1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: May 20, 2025
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Mandip Kaur Samra, General Manager, Burbank Water and Power VIA: Drew Johnstone, Sustainability Officer
BY: Amy Tremmel, Administrative Analyst II
SUBJECT: Authorization for the General Manager to Execute the Third Amendments to the Residential and the Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Water Conservation Funding Agreements with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
RECOMMENDATION
Authorize the General Manager of Burbank Water and Power (BWP) to execute the third amendments to the Residential and the Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Water Conservation Funding Agreements with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and to execute any addendums to the agreements.
BACKGROUND
The City of Burbank (City) has two agreements with MWD that expire on June 30, 2025.
These agreements allow MWD to fund water conservation initiatives for the City and BWP customers. Each agreement can be extended for an additional 10 years through an amendment.
The City is one of 26 member agencies that purchase water from MWD. MWD is a public agency and a regional water wholesaler that imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California and is the largest individual contractor of the State Water Project. The mission of MWD is to provide its service area with adequate and reliable supplies of high- quality water to meet present and future needs in an environmentally and economically responsible way. Since water availability is limited and sources are heavily affected by water cycles, MWD is a major supporter of water conservation and water recycling in Southern California and provides its member agencies with water conservation funding.
In 2006, BWP signed two agreements with MWD for water conservation program funding.
The City entered into the first agreement, the Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Water
WATER AND
POWER
2 Conservation Funding Agreement (No. 66639) , with MWD, effective from January 1, 2005, through December 31, 2015 (Attachment 1). Following that agreement, the City of Burbank entered into the Residential Water Conservation Funding Agreement (No. 75353) with MWD, effective on July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2015 (Attachment 3). Each agreement was extended through June 30, 2025 (Attachment 1 and Attachment 3).
Through these agreements, BWP provided more than 1,500 rebates to its customers from Fiscal Year ( FY) 2019-20 to FY 2023- 24, saving an average of 2.9 million gallons of potable water annually.
The third amendments are necessary to extend the agreements past June 30, 2025 (Attachment 2 and Attachment 4). On May 1, 2025, the BWP Board recommended that the City Council approve the proposed amendments with a vote of four in favor, none opposed, and three absent.
DISCUSSION
The third amendments would renew the existing agreements for another 10 years through June 30, 2035. Renewal of the agreements would allow BWP to use MWD funds to implement rebate programs for a variety of measures, including turf replacement, high- efficiency toilets, rain barrels, and weather -based irrigation controllers , as well as Burbank-specific water conservation programs. The agreements also allow BWP to enhance funding to these water programs via a ddendums. Addendums are generally signed on an annual basis and allow for BWP to use BWP’s water public benefits funds to provide higher rebates for Burbank customers.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity involves approvals of agreements for funding from another public agency.
The funding is not tied to any specific project but allow s for the City to provide water conservation rebates for residential or commercial applicants. As such, this item is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and no further environmental review is necessary (14 CCR §15378.).
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with the third amendments.
CONCLUSION
If the amendments are approved, BWP will continue to have the annual option to choose whether and how to participate in MWD’s Water Conservation P rograms. For instance, BWP has elected over the years to enhance some MWD rebates with additional funding, providing even greater conservation incentives to Burbank residents and businesses.
Given the desire and necessity for water conservation, BWP plans to participate in MWD’s FY 2025-26 programs.
3 Staff recommends that the Council authorize the General Manager of BWP to execute the third amendments to the Residential and the Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Water Conservation Funding Agreements with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and to execute any addendums and to the agreements.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Agreement No. 66639 and Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 Attachment 2 – Third Amendment to Agreement No. 66639
Attachment 3 – Agreement No. 75353 and Amendment Nos. 1 and 2 Attachment 4 – Third Amendment to Agreement No. 75353