A. Declaration Of Policy: Given the prevailing semiarid climate of the region, the limited water resources available to Salt Lake City, and the vitally important role an adequate supply of municipal and industrial (M&I) water plays in maintaining a healthy and safe environment in the community, it is hereby declared to be the policy of Salt Lake City that, during times of water shortage caused by drought, facilities failure or any other condition or event, M&I water usage within the city's water service area shall be managed, regulated, prioritized and restricted in such a manner as to prevent the wasteful or unreasonable use of water, and to preserve at all times an adequate supply of M&I water for essential uses.
B. Water Shortage Contingency Plan: The director of the department of public utilities shall cause to be prepared and implemented a water shortage contingency plan (the "plan"). Such plan may be included as part of, or prepared separately from, the water conservation master plan provided for in section 73-10-32, Utah Code Annotated, and shall be revised from time to time as conditions and circumstances warrant. The plan shall, among other things: 1) establish graduated stages of water shortage severity, and 2) establish appropriate M&I water use restriction response measures for each stage. The plan shall include guidelines and criteria for determining the appropriate stage to be implemented under various water supply, delivery, and demand conditions. Each plan stage of water shortage, and the accompanying use restrictions, shall be implemented by declaration of the mayor, upon the advice and recommendation of the director pursuant to the plan guidelines.
C. Compliance: Compliance with the water use restriction response measures called for under any applicable plan stage may be either recommended or mandatory, as specified in the plan. The plan may not provide for mandatory restrictions on residential or commercial customers until either: 1) the projected water supply from all sources is sixty percent (60%) or less of the average annual water supply, or 2) the director otherwise determines that, in the exercise of his or her best professional judgment, the city is unable to meet anticipated essential water needs without implementing such mandatory measures.
D. Enforcement: The director shall enforce compliance with all mandatory response measures set forth in the plan through the imposition and collection of civil fines, as provided in section 17.16.792 of this chapter. Nothing herein or in section 17.16.792 of this chapter shall prevent the city from exercising any other available means, either in law or equity, of enforcing compliance with the plan.
E. Plan Nonexclusive: The creation and implementation of the plan shall be in addition to, and not exclusive of, any other steps taken by the city from time to time to conserve water or manage limited water supplies, including mayoral proclamations issued pursuant to section 17.16.080 of this chapter. (Ord. 50-03 § 1, 2003)