[00:00:02]
[CALL TO ORDER]
THANK YOU.HOPE EVERYONE'S HAVING A GREAT DAY SO FAR.
OUR FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
I WILL CALL THIS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO ORDER AT EXACTLY 1:36 PM.
AND WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS, POOL AND CUSTOMER ELLIS, JOINING US AS WELL AS THE MAYOR PRO TEM ALTAR.
I THINK YOU OFFER FOR BEING HERE AS MY UNDERSTANDING FROM STAFF THAT WE DO NOT HAVE ANYONE HERE FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
[1. Approve the minutes of the March 31, 2022 special called meeting of the Austin Water Oversight Committee.]
UH, SO THE NEXT ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 31ST, 2022 SPECIAL CALLED MEETING.IS THERE A MOTION FOR APPROVAL MAYOR PRO TEM MOTIONS SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR LIVERPOOL, ANY DISCUSSION, ALL IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS APPROVAL ON THE MINUTES NEXT WE WILL HAVE, AND COLLEAGUES WE'RE GOING TO SAVE THE WINTER STORM URI AFTER ACTION REVIEW
[3. Austin Water’s Service Extension Request Program.]
TO THE END.SO THE NEXT ITEM I'M GOING TO CALL UP IS THE BRIEFING ON THE AUSTIN WATER SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS PROGRAM, S E R.
THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT, UM, I, MYSELF AS A NEWER COUNCIL MEMBER WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT.
CERTAINLY WE'VE GOTTEN SEVERAL SCR REQUESTS ON OUR COUNCIL AGENDAS THROUGHOUT THE PAST.
SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREAT FOR US AS A WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE POLICY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SCRS AND TO HEAR FROM STAFF.
GOOD AFTERNOON, SHERIFF WINTERS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS KEVIN CRITTENDON I'M ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH AUSTIN WATER.
I'M OVER OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES PROGRAM AREA.
HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON, TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR SCR PROCESS.
UM, REALLY JUST BY WAY OF OVERVIEW.
OUR STR PROCESS IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR OVERALL UTILITY PLANNING EFFORTS ACROSS THE UTILITY.
UM, IT'S SIMPLY A KEY PLANNING TOOL THAT WE USE TO KIND OF INCORPORATE A NUMBER OF OUR DIFFERENT, UH, PLANNING THROUGHOUT THE UTILITY.
UM, YOU CAN IMAGINE PLANNING FOR UTILITY OF OUR SIZE INVOLVES A LOT OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF PLANNING THAT RANGE FROM OUR VERY LONG RANGE AND STRATEGIC PLANNING, SUCH AS WATER FORWARD, WHICH IS A A HUNDRED YEAR WATER SUPPLY PLAN.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE OUR LONG RANGE UTILITY PLANNING, WHICH IS MORE OF A 30 TO 50 YEAR PLANNING INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, GUIDE, UM, THAT IS, UH, KIND OF FEEDS INTO OUR CAPITAL R CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WHICH IS A MORE OF A FIVE AND 10 YEAR LOOK AT CAPITAL NEEDS FOR OUR UTILITY.
UM, ULTIMATELY WE USE THE SCR PROCESS AS A TOOL TO TRY TO LINK MORE NEAR TERM NEEDS THROUGH THAT WHOLE PLANNING CYCLE.
IT'S BASICALLY HOW WE ASSURE THAT, UM, ONGOING OR KIND OF NEAR TERM NEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
UM, WE'RE ABLE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS IN A WAY THAT COMPLIES WITH ALL OF THE CITY CODES AND ORDINANCES CAN BE DONE IN AN EQUITABLE AND TRANSPARENT WAY.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STR PROCESS AND KIND OF TRY TO LINK THAT BACK TO A VARIETY OF, OF UTILITY CODE DIRECTIVES THAT WE USE TO MANAGE OUR PROCESS.
UM, WITH ME HERE THIS AFTERNOON, THERE'S SWEAT UPON DURANGO.
SHE IS PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER AND OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER OUR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION ON THAT AREA IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF THE INTEGRATION AND OUTREACH WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, UM, IN THE, THE DIVISION COMPLETELY THERE'S OUR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST PROGRAM.
THERE'S ALSO OUR UTILITY PLAN REVIEW PROCESS, UH, ONSITE WATER REUSE, AND A WHOLESALE CUSTOMER, UH, UH, CONTRACTS AND OUR WHOLESALE DISTRICTS PROGRAMS. SO THAT'S KIND OF THE OVERVIEW SWETA, WE'LL KIND OF TALK THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF AN IDEA OF WORKFLOW, SOME OF THE CRITERIA ASSOCIATED WITH EVALUATING SCRS AND KIND OF HOW IT ALL KIND OF BLENDS TOGETHER.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO SWETA SHE'LL GO THROUGH AND THEN WE'LL BE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COUNCIL.
I'M THE BUSINESS STRATEGY MANAGER FOR AUSTIN WATER AND MY DIVISION OVERSEES, UH, LAND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES FOR AUSTIN.
IN OUR AGENDA TODAY, WE WILL GO OVER SOME HIGH-LEVEL PROGRAM INFORMATION ABOUT SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS OR SCRS.
WE LOOK AT WHAT IS AN SCR? WHEN IS IT TRIGGERED? WHAT DOES THE PURPOSE OF AN SCR? WE LOOK AT FACTORS THAT ARE CONSIDERED PRIOR TO ISSUING AN SCR.
WE'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT OF DETAILS ABOUT HOW THE WORKFLOW AND THE APPROVAL PROCESS WORKS.
WE LOOK AT OVERSIZING AND COST PARTICIPATION, AND I'LL CONCLUDE THE PRESENTATION WITH SOME HIGH-LEVEL PROGRAM STATISTICS.
SO THIS EXHIBIT HERE REPRESENTS IN A VERY SIMPLISTIC MANNER.
[00:05:01]
AUSTIN WATER SERVICE AREA.THE SERVICE AREA IS COTERMINOUS WITH CITY COUNCIL APPROVED IMPACT FEED BOUNDARY, AUSTIN WA SO THE RED OUTLINE ON THIS MAP IS THE IMPACT FEE BOUNDARY.
AUSTIN WATER MUST PROVIDE SERVICE WITHIN THE CITY'S FULL PURPOSE TO DISTINCTIONS AND THE SERVICE AREA.
SO THAT IS REPRESENTED BY THE YELLOW BOUNDARY ON THIS MAP.
ANYTHING OUTSIDE THE YELLOW CONSISTS OF THE LIMITED FULL PURPOSE, THE TWO MILE AND THE FIVE MILE ETJ AUSTIN WATER MAY CHOOSE TO PROVIDE SERVICE IN THE BLUE AREAS OR RELEASE IT FROM ITS SERVICE AREA FOR ANOTHER UTILITY PROVIDER TO PROVIDE SERVICE.
THE DECISION TO PROVIDE SERVICE IS PRIMARILY DEPENDENT ON OVERALL MUNICIPAL PLANNING AND UTILITY IMPERATIVES.
AUSTIN WATER CANNOT ACCEPT APPLICATIONS OUTSIDE THE RED IMPACT FEED.
