Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance Teresa Eade, Senior Program - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

2015 Update to the California Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance

Teresa Eade, Senior Program Manager, StopWaste Kelly Schoonmaker, RLA, LEED AP – StopWaste

Goals for the Day, Why WELO is Important, MA Interviews

Agenda Item 2.

Goals for the Day

• Why WELO is Important
• Increase our Understanding of WELO
• Share our Collective Expertise
• Come Up with Solutions to Common Barriers to

Implementation

• Review Existing Tools
• Discuss whether to make new Tools or Trainings

Why StopWaste Cares about WELO implementation

StopWaste & WELO

• Organics Market Development
• WELO creates demand for recycled compost and mulch by

requiring:

• 3 inch layer of recycled mulch
• 4 cubic yards of compost/1000 sq feet of planting area
• Per Acre that equals
• 403 cubic yards of Recycled Mulch or 101 tons
• 170 cubic yards of Compost or 70 tons
• Member Agencies collectively could permit 10 to 20 acres

per year.

Why StopWaste Cares about WELO implementation

StopWaste & WELO

• Legislative Drivers of Organics Diversion
• SB 1383 (2016) Short-lived climate pollutants

Requires CalRecycle to develop regulations to achieve reduction in disposal of Organic Waste from 2014 levels :

• 50% reduction by 2020
• 75% reduction by 2025
• Programs to achieve 20% percent recovery of edible

food by 2025

• Drop in BioFuels Market
• Statewide need of 100 new or expanded facilities to

handle 10 million more tons

Why You Should Care About Compost & Mulch

Benefits of Compost & Mulch in the Landscape

• CLIMATE CHANGE !

“Compost provides long term sequestration of carbon, our best hope to combat climate change.”

Gary Anderson, Ecology Department Head, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, Ph.D. Plant Pathology, Microbiologist

Findings from the Marin Carbon Project

Compost Sequesters Carbon

One time, ½ inch, application of

compost on grasslands Increase in: plant productivity, water retention carbon storage - 1 metric tons

• f carbon/acre

5 years of measurement found, 1 metric ton per year in stable, microbial resistant carbon. Model predicts 1 ton/acre/year- 30 years Continued benefit for 100 years!

• Prof. Whendee Silver,

UC Berkeley John Wick, Marin Carbon Project

Compost Carbon Photosynthetically Derived Durable Soil Carbon

A SINGLE APPLICATION OF ½” COMPOST WILL RESULT IN 30 –100 YEARS OF ONGOING SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION!

Why You Should Care About Compost & Mulch

Benefits of Compost & Mulch in the Landscape

Benefits:

• 30 to 50 tons of Carbon

Sequestration per acre

• 50% increased water

savings

• soil water holding

capacity improved

• 70–80% reduced runoff
• Breaks down pollutants
• Creates resiliency

Benefits of Compost & Mulch in the Landscape

• If you only learn one thing today,

Enforce the WELO Requirements for Compost & Mulch

• 3 inches of Recycled Mulch
• 4 cubic yards of Compost /1,000 sq ft.

Measure the Mulch layer at the site visit Ask for receipts for Compost purchased

From DWR & Public Policy Institute of CA

Water

• 50% of all urban Water Use is used on landscapes
• Californians have been reducing their per capita water

use

• 1995 = 232 gallons per day
• 2010 = 178 gallons per day
• 2015 = 130 gallons per day
• In urban areas, the greatest potential for further water

savings lies in long-term reductions in landscape irrigation—a shift requiring changes in plantings and watering habits.

Member Agency WELO Implementation

Adopting Ordinance:

• 8 adopt; 2 done,

6 plan to adopt

• Use the

StopWaste Model WELO

• 6 do not plan to

adopt, letting state model come into effect

Member Agency How Member Agency is Adopting WELO

Alameda County Adopted By Default Alameda Adopting a new WELO Albany Adopting a New WELO Berkeley Adopting By Default Dublin Adopting a New WELO Emeryville Adopted a New WELO Fremont Adopted by Default Hayward Adopted a New WELO Livermore Adopting a New WELO Newark Adopted by Default Oakland Adopted by Default Piedmont Adopted by Default Pleasanton Adopted a New WELO San Leandro Adopting a New WELO Union City Adopting A New WELO

Result from Member Agency Interviews

Member Agency WELO Implementation

 Who Implements WELO in the City

• 8 Planners
• 4 City Landscape Architects
• 3 Outside Contractors
• 3 Building Officials

Result from Member Agency Staff Interviews

Member Agency WELO Implementation

 Barriers to Implementation

1.

Lack of Staff Time

2.

Lack of Expertise:

• Landscape Architects
• Irrigation knowledge

3.

