Agenda - Council - 10/08/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Public Works Committee 5. 6. Meeting Date: 09/17/2019 By: Bruce Westby, Engineering/Public Works Title: Recommend City Council Approval of Water Efficiency Grant Application Purpose/Background: The Metropolitan Council is offering grants from $2,000 to $50,000 to municipal water suppliers to help increase water efficiency by lowering the cost for residents to purchase and install products that reduce water use including toilets, washing machines, and irrigation sprinklers and controllers. Municipalities may use grant funds to fund rebates to residents who replace inefficient water -using devices with approved devices that use substantially less water, or for irrigation system audits. The Metropolitan Council administered a water efficiency grant program during the 2015 - 2017 biennium using $500,000 from the Clean Water Fund, which yielded an estimated total savings of 52 million gallons of water per year. This grant program requires that products be labeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program or, in the case of washing machines, by the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Star program. Grant funds can only be used for appliance replacement, not for first-time purchases for new developments. Municipalities are responsible for developing and operating their own rebate programs. The grant funds will cover 75% of program costs, with a required 25% local match of which residents must pay a portion of the cost for any device or water use audit they purchase. Grant applications will be accepted through September 30, 2019. Required application information includes: • Rebate or grant program design and work plan • Proposed examples of communications to property owners • Requested total grant amount • Estimated annual amount of water saved by the applying municipality • Details about the program and the grant application. Timeframe: Staff estimates 10 minutes will be needed to present this case and address questions. Observations/Alternatives: This grant funding opportunity seems to be a perfect fit for the City of Ramsey for several reasons. The Environmental Policy Board's (EPB) 2017 - 2019 Work Plan includes a tactic to "Extend the longevity of drinking water supply by reducing demand on groundwater" and specifies as a key outcome, the development of incentives and/or programs to promote water conservation. If successful in obtaining grant funds, the funds could be used to purchase smart controllers and/or soil moisture sensors that could be available for existing water customers that have older, in -ground irrigation systems without these technologies. The EPB discussed this grant program on August 19 th and supported an application. Attached is a copy of the draft EPB meeting minutes. This grant could help the City to significantly reduce peak demand on our municipal water supply system during summer months, which would allow the City to run fewer wells in the summer thereby reducing manganese concentrations. This could also allow the City to delay or even omit the installation of new water supply wells in the