SO IN THIS SLIDE, WE REALLY LOOK AT WHAT IS AN SCR AND WHAT DOES IT REALLY DO SCRS EXIST IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE CITY'S WATER WASTEWATER AND RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEMS HAVE ADEQUATE CAPACITY FOR NEW PROJECTS FURTHER, THEY ENSURE THAT PROPOSED EXTENSIONS OF THE UTILITY SYSTEM MEET BOTH THE CITY AND AUSTIN WATERS, INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING, GOALS, SCRS EVALUATE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THE REQUESTED LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR A PROJECT.
THIS COULD BE IN THE FORM OF BRAND NEW EXTENSIONS, OR THEY COULD BE UPGRADES TO THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
THE KEY THAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE IS THAT A CRS ARE SPECIFIC TO A PROJECT USE SIZE AND UTILITY DEMANDS.
SO THEY ARE NOT FOR A SUBJECT TRACT.
THEY'RE VERY, VERY, SO IT'S NOT A BLANKET APPROVAL FOR A SUBJECT TRACT.
IT'S VERY SPECIFIC TO A PROJECT.
UM, SCRS ALSO SOLVE AS A FEASIBILITY TOOL PRIOR TO ANY FORMAL DESIGN PLANS IN ORDER TO JUST GET A SENSE OF WHAT KIND OF COSTS, WHAT KIND OF CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS THAT WILL BE, UH, BASED ON THE PROJECT.
LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE 25 DASH NINE GALLONS.
THE SCR PROCESS SECTION CHAPTER 25 DASH NINE FOR WATER WASTEWATER SYSTEMS, UH, PROCEDURALLY SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS ARE REQUIRED.
IF ANY OF THESE THREE CONDITIONS ARE MET.
SO IT'S AN ART AND NOT AN END.
SO WHEN AN EXISTING SYSTEM IS GREATER THAN 100 LINEAR FEET FROM THE PROPERTY AND SCR IS NEEDED, IF THE EXISTING SYSTEM IS NOT SUITABLE OR SUFFICIENT TO MEET THE PROJECT NEEDS SUITABLE INSUFFICIENT ESSENTIALLY MEANS THAT THE EXISTING SYSTEM ADD THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT CAN MEET THE PROJECT DEMANDS AND THAT IT MEETS THE UTILITY CRITERIA, MANUALS, MINIMUM SIZING AND CAPACITY REQUIREMENTS.
AND FINALLY, WHEN THERE'S A CONNECTION PROPOSED TO AN EXISTING WATER TRANSMISSION OR A WASTEWATER INTERCEPTOR LINE.
SO WHAT OUR TRANSMISSION IS TYPICALLY 24 INCHES AND LARGER WATER MAINS AND WASTEWATER INTERCEPTORS ARE 18 INCHES AND LARGER.
SO IN ANY OF THESE THREE CONDITIONS ARE MET AS SERVICE EXTENSION IS TRIGGERED BY CODE.
SO THIS EXTENSION REQUESTS ALSO PRE-SEED ANY KIND OF FORMAL DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION, SUCH AS CONCEPT SITE PLANS, PRELIMINARY PLANS, PLATS SITES, AND SUBDIVISION PLANS.
SO IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT WHAT ARE SOME FACTORS THAT ARE CONSIDERED PRIOR TO ISSUING AN SCR.
I WANT TO START OFF BY SAYING THAT SCRS PROMOTE ORDERLY AND EQUITABLE EXPANSION OF AUSTIN MODEL'S INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM IN THE, IN ORDER TO PROCESS AN SCR.
IT INITIALLY THERE'S AN INITIAL PHASE CALLED THE SCR COMPLETENESS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS.
THE ADMINISTER ADMINISTRATIVE APPROVAL PROCESS LOOKS AT, UH, THINGS LIKE, UH, FEES ARE PAID.
IF THE APPLICATION IS COMPLETE AND ANY PROJECT SPECIFIC INFORMATION IS PROVIDED, THE PROJECT SPECIFIC INFORMATION WILL NEED TO BE ENGINEERED STAMPED, AND IT CAN INCLUDE CONCEPTUAL SKETCHES DRAWINGS, ANY PRELIMINARY PLANS THAT CAN HELP STAFF PERFORM A MORE DETAILED TECHNICAL REVIEW.
ONCE THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS IS DEEMED COMPLETE, IT PROCEEDS TO THE TECHNICAL REVIEW.
TECHNICAL REVIEW IS PERFORMED BY A PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER, LICENSED IN THE STATE OF TEXAS OR AN ENGINEER IN TRAINING.
THE TECHNICAL REVIEW BROADLY ENCOMPASSES REVIEW FOR SIZE CAPACITY AND HYDRAULIC EVALUATIONS.
AND OVERALL THE IMPACTS CAUSED BY THE PROJECT ON OUR EXISTING SYSTEM.
ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT'S EVALUATED AT THIS PHASE IS THE ALIGNMENT WITH LONG RANGE PLANNING.
THIS IS AUSTIN WATER AND CITY'S LONG RANGE PLANNING GOALS.
[00:10:01]
A PRELIMINARY ROUTING IS PROPOSED AT THIS TIME BASED ON ROUGH PROPORTIONALITY, ROUGH PROPORTIONALITY IS ESSENTIALLY JUST ESSENTIALLY MEANS THAT THE PROJECT IS SIZED TO MEET WHAT THE PROJECT WILL NEED IN TERMS OF PIPE SIZES AND CAPACITIES.UM, SO IT'S REALLY, LIKE I SAID, IT'S A DETERMINATION OF ROUGH SIZES AND ROUGH SIZES OF PIPES AND CAPACITY NEEDED TO SOLVE THAT PROJECT ITSELF.
OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS EASE TO BE ABLE TO CONSTRUCT THE PROJECT, THE ABILITY FOR FUTURE MAINTENANCE AND ACCESS TO THESE FACILITIES ARE ALSO EVALUATED AT THIS STAGE.
SOME BASIC INFORMATION THAT'S NEEDED IN ORDER FOR THE TECHNICAL REVIEW TO BE COMPLETE INCLUDES PROJECT SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT AVERAGE AND PEAK WASTE, WATER FLOWS, AVERAGE AND PEAK WATER DEMANDS AND FIRE PROTECTION INFORMATION.
IT'S A MUST FOR TECHNICAL STAFF PERFORMING THIS TO HAVE A GENERAL SENSE OF STATE AND CITY DESIGN CRITERIA IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO LAY OUT THE ALIGNMENT THAT EVENTUALLY CAN GENERALLY BE DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED ANY OVERSIZING REQUIREMENTS ALSO CONSIDERED AT THE STAGE.
I WILL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL ABOUT OVERSIZING IN MY UPCOMING SLIDES, BUT SIMPLISTICALLY PUT OVERSIZING IS CONSIDERED WHEN AUSTIN WATERS LONG RANGE PLANS REQUIRE A SIZE OF PIPE OR INFRASTRUCTURE LARGER THAN WHAT THE DEVELOPMENT OR THE PROJECT ITSELF NEEDS FOR ITSELF.
ANOTHER KEY PART OF TECHNICAL REVIEW INCLUDES COORDINATION WITH INTERNAL AUSTIN WATER STAKEHOLDERS, AS WELL AS OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN AUSTIN MOTTO WILL BE INTERFACE WITH ENGINEERING SERVICES, WITH SYSTEMS PLANNING WITH A OPERATIONAL STAFF, TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT IS PROPOSED CAN EVENTUALLY BE MAINTAINED WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.
