San Clemente Municipal Code Ch. 13.12 Water Conservation

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 1731, §§ 1—15, adopted July 28, 2022 amended Ch. 13.12, §§ 13.12.010—13.12.110, in effect repealing and reenacting said chapter as set out herein. Former Ch. 13.12 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. No. 1598, § 3, adopted June 2, 2015; Ord. No. 1614, § 3, adopted January 5, 2016; Ord. No. 1648, § 4, adopted December 5, 2017; and Ord. No. 1664, § 35, adopted September 18, 2018.

This chapter may be cited as the Water Conservation Chapter.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 1, 7-28-2022)

This chapter establishes water management requirements necessary to conserve water, enable effective water supply planning, assure reasonable and beneficial use of water, prevent waste of water, prevent unreasonable use of water, prevent unreasonable methods of use of water within the City of San Clemente in order to assure adequate supplies of water to meet the needs of the public, and further the public health, safety, and welfare, recognizing that water is a scarce natural resource that requires careful management not only in times of drought, but at all times.

A. .....This chapter establishes, as a measure to protect the reliability of water supplies and prevent future water shortages or emergencies, permanent prohibitions on water uses that are deemed to be wasteful.

B. .....This chapter establishes regulations to be implemented during times of declared water shortages or declared water shortage emergencies.

C. .....This chapter establishes five water shortage levels with a crosswalk to the six standard water shortage levels to provide defined response actions for implementation during periods of declared water shortage or declared water shortage emergency, with increasing restrictions on water use in response to worsening drought or emergency conditions and decreasing supplies as defined within the City's most recently adopted water shortage contingency plan.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 2, 7-28-2022)

As used in this chapter, the following terms are defined in this section:

"Billing Cycle" shall mean the billing period in which a customer's water use is measured for purposes of calculating the amount of the water service charges that shall be collected for that period.

"City" shall mean the municipality of the City of San Clemente, California.

"City Manager" means the chief administrator of the City of San Clemente, as appointed by the City Council.

"Customer" means water customer or water user.

"Ecological Restoration Project" means a project where the site is intentionally altered to establish a defined, indigenous, historic ecosystem.

"Effective Date" shall mean the date of adoption of this chapter, or of any specific water shortage response action, as provided by Water Code Section 376.

"Incidental Runoff" shall mean a minimal amount of irrigation water that escapes the area of intended use. This may include minor windblown overspray or mist extending onto sidewalks within a park or minimal runoff from watering trees. Water leaving an intended use area is not incidental if it is part of the facility or system design, if it is due to excessive application, if it is due to intentional overflow or application, or if it is due to negligence.

"Irrigation customer" shall mean a person who, according to the City's records, receives water service and has a dedicated irrigation meter for outdoor irrigation of landscaping.

"Irrigation System" means a system whose primary purpose is the application of water to landscapes through valves, pipes, hoses, spray heads, or sprinkling devices that are operated by hand or through an automated system. A single garden hose with a shutoff valve or spray nozzle is not considered an irrigation system.

"Metropolitan" means the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which is the wholesale urban water supplier of imported water to Municipal Water District of Orange County.

"Multi-Family Residential Customer" shall mean a person, according to the City's records, receives water service to a multi-family residence that is individually metered or master-metered.

"Municipal Water District of Orange County" (MWDOC) means the regional wholesale urban water supplier of imported water to Orange County.

"Permit" means an authorizing document issued by local agencies for new construction or rehabilitated landscape.

"Person" shall mean any natural person, corporation, partnership, government entity or subdivision, trust, estate, cooperative association, joint venture, business entity, or other similar entity, or the agent, employee or representative of any of the above.

"Potable Water" means water which is suitable for drinking.

"Recycled Water" means wastewater treated to a quality suitable for non-potable uses, such as landscape irrigation and decorative water features, and not intended for human consumption.

"Residential Customers" shall mean single family and multi-family residential customers.

"Service Area" shall mean the area within the boundaries of the system owned by the City of San Clemente that directly provides water to its service connections.

"Service Connection" means the pipe or tubing, fittings, and valves necessary to conduct water from the distribution main to and through the meter.

"Single-Pass Cooling Systems" means equipment where water is circulated only once to cool equipment before being disposed.

"Single Family Residential Customer" shall mean a person who, according to the City's records, has water delivered to a single-family residence.

"Special Landscape Area" means an area of the landscape dedicated solely to edible plants such as orchards and vegetable gardens, areas irrigated with recycled water, water features using recycled water, and recreational areas dedicated to active play such as parks, sports fields, golf courses, and where turf provides a playing surface.

