Not an official copy.
City of Walla Walla
RESOLUTION NO. 2002-37
A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A WATER EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROGRAM WITHIN THE CITY OF WALLA WALLA WATER SERVICE AREA BOUNDARY.
WHEREAS, the City Council has established a City Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee to study available means of water conservation and waste reduction as well as other means of protecting and supplementing the City=s surface and groundwater resources, and
WHEREAS, the City Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee has determined that the City needs to clarify the specific city procedure and response program in the event of a water shortage that reaches emergency proportions, and
WHEREAS, the Water Emergency Response program is devised to provide public information and a protocol for City action during a water emergency, and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Water Emergency Response program will be to protect the public health, the drinking water supply, sufficient fire flows, and other municipal water uses, and
WHEREAS, the City=s Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee has recommended adoption of the Water Emergency Response Program set forth below, and it is considered that the best interest of the City of Walla Walla will be served by the adoption of such program,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WALLA WALLA:
1. Procedure: In the event that the Water Systems Manager determines that a water emergency may be occurring in the City of Walla Walla, the Manager shall contact the Public Works Director and City Manager to discuss the potential emergency. If the City Manager concurs that an emergency exists, the City Manager shall authorize the Public Works Director to implement those Water Emergency Response elements determined by the Public Works Director to be necessary to address the Water Emergency.
2. Notification: The City Manager shall see that the appropriate public officials are notified and that the City staff notifies the water users impacted by the emergency of their need to participate in the Water Emergency Response elements.
3. Emergency Conservation Levels: In order to establish the level of response regarding a Water Emergency event, the Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee has identified levels of emergencies as LOW, MODERATE, HIGH and EXTREME. The City Manager shall determine the level in consultation with the Public Works Director and the Water Systems Manager and shall direct public notification efforts.
4. Guidelines for determining if a Water Emergency exists and the level of concern:
LOW:
Statewide declaration of drought
80-85% of local average snowpack projections in Blue Mountains
Other local entities required to conserve water by Federal or state wildlife agencies
Continuous use of 4 wells to supplement surface water to meet maximum daily demands
MEDIUM:
70-80% of local average snowpack projections in Blue Mountains
Continuous use of 5 wells to supplement surface water to meet maximum daily demands
Loss of required fire flow in localized areas due to high demand.
Pressures below 30 psi at peak hour demands
City requested to conserve water by Federal or state wildlife agencies
HIGH:
Use of 6 wells to supplement surface water to meet maximum daily demands
Continuing low flows in Mill Creek due to drought condition as determined by City/State
City required/mandated to conserve water by Federal or state wildlife agencies
EXTREME:
Loss of surface water resources
Use of 7 wells or more to meet maximum daily demands
Note: The impact of water use on aquifer levels will be assessed and used as contributing information in determining the level of water emergency.
5. Water Emergency Response Elements: In the event of a Water Emergency, the City staff will endeavor to use the minimum number of these elements that are necessary to curb water consumption to address the level of emergency. City staff will contact large water consumers first, then implement other elements as the need arises. The elements are as follows:
A. No car washing at home
B. No washing of sidewalks
C. No watering of lawns during the day
D. Reduce water on City Parks non-play areas
E. Odd/even lawn watering during the night
F. No residential watering
G. No Park or play field watering
H. No watering of commercial or industrial landscape areas
I. Other irrigation restrictions as deemed necessary
J. No City street washing - only what is legally required
K. Request to large water users to reduce water use by 10%
L. Cease non-emergency intertie water deliveries after contractually required notification
M. Audit of large water users to determine if further reductions are possible
N. Phased water use restrictions for identified customer groups and/or geographical locations
(e.g. water may be used between certain hours during different times across the city, caps
on amount used per day, etc.)
O. Utilizing emergency water and/or sewer rate structures per Council approval
P. Denial of further building permits until emergency is resolved and system infrastructure is
adequate to address reasonable risks in the future
Q. Enforcement actions against violators of these provisions based on Chapter 13.04.090 of
the Municipal Code
Other response elements may be used as determined necessary by the Public Works Director and/or the City Manager in order to address a Water Emergency.
6. Continuing Action: In the event that a water emergency event occurs in the city, the Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee shall, within 60 days, evaluate the success of the response, suggest modifications to the staff, and note the discussion in the Committee minutes which shall be distributed to the Mayor and City Council for review. The Committee is further instructed to continue to monitor the condition and status of the area=s water resources in coordination with State and Federal agencies and other conservation organizations so that further recommendations may be made to the City Council to conserve, protect and supplement the City=s surface and groundwater resources especially in light of the potential of a catastrophic loss of functioning of the water supply.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Walla Walla, Washington, this 12th day of June, 2002.
/s/ Jerry Cummins
Mayor
Attest: Approved as to form:
/s/ Kammy D. Hill /s/ Tim Donaldson
City Clerk City Attorney