Hemet Municipal Code § 82-130 Applicability of division

Footnotes:

--- (5) ---

Editor's note— Ordinance No. 1983, § 3, adopted September 28, 2021, renumbered the former §§ 82-121—82-134 as §§ 82-127—82-140 and enacted a new division 3 as set out herein. The historical notation has been retained with the amended provisions for reference purposes.

Cross reference— Building regulations pertaining to water conservation, § 14-381 et seq.

(a) Water Code § 350 et seq. permits public entities which supply water at retail to adopt and enforce a water conservation program to reduce the quantity of water used by the people therein for the purpose of conserving the water supply. The city council hereby establishes a comprehensive water conservation plan pursuant to the state Water Code to conserve water supplies and to avoid or minimize the effects of any future shortage.

(b) Water Code § 351 provides as follows: "Excepting in event of a breakage or failure of a dam, pump, pipe line or conduit causing an immediate emergency, the declaration shall be made only after a public hearing at which consumers of such water supply shall have an opportunity to be heard to protest against the declaration and to present their respective needs to said governing board."

(c) No customer of the city shall knowingly make, cause, use or permit the use of water supplied by the city for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental or any other purpose in a manner contrary to any provisions of this division. Any of the restrictions described in this division shall take effect by adoption of an implementing resolution by the city council as provided in this division.

(d) It is declared that the city shall, for the general public health, safety and welfare, to comply with Water Code div. 6 (conservation, development, and utilization of state water resources) and to assure an adequate water supply for the community, requires a mandatory water conservation plan to be authorized.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 1, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21; Ord. No. 1997, § 1, 4-12-22)

The city finds actions taken pursuant to this division to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency pursuant to Public Resources Code § 15269(c).

(Ord. No. 1442, § 2, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21)

This division shall be effective upon its adoption. Specific water conservation phases described in this division shall be effective by subsequent action of the city council in the case of a water supply shortage or by executive action of the city manager as recommended by the public works director or water/wastewater superintendent in the case of an emergency water shortage.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 3, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21; Ord. No. 1997, § 2, 4-12-22)

The provisions of this division shall apply to all persons, customers and property served by the city.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 4, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21)

This water conservation ordinance is to minimize the effects of a water shortage to the water customers of the city, to comply with the California Water Code, and to significantly reduce the delivery and consumption of water, thereby extending the period that water may be supplied or delivered to the distribution system of the city.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 3, 4-12-22)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 1997, § 3, adopted April 12, 2022, set out a provision intended for use as § 82-130. Inasmuch as § 82-130 already exists, and no provision was included for renumbering the same, this provision has been included herein as § 82-130.5.

The city manager, public works director, water/wastewater superintendent or other designated city representative is hereby authorized and directed to implement the provisions of this division as approved by the city council.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 5, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21; Ord. No. 1997, § 4, 4-12-22)

The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

AWSDA means annual water supply and demand assessment.

City means the City of Hemet.

CII means commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Customer means any person or persons, corporation, public or private entity, governmental agency or institution or any other user of water provided by the city.

Landscape irrigation system means a system with controllers, valves, pipes, hoses, spray heads or sprinkling devices that are operated by hand or through an automated system used to water outdoor landscaping.

Water shortage contingency plan stages means the established actions and procedures for managing water supply and demands during water shortages.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 1997, § 5, adopted April 12, 2022, repealed §§ 82-132—82-136 and added new §§ 82-132—82-144, and § 6 of the same renumbered existing §§ 82-137—82-140 as 82-145—82-148. Former § 82-132 pertained to findings and derived from Ord. No. 1442, adopted February 25, 1992 and Ord. No. 1983, adopted September 28, 2021. Former § 82-133 pertained to water waste prevention and derived from Ord. No. 1442, adopted February 25, 1992 and Ord. No. 1983, adopted September 28, 2021. Former § 82-134 pertained to water rationing and derived from Ord. No. 1442, adopted February 25, 1992; Ord. No. 1894, adopted January 27, 2015; and Ord. No. 1983, adopted September 28, 2021. Former § 82-135 pertained to appeals and variances and derived from Ord. No. 1442, adopted February 25, 1992 and Ord. No. 1983, adopted September 28, 2021. Former § 82-136 pertained to incentive tiered water rates and derived from Ord. No. 1442, adopted February 25, 1992 and Ord. No. 1983, adopted September 28, 2021.

