Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO)

Goal and Objectives: Goal: Provide information on the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance (MWELO) and how to implement it on your projects. Objectives: The Academy Trainee will: Understand how MWELO will affect irrigation design Learn the basic calculations required to comply with the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance

Water…our most valuable resource Water…our most valuable resource. It meanders through the California landscape very much like our highway system does. We retain it as best we can, and Mother Nature helps replenish it through rain or snow…. FYI: Folsom Lake; July 20, 2011 @ 97% capacity; Sierra snow pack January 18, 2013

DROUGHT EMERGENCY

The Drought Emergency has placed Water Conservation at the top of the agenda for all Government agencies, Statewide. Water resources are greatly depleted and the evidence is everywhere. FYI: Folsom Lake; January 16, 2014 @ 17% capacity; Sierra Snowpack January 18, 2014.

January 17, 2014, Governor Brown declared a Drought State of Emergency January 17, 2014, Governor Brown declared a Drought State of Emergency. Calls on reducing water by 20%. Local agencies are ordered to “Implement their local water shortage contingency plans immediately.” “State agencies, led by the Department of General Services, will immediately implement water use reduction plans for all state facilities.”

February 6, 2014, Caltrans (Malcolm Dougherty) issued a Memo that “Districts shall identify a qualified ‘Water Manager’ to act as the point of contact for water conservation efforts.” Memo also states that Maintenance forces will reduce Statewide water consumption by 50%. February 6, 2014, Caltrans (Tony Tavares) issued a Memo which calls for CT Maintenance forces to “Immediately reduce all landscape irrigation using potable water by 50%.” “Maintenance forces will immediately implement actions to reduce irrigation use by 50%.”

Governor Browns Proclamation orders local urban water suppliers and municipalities to “Implement their local water shortage contingency plans immediately.” These plans include enforcement of their Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance. 460+ water purveyors, each with (potentially) their own water ordinance. I’m going to teach you the Statewide Strategy, which will cover most of the water agencies.

Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance Effective January 1, 2010 NPDES Permit requires compliance to MAWA Enforced through: State Water Resource Control Board Local agencies On August 19, 2010, Keith Robinson issued a Memo that informed Districts that they must comply with their local agency model water ordinance requirements. July 1, 2013 NPDS permit required implementation of the MWELO. Enforcement of MWELO is made through the 9 regional water boards. Enforcement come in the form of fines (expensive!) and penalties. The Department’s interpretation of this permit requirement is that projects with PID documents after July 1, 2013 will be required to include MWELO.

Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance Requires: Landscape Documentation Package New and rehabilitated Irrigated landscapes of 2,500 sq. ft. or more

Landscape Documentation Package The Landscape Documentation Package includes, but not limited to: Project Information Maximum Annual Water Allowance (MAWA) Hydrozone Information table Estimated Total Water Use (ETWU) calculations Landscape Documentation Package (Section 492.3).

Project Information (A) Date (B) Project applicant- CALTRANS, District “x”) (C) Project address (if available, parcel , route and post-mile limits) (D) Total landscape area (square feet) (E) Project type (e.g., new, rehabilitated) (F) Water supply type (e.g., potable, recycled, well) and identify the local retail water purveyor if not served by a private well Many of the required plan information is already common practice at Caltrans.

Project Information (G) project contacts to include contact information for the project and/or property owner (CALTRANS, District “x”) (H) Licensed Landscape Architect signatureand date (I) Include statement, “I agree to comply with the requirements of the water efficient landscape ordinance and submit a complete Landscape Documentation Package”. Item “H” is a new requirement that must be included as part of the Landscape Package. Since there hasn’t been any guidance created, it is recommended that you: Follow the requirements of you local agency. If no guidance is available, include it adjacent to the MWELO calculations. The provisions requiring a soils test are not covered in this presentation, but the District Landscape Architect and staff, must be aware of the requirements to comply with the State and/or Local Ordinance.

Project Information “I agree to comply with the requirements of the water efficient landscape ordinance and submit a complete Landscape Documentation Package”. “I agree to comply with the requirements of the water efficient landscape ordinance and submit a complete Landscape Documentation Package”. One recommendation as to where the statement can go is adjacent to the pressure loss calculations. MAWA and ETWU calculations are also recommended to be on plans, but they can also be included in the project file.

