PISMO BEACH COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Agenda Item #12.B
SUBJECT/TITLE:
WATER SUPPLY UPDATE
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive an update on the City’s water supply.
BACKGROUND:
On November 16, 2021, staff provided an update to the City Council on the City’s water supply and committed to return to the Council at the second meeting every other month to provide an update on the City’s water supply.
The staff report for that meeting can be found in the Access Pismo online public records portal1 or by scanning the QR Code at right.
In response to the worsening drought, the City Council has taken actions to protect the City’s water supply and to encourage conservation. On June 1, 2021, the City Council declared a Moderately Restricted Water Supply Condition via Resolution R-2021-049, on January 18, 2022, the City Council declared a Severely Restricted Water Supply Condition via Resolution R-2022-004, and most recently, the City Council declared a Critical Water Supply Condition via Resolution R-2022-043 and adopted an urgency ordinance enacting a prohibition on the installation of natural turf.
Water Use Restrictions – No change since last report
Section 13.24.060 of the City’s Municipal Code, which defines a Critical Water Supply Condition, states “In addition to the conditions specified in Section 13.24.050, the city council may impose any water rationing requirement as it deems appropriate to protect public health, safety, welfare, comfort and convenience.” The water use restrictions in section 13.24.050 are:
A. Use of water which causes runoff onto adjacent properties, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, gutters, parking lots, or structures is prohibited.
B. Outdoor water use for washing vehicles, boats, paved surfaces, buildings, and other similar uses shall be attended and have hand-controlled water devices, which shut off the water immediately when not in use.
C. No water shall be used for cleaning driveways, patios, parking lots, sidewalks, streets, or other such uses except as found necessary by the city to protect the public health or safety.
D. Outdoor irrigation
1) Outdoor irrigation is prohibited between the hours of ten a.m. and four p.m. 2) Applying water to outdoor landscapes during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall is prohibited.
1 Full URL:
https://accesspismo.pismobeach.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=362819&dbid=0&repo=Laserfiche Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-1
3) Irrigation of private and public landscaping, turf areas and gardens is permitted at even-numbered addresses only on Mondays and Thursdays, and at odd-numbered addresses only on Tuesdays and Fridays. All customers are directed to use no more water than necessary to maintain landscaping.
E. Restaurants shall serve drinking water only in response to a specific request by a customer.
F. Using water in a fountain or other decorative water feature, except where the water is part of a recirculating system, is prohibited.
G. Use of potable water for compaction or dust control purposes in construction activities is prohibited.
H. Emptying and refilling swimming pools and commercial spas is prohibited except to prevent structural damage and/or to provide for the public health and safety.
In addition to the above water use restrictions the Council directed the following water use restrictions be imposed:
Water leaks be repaired within 72 hours of notification by the City Extending the prohibited hours for outdoor irrigation from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
No new lawns to be allowed in the City
Other Agencies
Staff has reached out to other local agencies as well as agencies throughout California through the League of California Cities Public Works Department and have found that other municipalities have adopted the following water use restrictions:
Mandatory water reduction based upon 2020 usage
o Amount of reduction ranges from 0% to 30% depending on amount of usage o Irrigation meters must reduce use 25%
o Fines for noncompliance with a one-time “water school” to have the fine dismissed
Landscape irrigation limited to 10 minutes per station on an allowed watering day Outdoor watering limited to one day per week
All pools must be covered when not in use
Mandatory 10% reduction based on 2020 usage
Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-2
Update on Water Supply
The City’s water supply portfolio is made up of three sources: State Water, Lopez Lake Water, and groundwater from the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin (SMGB).
Santa Maria Groundwater Basin
The SMGB is an adjudicated basin, and the City of Pismo Beach has the right to extract 700 acre-fee per year (AFY) from the basin.
The NCMA Technical Group has established a “Deep Well Index Threshold” level of 7.5 feet as a level that can induce seawater intrusion into the basin if the basin remains below that level for an extended period of time.
Previous Index Level
Data Collection Date: July 11, 2022
DWIL: 5.34 feet
2.16 feet lower than the Deep Well Index Threshold
Most Current Index Level
Data Collection Date: October 3, 2022
DWIL: 5.88 feet
1.62 feet lower than the Deep Well Index Threshold
The current DWIL is 0.54 feet higher than the previous level and 0.77 feet lower than one year ago (October 2021). Staff is looking forward to the next reading as the recent rains should have a significant impact on the health of the groundwater basin.
Lopez Lake
Lopez Lake is operating under the Low Reservoir Response Plan (LRRP), however this may change as a result of recent rains that have brought capacity over 20,000 AF. Until recent rains, because the level in Lopez Lake was below 15,000 acre-feet (AF) and was expected to drop below 10,000 AF, Zone 3 agencies had reduced their entitlements by 20%. The reservoir is now over 20,000 AF as a result of recent storms and if the reservoir continues to fill, the LRRP may be suspended. The full list of reductions in municipal diversions under the LRRP are shown in Table 1.