The following water efficiency requirements shall continuously apply to all existing customers regardless of city or statewide drought status:

(1) Hosing down driveways and other hard surfaces, is prohibited except for health or sanitary reasons and then only by use of a hand-held bucket or similar container, a hand-held hose equipped with a positive water shut-off device or a low-volume, high-pressure cleaning machine equipped to recover and recycle any water used.

(2) No customer of the water division shall permit water to leak or runoff from any property where conditions may be corrected or reasonably modified to prevent such leakage or runoff.

(3) Property owners are only allowed to irrigate landscape between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. This provision does not apply when:

a. Manually watering landscape with a hose containing a positive shut-off device attached.

b. During the establishment period for new landscape.

c. For very short periods of time for the purpose of adjusting or repairing an irrigation system.

(4) The watering or irrigating of any lawn, landscape or other vegetated area with potable water using a hose watering device that is not continuously attended is prohibited.

(5) Use of decorative fountains, unless they are equipped with a recirculating system, are prohibited.

(6) Where potable water is used for commercial cooling systems, such as chillers, cooling towers, and building air conditioning systems, the water must be recirculated to the maximum extent feasible.

(7) Water shall not be allowed to run while washing vehicles. A hand-held bucket or similar container and/or a hand-held hose equipped with a positive water shut-off device shall be allowed.

(8) Watering or irrigating any lawn, landscape or other vegetated area during rain events or within 48 hours after a rain event in which 0.5-inches or greater accumulated rain has fallen in the previous 24-hour period, is prohibited.

(9) Operators of hotels and motels shall post notices in each guest room urging guests to conserve water, and shall provide guests with the option of choosing not to have towels and linens laundered daily. Notice of this option shall be displayed in each guestroom using clear and easily understood language. The city shall provide appropriate language upon request.

(10) Restaurants or other public places where food is served shall only serve water to their customers upon request.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

Excessive waste, loss or escape of water through breaks, leaks or other malfunctions in the water user's plumbing, irrigation, or distribution system shall be repaired in a timely manner.

(1) Minor exterior leaks shall be repaired within seven business days of the property owner receiving written notice of the leak by the city.

(2) All substantial exterior leaks as identified by the city's water division personnel shall be repaired within 48 hours of written notification from the city, unless other arrangements are made with the city's water division in writing.

(3) The city may shut off the water supply to a property when repair of exterior leaks have not been timely made after prior written notice from the city as set forth in subsection (2) above, and are causing the continual and excessive waste of water to exist and discharges from the property.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

All landscaping and irrigation shall comply with chapter 90, zoning, article XLVIII, landscaping and irrigation, of this Code.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

Shall be in accordance with chapter I, article II of this Code.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

Right to an administrative hearing and waiver of advance deposit shall be in accordance with chapter I, article II, section 1-27 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

(a) General variance criteria. No relief shall be granted unless the customer demonstrates maximum practical water reduction, including, but not limited to, the installation of low flow showerheads, toilets, water conserving devices on all faucets, installation of irrigation controllers with rain shutoff features, and the repair of all leaks. All requests for variances shall be submitted in writing to the city manager or their designee. Upon review, the city water/wastewater superintendent or his designated representative may require a water audit to verify conditions.

(b) Residential variance criteria. A variance may be granted to provide relief to a residential customer that reflects changes in circumstances, such as:

(1) Irrigation of new plantings, when their installation occurred prior to adoption of water use restrictions.

(2) Medical conditions as certified by a physician or other medical professional.

(3) Abatement of health or safety hazards.

(4) Change of the occupancy or number of occupants of the residence.

(5) Other circumstances submitted in writing by the customer, and as may be warranted based on the determination of the City Manager, Public Works Director, or Water/Wastewater Superintendent.

(b) Commercial, industrial, institutional (CII) variance criteria. A variance may be granted to provide relief to a CII customer to reflect changes in circumstances which have occurred, such as:

(1) Irrigation of new plantings, when their installation occurred prior to adoption of mandatory water use restrictions.

(2) Increased in the number of employees.

(3) Production of new products which require an increase in process water.

(4) Increase in business activities.

(5) Abatement of health or safety hazards.

(6) Other information submitted in writing by the customer, and as may be warranted based on the determination of the city manager, public works director, or water/wastewater superintendent.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

A water shortage may exist based upon the occurrence of one or more of the following conditions:

(1) A major failure of any or all supply, storage or distribution facilities of the city water and reservoir system that decreases the city's ability to meet customer maximum daily water demand through its own sources or through interconnects with other water agencies.

(2) A water supply shortage due to the inability of the city to meet acceptable water quality standards mandated by the state health department.

(3) A general water supply shortage due to increased demand or limited supplies from either the city's own sources or other regional sources.

