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6.5. ERMUSR 11-13-2008Elk River Municipal Utilities November 5, 2008 Dear Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission; The ERMU Water Department would like your approval to assist with a locally held Irrigation Management & Water Conservation Seminar. The seminar would be open to Elk River residents and a couple neighboring communities. The emphasis would be on Elk River associations and large irrigation users to attend. This would give us the opportunity to communicate the importance of proper irrigation management. Sherburne County would be the primary facilitator for this event, but we aze seeking approval to assist in planning and possibly some funding if necessary (We have approx. $2000.00 in our fund for Eco-grass, which would be a way to fund the seminar). Seminar -Tentative Itinerary: Seminar to be held during the day, on a Saturday in March of 2009 Special Guests/Speakers o Dr. Bob (Soils Specialist), professor at the University of Minnesota o Craig Otto -Lawn Irrigation Auditor Displays of local vendors and other local conservation companies (ex: Steve's Nursery etc...) o To provide good conservation materials for show and sale (mulch, shrubs etc...) o Irrigation moisture sensors (to stop unnecessary irrigation when raining) *Lunch to be sold for a small fee This is our preliminary list for the event. We feel this seminar would benefit our community by sharing knowledge on water conservation. There is much water that goes to waste. It is our hope that we may educate residents about simple efforts they can make to be sure our community will retain this limited resource for an extended amount of time. Thanks for your feedback and support, Water Department Elk River Municipal Utilities ~~, s,. n; Valu~te~2, ~ 0 2 - ~ ~ ~~~- -~> >: October. 2008 ~,. ' - ~6 ~, ~. ~~ ~~ Sprifzklis~ig is c~ big, ~rci gxawing, part of sitm~nertin~e zv~Zter zcse ,1-'(~ he damp grass squeaks as Craig Otto strides through ~a the Lawn of a Chanhassen home. He spots a couple ~~ of sprinkler heads that are too far apart, and makes a note on his clipboard. He advises the homeowner that the overspray wetting her sidewalk is a potential liability prob- lem, as well as a waste of water. Later, he plunges a probe into the soft turf and pulls out a soil core. It shows moisture extending down nearly a toot. "Now," Otto asks rhetorically, "if I am pulling water down to 11 inches, and we've only got roots down to 4 inches, what good am I doing with the extra 7 inches? The answer is, we're not doing any good." :~=~~~ I3~' ~~~ ~fl~' 13~c~'I~s ~ti.l'a X13 ~ct'~aS Iy~~~~ =~~~' l +'~~~`~~~ ~<~^~~I~~3i ~~~*1~~I'~i3~1~ i°'~'9;r.,~~~3i~;~.~; ,~oJ L~:Dpti~lg9 d.a $'.~? +~ii ~~ 'Li a~3 ~g~i ~99~3e'.Gitl~Z~3 3 1~r~3ud 'v. fglt33 3'9~xr ~9~s ~; ~~ ~~i ~+~~Yil f•.:s ~:' ~ ~ +4~4 t~~i £d~Z> 9,j '.:I ~y yr~ 7 p~~_ ~ 3 ~j ~9 ~i~~~iaH 9 1~ 'i'"~u'7 L.~. 3.~ ~~+.i ~~+J'7 ~i3Fl~i3*:9 vi ~i 3.r! L ~`: f.. He concludes the underground irrigation system is put- ting out significantly more water than the Lawn needs to stay green and healthy. "What I'm finding here," he says, "is this particular property is in need of some maintenance." Otto, an expert on the design and operation of auto- mated lawn irrigation systems, and another technician Ti.u~nirt,~ off Slur Ernz.. Continue: orr K~a~;e .; ~~es~~vater S~ce~y adEu~sorY c~v.~.ci1 gee ~d ~at~r stuc~~r. e~fc~rt on ~.o~~aint ~+~1~:ut~n innesota needs a rigorous scientific study of ground water sustain- ability that will inspire consensus among water experts and citizens, a distinguished advisory group to the Freshwater Society has recommended. The study should yield a common definition of the elusive concept of sus- tainability and agreement on ho~v to go about measuring it, the group said. The advisory group, the society's Guardianship Council, also urged that scientists and policy-makers encourage the recycling and reuse of water. GunrdiansYiip Council... Continues nil prate 5 Craig Otto conducts a lawn irrigation audit in Chanhassen. ~~ ~ s~ ~sn, cor,t~rt ued from page 1 working with him visited about 100 homes throughout Chanhassen this summer in a water conservation pro- gram aimed at helping the city avoid a repeat of 2007 when two municipal wells went dry during a July drought. The "irrigation audits," administered by the city and paid for with a $21,000 grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, were part of an effort to promote conservation and demon- strate how Minnesotans can save a good portion of the billions of gallons of water they sprinkle on their lawns each summer. Lawn sprinkling-driven by a demand for lush turf that stays green through the hottest, driest days of summer-is a big and growing part of Minnesota's demand for water. Water managers say automated irrigation sys- tems, commonly installed with homes built in Twin Cities suburbs over the last decade, are the leading cause of sum- mertime water use that is forcing many communities to invest millions of dollars in new wells and is threatening under- ground water supplies in some areas. :al~'•~"~i'1>~ ~~~f~ ~a ~.'