Prepared for Fullerton City Council
May 17, 2022
Drought Update
1 Metropolitan Water District Update
Record dry conditions persist across the state and on the Colorado River.
DWR drops SWP Table A allocation to 5 percent and will provide water for any unmet critical human health and safety needs (HH&S) Mandatory outdoor water restrictions are necessary to manage the supply/demands balance in the SWP Dependent Area Conservation is needed throughout the entire service area to help prepare for a continued dry conditions On April 26, 2022, Metropolitan's Board declared a Water Shortage Emergency for State Water Dependent areas. 2 Orange County Water District Update
100 million gallons per day (MGD) is produced with the Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) Purifies sewer water that otherwise would be discharged to the ocean and treated to drinking water quality Replenishes the Groundwater Basin with 103,000 acre-feet per year of water-enough water for nearly 850,000 people Operational since January 2008 (70 MGD), expanded May 2015 (30 MGD), final expansion under construction and will be complete in the first quarter of 2023 (30 MGD) Largest potable reuse project in the world
3 Governor’s Executive Order
Executive Order N-7-22
Increase to Water Shortage Response Level 2
Level 2 up to 20% savings
Provide an Annual Water Supply and Assessment Report by June 1, 2022 Possibility of “non-functional turf” regulations for commercial properties 4 Three Cities Coordination
City of Fullerton has been coordinating with the City of Anaheim and the City of Santa Ana to coordinate drought efforts.
Shared mascot
Conservation patrolling during past droughts
Discussion of new restrictions from the state
Planning to coordinate increased shortage levels to be consistent across shared boarders 5 Fullerton Historical Production
Historical water production to meet demand.
Saw 4% savings between October 2021-March 2022 compared to October 2020-March 2021 October 2021 Governor requested a voluntary 15% reduction 6 Conservation Outreach
Social media
Mayor’s water conservation challenge
Conservation magnets on Public Works vehicles
Meetings with City of Fullerton Landscape Division, Fullerton Join Union High School District, Fullerton Elementary School District, and OC Parks In person conservation outreach at local events
Conservation messaging in billing notes
7 Shortage Level 2
Permanent standard conservation measures are still in effect.
No irrigation watering between 9 am and 6 pm except when watering by hand.
Restaurants may only serve water upon request.
Hotels must offer an opt-out of linen service.
All non-essential water uses for nurseries, commercial, industrial, and public entities should cease.
Irrigation will be limited to 3 days per week.
Filling or refilling of ornamental lakes and ponds is prohibited unless they sustain aquatic life of significant value.
Filling of pools and spas are only allowed when an appropriate cover is in place and a cover is required anytime the pool or spa is not in use. 8 Fiscal Impact
9 Education and Enforcement
Education based enforcement
Work with code enforcement to cite repeat offenders
Coordinate with large users to conserve 20%
Mail notice to customers to announce Level 2 restrictions Increase outreach
10 City Facility Compliance
Water Division held drought update meetings with large water users such as local school districts, and county parks.
Parks and Recreation and the Landscape Division l proposed a reduction of irrigation at City Facilities and City maintained parks to meet the proposed 20% water savings .
The parks and facilities chosen to receive reduced irrigation were chosen based on the presence of active sports fields, recent improvement projects, and existing plant life needs. 11 Summary
The Water Division would like City Council to support staff recommendations to increase the Water Shortage Response to Level 2 and to adopt the proposed resolution to establish a Level 2 Water Supply Shortage.
Authorize the City Manager, or designee, to , to determine the appropriate percentage of required water reduction – up to 20% - depending on the drought severity and State Water Resources Control Board requirements. 12