PISMO BEACH COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT

Transcription

1 PISMO BEACH COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT Agenda Item #7.B SUBJECT/TITLE: WATER CONSERVATION REPORT AND CONSIDERATION OF TIERED WATER RESTRICTIONS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATION: Consider adoption of water restrictions and provide direction to staff. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On March 6, 2015, staff held a special study session on water supply, construction, and challenges for the City Council. At that meeting, the Council directed staff to: Look at increasing the City s State Water drought buffer Consider purchasing water from an outside agency Collaboratively work with neighboring agencies to possibly increase ground water pumping in a safe and balanced manner Provide the Council with feedback from local businesses, hotels and the Lucia Mar School district regarding water conservation efforts, rebates and restrictions Bring back to Council levels of building restrictions for consideration Staff returned to the City Council on May 19, 2015 with a three-tiered building restriction system, to take effect should the City s water supplies drop below certain thresholds. Council discussed the potential building restriction system and directed staff to return in September to provide Council a report with the City s water conservation efforts so the Council could consider the conservation efforts when evaluating any potential building restrictions. Current Water Supply The City s current water delivery for for all sources is 2,342.8 acre-feet (see footnote). This amount includes a full delivery of State Water (SW), which the County has said it will deliver from its unallocated SW, 90% Lopez delivery as predicated by the Low Reservoir Response Plan (LRRP) and pumping 42% (300 AF) of the City s 700 AF adjudication from the Santa Maria Ground Water Basin (SMGWB). Without groundwater the City s current deliveries for 2015 will be 2,042.8 AF. 1 It should be noted that water delivered from Lake Lopez follows the Lopez Water Year which runs from April 1st to March 31st of the following calendar year, while SW and water from the SMGWB follows the calendar year. The graphic below shows average monthly allocations assuming 300 AF is pumped from the SMGWB and a full delivery of State Water as promised by the County. Item 7.B Pg. 1

2 Previous LWY Lopez Water Year (LWY) State Water and Ground Water Year (Year) Next Year Jan 15 Feb 15 Mar 15 Apr 15 May 15 Jun 15 Jul 15 Aug 15 Sep 15 Oct 15 Nov 15 Dec 15 Jan 16 Feb 16 Mar 16 Annual SW ,240 SMGWB Lopez Total ,343 The shaded cells above indicate water from a different water year. The City s water demand has been fairly constant over the last seven years despite the development that has taken place over that period of time. Total deliveries since 2008 are summarized in the following table. Year Total Production % Change (AF) , , % , % , % , % , % , % , (YTD) Water Conservation On April 1, 2015, Governor Brown called for a 25% reduction in California s water use. In response to this mandate the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) developed Urban Water Suppliers Usage Tiers (UWSUT), which mandate how much each water agency must reduce their water production in order to meet a state water conservation target of 25%. The City of Pismo Beach was mandated to reduce its overall water production by 24% beginning in June of To meet these mandates City staff has implemented water conservation throughout all of its operations, the City Council has implemented water conservation rebate programs, and most recently the City Council has adopted an ordinance requiring all urinals in the City be converted to waterless urinals and all publicly-accessible restroom faucets be retrofitted with 0.5 gallon-per-minute, or less, aerators. The waterless urinal mandate takes effect on February 14, 2016 and the aerator mandate takes effect on October 17, These changes are expected to save 7 to 15 AF per year. In June of this year, the City achieved a 24.24% reduction in its water production when compared to June of 2013, the benchmark year. In July, this number improved to 29.18%. The City s water production from the base year, 2013, and the current year are summarized in the table below. The first month we were required to achieve our 24% reduction mandate was June of this year. Item 7.B Pg. 2

3 2013 Baseline Production 2015 Production % change January % February % March % April % May % June % July % August % Weather Predictions Although there is no way to 100% accurately predict what the weather patterns will do, all indications are that the El Niño is still strengthening and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) it is likely to continue to strengthen into Spring of An El Niño is simply a warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean waters. An El Niño is considered to exist when the 3-month running mean sea surface temperature (SST) is ½ degree Celsius (degree) above the average was the strongest El Niño on record with a November, December and January 3-month running mean SST of 2.3 degrees above the average. Currently the average SST is 1.2 degrees above the average temperature. Looking at past moderate-strong El Niños we have typically seen the following: Wetter: Southern U.S. from California to the Carolinas then up parts of the East Coast Drier: Parts of the Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, Northwest and Northern Rockies Cooler: Desert Southwest, Southern Plains, northern Gulf Coast Warmer: Northern tier of states from the Pacific Northwest to the Northern Plains, Great Lakes, and Northeast It is important to note that El Niños do not create storms, but simply shift the usual jet stream patterns so that some areas can be more susceptible to storm formation than they otherwise would be. Further, looking at historical records for the past six-plus decades for Central California, rainfall has been evenly split, with roughly a third of the years having below normal precipitation (i.e., < 80%), a third near-normal (i.e., 80% to 120% of normal) and the final third of the years being substantially above normal (i.e., >120%). Current forecast models indicate there is a 90% possibility of El Niño continuing through the winter of More indications are that it will be a strong and possibly a very strong event. As the strength of an El Niño increases, the probabilities of a wetter-than-normal winter increase. While this information is encouraging, there is no guarantee in weather forecasting. Item 7.B Pg. 3

