Sep 01, 2021 Water and Wastewater Commission

[00:00:01]

YEAH, SO TO SPEAK, UH, REMEMBER TO PUSH YOUR MICS UNTIL YOU SEE, OKAY.

SIX O'CLOCK RIGHT NOW AND WE'LL START THE, THE

[CALL TO ORDER]

AND WE'VE GOT A QUORUM AND WE ALSO HAVE A NEW COMMISSIONER ON BOARD AND LIKE TO ASK HIM TO INTRODUCE HIM A LITTLE BIT FOR US.

HI EVERYBODY.

MY NAME IS WILLIAM MATALA.

I'VE LIVED AND WORKED IN AUSTIN FOR THE LAST SIX YEARS OR SO A UT GRADUATE UT LAW STUDENT AT THE MOMENT, AND I'M JUST VERY EXCITED TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH EVERYBODY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

COME ON BOARD.

OKAY.

WHILE WE ARE WAITING FOR COMMISSIONER PENN TO SHOW UP, WE WERE GOING TO

[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]

SHE

[C. NON-VOTING ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION]

IN MONACO, $1,083,907.

GOOD EVENING.

COMMISSIONER'S ON A BRIAN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SERVICES FOR AUSTIN AND WATER.

JUST TO GIVE YOU A OVERVIEW OF THIS ITEM, THIS IS A RATIFICATION OF EMERGENCY CONTRACTS THAT WERE EXECUTED DURING THE WINTER STORM.

UM, WE EXECUTED CONTRACTS WITH THREE VENDORS WHO PERFORMED REPAIR WORK AT OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND ON OUR PIPELINES.

UH, WE EXECUTED A CONTRACT, UM, FOR THE PURCHASE OF BULK WATER TOTES, WHICH ARE TANKS USED FOR BOTH DELIVERY AND WATER TRUCKS THAT WERE USED FOR WATER DELIVERY THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

AND WE EXECUTED A CONTRACT FOR, UH, CHEMICALS USED IN THE TREATMENT PROCESS.

UM, THESE WERE EXECUTED UNDER EMERGENCY AUTHORIZATION, AND WE CAN ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT THE ITEM COMMISSIONER MICHELLE, PLEASE, JUST TO CLARIFY YOU, YOU MENTIONED THREE CONTRACTORS, THE BACKUP SHOWS FIVE CONTRACTORS, IS THAT CORRECT? THERE WERE A TOTAL OF FIVE CONTRACTS, UH, THREE CONTRACTORS WHO PERFORMED REPAIR WORK, ONE CONTRACTOR WHO PROVIDED CHEMICALS, UH, ONE VENDOR WHO PROVIDED CHEMICALS AND ONE VENDOR WHO PROVIDED, UH, BULK WATER TOTES AND BULK WATER DELIVERY SERVICES.

OKAY.

AND THE ADDITIONAL, UH, CONTRACT AMOUNT, TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT FOR THE ADDITIONAL THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING THIS EVENING.

WERE THERE ANY IMPACTS TO, UM, OTHER ITEMS IN THE FISCAL YEAR BUDGET OR, UM, COMMISSIONER MICHELLE, ARE YOU ASKING, ARE THERE, UH, EITHER CIP PROJECTS, OTHER IMPROVEMENTS OR OTHER INVESTMENTS WE HAD PLANNED FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR AND ARE NOW GOING TOWARDS THIS CONTRACT? UM, WE EXECUTED THESE CONTRACTS.

SO AS NOT TO IMPACT OUR CONTRACTING AUTHORIZATION THAT EXISTED UNDER OTHER CONTRACTS.

SO THE FACT THAT WE USE THESE VENDORS DURING THE WINTER STORM WOULD NOT AFFECT NECESSARILY OUR ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO CARRY OUT OTHER CONTRACT THAT ACTIVITIES.

I'M NOT SURE IF I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE.

I THINK THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION.

YEAH.

OKAY.

NOTHING FURTHER.

COMMISSIONER HAS GOT ANY QUESTIONS, ANY MORE QUESTIONS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

OKAY.

LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM D ONE

[D. REPORTS BY COMMISSION SUBCOMMITTEES]

UM, UM, WE HAVE BEEN, UM, MEETING, UH, THE GROUP WORK GROUP HAS BEEN MEETING WITH THE UTILITY.

UM, THE, OUR LAST MEETING, UM, WAS FOCUSED ON IMPACTS TO TREATMENT, UM, PLANTS AND, UH, PREPARING WINTERIZING.

UM, WE HAD, UH, LONG DISCUSSIONS IN DETAILED ABOUT THE THINGS THAT THE UTILITY, UM, ALREADY KNOWS, UM, AND HAS ALREADY BEEN WORKING TOWARDS AS WELL AS, UM, PROVIDED THEM FEEDBACK ON

[00:05:01]

SO, UM, THE PROCESS HAS BEEN, UH, I'VE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED WITH THE UTILITY AS TO THE DETAIL THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH IN THAT EFFORT.

AND WE STILL HAVE A COUPLE MORE MEETINGS AHEAD OF US, UM, TO HELP GIVE FEEDBACK ON THE AFTER ACTION REPORT, ANY QUESTIONS.

ALL RIGHT, THANKS.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR REPORT.

OKAY.

LET'S MOVE ON

[E. STAFF BRIEFINGS, PRESENTATIONS, AND OR REPORTS]

AND CAN YOU, UH, GREG AND SARAH SAAS AND WATER DIRECTOR, WE HAVE MATT COLIN HERE TO, UH, TO LEAD THE PRESENTATION.

I THINK YOU'RE ON MAT.

NOT SEEING ANY RED.

THERE YOU GO.

THERE YOU GO.

YEAH, I CAN SEE IT RIGHT HERE.

OH, IT'S ON THIS SIDE.

OKAY.

I'M ALL GOOD.

UH, COMMISSION.

MY NAME IS MATT COHEN.

I'M THE DIVISION MANAGER OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ENGINEERING AT AUSTIN WATER.

I'LL BE PROVIDING YOU A BRIEFING THIS EVENING ON WATER LOSS AND WATER LOSS MITIGATION AT AUSTIN WATER.

EVERY UTILITY WATER UTILITY HAS TO DEAL WITH A WATER LOSS AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, VARYING ISSUE FROM ONE UTILITY TO THE NEXT.

UM, AND IT TAKES A LOT OF DIFFERENT EFFORTS AND APPROACHES IN A, IN A SYSTEM IS LARGE AND COMPLEX AS AUSTIN WATERS BEEN AT SNAKES.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE AGENDA SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THIS EVENING, I'M GOING TO START OFF BY GOING OVER HOW WE MEASURE WATER LOSS AND THE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS RELATED TO THAT.

AND THEN TALK ABOUT WHERE WE STAND ON THOSE INDICATORS AND TALK ABOUT OUR, UH, PRODUCTION METER VALIDATION PROJECT, WHICH THAT TIES IN WITH THE MEASUREMENT AND, UH, PERFORMANCE INDICATORS PART.

AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGIES, HOW WE ADDRESS WATER LOSS AND TRY TO MINIMIZE WATER LOSS AND WE'LL SUMMARIZE WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THEN OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO STARTING OUT IN MEASURING WATER LOSS.

