2025 Urban Water Management Plan

Section 9 2025 Urban Water Management Plan Demand Management Measures City of Pleasanton Public Draft | May 2026 9-2 EKI Environment & Water, Inc. The following are descriptions of the conservation programs Pleasanton operates within each of these DMM categories. 9.1.1 DMM 1 – Water Waste Prevention Ordinances The City prohibits water waste within its service area, as defined by Pleasanton Municipal Code (PMC) §14.04.060 with permanent wasteful water use violations of water service. In 1991, the City approved Ordinance No. 1508, which added Chapter 9.30 (Water Management Plan) of the PMC and established water conservation stages and additional prohibitions to prevent water waste. In March 2014, City Council approved a significant update to the Water Management Plan, which updated the definitions of water shortage stages with associated levels of water rationing, the expected water conservation measures under each stage, and prohibitions of wasteful water use. The Water Management Plan was further updated in 2016 and 2022 to align the shortage stages with the DWR standard shortage levels and further refine the conservation actions. A water shortage emergency can be declared by either the City Manager or by resolution of the City Council. As described in Section 8, a water shortage can expand the City’s water use restrictions, depending on the shortage stage as defined in the City’s Water Management Plan. To protect and preserve the community water supply, eliminating water waste is always essential, regardless of the water supply level. Therefore, PMC Chapter 14.04 defines wasteful water use as violations of water service. To incorporate the importance of recycled water as an alternative to landscape irrigation service within the City’s recycled water distribution system, PMC Section 14.04.060 was updated in February 2018 to include a new definition of water waste: use of potable water for outdoor landscaping through a DIM within the City’s recycled water use area. The City also updated PMC 14.04.060 in 2025 to incorporate the state’s recent prohibition on the use of potable water for irrigating non-functional turf. The City’s current definitions of water waste include: 1. Use of potable water between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. to irrigate grass, lawns, groundcover, shrubbery, crops, vegetation, and trees, except for hand watering and drip irrigation. 2. The application of potable water to outdoor landscaping in a manner that causes runoff such that water flows onto adjacent property, non-irrigated areas, private and public walkways, roadways, parking lots or structures. 3. Use of potable water to irrigate outdoor landscaping during and within 48 hours after measurable rainfall. 4. Use of potable water to wash down sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, open ground or other hard surface areas by the direct application of water thereto, unless needed for health or safety reasons. 5. Use of potable water in non-recirculating decorative ponds, fountains and other water features, except for child water play features. 6. Allowing potable water to escape from breaks within the person or consumer’s plumbing system for more than eight hours after the person or consumer is notified or discovers the break. 7. Use of potable water for outdoor landscaping through a DIM within the City’s recycled water use area unless exempted by the director of operations and water utilities for existing water customers, or City Engineer for new development. 8. Any use of potable water in violation of CWC (https://municipal.codes/CA/WAT/), including, but not limited to, the use of potable water on non-functional turf. In addition to the above water waste prohibitions, the Water Management Plan includes additional regulations aimed at reducing wasteful water use. These regulations apply even during normal supply conditions and include the following: