5.3. SR 08-18-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor & City Council FROM: Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator DATE: August 13, 2008 SUBJECT: Proposed Black Dirt Ordinance In an effort to conserve water, the Elk River Municipal Utilities is proposing an ordinance that mandates certain site improvements for all new lots in the city, known as a Black Dirt Ordinance. As part of the review of the ordinance, the Environmental Division was asked to provide comment. The importance of water conservation is clearly understood. However, the Environmental Division has many concerns with an ordinance approach to water conservation. The Energy City Commission is currently promoting a program called "Project Conserve" and one of the main components of the program is educating residents on how to reduce the amount of water they use. As stated in Mr. Barnhart's memo there is only about 20% of the urban service area that would be affected by this ordinance. "Project Conserve" could ultimately educate all Elk River residents. In lieu of adopting an ordinance with the stated concerns of benefits and risks, the Environmental Department would recommend more attention and effort on educating residents on types of vegetation that is suitable for Elk River soils, believing this would be more effective in stabilizing water usage. Additionally, ERMU could offer additional incentives for residents who are conserving water with different approaches such as using rain barrels for watering. Lastly, charging the irresponsible customer greater water rates is going to make the biggest impact on teaching residents to reduce their water consumption.