1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: Janu
ary 24, 2023
TO: Justi
n Hess, City Manager
FROM: D
awn Roth Lindell, General Manager, Burbank Water and Power VIA: Richard Wilson, Assistant General Manager, Water Systems BY: Drew Johnstone, Sustainability Officer
Jared Lee, Civil Engineer
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution to Authorize Burbank Water and Power to Submit a Grant Application to the California Department of Water Resources Urban Community Drought Relief Grant Program, to Authorize the Grant Application, Acceptance, and Execution for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Upgrade Project and Turf Replacement Project within Burbank’s Disadvantaged Communities
RECOMM
ENDATION
Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK
AUTHORIZING THE GRANT APPLICATION, ACCEPTANCE, AND EXECUTION FOR
THE ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE PROJECT AND TURF REPLACEMENT PROJECT (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND
Burbank W ater and Power ( BWP) regularly monitor s and researches available grant opportunities t o supplement r evenue sources, m ake internal pr ojects and customer programs more cost-effective, and reduce the impact of costs on customers’ bills.
BWP identified a grant opportunity that will benefit the city’s water supply resiliency: the California Department of Water Resources ( DWR) Urban Community Drought Relief (UCDR) Grant Program. The UCDR grant is one of three DWR grants that offer financial assistance to address drought impacts. Funding was authorized by the l egislature amending the Budget Act of 2021. These grants are intended to provide funds to communities that face the loss or contamination of their water supplies ; to address immediate impacts on human health and safety ; secure the future of California’s water supply; and to protect fish and wildlife.
A complete grant application requires t he City Council to adopt a resolution authorizing an application for, and receipt of, the DWR funds.
WATER AND
POWER
2 DISCUSSION
We are living through an unprecedented drought and experiencing the driest years in recorded history. The old view that we need to “get through this drought” until things are normal again is inadequate. Consider this:
• B
urbank has no water rights; all of our water must be imported; • The Colorado River system will see cutbacks in water allocations in the coming months due to declining reservoir levels;
• The Metropolitan Water District has issued a drought emergency declaration that expands the emergency from areas dependent on the State Water Project (SWP) to all areas within their service area due to the combined strain on SWP and Colorado River supplies;
• Through November 2022, Burbank’s cumulative progress toward the water reduction goal of 15% from 2020 levels was only 5.6%; and • State legislation is expected to require cities to meet indoor water use targets of 42 gallons per capita per day and be responsible for meeting their water budgets.
W
e must adapt to the reality t hat the region’s yearly ebb and flow of rain and snowmelt that has predictably filled our reservoirs have changed to a warmer and more volatile pattern. The state’s infrastructure was not designed for this new normal weather pattern that comes with climate change. BWP will continue to pursue our vision for water sustainability by ensuring that every home, business, and building has the opportunity to improve water efficiency. Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and turf replacement will play a leading role in making this vision reality.
A
MI Upgrade Project
During the 2008-2009 drought, the need to monitor water use to increase conservation became an important issue. The city investigated several options and decided to use a new technology called advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) that uses a wireless network system that automatically collects meter reads throughout the city and brings them into our billing system. With the addition of an add- on system called WaterSmart, AMI provided our customers with leak alerts that saved BWP customers thousands of dollars and provided hourly water use patterns that helped us understand how and when our customers use water.
H
owever, the AMI system did not perform as expected, and significant portions of the system gradually began failing within a few years. Now, approximately one- fourth of the system must be read manually . The remaining system is now generations behind the current technology, which has advanced by leaps and bounds since 2009. We also did not take full advantage of WaterSmart and relied more on customer messaging.
E
arlier this year, BWP hired MeterSYS, a consulting firm with AMI expertise, to develop the bid documents for a replacement AMI system (AMI Upgrade Project) . MeterSYS worked with BWP to develop the requirements for a robust AMI system that is fully compatible with BWP’s billing system and WaterSmart. BWP estimates that a replacement AMI system would cost approximately $8 million and is included in the approved fiscal year 2022-2023 budget.
3 BWP recently hired a project manager to combine WaterSmart with data analytics and algorithms to monitor water use and enforce watering restrictions. AMI can also be used to reduce water waste and identify leaks before they turn into expensive headaches that could cost customers thousands of dollars.
The A
MI upgrade project is strongly positioned for a UCDR grant because it:
• uses an innovative technology that integrates a number of high-tech solutions such as wireless near real-time meter reading;
• provides benefit to a significant portion of the watershed because the project is citywide;
• demonstrates over 512 acre- feet per year in water savings, over 1,695,775 kilowatt-hours per year in energy savings, and a reduction of 20.52 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions;
• and has the backing of local funding and potential federal funding.
Turf Replacement Project
To conserve potable water immediately, the City of Burbank proposes to use grant funds to develop and implement a new direct install program that will result in turf replacement with drought-tolerant landscaping and efficient irrigation. The program will be exclusive to residential, commercial, a nd institutional customers w ithin Burbank’s D isadvantaged Community ( DAC) as def ined by t he DAC M apping Tool published by the Stat e of California Department of Water R esources (Attachment 2) . Approximately 25 % of Burbank’s population lives within a DAC.
The program will be a direct installation program – meaning the program will provide all design and installation services at no cost to the participant. The program will offer participants choices of sustainable landscape design templates that include native and drought-tolerant plant options as well as methods to ensure groundwater infiltration into the watershed is maximized . If awarded the grant, the ci ty will conduct a competitive solicitation for a landscape contractor to provide turf replacement services.
The average residential turf replacement project in Burbank is 1,120 square feet and at an estimated cost of $10 per square foot per project, a typical project will cost $11,200 and save 27,776 gallons of water annually. With a total budget of $1,000,000, less than ten percent of the budget will be spent on the administration of the program. T he remaining budget may fund approximately 75 turf replacement projects and save a total of 2,000,000 gallons of potable water annually.
The Turf Replacement Project is strongly positioned for a UCDR grant because it:
• ben
efits underrepresented communities by providing a d irect install program for turf replacement at no cost to the homeowner; and
• removes turf grass which is one of the most water -intensive plants in the region that is also costly and requires frequent maintenance; and 4 • replaces turf grass with native and drought-tolerant plants and maximizes infiltration into the watershed; and
• reduces outdoor uses of potable water imported from the S WP and Colorado River.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This act ivity has no potential f or r esulting i n either a direct ph ysical ch ange i n the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378. The AMI Contract staff report discusses the applicable environmental review for the AMI project.
FISCAL IMPACT
The grant requires a minimum non-state local match of 25% of total project costs; the match can be provided as cash, in-kind, or by a third-party. According to DWR, a total of $300 million is available statewide, with a minimum grant request of $3 million. BWP will request $6,024,975 in grant funding for the AMI Upgrade Project, which will require a match of $2,008,325 with a total project cost of $8,033,300. BWP will request $1,000,000 for the Turf Replacement Project and request that the local match be waived because the program will provide 100% of the primary benefits to underrepresented communities.
AMI
Upgrade Project
Request: $ 6,024,975
Local Match: $2,0 08,325
Subtotal: $ 8,033,300
Turf Replacement Project
Request: $1,0 00,000
Local Match: $0 (requesting waiver)
Subtotal: $1,000,000
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the resolution to submit a grant application to the DWR Financial Assistance Branch for the 2023 UCDR Grant Program; and authorize the BWP General Manager, as the City Manager’s designee, to execute the grant agreements.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – Disadvantaged Communities Map of Burbank