HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-009 - Aggressive Voluntary Water Conservation by the City's Residents and BusinessesIss01116/08
RESOLUTION NO. 2008-009
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA ANA CALLING FOR THE ADOPTION OF
MORE AGGRESSIVE VOLUNTARY WATER
CONSERVATION BY THE CITY'S RESIDENTS AND
BUSINESSES
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines
and declares as follows:
A. Orange County depends on imported water from Northern California and
the Colorado River to meet approximately half of its supply demand, with
the balance of the county's demand being met by local groundwater via a
large basin under north and central Orange County, smaller basins in
south Orange County, and through local water recycling and conservation;
and
B. Water supplies from Northern California have been severely impacted by
dry conditions, lower-than-normal snow pack, and environmental
constraints in the Sacramento San Joaquin Bay-Delta region (Bay-Delta);
and
C. A recent federal court ruling has restricted pumping by at least 30% from
the Bay-Delta, source of water to 25 million Californians, to protect the
endangered Delta Smelt and has further compounded the difficulties of
providing water to the most populous regions of the state; and
D. The impact of the Delta Smelt ruling will require even greater withdrawals
from water storage reserves to offset water lost as a result of the ruling;
and
E. Water supply solutions to the current regulatory pumping restrictions in the
Bay-Delta may take many years to approve and complete; and
F. Significant study by the Public Policy Institute of California and the
Governor's Blue Ribbon Delta Vision Task Force has pointed to the
conclusion that the current Delta water delivery system is not sustainable
due to seismic and flood risks, subsidence and sea level rise, ecosystem
conflicts, and numerous other factors; and
Resolution No. 2008-009
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G. The Colorado River system is now in its eighth year of drought and
southern California has experienced significant reductions in available
Colorado River supply since 2003; and
H. Throughout the State water reserves are being drawn out of storage from
reservoirs and from underground basins to meet consumer demand for
water; and
I. Orange County's large north and central groundwater basin is being
drawn down both to lessen the demand on diminished imported supplies
and due to the local drought conditions, which have reduced the amount
of Santa Ana River flow and rain water available to refill the basin; and
J. The cities and water agencies serving Orange County's population of
more than 3.1 million have done an outstanding job working together to
develop water-management strategies and implement comprehensive
conservation programs to help ensure a reliable supply of high-quality
water to meet countywide demand; and
K. Many cities and water agencies serving Orange County have also
invested and continue to invest in research and technology to develop
new sources of water such as water recycling to meet demands; and
L. Orange County residents and businesses are to be commended for doing
their part over the past decade to voluntarily reduce their water usage by
participating in locally sponsored conservation and water efficiency
programs; and
M. As prolonged drought conditions continue along the Colorado River,
pumping of water through the Bay-Delta is significantly curtailed, and local
drought conditions prevail, mandatory water conservation measures may
become necessary; and
N. Adopting more aggressive voluntary water conservation habits today is the
responsible thing to do and will help ensure Orange County has enough
water to maintain our quality of life and thriving economy; and
O. There are numerous resources and programs to assist us in our
countywide water conservation efforts, including rebates for water saving
devices and information on water-saving strategies at
www.bewatennrise.com, www.mwdoc.com, www.ocwd.com and
www. o cwate rh a ro. co m ;
Section 2. City of Santa Ana hereby encourages our residents and businesses
to immediately take steps to reduce their water usage through more aggressive water
conservation, which will help the region get through this very dry time and regulatory
reduction in State Water Project supply, extend available water reserves, help reduce
the severity of potential water shortages in the future and minimize water rate increases.
Resolution No. 2008-009
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Section 3. If voluntary measures do not achieve the goal of conservative water
use, this Council shall consider the implementation of our existing mandatory water
conservation program.
Section 4. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by
the City Council, and the Clerk of the Council shall attest to and certify the vote adopting
this Resolution.
ADOPTED this 4`h day of February, 2008.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Joseph W. Fletcher, City Attorney
By:
aurC--~ay
Assistant City Atto~r'tey
AYES: Councilmembers: Alvarez, Benavides, Bustamante. Martinez,
Pulido. Sarmiento, Tinaiero (7)
NOES: Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: None (0)
NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers: None (0)
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, PATRICIA E. HEALY, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the
attached Resolution No. 2008-009 to be the original resolution adopted by the City
Council of the City of Santa Ana on February 4, 2008.
Date: a- 4J
Patricia E. Healy
Clerk of the Council
City of Santa Ana
Resolution No. 2008-009
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