HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form dated June 12, 2007 ITEM #
DATE June 12, 2007
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: WATER RATIONING ORDINANCE REVISION
BACKGROUND:
Chapter 28 of the Municipal Code contains the requirements of the Water Rationing
Program. On June 26, 2001, Council approved Resolution No. 3620, revising the rationing
program to include a phased implementation. The program can be implemented in four
stages, depending on the severity of a particular water shortage. The ordinance requires
that the Ames City Council declare by resolution the existence of a "public water shortage
emergency" and identify the specific stage of the program to be implemented. The four
stages of the current ordinance are: Stage 1 — Voluntary Conservation, Stage 2 — Minor
Mandatory Conservation, Stage 3—Moderate Mandatory Rationing, and, Stage 4—Severe
Mandatory Rationing.
As a result of the high peak-day water demands experienced during the summer of 2006, a
public education program was included in the Water Plant operating budget to begin a
sustained water conservation message. The intent of this marketing effort is to curb peak
summer demands in order to forestall a plant expansion. It is important to note that
conservation efforts cannot completely eliminate the need for a plant expansion. The
intent is to postpone the expansion for as long as possible, perhaps by five to ten years.
Because the encouragement of voluntary water conservation is now planned as an
ongoing, sustained promotion, the first stage of the current water rationing ordinance is no
longer necessary. Staff are proposing to drop the current Stage 1-Voluntary Conservation
step, leaving a three-stage ordinance. Council approval will still be required before any
mandatory conservation or rationing requirements are required. The City Attorney has
prepared a revised water rationing ordinance for consideration by Council.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Approve on first reading the revisions to the water rationing ordinance.
2. Do not approve the water rationing ordinance revisions.
MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Voluntary water conservation promotion will become a routine message from the Water
and Pollution Control Department. As a result, the Stage 1 declaration by Council for
voluntary conservation is no longer a necessary component of the water rationing
ordinance. The proposed revisions retain Council's authority to approve any mandatory
conservation or rationing requirements. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City
Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, approving on first reading the
revisions to the water rationing ordinance to delete the current Stage 1 component.