Fort Walton Beach Resolution — 2008-10-Adopting 2008 EAR — reading text

the IWUP for both average daily withdrawal and maximum daily withdrawal between 2000 and 2007. The table also indicates the amount of surplus water that was available on an average daily and a maximum daily basis. The average surplus based on the average daily withdrawal rate is 0.646 million gallons per day, and the average surplus based on the maximum daily withdrawal rate is 1. 09 million gallons per day. T able VII. Historical Potable Water Production Permitted Average Average Permitted Max Daily Max Day Annual Avg. Daily Daily Day Max Daily Year Production Surplus Production Withdrawal Production Surplus Withdrawal ( gpd) ( gpd) ( gallons) 2000 3, 600,000 3,199, 000 401, 000 5,060, 000 4,375, 000 685, 000 1,167, 732,000 2001 3, 600,000 2, 975,000 625, 000 5,060, 000 3, 992,000 1, 068,000 1,085, 702,000 2002 3, 600,000 2,917, 000 683, 000 5, 060,000 3, 824,000 1, 236,000 1,064, 808,000 2003 3, 600,000 2,809, 000 791, 000 5, 060,000 3, 652,000 1, 408,000 1, 025,279, 000 2004 3,600,000 2, 877, 000 723, 000 5, 060,000 3, 893,000 1, 167, 000 1,052,809,000 2005 3, 600,000 2, 883,000 717,000 5, 060,000 3, 782,000 1, 278,000 1,052, 446,000 2006 3, 600,000 3,098,000 502, 000 5,060,000 4,345, 000 715,000 1,130,743, 000 2007 3, 600,000 2,871,000 729, 000 5,060,000 3, 860, 000 1, 200,000 1,047,956,000 Average 3, 600,000 2,953,625 646, 375 5,060,000 3, 965,375 1, 094,625 1,078, 434,375 Water consumption in 2007 consisted of 97 percent of the total water consumed by the City of Fort Walton Beach, two percent by the Town of Cinco Bayou, and one percent by the Eglin Heights Subdivision. A total of 67 percent of the water consumed was measured through residential meters; 25 percent through commercial meters; and eight percent through the remaining irrigation meters. SECTION 6 - METHODS AND EFFECTS OF WATER CONSERVATION The City of Fort Walton Beach is situated in southern coastal Okaloosa County in the Planning Region II area of the Northwest Florida Water Management District (NWFWMD). This area is designated as a Water Resource Caution Area by the NWFWMD in order to manage the threat and declining resources of the Floridan Aquifer. Such designation grants authority to the NWFWMD to restrict further withdrawals from the aquifer and impose restrictions on certain uses of the potable supply. The conflict between increasing demand for potable water, and the limited supply, heightens the need for water conservation. In many cases, reductions in the demand for water can be more cost effective than increasing the supply. The Water Management District has stated that they will closely scrutinize any request for additional withdrawal from the Floridan aquifer. Therefore, it is imperative that water conservation be considered as an alternative to increasing the withdrawal from the Floridan aquifer. REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY PLAN 30 CI1Y OF FORT WALTON BEACH  The City of Fort Walton Beach recognizes the need to conserve the high quality water in the Upper- F10ridan aquifer has taken numerous steeps to reduce its demand. This has resulted in annual production in 2007 being down 10.3 percent from 2000 even though population increased by 5. 1 percent during the same time. City of Fort Walton Beach has implemented numerous conservation measures to assist in The reducing the withdrawal rates of the Aoridan aquifer. The City's conservation measures include the expansion of the City' s reclaimed water system to eliminate the non-potable demand on the F10ridan aquifer, an active program to eliminate existing irrigation meters and prohibit the installation of new irrigation meters, an inclining block rate schedule for water consumption, reduction of unaccounted for water, enactment of an ordinance promoting Xeriscape, and revised and more restrictive plumbing codes. The projected effects of these conservation measures are difficult to quantify. However, that does not reduce the tremendous impact and importance it has on the longevity of the City of Fort Walton Beach potable water source. The practice of water conservation in order to reduce demand on potable water resources can take many different forms. Over the past several years, the City of Fort Walton Beach has implemented several different programs in an effort to further conserve this valuable resource. The following narratives highlight programs implemented by the City to address water conservation and promote the efficient use of the resource: 6. 1 USE OF RECLAIMED WATER The practice of treating domestic wastewatersupplies to a tertiary standard for beneficial reuse promotes conservation by eliminating certain non-potable uses of the F10ridan Aquifer. Reuse, or Reclaimed, water has proven to be a suitable replacement source for such activities as irrigation, process water in industrial applications, makeup water in cooling towers, and dual systems to service other non- potable needs. The benefits of developing a reclaimed water system are realized immediately and contribute gready to long-term aquifer sustainability. The City of Fort Walton Beach has an existing reclaimed water system which provides irrigation water to the Fort Walton Beach Golf Club and its surrounding rights- of-way. This system provides an annual daily average of 0. 