4 Building Restrictions as previously presented As discussed on March 6, 2015 and then again on May 19, 2015, the City of Pismo Beach last instituted a building moratorium in April This moratorium provided that no new planning applications for water-using developments would be accepted, only applications submitted prior to March 28, 1988 would be processed, and that staff would report to the City Council the status of the current projects on June 1, The emergency ordinance also stated that the City Council would review the situation in 60 days. The moratorium was lifted on February 12, The authority for the City Council to enact such regulations is stated in section of the Municipal Code, Critical Water Supply Condition, which states, In addition to the [restrictions of Severely Restricted Water Supply Condition] the City Council may impose any water rationing requirements as it deems appropriate to protect public health, safety, welfare, comfort and convenience. While not suggesting a total moratorium, staff shared options for moderate restrictions to building should the drought continue or become worse. On March 6, 2015 and then again on May 19, 2015, staff presented a three-tiered system of building restrictions. The triggers for each tier are a function of the water available to the City, taking into account the health of the Santa Maria Ground Water Basin. This three-tiered system is summarized in the graphic below. The full text can be found in Attachment 1. Tier I Trigger - Total Water Supply at or below 1,900 AF Tier II Trigger - Total Water Supply at or below 1,330 AF Tier III Trigger - Total Water Supply at or below 1,000 AF Existing planning permits processed, building permits processed Existing planning permits processed, no building permits Existing permits processed, no bulding permits until Tier II water supplies are achieved No new planning permits for vacant parcels will be accepted or processed New uses of existing buildings must be water-neutral No new planning permit applications for vacant parcels will be accepted or processed New use of existing buildings to have 15% less than historical water use No new planning permit applications for vacant parcels will be accepted or processed New use of existing buildings to have 30% less than historical water use Redevelopment of existing buildings must be water-neutral Redevelopment to have 15% less than historical water use No outdoor water use/no Cash for Grass Redevelopment to have 30% less than historical water use No outdoor water use/no Cash for Grass Municipal reduction of irrigation will be no less than 50% Item 7.B Pg. 4

5 Since the City Council meeting on May 19, 2015, members of the community have continued to provide input and suggestions. The Community Development and Public Works departments have met and recommend the Council discuss the following potential modifications and the building restrictions being considered. Planning applications be accepted and processed to conclusion (approval or denial) at all tiers Discretionary approvals delayed by a building restriction shall be granted an extension of time to inaugurate or activate the approval equal to the amount of time the restriction was in place Single Family Homes proposed on R1-zoned lots being built by the owner are exempt from building restrictions at Tiers I and II, however not at Tier III, nor are they exempt from water use restrictions The creation of an additional Tier to be placed between Tiers I and II, or an exemption to Tier II, which would allow those projects that where were entitled prior to the adoption of any tier to obtain building permits and build 25% of the proposed units but not less than one unit. For example, a project entitled to build 17 units prior to the adoption of a tier would be allowed to build 4 units should a tier be enacted. A project permitted for 3 units prior to the adoption of a tier would be allowed to build 1 unit should a tier be enacted. FISCAL IMPACT: Building restrictions, if enacted, would have an impact on development fees collected and the potential future economic benefit of new development. ALTERNATIVE: 1. Request more information from staff. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Proposed building restrictions detail by tier Prepared by: Meeting Date: September 15, 2015 Benjamin A. Fine, P.E. Director of Public Works/City Engineer City Manager Approval: Item 7.B Pg. 5

