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OWA~9 's Revised 01-P.ASA's YYater Conservation Standards <br />March 26, 2009 <br />Page 2 <br />• Stakeholders indicated that certain restrictions caused undue economic hardships to <br />businesses such as landscapers, nurseries, power washers and house painters without <br />achieving commensurate water savings. Similarly, it was noted that the marginal <br />conservation benefits of not f lling or topping off public swimming pools and not <br />irrigating public recreational fields failed to justify the loss of these public resources to <br />the community or the health and safety risks of improperly maintained athletic fields. <br />Many stakeholders noted the different values and replacement costs of grass lawns versus <br />trees, shrubbery, and gardens. With proper turf selection and soil preparation, most grass <br />lawns become dormant and will survive severe drought conditions, unlike certain trees <br />and shrubs, which may die without sufficient water and then require years of growing <br />time to replace. OWASA believes that turf grass irrigation represents a low priority, non- <br />essential use of drinking water. <br />• OWASA believes that an effective local conservation program should provide a mix of <br />actual conservation benefits, customer information education aswell as a sense of <br />individual and community empowerment, and that no set of restrictions or rates can be <br />perfectly effective, fair, and practical. <br />Highlights of Revisions to the Standards <br />1. The "Water Supply Advisory" stage has been eliminated from the Standards. From past <br />experience, the Advisory stage has little beneficial effect and is confusing to the public. <br />2. The high "cut-off' limits on monthly water use by residential customers are removed, <br />because they were confusing to the public. Based on our experience during the 2007-2008 <br />drought, the increasing block rates and Water Shortage rate surcharges reduce excessive <br />residential water use without need for further incentives or customer-specific use reduction <br />requirements. <br />3. Allowances are made for irrigating "Public Purpose Athletic and Recreational Fields" and <br />"Public Purpose Botanical Sites" at different times and frequencies than generally specified <br />for spray irrigation; provided that such exceptions comply with an OWASA-approved Water <br />Conservation Plan for each site. <br />4. Spray irrigation restrictions for turf grass remain unchanged except that hours during which <br />spray irrigation is allowed are slightly extended to promote consistency with other <br />communities' ordinances. Spray irrigation restrictions are relaxed for non-turf vegetation, <br />such as trees, shrubs, and gardens. Drip irrigation, underground hose emitters, soaker hose, <br />hand-watering, and other non-spray methods are allowed at any time, duration, or frequency <br />except during a Water Supply Emergency, when all irrigation is prohibited. OWASA <br />recognizes that it is impractical for customers to know whether these irrigation methods <br />comply with the % or 1 inch per week limits specified in the prior Standards and which are <br />continued for spray irrigation. <br />19 <br />