St. Helena Municipal Code Ch. 13.10 Water Management Plan

Sections:

• 13.10.010 Purpose.

• 13.10.020 Allocation of water resources.

• 13.10.030 Effects of allocation.

The city of St. Helena recognizes that its sources of water are limited, and therefore that it must conserve and manage water resources to achieve adopted land use planning objectives. The city’s water resources are currently (and for the foreseeable future) derived from three sources: the city of Napa under its long-term water supply contract with the city of St. Helena; Bell Canyon Reservoir; and groundwater from city-owned and operated wells. It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to establish a water management program that:

• A. Provides a process for dedication of the city’s limited water resources in new development; and

B. Establishes a process for determining the broad land use categories to be served through allocations of water resources during periods when the city is not by resolution of the city council declared to be in any water shortage emergency phase pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 13.04. (Ord. 12-10 § 1)

A. Allocation. Following a public hearing, the city council shall establish an allocation of water resources when the city is not in a declared water shortage emergency pursuant to Section 13.04.220 by adopting an allocation resolution. The resolution shall define:

1. The quantity of water in acre-feet available to the city for allocation during the July 1st through June 30th water year;

2. A list of defined land use or project categories for which water will be made available;

3. A discrete quantity of water, expressed in acre-feet, to be allocated to each defined land use category; and

4. A discrete quantity of water to be held in unallocated reserves.

B. Unallocated Reserves. Water held in unallocated reserves shall not be used for any purpose or land use change until transferred to a defined allocation category. Such transfers shall be made through adoption of a new allocation resolution in conformity with subsection A of this section.

C. Term of the Allocation Resolution. In the absence of a declared water shortage emergency, the allocation resolution shall remain in effect until replaced by a subsequent resolution pursuant to subsection A of this section. (Ord. 12-10 § 1)

The purpose and effect of establishing categories of water supplies are to limit access to water to those categories that are consistent with the general plan. No change in land use shall be allowed through any permit or license that could result in a net increase in water use unless such change has been approved in accordance with all applicable provisions of the water management plan.

A. Acceptance of Applications. The director of public works or his or her designee shall monitor the water allocations established by resolution of the city council. Each proposed change in land use or project for which an application is submitted shall be evaluated to determine whether its approval could result in a net increase in water use. For projects that will result in a net increase in water use, the following procedure shall be used by the director of public works or his or her designee:

1. The project shall first be classified into one or more land use categories based on the type of project (for example, a mixed-use project would be classified into both the commercial and multifamily residential categories).

2. An estimate shall then be made of the net increase in water use that would result from the project within each land use category.

3. If the project would require water from a land use category for which no allocation has been made, the application shall be returned to the applicant and shall not be processed.

4. If the project would require more water from a land use category than currently remains in that category, after considering the original allocation minus all existing precommitments and dedications, the application shall be returned to the applicant and shall not be processed or shall be denied.

5. If the project requires water and there is sufficient supply remaining in the allocation for each category affected by the project to meet fully the anticipated demand, the application may be accepted for processing after meeting all requirements for a complete application established by the city.

6. Upon acceptance of an application as complete by the planning director, a precommitment of water resources shall be temporarily assigned by the director of public works or his or her designee to the project during the processing of the application. The director of public works or his or her designee shall keep a single record of the remaining balance of water within each allocation category and a running total of all temporary precommitments and dedications to ensure that applications are not accepted for processing for which water would be unavailable upon approval. For projects that are denied or abandoned, the precommitment shall be terminated and the water shall be administratively restored to its original allocation category.

B. Approval of Applications. Once an application for a project requiring water resources has received final approval, the director of public works or his or her designee shall permanently reduce the remaining balance within each water allocation category affected by the project. This action shall terminate the temporary precommitment of water resources and create a permanent dedication of water resources to the project, subject to all applicable time limits established in the permit or by municipal code.

C. Abandonment of Dedicated Water Resources. Upon making a determination that time limits applicable to a project have expired without implementation, all water previously dedicated to a project, but not used, shall be considered abandoned. All water abandoned or not used by such unimplemented projects shall be returned to the allocation category from which it originated and shall become available for use by subsequent projects. For projects that are implemented and water demand was overestimated, any remaining, unused water shall be credited back to the city’s unallocated reserve.

D. Treatment of Approved and Completed Projects. Once a project has been approved and completed and commences to use city water, it is no longer counted against that allocation category. That project’s water usage then becomes part of overall city water usage, and the amount of water usage for the project will be reflected as part of the future years’ supply/usage balance, as defined in Section 13.04.010, for determining future water availability. Because the water usage portion of that calculation uses a five-year rolling average to smooth out yearly variability, a new project’s water usage will not be fully realized in the supply/usage calculation for five years. This could result in the inadvertent assumption that there is more surplus water than is actually available in the first few years after the project is completed.

To account for the foregoing, the following procedure will be enacted. If the new project has an expected usage in excess of two acre-feet of city water per year, an amount equal to the expected water usage for the project will be subtracted from any surplus water for a period of two years from the date when the project begins using city water. No adjustment will be made if the city’s water supply/usage balance is in deficit. Further allocations of surplus water to usage categories will be made after subtraction of all projects approved or completed within the past water year. (Ord. 12-10 § 1)