(4) A significant decline in the underground aquifer which the city relies upon and as measured by the height of water in the city's wells.

(5) A complete long-term power failure of all electrical connections from the electrical provider in which the city may not be able to replace through backup generators or other means.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

(a) The city manager may invoke emergency water shortage restrictions when a major failure occurs, whether temporary or permanent, in the supply, the water quality, the distribution lines, or the reservoirs of the city's water system or;

(b) When the governor and state water board find and declares that an emergency exists due to severe drought conditions and that adoption of proposed emergency regulations is necessary to address the emergency.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

This section establishes six water shortage contingency plan levels to be implemented in the case of an emergency water shortage. During times of a water shortage and based on the severity of the water shortage, the city council shall direct the city manager, the public works director, the water/wastewater superintendent or a designated city representative to implement the provisions of this division.

To provide a consistent regional and statewide approach for conveying the relative severity of water supply shortage conditions, the 2018 Water Conservation Legislation mandates that water suppliers plan for six standard water shortage contingency plan levels that correspond to progressive reductions of up to 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 percent, and greater than 50 percent from the normal reliability condition. Each shortage condition should correspond to additional actions water suppliers would implement to meet the severity of the impending shortages. For each declared water supply shortage level, customers will be required to reduce consumption by the percentage specified in the corresponding water shortage contingency plan level listed in Table 1, below.

(1) Water shortage contingency plan levels shall be implemented and shall continue as necessary, with additional mandatory water use restrictions enacted if the target water savings are not achieved within 30 calendar days of the declared water shortage.

(2) For each of the state's standard shortage levels (also called "stages"), Table 1 summarizes the water shortage range (i.e. percent shortage from normal supplies) and a brief narrative description of the corresponding water shortage condition. These water shortage stages apply to both foreseeable and unforeseeable water supply shortage conditions. Table 1 presents the city's reorganized stages, which align with the state's current standard stages.

Table 1. Water Shortage Contingency Plan Levels

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

The city will track progress toward water use reduction goals through a comparative analysis of total monthly water production volumes between comparable months such as July of the current year with July of the previous year. The analysis will compare the drought month production for a specific month with the previous non-drought month production in the previous year to obtain a percent reduction. The city will increase or decrease its public outreach efforts based on observed usage reduction. The demand reduction actions discussed in section 82-144 may be considered as tools that allow the city to respond to water shortage conditions. The city will adjust response actions to demands and available water.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

(a) The city may request that its customers reduce their water demands in response to any water shortage stage through public outreach. During water shortage conditions, the city plans to reduce demand by implementing the actions in section 82-144. Demand reduction actions are organized by the triggering water shortage level. The city will continue to use these actions in the lower stages unless otherwise noted.

(b) If the residential customer's usage amount reaches an amount equal to or below the state standard for residential indoor water use as adopted by the state legislature (through AB 1668, Friedman-2018.), then no further water conservation is required for residential customers.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

(a) Shortage level 1—Voluntary conservation. In order to achieve an overall system-wide reduction goal of up to ten percent, all potable water customers of the city are requested to:

(1) Protect and preserve water supply and eliminate wasteful water use.

(b) Shortage level 2—Mandatory compliance water shortage watch. The city council may, by resolution, declare a shortage level 2 upon recommendation by the city manager based on water supply and delivery projections by the water/wastewater superintendent that an overall system-wide reduction of up to 20 percent is necessary, taking into consideration projections and estimates made by the water/wastewater superintendent pertaining to the city's water supply. In order to achieve an overall system-wide reduction of up to 20 percent, the following prohibitions shall be enacted:

(1) Protect and preserve water supply and eliminate wasteful water use.

(2) Limit outdoor irrigation of ornamental landscapes or turf with potable water by the persons it serves to no more than once every other day. Even numbered property addresses may only water on even dates of the month and odd numbered property addresses may only water on odd dates of the month.

(3) Any use of water from a fire hydrant except for fighting fires or essential construction needs and system flushing, as determined by the city's water division, shall be prohibited.

(c) Shortage level 3—Mandatory compliance—Water shortage warning. The city council may, by resolution, declare a shortage level 3 upon recommendation by the city manager based on water supply and delivery projections by the water/wastewater superintendent that an overall system-wide reduction of 30 percent is necessary, taking into consideration projections and estimates made by the water/wastewater superintendent pertaining to the city's water supply. In order to achieve an overall system-wide reduction of up to 30 percent, the following prohibitions shall be enacted:

(1) Any activities enacted during lower shortage levels.

