2008
Urban drought guidebook 2008 updated edition
State of California
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State of California (2008). Urban drought guidebook 2008 updated edition. 1-208.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/water_pubs/3
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Urban Drought Guidebook 2008 Updated Edition
State of California
Department of Water Resources
Office of Water Use Efficiency and Transfers
Cover Photo
Lake Mead, storing Colorado River water that supplies irrigation and domestic water to much of Southern California at 50 percent capacity, winter 2007.
Photo by Andy Pernick , U.S. Bureau of Reclamation photographer.
If you need this publication in an alternate form, contact the Equal Opportunity and Management Investigations Of fi ce at TDD 1-800-653-6934, or Voice 1-800-653-6952.
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Foreword
To help local agencies and communities prepare for the possibility of another dry year and possible water supply interruptions, the Department of Water Resources is pleased to publish this updated version of the Urban Drought Guidebook. Drought, climate change, natural disasters, and environmental protections can all affect water supplies. Good planning and preparation can help agencies maintain reliable supplies and reduce the impacts of supply interruptions. We, the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the California Urban Water Conservation Council worked together on the guidebook to provide technical assistance to local water suppliers.
As water suppliers review and update their Water Shortage Contingency Plans, we hope the new information and examples of exceptional efforts by water suppliers throughout California and the United States will be useful. The wide array of approaches presented in the guidebook reflects the variable water supply and demand scenarios from one end of the state to the other. Accordingly, water suppliers will be able to use this guidebook to design programs that reflect local and regional conditions.
Sincerely,
Lester A. Snow DWR Director
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State of California
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor
The Resources Agency
Mike Chrisman, Secretary for Resources
Department of Water Resources
Lester A. Snow, Director
- Kasey Schimke
- Susan Sims-Teixeira
- David Sandino
- Asst. Dir. Legislative Affairs Acting Chief/Deputy Director
- Chief Counsel
- Mark W. Cowin
- David Gutierrez
- Timothy Haines
- Deputy Director
- Acting Deputy Director
- Deputy Director
- Reuben A. Jimenez
- Gerald E. Johns
- Ralph Torres
- Deputy Director
- Deputy Director
- Deputy Director
Rick Soehren
Chief, Office of Water Use Efficiency and Transfers
This report was prepared in cooperation with:
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
California Urban Water Conservation Council
Editorial review, graphics, and report production
Under direction of Gretchen Goettl, Supervisor of Technical Publications, research writers:
Nikki Blomquist James Joelson
Patricia Cornelius
Carole Rains
Mike Durant Marilee Talley
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Acknowledgments
The Department of Water Resources is grateful for the participation and cooperation of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California Urban Water Conservation Council in updating the Urban Drought Guidebook. We are also thankful for the local water suppliers who hosted the 11 Urban Drought Workshops in September and October 2007. The guidebook was updated by consultants Larry Farwell and Marsha Prillwitz with the active participation of the “Drought Team,” representing DWR, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Council. Members of the team included:
Manucher Alemi Dave Todd
Department of Water Resources Department of Water Resources
- Tracy Slavin
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Lower Colorado Region California Urban Water Conservation Council California Urban Water Conservation Council California Urban Water Conservation Council
Kevin Clancy Dave Woolley William J. Steele Meena Westford Debra Whitney Steve Jones Chris Brown Katie Shulte Joung Heather Woodford Special thanks go to the National Drought Mitigation Center staff for its review of this guidebook.
