O-2011-3361 amend Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan/Tabled-bring back 7/25/11

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REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM Agenda Date Requested: June 27, 2011 Appropriation Requested By: David Mick Source of Funds: N/A Department: Public Works Account Number: N/A Report: Resolution: Ordinance: XX Amount Budgeted•N /A Exhibits: Existing City of La Porte Plan Amount Requested: Exhibits: Marked up copy of the plan Rndueted Item! N/A Exhibits: Prnposed Ordinance TPYaC Administrative Code Title 30, Section 288.20 SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION At City Council's June 27, 2011 meeting, staff recommended three revisions to the existing City of La Porte Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan. One of the proposed revisions was the addition of a penalty to coincide with the mandatory water reduction measures that are mandated by the Stage 2 component of the plan. The other two revisions were housekeeping items designed to clarify the Stage 2 lawn watering schedule and to update the public information plan component to include the various networking and social media outlets that are now available to the city. This agenda item was tabled until the July 11 meeting. Staff will reintroduce the recommended changes — modified in a couple of instances to incorporate comments that had come from Council during the June 27 meeting - and provide additional background information. If City Council would like to consider other revisions to the existing plan, staff will investigate those items, run them through the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) if necessary and present those changes to Council at a future meeting. Background to the Drought Contingency Plan: A drought contingency plan was required by the State of Texas with Senate Bill 1 enacted in 1997. The initial City of La Porte plan predated Senate Bill 1 and was adopted in April, 1987. The drought contingency portion of the plan was last revised in October, 2007 with the incorporation of changes required by the state. Council also reauthorized the plan in April 2009. The City of La Porte, Morgan's Point, and Shoreacres each have separate drought contingency plans. The La Porte Area Water Authority (LPAWA), which provides surface water for these same three cities, also has its own plan. The LPAWA Board approves the LPAWA plan, which is then approved by the La Porte City Council. (Note that the La Porte City Council, with La Porte being the largest of the three member cities, must also approve contracts entered into by the LPAWA Board.) From a practical standpoint, the basic structure of the LPAWA plan and the City of La Porte plan must be consistent, but there is room for variations in the respective plan for each LPAWA- member city.