(2) Limit outdoor irrigation of ornamental landscapes or turf with potable water by the persons it serves to no more than two times per calendar week. Even numbered property addresses may water on Mondays and Thursdays. Odd numbered property addresses may water on Tuesdays and Fridays.

(3) Planting of any new landscaping, except for drought resistant landscaping shall be curtailed until all shortage levels have been rescinded.

(d) Shortage level 4—Mandatory compliance—Significant water shortage. The city council may, by resolution, declare a shortage level 4 upon recommendation by the city manager based on water supply and delivery projections by the water/wastewater superintendent that an overall system-wide reduction of 40 percent is necessary, taking into consideration projections and estimates made by the water/wastewater superintendent pertaining to the city's water supply. In order to achieve an overall system-wide reduction of 40 percent, the following prohibitions shall be enacted:

(1) Any activities enacted during lower shortage levels.

(2) The refilling or initial filling of any swimming pool is prohibited, unless required for public health and safety purposes.

(3) Watering of any residential, commercial, industrial area lawn with potable water, at any time day or night is prohibited. An exception will be made to permit drip irrigation for established perennial plants, home and commercial orchards and trees using automatic time-controlled water application.

(4) "Will serve" letters will not automatically be issued by the city. Projects may/or may not be approved individually based upon overall impact to the city water supply requirements.

(5) Car washing is prohibited, unless using a commercial carwash that recycles water.

(e) Shortage level 5—Mandatory compliance—Critical water shortage. The city council may, by resolution, declare a conservation stage 5 upon recommendation by the city manager based on water supply and delivery projections by the water/wastewater superintendent that an overall system-wide reduction of up to 50 percent is necessary, taking into consideration projections and estimates made by the water/wastewater superintendent pertaining to the city's water supply. In order to achieve an overall system-wide reduction of up to 50 percent, the following prohibitions shall be enacted:

(1) Any activities prohibited during lower shortage levels.

(2) The use of potable water for construction activities and uses such as dust suppression or process waters, however use of recycled water for construction activities shall be exempt from this restriction.

(3) The filling of swimming pools, wading pools, spas, ornamental ponds, and fountains.

(f) Shortage level 6—Mandatory compliance—Emergency water shortage. The city council may, by resolution, declare a conservation stage 3 upon recommendation by the city manager based on water supply and delivery projections by the water/wastewater superintendent that an overall system-wide reduction of over 50 percent is necessary, taking into consideration projections and estimates made by the public works superintendent pertaining to the city's water supply. In order to achieve an overall system-wide reduction of over 50 percent, the following activities shall be enacted:

(1) Any activities prohibited during lower shortage levels.

(2) All landscape watering and non-essential outdoor water use for all customers.

(g) The city council shall have the authority to prohibit other activities and water uses upon the recommendation of the city manager, public works director or water/wastewater superintendent where that such additional measures are necessary in order to achieve an overall system-wide reduction regarding each stage reduction of water usage.

(Ord. No. 1997, § 5, 4-12-22)

Where water service is disconnected or a flow restriction device has been installed, as authorized in this division, normal water service shall be restored upon correction of the condition or activity and payment of the reconnection charge and penalties. The reconnection charge shall include all costs associated with disconnecting and reconnecting the service or installing and removing the flow restricting device. Restoration of normal service shall be performed during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on regular working days.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 11, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21; Ord. No. 1997, § 6, 4-12-22)

Note— Formerly § 82-137, see editor's note for § 82-132.

Nothing contained in this division shall be construed to require the city to curtail the supply of water to any customer when, in the discretion of the city water superintendent, such water is required by that customer to maintain an adequate level of public health and safety.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 12, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21; Ord. No. 1997, § 6, 4-12-22)

Note— Formerly § 82-138, see editor's note for § 82-132.

The rights of the city under this division shall be cumulative to any other rights of the city to discontinue service. All monies collected by the city pursuant to this division shall be deposited in the city water fund.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 13, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21; Ord. No. 1997, § 6, 4-12-22)

Note— Formerly § 82-139, see editor's note for § 82-132.

City staff will prepare an analysis of the effect of water conservation plan on the revenues and expenditures of the urban water supplier. The incentive rates structure is adopted to overcome those impacts. The analysis will be submitted to the department of water resources as part of the city's water shortage contingency plan.

(Ord. No. 1442, § 14, 2-25-92; Ord. No. 1983, § 3, 9-28-21; Ord. No. 1997, § 6, 4-12-22)

Note— Formerly § 82-140, see editor's note for § 82-132.