EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: June 21, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Patrick Heisinger, Interim City Manager
BY: Batool Zaro, Assistant Civil Engineer
Humza Javed, City Engineer
SUBJECT: Declaring a Water Shortage Emergency and Implementing Level 2 of the Water Shortage Contingency Plan
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution:
1. Declaring a Water Shortage Emergency.
2. Implementing mandatory water use restrictions consistent with the SWRCB emergency regulations and Level 2 of the City of East Palo Alto Water Shortage Contingency Plan.
3. Authorizing City staff to implement modifications to the emergency regulations as updated by State Water Resource Board from time to time to address the water conservation needs.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 1: Enhance Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
On April 21, May 10, July 8, and October 19, 2021, Governor Newsom issued proclamations that a state of emergency exists statewide due to severe drought conditions and directed state agencies to take action to preserve critical water supplies and mitigate the effects of drought and ensure the protection of health, safety, and the environment.
On March 28, 2022, Governor Newsom signed an Executive Order directing the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) to consider adopting emergency regulations to increase water conservation. The Executive Order includes a request that the Board require urban water suppliers to implement Level 2 of their water shortage contingency plans, establish water shortage response actions for urban water suppliers that have not submitted water shortage contingency plans, taking into consideration model actions that the Department of Water Resources, and establish a ban on the irrigation of nonfunctional turf by entities in the commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors.
The resolution adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board states that each urban water supplier that has submitted a water shortage contingency plan to the Department of Water Resources shall implement by June 10, 2022, at a minimum, all demand reduction actions identified in the supplier’s water shortage contingency plan adopted under Water Code 10632 for a shortage level of ten (10) to twenty (20) percent (Level 2).
Analysis
The Urban Water Management Planning Act (Act), passed by the California legislation in 1983, requires every urban water supplier to develop an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) to address changing conditions related to water sources, water availability, water demands, and water reliability for the next 20 years, and to update its UWMP every five years. In 1991, the State added the requirement to include a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) to outline the water supplier’s response and plan for changes or shortages in water supplies.
Compliance with the Act is necessary to be eligible for State grants, loans, and drought assistance. On June 15th, 2021, the City adopted the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan and the 2020 Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP).
The adopted WSCP can be found on the City website linked below:
https://www.cityofepa.org/publicworks/project/urban-water-management-plan-update-2020 Per the adopted WSCP, a declaration by the City Council that a water shortage condition exists is required to formally authorize staff to implement these measures. As such, staff recommends that the City Council declare a water shortage condition.
Shortage level 2 is defined as a 10-20% shortage level as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Shortage Levels
The demand reduction actions associated with Level 1 and Level 2 shortage reductions can be found in Table 5-1 and Table 5-2 in this report and on page 121-126 of the WSCP.
Upon Council approval, in addition to the above restrictions previously adopted, staff will implement the state’s emergency regulation that includes prohibition of potable water use for the irrigation of “non-functional turf” at large commercial, industrial, and institutional sites. “Non-functional turf” is defined as turf that is solely ornamental and not regularly used for human recreational purposes or for civic or community events. Non-functional turf does not include sports fields and turf that is regularly used for human recreational purposes or for civic or community events. Exceptions to this rule include residential lawns, parks, and irrigation as necessary to ensure the health of trees and other perennial non-turf plantings or to the extent necessary to address an immediate health and safety need.
Additionally, as the State continues to update/amend the regulations to address the everchanging water conservation needs, staff requests City Council authorization to implement modifications based on updated State regulations. Staff will continue to monitor the State requirements and will inform the City Council if significant requirements are passed that require City Council approval.
Public Outreach
To help ensure that the City’s water customers will comply with the water demand reduction actions, staff will take an educational approach prior to issuing fines or penalties. The City has the authority to enforce penalties per Municipal Code 13.24.290.
As part of stage 2 shortage level the City will:
• Increase public outreach, including publishing water conservation information on the City website and promoting conservation through social media. Information on the City website may be found below:
o https://www.cityofepa.org/publicworks/page/water-conservation-information-0 • Expand outreach for existing water conservation programs. • Increase public outreach, including information regarding fines or penalties for noncompliance and distributing water bill inserts regarding landscape irrigation restrictions. The City’s water provider Veolia will be adding bill inserts in the upcoming months. Additional information may be found on Veolia’s website linked below:
o https://www.eastpaloaltowater.com/pages/community-safety/conservationinformation/ Fiscal Impact
There is no direct cost with this action at this time. Additional staff time to implement the measures including education and outreach will be needed.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto
Environmental
The action being considered does not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378 (b)(5), in that it is a government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Attachments
1. Resolution