§ 34-273. Activities to be regulated on and after January 1, 2006.

Except as provided by a specific and alternative application date, particularly systems analysis, the following activities shall be regulated in the manner set out herein on and after January 1, 2006. A person affected by such regulations may request a variance in the manner set out in section 34-277. A violation of this section and subsections shall be subject to the enforcement provisions set out in section 34-278. It shall be and is hereby declared unlawful for any person to violate, refuse or fail to implement the requirements of this division.

(1)

Minimum irrigation area and flow direction. Newly installed irrigation systems using pop-up spray or rotor technology shall not be used in landscaped areas which have both:

a.

Dimensions less than five (5) feet in length and/or width; and

b.

Impervious pedestrian or vehicular traffic surfaces along two (2) or more perimeters.

(2)

Pop-up sprays. Where pop-up sprays and rotor heads are allowed in newly installed irrigation systems:

a.

They must direct flow away from any adjacent impervious surface; and

b.

Shall not be placed within four (4) inches from an impervious surface;

c.

Irrigation systems newly installed after January 1, 2010 in residential dwellings may not cover more than ten thousand (10,000) square feet of landscape with spray or rotor irrigation heads. The use of drip irrigation or micro-sprays may be used to expand the coverage size upon approval of the residential landscape plan by SAWS.

(3)

Annual irrigation system analysis for athletic fields, golf courses, large use and large properties.

a.

An annual irrigation system analysis shall be required for all athletic fields, golf courses, large use and large properties and shall be submitted in writing to the SAWS Conservation Department on or before May 1st of each year. Golf courses, athletic fields, and large properties that meet the definition of large use and large use properties regardless of size including residential properties must have a licensed irrigator sign-off on the annual irrigation system analysis to document that the system does not have ongoing leaks, that any leaks found in the course of the audit have been repaired and that its operation does not result in water waste. Golf courses, other than those utilizing recycled water for irrigation in accordance with an agreement with SAWS, shall comply with residential irrigation requirements on areas other than tee boxes, fairways and greens.

b.

Municipal tenants and lessees of golf courses, sports and athletic playing fields, and any other municipally owned properties, shall be responsible for compliance with this section and subsection. SAWS shall look directly to such tenants and lessees for compliance unless the municipality concedes by contractual agreement with the tenant/lessee to assume the tenant/lessee's responsibility for compliance.

(3)

Cooling towers. Effective January 1, 2006:

a.

Cooling towers, not utilizing recycled water, shall operate a minimum of four (4) cycles of concentration.

b.

Newly constructed cooling towers shall be operated with conductivity controllers, as well as make-up and blowdown meters.

c.

Cooling tower owners of existing cooling towers shall register their cooling tower with the SAWS Conservation department by May 1 2013. New cooling towers shall be registered with the SAWS Conservation Department prior to the start of operation.

(4)

Ice machines. Newly installed ice machines shall not be single pass water-cooled.

(5)

Commercial dining facilities. Commercial dining facilities shall:

a.

Serve water only upon request.

b.

Utilize positive shut-offs for hand-held dish-rinsing wands.

c.

Utilize water flow restrictors for all garbage disposals.

(6)

Vehicle wash facilities.

a.

Vehicle wash facilities, commencing operation on or after January 1, 2006, using conveyorized, touchless, and/or rollover in-bay technology shall reuse a minimum of fifty (50) percent of water from previous vehicle rinses in subsequent washes.

b.

Vehicle wash facilities, commencing operation on or after January 1, 2006, using reverse osmosis to produce water rinse with a lower mineral content, shall incorporate the unused concentrate in subsequent vehicle washes.

c.

Regardless of date of operation commencement, self-service spray wands used shall emit no more than three (3) gallons of water per minute.

d.

Vehicle wash facilities shall utilize self-service, rollover in-bay or conveyor washing technology with catchment systems and oil-water separators that are intended to treat wastewater prior to entering the sanitary sewer. Such systems shall be designed and maintained to prevent runoff into streets, storm drains and/or local creeks and tributaries.

