DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN

FOR

ENCHANTED HARBOR UTILITY

JULY 2005

Section I: Declaration of Policy, Purpose, and Intent

In order to conserve the available water supply and protect the integrity of water supply facilities, with particular regard for domestic water use, sanitation, and fire protection, and to protect and preserve public health, welfare, and safety and minimize the adverse impacts of water supply shortage or other water supply emergency conditions, Enchanted Harbor Utility hereby adopts the following regulations and restrictions on the delivery and consumption of water.

Water uses regulated or prohibited under this Drought Contingency Plan (the Plan) are considered to be non-essential and continuation of such uses during times of water shortage or other emergency water supply condition are deemed to constitute a waste of water which subjects the offender(s) to penalties as defined in Section X of this Plan.

Section II: Public Involvement

Opportunity for the public to provide input into the preparation of the Plan was provided by the Enchanted Harbor Utility by means of this letter and any and all input will greatly be appreciated. Responses may be mailed back with any payments, in a separate letter or emailed to jwood@wcnet.net.

Section III: Public Education

Enchanted Harbor Utility will periodically provide the public with information about the Plan, including information about the conditions under which each stage of the Plan is to be initiated or terminated and the drought response measures to be implemented in each stage. This information will be provided by means of utility bill inserts.

Section IV: Coordination with Regional Water Planning Groups

The service area of the Enchanted Harbor Utility is located within the Southwest Central Regional Water Planning Group, Region(L) water area and Enchanted Harbor Utility has provided a copy of this Plan to the Southwest Central Regional Water Planning Group (L) area planning group.

Section V: Authorization

The general manager or his/her designee is hereby authorized and directed to implement the applicable provisions of this Plan upon determination that such implementation is necessary to protect public health, safety, and welfare. The general manager, or his/her designee, shall have the authority to initiate or terminate drought or other water supply emergency response measures as described in this Plan.

Section VI: Application

The provisions of this Plan shall apply to all persons, customers, and property utilizing water provided by Enchanted Harbor Utility. The term's “person” and “customer” as used in the Plan include individuals, corporations, partnerships, associations, and all other legal entities.

Section VII: Definitions

For the purposes of this Plan, the following definitions shall apply:

Aesthetic water use: water use for ornamental or decorative purposes such as fountains, reflecting pools, and water gardens.

Commercial and institutional water use: water use which is integral to the operations of commercial and non-profit establishments and governmental entities such as retail establishments, hotels and motels, restaurants, and office buildings.

Conservation: those practices, techniques, and technologies that reduce the consumption of water, reduce the loss or waste of water, improve the efficiency in the use of water or increase the recycling and reuse of water so that a supply is conserved and made available for future or alternative uses.

Customer: any person, company, or organization using water supplied by Enchanted Harbor Utility

Domestic water use: water use for personal needs or for household or sanitary purposes such as drinking, bathing, heating, cooking, sanitation, or for cleaning a residence, business, industry, or institution.

Even number address: street addresses, box numbers, or rural postal route numbers ending in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8 and locations without addresses.

Industrial water use: the use of water in processes designed to convert materials of lower value into forms having greater usability and value.

Landscape irrigation use: water used for the irrigation and maintenance of landscaped areas, whether publicly or privately owned, including residential and commercial lawns, gardens, golf courses, parks, and rights-of-way and medians.

Non-essential water use: water uses that are not essential nor required for the protection of public, health, safety, and welfare, including:

(a) irrigation of landscape areas, including parks, athletic fields, and golf courses, except otherwise provided under this Plan;

(b) use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, airplane or other vehicle;

(c) use of water to wash down any sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, or other hard-surfaced areas;

(d) use of water to wash down buildings or structures for purposes other than immediate fire protection;

(e) flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street;

(f) use of water to fill, refill, or add to any indoor or outdoor swimming pools or jacuzzi-type pools;

(g) use of water in a fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes except where necessary to support aquatic life;

(h) failure to repair a controllable leak(s) within a reasonable period after having been given notice directing the repair of such leak(s); and

(i) use of water from hydrants for construction purposes or any other purposes other than fire fighting.

Section VIII: Criteria for Initiation and Termination of Drought Response Stages

The general manager or his/her designee shall monitor water supply and/or demand conditions on a weekly basis and shall determine when conditions warrant initiation or termination of each stage of the Plan, that is, when the specified “triggers” are reached.

The triggering criteria described below are based on a statistical analysis of the vulnerability of the water source under drought of record conditions which consist of monitoring the well draw down, the stock tank replenish rate, and the annual rail fall amounts.

Stage 1 Triggers -- MILD Water Shortage Conditions

Requirements for initiation

Customers shall be requested to voluntarily conserve water and adhere to the prescribed restrictions on certain water uses, defined in Section VII –

1. Annually, beginning on May 1 through September 30th.

2. When the static water level in the Enchanted Harbor Utility well(s) is equal to or less than 5 feet below normal levels.

Requirements for termination

Stage 1 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 10 consecutive days.