THERE'S KEY INTERFACE WITH AUSTIN FIRE FOR ANY FIRE PROTECTION NEEDS OR CHALLENGES THAT'S INTERFACED WITH DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT FOR ANY FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS, PLANNING, AND ZONING FOR ANY ANNEXATION REQUESTS AND THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT FOR ANY ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.
ONCE TECHNICAL REVIEW IS COMPLETE STAFF DEPICT A CONCEPTUAL LINE DRAWN ON THE SCR MAP WITH SOME DESCRIPTIONS SPECIFIC TO THE UPGRADES ITSELF.
THAT IS THEN CALLED THE DRAFT SCR.
SO BEFORE I DIVE INTO THE WORKFLOW AND THE APPROVAL PROCESSES ITSELF, I WANT TO REVISIT THIS MAP ONE MORE TIME, THIS TIME WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF LAYERS ON AND THE CONTEXT OF SCRS.
IN ADDITION TO JURISDICTIONS THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT WITH RESPECT TO DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE OR THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE IS ALSO KEY.
SO ON THIS PIPE HERE, THE RED OUTLINE IS THE IMPACT FEED BOUNDARY AND THE PINKISH PURPLE IS THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
AND THE GREENISH COLOR IS THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THIS REFERENCES WITH THE APPROVAL PROCESS IN MY NEXT FEW SLIDES LIKE SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO THIS IS A VERY HIGH LEVEL WORKFLOW OF THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST PROCESS, A PROCESS FOR THE APPROVALS.
UM, I HAVE DETAILED DIAGRAMS IN MY NEXT TWO SLIDES, SO I'LL SPEND SHORTER AMOUNT OF TIME ON THIS ONE.
UM, SO AT A HIGH LEVEL, AN APPLICATION IS RECEIVED AFTER ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL REVIEW IS COMPLETE.
THAT CAN REALLY BE TWO OUTCOMES.
ONE THAT THERE ARE NO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED, OR TWO THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED WHEN THERE ARE NO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED.
THEN IT PROCEEDS TO WHAT'S KNOWN AS A SUITABLE AND SUFFICIENT LETTER BEING ISSUED.
AND WHEN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED, THEN THERE ARE TWO OTHER FACTORS THAT STAFF EVALUATE THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT AND THE USE OF CITY FUNDS, DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT THAT IS OF THE PROJECT IS LOCATED IN THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE AND SERIES FULL PURPOSE.
IT PROCEEDS ONTO STAFF APPROVAL.
ALTERNATIVELY, IF IT'S LOCATED IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, OUTSIDE CITY FULL PURPOSE, IT MOVES TO SEEK COUNCIL APPROVAL ALONG THE SAME LINES.
WHEN APPLICANT SEEKS TO USE CITY FUNDS FOR OVERSIZED INFRASTRUCTURE, IT ALSO PROCEEDS TO SEEK CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL.
AND I HAVE DETAILED ITEMS ABOUT THIS.
SO ON THIS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT I EXPLAINED.
SO THIS WORKFLOW HERE IS SPECIFIC ONLY TO STAFF APPROVAL OF SCRS.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT WHEN AN APPLICATION IS RECEIVED WAY AT THE TOP LEFT-HAND CORNER AND TECHNICAL REVIEW IS COMPLETE, IT CAN HAVE TWO OUTCOMES.
ONE IS THE TEAL COLORED BOX THAT SAYS NO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED.
AND THEN IT PROCEEDS TO AUSTIN WATER ISSUING A SUITABLE AND SUFFICIENT LATERAL, A GLIMPSE OF THE SUITABLE AND SUFFICIENT LETTERS INCLUDED ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE.
UM, IT REALLY JUST SAYS THAT AUSTIN WATER SYSTEM CAN
[00:15:01]
ADEQUATELY MEET THE PROJECT DEMANDS AT THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT AND STILL MEETS UTILITY CRITERIA MANUAL REQUIREMENTS.THE ALTERNATE PATH IS THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED WHEN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED.
AND IF THE PROJECT SITE IS LOCATED IN CITIES, FULL PURPOSE LIMITS AND IN THE DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE, THEN IT PROCEEDS ON TO THROUGH TECHNICAL REVIEW AND STAFF APPROVAL, WHERE STAFF ISSUE A DRAFT, A CR, AND IT'S SENT OVER TO THE APPLICANT AND THEN FINALIZED NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS WORKFLOW RECOGNIZES A SLIGHTLY BUSY CHART, BUT I'LL WALK US THROUGH ALL THE BOXES HERE.
UM, THIS WORK FLOW IS, UH, SPECIFIC FOR CITY COUNCIL APPROVALS.
SO BACK TO OUR FIRST STEP WHERE AN APPLICATION IS RECEIVED AND TECHNICAL REVIEW IS COMPLETED.
WE SEEK CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL ONLY WHEN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE REQUIRED.
SO THERE IS NOT AN ALTERNATE SITUATION WHEN THERE ARE NO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED.
SO WHEN INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED, THEN IT CAN HAVE TWO PATHS.
ONE IS THE DEVELOPERS REQUESTING CITIES, COST PARTICIPATION FOR OVERSIZED INFRASTRUCTURE.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT ESSENTIALLY OVERSIZED INFRASTRUCTURE MEANS ANYTHING THAT IS LARGER THAN WHAT THE DEVELOPER NEEDS FOR THEIR PROJECT DEMANDS.
WHEN THAT IS THE SITUATION, IT PROCEEDS TO WATER WASTE COMMISSION AND EVENTUALLY IS PLACED ON COUNCIL AGENDA TO SEEK COUNCIL APPROVAL.
THE OTHER PATH IS WHEN SCRS ARE LOCATED OUTSIDE CITIES, FULL PURPOSE AND IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
SO IT NEEDS TO BE BOTH CONDITIONS.
THE MAP ON THE RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE, THE BLACK CROSS HATCHED AREAS ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AREAS THAT ARE OUTSIDE FULL PURPOSE AND IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
SO WHEN THOSE SCRS ARE IT'S SUBMITTED, IT GOES THROUGH A COUPLE OF STEPS PRIOR TO SEEKING CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL.
IT GOES THROUGH WATERSHED DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW IT ALSO, AND THEN IT PROCEEDS TO ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS AND IT CONCURRENTLY ALSO GOES TO WATER WASTE, WATER COMMISSION, AND EVENTUALLY CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL, AUSTIN WATER AND WATERSHED PROTECTION STAFF WORK JOINTLY TO REVIEW THE ENVIRONMENTAL FINDING MEMO AND PROVIDE A JOINT RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL.
AUSTIN WATER'S PURPOSE WITH THE STR PROGRAM IS TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN PROVIDE SERVICE TO THE PROJECT BASED ON CITY AND STATE REQUIREMENTS.
SO THIS SLIDE HERE REALLY TALKS ABOUT THE OVER-SIZING AND THE COST PARTICIPATION PIECE OF IT.
