To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Utilities Director
Title
Resolution Adopting the 2016 Water Use Management Plan
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The purpose of this memorandum is to request Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) adopting the 2016 Water Use Management Plan (WUMP). No major changes to the document are proposed.
The Town of Castle Rock has used mandatory water demand management for landscape irrigation since 1985. Peak season demands are staggered on an every-third-day format, along with designated irrigation times. No watering during the daytime hours of 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. is allowed. This format helps ensure our customers use irrigation water during times when that water is most efficient and effective, ultimately savings customer’s money. In addition, it allows positive pressures to be maintained throughout the water system while maintaining appropriate fire flows, as well as it allocates time for finished water reservoir volume recovery.
The Water Use Management Plan addresses:
Identification of regular days and hours for landscape irrigation during designated peak months; the need for alternative schedules due to various hardships and/or irrigation system limitations; special watering circumstances, including hand watering; monitoring, education, and enforcement of water use management strategies; and soil inspections and irrigation exemptions.
For the 2016 season, Utilities staff will make one minor adjustment and reduce the number of water monitors. This reduction in coverage will result in a corresponding reduction in program operating costs. The savings realized will be used to help fund a needed increased level of landscape and irrigation inspection. The savings will also be used to further explore additional irrigation efficiency opportunities at Town facilities.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
As defined in Chapter 13.15 of the Town’s Municipal Code, all customers will receive the 2016 watering schedule via United States Mail within 30 days (approximately May 1, 2016) of the commencement of the restriction period, and it will be published at least twice in the local newspaper. Additionally, this information will be available on the Town’s websites (CRGov.com and CRConserve.com) and promoted through Community Relations’ outreach avenues, such as Facebook, Twitter, Town Talk and press releases.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
On February 24, 2016, the Utilities Commission unanimously recommended support of the Water Use Management Plan as presented with no changes to the 2016 watering season.
Discussion
During the 2015 watering restriction season, two new elements were added to the water monitoring program.
Cartegraph asset management software was implemented in order to provide enhanced reporting and mapping of violations and customer contacts. Attachments B and C are provided as examples of the mapping functionality. The reporting information can include customer contact information, nature of visit, recommendations provided, any follow up required, and photos to document the conversation. In 2015, 202 customer contacts and 574 watering violations were recorded using Cartegraph.
Zonar vehicle tracking was also implemented. Through this vehicle tracking software and hardware package, we are now able to track the real-time location of the monitoring vehicle, the route traveled, and the time spent at any given location. This software proved to be valuable when evaluating routes, and re-routing future shifts to pick up gaps in coverage. Attachment D is an example of a route where the coverage needed to be improved. Through the Zonar software, we were able to identify this poor coverage and train the water monitors to maximize coverage during each shift. Attachment E shows a more efficient route with improved coverage. We are also able to track miles driven and neighborhoods visited. The following is a 2015 summary:
Miles:
Morning shift: 5,049 miles (112 shifts) - average of 45 miles per shift
Evening shift: 8,679 miles (163 shifts) - average of 53 miles per shift
Total miles 13,728
Hours:
Morning Shift - 532.75 hours worked
Evening Shift - 912.25 hours worked
Total 2015 hours worked - 1,445
Coverage by Neighborhood, Number of Visits:
Baldwin Park: 42
Castle Highlands: 55
Castle North/Rock Park: 46
Castlewood Ranch: 51
Cobblestone Ranch: 53
Craig & Gould: 20
Crystal Valley: 69
Diamond Ridge: 46
Echo Ridge/Latigo Townhomes: 13
Escavera: 49
Founders Village: 55
Homestead Village: 35
Meadows: 108
Metzler Ranch: 75
Pinion Soleil: 24
Plum Creek: 99
Red Hawk: 64
Sapphire Point: 59
Terrain: 73
Timber Canyon: 22
Woodlands: 71
Watering Violations Summary:
2013 Total Violations: 1,633
2014 Total Violations: 788
2015 Total Violations: 1,408
For the last several years, the focus of the monitoring program has undergone a philosophical shift. The program has been transitioning from a punitive violations role to a more educational role. While the monitors have always issued violations, their direction is to contact the customer, explain the problem, and provide a solution whenever reasonable and possible. Revenues collected from watering violations do not cover the costs of providing the program. In 2015, violations issued resulted in $4,575 of revenue, while the estimated cost to provide the program was $23,778.
Utilities Staff proposes to scale back the monitoring program, and reduce the operating costs associated with the monitoring activity. The money saved will be used to increase landscape and irrigation inspections of new construction projects, and to further evaluate opportunities for increased irrigation efficiency at Town facilities.
Budget Impact
No additional impact on the budget.
Staff Recommendation
I move to approve the Resolution Adopting the 2016 Water Use Management Plan.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve Resolution Adopting the 2016 Water Use Management Plan.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: Water Use Management Plan
Attachment B: Cartegraph Map of Watering Violations
Attachment C: Cartegraph Map of Customer Contacts
Attachment D: Zonar Map, Coverage Needing Improvement
Attachment E: Zonar Map, Good Coverage