To: Members of the Castle Rock Water Commission
From:
Mark Marlowe, P.E., Director of Castle Rock Water
Title
Resolution to Approve the 2020 WUMP
Town Council Agenda Date: Feb 4, 2020
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The purpose of this memorandum is to request Town Council approval of a Resolution (Attachment A) adopting the 2020 Water Use Management Plan (WUMP). Several revisions and administrative updates are proposed from the 2019 WUMP (Exhibit 1 to Attachment A) and those are summarized in Attachment B. The big proposed changes to the WUMP include: changing the certification training requirements for landscapers and creating a mechanism to hold landscapers accountable.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
The transition to the QWEL training and certification program will be communicated to the landscape developer and builder community through the following sources; Email, United States Mail, Landscape Professionals stakeholder’s meeting, Developer’s Roundtable, Economic Development Council, HOA outreach meeting. Additionally, this information will be available on the Town’s websites (CRgov.com and CRconserve.com) and promoted through Community Relations’ outreach avenues.
As defined in Chapter 13.15 of the Town’s Municipal Code, all customers will receive the 2020 watering schedule via United States Mail within 30 days of the commencement of the schedule implementation period (May through September). 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 January 22, 2020, the WUMP plan was presented to the Castle Rock Water Commission.
Discussion
The Town of Castle Rock has used mandatory water demand management for landscape irrigation since 1985. Peak season demands for residential customers are staggered on an every-third-day format. This is the traditional circle, diamond, square schedule that is familiar to our customers. Consistent to what was approved in 2019, the schedule period will remain May through September. Non-residential watering hours will begin at 10 p.m. on the designated day and must be complete by 6 a.m. the following morning. Other than hand watering, no watering during the daytime hours of 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. is allowed. This format helps ensure our customers use irrigation water when it is most efficient and effective, ultimately saving customer’s money. In addition, it allows positive pressures to be maintained throughout the water distribution system while maintaining appropriate fire flows. It also allocates time for the finished water storage tanks to recover volume.
Another way to maximize the efficient use of water is to limit the issuance of irrigation exemptions during the hottest and driest part of the year. July is typically the hottest month of the year, and as such, it takes significantly more water to establish new plant material during this period. As originally implemented in 2018, irrigation exemptions will again not be issued or applicable from July 1 - July 31.
The full plan will be available on the website, and can be found at CRgov.com/waterplans.
The Watering Violations Summary from 2019 as well as the previous four years is included as Attachment C.
For the last several years, the focus of the monitoring program has undergone a philosophical shift. Primarily for residential customers, the program has transitioned 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.
Budget Impact
The budget for 2020 seasonal water conservation staff is $48,772 and is covered under account number 211-4330-443.10-30. The seasonal water conservation salaries are expected to exceed the budget amount due to the additional two months of monitoring for the 2020 irrigation season. The 2019 seasonal water conservation expenses were $55,696.90.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends approving the Water Use Management Plan as presented.
Proposed Motion
“I move to recommend to Town Council approval of the Resolution as introduced by title.
Attachments
Exhibit 1: Water Use Management Plan
Attachment A: Resolution
Attachment B: Summary of proposed changes
Attachment C: Watering violations summary