North Marin Water District approves water conservation regultions
The North Marin Water District has approved several conservation regulations including banning irrigation on decorative grass on commercial properties in Novato and West Marin.
Tony Williams, district general manager, said the regulations were brought to the Board of Directors this month to “stay ahead of formal state regulations regarding nonfunctional turf, which will likely take effect in late 2024.”
In response to the three-year drought, the California State Water Resources Control Board initially adopted an emergency regulation in 2022 banning the use of drinking water on “nonfunctional turf,” or decorative grass in commercial, industrial and intuitional areas. The ban was continued through June 2024.
Ryan Grisso, water conservation coordinator at North Marin water, said the state water board is expected to approve legislation next year adopting a formal rule that would require water districts to prohibit irrigation of nonfunctional turf.
“We try to keep our water conservation regulations, for both voluntary and mandatory programs, comprehensive, robust and relevant,” Grisso said “And the action taken was to continue and maintain that effort.”
The district serves about 60,000 residents in the greater Novato area as well as about 1,800 residents in areas of western Marin.
The district has banned the installation of new ornamental turf since 2006. The district also bans the use of drinking water for outdoor landscaping within 48 hours of rain and on ornamental turf in public street medians.
At its Dec. 19 meeting, the district board also formalized several other conservation programs, which have been offered for years through a pilot phase, including rainwater, greywater and hot water recirculation rebates. In these programs, the district rebates customers for installing systems that capture rainwater or greywater to offset potable water demand for landscape irrigation.
Today, rainwater harvesting is rebated 25 cents per gallon of storage with a minimum of 100 gallons of storage. However, the rebate cannot exceed the cost of materials or $150. Greywater installations are rebated at $75 per qualifying fixture or appliance.
A new rebate program approved includes a payback for the removal of pools. District officials said in response to the drought, it has received requests from customers to provide incentives to remove pools because it can be so costly.
The new pool rebate program will be an equivalent per square foot rebate amount used for its “cash-for-grass” turf replacement initiative. In that lawn exchange, the district pays up to $100 per 100 square feet of lawn area. The incentive is limited to $800 for single-family homes, or $100 for common areas at townhouses and $50 for common areas at apartments.
The approval allows the district to routinely update the rebate amounts.
Grisso said new rebate amounts are expected to be presented to the board at its Jan. 16 meeting.
In 2022, the Marin Municipal Water District, which serves the southern and central parts of the county, banned the installation of new decorative grass, even if it would be watered with recycled water. The prohibition applies to any project installing an aggregate turf area of more than 500 square feet and landscape rehabilitation projects on 1,000 square feet or more of turf.
The district also has a lawn replacement program offering its customers up to $3 per square foot. However, reimbursements are capped at 1,000 square feet and business owners are capped at 5,000 square feet.
After state legislators passed the bill that would outlaw using drinking water for decorative patches of grass in September, Monty Schmitt, board president of the Marin Municipal Water District, said he supports the move.
He said it is a signal that California and its residents must be prepared for a different future where climate change is expected to cause both more intense rainy seasons and prolonged droughts.