ITEM:		INFORMATIONAL ITEM/STAFF REPORT
14.	WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT FOR AUGUST 2024
Meeting Date:			September 16, 2024	Budgeted:	N/A
From:			David J. Stoldt,	Program/	N/A
			General Manager	Line Item No.
Prepared By:			Kyle Smith	Cost Estimate:	N/A
General Counsel Review: N/A
Committee Recommendation: N/A
CEQA Compliance: This action does not constitute a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15378.

The following information reflects activities undertaken by the Water Demand Division during the month of August 2024.

I. MANDATORY WATER CONSERVATION RETROFIT PROGRAM

District Regulation XIV requires the retrofit of water fixtures upon Change of Ownership or Use with High Efficiency Toilets (HET) (1.28 gallons-per-flush), 2.0 gallons-per-minute (gpm) Showerheads, 1.2 gpm Washbasin faucets, 1.8 gpm Kitchen, Utility, and Bar Sink faucets, and Rain Sensors on all automatic Irrigation Systems. Property owners must certify the Site meets the District’s water efficiency standards by submitting a Water Conservation Certification Form (WCC), and a Site inspection is occasionally conducted to verify compliance. Properties that do not require an inspection are issued a Conservation Certification document.

A. Changes of Ownership

Information is obtained monthly from Realquest.com on properties transferring ownership within the District. The information is compared against the properties that have submitted WCCs. Details on 41 property transfers that occurred were added to the database.

B. Certification

The District received 41 Water Conservation Certification Forms. Data on ownership, transfer date, and status of water efficiency standard compliance were entered into the database.

C. Verification

26 properties were verified compliant with Rule 144 (Retrofit Upon Change of Ownership or Use). Of the 26 verifications, 10 properties verified compliance by submitting certification forms and/or receipts. District staff completed 30 Site inspections. Of the 30 properties visited, 16 (53%) passed.

D. Non-Residential Compliance with Water Efficiency Standards

By January 1, 2014, all Non-Residential properties were required to meet Rule 143, Water Efficiency Standards for Existing Non-Residential Uses. District inspectors performed three verification inspections.

As part of the Non-Residential compliance effort, MPWMD notifies California American Water (Cal-Am) of properties with landscaping. Cal-Am staff then schedules an outdoor audit to verify compliance with the Rate Best Management Practices (BMPs). (Compliance with MPWMD’s Rule 143 achieves Rate BMP compliance for indoor water uses.) Properties with landscaping must comply with Cal-Am’s outdoor Rate BMPs to avoid rates in Division 4 (customers that are not in compliance with Rate BMPs). Rate BMPs are used to determine the appropriate Non-Residential rate division for each customer (there are four different rates based on the amount of irrigated area and compliance/noncompliance with the Rate BMPs).

MPWMD referred no property to Cal-Am for verification of outdoor Rate BMPs.

E. Water Waste Enforcement

The District has a Water Waste Hotline 831-658-5653 or an online form to report Water Waste occurrences at www.mpwmd.net or www.montereywaterinfo.org. There were four Water Waste responses during the past month. There were no repeated incidents that resulted in a fine.

II. WATER DEMAND MANAGEMENT

A. Permit Processing

District Rule 23 requires a Water Permit application for all properties that propose to expand or modify water use on a Site, including New Construction and Remodels. District staff processed and issued 63 Water Permits. Nineteen permits were issued using Water Entitlements (Pebble Beach Company, Malpaso Water, Sand City, etc.). No permits involved a debit to a Public Water Credit account. Thirteen Meter Split Permits and four Hydrant Meter Permits were issued.

District Rule 24-3-A allows the addition of a second Bathroom in an existing Dwelling Unit that has only one Bathroom. Of the 63 Water Permits issued, two were issued under this provision.

B. Permit Compliance

Staff completed 42 site inspections during August. 30 properties passed the interior inspection, and nine properties failed due to unpermitted fixtures. Six properties were inspected to complete a Landscape Water Permit: none failed.

C. Notary Services

District staff provided Notary services for 50 customers.

D. Rebates

The District processes rebate applications to ensure that only voluntary replacement of higher efficiency devices receive rebates. The comprehensive list of available rebates can be found in Rule 141. Monthly statistics are shown on the following page.

During July 2024, the District promoted the Flume Smart Flowmeter rebate with resounding success with 184 Smart Flowmeter rebates! The print ad is provided as part of this staff report.

EXHIBITS

14-A Rebate report for August 2024

14-B Flume Advertisement

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