(7)

Vacuum systems. Vacuum systems shall not be water-cooled with single-pass potable water when alternative systems are available.

(8)

Certain plumbing fixtures. When installing certain plumbing fixtures on or after January 1, 2010; gravity flush toilets, bathroom aerators, showerheads, urinals; in any location, residential, commercial, industrial, or institutional, the fixtures will meet or exceed the following performance standards; and where the Environmental Protection Agency has accepted that specific plumbing fixtures by make and model, meet or exceed the WaterSense standards, such fixtures installed will be from the most current listing available at the time of installation:

a.

Gravity flush toilets shall have a maximum average water use of no more than one and twenty-eight hundredths (1.28) gallons per flush.

b.

Faucet aerators for bathrooms shall have a maximum water flow of one and one-half (1.5) gallons per minute.

c.

Showerheads shall have a maximum water flow of two (2.0) gallons per minute. All associated valves must be appropriate to the flows.

d.

Urinals shall have a maximum water use of one-half (0.5) gallons per flush.

(9)

Coin operated washing machines.

a.

All newly installed, leased or released coin/card operated washing machines, including but not limited to those that might be found in laundry-mats, apartment houses, dorms or communal use situations shall be selected from Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) that meet or exceed the most current highest water and energy standards as determined by the CEE.

b.

In any case all coin/card operated washing machines must meet or exceed the most current highest water and energy standards as determined by the CEE, by January 1, 2020.

(10)

Hot water lines. Buildings without dedicated hot-water return lines with runs exceeding twenty (20) feet between the heating element and the end use fixture shall be insulated with R-4 sleeve insulation.

(11)

Pool construction requirements on or after May 1, 2013.

a.

Private residential swimming pools shall not be installed with sand media filters.

b.

Pool water features installed with public swimming pools or private residential swimming pools must be designed so that the water feature can be turned off without affecting the filtering capabilities of the pool.

c.

Pools with shared water between the pool and a spa shall be designed so that water can be shared without the necessity of an above ground water feature that cannot be turned off. If a water feature between the spa and the pool exists, the default setting will be for it to be turned off.

d.

Automatic pool fill features must be designed so that they may be turned off in both public swimming pools and private residential swimming pools.

e.

Automatic pool fill features must include an automatic pool shut-off feature.

f.

Vanishing or negative edge pools must be designed with catch basins large enough to prevent splashing that leads to increased water use.

g.

Backwash systems must be designed so they may be turned off.

h.

Pool skimmers should be managed in such a way as to minimize water consumption. The range of allowable water within the skimmer fill range should allow for several inches of evaporative loss prior to filling.

i.

All residential swimming pools shall have a hose end timer installed at the nearest hose bib location. In addition, a hose bib back-flow prevention device will be connected to the hose bib fixture nearest to the pool.

j.

Pool companies that provide installation and/or maintenance services within the jurisdiction of this code must provide in writing to every customer specific information on maintenance requirements that include an emphasis on preventative measures for keeping pool water quality high and alternatives to draining pools to correct water quality problems unless draining is needed for physical repair.

(12)

Non-potable tank registration.

a.

All non-residential non-potable tank owners shall register tanks if combined storage on a single property is over five thousand (5,000) gallons or there is potable water back-up, with the SAWS Conservation department by May 1, 2013 or prior to the start of operation if installed after May 1, 2013. Tanks that are utilized in industrial processing are exempt from this requirement.

b.

All residential non-potable tank owners with potable water back-up, or in excess of one thousand (1,000) gallons in size shall register their tanks with the SAWS Conservation department by May 1, 2013 or prior to the start of operation if installed after May 1, 2013.

(13)

Non-residential water features. Non-residential water features installed after May 1, 2013 are required to be separately metered or sub-metered.

(Ord. No. 2014-05-29-0376, § 3(Exh. B), 5-29-14)