19E - MEDIAN TREE IRRIGATION PLAN

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Street Median Tree Irrigation Plan December 5, 2017 Page 2 forest, indicators to help monitor the health of trees in medians, and follow-up plans to review tree care implementation related to median trees. However, immediate steps to automatically water trees will not only benefit trees, but it will also provide a cost-effective alternative. As the new Public Works Agency budget for FY 2018-19 is developed, funding will be identified to support the long-term needs. Staff anticipates that a report for City Council consideration will be ready in spring 2018. BACKGROUND The Public Works Agency manages the City's extensive municipal urban forest of nearly 49,000 street trees providing an expansive canopy, and coordinates the planting, care and pro -active pruning cycle of more than 200 species based on the International Society of Arborist standards. As a result of Santa Ana's high level program, it has been designated Tree City USA for 17 consecutive years by the Arbor Day Foundation, which provides benefits to our community in recognition and assistance in establishing a framework for a healthy tree program. Healthy urban forests reduce energy costs, build stronger ties in neighborhoods, and can boost property values from 7 percent to 20 percent, according to the Arbor Day Foundation. Recognizing these benefits, the City has placed great importance on maintaining healthy City trees, even while faced with the additional challenges during the past six years of California's record drought conditions, similar to all cities across the state. Coupled with the drought, the record high temperatures in recent years have also increased tree demands for water and added considerable stress, making trees more susceptible to disease and insects that damage and potentially kill them. Staff has endeavored to mitigate the negative impacts of the drought, record heat, infestation, and tree impacts associated with the prohibition of watering medians. On June 2, 2015, in response to the Governor of California's Executive Order B-29-15 prohibiting irrigation of public street median ornamental turf (grass) with potable water, City Council directed staff to discontinue all irrigation of city medians. This Council direction still remains in effect. Given that both the grass and trees in the city medians are watered by the same irrigation system, Public Works Agency staff reassigned other public service operations to manually water median trees on a weekly basis in order to maintain tree health. In compliance with the state prohibition, staff has continued to focus on watering median trees. Surrounding median grass was still alive through the summer of 2017; however, the majority of that grass has now withered or died. Staff has consulted with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) on ongoing compliance and solutions. Currently no exemptions or waivers exist for irrigation of median grass with potable water when grass is the primary landscape feature. However, the SWRCB has recently started allowing the irrigation and preservation of median trees and is now collaborating with cities on mitigation efforts to water trees when they are the primary landscape feature. 19E-2