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Staff outlines tiered water-rate simulation and five-stage curtailment plan as drought preparedness measures
Summary
Water department staff described plans to overlay proposed tiered rates onto last year's usage to study household impacts, run sample or full-account simulations, and explained a five-stage curtailment plan tied to the city's Water Management and Conservation Plan (WMCP); staff noted a drafted emergency ordinance and a planned April 30 meeting with state water resources to review aquifer and piping project data.
City water staff presented a multi-part plan to both model a tiered water-rate structure and to be ready with curtailment measures if drought or infrastructure failures require reductions. Staff proposed overlaying a 3- or 4-tier rate grid onto last year's account data (either as a full run or sample) to show how bills would change, and suggested first publicly sharing simulated bills on customer statements so residents could see the impact ahead of implementation.
A water-staff speaker described the city’s curtailment plan as five stages: Stage 1 voluntary conservation; Stage 2 mandatory restrictions (e.g., limited watering days); Stage 3 a ban on outdoor water use; Stage 4 indoor usage limits (staff referenced roughly a 50% reduction target in some stages); and Stage 5 emergency measures with more severe reductions. Staff said triggers for moving stages include pump or well failures, natural disasters, contamination (PFAS in source wells was cited as an example), or a governor-declared drought (staff noted a drought declaration on March 26). “We have as part of our water conservation…we actually have a curtailment plan…The first is essentially voluntary…The third stage is where we actually do not allow any outdoor water use,” the staff speaker explained.
Staff discussed outreach and implementation options: running an overlay simulation during the summer to see bill impacts, or running the model retroactively on the previous irrigation season so customers can see how the rates would have applied in a familiar period. Staff said they already have account-level data and can run the simulation across customer types, though communications and outreach would take the most staff time. They also noted technical and equity options — e.g., the city could offer opt-out or targeted assistance if implementation yields unexpected bill impacts for vulnerable households.
Operationally, staff said they have an emergency ordinance drafted for use if needed during an extreme season and that the city manager or council can declare an emergency; staff also said they will meet with state water resources on April 30 to review piping projects and aquifer recharge analyses and requested the state's written work product. No legislative action was taken at the meeting; staff asked for direction to run simulations and return with findings and outreach plans.
