The following Short-Term Water Conservation Program is adopted:
(A) A city employee should be named Conservation Officer by the end of this fiscal year. The Conservation Officer shall oversee the water conservation program of the city and shall initiate action on the following recommended measures and ensure these actions are coordinated with the Public Works Department's efforts to model and quantify the water resource. This effort should address all aspects of conservation, should examine the costs and benefits of recommended actions, should include input by affected agencies and the public and should develop high, medium and low reduction scenarios. The Conservation Officer shall ensure that all affected city departments, particularly the Public Works Department, the Environmental Health Department, the Parks and General Services Department and the Planning Department are involved in the process of developing a water conservation strategy. The Conservation Officer's duties shall be generally as set out in the attached Task Force report. The Conservation Officer shall report to the Council on progress in the conservation program every January and July.
(B) Within the next 30 months, develop the groundwater flow model in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, and interpret the model simulation of groundwater quantity with regard for the need to define and implement water conservation measures.
(C) Water rates shall be modified to encourage conservation. Rates are key to a successful conservation program. The Conservation Officer and the Public Works Department will jointly develop a contract for a conservation related rate analysis by early 1993. At least one public meeting will be held. The current Rate Committee proposal to lower the summer surcharge threshold rate from 400% of the median winter average usage to 300% for residential and institutional uses and 200% for commercial and industrial uses is supported.
(D) City landscaping requirements shall be altered to reduce water used for irrigation on both public and private properties. The Planning Department will identify all city landscaping requirements or guidelines which apply to development proposals. The Parks and General Services Department and the Public Works Department will identify all departmental policies and procedure for landscaping public lands. The Conservation Officer will form a committee involving the Planning Department, Parks and General Services Department, Public Works Department and private sector landscaping interests by the Fall of 1992. This committee will examine these requirements and procedures and recommend changes. The committee's recommendations will be developed by July of 1993. The Conservation Officer will ensure that other public agencies responsible for landscaping public lands, such as the Albuquerque Public Schools, are informed of the committee's activities and are allowed to provide input. Non-city public agencies will be encouraged to adopt similar guidelines.
(E) Development proposals shall be examined to determine if appropriate water saving design and techniques have been utilized. The Conservation Officer will be added to the distribution list for cases before the Environmental Planning Commission and will comment as appropriate on development proposals. The Conservation Officer will also be available to the Development Review Board to comment on proposals or to attend hearings upon request.
(F) Public education programs shall be instituted:
(1) Low water use landscaping shall be promoted. The Conservation Officer will work with city staff, other affected public agencies and the private sector to develop promotional information, seminars and workshops to promote the use of low water use landscaping (not equivalent to “natural landscaping”). Promotional materials will be available by early 1993 and seminars and workshops will be scheduled by the middle of fiscal year 1993. These activities will be coordinated with other agencies providing similar services, such as the County Extension Office.
(2) A public awareness campaign shall be conducted. The Conservation Officer will organize and oversee a program to inform and get comments from the public. At least three public meetings will be organized: near the beginning of the program (Fall of 1992), during development of the rate modification proposals, and following development of recommended conservation strategies (Fall of 1994). Other methods for information distribution, such as water bill inserts, will also be utilized. This effort will be coordinated with the Office of Neighborhood Services.
(3) Children shall be informed and taught about water conservation. The Conservation Officer should work with the Albuquerque Public Schools to determine when and how the conservation goals and program can be integrated into school programs.
(4) City development boards and commissions shall be informed of the changes in development policies and regulations. Boards and commissions which address building, landscaping and planning issues will be informed of conservation goals and policies, proposed changes in landscaping requirements, proposed building and plumbing code changes and conservation strategy during and after development of these proposals. This will be coordinated by the Conservation Officer.
(G) City building and plumbing codes shall encourage water conservation. The Planning Department should identify changes that should be made to the plumbing and building codes to encourage conservation. These should coincide with the probable changes to the Uniform Plumbing Code and adopted federal legislation. These recommended changes will be submitted to the Conservation Officer by June of 1993 to be incorporated into the policy changes recommended in the conservation strategy. The Conservation Officer should obtain information on other cities' retrofit programs to consider for incorporation in the conservation strategy.
(H) Wasted water shall be reduced. The Conservation Officer will chair an interdepartmental committee to evaluate the enforcement program in the Fall of 1993. If additional staff enforcement is needed, this will be included in the fiscal year 1995 budget proposal. A similar committee will be organized to develop methods to reduce parks water usage. The Conservation Officer will ensure that the committee's recommendations are integrated with the remainder of the conservation program/strategies. The Public Works Department will continue its well metering and accounting of “lost” water, attempting to minimize wasted and unaccounted-for water.
(Res. 49-1992, approved 5-12-92)