?;a' ll~~ 1F,fl~~~r ~~~j y~ul~a~ ~"g~'~I' ~~~rl UV~~~;~ ~~,~ ts~1J783f~, 5.l~6ii ~~~9 ~' ~~~~~5 f~~~ 9 ~C~~ 577a.~~CY ~~~n.3~i la H ~gs~~ll.+l3 J31'~~~~~L:' --itla ftil!i i:~lEILS ;a#oodbury Ciby E;~yineer Chanhassen used the PCA grant for several conservation projects, includ- ing the irrigation audits performed by Otto's firm, Irrigation Consultants and Control Inc. of Plymouth. There was no charge to homeowners who took part. Each of the participating homeowners got a written report, evaluating their sprinkling system on a zone-by-zone basis and recommending a monthly watering schedule for the April through October growing season. Otto estimated that most of the lawn irrigation systems he examined in Chanhassen could be fine-tuned and upgraded in relatively inexpensive ways that would save 30 percent to 40 percent of the water they now use each year. In Woodbury, across the metro area from Chanhassen, Klayton Eckles, the city engineer and deputy public works director, said in-ground lawn sprinkling systems have been the big factor in Woodbury's water use increasing faster than its population has grown over the last several decades. "We've seen pretty high water use, and we've seen water use climbing over the years," Eckles said. "And what I've determined is it's pretty much these irri- gation practices." Household water consumption var- ies significantly across Minnesota, but usage in homes served by public water systems averaged about 70 gallons per person per day in 2007, according to Department of Natural Resources records. In rural communities and in older cities with many apartments, small residential lots and long-estab- lished lawns and trees per capita water use often is significantly less. In Chanhassen, Woodbury and many other fast-growing suburbs-where the lots are large, the lawns are new, in-ground sprinkling systems are common and peer pressure favors a lawn that stays green all summer-per capita water use often is much higher. Chanhassen's per capita residential water use was 97 gallons last year; Woodbury's was 111 gallons. "For the aesthetics of the lawn, you want a green lawn," said Jill Miller, one of the Chanhassen residents whose sprinkler systems were evaluated by Otto. "It's a hard balance. You want to have a green lawn, and you want to save water. Nobody wants your home to be the one they drive by and say 'Oh, my goodness, look at the lawn."' Otto concluded that Miller was not applying too much water for July, when Ti.rrnirrg off [he tap... Conlilrues on page What you can do to save water. and have a green lawn • If you are building a bevy home or laying new sod, be sure there is at least 6 inches of top- soil beneath the sod. • Test your soil and cohsider adding compost as organic material. It will dramatically.. increase'the absorption of water. • Follow the Environmental Protection Agen- cy's WaterSense guidelines for landscaping:,. Limit the amount of turt you plant, don't planYgrass on steepslopes, don't install or- namental water features. • Microir~igation or drip_systems, not sprin= klers, should be Used on planting beds and strips of grass that are less than 8 feet wide. • Don't over-water. Most lawns need only one inch of water each. week, eitherfrom rain or from irrigation. Step on yourgrass-if it springs back, it doesn'tneed watering. • Water early in the morning to cut losses'to evaporation. The middle of the day is the worst time. • Cut grass no shorter than 2 inches. It will promote deeper roots that require less water., • Install aweather-sensing controller or soil- moisture sensor as part of you automated sprinkling system. They will reduce over- watering. • Aerateyour lawn, as needed. • When.hiring an irrigator, look for a certified installer. The EPA offers astate-by-state list of WaterSense Irrigation Partnersat www. epa.goy/watersense/pp/irrprof.htm. For'more :information, `. checK out these wetsites Water Conservation Toolbox at http://metro- council.org/environmentlWaterSupply/conserva- tiontoolbox residential.hfm Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense program at www.epa.goy/watersense/index.htm University of Minnesota Extension Service Low Input Lawri Care at ivw~w.extensiontumn. edu/distribution; harticulture!DG7552.html Irrigation Association Consumer Hand- -bookatwww.irrigation.org/Rsres/default. ~ . aspx?pg=consumer info htm#5. FACETS ~~,,~~~~,tr ?008 Q °~.~~3' ~ ~ ~. `~~. I'.