SO, UM, WE FOLLOW THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR MEASURING WATER LOSS, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY YOU MEASURE WHAT'S COMING INTO YOUR SYSTEM FROM THE PLANTS, FROM THE PRODUCTION METERS, AND THEN YOU SUBTRACT THE THINGS OUT, UM, THAT YOU KNOW, AND THAT YOU ESTIMATE, YOU KNOW, THE WATER THAT YOU MEET HER, THAT'S GOING TO CUSTOMERS, THINGS, WATER ESTIMATING WHAT'S USED FOR FIREFIGHTING AND FOR FLUSHING AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND THEN WHAT YOU'RE LEFT WITH IS YOUR WATER LOSS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY THAT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN DIRECTLY, UH, DIRECTLY MEASURE.

SO THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT'S USED IN THE INDUSTRY.

AND THAT'S THE PROCESS WE USE AT AUSTIN WATER FOR DETERMINING WHAT THE WATER LOSS IS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO THEN THAT LEADS TO, UH, THE PERFORMANCE INDICATOR THAT'S USED IN THE INDUSTRY IS ILI.

AND THIS IS A LITTLE BIT IN CONTRAST, PROBABLY A COUPLE DECADES BACK.

MOST UTILITIES TALKED ABOUT WATER LOSS AND PERCENT, UH, STANDARDS, PERCENT WATER LOSS, BUT THIS, UH, THE STANDARD NOW IS THIS INFRASTRUCTURE LEAKAGE INDEX.

UH, AND THAT CALCULATION IS YOUR REAL WATER LOSSES THAT, THAT CALCULATION I TALKED ABOUT ON THE LAST SLIDE DIVIDED BY UNAVOIDABLE REAL LOSS, WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE.

IT IS ESSENTIALLY WATER LOSS THAT YOU CAN'T AVOID.

AND THE INDUSTRY IN AWW HAS PRODUCED THE WAY TO COME UP WITH THAT UNAVOIDABLE REAL LOSS.

IT'S BASED ON THE MILES, YOU KNOW, THE SIZE OF YOUR SYSTEM AND YOUR SYSTEM PRESSURE AND YOUR NUMBER OF CONNECTIONS.

UM, AND SO JUST KIND OF TO HAVE SOME BENCHMARKS AND SOME THINGS TO RELATE TO, UH, AS TO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S LIKE GOLF SCORING, A LOWER NUMBER IS BETTER, OF COURSE, UM, AND YOU KNOW, TAKEN FROM THE, THE FORMULA THERE.

OBVIOUSLY THE THEORETICAL PERFECTION IS ONE POINT, OH, IF THE ONLY WATER YOU'RE LOSING IS WHAT'S YOU, CAN YOU UNAVOIDABLE TO LOSE YOUR AT 1.0, UH, THAT'S A THEORETICAL PERFECTION, NOT NECESSARILY AN ECONOMIC PERFECTION, UH, BUT THAT'S THE 1.0 2.0 IS REALLY EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE.

UH, AND OF NOTE THAT'S OUR LONG-TERM GOAL, UH, IN, IN WATERFORD STATES, UH, A GOAL OF 2.0 AND THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND THE AWD WEA INDICATE FOR A UTILITY LIKE OURS.

UH, UH, A TYPICAL OPERATING RANGE WOULD BE, UH,

[00:10:01]

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO HERE'S AUSTIN WATERS DATA GOING ALL THE WAY BACK TO 2008, WHICH, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT DATA, UH, GOING BACK FURTHER THAN, THAN MOST UTILITIES.

UM, YOU KNOW, ILI IN THE LAST 15 YEARS HAS REALLY BEEN, UH, DEVELOPING, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE GREEN BOX IS THAT ACCEPTABLE RANGE.

THAT SUGGESTED RANGE THAT I MENTIONED.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THERE FROM 2008 ON, WE WERE DOWN AROUND THREE, EVEN BELOW THREE, UH, THERE FOR A LITTLE WHILE, UH, HOWEVER, IN THE RECENT YEARS, OR HAS BEEN, UH, A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPWARD TREND, UH, IN OUR WATER LOSSES AND THEREFORE OUR ILI, UH, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF DOWN YEARS WHERE IT'S GONE DOWN A LITTLE BIT, UM, BUT STILL STAYING CERTAINLY FIRMLY WITHIN THAT THREE TO FIVE RANGE.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, UM, OF COURSE WITH IT MOVING IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION, THIS IS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT IT, THAT UTILITY.

AND SO WE WANT TO TRACK DOWN AND SEE WHY THAT MIGHT BE.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NUMBER OF OTHER PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT WE TRACK FROM LEAKS PER A HUNDRED MILES TO RESPONSE TIME AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND, UM, ALL OF THOSE WERE TYPICALLY TRACKING IN A, UH, IN A FAIRLY GOOD DIRECTION OR A FAIRLY CONSTANT DIRECTION.

UH, THIS SLIDE HERE, JUST TO EXPLAIN IT A LITTLE BIT, THE, THE BLUE LINE IS OUR BRAKES PER A HUNDRED MILES PER YEAR.

UH, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THAT'S IN GENERAL OVER THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS, LAST DECADE HAS BEEN TRENDING IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION, WHICH AGAIN IS GOOD.

UH, THE PURPLE LINE, THERE IS THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE, WHICH IS ABOUT 14 BREAKS PER MILE PER YEAR.

AND WE'VE CONSISTENTLY BEEN UNDER THAT FOR THE LAST NUMBER OF YEARS.

UM, A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPTICK DO SOME SUMMER AND WINTER ACTIVITIES URI ISN'T ON THIS YET.

WE DON'T HAVE THE DATA FOR THIS YEAR YET, BUT, UM, IN GENERAL, MOVING IN A GOOD DIRECTION.

UM, SO IT'S KIND OF, UH, TRENDING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION OF WHERE THE ILI, UH, IS TRENDING AND THROUGH, UH, INVOLVEMENT, UM, W AND SPEAKING WITH OTHER UTILITIES AND ATTENDING CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS, UM, ONE OF THE CLEAR FEEDBACKS HAS BEEN, AND THE INDUSTRY HAS BEEN LEARNING IS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU'VE GOT THIS SITUATION THAT THAT IS JUST NOT JUMPING OUT TO YOU.

WHY YOU'RE TRENDING IN ONE DIRECTION OR ANOTHER IS TO BEGIN WITH YOUR PRODUCTION METERS, BECAUSE THAT'S THAT FIRST ITEM THAT GOES INTO YOUR CALCULATION IS WHAT'S COMING OUT OF THE PLANTS AND VARIATIONS.

THEY'RE KIND OF GET MAGNIFIED IN THAT WATER LOSS CALCULATION.

UM, AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND SO THAT'S WHERE THIS PRODUCTION METER VALIDATION PROJECT COMES IN.

WE BROUGHT A CONSULTANT ON BOARD, UH, TO VALIDATE OUR METERS AT ALL, THREE OF OUR TREATMENT PLANTS THAT TOTAL ABOUT 37 METERS.

AND THAT PROJECT IS NOT ALL THE WAY COMPLETE YET.

WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE FINAL REPORT, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME PRELIMINARY TAKEAWAYS.

UM, NOT ALL OF OUR METERS WERE CALIBRATED CORRECTLY.

UM, THERE WAS A LITTLE MORE ERROR THERE IN THE CALIBRATION THAN WE HAD ANTICIPATED, NOT, NOT TERRIBLE, BUT SOME ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED.

UM, AND SOME PLANT METERS DID HAVE ERRORS IN EXCESS OF 5%, SOME ABOVE SOME BELOW.

UM, AND SO WE NEED TO, UH, ADDRESS THAT AS WELL.

AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, UM, ERRORS AT THE PLANT AT THOSE PLANT METERS GET, UH, MAGNIFIED A LITTLE BIT WHEN YOU'RE DOING YOUR WATER LOSS, UH, CALCULATIONS.

UM, AND SO ANOTHER THING TO NOTE IS THOSE ERRORS PARTICULAR ON THE CALIBRATION SIDE CAN BE VARIABLE, UH, A FORMULA OR A SETTING MAY CHANGE FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT.

SO WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY ABLE TO TAKE THE RESULTS WE GOT AND MEET HER ACCURACIES AND APPLY THEM TO PREVIOUS YEARS TO KIND OF REVISE OR CORRECT PREVIOUS, UH, PREVIOUS NUMBERS.

BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHERE SOME ISSUES ARE AND ADDRESS THOSE OR WORKING ON ADDRESSING THEM.

UM, SO OUR ACTION ITEMS, CERTAINLY WE'RE GOING TO REFINE OUR CALIBRATION PROCEDURES AND TIGHTEN THOSE UP A LITTLE BIT.

UM, AND THEN THE REPORT, UH, OUR, OUR STUDY DOES COME UP WITH SOME DIRECT RECOMMENDATIONS.

THERE'S A FEW METERS THAT NEEDS SOME, SOME CLEANING OUT SOME, SOME CLEANUP, UH, THERE'S SOME WIRING THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED AND, AND SOME SENSORS THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED.

AND SO WE'LL FOLLOW UP ON THOSE.

AND THEN ONCE WE'VE GOT THOSE TAKEN CARE OF, COME BACK AND DO THE VALIDATION OF PROCESS AGAIN, UH, AGAIN, MOVING MORE AND MORE TOWARDS GETTING, UH, THAT ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF OUR PRODUCTION METERS, UH, TO AS GOOD A POINT AS POSSIBLE.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THOSE, I MENTIONED SOME OF OUR OTHER PERFORMANCE I, AS, AS I ROLL INTO TALKING ABOUT OUR STRATEGY.

SO THAT WAS ALL HOW WE MEASURE OUR WATER LOSS AND WHERE WE STAND, UM, UH, ON OUR NUMBERS AND OUR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.

[00:15:01]

WHEN YOU FIND OUT ABOUT A LEAK, RESPONDING TO IT IS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD FROM THIS SLIDE, WE'VE BEEN VERY CONSISTENT IN THAT AREA.

OVER 90% OF THE TIME, WE'RE RESPONDING TO LEAKS WITHIN THREE HOURS OF THEM BEING REPORTED.

UH, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE UTILITY FOCUSES ON AND PUTS RESOURCES TOWARDS TO MAKE SURE WE STAY IN THAT AREA, UH, THAT WE RESPOND TO LEAKS QUICKLY.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

OF COURSE, ANOTHER ONE OF THE MAIN FOCUS IS INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR ADDRESSING WATER LOSS IS INFRASTRUCTURE RENEWAL, UH, AND, AND FOR US, MOST OF THAT, UH, LIES IN THE REPLACING OF OUR WATER LINES AND WATER SERVICES.

AND SO WE FOCUS THAT ON OUR PIPES THAT ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE TO ADDITIONAL LEAKS AND A LOT OF CASES, THAT'S OUR OLD CAST IRON MAINS.

UM, BUT WE'VE GOT OUR ASSET MANAGEMENT PROCESSES THAT, THAT SCORE THE PIPES TO SELECT WHICH ONES TO BE REPLACED.

AND SO THAT, THAT PROGRAM OR RENEWING AUSTIN PROGRAM FOCUSES ON THOSE PIPES THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO LEAK AGAIN, IN ADDITION, UH, WE DO HAVE, UH, QUITE A NUMBER OF SERVICE LINE BREAKS IN OUR SYSTEM.

UM, UH, SERVICE LINE BREAKS DO MAKE UP A GOOD BIT OF THE WORK OF OUR CREWS AND LARGELY IN PART TO THE PRESENCE OF POLYBUTYLENE SERVICES IN OUR SYSTEM, WHICH IS A PLASTIC THAT WAS USED LATE SIXTIES TO EARLY EIGHTIES.

AND SO WE'VE GOT A PROGRAM IN PLACE, UM, AND YOU SHOULD BE SEEING AN RCA LATER THIS FALL FOR OUR NEXT CIP PROJECT THAT IS, UH, AIMING AT REPLACING THOSE POLYBUTYLENE SERVICES THAT ARE EXPOSED TO THE HIGHEST PRESSURES AND, AND THEREFORE MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE LEAKS.

UM, AND SO THAT'S OUR, OUR REPLACING AND OUR RENEWAL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.

ANOTHER ANGLE OF THAT IS LOOKING AT OUR STANDARDS RELATED TO WHAT WE PUT IN OUR SYSTEM.

AND JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT IS WE'VE BEEN USING HDPE FOR, UH, WATER WATERLINE SERVICES NOW FOR LIKE A DECADE.

UH, BUT WE'RE MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION.

SOME FOR MAINS AS WELL, STANDARDIZING THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.

AND THE ADVANTAGE FROM A WATER LOSS PERSPECTIVE, THERE IS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DUCTILE IRON GAS AND OLD CAST, IRON PVC, THEY ALL HAVE JOINTS IN GASKETS, AND THERE'S SOME EXPECTED AMOUNT OF LEAKAGE THERE.

WHEREAS WITH HDPE, THOSE ARE FUSED JOINTS, THEY DON'T HAVE THE, UH, THE JOINTS TO LEAK.

SO THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, OF MODERNIZING OUR STANDARDS AND, AND IMPROVING OUR SYSTEM.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SURE.

YOU'RE ALL VERY AWARE OF OUR AMI PROJECT, THE MY ATX WATER PROGRAM, UM, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN NOW AND 2025, WE'LL BE REPLACING ABOUT 240,000 METERS.

AND ONE OF THE BIG ADVANTAGE OF THAT ON THE WATER LOSS SIDE WILL BE THE WAY WE'RE ABLE TO NOTIFY CUSTOMERS.

IF THE SYSTEM IDENTIFIES A LEAK ON THEIR SIDE OF THE METER AND OTHER UTILITIES THAT HAVE IMPLEMENTED AMI HAVE SEEN THAT KIND OF ADVANTAGE, YOU KNOW, RIGHT OFF THE BAT, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY DIRECTLY ON THE ILI BECAUSE THAT'S ON THE CUSTOMER SIDE, BUT AS A RESOURCE SAVING THE RESOURCE OF WATER WILL BE VERY HELPFUL ON THAT END.