SO AS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED, OVERSIZING IS CONSIDERED WHEN AUSTIN WATERS, AUSTIN WATER REQUESTS, THE APPLICANT TO CONSTRUCT IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE LARGER THAN WHAT IS ROUGHLY PROPORTIONAL TO WHAT THEIR PROJECT NEEDS.
SO ROUGH PROPORTIONALITY IS WHEN AN APPLICANT AS REQUIRED TO CONSTRUCT INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET THEIR PROJECT, ANYTHING BEYOND THAT WOULD BE CALLED OVERSIZING.
AND THAT WOULD BE WHERE THE CITY HAS THE ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE.
AUSTIN WATER, TECHNICAL STAFF DETERMINE WHAT IS ROUGHLY PROPORTIONATE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OR THE PROJECT NEEDS.
AND THE METHODOLOGY TO CALCULATE COST PARTICIPATION IS OUTLINED IN LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE 25 DASH NINE DASH 62.
ESSENTIALLY THE REIMBURSEMENT FOR COST PARTICIPATION FOLLOWS A PERCENTAGE OF HARD COSTS AND UP TO 15% OF THE PERCENT OF THAT PERCENTAGE FOR SOFT COSTS.
SO ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT MEANS.
SO HARD COSTS ARE GENERALLY A COST OF CONSTRUCTION OF THE MATERIAL.
AND SO ON AS A PERCENTAGE OF THAT, AND THERE'S SOFT COSTS ARE USUALLY DESIGNED, GEO-TECHNICAL SERVING AND THINGS OF THAT SORT, AND AUSTIN WATER CAN REIMBURSE UP TO 15% OF THE PERCENTAGE OF PART COSTS FOR SOFT COSTS.
UM, AND HOW IS THE HARD COST DETERMINE TYPICALLY HARD COSTS ARE A PERCENTAGE, UM, PIPE SIZE DIFFERENTIAL, IF IT'S INFRASTRUCTURE AND IT'S A PERCENTAGE CAPACITY DIFFERENTIAL, IF IT'S ANY FACILITY.
SO THAT'S REALLY HOW THE CALCULATION WORKS.
AND WE HAVE DETAILED TABLES IN LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE THAT GUIDE STAFF AND APPLICANTS, TO BE ABLE TO SEE HOW THIS PROCESS IS DONE.
IT'S A FAIRLY TRANSPARENT PROCESS.
ALTHOUGH I WANTED TO MENTION THAT CITY CODE DOES PROHIBIT OVER-SIZING OF WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
UM, SO WITH THE CITY COST PARTICIPATION THAT ARE FAIRLY FIVE, UM, SIMPLE LINEAR STEPS, IT SEEKS CITY COUNCIL APPROVAL TO USE CITY FUNDS FOR OVER-SIZING.
AND ONCE THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED, THERE IS AN AGREEMENT THAT'S NEGOTIATED WITH THE APPLICANT.
THEN THERE'S A PUBLIC BID AND PROCUREMENT PROCESS THAT INCLUDES ALL OF STANDARDS, MWB EAGLES AND OTHER MINORITY
[00:20:01]
GOALS FROM THE CITY THAT HAS AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT OF CONSTRUCTION AND COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PROJECT.AND FINALLY, THERE'S A REIMBURSEMENT PAYMENT PLAN AND THAT REIMBURSEMENT REALLY KICKS IN AFTER FINAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE PROJECT.
THE REIMBURSEMENT IS ALSO BASED OFF THE LOCATION OF THE PROJECT, UH, WHETHER IT'S IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONES OR IN THE DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
SO THIS SLIDE HERE REALLY TALKS ABOUT HOW THE SEL VOLUMES HAVE INCREASED IN THE LAST 10 PLUS YEARS.
UM, YOU'LL SEE THAT IN FYI 10, WE PROCESSED ABOUT 80 OR SO APPLICATIONS AND AN
SO AS I CONCLUDE MY PRESENTATION TODAY, I WANT TO JUST SUMMARIZE SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT I MENTIONED.
SO THE SEX TENSION REQUEST PROGRAM REALLY EXISTS TO ENSURE THAT WATER WASTE WATER AND RECLAIMED SYSTEMS HAVE ADEQUATE CAPACITY TO MEET PROJECT NEEDS.
THEY PROMOTE ORDERLY AND EQUITABLE EXPANSION OF AUSTIN MODELS, INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM.
THESE PLANS ARE DEVELOPED IN CONSULTATION WITH BOTH INTERNALLY WITHIN AUSTIN WATER AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AND APPROVED SCR AS AN APPROVED UTILITY SERVICE PLAN FOR THE PROPOSED PROJECT, CR IMPROVEMENTS ARE CONCEPTUALLY DEPICTED AND CAN BE USED AS A FEASIBILITY TOOL AS WELL.
AND APPLICANTS ARE REQUIRED TO CONSTRUCT IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE ROUGHLY PROPORTIONATE TO THE SIZE OF CAPACITY REQUIRED TO SOLVE THEIR PROJECT.
SO ANYTHING BEYOND THAT WOULD CONSTITUTE OVER-SIZING AND THE CITY HAS MECHANISM TO PARTICIPATE IN OVERSIZING WITH THAT.
I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
JUST A BIT OF A HISTORICAL QUESTION.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMING TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL AND THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE AND BEING ADMINISTRATIVELY APPROVED AND THE DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE, WAS THAT, WAS THAT A COUNCIL APPROVED DIRECTION OR WAS THAT SOMETHING KIND OF DEVELOPED THROUGH ENGINEERING AND OTHER EXPECTATIONS THAT YOU ALL LOOK AT? I BELIEVE IT WAS A COUNCIL APPROVED DIRECTION THAT, AND I BELIEVE THERE WAS SOME INITIAL DISCUSSIONS IN 2009 AND THEN EVENTUALLY CODE WAS MODIFIED IN 2013 AND THAT WAS DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL.
SOME OF THE, OR A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS I HAD, UM, HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE EQUITABLE EXPANSION OF INFRASTRUCTURE AS PART OF THE SCR CONSIDERATIONS? I THINK WHAT WE LOOK AT IN TERMS OF EQUITIES, THAT WE'RE FAIR AND WE'RE CONSISTENT WHEN WE'RE APPLYING THESE RULES.
AND SO IN THAT SENSE, WE BELIEVE THAT THE SEL PROGRAM, THE FACT THAT IT'S IN CODE, UH, WE DON'T, UM, KEVIN'S FAVORITE STATEMENT IS WE PROVIDE UTILITY SERVICE WITHOUT A PREJUDICE.
SO WE DON'T DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN AREAS, GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES AND THINGS OF THAT SORT, ANYBODY WHO NEEDS SERVICE, WE EVALUATE THEM FOR WHAT OPTIONS THEY HAVE TO RECEIVE SERVICE.
AND WE APPLY THE SAME RULES IN TERMS OF OVERSIZING AND CITIES, FUNDS THE USE OF CITY FUNDS AS WELL.
WE USE THE SAME CONSISTENT METHODOLOGY.
THAT'S HOW WE BELIEVE THAT IT'S AN EQUITABLE PROCESS.
I MEAN, THAT, TO ME SOUNDS MORE, UM, LIKE THAT IT'S AN EQUAL PROCESS.
