REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on a Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency Participation Agreement for the WaterSmart Customer Engagement and Conservation Program
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote Sustainability and Environmental Protection
BACKGROUND
Since 2015, the City of Santa Clara (City) has utilized the WaterSmart Customer Engagement and Conservation Program to continue to promote its efforts surrounding water conservation outreach and education.
DISCUSSION
As a member agency of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) the City is able to extend its Participation Agreement for the WaterSmart Program to continue its water conservation outreach and education. The WaterSmart Program includes a Utility Dashboard for all of the City's customer water accounts, home water use reports for all of the City's single family households, as well as desktop and mobile access containing analytics on water use data for each of the City's single family households.
Additionally, the City is actively working with the Santa Clara Valley Water District to extend its current Cost Sharing Agreement which would reduce the City's total cost for the WaterSmart Program by 50% through reimbursement.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a "project" within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(a) as it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
The term of the Agreement is three (3) years beginning on or about July 1, 2021 and ending on or about June 30, 2024, at an annual cost of $112,402, with a not-to-exceed amount of $337,205 throughout the lifetime of the agreement. There is sufficient funding in the Water and Sewer Utilities Department's Water and Sewer Utilities Operating Budget (092-1413-87870) to continue part...
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