1 TO: City Council
FROM: Ryan Smoot, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Carla Dillon, P.E., Public Works Director
MEETING DATE: May 16, 2023
SUBJECT: Discussion and Consideration to End the Current Drought Response Level 2 and Adopt a Resolution Declaring a Drought Response Level 1 Shortage Alert
RECOMMENDATION
Declare an end to the current Drought Response Level 2, adopt resolution 2023-11 declaring a Drought Response Level 1 Shortage Alert and find the action exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
BACKGROUND
On May 18, 2021, the City of Lomita adopted a new Water Shortage Contingency Plan with six standard stages, similar to those which have also been adopted by many other water agencies throughout California. On November 9, 2021, Metropolitan Water District (MWD) declared a regional drought emergency. In December 2021, the City of Lomita adopted Drought Response Level 1 Shortage Alert.
On April 26, 2022, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), which serves 19 million Southern Californians through 26 member agencies, declared a water shortage emergency for State Water Project (SWP) dependent parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. West Basin, which receives MWD water imported from both the Colorado River and the SWP in typical years is not considered SWP dependent. In 2021, West Basin boosted regional water reliability by adjusting its operations to deliver only imported water from Colorado River due to the limitations on water from Northern California. Therefore, West Basin and its communities were not subject to MWD’s most recent emergency restrictions.
Item No. SCH 8a
CITY OF LOMITA
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
2 On May 24, 2022, the SWRCB adopted emergency water conservation regulations in response to the drought and Governor Newsom’s calls for reduced water usage statewide. The SWRCB banned the irrigation of non-functional, ornamental turf with drinking water in commercial, industrial and institutional sectors. Additionally, the state board actions required urban water retailers, including those in West Basin’s service area to implement all the water use reduction actions associated with a shortage level two (10- 20% shortage), at a minimum, of the supplier’s water shortage contingency plan.
The City Council’s Water Subcommittee met in May 2022 regarding the current drought conditions and recommended that the City escalate to Water Shortage Level 2 based on conditions and align with State and regional requirements. In June 2022, the City transitioned to Drought Response Level 2 Shortage Alert.
On March 3, 2023, a snow survey conducted by the Department of Water Resources and partner agencies found that most regions of the Sierra Nevada are above average for snow water content, and some regions are nearing record amounts of snow. The improved conditions have helped rehabilitate the State’s reservoirs and surface water supply. On March 24, 2023, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-5-23, which:
• Ends the voluntary 15% water conservation target, while continuing to encourage that Californians make conservation a way of life
• Ends the requirement that local water agencies implement level 2 of their drought contingency plans
• Maintains the ban on wasteful water uses, such as watering ornamental grass on commercial properties
• Preserves all emergency orders focuses on groundwater supply, where the effects of multiyear drought continue to be devastating
• Maintains orders focuses on specific watersheds that have not benefited as much from recent rains, including the Klamath River and Colorado River basins, which both remain in drought
• Retains a state of emergency for all 58 counties to allow for drought response and recovery efforts to continue
Executive Order N-5-23 allows local agencies to determine whether they may continue or drop the previously held restrictions which would grant the City the authority to transition from the Drought Response Level 2 Shortage Alert to Drought Response Level 1 Shortage Alert.
While the State’s surface water and reservoirs have seen record precipitation this year, the Colorado River, a source of water for Southern California, continues to have shortages, and historic allocation levels may be subject to change.
Under the City’s approved Water Shortage Contingency Plan, the following prohibitions and restrictions will take effect under Stage 1 (up to 10%) Water Shortage:
• No Irrigation between 10 am to 8 pm
3 • No Person Shall Operate No Person Shall Operate a Decorative Water Feature (Fountains, Ponds, etc.) that does not have a recirculating system • All Landscape Irrigation Limited to No More than Three (3) Days per Week from June 1 to Oct 31 and No More than Once per Week from Nov 1 to May 31 • All Landscape Irrigation Limited to No More than 15 minutes per Station per Watering Day
• Repair or Isolate Leaks within 72 Hours of Notification by the City • No Washing Sidewalks and Driveways with Water
• Car Washing Only with Bucket or a Hose with Shutoff Valve or Nozzle • Excess Irrigation Runoff is Prohibited
• No Landscape Irrigation During or Within 48 hours of a Rain Event • Restaurants to Serve Water Only Upon Request
• Restaurants to Wash Kitchen and Dining Room with Bucket or Specialized Water Broom Only
• Hotels/Motels to Provide Customer Option of Daily Laundry • Automobile Wash Business Must Use Water Recycling Systems In accordance with Section 12-4.01.05, a change in drought response level requires the City to provide notice to the public in substantial compliance with Section 12-4.01.11 that due to increasing cutbacks caused by drought or other reduction of supplies, a consumer demand reduction of up to ten (10) percent is required in order to have sufficient supplies available to meet anticipated demands.