"Stormwater Drainage System" shall mean street gutter, channel, storm drain, constructed drain, lined diversion structure, wash area, inlet, outlet, or other facility which is a part of or tributary to the county-wide stormwater runoff system and owned, operated, maintained, or controlled by County of Orange, the Orange County Flood Control District, or any co-permittee including the City of San Clemente, and used for the purpose of collecting, storing, transporting, or disposing of stormwater.

"Turf" means a groundcover surface of mowed grass, including cool-season grasses, such as annual bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, red fescue, and tall fescue; and warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda grass, Kikuyu grass, seashore paspalum, St. Augustine grass, Zoysia grass, and Buffalo grass.

"Utilities Director" means the chief administrator of the Utilities Department of the City of San Clemente.

"Valve" means a device used to control the flow of water on a garden hose or in an irrigation system.

"Water Customer" means the person in whose name service is rendered as evidenced by the signature on the application, contract or agreement for that service, or in the absence of a signed instrument, by the receipt and payment of bills regularly issued in his/her name, regardless of the identity of the actual user of the service.

"Water Feature" means a design element where open water performs an aesthetic or recreational function. Water features include ponds, lakes, waterfalls, fountains, artificial streams, spas, water slides and swimming pools where water is artificially supplied.

"Water Shortage Contingency Plan" or "WSCP" refers to the version of the plan of this name most recently adopted by the City of San Clemente for managing water supplies and demand during times of anticipated water supply shortages or water shortage emergencies.

"Water Shortage Emergency," also referred to outside of this ordinance as a drought emergency, shall mean a condition existing within the City in which the ordinary water demands and requirements of persons within the City's service area cannot be satisfied without depleting the water supply of the City to the extent that there would be insufficient water for human consumption, sanitation, and fire protection. A water shortage emergency includes both an immediate emergency, in which the City is unable to meet current water needs of persons within the City's service area, as well as a threatened water shortage, in which the City determines that its supply cannot meet an increased future demand.

"Water Shortage Response Actions" means the appropriate suite of demand reduction, supply augmentation, and/or operational changes to be implemented by the City staff at the direction of the City Council in response to a water supply shortage of any of the six designated levels of severity.

"Water Supply Shortage" means any decline in water supply reliability due to drought conditions or other supply challenges that at a minimum requires voluntary or mandatory conservation measures in order to maintain water availability for human consumption, sanitation, and fire protection.

"Water User" means any user of water in the City's service area or water supplied by the City's service area, including but not limited to a water customer.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 3, 7-28-2022)

A. .....The provisions of this water conservation ordinance apply to any customer, person, and property using water provided by the City of San Clemente.

B. .....The provisions of this water conservation ordinance do not apply to uses of water necessary to protect public health and safety or for essential government services, such as police, fire, and other similar emergency services, nor to the installation or maintenance of Ecological Restoration Projects.

C. .....The provisions of this water conservation ordinance do not apply to the use of recycled water, nor to the irrigation of other special landscape areas.

D. .....This chapter is intended solely to further the conservation of water. It is not intended to implement any provision of federal, state, or local statutes, ordinances, or regulations relating to protection of water quality or control of drainage or runoff.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 4, 7-28-2022)

A. .....Under Water Code Section 10632.1, the City of San Clemente is required to submit an annual water supply and demand assessment report to the California Department of Water Resources by July 1 of each year. Thus, the City of San Clemente will follow the written decision-making process defined in its WSCP to assess water supply reliability on an annual basis.

B. .....City staff will determine if a water shortage exists or is imminent by comparing the results of the annual assessment to the criteria for the water shortage levels defined in the WSCP.

C. .....In the event a water shortage is identified according to the procedures and conditions defined in the adopted WSCP, upon recommendation by staff and pursuant to resolution, the City Council will declare a shortage of the appropriate level.

D. .....The public will be informed of the shortage according to the Procedures and protocols for communication identified in Section 13.12.060 of this chapter.

E. .....Sudden catastrophic water supply shortage. When the Utilities Director determines that a sudden event significantly has diminished, or threatens to diminish, the reliability or quality of the City's water supply, the Utilities Director may advise the City Manager to declare a catastrophic water supply shortage and impose whatever emergency water allocation or conservation actions deemed necessary, in the Utilities Director's professional judgment, to protect the reliability and quality of the City's water supply, until the emergency passes or the City Council takes other action.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 5, 7-28-2022)

Upon declaration of a Water Shortage, the City of San Clemente will inform all relevant stakeholders, such as customers, the public, the media, interested parties, and local, regional, and state governments, of the effective date of the water shortage response actions associated with the relevant water shortage level according to the communication procedures identified in the City's WSCP, including but not limited to the appropriate use of one or more of the following: social media posts, press releases, water bill messaging, and traffic sign boards. Specifically, messaging shall include:

A. .....Any current or predicted shortages as determined by the annual water supply and demand assessment.

B. .....Any shortage response actions triggered or anticipated to be triggered by the annual water supply and demand assessment.

