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BACKGROUND The State of California is suffering its third consecutive year of below normal rainfall levels. The governor declared a State of Emergency in January 2014 due to the drought situation. The Alameda County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Zone 7 (Zone 7), which supplies water to the City of Pleasanton, also declared a local emergency in January 2014 due to the drought. In February, the City Council declared a water shortage and activated Stage 1 of the City's Water Shortage Contingency Plan. Stage 1 requested that Pleasanton water customers voluntarily reduce water usage by 20%. In April, Zone 7 asked all water retailers, including the City of Pleasanton, to reduce water usage by 25% (see attached excerpt of Zone 7 letter). On April 18th, the State Department of Water Resources advised that due to the precipitation in February and March, it would deliver a 5% water allocation this year (up from an earlier forecast of 0%). To be eligible for this 5% allocation, Zone 7 cannot take the water until after September 1 , 2014. While this 5% will be helpful, it does not change the limited water supply available for peak summer months to Pleasanton. Mandatory reductions are needed to make it through May, June, July and August. DISCUSSION There are two considerations guiding staff to recommend that the City Council now declare a Stage 3 water shortage and require a 25% mandatory reduction in potable water usage.' First, Stage 1's request for a voluntary reduction of 20% has not been successful. For the months of February and March 2014, water usage has been reduced by only 0.6%. This minor reduction is probably more the result of a few days of rain versus a change in behavior by residents and businesses. In fact, water usage from this same period compared with 2013 actually shows a 9.1% increase in water usage in 2014. Second, Zone 7 has asked all water retailers to assume a 25% reduction of potable water supply for all of 2014 compared to actual production in 2013. Other local cities have also recognized the critical drought situation. In April, the City of Livermore moved from voluntary to mandatory water reduction requirements (50% decrease in outdoor use and minimizing indoor use). In March,-the City 'of Dublin proclaimed a State of Emergency due to drought and asked for a 40% reduction in outdoor irrigation and 5% reduction in indoor use. Similarly, mandatory water restrictions were enacted by the Alameda County Water District in March. . If adopted by Council, Stage 3 information will be provided to residents and businesses through multi-pronged outreach efforts. As part of the City's initial outreach efforts, an informational flyer has been sent to the City's largest water users to inform them of current and future watering restrictions found in the Water Conservation Plan. This information is also available on the newly created website located at ' This is less than the 35% mandatory reduction allowed by Municipal Code §9.30.060.A. Page 2 of 3