Loading...
SR-01-08-2013-3J10_ City of City Council Report Santa Monica' City Council Meeting: January 8, 2013 Agenda Item: - ,, To: Mayor and City Council From: Dean Kubani, Director Office of Sustainability and the Environment Subject: Water - Efficient Agreement with the U.S. EPA Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with the U.S. EPA to become a promotional partner in the EPA's WaterSense program. Executive Summary The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) WaterSense program promotes the efficient use of water through partnerships with local utilities, governments, trade associations, and professionals in the water - efficiency field. As a partner, the City would have access to WaterSense marketing materials at no cost. These materials would be used, when appropriate, in a City marketing campaign to educate the community about water self- sufficiency and encourage the community to make permanent water- saving changes. On an annual basis, staff would provide the EPA with data on its promotional activities and incentive program participation. There is no cost associated with this agreement. Background The EPA's WaterSense program began in 2006 as a way to promote water - efficient products, services and messages on a national level. WaterSense has a water fixture labeling program similar to the EPA's Energy Star program. Plumbing fixtures, such as toilets, showerheads, and faucets, can receive the WaterSense label when fixtures pass strict testing protocols. In addition, WaterSense provides marketing materials to its promotional partners, including logos, artwork, sample news articles, sample press releases and more. it On March 8, 2011 City Council directed staff to produce a sustainable water master plan (SWMP) to make the City self - reliant on local water resources by 2020. Staff prepared an Information Item updating progress on this plan on November 5, 2012. Discussion The City faces several water reliability challenges in the coming years: • Santa Monica's current total water demand exceeds the amount of locally available water by 3,700 acre -feet; presently, this gap is filled through the purchase of imported water, which will become more expensive and its reliability questionable; • Leading climate experts predict extended periodic droughts over the next thirty years and severe storms resulting in flooding; Y The Sacramento -San Joaquin Delta water conveyance and delivery system faces a number of reliability challenges; and • State legislation SBX7 -7 requires each urban water retailer to reduce per capita water demand 20% by 2020. These challenges reinforce the need for the SWMP to guide the City to close the water gap and eliminate the City's dependence on unreliable and likely more expensive imported water. The WaterSense program and educational resources would help the City to reach the SWMP goal. Community education, outreach, and water- efficient actions are essential for the City to achieve its goal to be water self- sufficient and meet the State SBx7 -7 requirements. By encouraging the community to purchase and install WaterSense- labeled plumbing fixtures, water use can be reduced up to 20% per fixture. Water customers that purchase and install WaterSense- labeled toilets and irrigation controllers may be eligible for rebates provided by the City or Metropolitan Water District `a of Southern California. The number of rebates issued, and the number and type of promotional activities will be reported annually to the EPA To use the WaterSense marketing materials to promote labeled products, the City must become a promotional partner. Becoming an EPA WaterSense Promotional Partner would enhance the City's marketing efforts, showcase the City as a partner on the EPA's website, include the City's water savings in the EPA's annual WaterSense report, and assist the City in reaching its 2020 water self - reliance goal. The EPA materials would be incorporated into a new City marketing and outreach campaign; the campaign is being developed in conjunction with the SWMP and will include production of a variety of educational materials. These campaign educational materials are intended to increase awareness of the City's water sustainability goals and promote support for the SWMP, and would inform residents and business owners about strategies on how to increase local water supply and reduce water demand. This agreement would aid the City in obtaining the most effective information and water efficiency innovations. It would help ensure that the SWMP is the best guidance document for the City to achieve its 2020 goal. 3 Financial Impacts & Budget Actions Adopting the recommended action will not have a significant impact on existing staff resources and no budget action is necessary as a result of the recommended action. Prepared by: Kim O'Cain, Water Resources Specialist roved: Dean Kubani Director, Office of Sustainability and the Environment Forwarded to Council: 11 Rod Gould City Manager Reference Contract No. 9679 (CCS).