AND THEN AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH AMI, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NETWORK OUT THERE FOR COLLECTING ALL OF THIS, THIS METER DATA.

AND WE'RE GOING TO LEVERAGE THAT NETWORK WITH PRESSURE SENSORS AND LEAK SENSORS, TO BE ABLE TO COLLECT DATA, TO STRENGTHEN AND OPTIMIZE WHAT WE'RE DOING, IF CATCHING THINGS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

AND THEN THE LAST ITEM I GOT LISTED THERE IS IT'LL HELP WITH DISTRICT METERED AREAS.

AND JUST A QUICK EXPLANATION OF THAT DISTRICT METERED AREAS IS, UM, A CONCEPT WITHIN THE WATER LOSS INDUSTRY OF COMPARTMENTALIZING, SMALLER PORTIONS OF A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

YOU MEASURE EVERYTHING GOING IN, EVERYTHING GOING OUT AND EVERYTHING CONSUMED.

AND THEN WHAT IT'S KIND OF LIKE WE DO WITH THE ILI ON THE FULL SYSTEM, BUT, BUT DOING IT ON US ON A SMALLER SCALE, VERY DIFFICULT TO DO IN A SYSTEM OF OUR SIZE AND AS INTERCONNECTED AS IT IS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN ADVANTAGE FROM FIRE FLOW PERSPECTIVE AND EVERYTHING TO HAVE A VERY CONNECTED SYSTEM, BUT IT DOES MAKE DISTRICT METERED AREAS MORE CHALLENGING.

THERE'S A THING CALLED VIRTUAL DMS, WHICH AMI WILL ALLOW US TO DO SO ONCE THAT'S IN PLACE, WE'LL BE LEVERAGING THAT AS ANOTHER WAY TO MANAGE OUR WATER LOSSES.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

AND THEN OF COURSE I, I'M SURE IT COMES TO MIND RIGHT AWAY.

TALKING ABOUT WATER LOSSES IS PROACTIVE DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF WATER BREAKS AND WATER LEAKS.

SO WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF CONTRACTS AT AUSTIN WATER.

ONE OF THEM IS MAN LAKE DETECTION COVERS ABOUT 500 TO 700 MILES OF OUR SYSTEM EACH YEAR.

SO FIVE OR SIX YEARS TO GET THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

AND WE GO BACK AGAIN, IT'S

[00:20:02]

WE'D BEEN DOING THAT CONTRACT.

AND SO WE'VE GOT THAT GOING EACH YEAR.

THE TECHNOLOGY BLESS YOU, THAT TECHNOLOGY FOR IDENTIFYING LEAKS ON S ON OUR TRANSMISSION, MAINS IS DIFFERENT.

THE TECHNOLOGY USE FOR THAT 500 TO 700 MILES, ISN'T GOING TO PICK UP THE SOUNDS ON OUR TRANSMISSION MAINS.

AND SO WE'VE GOT A SEPARATE CONTRACT WHERE WE'RE DOING IN THE AREA OF 10 MILES, A YEAR OF LEAK DETECTION IN FIVE TO 10 MILES OF CONDITION ASSESSMENT EACH YEAR.

THIS PICTURE TO THE RIGHT IS A PICTURE OF OUR, ONE OF THE CONDITION ASSESSMENT TOOLS THAT WE USE, UH, FROM OUR CONTRACTOR.

IT'S CALLED A PIPE DIVER, UH, IN THE, IN THE MIDDLE THERE IN THE ORANGE SHIRT IS KIRK OST, UH, LEADS THAT, UH, CONTRACT, UH, YOU CAN SEE HIM SMILING THERE.

IT'S KIND OF EXCITING WHEN YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THINGS LIKE THIS, AND IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK, BUT IT'S, IT'S VERY SATISFYING WHEN IT GETS DONE.

THESE SMILES, YOU CAN SEE BECAUSE THIS IS A PRE COVID PICTURE, JUST FOR A LITTLE ASTERIX THERE.

UM, AND I'LL TALK SOME MORE ABOUT THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT BEFORE I GO THERE, I WANT TO, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING.

YOU KNOW, WATER LOSS AS WATER IS, UH, IN GENERAL IN THE INDUSTRY, YOU KNOW, INCREASING IN VALUE AND CLEAN WATER BECOMES MORE SCARCE.

IT'S A REALLY DEVELOPING INDUSTRY.

AND SO WE'RE KEEPING OUR EYES ON THE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE A MEMBER OF A TECHNOLOGY ADVOCACY GROUP WHERE WE GET EXPOSED TO NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND GET OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO PILOT NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT, AND THIS IS REALLY TO LOOK AT OPTIMIZE WHAT WE'RE DOING FOR FINDING LAKES.

AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, UM, WE'RE IN COLLABORATION WITH UT THERE'S A PROFESSOR AT UT, UH, THAT'S DOING A STUDY, THEY'VE GOT, UH, ABOUT A DOZEN, UH, PRESSURE SENSORS OUT IN OUR SYSTEM, HIGH RATE PRESSURE SENSORS THAT CAN PICK UP ON, UH, TRANSIENT PRESSURE WAVES, AS WELL AS A FEW OF THOSE HAVE LEAK SENSORS.

AND SHE'S WORKING WITH HER GRADUATE STUDENTS AND ALL WORKING ON SOME ALGORITHMS FOR, UH, UH, LAKE PREDICTION AND HOW, WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO TO PREVENT SOME LAKES.

SO AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE DOING A GOOD JOB RELATED TO LEAK DETECTION, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT IMPROVING AND OPTIMIZING AS, AS THE INDUSTRY DEVELOPS.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UM, OKAY.

AND THIS, THIS IS SOMETHING I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IS A COUPLE OF REAL WINS THAT WE'VE HAD IN OUR CONDITION ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.

UH, THE LEFT TWO PICTURES IS OUR ULRIC HIGH SERVICE TRANSMISSION MAIN, UH, ALONG WILLIAM CANNON DRIVE, I'M SORRY, ALONG WEST GATE, JUST SOUTH OF WILLIAM CANNON RIGHT NEXT TO WEST GATE LANES.

UM, VERY IMPORTANT MAIN IN OUR SYSTEM.

UM, NOT NECESSARILY, IT DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE ANY INDICATIONS THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE LINE, BUT JUST VERY IMPORTANT LINE.

AND SO THAT TOOL YOU SAW ON THE LAST SLIDE, UH, WENT THROUGH THIS LINE FROM OUR ORRICK TREATMENT PLANT TO OUR DAVIS LANE RESERVOIR.

AND MOST OF THE LINE INDICATED TO BE FINE.

WHAT THAT TOOL DOES IS IT FINDS BROKEN WIRES ON OUR PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE CYLINDER PIPE.

AND THOSE WIRES ARE WHAT, UH, HOLD THE PIPE TOGETHER.

UM, AND MOST OF THE LINE WAS FINE, BUT IN THAT AREA, UH, JUST SOUTH OF WILLIAM CANNON FOUND A NUMBER OF PIPES, UM, THAT INDICATED THEY HAD QUITE A FEW WIRE BREAKS.

SO WE DUG THOSE, UH, THE PIPE UP.

