SR-112508-1Cc7®
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City Council Report
City Council Meeting: November 25, 2008
Agenda Item: ~ ~'
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Dean Kubani, Director -Office of Sustainability and the Environment
Subject: Proposal to Amend the State Water Code
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that staff work with its Sacramento lobbyist, government agencies,
non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties to amend the state's
water code to include more Aggressive Strategies for Local Water Self-sufficiency and
Sustainability
Executive Summary
The City continues to promote water efficiency and conservation through its Sustainable
City Plan, its 20% water use reduction goal by 2010, and various water-saving incentive
programs. The City has achieved outstanding savings in indoor water efficiency.
However exterior water saving efforts, such as rainwater harvesting and stormwater
use; dry weather runoff reuse for landscapes and even interior uses, have been
hampered by a lack of legal authority in the State water code.
The California water code contains definitions and technical reuse guidance for recycled
and graywater resources for non-potable uses, but is silent on the use and reuse of rain
water and dry weather runoff. Staff recommends that Santa Monica take the lead on a
process to amend the State water code to establish a legal and technical framework
that will promote the use and reuse of rainwater and runoff to replace more valuable
potable water for appropriate non-potable uses, such as landscape irrigation,. toilet
flushing and laundry. This action will involve existing staff time but will otherwise have
no budgetary impact.
Background
Since the early 1990s, the City has implemented a Sustainable City Plan (SCP) to
promote sustainable uses of natural resources, including water. SCP implementation
involves the promotion and installation of interior water efficiency devices, such as
toilets, showerheads, aerators, and washing machines, with over 50,000 such devices
installed. The City has also expanded interior efficiency programs for hotels and
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motels, restaurants, and medical and health-care related facilities. The SCP goal for
water is to achieve a 20% reduction in water use from the 2000 level by 2010, a
reduction of approximately 250,000 gallons per day. To date the City has achieved a
2% reduction, largely due to these programs which .address interior water use. This
reduction has been tempered by an increase of thousands of residents, housing units
and jobs since year 2000. However, staff feels the benefits from these interior
incentives programs have plateaued and that .meeting the 20% reductioh goal will
require an aggressive program to reduce exterior water use in the community:
The City is highly dependent on imported water -the third most dependent of
Metropolitan Water Districts member agencies. Although MWD has a diverse supply of
water resources, severe. drought conditions in California combined with permanent
water reductions from the State Water Project may result in MWD being unable meet
demand in 2009. MWD may implement reduced water allotments to its members for at
least one year starting in July 2009. To cushion residents and businesses from possible
water supply disruptions, the City needs to direct more effort toward other sustainable
water management strategies.
Depending upon land use, approximately 40-75% of total water use in Santa Monica is
used for landscaping. The City is currently implementing some new water efficiency
efforts to address this: competitive water efficiency landscape grant program, parkway
landscape policy, and the new green building landscape ordinance. These programs
and policies will slowly lead to future savings over decades as people replace traditional
inefficient sprinkler systems and turf with water efficient landscapes.
Discussion
Currently untapped local water supplies that could help reduce potable water use
include rain water and dry weather urban runoff: If the City were to harvest all rain
water that falls within its boundaries, in an average year, approximately 35% of its water
needs would be satisfied locally. This would reduce by the same amount the purchase
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of imported potable water from distant watersheds while surpassing the City's 20%
water use reduction goal. However, the State water code only defines recycled and
gray water resources as acceptable supplies for reuse. Recycled water is narrowly
defined as wastewater put through high levels of treatment and disinfection, and used
for landscape spray irrigation. Gray water comes from bathroom sinks, washing
machines, showers, and tubs, and currently can only be used with sub-surface irrigation
systems. While gray water is a permitted water supply in the City, the regulatory system
is complicated, discouraging, and not economical or user-friendly. No definitions or
guidelines for rain water, storm water, and dry weather runoff are found in the code,
which would allow for their practical use and reuse, and transparent regulatory
management.
The void in the State water code is resulting in annual water resources being wasted at
a time when such waste is unacceptable. The present regulatory system discourages
the use of these other water resources, and in some ways puts up impediments to such
use; the code is not promoting sustainability. By updating the State water code to
include the use of all available water resources in safe and efficient interior and exterior
systems, the public will have more options for using all local water resources. The City
is the perfect entity to lead this effort, as it has in the past for water efficient toilets and
urban runoff management, by introducing legislation to update the water code to
promote sustainable uses of other non-potable water resources.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There are no immediate budget actions required for the approval of the recommended
action. However, should the need arise to address additional costs or savings, staff will
incorporate the changes in the subsequent Proposed Budget or report back to Council
in another report.
Prepared by:
Neal Shapiro, Sr. Admin Analyst
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Approved:
~T'v " ~
Dean Kubani
Director -Office of Sustainability & the
Environment
Reviewed by: Jack Leonard
Lee Swain
Forwarded to Council:
~mont Ewell
Manager
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