HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 12/20/2022 - Memorandum From Katie Collins Re: Additional Requested Information – Allotment Management Program, Agenda Item 10 From December 5, 2022 City Council Regular Meeting
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M E M O R A N D U M
DATE: December 7, 2022
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Katie Collins, Water Conservation Specialist
THROUGH: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Lance Smith, Utilities Executive Director, Acting
Gretchen Stanford, Utilities Deputy Director, Customer Connections
RE: Additional Requested Information – Allotment Management Program, Agenda
Item #10, Dec. 6, 2022, City Council Regular Meeting.
Bottom Line
There was some confusion regarding a section in the Dec. 6, 2022 Agenda Item Summary (AIS).
Clarification was requested about Allotment Management Program (AMP) water savings. AMP
is a water conservation program that has saved over ten million gallons of water since the
program started in 2020. It’s available to commercial water customers as an alternative to buying
more Water Supply Requirement. Extending the AMP application deadline to December 31,
2024 will increase long-term water savings associated with this program.
Background
During the Dec. 6, 2022 City Council Regular Meeting, Councilmember Ohlson pointed out
what appeared to be contradicting information in the AIS about whether water savings result
from AMP.
The following paragraph of the AIS included in the Dec. 6, 2022 City Council Regular Meeting
packet (page 165) presents two options to manage annual water allotments and had intended to
illustrate the conservation advantage of AMP. The bolded sentence below contains the
information referenced by Councilmember Ohlson.
“AMP is good for conservation and landscapes. Customers can always increase an allotment by
purchasing more Water Supply Requirement. While this approach reduces the likelihood of
excess water use in the future, it does not save water. The AMP waiver allows customers to
utilize the money that would otherwise be spent on the surcharge to implement changes that
reduce water need on a property long-term. AMP is also an incentive to customers to skip short-
term fixes, which can have negative impacts on the landscape, like shutting off irrigation zones
for the summer, and instead pursue long-term solutions.”
DocuSign Envelope ID: 376D223D-A98D-440E-ACF1-BDF009BE3AA5
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To clarify, the two options for customers are:
1) Purchasing more Water Supply Requirement to increase the allotment volume tied to
an account, thus reducing the likelihood of excess water use and associated surcharges.
2) Using AMP to reduce the property’s landscape water demand to close the gap between
how much water the landscape requires versus the allotment volume assigned to the
account.
In option 1, purchasing more Water Supply Requirement, may relieve the customer from paying
excess water use surcharges, but it’s unlikely to reduce annual average water consumption.
Alternatively, in option 2, AMP participation incentivizes a long-term reduction of annual water
consumption by waiving the excess water use surcharge up to three years while participants
implement a water saving landscape project.
CC: Kendall Minor, Utilities Executive Director
Robin Pierce, Utilities Administration Supervisor
Eric Potyondy, Assistant City Attorney
Mariel Miller, Water Conservation Manager
Jason Graham, Director of Water Utilities
Lance Smith, Utilities Finance Director
Randy Reuscher, Lead Utility Rate Analyst
DocuSign Envelope ID: 376D223D-A98D-440E-ACF1-BDF009BE3AA5