CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting: February 1, 2022
Subject
Consider Accounts Payable for the period ending January 3, 2022 Recommended Action
Adopt Resolution No. 22-016 accepting Accounts Payable for the period ending January 3, 2022 Discussion
The draft resolution and accounts payable report were presented to City Council on January 18, 2022. Councilmember Moore had requested the consent item be pulled and had inquired about check no. 729335 dated 12/23/2021 made payable to San Jose Water Company in the amount of $58,343.22. Councilmember Moore inquired about the irrigation controllers and the rain requirements.
The City Public Works operations and Sustainability staff have been attending multiple meetings to stay abreast of the water conservation efforts within the County and State. On June 9, 2021, Valley Water’s Board of Directors declared a water shortage emergency condition in Santa Clara County due to the extreme drought. The Board of Directors also called for a mandatory 15% reduction in water use compared to 2019. From July - September 2021, The City of Cupertino successfully reduced water consumption at municipal facilities by 16% compared with 2019, conserving 8.11 million gallons of potable water. This was done by aggressively reducing water used for irrigating parks, school landscaping, and the golf course in order to achieve the required mandate percentage reduction. Recently, in January 2022, the State Water Board adopted a resolution for an emergency regulation to supplement voluntary water conservation. Staff is aware of the listed prohibitions in the emergency regulation and will adhere to the requirements. One of the prohibitions is to stop irrigation of turf within 48 hours of ¼” of rainfall.
In order to conserve water, the City has installed multiple smart irrigation controllers. A total of 45 controllers have been installed in the Trees & ROW Division. The Grounds Division is in the process of installing an additional 21 irrigation controllers at City parks and 9 controllers at CSUD school sites. The smart controller allows staff to remotely control the irrigation system. The controllers are capable of performing evapotranspiration (ET) adjustments, and shutting off on high flow alert and during rain events. For instance, after rainfall events, staff is able to log in remotely to access the controllers via an app to remotely turn off all the controllers at once, if needed.
Fiscal Impact
No fiscal impact.
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Prepared by: Zach Korach, Finance Manager
Reviewed by: Kristina Alfaro, Director of Administrative Services Approved for Submission by: Jim Throop, City Manager
Attachments:
A – Draft Resolution
B – AP Report