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Acronyms and Abbreviations
- AF
- Acre Feet
- AFY
- Acre Feet Per Year
AWE AWWA
Alliance for Water Efficiency American Water Works Association
- BMPs
- Best Management Practices
CCWD CEQA CII CLCA CPUC Council CVPIA CVP
Contra Costa Water District California Environmental Quality Act Commercial, Industrial, Institutional California Landscape Contractors Association California Public Utilities Commission California Urban Water Conservation Council (CUWCC) Central Valley Project Improvement Act Central Valley Project
DEP DHS DWR
Department of Environmental Protection Department of Health Services (California) Department of Water Resources
EBMUD ET
East Bay Municipal Utility District Evapotranspiration
GIS GPCD GPD
Geographic Information System Gallons per Capita per Day Gallons per Day
GPDD GPDC GPDA GPDE GPF
Gallons per Day per Dwelling Unit Gallons per Day per Connection Gallons per Day per Irrigated Acre Gallons per Day per Employee Gallons per Flush
- GPM
- Gallons per Minute
HET HCF
High Efficiency Toilets Hundred Cubic Feet
- IA
- Irrigation Association
ICI IWU
Industrial, Commercial, Institutional Indoor Water Use
- LADWP
- Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
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Acronyms and Abbreviations (continued)
- MGD
- Million Gallons Per Day
MMWD MWDSC MWDOC
Marin Municipal Water District Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Municipal Water District of Orange County
NDMC NOAA NWS
National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Weather Service
OES PUC
Office of Emergency Services (California) Public Utilities Commission (California)
Reclamation U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
- RO
- Residential Occupancy
SCWA SDCWA SFPUC SPU
Sonoma County Water Agency San Diego County Water Authority San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Seattle Public Utilities
- SWP
- State Water Project
- SWRCB
- State Water Resources Control Board
- TWDB
- Texas Water Development Board
- UAW
- Unaccounted for Water
- ULF
- Ultra Low Flush
USGS UWMPA
United States Geological Survey Urban Water Management Planning Agency
WARN WC
Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network Water Code
WCI WCM WSCP
Water Conservation Initiative Water Conservation Manager Water Shortage Contingency Plan
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Contents
Foreword ........................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgments........................................................................................................5 Acronyms and Abbreviations ......................................................................................7 Introduction..................................................................................................................15
Definition of a Drought........................................................................................... 16 Water Shortage Contingency Planning .............................................................. 16 Drought-Related Regulations and Planning Requirements............................... 16
Declaration of Water Shortage Emergencies—California Water Code Sections 350-359 and Government Code Sections 8550-8551.................... 16 Proposition 218................................................................................................... 18 Urban Water Management Planning Act...................................................... 18 Integrated Regional Management Plans ...................................................... 18
Involve the Public .................................................................................................. 19
7-Step Planning and Implementation Process.................................................... 19 Water Shortage Contingency Planning Checklist.............................................. 21
STEP 1: Establish a Water Shortage Response Team.................................................25
Selecting the Water Shortage Response Team .................................................. 25 Setting Agency Priorities ........................................................................................ 27 Maintaining Momentum........................................................................................ 27 Coordinate, Cooperate and Communicate...................................................... 27
STEP 2: Forecast Supply in Relation to Demand........................................................29
I. Data Collection.................................................................................................... 29
Supply Data ....................................................................................................... 29 Demand Data ................................................................................................... 30
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Contents (continued)
II. Data Analysis....................................................................................................... 31
Supply Data Analysis (projected dry-year supply without augmentation) 31 Water Quality Data Analysis ............................................................................ 31 Water Demand Data Analysis (projected dry-year demand without demand reduction programs) ........................................................................ 32
III. Is There a Predicted Shortage? ........................................................................ 33
Cooperate with other Agencies........................................................................... 34
Actions by Water Wholesalers ......................................................................... 35 Actions by Retail Water Suppliers.................................................................... 35
IV. Catastrophic Supply Interruptions................................................................... 36
Preparing for Uncertainty................................................................................. 37
STEP 3: Balance Supply and Demand: Assess Mitigation Options..........................39
Supply Augmentation Methods............................................................................ 39
Increase existing supplies, draw from reserves and develop new supplies.. 40 Increase Supplier Water Use Efficiency .......................................................... 41
Demand Reduction ............................................................................................... 43
Public Information Campaign .............................................................................. 44 Restrictions............................................................................................................... 45
Water Waste Ordinances................................................................................. 46 Landscape Irrigation Ordinances ................................................................... 46
Possible Exemptions from Water Use Restrictions ............................................... 51
Pricing ...................................................................................................................... 51
Inclining Block Rate........................................................................................... 52 Seasonal Rates .................................................................................................. 53 Uniform Rate ...................................................................................................... 53 Drought Surcharge............................................................................................ 53 Excess Use Charge............................................................................................ 53 Unmetered Suppliers and Pricing.................................................................... 56
Rationing Allocations ............................................................................................. 56
Enforcement............................................................................................................ 62
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Contents (continued)
Education, Citations and Fines ............................................................................. 62 Flow Restrictors........................................................................................................ 64 Feedback to Customers ........................................................................................ 64
STEP 4: Establish Triggering Levels..............................................................................65
Trigger Mechanisms................................................................................................ 65
Define Trigger Mechanisms.............................................................................. 65 Causes of Delaying Implementation of a Stage........................................... 66
Include Flexibility..................................................................................................... 69
Criteria for Curtailment during a Water Shortage ............................................. 70
STEP 5: Develop a Staged Demand Reduction Program.........................................73
Establish Stages....................................................................................................... 73 Measures.................................................................................................................. 74 Evaluate Demand Reduction Measures.............................................................. 81 Evaluate Water Saved by Staged Reductions ................................................... 81 Lag Time Issues........................................................................................................ 87