C. .....Links and references to resources to help customers comply with the shortage response actions.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 6, 7-28-2022)

The following water conservation requirements are intended to protect the City's water supplies year-round and are effective at all times, and violations of this section will be considered waste and an unreasonable use of water:

A. .....Washing down sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking areas or other paved surfaces, except as is required to dispose of dangerous liquids or alleviate safety or sanitary hazards, and then only by use of a hand-held bucket, pressure washer or hand-held hose equipped with a positive self-closing water shut-off device, is prohibited. All washing down of impervious surfaces must comply with the City's stormwater runoff control ordinance and shall be prevented from discharging into the stormwater drainage system. Routine cleaning of sidewalks and driveways shall be performed by other means, such as by using a broom.

B. .....Washing equipment or machinery, or cleaning the exterior of any building or structure with water, is prohibited unless performed with a hose equipped with an automatic shutoff nozzle. All washwater from such activities must be prevented from discharging into the stormwater drainage system.

C. .....Using water to wash or clean a vehicle, including but not limited to any automobile, truck, van, bus, motorcycle, boat or trailer, is prohibited, except by use of a handheld bucket or hand-held hose equipped with a positive self-closing device or water shut-off nozzle. This prohibition does not apply to any commercial car washing facility; however, commercial conveyor car wash systems must have installed operational re-circulating water systems, or must have secured a waiver of this requirement from the City.

D. .....The use of water to clean, fill or maintain levels in decorative fountains, ponds, lakes or other similar aesthetic water features, unless such water is part of a recirculating system, is prohibited. The only exception may be an aesthetic water feature currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places, where water use is deemed necessary to maintain integrity of the feature. Swimming pools and spas, and other water features designed for active recreational use, are also exempt from this year-round restriction.

E. .....No person shall empty and refill a swimming pool or spa except to prevent or repair structural damage or to comply with public health regulations. All pools and spas shall be equipped with a water recirculation device. The use of a pool/spa cover is encouraged to prevent evaporative water loss.

F. .....The use of water to irrigate outdoor landscapes during or within 48 hours following measurable rainfall, defined as ¼ inch or greater in the vicinity according to the National Weather Service, or the nearest California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) station, is prohibited.

G. .....The irrigation with potable water of ornamental, nonfunctional, turf on public street medians is prohibited, except where the turf is irrigated incidentally by an irrigation system, the primary purpose of which is the irrigation of trees.

H. .....The use of potable water for street cleaning or compacting or dust control purposes in construction activities is prohibited where there is a reasonably available source of recycled or other non-potable water approved by the California State Department of Health Services and appropriate for such use. In the case of construction activities, this condition must be identified and specified on drawings submitted to the City for review.

I. .....The irrigation with potable water of landscapes outside of newly constructed homes and buildings, in a manner inconsistent with regulations or other requirements established by the California Building Standards Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Development, is prohibited.

J. .....Watering or irrigating of any lawn, landscape or other vegetated area in a manner that causes or allows more than incidental runoff from the property, onto an adjoining sidewalk, driveway, street, gutter or ditch is prohibited.

K. .....Watering of landscapes, lawns, or other turf areas between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. is prohibited, with the exception of the use of:

a. Hand-held watering cans, buckets, or similar containers reasonably used to convey water for irrigation purposes.

b. Drip irrigation systems, bubblers, or soakers.

c. A hand-held garden hose equipped with a fully functioning, positive selfclosing water shut-off nozzle or similar device.

d. Irrigation system operation for the express purpose of inspecting, adjusting, or repairing the system.

L. Homeowners' associations. .....To prevent the waste and unreasonable use of water and to promote water conservation, any homeowners' association or community service organization or similar entity is prohibited from:

a. Imposing or threatening to impose a fine, assessment, or other monetary penalty against any owner of a separate interest for reducing or eliminating the watering of vegetation or lawns during a declared water shortage emergency, or

b. Requiring an owner of a separate interest upon which water-efficient landscaping measures have been installed in response to a declared water shortage emergency, to reverse or remove the water-efficient landscaping measures upon the conclusion of the emergency.

