Consider Opportunity to Apply for Grant Funding for Water Efficiency

The Metropolitan Council is offering grants from $2,000 to $50,000 to municipal water suppliers to help increase water efficiency in their communities 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 2015-17 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.

This grant funding opportunity seems to be a perfect fit for Ramsey for several reasons.  First, 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 funding 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 the newer technologies.

As the EPB knows, our drinking water supply recently tested slightly high for manganese concentrations.  As a result, the City is currently utilizing only some of the community wells as demand allows, with the two wells that tested slightly higher in manganese concentrations offline when possible.  Typically, at this time of year, all seven wells would be needed to keep up with demand, mostly due to increased water usage for irrigation purposes.  Thus, this provides added incentive to promote water saving measures within the community, tying in nicely with the purpose of this grant program.

Finally, the City had recently partnered with the Metropolitan Council on their 2018 Water Efficiency Potential project.  This partnership essentially focused on how Ramsey could maximize economic benefits from various residentially-based water conservation efforts.  Having just recently completed that project should help Ramsey score well on an application for the Water Efficiency Grant Program.

Details of a program have not been defined yet.  City Staff will be attending an informational session on this grant program at the end of the month.  Subsequently, Staff would develop the framework for an incentive and/or rebate program and route through City Council for authorization to prepare and submit the grant application and supporting information.

There is a twenty-five percent (25%) required local match if awarded grant funding.  Staff would propose that this come from the City's water enterprise fund, with a portion being reimbursed by payments from residents for any device or water use audit they purchase.

Motion to recommend that the City Council authorize Staff to prepare and submit an application for water efficiency grant funds from the Metropolitan Council.