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Council adopts water conservation updates, adds carve‑out for recirculating systems
Summary
Ridgefield Council amended and adopted staff updates to the five‑stage water conservation strategy, adding a three‑day trigger delay and an explicit allowance for refilling small recreational features and business recirculating systems (car washes) during off‑peak hours.
The Ridgefield City Council on June 18 voted to adopt updates to the city’s water conservation strategy, after staff presented one year of implementation data and councilors negotiated a narrow amendment to protect certain business operations.
Staff described a system with six wells, three reservoirs and an intertie with Clark Public Utilities and reported progress on demand reduction: a 4.78% decline in peak‑day water use between 2022 and 2024 and an additional 3.5% reduction from 2024 to 2025. The strategy uses five stages triggered by production thresholds; staff reiterated that stage‑three is triggered at 2.75 million gallons per day (mandatory three‑day‑per‑week watering) and stage‑four at 3.0 million gallons per day (one‑day‑per‑week watering), with stage five reserved for emergencies.
Proposed changes adopted on June 18 include adding a three‑day persistence/delay before moving into stages three or four to avoid oscillation, clarifying temperature‑based triggers with National Weather Service averages, differentiating between recreational and landscape water features, and allowing refilling of small recreational pools up to 5,000 gallons during off‑peak hours (10 a.m.–7 p.m.) with safeguards for larger fill requests.
Councilor Davis offered an amendment to explicitly include businesses with recirculating water systems; after discussion the amendment was narrowed and agreed to specify car washes (recirculating systems) and then accepted as a friendly amendment. The council then approved the amended water conservation updates on a voice vote.
Staff told council the inspection and compliance approach is education‑first, that most source‑control noncompliance is straightforward to remediate, and that staffing or additional resources may be evaluated in 2028–2029 as program demands grow. The adopted edits aim to balance conservation needs with reasonable allowances for recirculating systems and recreation while preserving triggers tied to system production and reservoir capacity.
The strategy changes take effect as adopted; council directed staff to communicate results and changes to the public and to coordinate with affected businesses.
