMENT C RESOLUTION NO. 10-14-543 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF UPPER SAN GABRIEL VALLEY MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT TO DECLARE A WATER EMERGENCY WHEREAS, on January 17, 2014, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr., declared a state of emergency to exist in California due to severe drought conditions; and WHEREAS, on April 25, 2014, Governor Brown issued a proclamation of a continued state of emergency based on continued drought conditions; and WHEREAS, on July 15, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board approved and adopted statewide emergency regulations for urban water conservation due to emergency drought conditions, the need for prompt action, and current limitations in the existing enforcement process; and WHEREAS, the water in the Main San Gabriel Basin ("Basin") has dropped to all- time historic lows, and continued sustainable groundwater production is currently threatened; and WHEREAS, the water in the Basin, as measured at the Baldwin Park Key Well, is at a level of 182.3'above mean sea level as of September 26, 2014 and is therefore 17.7 below the low operating range of 200'above mean sea level set forth in the Main San Gabriel Basin Judgment; and WHEREAS, the water in the Basin, as measured at the Baldwin Park Key Well, is at a level of 182.3'above mean sea level as of September 26, 2014 representing about 150,000 acre-feet of emergency storage that has been used to defer use of scarce imported water supplies needed by other Metropolitan Water District member agencies; and WHEREAS, since January 2013 over 900,000 acre-feet has been withdrawn from storage in the Basin resulting In that much less demand on the imported water system during that same period; and WHEREAS, certain communities in the San Gabriel Valley designed and constructed their domestic water supply systems based on a reliable groundwater supply under a management plan and Judgment that requires a reliable supply of supplemental water; and WHEREAS, management of the groundwater contamination in the Basin requires that groundwater be produced and treated at certain rates irrespective of Basin conditions in order to prevent plumes of contaminants from migrating downstream and impacting other wells and the Central Basin; and Page 1 of 3 (10-14-543) WHEREAS, groundwater produced from the Basin provides a reliable water supply to communities in Orange County and southeast Los Angeles County that do not overly the Basin; and WHEREAS, the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District ("Upper District") was formed In 1960 as a Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ("Metropolitan") member agency,responsible agency under the Judgment Water District Act, for the provide replacement waterraond s of serving as a to WHEREAS,the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster ("Watermaster") was formed by the Los Angeles County Superior Court In 1974 to manage the Basin on behalf of the water rights holders and the Court; and WHEREAS, Metropolitan does not have statutory authority over groundwater management; and WHEREAS, 2015 could be a fourth consecutive year of the most extreme drought in California's recorded history and the Basin level is forecast to continue to decline through 2015 and may, if the winter of 2015 is dry, fall le communities the Baldwin Park Key Well putting the water supply jeopardy; and WHEREAS, the Basin's primary source of replacement water for recharge, Metropolitan, without any detailed knowledge of current Basin conditions or statutory authority over Basin management, is currently restricting the amount of water that can be obtained for purposes of recharging the Basin; and WHEREAS, water suppliers throughout the Basin have imposed water use restrictions per the direction of the State Water Resources Control Board; and WHEREAS, the Upper District aids water providers in the Basin in their conservation efforts through a significant water conservation program; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF '.. THE UPPER SAN GABRIEL VALLEY MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT that the Upper District declares a Water Emergency for all areas serviced by the Upper District pursuant to Water Code section 375. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the Upper District Staff is directed to work with the Watermaster to identify any and all means of compelling Metropolitan to deliver water for purposes of recharging the Basin as required by the Judgment. Page 2 of 3(10-14-543) BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Upper District demands Metropolitan treat the Upper District fairly, consistently, and in the same manner that it treats all other member agencies. In particular, Upper District demands Metropolitan adhere to the Metropolitan Water District Act and provide"like service for like rates" and deliver water requested by Upper District for Basin recharge on the same terms and conditions as provided to other Metropolitan member agencies that receive service by paying Metropolitan's"full service" water rates. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UpperDlstrict adopts such water conservation actions as mandated by the State Water Resources Control Board's Emergency Regulation for Water Conservation, approved from time to time by the State Board, and as deemed most appropriate by local water providers through their local ordinances. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Upper District staff is directed to work with the local water providers to help them implement all water conservation actions they deem most appropriate through their local ordinances as required by the State Water Resources Control Board. PASSED,APPROVED AND ADOPTED on October 21, 2014. AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Anthony R. Fellow, President ATTEST: Ed Chavez, Vice President (SEAL) APPROVED AS TO FORM: Steven P. O'Neill, District Counsel Page 3 of 3 (10-14-543) ATTACHMENT D RESOLUTION NO.2014-57 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA DECLARING A PHASE II WATER SHORTAGE WITH MANDATORY WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES WHEREAS, on January 17, 2014, the Governor declared a state of emergency due to California's severe drought conditions; and WHEREAS, on April 25, 2014, the State of California Water Resources Control Board approved and adopted statewide emergency regulations for urban water conservation due to severe drought conditions; and WHEREAS, over the past several months, the City of Rosemead has implemented voluntary Phase I water conservation measures pursuant to Rosemead Municipal Code Chapter 13.04 on Water Conservation in an effort to comply with the direction of the Governor and the State Water Resources Control Board; and WHEREAS, on October 21, 2014, the Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District ("Upper District") adopted Resolution No. 10-14-543 declaring a Water Supply Emergency as the amount of imported water that can be obtained by the Upper District for recharging the Main San Gabriel Basin is being restricted; and WHEREAS, restrictions on delivery of imported water to Upper District for groundwater basin recharging will have significant negative impacts upon local water purveyors serving Rosemead as the water purveyors are all dependent upon groundwater wells for the production and delivery of potable water; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council declares a Phase II water shortage with mandatory conservation measures pursuant to Rosemead Municipal Code Chapter 13.04.050. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Special Meeting of the City Council on the 10th day of November, 2014. Bill Alarcon, Mayor ATTEST: Gloria Molleda City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Rachel Richman City Attorney