6 Attachment 1 This attachment shows the three-tiered system of building restrictions as previously presented to the City Council. As a point of reference, the SMGWB key well index is currently at 5.23 feet as of July 14, 2015, which is 2.27 feet below the trigger elevation. Tier I Anticipated Supply 1,900 AF This tier would be triggered if the level in the SMGB is below the index trigger level of 7.5 and surface supplies drop below 1,650 AF. For example if surface supplies dropped below the following: 100% Lopez (892 AF) and 33% State (759 AF) 90% Lopez (802.8 AF) and 37% State (851 AF) 80% Lopez (713.6 AF) and 41% State (943 AF) 65% Lopez (579.8 AF) and 47% State (1,081 AF) If the key well index of the SMGB is above the index trigger level of 7.5 this tier would not be triggered until surface water supplies dropped below 1,450 AF. For example, if surface supplies dropped below the following: 100% Lopez (892 AF) and 25% State (575 AF) 90% Lopez (802.8 AF) and 28% State (648 AF) 80% Lopez (713.6 AF) and 32% State (736 AF) 65% Lopez (579.8 AF) and 38% State (870 AF) The recommend actions for Tier I are as follows: Existing planning permit applications as of the date of the resolution will be processed No new planning permit applications for vacant parcels will be accepted or processed. New commercial/retail use of existing buildings will be allowed, but only such that water demand will be less than or equal to the existing or most recent water demand Redevelopment of existing buildings (commercial, retail, residential, hotel, etc.) will be allowed, but only such that the proposed water demand is less than or equal to the current water use of the existing building Tier II Anticipated Supply 1,330 AF This tier would be triggered if the level in the SMGB is below the index trigger level of 7.5 and surface supplies drop below 1,080 AF. For example if surface supplies dropped below the following: 100% Lopez (892 AF) and 8% State (188 AF) 90% Lopez (802.8 AF) and 12% State (277 AF) 80% Lopez (713.6 AF) and 16% State (366 AF) 65% Lopez (579.8 AF) and 22% State (500 AF) 0% Lopez (0 AF) and 47% State (1080 AF) Item 7.B Pg. 6

7 Attachment 1 If the key well index of the SMGB is above the index trigger level of 7.5 this tier would not be triggered until surface water supplies dropped below 880 AF. For example, if surface supplies dropped below the following: 90% Lopez (802.8 AF) and 3% State (77 AF) 80% Lopez (713.6 AF) and 7% State (166 AF) 65% Lopez (579.8 AF) and 13% State (300 AF) 0% Lopez (0 AF) and 38% State (880) The recommend actions for Tier II are as follows: No outdoor water use will be allowed o Cash for Grass will remain in effect o Irrigation controller and irrigation retrofit rebates will be suspended Existing planning permit applications as of the date of the resolution will be processed; however, no building permits will be issued until water supply exceeds Tier II Triggers, and Council approves the issuance of the building permit No new planning permit applications for vacant parcels will be accepted or processed New commercial/retail use of existing buildings will be allowed, but only such that water demand will be at least 15% less than the water demand over the past 24 month period including if there was no water use during that time (for example if a parcel had no water use over the past 24 months new use of the building would not be allow to use water) Redevelopment of existing buildings (commercial, retail, residential, hotel, etc.) will be allowed, but only such that water demand will be at least 15% less than the water demand over the past 24 month period including if there was no water use during that time Municipal reduction of irrigation will be no less than 50% Council will fund not less than $50,000 to further recycled water efforts, including Title 23 recycled water Tier III Anticipated Supply 1,000 AF This tier would be triggered if the level in the SMGB is below the index trigger level of 7.5 and surface supplies drop below 750 AF. For example if surface supplies dropped below the following: 80% Lopez (713.6 AF) and 2% State (36 AF) 65% Lopez (579.8 AF) and 7% State (170 AF) 0% Lopez (0 AF) and 33% State (750) If the key well index of the SMGB is above the index trigger level of 7.5 this tier would not be triggered until surface water supplies dropped below 550 AF. For example if surface supplies dropped below the following: 0% Lopez (0 AF) and 24% State (550 AF) The recommend actions for Tier III are as follows: No outdoor water use will be allowed o Cash for Grass will remain in effect Item 7.B Pg. 7

8 Attachment 1 o Irrigation controller and irrigation retrofit rebates will be suspended Existing planning permit applications as of the date of the resolution will be processed; however, no building permits will be issued until water supply exceeds Tier II Triggers, and Council approves the issuance of the building permit No new planning permit applications for vacant parcels will be accepted or processed New commercial/retail use of existing buildings will be allowed, but only such that water demand will be at least 30% less than the water demand over the past 24 month period including if there was no water use during that time Redevelopment of existing buildings (commercial, retail, residential, hotel, etc.) will be allowed, but only such that water demand will be at least 30% less than the water demand over the past 24 month period including if there was no water use during that time No municipal irrigation will occur, except at the direction of City Council Council will fund not less than $75,000 to further recycled water efforts, including Title 23 recycled water Item 7.B Pg. 8