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Poulsbo identifies big irrigation users and proposes code changes, outreach and targeted enforcement
Summary
Water staff told council the city uses ~1.2M gallons per day on average and irrigation contributes the bulk of summer peak demand; an audit showed some commercial sites irrigate far more than estimated need and staff proposed outreach, code amendments to irrigation hours, targeted notices and potential irrigation-meter rate changes.
Charlie Roberts and Rachel presented Poulsbo’s water-conservation review and an irrigation-audit of 2025 consumption data, and described steps the city could take to reduce peak-season demand without large behavioral impacts.
Roberts said the city produces about 1.2 million gallons per day on average and that summer peaks can reach about 2.5 million gallons; staff estimated roughly 55 million gallons used for irrigation during peak months. He emphasized the strain that peak-hour/peak-week demand places on tanks and wells and the need to reduce peak irrigation loads.
Rachel summarized a site-by-site irrigation audit that compared estimated irrigation demand to actual use. She described examples where similar landscaped sites used vastly different amounts of water and said, "If those large users, reduced their irrigation patterns, we could save a lot of water." Staff proposed a package of measures: updated irrigation hours in city code (moving watering into overnight hours), targeted outreach letters to top commercial users showing measured vs estimated need, mandatory repairs or meter lock-offs for leaky irrigation systems, and consideration of an irrigation-specific rate or tiered pricing for dedicated irrigation meters.
Council members asked about enforcement mechanics, impacts on HOAs and landscapers, and sewer-rate averaging if conservation succeeds; staff said code changes, civil fines and meter lock-off were possible enforcement tools and emphasized outreach as a low-cost first step.