I WAS THINKING MORE THAT FOUR AREAS, ESPECIALLY SINCE WE KNOW THAT THE EAST PART OF THE COUNTY IS NOT IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, UM, THAT, THAT WOULD HAVE THE AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN LARGELY ZONED AND DESIGNATED AS A DEVELOPMENT DESIRED ZONE, UM, WOULD HAVE PERHAPS SOME INCREASED INFRASTRUCTURE STANDARDS OR NEEDS GIVEN.
UM, ESPECIALLY NOW THE INCREASE IN DEVELOPMENT THAT WE'RE SEEING, ESPECIALLY IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN
AND THAT'S REALLY KIND OF OUR MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST THOSE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ARE MET.
WE DO LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES, POTENTIALLY OVERSIZE.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE, YOU KNOW, WE, OUR LONG RANGE PLANS, OTHER CITY, UH, INITIATIVES, IMAGINE AUSTIN WATERFALL WORD, ET CETERA, WOULD COME INTO PLAY ON KIND OF HOW FAR WOULD LINE.
SO THAT'S BASICALLY HOW WE TAKE, TAKE THOSE INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, UH, REALIZE THAT A LOT OF IT IS, IS DRIVEN BY COMMERCIAL NEEDS THAT ARE ON THE GROUND.
I MEAN, FOLKS THAT ARE ACTUALLY MOVING FORWARD TO TRY TO DEVELOP PROPERTY FOR A VARIETY OF USES.
AND SO IT'S KIND OF THAT, THAT INTERPLAY, THAT KIND OF LEADS US TO, YOU KNOW, CHOOSING TO OVERSIZE WHERE WE CAN.
AND THEN ALSO, HOW, HOW DOES OUR SCR PROGRAM COMPARE WITH OTHER STR PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE STATE OR THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, UM, WITH THE CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR SERVICE EXTENSIONS?
[00:25:01]
IS IT, UM, WHAT, HOW WOULD YOU RATE OUR, OUR PROGRAM? UM, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE RANKING SYSTEM CHAIR, BUT I CAN SAY THAT WHEN WE WENT THROUGH THE CODE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE CHANGES, I BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS A BENCHMARK STUDY THAT WAS CONDUCTED WITH OTHER COMPARABLE CITIES, SUCH AS DALLAS, HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO.AND I THINK THAT THEY ALL HAVE PROGRAMS SIMILAR TO THIS.
THEY MAY NOT CALL IT EXACTLY THIS.
SO WE DID PERFORM A BENCHMARK STUDY AND IT SEEMED LIKE WE FAILED.
IF WE WERE IN LINE WITH THAT STUDY, I CAN GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED.
AND WHEN WAS THAT A BENCHMARK STUDY CONDUCTED? I BELIEVE ONE PART WAS COMPLETED IN 2009, AND THEN THERE WAS A FOLLOW UP, I BELIEVE IN 2013.
I'LL HAVE TO VERIFY THE DATES FOR YOUR CHAIR.
COLLEAGUES, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
[4. Austin Water’s Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project Update.]
IS THE WE'RE MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS AUSTIN WATERS, AQUIFER STORAGE, AND RECOVERY PROJECT UPDATE ASR.AND IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND INTRODUCING YOURSELVES AS YOU BEGIN, THAT'D BE GREAT.
GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AGAIN, I'M KEVIN CRITTENDON AUSTIN WATER.
UM, AFTERNOON, WE'LL BE ALSO NOW DESCRIBING TO YOU KIND OF THE STATUS OF OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT YOU'LL, UM, REFLECT OR YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT, UH, ISR PROJECT CAME OUT OF OUR LONG RANGE WATERFALL PLAN, WHICH IS OUR A HUNDRED YEAR HUNDRED YEAR, UH, WASH SUPPLY PLAN.
UM, IN THAT PLAN, WE IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF STRATEGIES TO TRY TO MEET OUR COMMUNITY'S WATER NEEDS FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED YEARS.
THOSE STRATEGIES INCLUDED, UH, PROTECTING THE CORE COLORADO RIVER WATER SUPPLIES, UH, CONTINUE OUR FOCUS ON WATER CONSERVATION, ADVANCING THE USE OF BOTH CENTRALIZED AND DECENTRALIZED.
UH, ON-SITE REUSE, UM, AS WELL AS IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR, MY ATX, OUR, OUR SMART METERING PROGRAM.
UM, IN ADDITION, UH, ONE OF OUR LARGEST, UH, SINGLE SUPPLY DEVELOPMENT SIDE PROJECTS WOULD BE OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
UM, THAT PROJECT IS A UNIQUE IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, BECAUSE AGAIN, IT IS ONE OF OUR LARGER PROJECTS ON THE BOOKS TO TRY TO HELP MEET OUR COMMUNITY'S FUTURE, UH, UH, WATER SUPPLY.
UM, ALSO EVEN THOUGH ASR IS USED VERY WIDELY, UM, ACROSS THE, THE WORLD AND THE UNITED STATES, AND EVEN IN TEXAS, IT'LL BE OUR FIRST FORAY INTO THIS PARTICULAR TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY.
SO THERE'S SOME UNIQUE ASPECTS OF IT.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE THE PROJECT.
SO WE'RE HAVING TO SAY THAT WE'RE CONTINUING ALONG THAT, AND THEN HELEN HERE, WE'LL PROVIDE YOU WITH A LITTLE BIT OF MORE SPECIFICS ON KIND OF PROGRAM, A PROJECT OVERVIEW AND STATUS.
UH, HELEN IS AN ENGINEER IN OUR SYSTEMS PLANNING GROUP, SPECIFICALLY OUR WATER RESOURCES TEAM.
SHE'S THE PROJECT MANAGER OVER OUR ASR PILOT PROJECT.
SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO HELEN.
I'M THE AUSTIN WATER PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE ASR PROJECT.
SO TODAY I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BACKGROUND ON OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
UM, TELL YOU GUYS ABOUT THE PROJECT TIMELINE, SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING SO FAR, AND THEN WHAT THE PLAN IS FOR NEXT STEPS AND UPCOMING WORK.
SO AS YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO INFER FROM THE NAME AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY OR ASR IS A STRATEGY TO STORE WATER IN AN AQUIFER AND WET TIMES WHEN THE WATER'S AVAILABLE AND THEN RECOVER IT LATER WHEN IT'S NEEDED SUCH AS DURING SEVERE DROUGHTS.
ASR IS A WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY.
THAT'S BEING USED ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES AND ESPECIALLY IN TEXAS, SAN ANTONIO, EL PASO, AND KERRVILLE ALL HAVE OPERATING AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY SYSTEMS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
BEFORE I TALK MORE ABOUT AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY, I WANTED TO GO OVER SOME HYDROGEOLOGY BASICS.
SO AQUIFERS ARE LAYERS OF ROCK OR SEDIMENT BELOW THE GROUND THAT CAN HOLD LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER.
THE WATER IS STORED IN THE PORES OR OPENINGS IN BETWEEN THOSE ROCKS AND SEDIMENTS.
