HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.4 Drought Efforts
STAFF REPORT CITY CLERK
File #1000-80
CITY COUNCIL
DATE:March 18, 2014
TO:
Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM:
Christopher L. Foss, Acting City Manager
SUBJECT:
City of Dublin Drought Efforts
Prepared by Roger Bradley, Assistant to the City Manager; Gary Huisingh. Public
Works Director; and Paul McCreary, Parks & Community Services Director
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council will receive a report on the efforts undertaken to curtail the effects of current
and future Statewide drought conditions within the City of Dublin.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Short-term water saving actions presented within the report will have minimal staff and monetary
impacts. Longer-term actions may require additional resources, which would be presented to the
City Council for consideration after Staff has had an opportunity to further explore their
feasibility.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive the report and direct Staff, by motion, to
implement the short-term water conservation measures listed within the report; and adopt a
Resolution
Declaring a Local State of Emergency Due to Extreme Drought Conditions.
Reviewed By
Acting Assistant City Manager
DESCRIPTION:
Background
On January 17, 2014, Governor Brown signed a proclamation declaring a State of Emergency
within the State of California due to drought conditions affecting the State. As indicated within
the declaration, the State’s water supplies have dipped to alarming levels indicated by:
snowpack in California’s mountains at approximately 20 percent of the normal average;
California’s largest water reservoirs have very low water levels for this time of year; California’s
major river systems, including the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, have significantly
ITEM NO. 3.4
Page 1 of 5
reduced surface water flows; and groundwater levels throughout the state have dropped
significantly.
Due to these conditions, the Governor has called upon all Californians to reduce their water
consumption by 20%. The State Department of Water Resources (DWR) has informed water
contractors, including Zone 7, that the State Water Project (SWP) allocations could be reduced
to zero through the aqueduct system. The US Department of Agriculture has also declared
Alameda County as a natural disaster area because of the extreme drought conditions. In
response, Zone 7 and Dublin San Ramon Services District, the City’s wholesale and retail water
purveyors respectively, have both declared a local state of drought emergency and reiterated
the Governor’s 20% water use reduction request. Further, DSRSD has indicated that a 20%
reduction in water usage amounts to a 5% reduction in indoor consumption and a 40% reduction
in outdoor or irrigation water consumption.
Declaration of State of Emergency
The Governor’s State of Emergency Proclamation referenced the record dry conditions under
which the state’s water supplies have dipped to alarming levels, creating an extreme peril to the
safety of persons, property, and agriculture in California. On January 29, 2014, the Board of
Zone 7 adopted a resolution proclaiming a State of Local Drought Emergency. On February
th
18, the DSRSD Board also adopted a resolution proclaiming a State of Local Drought
Emergency.
According the Dublin Municipal Code Section 2.44.060.A.6, whenever the Governor declares a
State of Emergency, the City Manager is empowered to take certain actions as if the City
Council had declared such. However, Staff recommends that the City Council consider adopting
the proposed resolution proclaiming a State of Drought Emergency based on the current
drought conditions and the resulting impact on the water supply. Although the City does not
have immediate control over water issues within the community, nor will this action itself have
any immediate effect, it will be an effective step towards facilitating and assisting with the sort of
activities that may need to be undertaken to assist Dublin San Ramon Services District with
mitigating or preventing an emergency within the Dublin community. With such a proclamation in
place, the City will be authorized to make expenditures deemed necessary, and to promulgate
orders and regulations necessary to provide for the protection of life and property. The
declaration will better enable City Staff to respond in real time to the developing conditions,
especially if conditions worsen. The City Council would need to revisit the emergency
declaration every 30 days until the drought conditions are proclaimed over.
A resolution proclaiming a state of emergency would also allow exceptions to competitive
bidding statutes and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as they apply to specific
drought activities the City seeks to pursue. The proposed resolution of a community Drought
Emergency would delegate responsibility to the City Manager for making decisions about
invoking exceptions to normal contracting and purchasing requirements, and allows the City
Manager to promulgate rules and regulations that would assist DSRSD in combating drought
conditions. The resolution proclaiming a state of emergency based on the current drought
conditions is a useful step in streamlining actions to facilitate the protection of the community’s
available water resources, and for the City to be in a better position to quickly take the steps
needed to mitigate or prevent a current threat to the public health and safety of the Dublin
community.
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Lastly, by adopting a resolution proclaiming a State of Drought Emergency in the City of Dublin,
it would be a show of support to the water wholesalers and retailers in the Tri-Valley that Dublin
is supportive in the effort of conservation and taking this action would show our dedication to the
cause. It will also be a message to our citizens that we, as a community, should be mindful of
the dire water situation in the State and understand these conditions can affect the community in
the immediate- and long-term if conservation and proper planning efforts and actions are not
taken now.