AND, AND BECAUSE WE KNEW ABOUT IT AS OPPOSED TO AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE, WE WERE ABLE TO COORDINATE TRAFFIC CONTROL AND GET EVERYTHING SET UP, NOT DOWN THERE.

AND AS WE UNCOVERED THE PIPE, THAT PICTURE ON THE LEFT, I MEAN, THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHAT THE PIPE LOOKED LIKE WHEN WE UNCOVERED IT.

WE WEREN'T TEARING IT UP.

WE WEREN'T, UH, THE WIRES WERE, WERE ALREADY BROKEN AND, AND SHOWING THROUGH THAT PIPE WAS NOT FAR FROM, FROM HAVING A BAD FAILURE.

AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO AVOID THAT, AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF WATER LOSS.

IT WOULD GO FOR THAT, THE, THESE PCP PIPES, WHEN THEY BREAK, THEY DON'T LEAK A LITTLE AND THEN A LITTLE MORE, AND THEN A LITTLE MORE, THEY GO FROM ZERO TO 60 ALL AT ONCE.

UM, WHEN THEY COME APART, WHEN FINALLY THAT LAST WIRE BREAKS, IT CAN'T HOLD ANYMORE.

UH, IT BLOWS OUT.

SO THAT WAS A, UH, A REAL WIN THERE.

UH, WE WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THAT ISSUE WITHOUT OUR CONDITION ASSESSMENT PROGRAM.

THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT ARE A VERY SIMILAR SITUATION.

THAT'S OUR DAVIS HIGH SERVICE T2 TRANSMISSION MAIN RUNS ALONG MOPAC.

UH, THIS IS A PARKING LOT, UH, NEAR 22, 22, AGAIN, AN IMPORTANT LINE, BUT DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE INDICATIONS OF PROBLEMS. WE DID THE SURVEY AND THIS PIECE OF PIPE, ONE PIECE OF PIPE INDICATED IT HAD 30 WIRE BREAKS IN ONE SECTION AND 10 WIRE BREAKS IN ANOTHER, AND WE DUG IT UP AND SURE ENOUGH, UH, WIRES WERE BREAKING AS, AS WE WERE STANDING THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, TAKING THE LOAD OFF OF IT.

AND THEN THE ADJACENT PIPES, WE UNCOVERED THE ADJACENT PIPES AND THEY WERE OKAY.

UM, THIS, THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN REALLY BAD IF THIS WOULD COME APART.

I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MOPAC, FRONTAGE, MAYBE MOPAC A PARKING LOT, OR WHERE PEOPLE ARE PARKING AND EVERYTHING.

AND SO THESE ARE TWO, UH, I THINK REALLY GOOD EXAMPLES OF WHERE OUR PROACTIVE

[00:25:01]

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, UM, ALL IN ALL THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NEXT? UM, CLEARLY WE'RE GOING TO COMPLETE OUR ACTION ITEMS, UH, FROM THE, UH, PRODUCTION METER VALIDATION PROJECT.

I WILL CONTINUE WORKING ON THAT, UH, AND, AND GET THAT DONE AS SOON AS WE CAN.

AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE OUR BEST PRACTICES ON WATER LOSS.

OUR RE OUR RESPONDING QUICKLY ARE DOING THE, UH, THE PROACTIVE LEAK DETECTION CONTINUE, ARE INVESTING IN REPLACING, UH, THE WORST PIPES.

AND OF COURSE, AS I MENTIONED, LEVERAGING AMI, UH, UH, AS, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

AND THEN, UH, WE'RE JUST BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF PUTTING TOGETHER A SCOPE OF WORK TO ENGAGE A WATER LOSS EXPERT CONSULTANT, TO REVIEW WHAT WE'RE DOING.

I THINK THERE'S SOME VALUE OF, YOU KNOW, GETTING SOME OUTSIDE EYES TO LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING AND, UH, MAKING SURE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS AND, AND HELPING US AGAIN, OPTIMIZE OUR APPROACH, UH, TO MINIMIZE THE WATER LOSSES THAT WE HAVE.

SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATION, BUT I'D BE HAPPY TO FIELD ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

UM, MATT WHAT'S, UH, AND THIS WAS A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION, UM, BUT WHAT'S KIND OF PUZZLING ME.

THE REAL QUESTION IS THESE SLIDES, THE CHO IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, WATER LOSS INDICATORS ARE GOING UP.

YOU HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THAT.

SO ARE YOU SPEAKING OF THE, UH, THE BLUE LINE IN PARTICULAR, THAT ONE RIGHT THERE.

SO AS OPPOSED TO THE ILI, THE BREAKS PER MILE PER A HUNDRED MILES? YES.

SO THE 2017 AND 2018, I LOOKED BACK AT THOSE AND, UH, BE HONEST, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHICH ONE WAS 17, WHICH ONE WAS 18, BUT ONE, WAS IT JANUARY 19 TO 2020, IT'S GOING UP A LOT.

AND I GUESS, IS THERE SOME SPECIFIC REASON FOR THIS RECENT UPTICK? THAT'S REALLY THE REASON WE HAVE THIS PRESENTATION.

YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE ILI THEN.

UM, SO KNOW THAT THAT'S ESSENTIALLY WHAT IT WAS TRYING TO PRESENT THIS EVENING IS THAT OUR OTHER PERFORMANCE MEASURES DON'T INDICATE THE SAME THING THAT THE ILI ISN'T INDICATING.

UH, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR PRODUCTION METERS, BECAUSE I THINK WE NEED, OKAY, SO TYPE TESTING, THAT'S THE PROBLEM? THE PRODUCTION MEANS SUGGESTING THAT'S LIKELY THE PROBLEM.

YES.

MAYBE THAT'S THE PROBLEM.

I'M THINKING IT'S, THAT'S LIKELY THE PROBLEM.

WHEN DID YOU START STUDYING PRODUCTION? SO YOU HAVE THIS CONTRACT, THIS STUDY WITH THE 38.

WHEN DID YOU START THAT? THAT'S BEEN ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF PROCESS THAT WE'VE GOT, SO A YEAR AND A HALF AGO, YOU RECOGNIZED THIS PROBLEM IS THAT I'M GOING TO HIRE SOMEBODY TO LOOK AT ALL THOSE PRODUCTIVITY.

I RECOGNIZE IT AS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM.

YES.

AND LIKE I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, UH, WHICHEVER YEAR THAT WAS, I WENT TO DENVER FOR A CONFERENCE, UH, AND HEARD A NUMBER OF OTHER UTILITIES TALKING ABOUT YOU'VE GOT TO BE ACCURATE ON YOUR PRODUCTION METERS.

UM, I THINK, AND THIS IS JUST ME SPEAKING.

I THINK THE HISTORY HAS BEEN THAT LEADERS AT PLANTS, THERE WAS A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ACCURACY AND PRECISION NEEDED OPERATE A PLANT.

THE PRECISION YOU HAVE TO HAVE FOR THESE WATER LOSS CALCULATIONS IS HIGHER.

YOU'VE GOT TO, IT'S GOTTA BE MORE PRECISE.

AND I THINK, I MEAN, IN TALKING TO SAN ANTONIO AND TALKING TO FORT WORTH, THEY RUN INTO SIMILAR, UH, SIMILAR ISSUES.

AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I CAN TELL YOU THE PRODUCTION AND THE INITIAL RESULTS YOU'RE GETTING, ARE THE METERS READING HIGHER, LOW, THEY'RE BOTH FAIRLY 50, 50 BOTH, OR WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE, THE DATA ISN'T THAT EXACT.

SO I CAN'T GIVE YOU THE ANSWER ON THAT.

ALL I'LL SAY IT'S ALL RIGHT.

UH, THE POLYBUTYLENE SERVICES, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE GIVEN THE LEAD SERVICE THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE SUBSTANTIAL, WE DON'T KNOW THAT YET.

UH, SECONDLY, THE GALVANIZE SERVICE ISSUE, WHICH MAY BE SUBSTANTIAL OR AN APP, YOU DON'T KNOW THAT, AND NOW HOW BUTYLENE BILLING SERVICES, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT ALL THESE SERVICES

[00:30:01]

AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, BUT I'M JUST SAYING, IF YOU'RE GOING TO MESS WITH THE SERVICES, YOU MAY AS WELL DO A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM ON JUST A SUGGESTION.

UM, GOING BACK TO THESE FRIGHTENING PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PRE-STRESSED CONCRETE CYLINDER PIPE, UH, WHAT WAS THE EXPLANATION FOR THAT? SO THE OUTER CODY FAILED AND THE WIRES POP WELL, THE, THE, EH, IN ALL LIKELIHOOD IN THESE SITUATIONS, IT'S THE WIRE FAILURE AND THE RUSTING OF THE WIRES THAT THEN LEADS TO THE, TO THE CODING FAILURE.

THAT BEING SAID, OUR, OUR INDICATIONS ARE ON THE LINE ALONG MOPAC AS THAT IT WAS PROBABLY IMPACTED DURING INSTALLATION, SUCH THAT, LIKE YOU SAID, THE CODING WAS DAMAGED SO THAT THERE WAS WIRE WITHOUT THE PROTECTION ON IT.

UM, THE ONE ALONG WEST GATE, UH, I MEAN, WE DID, UH, HAD OUR CONTRACTOR, OUR CONSULTANT DO THE FORENSIC ANALYSIS.

AND, UM, IT WAS KIND OF INCONCLUSIVE AS TO WHETHER IT WAS A MANUFACTURING ISSUE OF THESE FEW JOINTS, UM, OR SOMETHING ALONG THAT LINE, BUT NOT AN INDICATION OF NECESSARILY DAMAGED DURING INSTALLATION, UM, OR, OR WHAT EXACTLY CAUSED THAT ISSUE.

ONE OF THOSE POPS LOOSE, YOU GOT A FULL STEEL DISASTER.

UM, I MIGHT'VE EXPERIENCED THAT A COUPLE OF TIMES.

I AGREE.

DID YOU MAKE ANY EFFORT TO GET OUR MONEY BACK FROM THE PIPE AFTER THE CONTRACTOR PUT THOSE LINES IN? NO.

NO.

THESE WERE BOTH.

UH, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT MID, EARLY EIGHTIES INSTALLATION, UH, PROJECTS, HE'S STILL ASKING ME, I KNOW THE CONTRACTOR THAT WAS PUTTING IN THE LINE ON, UH, WESTGATE WENT OUT OF BUSINESS.

AND DURING THE MIDDLE OF PUTTING THAT PIPE IN AND UTILITY HAD TO HIRE ANOTHER CONTRACTOR TO PICK IT UP AND FINISH IT.

NO, BUT IT WAS A ROUGH TIME IN THE MID EIGHTIES.

IF YOU'RE SEEING THESE KINDS OF DEFECTS IN THESE MAJOR TRANSMISSION NAME AND THAT LITTLE, UH, DEVICE, THE GUYS ARE STANDING AROUND, THAT'S HOW YOU FIND ALL THESE THINGS.

YES.

I'D BE RUNNING THAT THROUGH EVERY LINE IN THE HERD.

IF THIS IS ANY INDICATION OF WHAT YOU GOT GOING ON WITH THESE PRE-STRESSED TOPICS BY FAILING LIKE THAT.

YIKES.

IT IS, IT IS A LOW PERCENTAGE OF THE PIPES.

MOST OF THE PIPES, WE, THESE LINES WERE FIVE, SIX MILES LONG, AND WE FOUND A COUPLE OF BAD, BUT NO, I AGREE.

UM, AND WE ARE, YOU KNOW, YEAR TO YEAR, UH, UTILIZING OUR CONTRACT TO GET AS MANY OF THESE LINES INSPECTED AS WE CAN.

AND THERE, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT MONEY AND INVESTMENT, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL RESOURCE INVESTMENT.

IT'S NOT LIKE THE LEAK DETECTION WHERE, YOU KNOW, SET OUT SOME LOGGERS AND THEY JUST LISTEN THAT GOES INTO THE PIPE AND YOU HAVE TO CATCH IT AND YOU HAVE TO OPERATE VALVES AND ALL OF THAT.

SO NOW I AGREE WITH YOU.

I I'D LIKE TO, TO CAPTURE ALL OF THESE AND WE'RE WORKING IN THAT AREA.

MY LAST QUESTION, THE METER, THE 38 METERS STUDY, WHEN IS THAT DONE, UH, WHERE I'LL BE GETTING THE FINAL REPORT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS AND THEN OPENING WITHOUT TAKING YOUR TIME TO MAKE A FULL PRESENTATION, DISTRIBUTE THAT REPORT TO US EXHIBIT IT'S.

OKAY.

IF WE CAN SHARE THAT AS LONG AS THERE'S NO DETAIL INFRASTRUCTURE, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FAILS IN IT.

YEAH.

I THINK I'M GOING TO BE FINE THAT A TERRORIST COULD USE THAT.

OKAY.

THANKS.

UH, PERMISSION.

UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE, UH, TO THE ILI CHART AND THEN THE OTHER CHART WITH THE, UH, WITH THE LEAKS PER A HUNDRED MILES OF MAIN, UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU PREFER THE LEAKS PER A HUNDRED MILES CHART, CORRECT? OH, WELL, THEY, THEY MEASURE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, RIGHT.

SO WE'VE GOT THE ILI ON MIXED WITH THE LAKES PER A HUNDRED MILES ON THAT, ON THE ONE CHART.

SO MAYBE I PREFER THAT BECAUSE IT CAN TELL BOTH STORIES, BUT FAIR ENOUGH.

UH, SO THE, THE LEAKS FOR A HUNDRED MILES THAT DOESN'T REALLY MEASURE THE MAGNITUDE OF THE LEAK, RIGHT.

IT'S JUST, THIS IS LEAK ONE THAT COULD BE AWFUL.

AND THEN THE OTHER LEAK COULD BE NEGLIGIBLE.

RIGHT.

OKAY.

UM, IS THERE ANY INDICATION, I MEAN, IS THERE ANY WAY TO GAUGE THAT? IS THERE ANY SORT OF MEASURE FROM, FROM AUSTIN WATER AS TO THE SEVERITY OF, OF LEAKS? YES.

I MEAN, THAT'S TRACKED IN OUR, IN OUR WORK ORDER SYSTEM AND WE TRACK WATER LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH ONE OF THE WORK ORDERS FOR REPAIRS.

