Item 28 - Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan

Home Browse Search

Santa Ana 2020 Urban Water Management Plan arcadis.com 4-1 4 WATER USE CHARACTERIZATION Water Use Overview Water use within the City’s service area has been relatively stable in the past decade with an annual average of 36,245 AF. The potable and non-potable water use accounts for an average of 99% and 1% of total City water use, respectively. In FY2019/20, the City’s water use was 33,240 AF of potable water (groundwater and imported) and 249 AF of direct recycled water for landscape irrigation. In FY2019-20, the City’s potable water use profile was comprised of 65.5% residential use, 24.5% commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII), and 4.0% large landscape/irrigation, with non-revenue water and other uses comprising about 5.9%. As described in Section 3, the City’s service area is almost completely built-out and is projected to add minimum land use and small population increase. Water demand is likely to increase ~1.2% over the next 5 years. In the longer term, water demand is projected to decrease ~0.2% from 2025 through 2045. The projected potable and non-potable water use for 2045 is 33,578 AF and 249 AF, respectively. The passive savings are anticipated to continue for the next 25 years and are considered in the water use projections. Permanent water conservation requirements and water conservation strategies are discussed in Section 8 and 9 of this document. Past and Current Water Use Water use within the City’s service area has been relatively stable in the past decade with an annual average of 36,245 AF. A stable trend is expected because the city is essentially built-out and the rate of population growth is expected to average less than 0.12% per year for the next 25 years. Water conservation efforts also kept per capita water use down. As a result of Governor Jerry Brown’s mandatory water conservation order in 2014, the City’s water use in the last five years decreased below the 10-year average. Between FY2015/16 and FY2019/20, water use within the City’s service area ranged from 33,148 to 35,343 acre-feet per year (AFY) (potable and non-potable combined). In the past decade, between FY2010/11 and FY 2019/20, potable and non-potable water use accounts for an average of 99% and 1% of total City water use, respectively. Potable water uses include demands from residential, CII, and large landscape irrigation. Non-potable use includes the use of recycled water for large landscape and golf course irrigation. As of FY2019/20 there are 45,037 active service connections in the City’s water distribution system. Of these, 18 are recycled water accounts. Table 4-1 summarizes the City’s total water demand for potable and non-potable water for FY2019-20. The City has a mix of commercial uses (markets, restaurants, etc.), public entities (schools, fire stations and government offices), industrial uses and office complexes. Single and multi- family residential water demand combined accounts for 65.5% of the total water demand. Commercial use, governmental/institutional, and industrial account for 16.1%, 5.4%, and 3.0% of total demand, respectively. Large landscape (irrigation) accounts for 4.0% of total demand. Other uses and non-revenue water account for 5.9%.