Landscape Documentation Package The Landscape Documentation Package includes, but not limited to: Project Information Maximum Annual Water Allowance (MAWA) Estimated Total Water Use (ETWU) calculations and Hydrozone Information table

Maximum Annual Water Allowance MAWA =(ETo)(.62)x[(0.7 x LA)+(0.3 x SLA)] Eto= Reference ET (inches per year) .62 = Conversion factor to gallons .70= ET Adjustment (ETA) factor for Landscape Areas (LA) .30= ET Adjustment Factor (ETAF) for Special Landscape Areas (SLA) SLA= Special Landscape Area in square feet. This consists of planted areas irrigated with recycled water or water features using recycled water) SLA also include sports fields and gardens with edible plants.

Maximum Annual Water Allowance Reference ET (a.k.a: Eto) Can be obtained from local weather stations like CIMIS Reference ETo can be obtained from CIMIS or a local weather station. Here is an example of a CIMIS historical Eto for the City of Claremont. Number Name Region 82 Claremont Los Angeles Basin Stn Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 82 2.00 2.28 3.43 4.62 4.99 6.04 6.98 6.97 5.27 3.96 2.65 2.06 51.25

What is the total square footage of your Landscape Area (LA)? 134,700 Sq. Ft. Model Water Ordinance Defines Hydrozone as : “hydrozone” means a portion of the landscaped area having plants with similar water needs. Caltrans landscapes should also consider sun/shade exposure as well as irrigation sprinkler method (rotors, drip, etc.).

Maximum Annual Water Allowance (MAWA) Results:   MAWA = (ETo) x (0.62) x [(0.7 x LA)+(0.3 x SLA)] 2,998,987.74 Gallons 400,906.35 Cubic Feet 4,009.58 HCF 9.22 Acre-feet 3.00 Millions of Gallons Cubic feet= Gallons/7.48 HCF Cubic Feet= Cu. Ft./748 Acre Feet= (4009.58/43560)*100 or 400,906.35 cu. Ft./43560 sq. ft.

Landscape Documentation Package The Landscape Documentation Package includes, but not limited to: Project Information Maximum Annual Water Allowance (MAWA) Estimated Total Water Use (ETWU) calculations and Hydrozone Information table

Estimated Total Water Use(ETWU) ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) Eto= Reference ET (Claremont,51.3) .62 = Conversion factor to gallons PF= Plant Factor (per WULCOLS III or IV) HA= Hydrozone Area (plant groupings per watering need) IE= Irrigation Efficiency (based on sprinkler type) The Estimated Total Water Use calculations takes into account hydrozone/plant factor conversion and the irrigation efficiency of the rotors.

Identify the Hydrozone Area (HA) Phase II: 2 1 Here are three hypothetical hydrozones. Each with different plant types and different methods of irrigation. 3

Hydrozone Information Table Try to access http://ucanr.edu/sites/WUCOLS/Plant_Search/ Have Students gather into three groups, each group is to come up with a plant list.

Plant Selection http://ucanr.edu/sites/WUCOLS/Plant_Search/ Open WULCOLS IV WEBSITE. Let’s see if the plants that you selected and identified to be of a certain water use, truly are! OR The WULCOLS IV website can assist the designer in generating a list of plants based on the City and the Water use, that you select!

Plant Selection List WULCOLS then generated a list that I can then use to create plant groupings or hydrozones. The “Types” refer to: Groundcover, Shrub, Native, Perennial, etc.

Plant Factor (PF) Plant Water Use Type Plant Factor Very Low <.10   <.10 Low 0.1 - 0.3 Moderate 0.4 - 0.6 High 0.7 - 1.0 SLA 1.00 WULCOlS has a chart which assigns “plant factor” ranges for the hydrozones you have created. Plant factor means the % OF THE REFERENCE ET (EVAPOTRANSPIRATION) PER YEAR, that the plant requires.

Hydrozone Information Table In order to save time, I have combined the Hydrozone tables from pages 28 & 30 of the MWELO package. This information is helpful when applying them to the DWR worksheet.

Estimated Total Water Use(ETWU) ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) Eto= Reference ET (inches per year) .62 = Conversion factor to gallons PF= Plant Factor (per WULCOLS III or IV) HA= Hydrozone Area (plant groupings per watering need) IE= Irrigation Efficiency (based on sprinkler type) The Estimated Total Water Use calculations takes into account hydrozone/plant factor conversion and the irrigation efficiency of the rotors. Notice that the Hydrozone conversion matches….