Stage 2 Triggers -- MODERATE Water Shortage Conditions

Requirements for initiation

Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses provided in Section IX of this Plan when

1. Continually falling treated water reservoir levels which do not refill above 90 percent overnight (e.g., based on an evaluation of minimum treated water storage required to avoid system outage.

Requirements for termination

Stage 2 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 10 consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 2, Stage 1 becomes operative.

Stage 3 Triggers -- CRITICAL Water Shortage Conditions

Requirements for initiation

Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions on certain non-essential water uses for Stage 3 of this Plan when 1. Continually falling treated water reservoir levels, which do not refill above 50 percent overnight (e.g., based on an evaluation of minimum treated water storage required to avoid system outage.

Requirements for termination

Stage 3 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 10 consecutive days. Upon termination of Stage 3, Stage 2 becomes operative.

Stage 4 Triggers -- EMERGENCY Water Shortage Conditions

Requirements for initiation

Customers shall be required to comply with the requirements and restrictions for Stage 5 of this Plan when general manager, or his/her designee, determines that a water supply emergency exists based on:

1.Major water line breaks, or pump or system failures occur, which cause unprecedented loss of capability to provide water service; or

2.Continually falling treated water reservoir levels which do not refill above 20 percent overnight

2. Natural or man-made contamination of the water supply source(s).

Requirements for termination

Stage 4 of the Plan may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of 2 consecutive days.

WATER ALLOCATION

Requirements for initiation

Customers shall be required to comply with the water allocation plan prescribed in Section IX of this Plan and comply with the requirements and restrictions for Stage 5 of this Plan when trigger 4 occurs.

Requirements for termination - Water allocation may be rescinded when all of the conditions listed as triggering events have ceased to exist for a period of ___ (e.g., 3) consecutive days.

Section IX: Drought Response Stages

The general manager, or his/her designee, shall monitor water supply and/or demand conditions on a daily basis and, in accordance with the triggering criteria set forth in Section VIII of this Plan, shall determine that a mild, moderate, severe, critical, emergency or water shortage condition exists and shall implement the following notification procedures:

NOTIFICATION

Notification of the Public:

The general manager or his/ here designee shall notify the public by means of:

1.direct mail to each customer

Stage 1 Response -- MILD Water Shortage Conditions

Goal: Practice good water conservation practices. i.e. Double check the outside water faucets and the toilet before leaving the house.

Supply Management Measures:

We will increase our normal water system monitoring efforts to insure that we have no leaks or that no faucets have been left on accidentally.

Voluntary Water Use Restrictions:

(a) Since this is a mostly weekend community it is hoped that customers will postpone the washing of automobiles until they return to their primary residence and to simply practice good water conservation. Not much more needs to be done at this time.

(b) All operations of the Enchanted Harbor Utility shall adhere to water use restrictions prescribed for Stage 2 of the Plan.

Stage 2 Response -- MODERATE Water Shortage Conditions

Goal: Achieve a 20 percent reduction in total water use.

Supply Management Measures:

We will further increase our water system monitoring efforts to insure that we have no leaks or that no faucets have been left on accidentally, and that customers are adhering to the guidelines.

Water Use Restrictions. Under threat of penalty for violation, the following water use restrictions shall apply to all persons:

(a) Irrigation of landscaped areas such as flower beds, lawns, and gardens shall be limited to Saturdays for customers living south of the present main water storage tank and on Sundays for those living north of the present main water storage site. Except for full time residences that should refrain from watering on weekends and holidays and should only water during the middle of the week.

(b) Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, or other vehicle is also allowed only on designated watering days. Further, such washing may be exempted from these regulations if the health, safety, and welfare of the public is contingent upon frequent vehicle cleansing, such as garbage trucks and vehicles used to transport food and perishables.

c) The following uses of water are defined as non-essential and are prohibited:

1. wash down of any sidewalks, walkways, driveways, parking lots, tennis courts, or other hard-surfaced areas;

2. use of water to wash down buildings or structures for purposes other than immediate fire protection;

3. use of water for dust control;

4. flushing gutters or permitting water to run or accumulate in any gutter or street; and

5. failure to repair a controllable leak(s) within a reasonable period after having been given notice directing the repair of such leak(s).

Stage 3 Response -- CRITICAL Water Shortage Conditions

Goal: Achieve a 75 percent reduction in total water use.

Supply Management Measures: Continued vigilance.

Water Use Restrictions: All requirements of Stage 2 shall remain in effect during Stage 3 except:

(a) NO irrigation of landscaped areas including gardens, lawns, flowerbed, etc. shall be allowed.

(b) No washing of any vehicles, trailers, houses, etc.

(d) Operation of any ornamental fountain or pond for aesthetic or scenic purposes is prohibited except where necessary to support aquatic life or where such fountains or ponds are equipped with a recirculation system.