UM, IT IS PART SCIENCE, PART ART AND ESTIMATING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S THERE, THERE'S NOT A METER ON A LEAK, UH, BUT WE DID TRACK THAT AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS BEING AWARE OF MAJOR LEAKS OR, OR, OR, YOU KNOW, DID WE HAVE A WHOLE BUNCH OF MAJOR LEAKS ONE YEAR VERSUS ANOTHER? I, I

[00:35:01]

OKAY.

I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT DETAILS, BUT, UH, I WOULD THINK 80 TO 90% OF OUR LEAKS ARE ON SMALL DIAMETER MEANS.

AND WHAT, WHAT IS, I THINK THE CHALLENGE SOMETIMES WITH WATER LOSS, PARTICULARLY ON TRANSMISSION MAINS, LEAKS THAT COME TO THE SURFACE THAT YOU SEE AND, YOU KNOW, TO REPAIR ARE EASY.

CAUSE YOU SEE THEM, IT'S THE ONES THAT ARE LEAKING THAT YOU DON'T KNOW.

AND THE WAY OUR GEOLOGY IS WITH LIMESTONE, SOME LEAKS CAN JUST ESCAPE AWAY AND YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T KNOW THEY'RE HAPPENING.

AND THAT'S WHERE I THINK THE PROACTIVE PROGRAMS WHERE WE'RE LISTENING FOR LEAKS OR USING THESE OTHER TECHNOLOGIES TO TRY TO UNCOVER THEM WHEN THEY'RE NOT COMING TO THE SURFACE.

I MEAN, WE'VE EVEN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE EVALUATIONS OF ARE POTENTIAL LEAKS UNDER, UNDER THE LAKE THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, NOT SERVICE WE'VE BEEN CHECKING THOSE KINDS OF, UH, KIND OF, UH, UH, POTENTIALS, UH, ALSO, UH, FOR, FOR 2021, DEFINITELY FOR THE ILI, I IMAGINE BECAUSE OF SNOW VID AND ALL THE FREEZING PIPES, ET CETERA, WE PROBABLY WENT ABOVE THE, THE THRESHOLD.

I THINK WE PROBABLY HAD ANOTHER YEAR WHERE THE ILI, UH, WENT UP, I IMAGINE THIS YEAR.

AND IT'S AN ESTIMATE I ASSUME.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

WELL, YEAH, IT'S A PARTICULARLY WITHOUT HAVING AMI IN PLACE, ALL THE DATA TO CALCULATE THE ILI IS ON A YEARLY BASIS.

SO WE DON'T HAVE THIS YEAR'S DATA, UH, DONE YET.

UM, CERTAINLY WE ALL SAW THERE WERE SOME WATER LOSS, BUT THROUGH OUR ROUGH ESTIMATIONS, THERE SHOULD BE SOME IMPACT, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT GOING TO SEND THE ILI OFF THE PAGE OR, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

UM, BUT YEAH, THE PRELIMINARY END OF THE YEAR NUMBERS.

OKAY.

UH, AND THEN I GUESS MY LAST QUESTION IS, UH, I MEAN, AS YOU SAID, UH, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, SURFACE LEVEL LEAKS ARE A LOT EASIER.

UH, THE THREE-HOUR RESPONSE TIME IS PRETTY GOOD.

UH, AT LEAST WHAT I'VE NOTICED PERSONALLY AROUND THE CITY IS THAT SOMETIMES THE LEAKS, I IMAGINE THEY JUST GO UNREPORTED.

IS THERE ANY SORT OF INITIATIVE TO GET PEOPLE TO REPORT LEAKS A LITTLE MORE ACTIVELY, OR IF THE FEEL ENCOURAGED TO REPORT THE LEAKS SO THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THE THREE HOURS STARTS FROM WHEN IT'S REPORTED, RIGHT.

AND THEN IT GOES OUT FROM THERE.

IS THERE ANY INITIATIVE TO KIND OF REDUCE THE TIME FROM BEFORE IT'S REPORTED? YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE OF THINGS, AND THEN I MIGHT HAVE GREG ADD ON, UH, WE DO HAVE ON OUR UTILITY HOMEPAGE, A, A LEAK MAP, UM, AND TO WHERE, UH, PUBLIC CAN SEE WHERE, WHERE WE HAVE LEAKS AND IT ENCOURAGES THEM TO REPORT IF THEY SEE A LEAK, UM, THAT'S FROM THAT END, I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE QUITE A FEW SPRINGS AROUND TOWN AND WE DO RESPOND TO A LOT OF PLACES WHERE LEAKS ARE REPORTED.

AND THEN IT'S NOT A LEAK IT'S I GREW UP IN SOUTH BOSTON AND A NEIGHBOR DOWN THE ROAD, HAD A FISH POND IN THE BACKYARD BUILT IN BECAUSE I HAD SURFING AND THEN THEY RAN A HOSE OUT TO THE FRONT YARD AND IT RAN DOWN THE STREET.

AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN APPEAR TO BE ELITE.

AND WE LOOK INTO MULTIPLE TIMES AND, AND DOESN'T, UH, UM, END UP BEING, SO THEY'LL JUST SAY THOSE TWO THINGS, I DON'T KNOW.

YEAH.

IN TERMS OF REPORTING, I MEAN, THERE'S TRADITIONAL METHODS WHERE PEOPLE CAN CALL OUR DISPATCH CENTER, THEY CAN CALL 3, 1, 1, BUT ALSO AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THE WINTER STORM, WE'VE BEEN DEPLOYING OTHER WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO REPORT.

SO NOW WE HAVE AN ONLINE PORTAL IT'S KIND OF ASYNCHRONOUS.

YOU CAN JUST GO TO THE WEB AND TYPE IN WHAT YOU'RE SEEING AT OUR WEBSITE AND WE'LL FOLLOW UP AND DO INVESTIGATIONS.

SO, UH, SO THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A DIVERSITY OF WAYS WE'RE TRYING TO, TO GET PEOPLE TO NOT ONLY REPORT, BUT KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN REPORTED.

AND, UH, AND THAT, THAT IT'S UNDER, UNDER THE PEAR.

ALL RIGHT.

THAT'S IT FOR ME.

THANK YOU.

OKAY.

LET'S SHARE KIDS UP THERE.

UM, I COMMEND YOU FOR ALL THE PROACTIVE, UM, EFFORTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, BEFORE SOMETHING CATASTROPHIC HAPPENS, UM, ON THE WATER LOSS, UH, THE ILI FOR THE WINTER STORM, CERTAINLY WE'RE NOT GOING TO USE, WE'RE GOING TO, I WOULD THINK IT WOULD BE DECEPTIVE TO USE, TO, TO NOT LOOK AT, UM, BECAUSE I THINK TO ME THAT THAT REPRESENTS, YOU KNOW, YOUR WATER LOSS OF THE SYSTEM, THE LEAKINESS OF THE SYSTEM UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, THAT WAS NOT NORMAL CONDITIONS.

UM, A LOT OF THINGS HAPPEN.