YOU CAN THINK OF IT SORT OF LIKE A SPONGE AND THAT WATER THAT'S STORED IN THOSE SPACES IS WHAT IS KNOWN AS GROUNDWATER AND DIFFERENT AQUIFERS CAN HAVE DIFFERENT PROPERTIES DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF GROUNDWATER THAT'S STORED THE TYPE OF ROCK, OR THAT MAKES UP THE AQUIFER, THE SIZE OF THE PORES AND THE ROCK, AND MANY OTHER FACTORS, TYPICAL WELLS WORK BY PUMPING OUT THE GROUNDWATER THAT'S STORED IN THOSE SPACES IN THE AQUIFER AND ASR IS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT THAN A TYPICAL GROUNDWATER.
WELL, BECAUSE WE PUMP WATER INTO THE AQUIFER BEFORE WE RECOVER IT.
[00:30:01]
SO ASR WILL NEVER RECOVER MORE WATER OUT OF THE AQUIFER THAN WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY STORED.NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS A KEY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY IN THE WATER FORD PLAN, WHICH IS AUSTIN'S COUNCIL APPROVED, INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES PLAN THAT LAYS OUT A ROADMAP OF WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES OVER THE NEXT 100 YEARS.
KEY DRIVERS FOR THAT WATER FORD PLAN INCLUDE, UM, NEEDS IN THE FUTURE DUE TO GROWING POPULATION, SEVERE DROUGHTS, AND THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
ASR IS AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF THAT WATER FORD PLAN, AS IT PROVIDES A SOURCE OF WATER SUPPLY FOR THOSE LONG-TERM SEVERE DROUGHTS.
AND IN ADDITION TO ASR THE WATER FORD PLAN INCLUDES MANY OTHER STRATEGIES, SUCH AS CONSERVATION STRATEGIES TO REDUCE DEMAND AND WATER REUSE STRATEGIES WORK ON THE FIRST PHASE OF OUR ASR PROJECT BEGAN IN EARLY 2021.
AND THE GOAL OF THIS FIRST PHASE OF WORK IS TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE LOCATIONS FOR OUR ASR PROJECT.
AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, ASR WOULD STORE WATER WHEN SUPPLIES ARE PLENTIFUL, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS PLANNED TO STORE HIGH QUALITY WATER FROM AUSTIN'S DRINKING WATER SYSTEM, AND THAT WATER WOULD BE PRETREATED AS NEEDED BEFORE IT GOES INTO THE GROUND TO PROTECT THE AQUIFER SYSTEM.
THE WATER THAT WOULD BE USED FOR ASR IS AVAILABLE UNDER AUSTIN'S EXISTING WATER RIGHTS.
SO THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO MAXIMIZE OUR EXISTING SUPPLIES BY INCREASING OUR OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY WITH THAT ADDITIONAL STORAGE, THE WATER REMAINS STORED IN THE AQUIFER UNTIL IT IS NEEDED.
AND THEN WHEN REGULAR SUPPLIES BECOME SCARCE, SUCH AS DURING A SEVERE DROUGHT, THE WATER THAT WAS STORED IN THE ASR CAN BE PUMPED OUT OR RECOVERED, AND THEN USED TO MEET DEMANDS FOR AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMERS.
WHEN THAT WATER IS RECOVERED, IT'LL BE TREATED TO BE FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH OUR AUSTIN WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM BEFORE IT WOULD BE SENT TO ANY CUSTOMERS.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY SYSTEMS ARE USEFUL WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, INCLUDING THE PROJECT BENEFITS THAT ARE SHOWN UP HERE, ASR WILL HELP MAKE AUSTIN'S WATER SUPPLY MORE RESILIENT TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND DROUGHTS BY PROVIDING A SOURCE OF STORED WATER FOR WHEN WE NEED IT.
AN ASR SYSTEM CAN STORE LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER WITH MINIMAL DISTURBANCE TO THE LAND ABOVE THE AQUIFER WATER STORED IN AN ASR SYSTEM IS AVAILABLE UNDER OUR EXISTING WATER RIGHTS, ALLOWING US TO MAXIMIZE OUR LOCAL WATER, STORING WATER UNDERGROUND, AND A NATURAL AQUIFER PREVENTS HIGH EVAPORATIVE LOSSES.
LIKE THOSE WE EXPERIENCE WITH OUR RESERVOIRS IN WARM CLIMATES AND STORING WATER IN A NATURAL AQUIFER IS MORE COST-EFFECTIVE THAN MANY OTHER SIMILARLY SIZED STORAGE OPTIONS.
AND THEN AN ASR SYSTEM COULD PROVIDE A SECOND SOURCE OF WATER DURING SUPPLY EMERGENCIES SUCH AS SEVERE DROUGHTS OR SUPPLY UPSETS.
SO THIS TIMELINE SHOWS THE STEPS FOR AUSTIN'S ASR PROJECT FROM THE PROJECTS BEGINNING IN 2021 THROUGH COMPLETION OF FULL-SCALE ASR CONSTRUCTION, WHICH IS ESTIMATED TO WRAP UP BY ABOUT 2035, RIGHT NOW WE'RE FAR TO THE LEFT ON THIS GRAPHIC AND WHAT WE'RE CALLING PHASE ONE A, WHICH IS WHEN WE'RE WORKING TO DETERMINE THE BEST LOCATION FOR AN ASR PROJECT.
ONCE WE HAVE A LOCATION IDENTIFIED, THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO BUILD A SMALL SCALE ASR PILOT PROJECT, AND A PILOT PROJECT WOULD BE A SMALL SCALE PROJECT THAT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO TEST OUR ASSUMPTIONS AND GATHER DETAILED DATA BEFORE ANY WORK WOULD BEGIN ON A FULL-SCALE ASR PROJECT UPON SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF A PILOT PROJECT DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF THAT FULL-SCALE ASR COULD BEGIN.
AND THAT WOULD BE ESTIMATED TO BE COMPLETE BY ABOUT 2035.
AT WHICH POINT WE COULD BEGIN STORING WATER IN THE ASR AND HOPE TO BUILD UP SUPPLY BY 2040 AND ALIGNMENT WITH OUR WATER FOR A GOAL OF HAVING 60,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER STORED BY 2040.
THIS TIMELINE HOPEFULLY GIVES YOU A HIGH LEVEL, LOOK AT THE TIMING OF THE PROJECT AND EMPHASIZES THAT WE'RE STILL IN THE VERY EARLY STAGES, PHASE ONE A AND HAVE MET LOTS OF TIME TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS TO SHARE UPDATES AND GATHER INPUT.
SO THIS SLIDE LAYS OUT THE TIMELINE FOR OUR CURRENT STAGE OF WORK.
WHAT I'VE BEEN CALLING PHASE ONE A, SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
AND AGAIN, THE GOAL OF THIS PHASE ONE A IS TO IDENTIFY THE MOST FAVORABLE SITES FOR AN ASR PROJECT.
EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS DESKTOP BASED.
THERE'S NO FIELD WORK BEING DONE IN THE STAGE OF THE PROJECT.
