Drought Management Issues - Portland Metropolitan Area

1. Drought Management Issues - Portland Metropolitan Area Presented by Lorna Stickel Portland Water Bureau and Regional Water Providers Consortium Project Manager

2. Drought Issues in the Past • 1992 was the last year that Drought Plans were activated for municipal water providers in the Portland area. • Municipal Providers attempt to provide for drought years by planning for summer supplies to meet weather events. • Curtailment has not been a popular means to meet municpal needs in the NW.

3. Regional Water Supply Plan 1996 • Planning for supplies in Portland area included some aspect of meeting drought needs within the Regional Water Supply Plan (RWSP) • Water Demand Forecasting - High forecast selected. • Integrated modeling allowed for looking at weather events of the past so those that drove demands higher were selected for analysis.

4. Regional Water Supply Plan 1996 • Patterns of use in the NW result in highest needs during 3-4 summer months and during peak events for high temperature days for 3-5 days. RWSP focused on summer needs in worst years. • Public involvement activities showed low tolerance for planned shortages that last summer long, more for few day events.

5. Regional Water Supply Plan 1996 • Drought events are included in the RWSP by using the 60 year weather history and picking the worst years and highest demand forecast scenarios. • Conservation Programs selected to focus on the summer peak season uses. • Some interties proposed to connect sources better.

6. Implementation of RWSP • Regional Water Providers Consortium Formed to coordinate implementation. • Consortium further looked at transmission and storage and adopted a strategy in 2000. • Conservation programs folded into the Consortium in 2000-2001 FY. • RWSP update scheduled for 2001-2003.

7. Water Supplies & Transmission • Portland area water supplies include multiple sources: • Bull Run/South Shore Wellfield • Clackamas River • Trask/Tualatin • Groundwater • Small surface sources

8. Water Supplies & Transmission • Some of region’s sources are interconnected, but these connections are relatively small in size. • Only the Bull Run system has a large supplemental source in the CSSWF, allowing conjunctive use of two sources. • ASR is being evaluated in the region (Portland, TVWD, Beaverton).

9. Drought Planning Process • O.R.S. 536.700 Emergency Water Shortage Powers: • Governor has authority to declare drought and does so on a County by County basis (only Klamath Co. is so declared this year so far). • Water Resources Commission sets requirement to submit drought plans

10. Drought Planning Process -2 • Drought Plans have to be submitted in 30 days after a requirement is made by WRC. All jurisdictions over 10,000 population were required to do this in 1992. • Water Resources Dept. may respond to drought declarations by actions on emergency permits and changes to existing rights to respond quickly to emergency needs.

11. Portland Area Drought Plans • All larger jurisdictions submitted plans in 1992, some of these are still active, while others were repealed. • In 1992 the City of Portland added a new section to the City Code on Water Conservation Measures. • Allows Bureau Administrator to adopt rules with a public process or for limited duration.

12. Portland Area Drought Plans • Portland continued: • Enforcement outlined for violations, allows for one violation per day. Appeals allowed. • Wholesale contracts the mechanism for curtailment coordination • Commissioner in Charge may terminate rules.

13. City of Portland Drought Plan • Portland Administrative Rules • Sets in place Level 1 restrictions • Prohibitions on outdoor watering during the day • Washing hardened surfaces, and vehicles • Filling water features or cleaning them • water wasting by leaving hoses running • Exceptions listed • Enforcement detailed further

14. City of Portland Drought Plan • Level 2 Restrictions • Outside washing of vehicles prohibited, no exceptions • Window washing with hose (limited exceptions) • Failure to fix leaks • Filling vessels to irrigate outdoors from hydrants or other outdoor fixtures • New set of exceptions defined for circumstances not defined earlier

15. Portland Area Drought Plans • Portland submitted a Drought Plan to WRD that included those of larger wholesale customers, the content is similar. • Other water systems in Portland adopted plans in 1992 also. • Since 1992 the Portland water system has adopted an annual summer supply plan.

16. Potential Supplies for 2001 • Source diversity means not all systems have the same limitations • Weather driven spring for 2001 will be a key factor in the extent of any summer shortages • Portland not expecting shortages • JWC west side system is planning for shortage • Clackamas River systems not determined • GW systems not expecting shortage unless already quantity limited.

17. Challenges for Drought Events • How to work drought into longer term plans needs to be addressed, and can be done better than it has in the past. Global warming scenarios should be considered. • Planned curtailments are not popular without building substantial public support.

18. Challenges for Drought Events • Differences in supply situations presents problems for providers - single media market in the Portland region. • Drought plans need to reflect different customer class mix for each entity. • Conjunctive use of sources presents opportunities to mitigate for different effects of drought throughout the region.

19. Challenges for Drought Events • Primary targets for curtailment are outdoor water use, larger customers, and source switching. Indoor curtailment is more difficult to sustain over longer periods. • Conservation program savings over time make the margin for curtailment less. • Transmission connections are expensive if they are only for short term usage.