HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 5.A 05/16/2016DATE: May 16, 2016
Agenda Item #5.A
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council through City Manager
FROM: Dan St. John, F.ASCE — Director, Public Works and Utilities
Kent Carothers, P.E. — Operations Manager, Public Works and Utilities
SUBJECT: Public Hearing and Resolution Adopting the City Of Petaluma 2015 Urban Water
Management Plan
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council hold a Public Hearing and approve the Resolution
Adopting the City of Petaluma 2015 Urban Water Management Plan.
BACKGROUND
The City's Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) has been prepared in accordance with the
Urban Water Management Planning Act, Water Code Sections 10610 through 10657 and the
2015 Urban Water Management Plan Guidelines for Urban Water Suppliers. The Act requires
every urban water supplier providing water for municipal purposes to more than 3,000
connections, or supplying more than 3,000 acre -feet (AF) of water annually, to adopt and submit
a plan every five years to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). The
completion of an Urban Water Management Plan is considered by the State when evaluating
applications for water conservation grants.
Senate Bill SBx7X7, the Water Conservation Act of 2009, Water Code 10608 et seq., requires
the State to achieve a 20 percent reduction in urban per capita water use by 2020. Urban water
suppliers are required to set a baseline, reduction targets and programs to meet the 20 percent by
2020 goal. The City has used a selection of population estimates based on three methods of the
DWR. Method 1 is based on the most current Department of Finance records. The Plan
demonstrates that the City complies with SBx7X7.
On April 11, 2016, the Plan, current water conservation efforts, and the SBx7X7 elements, were
presented at a public workshop for City Council. A public hearing must be held prior to adoption
to allow community input regarding the City's implementation plan for complying with the
requirements. The UWMP Guidelines allow for the hearing and adoption to occur at the same
Council meeting. The hearing considers the economic impacts of the City's implementation for
complying with the requirements as well as adopting a method to determine the City's urban
water use target.
The City receives its potable water from Sonoma County Water Agency (Water Agency). The
Water Agency provides water principally from the Russian River to the majority of the retail
water providers in Sonoma County, and to a lesser degree in Marin County. In addition to the
Water Agency, the only potable water source currently available to the City is from City -owned
groundwater wells. Though the Water Agency's water is the City's primary water supply, the
City has used groundwater wells to supplement the Water Agency's supply during peak summer
periods. The City also provides recycled water for irrigation of two golf courses, schools, parks,
agricultural, and vineyard customers. Tertiary recycled water meeting the water recycling criteria
in the California Code of Regulations Title 22 is available from the City's Ellis Creek Water
Recycling Facility.
A large component of the UWMP is the Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), which
addresses water shortages that result from droughts, natural disasters, or reduced deliveries from
the Water Agency. The WSCP provides guidelines for managing water demand in the event of
water supply disruption or severe drought. The City's existing WSCP is described in four water
shortage phases, and actions taken at each stage. Stages are based on water supply conditions and
demand reduction goals.
DISCUSSION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the 2015 Urban Water Management Plan after the
public hearing. Comments and corrections raised at the hearing will be incorporated into the
document, and a summary of the comments will be included in the appendix of the final UWMP
submitted to the State.
The Plan addresses the City's water system and includes a description of the water supply
sources, magnitudes of historical and projected water use, and a comparison of water supply to
water demands during normal single -dry, and multiple -dry years. Water management tools and
water conservation measures have been used by the City to maximize water resources. The City
has integrated water conservation into future supply and demand solutions, pursuant to the
adopted General Plan 2025, in both the water supply and wastewater treatment /reuse systems.
The 2015 Urban Water Management Plan updates the projected demand based on the Maddaus
Model. The demand and conservation technical analysis was a regional effort by the Water
Agency retailers to provide a range of demand forecast based on conservation efforts, projected
population growth, industrial and commercial growth, and passive water savings. This allowed
each city or District to provide low and high demand projects for the SCWA to model the supply.
The Water Shortage Contingency Plan is included within the UWMP. It is recommended that
one change be made to remove a conservation measure from the WSCP and to include in the
Municipal Code as a permanent regulation for water conservation. The recommended change is
to prohibit the application of potable water to outdoor landscapes during and within 48 hours
after measureable rainfall in the Water Conservation Regulations. The other change proposed to
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the current Conservation Regulations is to require outdoor swimming pool and spa covers be
used during non - business hours or while not in use.
