mark handler
SAWHORSE
Soquel Creek Water District takes on more retrofit enforcement
By J.M. Brown
Santa Cruz Sentinel
POSTED: 12/14/2013 03:41:45 PM PST
CAPITOLA -- When property is sold within the Soquel Creek Water District, outdated toilets and showerheads must be switched out with more efficient devices to meet a state standard that will change in January.
Officials with the district serving 35,000 customers from Capitola to La Selva Beach announced this week that toilets using more than 1.6 gallons per flush must be replaced with those using 1.28 gallons. The toilets must approved by the Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program.
On Jan. 1, 1.28 gallons per flush will become California's Green Building Code standard for new construction and renovation projects. Although the district will stop offering residential rebates for 1.28-gallons-per-flush toilets, it will give commercial rebates for them, as well as residential rebates for replacing 1.6 gallon-per-flush toilets with those using 0.8 gallons per flush.
The district has required property sellers to put in higher-efficiency devices for many years but until now only enforced the rules in Capitola. Previously, the county conducted enforcement in other parts of the district, but the district is now assuming all of that responsibility.
"This should not constitute more effort or cost than what was previously being required of sellers," said the district's conservation and customer service manager, Ron Duncan. "We just want to make sure that the most appropriate high-efficiency fixtures are being installed."
The district needs to reduce pumping from its overdrafted aquifers by 30 percent during the next 20 years to restore the groundwater basin and block saltwater intrusion. The city of Santa Cruz also has long required higher-efficiency devices be installed when property changes hands.
Toilets that use 1.6 gallons per flush do not have to be switched out under the district's rules, but showerheads need to be changed to 2 gallons per minute. Urinals in commercial properties must be retrofitted to 0.5 gallons per flush or less.
The district subscribes to a database that tracks property sales, and then officials check whether there is a conservation certificate on file for a site. District staff can inspect a home or business to ensure efficient fixtures were installed, or a licensed plumbing or general contractor can make the verification.
If a structure was built in the last 20 years, it is expected to have at least 1.6-gallons-per-flush toilets, but the district spot checks a few of those sites and ones inspected by plumbers and contractors, Duncan said.
The district can record a violation notice against a property deed for noncompliance, but Duncan said that has only happened about 15 times out of 800 cases in which compliance was a problem.
Property sellers are responsible for obtaining a district conservation certificate before a sale unless they and the buyer agree the buyer will perform the retrofit.
John Hickey, president of the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors, said area agents are accustomed to dealing with the retrofits as part of lining up transactions.
Hickey, whose office at Monterey Bay Properties is in Capitola, said some sellers agree to credit buyers for new toilets rather than buy ones for a property they are vacating. Others would rather install inexpensive toilets to meet the requirements, while still others buy nice toilets to leave a home in the best condition.
"It becomes a real practical choice," he said.
Follow Sentinel reporter J.M. Brown at Twitter.com/jmbrownreports
HOW TO DO IT
All forms needed to comply with the Soquel Creek Water District's rule to install water-efficient toilets, showerheads and urinals at the time of sale for property are be downloaded at www.soquelcreekwater.org/content/retrofit-time-resale. For questions, call 831-475-8501 ext. 146
By J.M. Brown
Santa Cruz Sentinel
POSTED: 12/14/2013 03:41:45 PM PST
CAPITOLA -- When property is sold within the Soquel Creek Water District, outdated toilets and showerheads must be switched out with more efficient devices to meet a state standard that will change in January.
Officials with the district serving 35,000 customers from Capitola to La Selva Beach announced this week that toilets using more than 1.6 gallons per flush must be replaced with those using 1.28 gallons. The toilets must approved by the Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program.
On Jan. 1, 1.28 gallons per flush will become California's Green Building Code standard for new construction and renovation projects. Although the district will stop offering residential rebates for 1.28-gallons-per-flush toilets, it will give commercial rebates for them, as well as residential rebates for replacing 1.6 gallon-per-flush toilets with those using 0.8 gallons per flush.
The district has required property sellers to put in higher-efficiency devices for many years but until now only enforced the rules in Capitola. Previously, the county conducted enforcement in other parts of the district, but the district is now assuming all of that responsibility.
"This should not constitute more effort or cost than what was previously being required of sellers," said the district's conservation and customer service manager, Ron Duncan. "We just want to make sure that the most appropriate high-efficiency fixtures are being installed."
The district needs to reduce pumping from its overdrafted aquifers by 30 percent during the next 20 years to restore the groundwater basin and block saltwater intrusion. The city of Santa Cruz also has long required higher-efficiency devices be installed when property changes hands.
Toilets that use 1.6 gallons per flush do not have to be switched out under the district's rules, but showerheads need to be changed to 2 gallons per minute. Urinals in commercial properties must be retrofitted to 0.5 gallons per flush or less.
The district subscribes to a database that tracks property sales, and then officials check whether there is a conservation certificate on file for a site. District staff can inspect a home or business to ensure efficient fixtures were installed, or a licensed plumbing or general contractor can make the verification.
If a structure was built in the last 20 years, it is expected to have at least 1.6-gallons-per-flush toilets, but the district spot checks a few of those sites and ones inspected by plumbers and contractors, Duncan said.
The district can record a violation notice against a property deed for noncompliance, but Duncan said that has only happened about 15 times out of 800 cases in which compliance was a problem.
Property sellers are responsible for obtaining a district conservation certificate before a sale unless they and the buyer agree the buyer will perform the retrofit.
John Hickey, president of the Santa Cruz County Association of Realtors, said area agents are accustomed to dealing with the retrofits as part of lining up transactions.
Hickey, whose office at Monterey Bay Properties is in Capitola, said some sellers agree to credit buyers for new toilets rather than buy ones for a property they are vacating. Others would rather install inexpensive toilets to meet the requirements, while still others buy nice toilets to leave a home in the best condition.
"It becomes a real practical choice," he said.
Follow Sentinel reporter J.M. Brown at Twitter.com/jmbrownreports
HOW TO DO IT
All forms needed to comply with the Soquel Creek Water District's rule to install water-efficient toilets, showerheads and urinals at the time of sale for property are be downloaded at www.soquelcreekwater.org/content/retrofit-time-resale. For questions, call 831-475-8501 ext. 146