570 million gallons of reuse water for irrigation at the 36- hole facility. The City developed this system in 1992 and it has been in continuous operation since. Recendy, the City completed a draft " Request for Qualifications" ( RFQ) for the purpose of commissioning a qualified engineering/ consulting firm to update the City' s Reclaimed Water Master Plan. The intent of this update is to: detennine the feasibility of establishing a Reuse Water User Rate, identify potential areas of expansion for the system, provide an implementation schedule for expansion of the system, and provide cost estimates for system expansion. The City has delayed the advertisement of this study until such time as it is decided whether to renovate the City's existing WWIP, or combine sewage treatment operations with Okaloosa County. Should the City elect to continue providing in-house wastewater treatment operations for its citizens, staff will advertise the RFQ for updating its Reclaimed Water Master Plan and commission the study. The existing reuse system of the City, in place since the early 1990s, provides irrigation water for the City' 36- hole municipal golf course. On average, this system contributes 500, 000 gallons per day of treated s is in the process sewage effluent for use as irrigation water on this facility. The City' s Utilities Department of updating its Reclaimed Water Master Plan to explore expansion of this system to neighboring properties REGIONAL WA1ERSUPPLYPLAN 31 CITY OF FORT WALTON BEACH and rights- of-way in future years. As a result, the City anticipates that 500,000 gallons or more of treated sewage effluent will be available in future years for irrigation and other uses in the golf course and surrounding areas. In addition to the existing reuse system, the City completed design plans and specifications for a joint reuse project with Hurlburt Field (USAF) in 2005. The first phase of the new reuse transmission main project was awarded to a large regional contractor in 2006 and was completed in early 2007. Once all phases of the project are complete, the system will provide reclaimed water to several areas of the City' s Commerce and Technology Park and the City's Beal Memorial Cemetery. The new system will service areas of the City not currendy serviced by our existing reuse system. At a minimum, this system, when operational, will provide 40,000 gallons per day of treated sewage effluent for irrigation at the City' s Beal Memorial Cemetery, which is currendy irrigated with water drawn from the Floridan. The City expects other properties along the transmission main route to take advantage of the reuse availability, further reducing the demand on the Floridan in the western end of the City. Once the system is fully developed, the City anticipates the reduction of the demand from the Floridan supply to exceed 40, 000 gallons per day. 6. 2 REDUCTION OF IRRIGATION ONLY ACCOUNTS The City of Fort Walton Beach initiated a policy of not issuing " irrigation only" accounts in the late 1990s. Prior to implementation of this policy, a customer could set up a separate account for a metered connection for non-potable or irrigation uses and pay only the corresponding water use fee each month. The benefit to the customer of this type of arrangement was the elimination of the accompanying sewer use fee. Since this type of arrangement does not encourage water conservation, the City eliminated the practice. After theCity stopped the practice of offering " irrigation only" accounts, Utilities Department personnel began aggressive program of removing irrigation meters for inactive accounts and those an properties that changed ownership. During 2000, the City had a total of 354 active " irrigation only" accounts. As of the end of 2007, the City reduced the number of active " irrigation only" accounts to 241 for an overall reduction of 32 percent. To irrigate City parks and facilities, the City has installed shallow sand and gravel irrigation wells at each location and removed any remaining irrigation meters. The existing highway medians that have irrigation are hooked onto shallow sand and gravel irrigation wells and any new irrigation areas will have the same set up. Estimated reductions from elimination of existing irrigation meters was not included in the calculations for future water production needs. 6.3 USE OF CONSERVATION RATES The City of Fort Walton Beach utilizes the inclining block rate methodology for assessing water use fees. This methodology provides an incentive to customers to conserve water and has been utilized by the City for several years. The current five-year rate schedule is effective out to the 2010- 11 budget year. The approved rate increases for the five- year cycle are 4.8 percent, 3. 8 percent, 2. 9 percent, 2.9 percent, and 2. 9 percent respectively. In addition, funding is included in the Fiscal Year 2007- 08 budget to update the City' s Utilities Rate Study. Under the inclining block rate structure, unit prices for water consumption increase as the level of use by the customer increases. The structure provides a " lifeline" rate for those users with monthly consumption less than 2,000 gallons, which promotes conservation of the resource. As consumption REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY PLAN