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HomeMy WebLinkAboutInv# EPC10000925 - Broward County Board of County Commissioners - 05/28/2024 (2) NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 1 of 8 RESILIENT ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT Natural Resources Division 115 S Andrews Avenue, Room 329H, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 • 954-519-1270 • FAX 954-519-1496 May 29, 2024 Mr. Dincer Ozaydin City of Dania Beach P.O. Box 1708 City of Dania Beach, Florida 33004 RE: NatureScape Irrigation Service Annual Summary Report, Year Four (4/2023 - 4/2024) Dear Mr. Ozaydin, Accompanying this letter is the Annual Summary Report prepared by the Broward County NatureScape Irrigation Service (NIS) for Year Four of the current contract with the City of Dania Beach. This report satisfies deliverables required under the NIS Interlocal Agreement (ILA) for the contract year and 5-year term. Delivery of the NIS program benefits the City of Dania Beach by helping to achieve diverse outdoor water conservation goals such as meeting requirements of the South Florida Water Management District’s Water Conservation Plan (Consumptive Use Permit), reducing demand on local water resources, reducing impacts on water quality (supporting Total Maximum Daily Load limits for nutrients) by limiting irrigation runoff flow into local waterways, and reducing expenses related to irrigation and landscape maintenance. This report summarizes the evaluations conducted by the NIS at locations coordinated with municipal staff. It documents water use and savings at those sites and details the overall activity and impact of the NIS program across the County. On behalf of the NIS and the Natural Resources Division of Broward County, I would like to thank you and the City of Dania Beach for supporting this important water resource conservation program. We look forward to working with your staff to identify sites and coordinate evaluations for the coming year. Should you have any questions, please feel free to call me directly at (954) 519-1476 or via e-mail at mpognon@broward.org. Sincerely, Monica Pognon Director Natural Resources Division Broward County Resilient Environment Department NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 2 of 8 Introduction The Regional Water Availability Rule (February 2007; South Florida Water Management District) restricts urban withdrawals from the Biscayne Aquifer to pre-April 2006 levels. With this and the expectation of continued urban growth in mind, utilities and municipalities in Broward County are expected to invest in new, more expensive, alternative water supplies to meet increased future demands. To offset some of the future demand increases, water suppliers and governments in Broward have been encouraged by the SFWMD and local policymakers to conserve current supplies. Conservation is recognized as being the least expensive means to reduce, defer, or eliminate the need for future water supply and water treatment development, and thus reduce the likelihood of more expensive water bills for residents. It is estimated that more than half (>50%) of all water in Broward County is used for landscape irrigation. Furthermore, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates as much as 50% of outdoor water use is lost through evaporation, wind drift, runoff, and maintenance issues. With so much of Broward’s water being used for irrigation and so much room for efficiency gains, it is imperative to operate programs which aim to increase outdoor water use efficiency, such as the NatureScape Irrigation Service (NIS). Why the NatureScape Irrigation Service? Considering the volume of water used for irrigation and the impacts on local resources from inefficient irrigation, any municipality or utility with a true water conservation ethic and program must address outdoor water use (irrigation) efficiency. However, most cities (and many in south Florida) face the challenge of managing many large irrigation systems with few staff, often forcing staff to address issues of water loss over issues of water use efficiency. Fortunately, NIS staff are technically trained and skilled in irrigation efficiency and have the capacity to perform comprehensive system audits for participating partners. Irrigation system audits consist of tests and observations to identify design and performance issues which impact system water application efficiency. These issues are all identified by NIS staff at each site and outlined in our reports. Conversely, most irrigation staff conduct routine ‘wet-checks’ on the systems they manage. Wet checks are cursory tests meant primarily to identify larger breaks and leaks from damaged lines and/or sprinkler heads and associated losses in pressure. Irrigation system audits reveal all that and much more but require significantly more training and time than many municipal staff are afforded. Therefore, the NIS serves to augment city staffs’ ability to keep their systems functioning at a high level of efficiency. If the recommendations in NIS reports are followed and sources of inefficiency (not just water loss) are addressed, the landscapes affected should maintain a healthy, thriving appearance while using the optimal amount of water. This results in saving on expenses related to pumping, chemical inputs, plant material replacement, system component wear and tear, and water expenses (if potable water is used) and reduces irrigation runoff, which is often a point source for nutrients entering local waterways. NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 3 of 8 County-wide Program Highlights NIS Evaluations In Year 4 (April 2023 – April 2024), NIS staff conducted 143 evaluations within the ILA partner areas. 