Inconsistent interpretation of ordinance

4.

Poor communications across City Departments

5.

Lack of proper forms and protocols

6.

Taking it on faith that what is in plans is getting done

7.

Project LA may be unfamiliar with WELO Requirements

8.

No mechanism for enforcement of ordinance

9.

Tracking project details and reporting to DWR

Key Elements of WELO

Agenda Item 3

Background

• History
• AB 325: original model ordinance, took effect in 1993
• AB 1881: update to 325, took effect in 2010
• Update to Model Ordinance, took effect 12/2015
• Future
• AB 2515: WELO will be updated every three years to align with

CALGreen schedule (on or before 2020)

Adoption

• Cities have several options for adoption:
• Adopt by reference (Bay-Friendly Basics separate)
• Adopt in detail
• Amend or adopt a new ordinance to meet requirements
• Do nothing and it would come into effect

Highlights of the 2015 update to WELO

• Applicability – Permitted projects
• 500 sf for new construction
• 2,500 sf for renovations
• Prescriptive Path to Compliance (<2,500 sf)
• Reporting requirements for implementing jurisdictions
• Required by CALGreen
• Lower Water Budgets: different for res and non-res
• Compost required
• More mulch required; must be local, recycled*
• New irrigation requirements

What triggers a WELO review?

• Size of project: 500 sf or 2,500 sf (rehab)
• Building or landscape permits, plan check or design

review

• Sometimes new meter or upgrade to service (water

agencies)

Conditions of approval

Commitment to compliance

WELO Review and Documentation

Permitting/Design

Landscape Design Package

Post-Construction

Certificate of Completion

What’s in the Landscape Documentation Package?

Landscape Documentation Package Who prepares submittal? Project Information Owner or designee Water Efficient Landscape Worksheet Owner or designee Soil Management Report* Soil Lab Landscape Plan LA, Contractor, or any person “authorized to design a landscape” Irrigation Plan LA, Contractor, Irrigation Designer Grading Plan LA or Civil Engineer

What’s on the Landscape Design Plan

• Hydrozones
• Special Landscape Areas
• Mulch – note type, depth, quantity
• Soil amendments – note type (compost), application rate
• Water features – note area
• Hardscape – pervious and impervious noted
• Stormwater treatment if any
• Rainwater catchment and gray water sources if any
• Water Budget and Use calcs*
• Information sometimes found in specifications only

What do I verify after construction?

Certificate of Completion Who prepares document? Project Information Owner or designee Record drawings* Does not specify Soil Management Report* Soil Lab Verification of implementation of the recommendations in the Soil Management Report Owner or designee Irrigation Audit Report Local agency auditor or independent third party Certification that landscape is installed as designed and meets WELO Landscape Designer, Irrigation Designer, or Contractor Hydrozone plan (with controller) Does not specify Irrigation and landscape maintenance schedule Does not specify Verification of Diversion* StopWaste WELO

Water Budget and ETWU

Agenda Item 3

Review Common Terms

• MAWA: Maximum Applied Water Allowed, often called

Water Budget (gallons)

• ETWU: Estimated Total Water Use, how much water your

design will use (gallons)

• ETo: Reference Evapotranspiration, how much water is lost

by a planting of cool season turf through ET where you are (inches/day, month, or year).

• Plant Factor: Plants’ water needs relative to ETo (0-1.0)
• Irrigation Efficiency: Fraction of water that gets to plant (0-

1.0)

• ETAF: ET Adjustment Factor, considers irrigation efficiency

and plant factor to estimate how much water will need to be applied to plants (0-1.0).

The two lives of ETAF

• ETAF is relative to the Eto, on a scale of 0 – 1.
• ETAF = PF/IE
• In the water budget, the ETAF is predetermined by the

WELO.

• 0.45 Non-residential
• 0.55 Residential
• This means that—over the whole landscape area—the average PF/IE

must be equal to or less than this value.

• In the estimated water use, the ETAF is determined by

planting and irrigation choices.

• This means that each hydrozone will have a different ETAF, depending
• n PF/IE.

More Common Terms

• Hydrozone
• Areas with similar water use based on plant needs (plant factors),

exposure, slope, irrigation type, etc.

• Special Landscape Area (SLA)
• Gets a pass on the water budget, sort of.
• Recreation areas (only in non-residential), edibles, areas irrigated with

recycled water

• WUCOLS: Water Use Classification of Landscape

Species

• Reference for plant water needs.

Calculating the MAWA – Formula

• MAWA = (ETo) x (0.62) x [(ETAF x LA) + (1-ETAF x SLA)]
• 0.62 converts in/sf to gallons
• ETAF here is set by WELO, and is relative to ETo:
• Residential: 0.55
• Non-Residential: 0.45
• LA is total LA, including SLA.

