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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMETERING & MITIGATION POLICY cleanKITTITAS COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT WATER BANK MITIGATION & METERING PROGRAM POLICY & PROCEDURES Purpose It is the purpose of this policy to establishstandards and procedures forthe administration, monitoring, and enforcement of the water mitigation and metering programfor all wells mitigated through the Kittitas County Water Mitigation and Metering Program. Policy Mitigation and Metering Program Administration: All persons wishing to mitigate their water usage through the Kittitas County Water Bank shall first determine their eligibility by exploring the subject parcel on the Kittitas County COMPAS mapping system. The Kittitas County Water Bank will have two packages available for water mitigation: Applicants with access to outdoor irrigation (as determined by a signed affidavit) will be required to purchase mitigation Package A which consists of an annual average of 275 gallons per day of indoor domestic use only. The daily maximum withdrawal allowed on any given day is 825 gallons per day, as long as the annual average is not exceeded. Applicants without access to outdoor irrigation (as determined by a signed affidavit) will be required to purchase mitigation Package B which consists of an annual average of 275 gallons per day of indoor domestic use only and up to an annual average of 25 gallons per day for outdoor irrigation of up to 500 square feet. The daily maximum withdrawal allowed on any given day is 900 gallons per day, as long as the annual average is not exceeded. Access to outdoor irrigation will be determined with a signed customer affidavit (Appendix A). The metering program and requirements will be initiated as a part of the application and issuance of the water bank certificate of mitigation, which will occur prior to submitting an application for Adequate Water Supply Determination. All customers will sign and comply with a metering agreement (Appendix B) and pay all applicable fees at the time of application for a water bank certificate of mitigation. The mitigation certificate, statements of understanding, notary page and the metering agreement shall be legally recorded with the Kittitas County Auditor’s office on the title record associated with the property parcel by the customer. All Kittitas County Water Metering customers must install the Badger Meter Company Recordall® Disc Series Meter and Orion Cellular Endpoint (meter reader) and all necessary materials for proper installation and function. The customer must have an active building permit applied for within two years of approval of the Kittitas County Water Mitigation Certificate If an activebuilding permit or an extension is not approved, the water mitigation certificate will no longer be valid, will be returned to the Kittitas County Water Bank, and will be documented on the property title. The portion of the fee that covers the cost of water will be refunded minus a processing fee and all other fees will be forfeited. If a customer who purchases water mitigation through the Kittitas County Water Bank is later required to connect to a municipal water source, the mitigation certificate associated with the parcel will be returned to the Kittitas County Water Bank and will be documented on the property title. The portion of the fee that covers the cost of water will be refunded minus a processing fee and all other fees will be forfeited. Mitigation and Metering Program Monitoring and Enforcement: Allowed usage for Package A is 275 gallons per day to be measured on an annual average and 825 gallons per day for a daily maximum withdrawal. Allowed usage for Package B is 300 gallons per day to be measured on an annual average and 900 gallons per day for a daily maximum (this includesup to 500 square feet of outdoor use). Kittitas County Public Health Department (KCPHD) staff will monitor and analyze water usage data at least once during each of the following months: March, July, August, September, and October. KCPHD staff will ensure customers have access to their water usage data at least annually with the annual metering fee billing. Enforcement of water usage restrictions associated with the Kittitas County Water Metering Programwill consist of the following primary approaches: KCPHD staff shall monitor and maintain the overall consumptive use of the water bank certificates sold by measuring overall average draw from the water bank. Overall water bank usage shall remain less than or equal to the sum of the recorded certificate volumes as a whole. Individual well usage will be measured and monitored for daily overages and annual average overages. KCPHD staff will work with customers to seek voluntary compliance before initiating code enforcement actions; however Kittitas County reserves the right to use Kittitas County Code enforcement procedures to rectify any compliance issues. In addition, in the case of drought conditions, the county may impose stricter compliance requirements and enforcement actions. KCPHD staff will respond to and investigate complaints or other indications that violations of water usage restrictions may be occurring. KCPHD staff will consider extenuating circumstances (including, but not limited to, household size, health issues, etc.) in determining potential violations and/or enforcement actions. These circumstances will be considered and addressed at the discretion of the KCPHD Water Resources