95 were Originals and 48 were Follow-Up evaluations. Initial water-use for the 95 original evaluations totaled 147,217,245 gallons/year. Following the implementation of repairs and recommendations of the NIS, staff at ILA partner municipalities and utilities were able to reduce overall demand at these sites by 61,240,087 gallons/year or 42% of the original use. Average Actual Water Saving per evaluation was 20% and per site was 31%. Table 1 below summarizes the NIS program metric totals for Year Four of the current ILA agreement. Table 1. Summary of NatureScape Irrigation Service program metrics for all Interlocal Agreement partners, Year 4. AWS – Actual Water Savings; GY – Gallons per year NIS Residential Irrigation Rebate Program The Residential Irrigation Rebate Program (RIRP) completed its fourth year in 2024. Eleven (11) water providers in Broward Country purchased between 7 and 15 rebates for their customer base. RIRP incentivizes the installation of EPA WaterSense™-labeled weather-based irrigation controllers and pressure regulating spray sprinkler bodies. Applicants who qualify based on water provider and irrigation system fitness are eligible for 1 of 4 rebate options to achieve an efficient, digital, and weather-based irrigation system. In summary, in Year 4, for all participating partners, 138 residents applied, 84 irrigation systems were evaluated, and 57 rebates were awarded. Estimated water savings from these efficiency improvements totaled 1.9 million gallons annually. Reporting Period Total Evaluations Original Evaluations Total Original Use (GY) AWS Total (GY) Average % AWS/Evaluation Average % AWS/Site Overall Demand Reduction % ILA 4/ Yr 4 143 95 147,217,245 61,240,087 20%31%42% NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 4 of 8 NIS Evaluations in the City of Dania Beach In Year 4, NIS staff completed four original evaluations for the City of Dania Beach and returned to three of those systems to document savings achieved as a result of city staff implementing recommendations and repairs outlined in the NIS’s site evaluation reports. Those return visits are referred to as “Follow-Up” evaluations. Only water savings visually observed by the NIS field staff are included in this report. This means total annual savings for the city may be higher, as city staff may have implemented savings measures at other sites NIS did not visit a second time. The cumulative original water-use for the four original evaluations was 1,532,596 gallons/year. The overall Actual Water Savings (AWS) (demand reduction) for these evaluations was determined to be 637,904 gallons/year. This represents a 41.6% savings from the original use. The average Actual Water Savings per evaluation was 25.2%. The average Overall Water Demand reduction per site was 44.2%. Figure 1 and Table 2 below show a summarized breakdown of the evaluations, including water use, savings, and site and source types, conducted in the City of Dania Beach during this reporting period. Some information is examined further in sections that follow. Figure 1. Summary of NIS Evaluations for the City of Dania Beach, April 2023-April 2024 NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 5 of 8 Table 2. Summary of NatureScape Irrigation Service Evaluations for the City of Dania Beach April 2023 - April 2024 EVAL # SITE NAME SITE TYPE WATER SOURCE SITE COND. ORIGINAL GALS/YR AWS CLOCK GALS/YR AWS REPAIRS TOTAL AWS GALS/YR NEW GALS/YR WATER REDUCTION % 24-076 Griffin Rd & US1 Gateway Government CIM Fair 212940 41340 7800 49140 0 23.08 24-091 Griffin Rd & US1 Gateway Government Follow- Up CIM Fair 0 0 24570 24570 139230 15.00 24-078 Lakeshore Drive Median Government Well Fair 476320 119080 0 119080 0 25.00 24-092 Lakeshore Drive Median Government Follow- Up Well Fair 0 0 53613 53613 303627 15.00 24-075 Melaleuca Park Park Well Fair 470730 158340 0 158340 0 33.64 24-090 Melaleuca Park Park Follow-Up Well Fair 0 0 46858 46858 265532 15.00 24-077 SW Community Center Government CIM Fair 372606 186303 0 186303 186303 50.00 TOTALS: 1,532,596 505,063 132,841 637,904 894,692 SAVINGS AVERAGES AVG/EVAL AVG/SITE VOLUMETRIC 25.2% 44.2% 41.6% Abbreviations and Notes: Water Sources: CM – City main (meter); CIM – City irrigation metered water; SUR – Surface water; Well – Well water; Reuse – Reclaim, reuse water. Site Types: Park – city owned public park; Gov. – city owned non-park, Res. – Residential (multi-family); Bus. – Commercial business Gals/Yr. – Gallons per year Original Water Use – Site water use pre-evaluation AWS – Actual water savings AWS Timer – Actual water savings achieved by setting irrigation timer to a more appropriate/efficient schedule AWS Sys. Repairs – Actual water savings achieved through system repairs (leaks, replacing bad sprinkler heads etc.) and calculated savings expected from engaging a rain sensor (rain sensor engagement assumes only minimum expected savings of 15% for systems running three or more days/week and 8% for systems running two days/week) Total AWS – Total actual water savings (AWS Timer + AWS Sys. Repairs + AWS Rain Sensor). New Usage – Site water use post-evaluation Average Savings/Eval – The total percentage of demand reduction per all evaluations Average Savings/Site – The total percentage of demand reduction per site (locations) Volumetric - The percentage of total actual water savings achieved (AWS/Original Use) NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 6 of 8 Recommendations for NIS Evaluations