HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-09-13 City Council (9)City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: UTILITIES
DATE:SEPTEMBER 13, 2004 CMR:395:04
WATER CONSERVATION SAVINGS POTENTIALTITLE:
This report on a reasonable range for Palo Alto’s long-term water conservation savings is
for the Council’s information only. No action is required.
BACKGROUND
In May 2002, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) adopted a long-
term capital improvement program (CIP) to repair, replace and seismically upgrade the
regional water system’s pipelines and tunnels, reservoirs and dams. The regional water
system CIP is expected to cost about $2.9 billion. In November 2002, San Francisco
voters approved a $1.6 billion bondissue to pay for its share of the regional water system
capital improvements ($900 million) and capital improvements for its city sewer system
($700 million).
Palo Alto and the other member agencies of the Bay Area Water Supply and
Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) are on record in support of the SFPUC’s CIP program
for the regional water system. The $2.9 billion CIP is a large undertaldng that includes
building new pipelines to meet existing and projected loads and increasing operational
flexibility to enhance emergency responsiveness. The environmental review process is a
major step in receiving approvals to proceed towards implementation of the CIP. The
first step in that process was to develop long-term water demand projections for San
Francisco and each BAWSCA agency. This step has been completed and an information
report to the Council [CMR:106:04] on May 15, 2004 showed that the tong-term water
forecast developed for Palo Alto was consistent with City policies and the adopted land-
~use plans.
The long-term demand forecast took into account the existence of plumbing codes that
only allow the sale of certain water-efficient appliances (for example, ultra-tow flush
CMR:395:04 Page 1 of 11
toilets) so that, over time, higher water-using appliances will naturally be exchanged for
more efficient models. The final forecast developed by SFPUC shows that Palo Alto’s
total water use is expected to increase only marginally over the next 30 years. Chart 1
below graphically shows the long-term water use projection (including the use of
recycled water) and actual water consumption since 1965.
Chart 1: Base Water Purchase Forecast
Historical Water Supply Purchases
and Long-Term Supply Purchase Forecast
20,000
18,000
16,000
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
1965 1970 1975 1980 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 20301985 1990
After establishing the long-term demands for each BAWSCA agency, SFPUC conducted
an analysis of 32 water conservation measures to determine which measures would be
effective in each agency’s service area.
DISCUSSION
Conservation Measure Evaluation
Using the end-use demand model used to develop the long-term forecast, SFPUC’s
consultant analyzed thirty-two water conservation measures to determine which ones
would be cost-effective and produce water savings in Palo Alto. The amount of water
savings potential as well as its cost to the utility and to the community was calculated for
each measure. Attachment 1 lists the measures evaluated and shows the results of the
analysis.
CMR:395:04 Page 2 of 11
Three portfolios of measures were created to span the range of water conservation
potential. Portfolio A reflects Palo Alto’s current water conservation programs. Portfolio
B assumes a somewhat more aggressive program and Portfolio C is a very aggressive
program. Some measures were rejected because they were not cost-effective or would
not produce enough savings to justify program implementation. The measures fOulld in
the three portfolios are shown in the table below.
Residential Water Surveys
Residential Retrofit
Clothes Washer Rebate
Public Information
Program
ET Controller Rebates
Restaurant low flow spray
rinse nozzles
Large Landscape Conservation
Au d its
Rebates for 6/3 dual flush or 4 liter
toilets
Focused water audits for
hotels/motels
Commercial Water Audits
ULF Toilet and Urinal Rebates
Offer incentives for replacemer~tof
clothes washers in coin-operated
laundries
Award program for water savings by
businesses
The water savings estimates for each portfolio are shown in the following table.
A 26O
B 525
C 660
t.6%
3.2%
4.0%
$219
$245
$241
These savings are in addition to the natural changes over time in water-using fiktures due
to the plumbing code. Savings due to the plumbing Code alone are expected to result in
savings of 1410 acre-feet/year by 2031, or 8.7% of the 2031 water use.
Next Phases of Project
After developing a very detailed end use model of Palo Alto’s water use and using it to
examine the cost-effectiveness of implementing water conservation measures, the next
step is to evaluate other water supply alternatives, including recycled water. When the
impact and potential for alternatives, including recycled water, are fully evaluated, the
final step will be for each agency to estimate how much of its future demands will be. met
with purchases from the SFPUC. This project is expected to be completed in late 2004.
Agreeing to a reasonable range of potential water conservation programs does not
commit to the City to implement any such programs. Separately from SFPUC’s
CMR:395:04 Page 3 of 11
evaluation of water conservation potential for the environn-~ental review phase of its
capital prograln implementation, Palo Alto Utilities is also analyzing its water
conservation potential and developing a long-term water conservation program.
Since October 2002, Palo Alto Utilities has had a co-sharing agreement [CMR:359:02]
for~ water conservation programs with the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD).
This water conservation program has been widely successful with utility customers. The
next iteration of the co-sharing program is scheduled to be implemented in October 2004.
The development of a long-term water conservation plan is underway and will involve
consideration of programs that may be offered by the SCVWD, SFPUC, BAWSCA and
those Palo Alto may implement on its own.
Concurrence with Conservation Ranges
¯ Each BAWSCA agency has been asked to review the estimated water savings resulting
for the conservation analysis and concur with the statement that it "considers the water
savings estimate to reflect a reasonable range of potential water conservation savings for
long-range planning purposes." ACcording to Palo Alto’s Municipal Code (Section
2.08.200 (a)), the Director of Utilities has the duty: "to coordinate the forecasting of the
city’s long-range utility needs" and "to forecast and plan the acquisition and disposition
of sufficient least-cost resource supplies to meet existing and future supply requirements
in an environmentally acceptable lnanner." Therefore, on August 10, 2004, the Director
of Utilities signed the required concun’ence form of conservation ranges for planning
purposes.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Projecting resource needs is consistent with City policies and directives, including the
Utilities Strategic Plan (USP) Objective 2: Invest in utility infrastructure to deliver
reliable service. This forecast is the first step in an .in-depth exalnination of water
efficiency measures, which is consistent with City’s sustainability efforts to conserve
water and to increase market penetration of water efficiency programs in Palo Alto.
Examining water efficiency measures is consistent with USP Key Strategy 7: Implement
programs that improve the quality of the environment.
This forecast is consistent with the City of Palo Alto’s Comprehensive Plan assumptions
pertaining to local land use and growth management policy limiting future urban
development to currently developed lands within the urban service area.
ATTACHMENT ..........
A: Results and Description of Conservation Measure Evaluation
CMR:395:04 Page 4 of 11
PREPARED BY:
~urce Planner
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
HARRISON
Assistant City Manager
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