Included in the UWMP is a reliability analysis for the City's water supplies, which primarily
consist of deliveries from the Water Agency. The Water Agency uses a model to predict
reservoir storage levels during historical dry year scenarios, consisting of a single dry -year and
multiple dry -year drought scenarios. The conclusions of the Water Agency's model of the
drought scenarios are mixed. The model shows that for the 3 -year and 4 -year dry periods, there
are no impacts to deliveries to the City since there would be sufficient storage in Lake
Mendocino and Lake Sonoma. The 1 -year drought scenario had a different model result. The
analysis showed that during a single -dry year scenario, the levels in Lake Sonoma drop below
100,000 AF before July 15. Based on terms in the Water Agency's water rights, the Water
Agency is required to reduce their diversions from the Russian River by 30 percent. This
reduction in diversions directly impacts the City's supply of water. The 30 percent reduction is
calculated based on the Water Agency's average monthly deliveries during the same month of
the previous three years.
The Water Agency has prepared its Urban Water Management Plan for wholesale water
providers and the item is scheduled to be heard by its Board of Directors at a public hearing on
June 21, 2016. Staff have been working with the Water Agency to coordinate our efforts and to
participate in the work effort to ensure consistency between the City's UWMP and their plans.
The City of Petaluma 2015 Urban Water Management Plan is made available for public viewing
and is available on the City's website. The Plan hearing and adoption was published in the
Argus- Courier and on social media. The adopted UWMP will be made available to the public for
30 days after submittal to the State. The UWMP must be adopted by June 30, 2016 and is due to
the DWR by July 1, 2016.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS
The only financial impacts as a result of this item are the costs associated with staff time to
develop the plan and present the workshop and this agenda item. Such staffing costs are included
in the department operating budget. There are no financial impacts anticipated as a result of
adoption of the plan.
ATTACHMENTS
I. Resolution
® Items listed below are large in volume and are not attached to this report, but may be viewed in
the City Clerk's office.
2. Draft Urban Water Management Plan 2015
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Attachment 1
RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE CITY OF PETALUMA
2015 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN
WHEREAS, the Urban Water Management Planning Act, Water Code Section 10610 et
seq., (the Act) requires that every urban water supplier which provides 3,000 acre feet or more of
water annually, or which directly or indirectly supplies water for municipal purposes to more
than 3,000 customers, shall prepare an Urban Water Management Plan, the primary objective of
which is to plan for the conservation and efficient use of water; and
WHEREAS, the Act also requires all urban water purveyors serving over 3,000
customers or over 3,000 acre -feet of water annually to develop a Water Shortage Contingency
Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Water Conservation Act of 2009, Senate Bill SBx7X7, requires a 20%
reduction in per capita water use by 2020; and
WHEREAS, requirements of the Water Conservation Act of 2009 applicable to urban
water suppliers may be incorporated into the Urban Water Management Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Urban Water Management Plan must be adopted after public review
and a public hearing by the City, and after adoption by the City Council must be filed with the
California Department of Water Resources and sent to the State Library; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma has prepared the City of Petaluma 2015 Urban Water
Management Plan, including SBx7 -7 20% by 2020 water use reduction goals and the City of
Petaluma Urban Water Shortage Contingency Plan 2015 per the requirements of the Urban
Water Management Planning Act; and
WHEREAS, the Petaluma City Council conducted a public hearing on the City of
Petaluma 2015 Urban Water Management Plan, including the SBx7X7 20% by 2020 water use
reduction goals, and the City of Petaluma Urban Water Shortage Contingency Plan 2015 on May
16, 2016; and
WHEREAS, the City of Petaluma published a notice on the public hearing on April 21,
28, and May 12, 2016 in the Petaluma Argus Courier; and
WHEREAS, adoption of the UWMP pursuant to this resolution is exempt from the
requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15307
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and 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines as action by a regulatory agency for protection of natural
resources and the environment that includes procedures for protection of the environment.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Petaluma as
follows:
1. The above recitals are incorporated herein by reference.
2. The City of Petaluma 2015 Urban Water Management Plan, including the Water
Conservation Act SBx7X7 20% by 2020 water -use reduction goals, Method 1, and the
City of Petaluma Water Shortage Contingency Plan 2015 are hereby adopted.
3. The Department of Public Works and Utilities Department is hereby directed to submit
the City of Petaluma 2015 Urban Water Management Plan to the California Department
of Water Resources and the California State Library within 30 days of adoption of the
Plan.
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