City and DSRSD Public Outreach Partnership
DSRSD has developed a 2014 Drought Outreach Plan. City staff has met with DSRSD to
discuss the Plan and to offer to assist in the outreach efforts. Possible actions discussed include
adding a button to the City’s website, which would link to a page for residents to receive water
saving tips, as well as a link to the DSRSD website for further information. Further, the City
could allow the placement of DSRSD signage, as well as fliers and literature with drought and
water saving information at City facilities, DSRSD will be working closely with the City on the
California Youth Energy Services Green House Calls program to promote water savings to
residents. Information will be placed in the City’s Summer Recreation Guide, and City staff is
able to push out information to the community via “Notify Me" on the City’s website, as well as to
coordinate with Neighborhood Resources to reach Homeowners Associations as well as Block
Captains. Finally, Staff would assist with disseminating drought and water conservation
information out to the business community via newsletters and other media channels.
City of Dublin Recycled Water Impact
Over the past several years, the City has placed great emphasis on reducing its consumption of
potable water by converting many of its facilities to recycled water. The chart below shows that
recycled water consumption is 66% of total usage by the City of Dublin. While the number of
City facilities has grown significantly since 2005, and total water consumption at those facilities
has increased by 66% over that time period, consumption of potable water has decreased
slightly.
City of Dublin Annual Water Usage
Potable Recycled Total %
Year Water Water Water Recycled
Usage Usage Usage Water
2013 100,078 197,974 298,052 66.42%
2012 99,512 178,092 277,604 64.15%
2011 89,305 137,278 226,583 60.59%
2010 79,709 123,476 203,185 60.77%
2009 90,063 138,013 228,076 60.51%
2008 107,920 130,499 238,419 54.74%
2007 121,501 114,874 236,375 48.60%
2006 104,797 99,809 204,606 48.78%
2005 118,152 61,865 180,017 34.37%
*Water units are counted per one-hundred cubic feet of water (“CCF”).
1 CCF = 748 gallons
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Staff has been informed by DSRSD that recycled water usage is not directly impacted by the
reduction in consumption efforts, and that the capacity of recycled water is not in jeopardy at the
current time. In fact there is excess recycled water capacity at this time, and the City is working
with DSRSD staff to convert even more of our median landscaping from potable water to the
recycled water system. The City's efforts in reducing potable water consumption have been both
a good economic decision, as recycled water is slightly cheaper than potable, and a sound
environmental one. In particular, the City's partnership with DSRSD in expanding recycled water
usage throughout the City has set the stage in significantly helping the community meet the
reduction needs during the current drought, while still being able to maintain the landscaping
and turf to meet the needs of an active community. Had it not switched to recycled water, the
City would be required to reduce water consumption by nearly 60,000 units to meet the
voluntary water conservation goals as outlined by DSRSD. As is visible from the above table,
the City's foresight in reducing its potable water consumption by converting to recycled water
usage has resulted in a reduction of nearly 200,000 units of potable water consumed annually.
Over the past year, the Energy Upgrade Project (also known as the Chevron project) has
included an effort to reduce water consumption at City parks and facilities. Further, the Energy
Upgrade Project included the installation of smart irrigation controls, which are designed to
ensure that our parks are irrigated only when needed and by how much is needed. In addition,
the project installed low-flow shower heads, urinals, and faucet aerators at all City facilities. The
expected impact of these improvements will be an annual reduction of 19,449 units of water
(CCF), for a reduction in total water usage of 6.5%. However, it should be noted that nearly 90%
of that reduction is in recycled water, which is good but not overly impactful to the potable water
system. Potable water use will be reduced by approximately one percent as a result of the
Energy Upgrade efforts.
Possible City Actions to Further Reduce Water Consumption
While the City has made great strides in expanding its recycled water infrastructure, Staff
believes that there is still room for continued efforts in reducing water consumption. Staff has
worked over the past weeks to generate ideas that would further reduce water consumption and
assist DSRSD in meeting its water conservation goals. These ideas are listed in the two
sections below and are divided by those actions that are short-term and long-term. Short-term
actions are those efforts that Staff believes can be easily incorporated into the City's current
efforts and work plan with little to no operational impacts. Long-term efforts are those that will
require additional time to research and develop and may require resources that are not currently
allocated or available. Long-term actions will be further vetted by Staff and presented to the City
Council for consideration at a later date if the effort is deemed feasible and cost impacts and
resources have been identified.
Short-term Water Conservation Actions
Action Item Estimated
Savings per year
Adjust water fixtures within City facilities. 27 CCF
Eliminate or limit power washing of walkways, entry plazas, etc 13 CCF
Turn off all the fountains at City facilities. 12 CCF
Institute a practice within the kitchens of City facilities to scrape dishes 8 CCF
versus rinsing.
Wash City vehicles only when needed. 5 CCF
Offer wood chips to Dublin residents for landscaping. (0.03 CCF per 1,000 3 CCF
ft. of landscaping area covered)
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Action Item Estimated
Savings per year
Maintenance staff will regularly check all City facilities for leaks and water 2 CCF
waste.
