To: Board of Directors, Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Grant Davis 707-547-1900/Paul Piazza 707-547-1968
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Remote Sensing and Groundcover Spatial Analysis Consulting Agreement and Partnership Member Reimbursement Agreements
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to execute an agreement with DCSE, Inc., in substantially the form presented to this Board, for remote sensing and groundcover spatial analysis through July 31, 2028, in the not-to-exceed amount of $250,000.
B) Authorize Sonoma County Water Agency’s General Manager to negotiate and execute separate reimbursement agreements with City of Santa Rosa, City of Rohnert Park, City of Petaluma, City of Sonoma, City of Cloverdale, City of Healdsburg, North Marin Water District, Valley of the Moon Water District, and Town of Windsor, in a form approved by County Counsel, for reimbursement of remote sensing and groundcover spatial analysis through July 31, 2028. Reimbursement agreement amounts will not exceed a total amount of $250,000. Sonoma County Water Agency will be receiving funds from these entities.
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Executive Summary:
On behalf of a subset of the retail water providers in the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership that are subject to the new regulatory framework for water use efficiency standards set forth by recent California state legislation, Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) is coordinating a remote sensing and ground cover spatial analysis project that will enable these Partnership Members to fulfill mandatory California state obligations. Sonoma Water seeks assistance for this effort from DCSE, Inc. (Consultant) and will be receiving reimbursement from the participating retail water providers through separate reimbursement agreements for their portion of the work that will be completed.
Discussion:
HISTORY OF ITEM/BACKGROUND
In 2018 California enacted legislation (Senate Bill 606 and Assembly Bill 1668) for development of a new regulatory framework, which proposed new standards-based water use objectives applicable to urban retail water providers with greater than 3,000 connections or 3,000-acre feet of annual water sales. The regulatory framework includes the water use standard for commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) landscape irrigation with dedicated irrigation meters (DIM) (CII DIM Standard), as well as for CII performance measures, a subset of which details water use efficiency improvements for CII mixed-use metered (MUM) landscapes, such as providing irrigation water budgets. The regulatory framework was adopted by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) on July 3, 2024.
In 2023 California further enacted legislation (Assembly Bill 1572) to set conditions and a timeline to prohibit the use of potable water for irrigation of non-functional turf (NFT) in CII landscape areas and common areas of homeowners’ associations (HOAs), including a requirement for retail water providers to enact local code changes in support of this prohibition.
The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership is composed of 12 retail water providers in Sonoma and Marin counties. Nine of these 12, including the City of Santa Rosa, City of Rohnert Park, City of Petaluma, City of Sonoma, City of Cloverdale, City of Healdsburg, North Marin Water District, Valley of the Moon Water District, and the Town of Windsor (Partnership Members), are participating in a project coordinated by Sonoma Water that will enable the Partnership Members to fulfill these new regulatory obligations. Two retail water partners are not subject to the new regulatory requirements, and one has already completed this work.
To support the required CII DIM Standard, CII performance measures, and NFT prohibition, Sonoma Water, on behalf of the Partnership Members, is leading the effort to obtain landscape area measurement (LAM) data for the Partnership Members’ CII customer accounts, including those with DIMs and MUMs, using methodologies compliant with State Water Board and California State Department of Water Resources (DWR) requirements. Additionally, consultant services are needed to provide details about CII special landscape areas (SLA) as defined in the regulatory framework and associated LAMs, and CII and HOA NFT areas and associated LAMs to meet the code enforcement requirements of Assembly Bill 1572.
Partnership Members will enter into separate reimbursement agreements with Sonoma Water to reimburse Sonoma Water for their portion of the work completed. Collectively, reimbursement agreement amounts will not exceed a total of $250,000. Sonoma Water will be receiving these funds.
SELECTION PROCESS
DCSE, Inc. (Consultant) was selected from a competitive selection process. Attached is a memo that explains the competitive selection process.
SERVICES TO BE PERFORMED
Under the professional services agreement, Consultant will create landcover classification datasets for each Partnership Member; create LAM for all CII customer accounts; identify, map, and measure the areas of NFT with CII and HOA common area parcels; and identify and calculate area measurements of SLAs.
The cost of services will not exceed $250,000; the term end date is July 31, 2028.
Through the agreement, the General Manager will be delegated the authority to approve a written amendment to extend the term of the agreement for up to two additional years by providing written notice to the other party thirty days in advance of the expiration date and by executing an agreement amendment.
REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENTS
Collectively, the reimbursement amounts will not exceed a total of $250,000, broken down as follows: City of Cloverdale ($11,000), City of Healdsburg ($16,000), City of Petaluma ($35,000), City of Rohnert Park ($28,000), City of Santa Rosa ($73,000), City of Sonoma ($17,000), North Marin Water District ($40,000), Town of Windsor ($18,000), and Valley of the Moon Water District ($12,000).
Each agreement will cover reimbursement for each Partnership Member’s portion of the work for consulting services rendered through July 31, 2028. Consistent with Consultant agreement, through the reimbursement agreements, the General Manager will be delegated the authority to approve a written amendment to extend the term of the reimbursement agreements for up to two additional years by providing written notice to the other party thirty days in advance of the expiration date and by executing an agreement amendment.
County of Sonoma Strategic Plan Alignment:
N/A
Sonoma Water Strategic Plan Alignment
Goal: Environmental Stewardship
Strategy: (a) Protect, enhance, and monitor natural resources, watershed conditions, and ecosystem health that are vital to the Russian River, Petaluma River, and Sonoma Creek watersheds. (b) Ensure that environmental and ecosystem considerations are incorporated into water resources planning, capital, operations, maintenance, and restoration project implementation.
Goal: Climate Resiliency
Strategy: Develop and implement practices to understand and minimize vulnerability to climate change impacts and natural disasters.
This project supports the goals listed through the development of new data to be used to help Partnership Members and their CII customers better manage landscape irrigation water use and to prepare for and implement landscaping improvements that foster increased resilience from the negative impacts of climate change.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
N/A
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$250,000 |
|
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$ |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$250,000 |
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
$ |
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$ |
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$ |
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$250,000 |
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
$ |
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
$ |
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$250,000 |
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Budgeted amount of $250,000 is available from FY 2025/2026 appropriations for the Water Conservation fund. Offsetting revenue will come from City of Cloverdale ($11,000), City of Healdsburg ($16,000), City of Petaluma ($35,000), City of Rohnert Park ($28,000), City of Santa Rosa ($73,000), City of Sonoma ($17,000), North Marin Water District ($40,000), Town of Windsor ($18,000), and Valley of the Moon Water District ($12,000). No additional appropriation is required.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
N/A
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Agreement with DCSE, Inc.
Attachment 2: Competitive Selection Process Memo
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.