■ Benicians continue to out-conserve most; 30.2% drop from 2013

Benicia’s water customers continue to do their part to conserve during the severe California drought, the City Council will hear Tuesday.

In a report, Public Works Director Graham Wadsworth wrote that while statewide conservation of potable (drinking) water was just 3.6 percent compared to consumption during the same time in 2013, Benicians had reduced their water use by 30.2 percent.

By March, Benicia’s daily water use was 69.9 gallons per person, compared to a statewide average of 84.4 gallons per person.

In April, Benicians improved their saving effort, reducing consumption by 35.7 percent compared to April 2013, Wadsworth wrote.

Gov. Jerry Brown mandated a 25-percent statewide cutback April 1 after Northern California experienced record-low rainfall and snow accumulation. Later, the mandate was revised into tiers, and Benicia was told to cut back its consumption by 28 percent compared to 2013 numbers because the average per-person daily use in the summer of 2014 was 144 gallons, Wadsworth wrote.

The 28-percent cutback requirement doesn’t mean those who reduced water use by 20 percent now have to cut back an additional 28 percent, Wadsworth explained — only that those who have made it to the 20-percent goal now are being asked to cut back at least another 8 percent to reach the goal.

Water rate payers who ignore the mandate from the state could be forced to collectively pay $10,000 per day through increased water bills, Wadsworth wrote.

In compliance with the State Water Resources Control Board’s emergency regulations, Benicia adopted outdoor water restrictions. In addition, the state decided food establishments can serve water only by request, hoteliers must give guests the option of not having towels and linens laundered daily, water agencies must tell customers when leaks under the customers’ control are found, and water restrictions must be included in reports to California.

The total amount of water leaving the city’s Water Treatment Plant is called the “Total Monthly Potable Water Production,” or TMP, a number that includes leaks and low-reading water meters, Wadsworth wrote.

“It is the TMP that is being measured for the percent reduction,” he wrote.

The city has 8,500 residential water meter service connections and 1,000 commercial, industrial and institutional connections, Wadsworth wrote.

Benicia contracts with the California’s State Water Project for 10,000 acre-feet, or 3.3 billion gallons, of water annually, of which Valero Benicia Refinery has a contract for half.

The city counts on the State Water Project for at least 75 percent of its water, and when it receives 35 percent of its allocation Benicia can supply its water customers.

The balance comes from the Solano Project supply in Lake Berryessa. Though Lake Herman water is available, it’s considered an emergency supply and temporary storage area, Wadsworth wrote.

But the state decides how much of SWP contracts it will fulfill. Last year, the city was told at various times it would receive none to 5 percent of its contract, forcing the city to juggle how it manages its other water sources — as well as to spend $900,000 on additional water.

Employees’ water management practices have indicated Benicia water customers’ needs would be met through December 2017, should the drought continue, Wadsworth wrote.

In January of this year, total demand was 708 acre-feet, which dropped to 602 acre-feet in February. Consumption rose in March to 768 acre-feet, and April was nearly the same, 767 acre-feet.

Overall, however, customers are doing a better job of saving water this year than they did last year, Wadsworth wrote.

In 2013, per-capita daily water consumption ranged from a low of 72 gallons in January to a high of 147 gallons in May. Usage changed based on rain and temperature changes, he explained.

In 2014, usage ranged from a December low of 58 gallons per person a day to a high of 120 gallons used daily.

So far this year, the average daily consumption per person in Benicia was 62 gallons in January, 60 in February, 70 in March and 73 in April.

Based on the amount of water city municipal meters used, the city recorded a total of 308 acre-feet used in 2013 and 2012 acre-feet used in 2014, “which is a 31-percent annual reduction,” Wadsworth wrote.

Benicia is ranked 11th for its population category, 5,000 to 29,999, in an online water conservation pledge campaign, the Mayor’s Challenge.

It also has been participating in a one-year pilot program with WaterSmart, funded by Solano County Water Agency, that compares Benicia’s with similar-sized cities’ usage.

Another area being explored is recycling water, which accounts for just 7 percent of the state’s water supply, Wadsworth wrote.

Proposition 1, approved by voters Nov. 4, 2014, funds recycled water and desalinization projects, and the city has been seeking grants, loans or other outside funding for a project that would send 2 million gallons of non-potable water from the water treatment plant each day — 2,000 acre-feet each year — to Valero Benicia Refinery for use in its cooling towers.

To apply for such funding, the city needs a study and report on how the recycled water would be produced and transported, as well as environmental review and market analysis, Wadsworth wrote. Cost of such preparatory work is estimated at $300,000.

The city also has experimented with various filtration systems. When one failed to perform consistently, the city began trials with another system.

In addition, Benicia can’t account for about 26 percent of the water it treats and delivers, a situation Wadsworth blamed on unmetered water, main breaks or hydrant shears, distribution system leaks and water meters that don’t read accurately. City employees have told him they estimate that most of the under-reported water comes from system leaks and under-reading meters.

While a leak system contractor is looking for the former, and a consultant has recommended the city put an automated meter infrastructure and accurate ultrasonic water meters.

Wadsworth also will ask the Council to amend its agreement with consultant EOA, a firm with offices in Oakland and Sunnyvale, adding another $23,500 to the contract so it can provide technical services for permits and recycled water at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Wadsworth wrote that the company had been providing technical assistance to wastewater treatment plant employees for its permit, review and report due to the state, and described the firm as “an asset to the city.”

When the State Water Resources Control Board ordered Benicia to reduce its total monthly water production by 28 percent compared to 2013, city employees suggested EOA be kept on to help meet that requirement.

“EOA consultants have demonstrated the expertise necessary for these type of specialized water and wastewater projects,” Wadsworth wrote.

In other matters Tuesday, Library Director Diane Smikahl will ask the Council to approve the Arts and Culture Commission’s policy on distribution of funds for grantees and fundraising, particularly to manage donations that exceed what is projected for a particular fiscal year.

The commission has two separate city funds account. The Arts and Culture Commission Fund is made up of money approved by the Council for nonprofit arts and culture grantees and for commission supplies. Grantees receive their funds quarterly in a practice similar to that of the Human Services Board, Smikahl wrote. Money that either is withheld by the commission from grantees or not used by them goes back to the General Fund if there isn’t enough time to ask the Council’s permission to distribute them to other grantees.

In her report, Smikahl wrote that the commission’s fundraising fund is a separate account for money the panel raises or receives as donations, gifts or grants that exceed money it expects to distribute. The funds carry over into the future fiscal year, she wrote.

She explained that the commission “realized that it would be useful to have a policy in place that establishes the purpose and procedures of the two funds for which they have oversight.”

The Council also will hear a report on progress in transitioning the city’s primary electrical supplier from Pacific Gas and Electric to Marin Clean Energy.

The Council will meet in a closed session at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss real estate matters. The regular meeting starts at 7 Tuesday night in the Council Chamber of City Hall, 250 East L St.