Making Conservation a
Way of Life Regulatory
Framework
November 15, 2023
Katie Hockett
Assistant Director, Utilities Department
City Council receive an
update on “Making
Conservation a Way of Life”
Framework
The Ask…
City of Corona
Disclaimer
• Framework not finalized
• Based on regulations issued August 18, 2023
• Special thanks to Western Water
City of Corona
History
Define Urban Water Use Objective (UWUO)
Enforcement
Activity to Date
Next Steps
01 Review Components of UWUO
02 03
04 05
06 Agenda
City of Corona
History
City of Corona
2018
• AB1668
• SB606
2022
• SB1157
History
6 GPCD 55 47 42
Starting Year 2020 2025 2030
GPCD 55 52.5 50
Starting Year 2020 2025 2030
Urban Water Use Objective
City of Corona
• Aggregate efficient water use based on
adopted water use efficiency characteristics
of the service area
• Suppliers do not have to meet each
standard individually
• Budgets are not set for individual customers
Urban Water Use Objective (UWUO)
8 City of Corona
Water Use Objective Calculation
WUO – Water Use Objective | CII – Commercial, Industrial and Institutional DIM – Dedicated Irrigation Meter | MUM – Mixed Use Meter WUO Components
City of Corona
Residential Indoor Standard
11 Established by SB1157
Gallons Per Capita
per Day
Through December 31, 2024 55
From January 1, 2025, through
December 31, 2029 47
January 1, 2030, onwards 42
An urban retail water supplier may request a temporary provision to respond to negative impacts to wastewater collection, treatment, and reuse systems.
Requires an update to our
water budget calculation
during rate study
City of Corona
Outdoor Standard
12 Requires an update to our
water budget calculation
during rate study
City of Corona
Outdoor Variances
13 Variance Category Threshold
1) Horses and other livestock >5% of the UWUO
2) Landscape areas irrigated with recycled
water with high TDS
>5% of the UWUO
>900 mg/L TDS
3) Dust control (i.e., horse corrals and animal
exercise arenas) >5% of the UWUO
4) Ponds and lakes to sustain wildlife No threshold
5) Water for emergency events
(excluding droughts) >5% of the UWUO
6) Residential agriculture >5% of the UWUO
City of Corona
• Separate Legislation SB555
• Must meet the standard starting in 2028
• In 2028, select best performance of the last 3 years
• In 2031, must use average of the last 3 years
• Complete questionnaire by December 31, 2023
• Submit Water Break Registry by January 1, 2029
Water Loss
14 City of Corona
Temporary provisions may be requested for:
• Water for existing pools, spas, similar water
features
• Water for planning new, climate-ready trees
• Water for the establishment of qualifying
landscapes (low-impact development,
ecological restoration)
Temporary Provisions
15 CII Best Management Practices
City of Corona
• Identify CII accounts with irrigation
• Threshold for “large landscape” defined as 500,000
gallons per year
• Install dedicated irrigation meters or in-lieu
technologies
• 20% to be done by 2026
• 20% each year after
Mixed Use Meters
17 City of Corona
Non-Functional Turf
18 • Must ban irrigation of non-functional turf with potable water on all CII landscapes by July 1, 2025
• Exceptions
• Necessary to ensure the health of trees and other
perennial non-turf plantings
• Turf is a low water use plant with a plant factor of 0.3 or less, and demonstrates the actual use is less than
40% of reference evapotranspiration
• Make annual progress of at least 20% by 2026
• 20% each year after
City of Corona
CII Performance Measures
19 Jan. 1, 2025 July 1, 2025 20% by 2026 + 60% by 2028 + 100% by 2030 • Identify all
disclosable
buildings in
suppliers service
areas (>50,000 SF)
• Ban the
irrigation of
non-functional
turf on CII
landscapes
• Classify all CII customers in accordance with
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager’s Categories
• Identify all CII large landscapes that have mixeduse meters and either install dedicated irrigation meters or employ in-lieu technologies for large
landscapes
• Design and implement a conservation program
for customers at or above the 80th percentile for
water use in each classification category that
includes a best management practice: outreach,
technical assistance and education, incentive,
landscape, collaboration and coordination,
operational.
City of Corona
CII Water Use Standard
Dedicated Landscape Meters
20 2023 – 2029 = 0.80 LEF
2030 – 2035 = 0.63 LEF
2035 + = 0.45 LEF
New Developments = 0.45 LEF
Special Landscape Areas (SLA) = 1.0 LEF
DIM – Dedicated Irrigation Meter | LEF – Landscape Efficiency Factor Requires an update to our
water budget calculation
during rate study
City of Corona
CII Compliance
21 Standard
• Dedicated Irrigation
Meters (DIM) water
budget equation applies
• If large landscapes do
not have DIM, either
convert meter or move
to In-Lieu Tech
Performance Measures
• Report annual water use
Performance Measures
• DIM water budget
equation applies
• If large landscapes do not
have DIM, either convert
meter or move to In-Lieu
Tech Performance
Measures
• Employ at least two in-lieu
technologies
Enforcement
City of Corona
Enforcement
23 City of Corona
Corona’s Activity to Date
City of Corona
(Submitted October 17, 2023)
• The 2035 efficiency standard is too aggressive and unattainable for the inland regions
• The framework as written disproportionately and negatively impacts inland residents
• Forcing water suppliers to pass through the financial burden to customers to fund aggressive regulations is not a fiscally responsible way to encourage behavior change
• The State Water Board is overstepping their regulatory authority, and the proposed framework is not in alignment with the 2018 legislation • Conservation alone will not save us from water supply issues created by changing climate and ongoing infrastructure investment needs to capture, store, and move water throughout California
Response to Regulations
City of Corona
Corona’s Take
26 • Compliance will be a significant administrative lift • Unless there are rebate/assistance programs, this could be costly for residents and businesses to meet the requirements
• AMI will provide us data to help customers meet their water budgets • Residents and businesses have answered the call to conserve every time and asking again is unfair - It’s time the State makes real infrastructure improvements and stops relying on conservation only • Will require immediate and future adjustments to customer water budgets through the rate study process
• Assigning different water budgets for different customer types could be a violation of Prop 218
City of Corona
Next Steps
City of Corona
Framework Timeline
City of Corona
• Continue to monitor communications from the
State Water Board
• Prepare for January 1, 2024, report filing
• Incorporate 5-year requirements into upcoming
rate study
• Expect final regulations adopted Summer 2024
Next Steps
City Council receive an
update on “Making
Conservation a Way of Life”
Framework
The Ask…
Thank you.