Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2020-33:  An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, amending City Code Title 7, Health and Sanitation, Chapter 03-001-0014, Water Conservation to prohibit the use of potable water to fill amenity lakes, ponds, or other bodies of water; providing for severability, authority for clerical corrections, and establishing an effective date

At City Council’s November 3, 2019 meeting, Councilmember Aslan requested staff to investigate if there are any reasonable restrictions that can be adopted on the use of potable water. Former Water Services Director Brad Hill talked with Councilmember Aslan this past Spring 2020 and discussed one alternative to prevent the filling of amenity lakes and ponds with potable water. Staff recommends that City Council consider the reasonable restriction on potable water use by changing City Code to align with the City’s adopted water Policy C.7.2 and to come in line with water management in the State’s Active Management Areas. The proposed Code changes are presented in Ordinance No. 2020-33.

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City Council adopted by Resolution 2014-13, the Water Services Integrated Master Plan - a comprehensive set of water policies known as the Principles of Sound Water Management – Water Policies in 2014 (Attachment 2). The purpose of this document was to provide fundamental principles and guidelines for how the Water Services Division (Utilities as it was known then) achieves the goals and objectives outlined by City Council and upper City Management. In this document, Council adopted Policy C7 – Uses, Allocation and Priority that pertains to the direct reuse of reclaimed water (p. 22). Specifically, Policy C7.2 states that "Golf courses, other large turf areas (e.g., schools, parks, etc.) and amenity lakes shall use Direct Reuse of reclaimed water."

Priority Based Budget Key Community Priorities and Objectives
Priority: Environmental Stewardship:
Objectives: Actively manage and protect all environmental and natural resources
Implement sustainable building practices and alternative energy and transportation options

Regional Plan
Goal WR.3. Satisfy current and future human water demands and the needs of the natural environment through sustainable and renewable water resources and strategic conservation measures. Policy WR.3.4. Use reclaimed water and rainwater harvesting wherever appropriate and practical.

Not specific to amenity lakes in City Code, however, City Council adopted by Resolution 2014-13 the Principles of Sound Water Management – Water Policies, Policy C7.2 "Golf courses, other large turf areas (e.g., schools, parks, etc.) and amenity lakes shall use Direct Reuse of reclaimed water."

1. Direct staff to amend the proposed language and come back to Council at a later date.
2. Elect to leave the Code as-is without any restriction on using potable water for amenity lakes, ponds, etc.

Staff recognized that Flagstaff’s City Code is silent on the types of water that can be used to fill new bodies of water (e.g., amenity lakes or ponds) that could be associated with a new future golf course or development. The State Legislature adopted Senate Bill 1200, known as the "Lakes Bill", over 33 years ago in 1987 that addressed this issue. The new legislation created Arizona Revised Statutes §45-132 (Attachment 3) that prohibits the filling of large bodies of water for landscape, scenic or recreational purposes unless they are filled with effluent (recycled water), stormwater, etc. However, that legislation only applies to communities within the State’s five Active Management Areas and not to northern Arizona and the City of Flagstaff.

The Water Conservation Strategic Plan (Plan), scheduled for possible adoption by City Council at the December 1, 2020 meeting, was developed in response to a request from City Council to expand and improve water conservation efforts in the City of Flagstaff. When building the final Optimized Conservation Program for Council's consideration, the unintentional impacts conservation has to the City’s gravity-fed sewer collections system and increasing strength of the waste stream at the two Water Reclamation Plants was one criterion used to assess new conservation measures for adoption. The new actions that were selected are focused on outdoor water savings included Smart metering, outdoor water budgeting, school retrofits, and proposals to City Code. The action to restrict the use of potable water for amenity lakes, ponds, bodies of water, etc., aligns with recommendations from the Water Conservation Strategic Plan.

Staff provided a similar presentation to the Water Commission at the November 19, 2020 meeting. A motion was made, moved by Ben Ruddell and seconded by Timothy Bowers to recommend to City Council to consider the reasonable restriction on potable water used by changing Code to align with the City’s adopted water Policy C.7.2 and to come in line with water management in the State’s Active Management Areas, but suggest clarification process of getting an exception.  Motion passed unanimously.