Determine Irrigation Efficiency (IE) Estimated Sprinkler head Irrigation Efficiency (IE)   Gear Rotor systems: .60-.80 (Verify efficiency with manufacturer) Bubbler/Drip Emitters: .80-.90 Overhead fixed spray .60-.70 (Not Efficient) Stream Spray .70-.80 There is no Special Landscape Areas in this project. Source for sprinkler efficiency chart information: http://cwi.csufresno.edu/wateright/880104.asp LEED BD+C credit WE 1 https://www.ci.windsor.ca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/522

Estimated Total Water Use(ETWU) ETWU=(Eto)(.62)[(PF x HA/IE)+ SLA] Eto= 51.3 (Claremont) .62 = Conversion factor to gallons Graph identifies all three hydrozones and their respective Irrigation Method/Irrigation Efficiency.

Estimated Total Water Use(ETWU) ETWU for Hydrozone 1: ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) IE= .75(Rotors) The Estimated Total Water Use calculations takes into account hydrozone/plant factor conversion and the irrigation efficiency of the gear driven rotor system. Notice that the Hydrozone conversion matches…. Hydrozone Plant Water Use Type (s) (low, medium, high) Plant Factor (PF) Hydrozone Area (HA) (ft2) PF x HA (ft2) 1 Moderate 0.50 80,000 40,000 ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(.5 x 80,000/.75) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(40,000 /.75) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(53,333) ETWU=1,696,320 Gallons for Hydrozone 1

Estimated Total Water Use(ETWU) ETWU for Hydrozone 2: ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) IE= .85(Drip) The Estimated Total Water Use calculations takes into account hydrozone/plant factor conversion and the irrigation efficiency of the drip system. Hydrozone Plant Water Use Type (s) (low, medium, high) Plant Factor (PF) Hydrozone Area (HA) (ft2) PF x HA (ft2) 2 Very Low 0.10 50,000 5,000 ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(.1 x 50,000/.85) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(5,000 /.85) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(5882) ETWU=187,094 Gallons for Hydrozone 2

Estimated Total Water Use(ETWU) ETWU for Hydrozone 23: ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) IE= .65(Spray) The Estimated Total Water Use calculations takes into account hydrozone/plant factor conversion and the irrigation efficiency of the overhead spray system. Hydrozone Plant Water Use Type (s) (low, medium, high) Plant Factor (PF) Hydrozone Area (HA) (ft2) PF x HA (ft2) 3 High 0.80 4,700 3,760 ETWU=(Eto)(.62)(PF x HA/IE) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(.8 x 4,700/.65) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(3,760 /.65) ETWU=(51.3)(.62)(5785) ETWU=183,998 Gallons for Hydrozone 3

Estimated Total Water Use(ETWU) What is your ETWU? ETWU=1,696,320 Gallons for Hydrozone 1 When you add the ETWU of all of the hydrozones, you get a total of approx. 2.1 million gallons of water per year. ETWU=187,094 Gallons for Hydrozone 2 ETWU=183,998 Gallons for Hydrozone 3 ETWU Total= 2,067,412 Gallons per year

Maximum Annual Water Allowance (MAWA) MAWA= 2,999,365 gallons per year ETWU= 2,067,412 gallons per year The Water Budget complies with MAWA ! Since ETWU is < MAWA, your design complies with the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance!

Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance Websites: Adoption of updated MWELO Letter: http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/docs/DirectorLetterAdoption.pdf MWELO: http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/docs/MWELO09-10-09.pdf Department of Water Resources (Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance): http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/landscapeordinance/ FAQ’s: http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/landscapeordinance/faq.cfm Estimating Irrigation Water Needs for Landscape Plantings in California (Brochure): http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/docs/wucols00.pdf WUCOLS IV: http://ucanr.edu/sites/WUCOLS/ Caltrans Storm Water Permit (Order #2012-0011-DWQ): http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_decisions/adopted_orders/water_quality/2012/wqo2012_0011_dwq.pdf Memo requiring local (cities, counties, charter cities, charter counties) to adopt MWELO or adopt their own ordinance that meets or exceeds State Ordinance State Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance DWR website that lists the ordinances of many cities and counties in CA that have adopted a MWELO DWR FAQ’s on MWELO