HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 13807
City of Palo Alto (ID # 13807)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 2/7/2022 Report Type: Information Reports
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Informational Report on Valley Water's Implementation of a new
Model Water Efficient New Development Ordinance
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Utilities
Executive Summary
This report is to inform Council of Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (Valley Water) Model
Water Efficient New Development Ordinance (MWENDO) and staff’s approach to reviewing and
evaluating water efficiency measures for Palo Alto.
Background
Valley Water developed the MWENDO to provide a resource to assist jurisdictions in Santa
Clara County to improve water efficiency in new developments. Valley Water manages
groundwater, provides flood protection and stream stewardship and supplies imported water
to some jurisdictions in Santa Clara County. Palo Alto obtains 100% of its potable water supply
from San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and does not currently use groundwater
or imported water from Valley Water.
Discussion
California is facing drought conditions, and our state, county, and water supplier have declared
drought emergencies. Palo Alto has permanent water use restrictions in place focusing on
eliminating water waste regardless of drought or rain conditions. Palo Alto requires a variety of
water efficient measures for new construction and partners with Valley Water to provide free
consultation services and rebates for water efficient landscaping upgrades and resources for
residents and businesses to improve water efficiency. Palo Alto regularly conducts outreach to
water customers encouraging the wise use of water through email, social media, bill inserts and
other communication channels.
Since 2015, Palo Alto City Council has approved updated Green Building Ordinances (Palo Alto
Municipal Code Chapter 16.14) that incorporate the State’s Green Building Standards Code
(CALGreen), Mandatory, Tier I and Tier II requirements, which set permit requirements for
water efficiency design, including irrigation systems, in new development and alteration
construction projects. In addition to the CALGreen standards, the City requires the installation
of a “laundry to landscape ready” irrigation system for all residential new construction projects.
City of Palo Alto Page 2
The State Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance went into effect February 1, 2016 in Palo Alto
per Governor Brown’s Drought Executive Order EO-29-15 and pursuant to the California Water
Conservation in Landscaping Act, also known as the State Landscape Model Ordinance,
Government Code §§ 65591, et seq. as amended, see Palo Alto Municipal Code 12.32.040.
MWENDO includes measures that primarily target indoor water use efficiency for new
development such as hot water recirculation and drain water heat recovery. MWENDO also
includes some outdoor measures such as water meters and pool/spa covers.1 Staff will likely
not recommend MWENDO as written but will consider elements of MWENDO in the
appropriate municipal and building code updates for Palo Alto. Staff from the appropriate
departments (including Urban Forestry, Development Services, and Public Works) will compare
the various measures in MWENDO to Palo Alto’s existing code requirements and to the new
state requirements under the CalGreen Building Code updates. Staff will evaluate the water
efficiency measures in MWENDO as appropriate and make recommendations to Council as part
of the regular cycle of code updates.
Fiscal Impact
This is an informational report.
Environmental Review
This information report does not meet the definition of a project under the California
Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code 21065); therefore, an environmental review
is not required.
1 Valley Water’s 10/27/21 presentation on the MWENDO to the Santa Clara Valley Water
Commission is available at this link.