SO THE FIRST STEP, UM, OF THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING IN THIS PHASE WAS TO LOOK AT NEARBY AQUIFERS,
[00:35:01]
TO DETERMINE WHICH WERE MOST FAVORABLE FOR ASR.AND THIS WAS DONE IN TWO STEPS, A HIGH-LEVEL SCREENING TO NARROW DOWN AND FOCUS IN OUR, UM, MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT HIGH LEVEL SCREENING IN LATER SLIDES, BUT WE IDENTIFIED AT A HIGH LEVEL AQUIFERS AND TRAVIS BASTROP AND LEE COUNTIES THAT WERE, WE'LL BE ANALYZING IN MORE DETAIL IN PARALLEL TO LOOKING AT THE AQUIFERS.
WE'RE ALSO LOOKING ON THE AUSTIN WATER DISTRIBUTION SIDE TO DETERMINE WHERE AN ASR PROJECT COULD POTENTIALLY TIE BACK IN WITH OUR AUSTIN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND WE'RE CALLING THOSE INTEGRATION POINTS WHERE THE ASR COULD TIE IN OUR NEXT STEP WILL BE TO COMBINE THE OUTCOME OF THOSE TWO INVESTIGATIONS.
UM, LOOKING AT THE AQUIFERS AND LOOKING AT THE INTEGRATION POINTS TO CREATE FULL ASR PROJECT CONFIGURATIONS THAT WILL THEN GO THROUGH A DETAILED EVALUATION USING CRITERIA AND WEIGHTINGS, WHICH WILL BE DEVELOPED WITH COMMUNITY INPUT.
WE HAVE OUTREACH, UM, PLAN FOR THE SUMMER, AS WELL AS DEDICATED COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS TO RECEIVE INPUT ON THE CRITERIA AND WEIGHTING.
SO THAT'LL BE USED TO EVALUATE THOSE PROJECT CONFIGURATIONS AFTER WE'VE PERFORMED THAT EVALUATION WE'LL REPORT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY WITH THE RESULTS WITH THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME OF THIS PHASE OF WORK, BEING A SITE THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE LOCATION, A FAVORABLE LOCATION FOR FIELD TESTING AND ASR PILOTING, AND THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, WE'LL CONTINUE TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WE'LL BE PERFORMING ONGOING EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY WORK, INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT OF AN EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY, ROADMAP, AND TOOL THAT'LL HELP GUIDE IMPLEMENTATION AT ASR.
WE'VE ALSO ALREADY BEGAN SOME OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THIS PROJECT.
WE HELD TWO COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS AT THE END OF MARCH.
UM, THOSE COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS WERE CONDUCTED TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ASR PROJECT.
AND IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT FOLKS HAD AND THEN RECEIVE INPUT ON EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY CONSIDERATIONS TO FEED INTO THAT ROADMAP THAT I MENTIONED, THOSE WORKSHOPS WERE ADVERTISED AND ALL THREE OF THE COUNTIES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED AS AREAS OF FURTHER INTEREST.
AND WE HAD ATTENDEES PARTICIPATE FROM ALL THREE OF THE COUNTIES.
SO I'LL TALK MORE NOW ABOUT THAT INITIAL HIGH-LEVEL SCREENING THAT I MENTIONED.
SO THIS WAS DONE BECAUSE WE WANTED TO CAST A WIDE NET FOR POSSIBLE ASR OPTIONS.
THE SCREENING IDENTIFIED AQUIFER AREAS AT A LARGE SCALE THAT WOULD BE FAVORABLE FOR AUSTIN'S ASR WITH THE GOALS OF THAT PROJECT AND THE RESULTS OF THIS SCREENING, HELP US FOCUS FUTURE WORK, UM, ON IDENTIFYING FAVORABLE ASR SITES WITHIN THESE BROAD AREAS.
SO AS PART OF THAT INITIAL SCREENING, WE LOOKED AT TRAVIS AND THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES FOR A TOTAL OF EIGHT COUNTY AREA, UM, AND LOOKED AT THE AQUIFERS IN THOSE AREAS, INCLUDING THE MAJOR AQUIFERS, THE TRINITY EDWARDS AND CHORIZO WILCOX.
WE ALSO AS NEEDED, LOOKED AT SUB UNITS OF THOSE MAJOR AQUIFERS, UM, TO GET MORE GRANULAR INFORMATION.
IN ADDITION TO THE MAJOR AQUIFERS, WE LOOKED AT MINOR AQUIFERS IN THAT EIGHT COUNTY AREA.
THERE WERE SIX MINOR AQUIFERS THAT WE LOOKED AT AND WE LOOKED AT THE OUTCROP AND SUB CROP REGIONS OF THOSE AS APPROPRIATE.
THOSE WERE THE YABBA JACKSON, THE SPARTA, THE QUEEN CITY MARBLE FALLS, ELLENBERGER SAN SABA AND THE HICKORY AQUIFERS.
WE SCREENED THESE, UM, MAJOR AND MINOR AQUIFERS AND THEIR SUB UNITS BASED ON SEVERAL FACTORS, WHICH ARE SHOWN HERE WITH THEIR SCORES.
THOSE INCLUDE, UM, FEASIBILITY OF MEETING PRIOR PROJECT YIELD GOALS, HYDROGEOLOGY FACTORS, PERMITTING FACTORS, AND PROXIMITY TO THE EXISTING AUSTIN WATER SYSTEM.
THE DATA FROM THAT SCREENING IS SHOWN HERE WITH THE KEY TAKEAWAY, BEING THE THREE AREAS LISTED AT THE TOP, THE METRICS SHOWS THAT THOSE THREE AREAS WERE THE MOST FAVORABLE FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION.
AND THOSE AREAS ARE THE CARESA WILCOX AND TRINITY AQUIFERS AND BASTROP LEE AND TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND SO THOSE WILL BE MOVING FORWARD, UM, FOR MORE DETAILED SPATIAL ANALYSIS TO CONTINUE OUR WORK, TO LOOK FOR FAVORABLE ASR SITES IN THOSE AREAS.
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE RESULTS ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
I'M SHOWING THE CHORIZO WILCOX AND TRINITY AQUIFERS IN THAT TRAVIS BASTROP AND LEE COUNTY AREAS.
SO AGAIN, THESE ARE THE BROAD AREAS, UM, WHICH WE'RE FOCUSING IN OUR FURTHER WORK TO IDENTIFY FAVORABLE ASR SITES.
SO NEXT STEP FOR THIS PROJECT INCLUDE
[00:40:01]
THAT DETAILED SPATIAL ANALYSIS WITHIN THOSE AREAS OF INTERESTS THAT WE JUST LOOKED AT TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE ASR WELL FIELD LOCATIONS, WE'LL BE EVALUATING THOSE LOCATIONS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED ASR PROJECT CONFIGURATIONS USING EVALUATION CRITERIA INFORMED BY COMMUNITY INPUT.AGAIN, WE HAVE OUTREACH PLAN OVER THE SUMMER, AS WELL AS DEDICATED WORKSHOPS, UM, SCOPED THAT'LL BE USED TO RECEIVE INPUT ON THE CRITERIA AND WEIGHTINGS BASED ON THE EVALUATION RESULTS.
THE END OF PHASE ONE A WILL BE A RECOMMENDATION FOR A LOCATION FOR FURTHER FIELD TESTING AND ASR PILOTING PHASE ONE A IS PROJECTED TO WRAP UP BY ABOUT THE END OF 2023 AS OUR CURRENT SCHEDULE AND WE'LL NEED COUNCIL APPROVAL FOR FUTURE PHASES OF WORK IN ANY LAND AGREEMENTS THAT COME OUT OF THAT PROCESS.