Coordinator, Administrator, Health Officer or designee. Procedures Mitigation and Metering Program Administration: KCPHD staff shall have available in the office and on the county website detailed and clear information about the mitigation and metering program policies, procedures, and specifications. Customers desiring to mitigate for ground water withdrawal using the Kittitas County Water Bank shall first submit a Kittitas County Water Mitigation Application ( metering agreement included) and all associated fees. Only complete applications will be accepted. KCPHD staff willreview and approve the mitigation certificate applicationrecord in a tracking databaseand issue themitigation certificate tothe customer within ten working days of receipt of the mitigation application. The customer then needs to legally record the mitigation certificate, statements of understanding, notary page and the metering agreement with the Kittitas County Auditor’s office on the title record associated with the property parcel. The customer will obtain the meter and meter reader from KCPHDand install all required metering equipment according to required specifications in Kittitas County Code and all manufacturer requirements prior to the inspection. KCPHD staff will inspect and sign off on customer compliance with meter installation specifications according to county code The customer must ensure that water flow is functional at the time of inspection. If an additional inspection is needed, additional fees may apply. Final Certificate of Occupancy will not be granted from Kittitas County Building Department until the installation and inspection process is complete and approved. Mitigation and Metering Program Monitoring and Enforcement: Reporting of mitigation and metering data will be provided to the Washington State Department of Ecology annually and the Water Transfer Working Group in April and October of each year. Reporting will include the following: Information as to whether the rate and location of building permit applications are below, at, or above the projections used during the over the counter approval process; and The number of permits issued, GIS maps of the permit locations by bank and sub basin, comparisons of projections versus actual data, and a list of the certificate numbers authorized by the Kittitas County Water Bank program and the corresponding parcel to which each is attached. During the required monitoring months, KCPHD staff will monitor metering data for both compliance with overall consumptive use of the water bank and daily individual usage. Annually, KCPHD will monitor metering data for both compliance with overall consumptive use of the water bank and average annual withdrawals per well. In the case that individual well usage exceeds the established daily maximum, the following actions will be taken by KCPHD staff at the time of scheduled monitoring: Excess Daily Maximum Usage Compliance Action Fivedays or more of excess usage during one monitoring period Account flagged internally for future monitoring Second repeat of at least fivedays of excess usage during one monitoring period within one year or less Notification to customer of usage limitations (Appendix D) by mail, email, phone or face to face contact with customer to identify extenuating circumstances or any potential issues that can be remedied and seek voluntary compliance Third repeat of at least fivedays of excess usage during one monitoring period within one year or less Order to correct violation per Kittitas County Code(Appendix E) Fourth repeat of at least fivedays of excess usage during one monitoring period within one year or less Notice of Violation and Abatement or Notice of Infraction per Kittitas County Code In the case that individual well usage exceeds the established annual average maximum, the following actions will be taken by KCPHD staff: Excess Annual Average Usage Compliance Action Any one year of excess usage Notification to customer of usage limitations (Appendix D) by mail, email, phone or face to face contact with customer to identify extenuating circumstances or any potential issues that can be remedied and seek voluntary compliance Any two years of excess usage within a five year period Order to correct violation per Kittitas County Code (Appendix E) Any three years or more of excess usage within a five year period Notice of Violation and Abatement or Notice of Infraction per Kittitas County Code In the case that that the limitation on square footage of lawn or garden (Package B only) is exceeded, the following compliance actions will be taken by KCPHD staff: Excess Lawn/Garden Usage Compliance Action Any one instance of excess usage Order to correct violation per Kittitas County Code (Appendix E) Any second or more instance of excess usage, or lack of voluntary compliance after first instance Notice of Violation and Abatement or Notice of Infraction per Kittitas County Code Intentional violations, such as but not limited to, meter tampering, falsifying irrigation affidavits, etc. will result in an immediate Notice of Violation and Abatement or Notice of Infraction per Kittitas County Code. Applicability This policy applies to all county staff working in the water mitigation and metering program;all metering program customers and all wells mitigated through the Kittitas County Water Bank.This policy is effective on the date both the Public Health Administrator and the Health Officer have signed.This policy is subject to review annually.BOCC ChairmanDatePublic Health AdministratorDateHealth OfficerDate