A proposed County Code amendment to reduce the amount of irrigation water used in the Nipomo Mesa Water Conservation Area was revised Tuesday by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors and scheduled for a public hearing.

Supervisors voted 4-0, with Harry Ovitt absent, to approve changes requested by Nipomo Community Services District and set Oct. 21 for a public hearing and possible adoption.

As revised, the ordinance would require that all new developments incorporate “smart” controllers into their irrigation systems.

“Smart” controllers sense how much water has evaporated or transpired from the soil since the last irrigation cycle and apply only enough water to make up that difference.

The ordinance also would require that all landscaped areas except turf be irrigated through drip systems, with soil moisture sensors installed only if a soil audit indicated a need for them.

As revised, the ordinance also calls for separate meters to keep track of how much water is used outdoors - essentially for irrigation - as opposed to indoors.

Turf areas also would be limited to 20 percent of a site's total irrigated area, and total irrigated landscape would be limited to 1,500 square feet.

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Exceptions could be applied to multifamily residential projects and such facilities as schools and parks, where greater turf area would be allowed based on the use of the site.

In a previous draft of the ordinance, multifamily projects' turf area would have been limited to the same 20 percent of total irrigated landscape area or a maximum of 300 square feet per unit.

But at NCSD's request, the restrictions were eased by eliminating the 300-square-foot maximum.

“‘Smart growth,' by its very design, highly restricts open space,” NCSD President Mike Winn told the supervisors. “With (an average of) 2.3 children per dwelling unit, we would hope to have as much grass as we can get in a very restricted design.”

NCSD also asked to have the definition of “smart” controllers clarified and recommended second meters for outdoor water use, although, at least initially, customers' water bills would not be determined through separate readings of indoor and outdoor meters.

Instead, a single meter would be used for measuring water use, with the irrigation meter used to help customers conserve water by showing how much was used on landscaping.

“It's a very valuable educational tool for residents to know if their conservation efforts are paying off,” Winn told the board.

But he noted that if a serious water shortage developed, irrigation meters could be read separately and billed at a higher rate or irrigation systems turned off at the outdoor meter without affecting “residents' ability to flush toilets.”

Celeste Whitlow, NCSD conservation coordinator, told supervisors the county should adopt some kind of fund that developers would pay into to upgrade high-water-use irrigation systems at Nipomo Community Park or local schools.

She noted that if the system at the park was upgraded, the county could save $25,000 to $35,000 a year on water.

Fourth District Supervisor Katcho Achadjian said he had heard savings estimates as high as $60,000 a year on the park's irrigation costs.

He said a park irrigation fund would be a good way for developers to earn credits through contributions.

County staff also noted that all four of the Nipomo Mesa water purveyors need to develop at least three-tiered water rates to encourage conservation.

Under a tiered system, customers pay more per unit of water as the amount they use surpasses certain levels, or tiers.

Only one purveyor - Woodlands Mutual Water Co. - has a three-tier water rate structure. NCSD has a two-tier structure, while Golden State Water Co. and Rural Mutual Water Co. have one tier.

“I'm really disappointed the water purveyors haven't embraced (tiered rates) the way they should,” said board Chairman Jim Patterson, 5th District supervisor.

Whitlow said she and Winn have taken proposals for tiered rates to the NCSD board five times, and “the last time wasn't very pretty.”

NCSD directors have previously rejected a three-tier system because it would penalize residents living on large rural parcels, could lead to the loss of landscape plants and might not be accepted by Nipomo residents.

September 24, 2008