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Home My WebLink About94-16RESOLUTION NO. 94-16 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UKIAH ESTABLISHING WATER CONSERVATION PLAN. WHEREAS, 1. The City of Ukiah in Resolution No. 93-40 has already made findings regarding water availability in the City. 2. According to the computer model developed by the Sonoma County Water Agency as described in the October 1988 publication "Russian River System Modeling" and as reported in the Agency's Urban Water Management Plan, dated January 1991, sufficient Russian River water is available to meet the present and projected future demands of all users under maximum demand conditions without reduction in water use until the year 2010. However, with the implementation of reasonable water conservation measures by major water users the Russian River will meet the demand for water well past the year 2010 without the construction of new water storage facilities. 3. The City Council finds that water conservation by all major Russian River water users provides a cost effective means to delay the construction of costly additional water storage or other improvements that eventually will be necessary to support additional growth in the Ukiah Valley. 4. The City Council hereby intends to establish a water conservation plan for the City of Ukiah that uses techniques which are established as cost effective and practical to implement within the City of Ukiah, recognizing the condition of the local economy. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED as follows: 1. Establishment of water conservation measures. The City of Ukiah will establish the following water conservation measures within the City of Ukiah: so INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR WATER AUDITS AND INCENTIVE PROGRAMS FOR MAJOR WATER USERS. The City utility department shall offer interior and exterior water audits to the top 20% of water users in each segment of the water market (e.g., residential (such as large multi-family apartment complexes), commercial and industrial). The Department shall offer incentives that will meaningfully encourage customers to implement water s:u\resos93\water September 9, 1993 conserving measures (such as free showerheads, hose and sprinkler timers, adjustment to high water use bills if customers implement water conservation measures, etc.). PLUMBING, NEW AND RETROFIT. ENFORCEMENT OF UNIFORM PLUMBING STANDARDS FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION. The City building department shall enforce uniform plumbing standards which require ultra low flush ("ULF") toilets in all new construction. THE CITY WILL SUPPORT STATE AND FEDERAL LEGISLATION PROHIBITING THE SALE OF TOILETS THAT USE MORE THAN 1.6 GALLONS PER FLUSH. 3. PLUMBING RETROFIT. The City utility department will deliver retrofit kits, including high quality low-flow showerheads to pre-1980 homes that do not have them and toilet displacement devices or other devices to reduce flush volume for homes that do not have ULF toilets. DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM WATER AUDITS, LEAK DETECTION AND REPAIR. The City utility department will continue its program of regularly auditing the City's water distribution system for leaks, using methods such as those described in the American Water Works Association's "Manual of Water Supply Practices, Water Audits and Leak Detection," advising customers whenever it appears possible that leaks exist on the customers' side of the meter; and performing distribution system leak detection and repair whenever the audit reveals that it would be cost effective. The City utility department will also advise customers on ways to detect leaks on their side of the water meters. METERING WITH COMMODITY RATES FOR ALL NEW CONNECTIONS AND RETROFIT OF EXISTING CONNECTIONS. The City will continue its practice of requiring meters for all new connections and billing by volume of use. s:u\resos93\water September 9, 1993 2 e o f o LARGE LANDSCAPE WATER AUDITS AND INCENTIVES. The City will identify all irrigators of large landscapes (at least 3 acres), recognizing that the City and the Ukiah Unified School District are the largest irrigators. The utility department will conduct a water audit of its landscapes and will encourage the school district and other irrigators of large landscapes to conduct a water audit of their landscapes, using methods such as that described in the Landscape Water Management Handbook prepared for the California Department of Water Resources. The existing City price structure should provide a sufficient economic incentive for large irrigators to institute water efficient landscapes. LANDSCAPE WATER CONSERVATION REQUIREMENTS FOR NEW AND EXISTING COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, INSTITUTIONAL. GOVERNMENTAL AND MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENTS. The City will comply with Resolution No. 93-40, copy attached. PUBLIC INFORMATION. The Water Conservation Coordinator (see item m) shall develop a program of community education, which may include speaking to community groups about the methods and benefits of water conservation, showing gallons per day usage and comparing yearly usage on customers' bills, including water conservation information as billing inserts and in city sponsored publications and coordinating with other public and private groups promoting water conservation. SCHOOL EDUCATION. The Water Conservation Coordinator will work with teachers and school officials to develop water conservation education programs for use in schools. NEW COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL WATER USE REVIEW. During project review by the Project Review Committee and during consideration of site development and use permits for new commercial and industrial projects, the City will make recommendations and, where appropriate, include permit conditions, to improve water efficiency. s:ukresos93~water 3 September 9, 1993 j o mo n° CONSERVATION PRICING. The City will establish rate structures for water and sewer service that provide incentives for water conservation (such as using unit prices that remain constant or increase with increased use, setting rates that recover the cost of providing service, bill for both water and sewer use based on metered water use (the City will study the feasibility of basing sewer rates for residential customers on metered water use), and such additional features as rates that encourage reduced use during peak demand and lifeline rates). LANDSCAPE WATER CONSERVATION FOR NEW AND EXISTING SINGLE FAMILY HOMES. In complying with Resolution No. 93-40, the City will study the feasibility of establishing guidelines, information and incentives to encourage the installation of low water use plants and efficient irrigation techniques in single family home landscaping, both new and existing housing. WATER WASTE PROHIBITION. In enforcing Ukiah City Code §3571 the City utility department shall prohibit gutter flooding, use of automatic (self-regulating) water softeners, single pass cooling systems in new connections, nonrecirculating systems in all new conveyer car wash and commercial laundry systems, and nonrecycling decorative water fountains. WATER CONSERVATION COORDINATOR. The City shall designate within the utility department a Water Conservation Coordinator. The City Council will determine whether the duties of the Water Conservation Coordinator may be assumed by an existing city employee or whether it must create a new position, depending on estimates of probable workload and budgetary considerations. The Water Conservation Coordinator will be responsible for suggesting amendments to the Water Conservation Plan, implementing it and evaluating its effectiveness. FINANCIAL INCENTIVES. The utility department shall study the cost s:u\resos93\water 4 September 9, 1993 effectiveness of offering financial incentives to encourage customers to conserve water and make recommendations to the City Council for its consideration. O. COOPERATION WITH OTHER WATER AGENCIES. The City will encourage other Mendocino County water agencies within the Russian River watershed to adopt compatible water conservation plans and will cooperate with those agencies in promoting the conservation of water. 2. Schedule for implementing water conservation measures. a. The City will implement the followinq measures immediately: b.1 & 2, c, d, f, j. (except additional incentives and the feasibility of basing residential sewer rates on water consumption will be studied over the next 2 years with recommendations to the City Council by the end of that time period), k, and o. b. The City will implement the following measures over a period of one year: a, b.3, e and i. c. The City will implement the followinq measures over a period of two years: g, h, 1, m and n. 3. Additional water conservation measures. Annually, commencing one year after the adoption of this policy, the Director of the Utility Department in consultation with the Water Conservation Coordinator, when appointed, shall report to the City Council whether this plan should be amended to include additional water conservation measures. The report shall analyze the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of such measures, using the latest available research and other data. PASSED AND ADOPTED on September 15 call vote: 1993, by the following roll AYES: Councilmembers Mastin, NOES: None ABSENT: None AT S : c~fh~' Mc~a~, ' ~ity/Clerk s: \u~resos93\water September 16, 1993~ Malone, Wattenburger, Shoemaker and Mayor $chneiter