M. .....All leaks, breaks, or other malfunctions in the water user's plumbing, irrigation or privately owned distribution system must be repaired within five calendar days of notification by the City, unless other arrangements are made with the City. In the case of excessive and continuous water waste that clearly demonstrates a threat to human health, safety, or property, the City reserves the right to terminate water service at the meter until the repair is made.

N. .....Hotels, motels and other commercial lodging establishments must provide customers the option of not having towels and linen laundered daily. Commercial lodging establishments must prominently display notice of this option in each bathroom using clear and easily understood language.

O. .....Food preparation establishments such as restaurants or cafes are prohibited from using non-water conserving pre-rinse spray valves in their dishwashing stations.

P. .....No restaurant, hotel, cafe, cafeteria or other public place where food is sold, served or offered for sale shall serve drinking water to any customer unless expressly requested.

Q. .....Installation of single-pass cooling systems is prohibited in buildings requesting new water service or being remodeled.

R. Indiscriminate use. .....No person shall cause or permit the indiscriminate running of water not otherwise prohibited above which is wasteful and without reasonable purpose.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 7, 7-28-2022)

A. .....Metropolitan's and MWDOC's water shortage contingency plan follows the state's six standard water shortage levels corresponding to progressive ranges of up to 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 percent shortages and greater than 50 percent shortage [Water Code Section 10632 (a)(3)(A)].

B. .....The City of San Clemente's water shortage levels are also aligned with the State's water shortage levels and as with those defined in the MWDOC WSCP, and therefore comply with Water Code Section 10632 (a)(3) as identified above.

(Ord. No. 1598, § 3, 6-2-2015)

The City Council, by ordinance or resolution, is authorized to require or impose reductions in the use of water if such reductions are necessary to comply with water supply shortage conditions as defined in the City of San Clemente Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP) or to comply with water use restrictions imposed by federal, state, or regional water agencies or to respond to emergency water supply shortage conditions and water shortage emergencies. Depending on the expected duration and severity of the water shortage or water shortage emergency, these measures may include, but are not limited to, some or all of the actions listed in Chapter 4 of the WSCP for the following five levels of water shortage, which shall take effect upon declaration by resolution of the City Council. In the event of a breakage or failure of a dam, pump, pipe line or conduit causing an immediate emergency, the City Manager or his/her designee may make the declaration, which will be ratified by the City Council at a subsequent meeting.

The current shortage response actions that align with each Level of Water Supply Shortage are defined in the 2020 WSCP, which is subject to updates and re-adoption in the future. The current WSCP includes the following:

A. .....Locally appropriate supply augmentation actions.

B. .....Locally appropriate demand reduction actions to adequately respond to shortages, as detailed below.

C. .....Locally appropriate operational changes.

D. .....Additional, mandatory prohibitions against specific water use practices that are in addition to state-mandated prohibitions and appropriate to the local conditions.

E. .....For each action, an estimate of the extent to which the gap between supplies and demand will be reduced by implementation of the action.

F. .....Each elevated shortage level will include the elements of the previous shortage level(s), including the mandatory restrictions on water waste detailed in Section 8.4.4 of the WSCP, with each elevated shortage level intended to be more restrictive than the previous level(s).

G. .....As deemed necessary, an allocation of water supply under a water supply emergency condition beyond WSCP defined actions may be implemented.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 9, 7-28-2022)

A. .....If, due to unique circumstances, a specific requirement of this chapter would result in undue hardship to a person using water or to property upon which water is used, that is disproportionate to the impacts to water users generally or to similar property of classes of water users, then the person may apply for a waiver to the requirements as provided in this section.

B. Application: .....Application for a waiver must be on a form prescribed by the City and accompanied by a non-refundable processing fee in an amount set by City Council resolution, and must be accompanied by photographs, maps, drawings, and other information, including a written statement by the applicant.

C. Required findings for waiver: .....An application for a waiver will be denied unless the Utilities Director or his/her designee finds, based on the information provided in the application supporting documents, or such additional information as may be requested, and on water use information for the property as shown by the records of the City of San Clemente, all of the following:

1. That the waiver does not constitute a grant of special privilege inconsistent with the limitations upon other residents and businesses;

2. That because of special circumstances applicable to the property or its use, the strict application of this chapter would have a disproportionate impact on the property of use that exceeds the impacts to residents and businesses generally;

3. That the authorizing of such waiver will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent properties, and will not materially affect the ability of the City of San Clemente to effectuate the purpose of this chapter and will not be detrimental to the public interest; and

4. That the condition or situation of the subject property of the intended use of the property for which the waiver is sought is not common, recurrent or general in nature.