(e) No application for new, additional, expanded, or increased-in-size water service connections, meters, service lines, pipeline extensions, mains, or water service facilities of any kind shall be approved, and time limits for approval of such applications are hereby suspended for such time as this drought response stage or a higher-numbered stage shall be in effect.

Stage 4 Response -- EMERGENCY Water Shortage Conditions

Goal: Provide drinking water only.

Supply Management Measures: Shut off all water flow from well sites. If water is available it will be from a single faucet located at or near the well site.

Water Use Restrictions.

All water shall be used for drinking purposes only, except where an immediate life-threatening situation exists.

WATER ALLOCATION

In the event that water shortage conditions threaten public health, safety, and welfare, the utility manager is hereby authorized to allocate water according to the following water allocation plan:

Single-Family Residential Customers

The allocation to residential water customers residing in a single-family dwelling shall be as follows:

Each Household will be allowed 1,000 gallons per month with an additional 500 gallons per month for the 3^rd, 4^th, etc. that is a full time resident of that household. i.e. A 5 family household will be allowed 2,500 gallons per month.

“Household” means the residential premises served by the customer’s meter.

NOTE: Most people will read the above allocations and can find some sort of problem with the wording, or want the exact definition of "full time resident", or is this "US" gallons or whatever. Please understand that these are the rules that the utility is forced to impose in case of an emergence water situation and to word everything as to leave no doubt would require a document that could possibly be hundreds of pages long.

Residential water customers shall pay the following surcharges:

$36.50 for the first 1,000 gallons over allocation.

$ 73.00 for the second 1,000 gallons over allocation.

$250.00 for the third 1,000 gallons over allocation.

$500.00 for each additional 1,000 gallons over allocation.

Surcharges shall be cumulative.

Commercial Customers shall be charged the same as above.

Section X: Enforcement

(a) No person shall knowingly or intentionally allow the use of water from the Enchanted Harbor Utility for residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, governmental, or any other purpose in a manner contrary to any provision of this Plan, or in an amount in excess of that permitted by the drought response stage in effect at the time pursuant to action taken by utility manager or his/her designee, in accordance with provisions of this Plan.

(b) Any person, including a person classified as a water customer of the Enchanted Harbor Utility, in apparent control of the property where a violation occurs or originates shall be presumed to be the violator, and proof that the violation occurred on the person’s property shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the person in apparent control of the property committed the violation, but any such person shall have the right to show that he/she did not commit the violation. Parents shall be presumed to be responsible for violations of their minor children and proof that a violation, committed by a child, occurred on property within the parents’ control shall constitute a rebuttable presumption that the parent committed the violation, but any such parent may be excused if he/she proves that he/she had previously directed the child not to use the water as it was used in violation of this Plan and that the parent could not have reasonably known of the violation.

c. Any person who violates this Plan is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction shall be punished by fines as to be determined by the courts. Each day that one or more of the provisions in this Plan is violated shall constitute a separate offense. If a person is convicted of three or more distinct violations of this Plan, the utility manager shall, upon due notice to the customer, be authorized to discontinue water service to the premises where such violations occur. Services discontinued under such circumstances shall be restored only upon payment of a re-connection charge, hereby established at $200, and any other costs incurred by the Enchanted Harbor Utility in discontinuing service. In addition, suitable assurance must be given to the utility manager that the same action shall not be repeated while the Plan is in effect. Compliance with this plan may also be sought through injunctive relief in the district court.

Section XI: Variances

The utility manager, or his/her designee, may, in writing, grant temporary variance for existing water uses otherwise prohibited under this Plan if it is determined that failure to grant such variance would cause an emergency condition adversely affecting the health, sanitation, or fire protection for the public or the person requesting such variance and if one or more of the following conditions are met:

(a) Compliance with this Plan cannot be technically accomplished during the duration of the water supply shortage or other condition for which the Plan is in effect.

(b) Alternative methods can be implemented which will achieve the same level of reduction in water use.

Persons requesting an exemption from the provisions of this Ordinance shall file a petition for variance with the Enchanted Harbor Utility within 5 days after the Plan or a particular drought response stage has been invoked. All petitions for variances shall be reviewed by the utility manager, or his/her designee, and shall include the following:

(a) Name and address of the petitioner(s).

(b) Purpose of water use.

(d) Detailed statement as to how the specific provision of the Plan adversely affects the petitioner or what damage or harm will occur to the petitioner or others if petitioner complies with this Ordinance.

(e) Description of the relief requested.

(f) Period of time for which the variance is sought.

(g) Alternative water use restrictions or other measures the petitioner is taking or proposes to take to meet the intent of this Plan and the compliance date.

(h) Other pertinent information.

Variances granted by the Enchanted Harbor Utility shall be subject to the following conditions, unless waived or modified by the utility manager or his/her designee:

(a) Variances granted shall include a timetable for compliance.

(b) Variances granted shall expire when the Plan is no longer in effect, unless the petitioner has failed to meet specified requirements.

No variance shall be retroactive or otherwise justify any violation of this Plan occurring prior to the issuance of the variance.