in City of Dania Beach We are focused on ways to provide even more water savings throughout the County. We want to conduct evaluations that are of significant value to our Interlocal Partners. That can only be done if we are provided sites that need improvement. During field evaluations we strive to focus on critical maintenance and landscape issues, repairs and/other problems that can significantly impact the expected water savings of these sites. Other times (in several municipalities) we are asked to evaluate sites that have been recently overhauled or are in relatively good shape with no major maintenance, repair, or renovation issues; however, this usually results in little or no Actual Water Savings. We encourage our partners to identify high- water use sites that might benefit from a system evaluation. Areas where greater savings may be realized in Year 5 (2024-2025):  Regular Monitoring of High Use Areas: The irrigation systems that irrigate parks, post offices, fire, and police stations as well as the associated parking areas and other high resident use areas continue to sustain an unusually high rate of damage from pedestrian and vehicle traffic, especially during the winter traffic season. These sites usually require additional monitoring to maintain efficient irrigation coverage.  Proposing Sites with Existing Issues to NIS Staff for Evaluation: To increase the amount of savings, a selection of sites that need repair, renovation or overhaul could offer greater potential for water savings for the remainder of this agreement. Sites in need of renovation can provide the majority of Actual Water Savings (AWS).  Proposing Multi-family or Commercial Properties to NIS Staff for Evaluation: We have conducted irrigation evaluations in other municipalities in Broward County that were for Homeowner’s Associations and other commercial properties (identified by City Irrigation water bills as increasingly excessive water users). Those sites have often proven to have the potential for substantial water savings if the property manager is motivated and financially able to do the repairs. Similar sites in the City of Dania Beach might reap comparable water savings. NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 7 of 8 NIS Residential Irrigation Rebate Program in City of Dania Beach In Year 4, in the City of Dania Beach, 1 resident applied for a rebate, 1 site was visited and 1 rebate was awarded, resulting in an estimated water savings of 11,934 gallons. Table 3. Summary of Residential Irrigation Rebate Program rebates awarded in the City of Dania Beach, Year 4. Recommendations for NIS RIRP in City of Dania Beach The success and future of RIRP depends on partner ownership of the program. That is, periodic promotion of the program by the City of Dania Beach to its residents, so awareness of the program is continuous throughout the year. Success here is defined by a consistent influx of applications until allotted rebate funding is exhausted. This can be accomplished in several ways:  Presence of RIRP information in online water utility billing area and mailed or emailed materials  Periodic mention of RIRP on City of Dania Beach social platforms The NIS can design and supply graphics and copy for use in RIRP program promotion, including social media. Please reach out so we can begin to coordinate a concerted effort to maximize program performance in the City of Dania Beach. Applicants Sites visited Rebates rewarded Allotted funds Funds used Gallons saved estimate 1 1 1 3500 600 11,934 RIRP 2023/2024 in City of Dania Beach Figure 2. NIS RIRP Site for the City of Dania Beach, April 2023-April 2024 NatureScape Irrigation Services Annual Report 2023-2024 Page 8 of 8 Next Steps The NIS maintains an updated historical list of all sites it has evaluated for the City of Dania Beach. Following the best management practice recommendation as prescribed by the EPA, the NIS has highlighted those sites which have not been evaluated in three or more years. This list is available to our counterparts at the city to assist them in identifying which sites they would like evaluated during Year 5 of the contract. We hope to begin scheduling the Year 5 evaluations in the next few weeks. It is our sincere hope you will continue to promote a message of water resource conservation to the public and your staff. We hope this type of messaging, along with continued support from our cities, will encourage and enable our counterparts to implement NIS recommendations related improving the water use efficiency of the systems they evaluate in addition to those recommendations related to reducing and eliminating water loss. The NIS would also like to encourage you and your staff to consider achieving NatureScape recognition for your city-owned properties. NatureScape properties implement Florida- friendly landscaping principles which conserve water, protect water quality, and create wildlife habitat. To qualify, have the property(ies) certified through either the UF/IFAS Extension Florida-Friendly Landscaping TM (FFL) Program or the National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program. For more information, please feel free to contact our NatureScape team at 954-519-0317. Finally, we actively work with our NIS partners to remind water users of the mandatory 2-day per week water conservation measures and look forward to serving as a resource to your communities in these communication efforts. Stay tuned for additional program promotions and please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of additional support and service, including outreach materials.