Agenda Item Wording:
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Authorize City staff to submit comments in response to California Proposed Rule Making on Water Conservation Draft Regulations, Title 23 Article 21 - MAKING CONSERVATION A CALIFORNIA WAY OF LIFE
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Deadline for Action: 10/4/2023
Submitting Department: Administration
Contact Name and Phone Number: Rhett Anderson, 559-713-4530
Department Recommendation:
It is the staff recommendation that the City Council authorize staff to submit comments to the proposed rule making on Article 23, “Making Conservation A California Way Of Life.” The deadline to provide comments is October 17, the day after the next Council meeting. Suggested comments to Cal Cities, the lobbying association for cities, are requested by Oct. 11 to be considered in the Cal Cities comments.
The draft regulations are complex, and there has been limited time to assess, analyze and confer with other partners including California Water Service, which is the water purveyor in Visalia. Staff anticipates working on the comments up until the final days in order to provide accurate and comprehensive comments. The essence of the comments that are already on the list as some of Staff’s comments are included in the summary below:
Summary:
City staff has made efforts to work with California League of Cities (Cal Cities) and their lobbyists to identify conflicts that City staff have identified, and formally submit these concerns to the state legislature. Some of the primary issues Staff recommends be included in comments to Cal Cities and to the State include:
1. The current formula utilized by the State Water Resources Control Board do not account for any recycled water that is circulated within the system. The City of Visalia has an extensive water recycling program that should be considered when calculating total water consumption, as it is estimated that the City recycles over 40% of its total freshwater delivered.
2. Additional efforts made by the City to manage surface water and groundwater resources is not taken into consideration for volumetric considerations. The City of Visalia has poured extensive resources into water projects that have served the community in terms of groundwater recharge and floodwater management. Projects, and total additional water recharged in a given year are not accounted for by the state in calculating the water delivery objectives for the City of Visalia.
3. The City of Visalia is one of three partner agencies within the Mid Kaweah GSA (MKGSA). The GSA is tasked with managing the effects of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The MKGSA, and its respective members, are limited on the amount of groundwater extracted to achieve sustainability. For the first time in Tulare County history, have the residents of the county been limited on groundwater consumption. This unprecedented regulation has already put a considerable restraint on the agencies within the MKGSA. SGMA was also not a consideration when determining acceptable volume for water delivery. Staff feels as though it is appropriate to acknowledge that the restrictions of SGMA should be considered, as the City of Visalia has put forth significant effort to achieve groundwater sustainability as a result of SGMA, and that further constraints would be too significant for communities affected by both SGMA, and this respective proposed rulemaking.
4. That publicly water utilities providing water to municipalities be held responsible for being actively involved in the appropriate Ground Water Sustainability (GSA) process, and that their actions with the GSA’s be in the best interest of the majority of the residents they serve.
5. That the State hold publicly held water utilities responsible for enforcing actions that will result in meaningful change in water use in the cities/communities they serve. The utilities have all of the data and ability to implement and enforce change, but are too often reluctant to become engaged in a meaningful way that will enact change. Since the utilities can pass along fines to the ratepayers which makes the utilities less interested in utilizing the information they hold to envoke change. The publicly held water utilities should be required to use the data they have available to identify and hold water users that are exceeding the state water regulations accountable.
6. That publicly held water utilities also be required to separate the usage, and consequently any actions or fines, per community they serve, even if the service district includes several cities/communities. While some cities/communities may be more aggressive in passing ordinances that would encourage/require water conservation, not all cities/community in a service district may have the same practices. The organizations that are proactive should not be responsible for those communities that choose not to engage in meaningful conservation.
City staff is requesting to submit comments to Cal Cities no later than October 11th, 2023. This deadline was proposed by Cal Cities in order to formalize comments prior to the state deadline of October 17th. Comments would be tailored to the specific circumstances outlined above, and would state that there should be, at minimum, exemptions for the communities that make additional efforts to maximally utilize water resources, and that recycled water and additionally contributed water for the purposes of recharge should be accounted for in the total water delivery objective calculation. City Staff will also file individual comments on behalf of the City.
There is a public hearing on October 4th, 2023 which will be an opportunity for California residents and water system operators to voice their concerns with the SWRCB and its proposition. The Staff request authorization to make comments during the hearing if some comments would be meaningful. City comments will be refined after this public hearing to hone specific exemptions and concerns that the City would like to express. Once comments have been refined, they will be submitted to the Cal Cities group no later than October 11th, to be included in a packet of additional comments from other affected communities. All public comments are due no later than October 17, 2023, and staff is requesting authorization to file individual comments at that time.
Background Discussion:
Situated in a region prone to droughts and facing the challenges of a changing climate, California's Central Valley’s ability to wisely manage and conserve its water resources is of critical importance. The state's vast and diverse ecosystems, agriculture, industries, and millions of residents all depend on a sustainable and reliable water supply. Effective water management not only ensures the availability of this precious resource for current and future generations but also plays a pivotal role in preserving the environment, supporting a robust economy, and addressing pressing global concerns like climate change and water scarcity. California's journey in water management and conservation serves as a model for the nation, illustrating the importance of responsible stewardship in the face of complex and interconnected challenges. In response to recent climate conditions experienced by the State, the State has proposed a new regulation that will require urban water service providers to meet water delivery objectives, as determined by the State.
The City of Visalia is a groundwater reliant city that has long stood by conservation principles and proactive management of water resources. The City is currently, and continually, striving in order to preserve natural resources, primarily water. Some of the management actions designed to preserve and/or recycle City municipal groundwater include limitations of outdoor irrigation of landscapes, regulations on permissible outdoor water use, and a state-of-the-art water reclamation facility installed by the City in order to process and recycle the wastewater accumulated in Visalia. This wastewater is traded with the Tulare Irrigation district in exchange for a 1:2 ratio for fresh surface water through the Central Valley Project system (CVP). These efforts combined with a stringent water code, demonstrates the City’s priority to conserve water resources.
The State of California has proposed that a way to manage urban water resources is to calculate an acceptable volume of water that should be delivered to an individual municipality, based on factors such as population size, historical deliveries, and land use types. These objectives would be monitored by the state based on reporting data provided by the local urban water supplier. The primary urban water supplier for the City of Visalia is California Water Service (Cal Water). Cal Water is by far the largest supplier of water utilities to Visalia residents, with the exception of a few very minor individual water utility companies, and individual residents who operate utilizing a private well. The Combined services provided by Cal Water account for over 90% of the total water utilities delivered within the City of Visalia, and Goshen.
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Fiscal Impact:
The City of Visalia would not be directly impacted by the new proposed regulations, however the proposal states that costs incurred as a result of the passing of the new proposed legislation will be placed solely onto the water service provider (Cal Water), and that the state anticipates costs incurred by the water service provider are expected to be passed onto the rate payers. This would mean that most likely, all additional costs incurred by Cal Water would eventually be recouped by Cal Water through rate adjustments. It is likely water rates for all users will go up, and that would include the City of Visalia which uses water in parks, buildings, and for other city uses.
Prior Council Action: Not Applicable
Other: None.
Alternatives: The Council may choose to not authorize City staff to submit comments on the proposed regulation.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
It is recommended that the City of Visalia Council move to authorize City staff to submit comments to Cal Cities, and to the State of California, to the proposed rulemaking to Article 23, “Making Conservation A California Way of Life”
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Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: 1. Notice of Proposal, Title 23. Waters - MAKING CONSERVATION A CALIFORNIA WAY OF LIFE