Title
Water Conservation Update
Description
The purpose of this item is to provide an update on programs recommended by the Water Conservation Ad Hoc Committee and adopted by City Council.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
On Feb. 28, 2019, Mayor Thelda Williams established the Water Conservation Ad Hoc Committee (Committee) to make recommendations for additional water conservation activities in preparation for a hotter, drier future. The Committee formed Subcommittees focused on three areas 1) Landscape and Outdoor Water Use; 2) Codes and Incentives; and 3) Education and Outreach. The Committee and Subcommittees held 11 meetings from May 2019 through October 2019. Members from the community, including members with water expertise, participated in the process. The meetings resulted in development of 14 new or expanded water conservation initiatives, 13 of which were adopted by City Council. In addition, the Council accepted the recommendation to hire five additional full-time staff, including a Conservation Coordinator, Project Manager and three additional Water Resource Specialists. Those hires were completed in 2021 after a delay caused by the pandemic.
The City has worked to implement the Water Conservation Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendations in three phases. The status of each Council-approved recommendation is described in Attachment A. Notable accomplishments to date for each phase are below.
Phase I (Completed)
Phase I focused on improving the City’s outdoor water use, building a volunteer program to expand water conservation messaging, and making water conservation education materials more accessible.
Completed staff efforts:
- Launched a residential Water Usage Calculator in English and Spanish on the Water Services Department website.
- Digitized water education materials in English and Spanish.
- Trained the first cohort of volunteer “Water Wranglers;” and scheduled a second cohort for summer 2022.
- Developed a pilot project to connect water usage budgets and landscaping contracts for City properties.
Phase II (Current Phase)
Phase II is focused on programs that directly help customers reduce their water waste.
Completed and on-going staff efforts to date:
- Identifying more than 20 million gallons of potential water inefficiency through Homeowner Association Efficiency Checkups;
- Built partnerships with two non-profit organizations to fund commercial cooling tower retrofits through a business-financed revolving loan program;
- Joining with Arizona State University’s Sustainable Cities Program to create “off-the-shelf” xeriscape conversion plans for residential customers; and
- Created door hangers to connect residents to water conservation resources and remind them of the City’s water waste ordinance when a potential violation is detected; began a pilot of this program.
Phase III
Phase III will focus on building on water conservation programs with longer-term benefits. Most of this work will occur in future fiscal years, including development of a toilet rebate program available to customers regardless of income level, expansion of the water conservation education festivals, review of State educational standards and recommending possible revisions, creation of educational programming for the planned Tres Rios Visitor’s Center, and coordination with Planning and Development in regular building code updates.
Completed and on-going staff efforts to date:
- Began the procurement process on a restructured toilet retrofit program to partner with community organizations whose primary mission is to provide in-home repairs in limited-income homes; and
- Hosted six in-person water festivals, reaching hundreds of students; developed accessible virtual water festival programs.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
- The Water Conservation Ad Hoc Committee was established on Feb. 28, 2019, and a report transmitted the establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee in the General Information Packet on March 14, 2019.
- The City Council approved the Water Conservation Ad Hoc Committee Report at the Policy Session on Dec. 10, 2019.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Karen Peters and the Water Services Department.