Table 1: LLRP Recommended Municipal Diversion Reduction Targets
Amount of Water In
Storage (AF)
Recommended Municipal
Diversion Reduction
Targets
Recommended
Municipal Diversion
(AFY) Targets for Pismo
20,000 0% 892.0
15,000 10% 802.8
10,000 20% 713.6
5,000 35% 579.8
1,700 100% 0
Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-3
As previously stated, Lopez Lake levels have increased significantly from recent rains.
Lake levels from November 2, 2021 to January 10, 2023 are shown in Table 2, below.
Table 2: Lake Lopez Levels November 2, 2021 – November 4, 2022 Measurement Date Lake Level (AF) % Change
November 2, 2021 14,763.0
January 12, 2022 14,942.8 1.2%
March 9, 2022 14,508.7 -2.9%
April 5, 2022 14,331.6 -1.2%
September 9, 2022 11,942.1 -16.7%
November 4, 2022 11,226.1 -6.0%
January 10, 2023 20,594.3 45.5%
The current lake level is 9,368.24 AF higher than it was on November 4, 2022.
State Water
There are two components of State Water: Table A allocations and Drought Buffer. “Table A” refers to the amount of water an agency contracts for, while Drought Buffer is an additional allocation that can be delivered when deliveries are set below 100%. The total water delivered (Table A plus Drought Buffer) cannot be more than an agency’s Table A allocation. Further, State Water can be stored, and the amount of storage calculated based upon the total available water (Table A plus Drought Buffer) and the delivery percentage.
The County of San Luis Obispo Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District/County) is one of 29 State Water Project (SWP) Contractors. The County’s total SWP allocation is 25,000 AFY. If that amount 4,830 AFY under contract as Table A allocations amongst the 10 SWP Subcontractors, and an additional 5,747 AFY is under contract as Drought Buffer. This leaves the District with 14,423 AFY of unsubscribed SWP allocations. The City currently has a contract with the District for 1,240 AFY Table A allocation and 1,240 AFY of Drought Buffer.
On December 1, 2022, the State Department of Water Resources (DWR) set initial 2023 State Water Project (SWP) allocations to 5% with SWP Human Health and Safety Needs (HH&S). Notice to State Water Project Contractors No. 22-04 states in part, “With the close of Water Year 2022 as critically dry, California has experienced its third consecutive dry year. Enter 2023 with the possibility of another dry year occurring, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) is initially allocating 5 percent of most State Water Project (SWP) contractors requested Table A amounts. DWR is also provisionally allocating additional SWP water to ensure that SWP contractors can meet their minimum water demands for domestic supply, fire protection, and sanitation during the year. The HH&S deliveries are not to exceed 55 gallons per capita per day and is only available to State Water Contractors that do not have SWP water in storage. The latest update from the District in December of 2022 showed that there was approximately 8,200 AF of District- Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-4
owned SWP water in storage and that the County would use this water to make its subcontractors “whole” as long as the District has the surplus water on hand.
Currently, the snowpack is 175% of normal for this time of year for the Northern Sierras, 201% of normal for the Central Sierras, and 222% of normal for the Southern Sierras.
The SWP reservoirs are filling up as well with Lake Oroville at 44% of its capacity.
Considering the recent precipitation and snowpack, staff believes that SWP deliveries will be significantly increased at some point this year, however with the County agreeing to make its subcontractors whole this year, the actual delivery only impacts the City by the amount of water that can be stored by the County for next year.
The City’s current water supplies without additional State Water from the County are shown in Table 3, below.
Table 3: Current Pismo Beach Water Supplies
Source
Full
Allocation
(AF)
Percent of
Allocation Allocation (AF)
SMGWB* 700 30% 210.0
State Water** 1,240 5% 62.0
Drought Buffer*** 1,240 5% 62.0
Stored State Water 0.0
Lopez Water# 892 80% 713.6
Lopez Surplus 300.8
Total 2,692 1348.4
*Santa Maria Groundwater Basin
**In previous reports the City’s Table A water was reported as 1,140 AF, however since the last update to the City Council the City reached a settlement with an outside agency for the return of 100 AF of State Water that was previously sold to the outside agency.
***Drought buffer is an additional allocation of water that can only be delivered when State Water Deliveries are less than 100%. The total amount of State Water delivered including drought buffer cannot exceed 1,240 AF in a given year.
#Lopez Lake is projected to drop below 10,000 AF in December of 2022. At that time allocations from the lake would drop to 80% retroactively, therefore for planning purposes an 80% allocation is assumed.
However, taking into account the State Water, the County has agreed to deliver to the City of Pismo Beach, the City’s total available water supply is 2,464.4 AF for 2023.
Precipitation
The City’s two local water supplies, Lopez Lake and the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin, are highly dependent on rainfall. Calendar year 2020 saw a significant short fall in precipitation, while 2021 saw only a small surplus of rain. So far, 2022 has proven to be drier than both of the previous years. 2023 has started with a significant amount of rain however, this report addresses the period ending 2022. Rainfall data for these years is shown in Table 4, below.
Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-5
Table 4: Average and Actual Rainfall from January 2020 to October 2022
Month
Average
Rainfall
(in) *
2020
Rainfall
(in)
Delta
(in)
2021
Rainfall
(in)
Delta
(in)
2022
Rainfall
(in)
Delta
(in)
Jan 3.59 0.61 -2.98 6.46 2.87 0.0 -3.59
Feb 3.87 0.0 -3.87 0.03 -3.84 0.08 -3.79
Mar 3.46 8.02 4.56 2.53 -0.93 1.08 -2.38
Apr 1.13 1.72 0.59 0.0 -1.13 0.49 -0.64
May 0.41 0.0 -0.41 0.1 -0.31 0.0 -0.41
Jun 0.07 0.0 -0.07 0.0 -.07 0.0 -0.07
Jul 0.03 0.0 -0.03 0.03 0.0 0.0 -0.03
Aug 0.02 0.0 -0.02 0.0 -0.02 0.0 -0.02
Sep 0.32 0.0 -0.32 0.0 -0.32 2.62 2.30
Oct 0.62 0.04 -0.58 1.95 1.33 0.0 -0.62
Nov 1.7 0.49 -1.21 0.46 -1.24 1.06 -0.64
Dec 2.57 1.21 -1.36 7.69 5.12 8.40 5.83
Total 17.79 12.09 -5.7 19.25 1.46 0.08 -4.58
*Average rainfall from http://longrangeweather.com/
Options for Drought Mitigation: Purchase Additional Drought Buffer via State Water
At the November 15, 2022, City Council meeting staff presented the City Council with two options to increase the City’s SWP drought buffer to make the City’s water supply more resilient to drought until Central Coast Blue comes online.
Option A was to increase the City’s drought buffer from 1,240 AFY to 4,960 AFY. This option would provide the City with a full delivery of State Water when deliveries are at 20% (248 AF of Table A deliveries plus 992 AF of drought buffer for a total delivery of 1,240 AF).
Option B was to increase the City’s drought buffer from 1,240 AFY to 3,192 AFY. This option would ensure the City has a total of 1,800 AFY when SWP deliveries are at 20%, assuming an 80% delivery from Lopez Lake and 200 AF from the Santa Maria Ground Water Basin.
The City Council directed staff to work with County staff to pursue Option B. Staff has had initial conversations with County staff on increasing the City’s drought buffer supply, however since the County has agreed to make its subcontractors whole by utilizing County stored State Water and the County’s unsubscribed allocations, staff has delayed moving this forward until later in the water year.
Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-6
Water Conservation Efforts
At the October 18, 2022, City Council Meeting, City Council directed staff to implement five additional water conservation incentive programs (Hot Water Recirculation Pump, Washing Machine, Rain Barrel, Smart Controller and Mulch) in addition to the two on- going programs (Cash for Grass and High Efficiency Toilet). Table 5 below lists all current incentive programs.
Table 5: Current Incentive Programs
Rebate Program Amount
Potential
Water
Savings
(Gal/Year)
Potential
Water Savings
(AFY)
$ amount
offered $/AF
Cash for Grass 500 SF 32,396 0.0994 $1,000 $10,058
High Efficiency
Toilet 1 Unit 9,725 0.0298 $100 $3,351
Hot Water
Recirculation
Pump
1 Unit 12,000 0.0368 $100 $2,715
Washing Machine 1 Unit 5,000 0.0153 $150 $9,775
Rain Barrel 2 Unit 1,300 0.0040 $100 $25,065
Smart Controller 1 Unit 6,000 0.0184 $100 $5,430
Mulch NA SF NA NA NA NA
While the City’s Cash for Grass and High Efficiency Toilet Rebate programs continue to be popular among the community, there have yet to be any applications submitted for any of the new incentive programs. Table 6 below details the total number of rebates issued per program thus far.
Table 6: Rebates Issued to Date
Rebate Program # of
Conversions
Rebate
Total
Current
Water
Saving
$/AF
Cash 4 Grass
(Paid Out) 25 $17,231.50 5.66 AF/year $3,044
Cash 4 Grass
(Under
Conversion)
10 $8,521.25 1.49 AF/year $5,719
Toilet (Paid Out) 15 $1,500.00 0.89 AF/year $1,685
Toilet (Under
Conversion) 0 $0 AF/year
TOTAL 50 $27,252.75 8.04 AF/year $3,390
Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-7
In an effort to promote the City’s new incentive programs, staff has designed mailers that will be sent out with water conservation tips and information on the City’s water conservation rebate programs. Staff has also produced a series of videos to post on social media titled “No Water Wednesdays” and has been pushing these videos out once a week.
Conclusion and Recommendation
While some recent rain has been experienced, California is still in a drought and water conservation must be taken seriously by the community. Staff recommends that the City Council discuss the City’s water position and provide staff with direction if necessary.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact from this report.
ALTERNATIVES:
None.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
Submitted by: Meeting Date: January 17, 2023
Benjamin A. Fine, P.E., Director of Public Works/City Engineer City Manager Approval:
Council Agenda 1-17-2023 12.B-8