BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Receive Update on 2021 Water Supply Conditions and Consider Recommendations Resulting from the March 30 and April 12, 2021 Water Conservation and Demand Management Committee. (Item Previously Listed as Item 5.2)
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Receive, review, and discuss information on water supply conditions; and
B. Consider the following recommendations unanimously approved by the Water Conservation and Demand Management Committee on March 30 and April 12, 2021:
i. Increase the Landscape Rebate Program incentive to $2.00 a square foot;
ii. Support maintaining the current voluntary call for conservation; and
iii. Direct staff to increase water conservation messaging and programs to inspire additional water savings.
Body
SUMMARY:
In support of making Water Conservation a California Way of Life, on June 13, 2017, the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) Board of Directors (Board) adopted a resolution to continue the call for a voluntary 20 percent reduction in water use compared to 2013 and to limit the irrigation of ornamental landscapes with potable water to no more than three days per week. The resolution is in effect until further notice. This memorandum provides an update on continued conservation since the 2012-2016 drought and 2021 water supply conditions. Also, this memorandum offers a strategy to mitigate dry-year risks.
Local water supply conditions are adequate to meet projected demands for calendar year 2021 despite a dry 2020 and very dry winter in 2021. This is partially because the federally mandated drawdown of Anderson Reservoir resulted in the release and beneficial use of a large amount of local water that would otherwise have been stored for emergencies. However, with Anderson Reservoir storage now unavailable for approximately 10 years due to seismic retrofit of the dam, Valley Water's ability to store and move local water is constrained. During this time, Valley Water wil...
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