Adjust water play features at City parks to only operate when temperature 1 CCF
is above a certain degree or only operate on odd/even days.
Optimize the frequency of City facility window cleaning. 0.26 CCF
Add page to City website with DSRSD conservation tips. N/A
Total Probable Impact 71 CCF
Long-term Water Conservation Actions
Action Item Estimated
Savings per year
Coordinate with DSRSD to connect the reclaimed water system to irrigate 81,502 CCF
areas within the community that currently are not being served
Eliminate the remaining potable water zone near the fountain at the Civic 2,051 CCF
Center
Install irrigation controllers for street medians. 600 CCF
Explore a drought tolerant demonstration garden at the Civic Center 16 CCF
Require that City pool covers be on at all times when City pool is not in 4 CCF
use.
Assist DSRSD in connecting Dublin businesses and the Chamber of N/A
Commerce with DSRSD water conservation staff.
Consider a Bay Friendly Landscaping Policy for commercial and residential N/A
properties.
Total Probable Impact 83,973 CCF
As indicated previously, DSRSD has requested that its customers reduce their water
consumption by 5% for indoor usage and 40% for outdoor. The City finds itself in somewhat of a
unique position, in that the previous efforts to reduce potable water consumption have netted a
significant decrease (66%) in total potable water usage. Implementation of the short-term action
items listed above and the savings projected from the Energy Upgrade Project only amount to
an approximate one percent reduction in overall potable water consumption. Of the long-term
items, converting the remaining potable water irrigation systems, located predominantly on the
west side of the City (Dolan Park, Historic Park, Mape Park, Senior Center, Shannon Park, Fire
Stations 16 & 17, and a number of street irrigation accounts), would yield the greatest reduction
in potable water consumption and meet the requirements established by DSRSD for water
conservation. City and DSRSD Staff have initiated dialogue on this topic to find possible
temporary and permanent solutions to this effort.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
A copy of the resolution would be placed on the City’s website and sent out as a newsflash,
should the City Council decide to adopt the resolution.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution Declaring a Drought Emergency in the City of Dublin
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RESOLUTION NO. XX - 14
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN
* * * * * * * * * * *
PROCLAMATION OF A LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY DUE TO EXTREME DROUGHT
CONDITIONS
WHEREAS,
California Government Code 8630(a) and Ordinance No. 02-85 (Section 6.A(1))
of the City of Dublin, adopted on January 14, 1985, empower the City Council to proclaim the
existence or threatened existence of a LOCAL EMERGENCY when said City is affected or likely to
be affected by a public calamity; and
WHEREAS
the State of California is experiencing record dry conditions, with 2014 projected
to become the driest year on record; and
WHEREAS
, the State’s water supplies have dipped to alarming levels, indicated by the
following: snowpack in California’s mountains is approximately 20 percent less than the normal
average; California’s largest water reservoirs have very low water levels for this time of year;
California’s major river systems have significantly reduced surface water flows; and groundwater
levels throughout the State have dropped significantly; and
WHEREAS
, extremely dry conditions have persisted since 2012 and may continue beyond
this year and more regularly into the future; and
WHEREAS
, on January 17, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency
based on drought conditions in California and called on all Californians to conserve water, with the
goal of reducing consumption by 20 percent; and
WHEREAS
, the Zone 7 Board of Directors declared a drought emergency on January 29,
2014; and
WHEREAS
, the Dublin San Ramon Services District Board of Directors declared a community
drought emergency on February 18, 2014; and
WHEREAS,
Dublin Municipal Code Section 2.44.060.A.6 states that whenever the Governor
declares a State of Emergency, the City Manager is empowered to take certain actions including to
direct emergency efforts, to make and issue rules and regulations of matters reasonably related to
the protection of life and property, to obtain vital supplies, and to require emergency services; and
WHEREAS
, the City Council of the City of Dublin does hereby find: 1) that the conditions of
extreme peril to the safety of persons and property have arisen within the City of Dublin, caused by
the aforementioned extreme drought conditions; 2) that the aforementioned conditions of extreme
peril warrant and necessitate the proclamation of the existence of a local emergency; and 3) that in
order to show solidarity with the water purveyors within the community and to assist them with
combating the effects of said drought conditions, a local emergency should be declared; and
WHEREAS,
California Government Code section 8630(c) states that City Council shall review
the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 30 days.
ATTACHMENT 1
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED
by the City Council of the City of
Dublinthat a LOCAL DROUGHT EMERGENCY now exists throughout the City; and
BE IT FURTHER PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED
that said LOCAL DROUGHT
EMERGENCY shall be deemed to continue to exist until its termination is proclaimed by the City
Council of the City of Dublin.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED
this 18th day of March 2014, by the following
vote:
AYES
:
NOES
:
ABSENT
:
ABSTAIN
:
______________________________
Mayor
ATTEST
:
_________________________________
City Clerk
2248943.1
ATTACHMENT 1