Redmond staff urge $200,000 annual rebate fund and phased tiered water rates to curb summer irrigation

City staff and a rate consultant told the Redmond City Council that residential outdoor irrigation is the largest driver of the city’s summer water demand and recommended a three-part conservation strategy: city-led demonstration projects, an annual $200,000 rebate program for outdoor-efficiency equipment, and a phased inclining-block rate structure to target peak seasonal use.

In a presentation, staff said Redmond’s indoor per-capita use (about 51 gallons per capita per day) is below the national average, but summer irrigation creates a sharp seasonal peak. Staff estimated Redmond residential customers used about 1.7 billion gallons in 2024, of which roughly 690 million gallons were indoor use, leaving over 1.0 billion gallons attributed to irrigation.

The proposed rebate program — highlighted by staff as a tool to help households adopt smart irrigation controllers, more efficient sprinkler heads, soil moisture sensors and outdoor drip kits — is budgeted at $200,000 annually in the city’s fiscal plan. Staff estimated the combined program could yield a 10% reduction in water use over 10 years; staff noted that 1% of usage is roughly 2.5 million gallons.

Deb Gallardi, the rate study consultant, presented a phased inclining-block rate structure for residential customers that would hold the first winter-average block (about 600 cubic feet per month) flat and charge progressively higher per-unit prices for higher tiers that capture summer irrigation. Two pricing scenarios were shown: a lower-growth option (~3% in revenue) and a higher option (~5% in revenue). The higher option would generate an estimated $200,000 that could be directed to the conservation program and a rate stability reserve.

Gallardi summarized national evidence that inclining-block rates, paired with rebates and outreach, often reduce per-capita consumption (typically 3–5% initially) and can produce larger account-level reductions over time when combined with other measures.

Council members questioned how the tiers would affect households. Staff and the consultant offered a model household example: a 5,000 square-foot lot with roughly 24,000 summer gallons could, after equipment upgrades and behavior change, reduce to under 10,000 gallons — moving from the highest tier down to a lower tier — and see a summer-bill example decline from about $60 to about $27 under the higher-price scenario. Staff emphasized that many residents have no automatic incentive to fix leaks; the city has automated alerts for continuous-use accounts and plans targeted outreach.

Several councilors raised affordability concerns for fixed-income households and urged a phased rollout, stronger outreach and targeted assistance. A suggested interim step was a pilot or “dry run” applying the tiered model to sample household bills (including council members’ bills) so staff and councilors could preview impacts before any formal rate change.

Council discussion ended with an informal consensus to earmark $200,000 annually for the rebate program for budgeting purposes and to direct staff to return with implementation details, outreach plans and additional council briefing(s) prior to any formal adoption. No formal rate change or adoption was recorded at the meeting.

What’s next: staff will bring back implementation details for the rebate program, further modelling of tier impacts, an outreach strategy (including Aqua Hawk enrollment expansion) and a schedule for additional council discussion before any formal ordinance or rate adoption.