Public notice in accordance with Section 12-4.01.11 requires three things:
(1) Within five (5) days following the declaration of the response level, the City shall publish a copy of the resolution in a newspaper used for publication of official notices, and in any other places designated by the city council or city manager. (2) The mandatory conservation measures applicable to drought response level conditions shall take effect on the tenth day after the date the response level is declared. All other conditions shall take effect immediately upon adoption of the resolution.
(3) If the city establishes a water allocation, it shall provide notice of the allocation by including it in the regular billing statement to the address to which the billing statement for fees for ongoing water service is customarily sent. Water allocation shall be effective on the fifth day following the date of mailing or at such later date as specified in the notice.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no direct fiscal impact for adopting the resolution. 4 OPTIONS
1. Approve staff’s recommendation to declare an end to Drought Response Level 2, and declare Drought Response Level 1, alert condition, in the City of Lomita in accordance with Lomita Municipal Code Section 12-4.01.11.
2. Leave the Drought Response Level 2 in place.
3. Provide alternative direction.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution 2023-11
Reviewed by: Approved by:
______________________ ______________________
Gary Y. Sugano Ryan Smoot
Assistant City Manager City Manager
Reviewed by: Prepared by:
Ryan Damon
______________________ ______________________
Carla Dillon, P.E. Ryan Damon
Public Works Director / City Engineer Associate Engineer
RESOLUTION NO. 2023-11
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LOMITA, CALIFORNIA, DECLARING A DROUGHT RESPONSE LEVEL 1
SHORTAGE ALERT AND FINDING THE SAME EXEMPT FROM CEQA
The City Council of the City of Lomita does hereby find, order and resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. Recitals.
A. The California Water Code Section 10632 requires every urban water supplier to prepare and adopt a Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) as part of its Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP);
B. The City of Lomita is an urban supplier of water to a population of over 20,000;
C. The City adopted a UWMP per Resolution No. 2021-12;
D. State Senate Bill 606 passed in 2018 has amended the Water Code related to the requirements of WSCPs to include six standard stages for water shortages up to and beyond 50 percent;
E. The City adopted its WSCP on May 18, 2021, and said WSCP is included as part of the UWMP;
F. In March 2023, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-5-23, calling for the end of 15% voluntary water reduction and the requirement that local water agencies implement level 2 of their drought contingency plans; G. The Colorado River, a source of water for Southern California, continues to have shortages, and historic allocation levels may be subject to change; H. The City of is granted the authority by State Water Code Section 350 and City of Lomita Municipal Code (LMC) Chapter 12-4.01 to declare a water supply shortage and to adopt by resolution regulations and restrictions on the delivery and consumption of water.
SECTION 2. The City Council finds that the City is in conformance with all applicable requirements of the Water Code.
SECTION 3. The City Council declares that the City’s water supply is in a Water Conservation Level 1 meaning that a consumer demand reduction of up to 10% is required to have sufficient supplies available to meet anticipated demands. Pursuant to LMC section 12-4.01.05, the City may implement the mandatory Level 1 conservation measures described in the attached Exhibit A.
Attachment No. 1
Resolution No. 2023-11
SECTION 4. Resolution 2022-20, adopted in June 2022, declaring a Drought Response Level 2 Storage Alert, is hereby repealed.
SECTION 5. The Council finds and determines that, pursuant to California Water Code section 10652, the adoption of the Plan and this Resolution does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act, and no environmental assessment is required.
SECTION 6. The City Clerk shall attest and certify to the passage and adoption of this Resolution and thereupon the same shall take effect immediately. Pursuant to LMC Section 12-4.01.11, within 5 days following adoption of this resolution, the City Clerk shall publish a copy of this resolution in a newspaper used for publication of official notices.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 16th day of May 2023.
Barry Waite, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST:
Trevor Rusin, City Attorney Kathleen Horn Gregory, City Clerk Resolution No. 2023-11
Exhibit A
City Code Prohibitions on Water Use During Water Shortages Prohibitions Explicitly Listed or Implied Under a Water Shortage Stage Prohibition/Restriction Penalty
Stage 1
(<10%)
• No Irrigation between 10 am to 8 pm
• No Person ShallOperate a Decorative Water Feature (Fountains, Ponds, etc.) that Does Not have a RecirculatingSystem
• All Landscape Irrigation Limited to No More than Three (3) Days per Week from June 1 to Oct 31 and No More than Once per Week fromNov 1 to May 31 • All Landscape Irrigation Limited to No More than 15 minutes per Station per Watering Day
• Repair or Isolate Leaks within 72 Hours of Notification by the City • No Washing Sidewalks and Driveways withWater
• Car WashingOnly with Bucket or a Hose with ShutoffValve or Nozzle • Excess Irrigation Runoff isProhibited
• No Landscape Irrigation During or Within 48 hours of a Rain Event • Restaurantsto Serve WaterOnly Upon Request
• Restaurantsto Wash Kitchen and Dining Room with Bucket or Specialized Water BroomOnly
• Hotels/Motelsto Provide Customer Option of Daily Laundry • Automobile Wash Business Must UseWater Recycling Systems Yes