D. Approval authority: .....The City Manager or designee must act upon any completed application no later than 10 days after submittal and may approve, conditionally approve, or deny the waiver. The applicant requesting the waiver must be promptly notified in writing of any action taken. Unless specified otherwise at the time a waiver is approved, the waiver will apply to the subject property during the period of the mandatory water supply shortage condition. The decision of the City Manager or designee will be final.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 10, 7-28-2022)

Penalties. It shall be unlawful for any water customer of the City of San Clemente to fail to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter. The penalties set forth in this section shall be additional to those penalties provided in any other section of this code. The penalties for failure to comply with any of the prohibited use provisions of this chapter shall be as follows:

A. First violation: .....The City Manager or his/her authorized designee will issue a written warning or "notice of noncompliance," including the time, date, place, and general description of the violation, as well as the means and date by which to correct the violation and possible consequences of failing to correct the violation. In addition to educational materials pertaining to the nature of the violation, a hard copy of or link to this ordinance will be attached to the notice and delivered by certified mail, regular mail, and/or posting (i.e., door hanger) to the party who is billed for the water, or to the property owner, as appropriate.

B. Subsequent violations: .....An additional "notice of noncompliance" as described above will be delivered by certified and regular mail to the party who is billed for the water, or to the property owner, as appropriate. A second, third, fourth, or additional violation within the preceding 12 calendar months may incur an administrative fine consistent with Chapter 1.20.070 of the City's Municipal Code.

C. Separate offenses. .....Each day that a violation of this ordinance occurs is a separate offense.

D. Termination of service. .....In addition to any fines, the City of San Clemente may disconnect and/or terminate a customer's water service for a willful violation of mandatory restrictions in this conservation ordinance. The customer will be responsible for payment of the current City charges for disconnecting and when applicable, reconnecting water service. Nonpayment will be subject to the same remedies as nonpayment of basic water rates.

Administrative hearings. A customer may appeal the notice of violation by filing a written notice of appeal with the City Clerk of the City of San Clemente consistent with the requirements and proceedings described in Chapter 1.20.080 of the City's municipal code.

A. .....Pending receipt of a written appeal or pending a hearing pursuant to an appeal, the City of San Clemente may take appropriate steps to prevent the unauthorized use of water as appropriate to the nature and extent of the violations and the current declared water shortage level.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 11, 7-28-2022)

In order to address state reporting requirements and to ensure customer compliance, the City of San Clemente will document all outreach for voluntary conservation efforts as well as enforcement for violations in its Computerized Maintenance Management System, in order to collect, track, and analyze relevant data per the procedures defined in the WSCP.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 12, 7-28-2022)

To ensure water shortage risk tolerance is adequate and appropriate water shortage mitigation strategies are implemented as needed, the WSCP will be reviewed and evaluated as defined by the procedures identified in the WSCP. The WSCP will be updated every five years when the corresponding urban water management plan is updated, but the WSCP may be updated more frequently as well, if necessary to maintain effective water shortage responses.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 13, 7-28-2022)

A. Limits on building permits: .....the City of San Clemente, through resolution by the City Council, may limit or withhold the issuance of building permits which require new or expanded water service, except to protect the public health, safety and welfare, or in cases which meet the City of San Clemente's adopted conservation offset requirements.

B. .....The City of San Clemente may provide water efficiency devices either directly or through supported programs. Such devices should remain within the City's service area at all times. Devices provided by the City should be used with the intent to conserve water and not be modified in any way or sold.

C. .....In order to aid in enforcement, the City of San Clemente may establish, or use an existing 24-hour phone line as, a water-waste reporting hotline for residents to call in violations of this chapter, and may also utilize any submissions to an online customer service request portal for the same purpose.

D. .....The City of San Clemente may opt to address a sudden decrease in water supplies and/or increase in demand by temporarily discontinuing service for one, several, or all of its irrigation customers, regardless of the current water supply shortage level and corresponding response actions to protect health and safety of the public. In this case, the City will provide as much advance notice as possible to the customer before turning water off, as well as back on, at the meter, but the City shall not be liable for any damages to irrigation equipment due to irrigation system pressure fluctuations resulting from any such moratorium on water service. The City encourages all irrigation customers to equip their systems with appropriate pressure reducing valves.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 14, 7-28-2022)

The City of San Clemente finds that this chapter and actions taken hereafter pursuant to this chapter are exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970 as specific actions necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency pursuant to Section 15307 of the CEQA Guidelines.

(Ord. No. 1731, § 15, 7-28-2022)