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BREAK— Mayor Thorne called a brief recess and reconvened the regular meeting at 8:33 p.m. 13. Receive information about City Wide Drought Action Strategies; Adopt an Urgency Ordinance to amend Pleasanton Municipal Code Chapter 9:30 Water Conservation Plan and 14.04 Regulation of Water System to update with the Urban Water Management Plan; and Adopt a Resolution Approving Amendment to Contract with Zone 7 regarding Suspension of Independent Quota for Groundwater Director of Operation Services Smith presented the staff report, including a brief overview of changes since his last presentation to the Council. On January 17, 2014 and February 4, 2014, the State of California and City of Pleasanton respectively declared a Stage 1 Drought Alert. As part of his declaration, Governor Brown asked that all local agencies update their drought ordinances to ensure they are legally prepared to enforce whatever measures might be needed if the drought were to worsen. Despite recent snow and rainfall, the snowpack has only increased to 25% of average as of March 12, 2014. This, combined with low reservoir levels, results in little change to the overall outlook since February. Mr. Dolan presented several slides comparing year over year water usage, noting year to date usage is up 16% despite a 20% reduction goal. He acknowledged that voluntary reduction is not typically very successful and public education regarding the gravity of the crisis is critical to any future success. Since the February 4th Council meeting, staff has been working with the Drought Ordinance and Drought Action Committee to develop an action plan. The committee, which has met biweekly since the Stage 1 declaration, has completed the white paper which outlines action items regarding outreach and education, internal measures, and businesses, residences and the school district. The city's drought hotline (931-5504) is available to advise and assist residents and businesses in any manner possible and three training sessions over the next four days are planned for city staff. The city's recycled water project is one of the larger topics addressed in the white paper. Today the State Water Resources Control Board voted to approve a total of $800 million in financing, payable at 1% interest for up to 30 years. Environmental work on Phase 1 of the project, of which approximately $15 million qualifies for the approved benchmarks, is underway and the Council has authorized staff to submit a resolution to the state for financing. Mr. Smith provided a conceptual overview of the Drought Ordinance, which affords the city the legal authority to enforce reductions in water use if the voluntary reductions are not successful. The ordinance calls for reductions to be based on one to four year averages in the same billing period and provides tiered penalty rates based on the drought stage in effect. The ordinance allows for administrative shut off if penalties fail to produce the required result, with exceptions made for medical or other similar circumstances. The ordinance also allows for appeals to the application of penalty rates or shut off. In crafting the ordinance, staff focused on the fairest way to accomplish the goal of the ordinance. While most agencies enact dramatically higher drought rates for all water use, staff felt it would more appropriate to target only those users who fail to conserve. Staff has devised a flexible method to use filters within the existing utility software to determine which users meet the requirements of the ordinance and which should be subject to penalties. The ordinance also contains a number of prohibitions, with a fine system, that help to guide consumers regarding inappropriate consumption. These include irrigation between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., the use of potable water for the purpose of washing sidewalks, allowing potable water to escape from line breaks, or use of potable water for anything in excess of the current tier. Mr. Smith noted an error in the staff report as well as updated language regarding penalties on the Council dais. He clarified that penalties begin at $2 per unit, to be charged in addition to normal fees, and increase based on the drought stage and number of instances in which a user has been penalized. City Council Minutes Page 9 of 18 March 18, 2014