~ ~ ~ e a Cur~iriiued h•om pae 3 he visited her home. But he advised her that she could make her sprinkling sys- tem more efficient, and make her lawn greener in a few spots, by replacing bro- ken, tilted and sunken sprinkler heads. Miller said she was anxious to get bids on some of the repairs Otto recom- mended, and she praised Chanhassen for offering the free audits. "We don't want to become another Atlanta," she said. In Woodbury, Eckles estimated that a typical household that has an auto- mated sprinkling system uses 60,000 to 90,000 gallons of water over three months in the summer. Households without automatic sprinklers use 30,000 to 70,000 gallons per summer, he said. The difference lawn sprinkling of all kinds makes in total water use in Wood- bury shows up dramatically in a com- parison of winter and summer citywide pumping: 5 million gallons a day in the winter, more than 20 million on a peak summer day. Chanhassen, Woodbury, Elk River and many other communities are mak- ing major efforts to promote water conservation: imposing odd-even sprinkling bans that let homeowners water their lawns only every other day, raising water rates for big users and set- ting seasonal rates that charge more for water used during the summer. Ntany communities also offer rebates to people who purchase water-saving washing machines and dish washers. Ells River has distributed low-tech soil moisture testers and rain gauges to encourage homeowners to water only as much as their grass needs. Woodbury last year gave out about 200 higher-tech, $100 rain sensors that shut off sprin- kling systems when it is raining or has recently rained. State law requires the sensors on all irrigation systems, but there is little enforcement of the law. Woodbury, not only has anodd-even sprinkling schedule, but it bans sprin- kling between noon and 5 p.m., when water is most likely to be lost to evapo- ration. The city aggressively enforces its rules on lawn watering, and it fines violators $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense, $100 for a third and $200 for a fourth. "We've had three-time losers," Eckles said. "I don't know that we've had any four-time losers." Woodbury' biggest effort to reduce water use and water waste was a tiered water rate structure, put in place Last year, that requires the top 10 percent or so of residential water users to pay sig- nificantly more than they had in the past. The rates are unchanged for house- holds using up to 60,000 gallons per quarter. Above 60,000 gallons, customers used to pay $1.88 per 1,000 gallons. Since last year, Woodbury has had three new rates that kick in as household use climbs. The top rate of $4.88 per thousand gallons is charged for use over 150,000 gallons. A household using 200,000 gallons- a huge, but not unheard of, amount of water in three months-would have paid $349 under the old fee structure, and $649 under the new. Eckles said the new fees had little impact on water use in 2007 because most Woodbury residents didn't see their summer water bills until after the sprinkling season had ended. This year, the season has been rainier and resi- dents have had less need to water their lawns. Nevertheless, he said the impact of the higher fees has been noticeable. From May through July this year, Woodbury's water use was 210 million gallons less than last year, a 16 percent reduction. "We certainly know some people are changing their behavior," Eckles said. A new state law, enacted this year, requires metro-area public water sys- tems to adopt, by 2010, a "conservation rate structure" that uses fees, discounts or time-of-day water rates to encourage conservation. Outstate water systems are required to adopt conservation rates by 2013. Apple Valley .....................91 Blaine .............................. ..90 Bloomington .................. ..91 Brooklyn Center ............ ..92 Brooklyn Park ................. 118 Burnsville ........................ ..96 Coon Rapids ................... 104 Cottage Grove ................ ..98 Duluth ............................. ..40 Eagan .................................97 Eden Prairie .................... 109 Edina ................................ 1 10 Inver Grove Heights...... ..74 Lakeville .......................... 1 12 Mankato .......................... ..62 Maple Grove ................... 113 Minneapolis ................... ..62 Minnetonka .................... ..94 Oakdale .............................88 Plymouth ......................... .96 Rochester .........................65 Saint Cloud .......................71 Saint Louis Park ............. ..81 Saint Paul* ........................51 Shakopee ........................ 100 Woodbury ....................... 111 "St. Paul's residential usage comes from the St. Paul regional water system. It does not include water used by residents of some large apartment buildings. Source: Department of Natural Resources lawn watering is a big and growing part of water use in Minnesota. The Department of Natural Resources urges dries to aim for water usage of no more than 75 gallons per person per day. ® FACETS October 2005