UM, HOW ARE, HOW ARE WE GOING TO GO ABOUT, I MEAN, HAVE YOU ALREADY KIND OF THOUGHT THROUGH HOW YOU'RE GOING TO HANDLE THAT? THE EXECUTIVE TEAM THOUGHT ABOUT THAT? NO, WE HAVEN'T.

HAVEN'T PUZZLED THAT ALL OUT, AS MATT SAID, IT'S A, IT'S AN ANNUAL REPORT.

SO W W WE'LL DO THAT AT THE END OF THE, OF THE, OF THE YEAR, BUT I THINK YOUR POINT'S WELL TAKEN.

THERE MIGHT NEED TO BE KIND OF A NORMALIZATION OF, OF THAT DATA.

UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD YOU SUBMIT IT IT'S REQUIRED TO SUBMIT ANNUAL TO THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD.

THEY HAVE NOT ISSUED ANY INSTRUCTIONS THAT I'M AWARE OF TO DO, YOU KNOW, AN ADAPTIVE KIND OF PROCESS.

SO WHAT WE'LL, WE'LL I THINK PUZZLE THAT OUT, AT LEAST AT A MINIMUM COMMISSIONER PUT AN ASTERIX BY THAT DATA, RIGHT.

[00:40:01]

ALTHOUGH THERE WERE A LOT OF BREAKS AND A LOT OF PRIVATE INFRASTRUCTURE DISRUPTIONS.

I MEAN, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, WE'LL SEE THAT BIG PICTURE AS WE GET THAT WHOLE YEAR'S WORTH OF DATA, BUT, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY HIGHLY ANOMALOUS EVENT.

I THINK IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE, UM, WHAT IT WOULD BE IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT WITH IT, WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TO TAKE THAT SECTION OUT AS WELL.

UM, SO THAT YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF REALLY OVERALL HOW, HOW REALLY LEAKY IS.

YEAH.

THAT IS NOT MASKING OUT SOME TREND BECAUSE OF THE, OF THE WEIRDEST.

YES.

OKAY.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

GOT IT.

ALL QUESTION OR STUFF.

IF NOT, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU.

WE WILL MOVE BACK

[A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

AND WITH WATER COMMISSION RIGOR MEETING, WE SHOULD ALSO GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE MINUTES.

IS THERE A EMOTION OR ANY CONDITIONS THAT NEED TO BE DONE? CAN WE APPROVE THE MINUTES? MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER MICHELLE AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER AND ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

OKAY.

SHOWING MICHELLE AND THE .

WELL, FOUR YEARS.

THANK YOU.

AND, UH, MY CHAIR ABSTAINED ON IT.

OKAY.

LET'S MOVE.

I MOVE TO ITEM B

[B. ITEMS FOR COMMISSION’S REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION FOR APPROVAL TO CITY COUNCIL]

IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS AND THE ISSUE WE'VE GOT TO RECUSE RECUSALS, PLEASE STATE THE REASON FOR YOUR MCU SOLE.

AND WE'LL START WITH COMMISSIONER MORIARTY.

UH, NO RECUSALS QUESTION THAT I HAVE SIX.

THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER PAM, NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSAL.

MICHELLE.

MICHELLE, NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSAL.

AND I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION OR A CUE.

SO VICE CHAIR, CASTLEBERRY.

NO QUESTIONS NOW.

COMMISSIONER.

NO QUESTIONS.

NO EXCUSALS THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS. NO QUESTIONS.

OKAY.

SO NOT KIND OF SCENT ITEMS OR ITEM B 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, AND EIGHT MICROWAVE, THEIR EMOTION CHAIR AND MOVE TO APPROVE CONSENT.

WHAT WAS YOUR ROOMMATE? MY COMMISSIONER WAS SHELL SECOND BY VICE CHAIR, CASTLEBERRY.

OH, IN WEBER, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SHOW YOU APPROVE AND EMISSARY.

OKAY.

NOW LET'S MOVE BACK TO ICELAND.

[B6. Recommend approval to award and execute a construction contract with Insituform Technologies, LLC, for the In-Situ Wastewater Line Renewal Program (2022-2024) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract in the amount of $1,350,000 for an initial 1-year term, with two 1-year extension options of $1,350,000, for a total contract amount not to exceed $4,050,000.]

A CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT, WHICH IS TO FORM TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, OR THE INSTITUTE WEST WATER RIDE.

WE KNEW WHAT PROGRAM 21 KEY TWO TO 2024 IN INDEFINITELY.

THE QUANTITY COUNTRY IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,350,000 OR IN INITIAL ONE YEAR TERM WITH TWO, ONE YEAR EXTENSION OPTIONS OF 1 MILLION, $357 FOR A TOTAL CONTRACT AMOUNT, NOT TO EXCEED FOUR MEDIAN, $57 COMMISSION THE MORNING.

CAN YOU ALSO MOVE IT A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE ONE BIDDER QUESTION? YUP.

THERE YOU GO.

UH, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

UM, SHANE LAWS SEND AN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES.

UM, YES, THIS CONTRACT ONLY HAD ONE, ONE BIDDER.

UH, IT'S A VERY SPECIALIZED TYPE OF WORK.

UM, THERE ARE ONLY, UH, A COUPLE OF BITTERS IT'S VERY COMMON TO ONLY GET ONE BETTER FOR THIS TYPE OF WORK.

HOW MANY COMPANIES OFFER THIS SERVICE FOR YOUR KNOWLEDGE? UH, TAR KNOWLEDGE, UM, TWO TO TWO TO THREE, AND OUR REGION DID THE AUSTIN WATER UTILITY MAKE AN EFFORT TO CONTACT

[00:45:01]

UM, THE, WE ADVERTISE THE CONTRACT IN THIS IN THE WAY WE USUALLY DO ON CCO, UH, WITH, UM, CAPITAL CONTRACTING OFFICE, THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT, WE HAD TWO BETTERS, BUT THE SECOND BETTER WAS NON-RESPONSIVE.

SO THE, THESE COMPANIES DO KNOW THAT WE'RE DOING THIS WORK AND THAT THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BID ON IT.

SO WHY DO YOU THINK THEY DON'T BID? I COULDN'T HAZARD A GUESS.

UM, HAS THE AUSTIN WATER DEPARTMENT CONSIDERING CONDUCTING A SURVEY AFTER THE BID WITH THE AVAILABLE CONTRACTORS, WITH THE AVAILABLE EXPERTISE TO ASK THEM THAT QUESTION? I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR THE CAPITAL CONTRACTING OFFICE.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE CITY NORMALLY DOES WHEN YOU GET ONE BIT GARRETT COX CORPORATE CONTRACTING OFFICE? SO WHAT WE, WHAT WE NORMALLY DO, IF WE, IF WE GET ONE BIT, UH, WE GO BACK TO THE WHO ATTENDED THE PRE-BID AND WE LOOK AT ALL THE PRIDE BITTERS THAT ATTENDED THE PREBATE AND WE'LL CONTACT THEM AND TRY TO FIND OUT WHY THEY DIDN'T DID IN THIS CASE.

WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY BITTER SHOW UP AT THE PREBATE.

IT WAS A NON MANDATORY PRE-BID.

SO WE HAD NO BITTER SHOW UP AT THE, AT THE PRE-BID.