Cover your notes!

• Don’t look at the power point print out.
• Bring out pen & paper to do the water budget exercise.

Calculating the MAWA – Example 1

• (ETo) x (0.62) x [(ETAF x LA) + (1-ETAF x SLA)]= MAWA
• ETo: 41.8
• ETAF = 0.45
• Total Landscape area = 1000 sf
• Total SLA = 0 sf

41.8 x 0.62 x [(0.45 x 1000) + (0.55 x 0)] = 11662 gallons per year

Calculating the MAWA – Example 2 SLA

• (ETo) x (0.62) x [(ETAF x LA) + (1-ETAF x SLA)]= MAWA
• ETo: 41.8
• ETAF = 0.45
• Total Landscape area = 1000 sf
• Total SLA = 150 sf

41.8 x 0.62 x [(0.45 x 1000) + (0.55 x 150)] = 13,800 Comparison of budgets with SLA and without: 13,800-11662 = 2,138 gallons

Calculating the ETWU – Formula

• ETWU = (ETo) x (0.62) x [(PF/IE) x LA] for each hydrozone
• Plant Factor (found in WUCOLS or other reference):
• Irrigation Efficiency (provided by DWR):

Water Use Plant Factor Very Low 0 – 0.1 Low 0.1 – 0.3 Moderate 0.4 – 0.6 High 0.7 – 1.0 Irrigation Type Irrigation Efficiency Drip 0.81 Overhead 0.75

Calculating ETWU – Example 1

• (ETo) x (0.62) x [(PF/IE) x LA] = ETWU
• ETo = 41.8

41.8 x 0.62 x [(0.3/0.81) x 750] = 7199 41.8 x 0.62 x [(0.6/0.81) x 250] = 4799 Total ETWU = 11,998 gal/yr MAWA = 11,662

Hydrozone # Plant Factor Irrigation Efficiency Area (sf) 1 0.3 .81 750 2 0.6 .81 250

Calculating ETWU – Example 2 (SLA)

• (ETo) x (0.62) x [(PF/IE) x LA] = ETWU
• ETo = 41.8

41.8 x 0.62 x [(0.3/0.81) x 750] = 7199 41.8 x 0.62 x [(0.6/0.81) x 100] = 1920 41.8 x 0.62 x [1.0 x 150] = 3887 Total ETWU = 13,006 gal/yr MAWA = 13,800

Hydrozone # Plant Factor Irrigation Efficiency Area (sf) 1 0.3 .81 750 2 0.6 .81 100 3 (SLA) 1.0 150

DWR Calculator

• State WELO - Department of Water Resources:

www.water.ca.gov

Review WELO CHECKLIST

Agenda Item 4

Strategies for Compliance

Agenda Item 6

Strategies to improve compliance

• Make it straightforward for

submitters

• Introduce requirements early—

entitlements, conditions of approval

• Provide a Landscape Checklist (CALBO

templates available)

• Create a dedicated, easy to find web

page with process, checklists, and resources

• Tools:
• WUCOLS
• Water Calculator
• Reference ET for your city
• Sources of compost and mulch
• Link to irrigation auditors

Strategies to facilitate enforcement

• Is this expertise available?
• If not, start simple with a

checklist for reviewers:

• Is all documentation present?
• Smart controller?
• MAWA > ETWU?
• Do the math—is it correct?
• Correct ETo?
• Is there a lawn? Pool? Water feature?
• Look for compost and mulch in notes
• Require proof of irrigation audit

before sign-off and occupancy

• Field inspection

Tools and Resources

• State WELO - Department of Water Resources:

www.water.ca.gov

• StopWaste - Alameda County WELO info:

www.stopwaste.org

• Compost and Mulch Marketplace:

www.lawntogarden.org

• Irrigation Auditors - Irrigation Association:

www.irrigation.org

• Best Practices - ReScape California:

www.rescapeca.org

Want to dig deeper?

One-day WELO Workshop

November 30, 8:30-4:30

Compost Lunch and Learns with Ron Alexander

Email Kelly for more information

Lunch!

True or False:

Low and High water-using plants can be in the same hydrozone.

FALSE

Low and Moderate plants and Moderate and High plants can be in the same zone if: An average of the plant factors is used to determined the plant factor for the zone OR The higher plant factor is used.

True or False:

A swimming pool is a Special Landscape Area.

SOMETIMES

Depends on the project type. Can be considered a recreation area in multi-family or non-residential. In residential is a regular landscape area with a plant factor of 1.0. Varies by jurisdiction.

True or False:

You have to use compost in all landscape areas.

FALSE

Use enough compost to bring soil organic matter content to 6%.