Burlingame Municipal Code Ch. 15.06 Water Shortage Emergencies

(a) The provisions of this chapter shall be implemented only upon adoption by the city council of a declaration that a water shortage condition exists that requires special conservation measures or emergency allocation measures pursuant to California Water Code Section 350 et seq.

(b) The provisions of the chapter shall be of no further force or effect when the city council determines that a water shortage condition no longer exists.

(Ord. 1101 § 1, (1977); Ord. 1365 § 1, (1988))

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given in this chapter:

"Customer"

is any person using water supplied by the Burlingame water department.

"Director"

is the director of public works of the city of Burlingame.

"Emergency allocations"

are the allocations allowed various classifications of customers to achieve a specific reduction in water use necessitated by a water shortage of emergency proportions.

"Person"

is any person, firm, partnership, corporation, company or organization of any kind.

"Special conservation measures"

are the measures required to achieve a specific reduction in water use necessitated by a water shortage which has not reached emergency proportions.

"Unit of water"

is 1,000 gallons of water.

"Water"

is water from the water department.

"Water department"

is the Burlingame municipal water system.

"Water shortage"

means a water shortage condition declared by the city council pursuant to Sections 350 et seq., of the Water Code.

"Water shortage contingency plan" or "WSCP"

means a contingency plan including voluntary and mandatory actions adopted by the city that incorporates the provisions detailed in the California Water Code Section 10632.

(Ord. 1101 § 1, (1977); Ord. 1365 § 1, (1988); Ord. 1994 § 4, (2021))

When the city council declares a water shortage that requires emergency allocations, it shall specify in the declaration the specific allocations required to achieve the specified reduction in water use. The allocations may include any or all of the following classifications:

(a) Single-party residential and multifamily residential customers, including a minimum or lifeline allocation;

(b) Nonresidential customers:

(1) Industrial customers using process water to manufacture, alter, convert, clean, heat or cool a product, including water used in laundries and recycled car wash facilities,

(2) Industrial, commercial (including nonrecycled car wash facilities) and governmental agency customers;

(c) Irrigation and Outside Water Usage Customers. Irrigation of lawns, gardens, playfields, parks, median strips and landscaping of any type.

(Ord. 1101 § 1, (1977); Ord. 1365 § 1, (1988))

The city council at the time it declares a water shortage may adopt water use regulations and restrictions, including, but not limited to, any or all of the following:

(a) Broken or defective plumbing, sprinklers, watering or irrigation systems which permit the escape or leakage of water shall be immediately repaired.

(b) Irrigation of lawns, gardens, playfields, parks, median strips and landscaping of any type shall be reduced by an amount determined by the city council to be necessary to achieve the goals set forth in its declaration of a water shortage.

(c) No use of water shall be allowed which results in flooding or runoff in gutters, driveways or streets.

(d) When a hose is used for washing cars, buses, boats, trailers or other vehicles, or washing building structures or parts thereof, or any similar purpose, it shall have a positive shutoff valve.

(e) Use of a hose for the purposes set forth in subsection (d) of this section shall be prohibited.

(f) Restaurants shall serve water to customers only upon request.

(g) No water shall be used to clean, fill or maintain levels in decorative exterior fountains; interior fountains must recirculate water.

(h) Sidewalks, walkways, driveways, patios, parking lots, tennis courts or other hard-surfaced areas shall not be cleaned using water from hoses or by other use of water directly from faucets or other outlets.

(i) Draining and filling of any existing or new swimming pools with city-supplied water shall be prohibited.

(j) Service connections for new construction incorporating water-saving devices shall be granted as long as conditions of this chapter are met, provided no residential landscaping shall be installed during the water shortage.

(k) Construction water for consolidation of backfill and other nondomestic uses shall be denied if other methods of water sources can be used.

(l) No new residential irrigation services shall be permitted, and additional water shall not be allowed for expansion of existing irrigation facilities.

(m) Additional water use practices as described in the water shortage contingency plan.

(Ord. 1101 § 1, (1977); Ord. 1365 § 1, (1988); Ord. 1994 § 5, (2021))

Considerations for exceptions regarding allocations of water or from any of the regulations and restrictions set forth herein shall be as follows:

(a) Written applications for exceptions shall be made to the City of Burlingame Water Department, 501 Primrose Road, Burlingame, California 94010.

(b) Each application shall be reviewed and determined by the director. Denials of applications may be appealed to the city council whose decision shall be final.

(c) The only grounds for granting such exceptions are:

(1) Undue hardship to the applicant, including adverse economic impacts such as loss of production or jobs;

(2) A condition affecting the health, sanitation or safety of the applicant or the general public.

(Ord. 1101 § 1, (1977); Ord. 1365 § 1, (1988))

The following penalties may be imposed on excess water consumption:

(a) Excess Use Charge. The city council shall set by resolution an amount to be added to the normal cost per unit for each unit in excess of allocation.

(b) Flow-Restricting Devices. The city manager may, after one written warning, direct the installation of a flowrestricting device on the service line of any customer observed by city personnel to be violating any of the regulations and/or exceeding water allocations hereinabove set forth.

Charges for installation and removal of flow-restricting devices shall be set by council.

First installation shall be a minimum of three days, second and last installation, 10 days minimum.

(c) Discontinuance of Water Service. Continued water consumption in excess of the allocation may result in the discontinuance of water service by the water department. A reactivation charge shall be paid prior to reactivating the service.

(d) Fines and Penalties as Provided in Title 1 of this Code. Persons violating the provisions set forth in this chapter may also be subject to the fines and penalties set forth in Title 1 of this code.

(Ord. 1101 § 1, (1977); Ord. 1365 § 1, (1988); Ord. 1921 § 1, (2015))

The director, all employees of the water department, public works department and fire department have the duty and are authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter and shall have all the powers and authority contained in California Penal Code Section 836.5, including the power to issue written notices to appear.

In addition to the foregoing, the city attorney, code compliance officer and their designees are authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter through the mechanisms provided in Title 1 of this code.

(Ord. 1101 § 1, (1977); Ord. 1365 § 1, (1988); Ord. 1921 § 1, (2015))