HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/19/2023 Item 6d, Floyd - Staff Agenda CorrespondenceCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Memorandum
City of San Luis Obispo
Council Agenda Correspondence
DATE: September 19, 2023
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Aaron Floyd, Utilities Director
VIA: Derek Johnson, City Manager
SUBJECT: ITEM 6d – APPROVE USE OF FUNDING FOR RECYCLED WATER USER
SITE IMPROVEMENTS
The staff recommendation for this item would allow for the City to cover the costs of
installing and maintaining backflow devices, and make other recycled water system
improvements, on certain private properties adjacent but not directly connected to the
City’s recycled water system.
Staff received a question regarding why the action would only cover the cost and
maintenance for specific sites as opposed to all backflow devices.
The recommended action would cover costs for backflow devices and testing at
properties that if not adjacent to recycled water would not trigger the need for backflow
devices, meaning this expense is triggered exclusively by their location, not the nature of
the business conducted on the property. Staff are not recommending covering costs for
testing on all backflow devices across the City because the need for these other backflow
devices is triggered by the specific type of use of a property, and the use of recycled water
is not the sole reason a backflow device would be installed on the property.
For instance, a commercial property would commonly be required to have backflow
device protection on potable water meters whether recycled water was used for irrigation
or not. The same would be the case for larger multifamily properties. The outlier is single
family residential properties that are adjacent to a site using recycled water, as these
properties would not generally be required to install a backflow device. Staff’s
recommendation is based on the fact that the properties at issue would not otherwise
have been required by applicable City or state building codes to install such devices and
the installations at issue here are driven by a city determination that such an installation
is to the primary benefit of the City’s recycled water system and the City as a whole. As
such, staff recommends that requiring a private homeowner to incur additional costs in
excess of the code requirements in place at the time of installation, and not triggered by
any property owner initiated improvements, would not be equitable and instead should be
borne by the City.