AND THEN THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK, TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND IMPLEMENT ASR WITH AN EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY LENS WITH OUR EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY, ROADMAP, AND TOOL TO HELP GUIDE THAT IMPLEMENTATION.
AND HERE WE HAVE A FEW RESOURCES FOR THE ASR PROJECT.
WE HAVE OUR, UM, PROJECT PAGE ON OUR AUSTIN WATER WEBSITE, AS WELL AS OUR ASR ASR PROJECT PAGE ON THE SPEAK-UP AUSTIN SITE ON THE SPEAK-UP AUSTIN ASR PAGE.
FOLKS CAN SUBMIT QUESTIONS TO THE PROJECT TEAM.
WE HAVE RESOURCES UPLOADED THERE FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AQUIFER, STORAGE AND RECOVERY.
YOU CAN REQUEST A PROD, UH, PRESENTATION FROM THE PROJECT TEAM ABOUT ASR.
WE ALSO HAVE A LINK TO OUR ASR EDUCATIONAL VIDEO, WHICH THERE'S A SCREEN CAPTURE OF ON THE SLIDE THERE.
AND THAT VIDEO JUST TALKS A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT ASR IS AND AUSTIN'S ASR PROJECT.
AND SO THAT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
AND THANKS TO OUR STAFF FOR A REALLY GOOD, UM, BRIEFING ON THE POTENTIAL FOR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY, THAT PROJECT UPDATE.
I WAS CURIOUS, UM, IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT YOU'VE BEEN HAVING WITH THE COMMUNITY, AS YOU'VE DONE YOUR KIND OF PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENTS AND SO FORTH, HAVE YOU TALKED ABOUT WHAT IMPACTS IT WOULD HAVE TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND BY DOING SO LIKE THE VISUALS OR, CAUSE I NOTICED I'M ONE OF THE, UM, ONE OF THE SLIDES YOU SHOW LIKE, UH, GO BACK TO ONE OF THE SLIDES.
YOU JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF, UM, IMAGES ON THERE TO SHOW LIKE LOCATION FOUR.
SO THOSE TWO LITTLE, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY WOULD INDICATE, SO THAT CYLINDER, AND THEN THE, THE SQUARE WITH A LITTLE ROOF ON IT, I'M ASSUMING THAT THOSE ARE PART OF THE STORAGE, UM, SYSTEM THERE, THE FACILITY FOR IT.
AND SO I WAS CURIOUS WHAT PEOPLE MAY HAVE SAID WHEN THEY CAME TO, UH, TO GET THE INFORMATION IN YOUR OUTREACH AND WHETHER THERE WERE ANY CRITICISMS OF THIS APPROACH BECAUSE BASICALLY WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING AND THIS HAS THROUGH A PERIOD OF TIME.
AND I KNOW AUSTIN, ROBERT HAS BEEN LOOKING AT THIS ISSUE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS THAT THE STORAGE OF WATER IS A REALLY GOOD SOLUTION TO THIS.
UM, BUT THERE'S ALWAYS LIKE THE OTHER SIDE OF THE QUESTION.
SO I WAS CURIOUS WHAT KIND OF OPPOSITION OR CRITICISMS HAVE YOU RUN INTO, IF ANY? YEAH.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.
UM, I THINK WE, PEOPLE WERE MOST INTERESTED I THINK, IN WHERE IT, WHERE IT WILL BE, WHICH WE DON'T CURRENTLY KNOW.
UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST IN HOW IT WOULD AFFECT NEIGHBORING WELLS.
UM, AND AGAIN, SINCE WE DON'T KNOW WHERE IT WILL BE, WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC DETAILS ON THAT, BUT, UM, A PRIORITY IS TO IMPLEMENT THAT ASR PROJECT EQUITABLY AND HOPEFULLY OUR EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY TOOL WILL HELP US KIND OF IDENTIFY THOSE POTENTIAL IMPACTS THAT WE WOULD HAVE ON NEIGHBORING WELLS AND IDENTIFY MITIGATION STRATEGIES THAT WE COULD DO.
UM, USE, WE ALSO TRIED TO EXPLAIN COMPARED TO OTHER, UM, STORAGE STRATEGIES, ASR HAS A PRETTY MINIMAL IMPACT TO THE LAND ABOVE IT.
UM, THE LITTLE SQUARE WITH A TRIANGLE ON TOP OF THE PICTURE, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK WOULD BE ABOUT THE SIZE OF A LARGE SHED, YOU KNOW, SO PRETTY MINIMAL, YOU KNOW, YOU'D HAVE SEVERAL OF THOSE THAT ALL THE WELLS, BUT A PRETTY MINIMAL FOOTPRINT COMPARED TO MANY OTHER STRATEGIES.
SO WE TRIED TO EMPHASIZE THAT AS WELL.
I WOULD SAY, UM, I FELT LIKE PEOPLE WERE GENERALLY SUPPORTIVE, UM, AT THE MEETINGS THAT WE WENT TO AND MOSTLY JUST HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
UM, AND SO I THINK WE'LL NEED TO DO, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF WORK ONCE WE, UM, NARROW DOWN WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HELP KIND OF JUST ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNS AND MAKE SURE WE'RE TAKING INTO ACCOUNT, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL THE DIFFERENT THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS.
[00:45:01]
WE TRANSPORT THE WATER, UM, FROM THE AQUIFER, IF WE HA WHEN WE NEEDED TO TAP INTO IT, WOULD IT BE TRUCKED IN, OR IS THERE A PIPELINE OR, YEAH, IT WOULD EVENTUALLY BE, UM, SOME SORT OF TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WOULD GO BETWEEN OUR SYSTEM AND THE ASR.THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY PROXIMITY TO THE AUSTIN WATER SYSTEM WAS USED AS A SCREENING CRITERIA AT THE VERY BEGINNING.
UM, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, MORE TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE MEANS HIGHER COSTS AND MORE OPERATIONAL COMPLEXITY.
UM, SO THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT'S BEING CONSIDERED.
AND SO THAT PIPELINE THEN THERE'D BE A PIPELINE, RIGHT.
AND IT WOULD RUN UNDERGROUND AS WELL.
AND SO THIS MUST BE WHERE DIFFERENT, UM, PROPERTY OWNERS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE IMPACTS ON THEIR PARTICULAR WELLS.
IS THAT CORRECT? NOT SO MUCH FOR THE ACTUAL STORAGE TANK, ALTHOUGH PERHAPS FOR THAT, BUT ALSO IN POSSIBLY MORE, UH, FOR THE TRANSMISSION PIPELINE BETWEEN WHEREVER THE STORAGE TANK IS AND THE MAIN RECEIVING LOCATION, WHICH WOULD BE IN AUSTIN AT ONE OF THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, WHERE WOULD IT, WHERE WOULD THE POINT BE? SURE.
AND THEN, UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, YOU'RE MENTIONING A STORAGE TANK.
I JUST WANTED TO EMPHASIZE, I KNOW IN OUR PICTURE IT'S KIND OF SHAPED LIKE A ROUND STORAGE TANK, BUT THE WATER STORED IN THE AQUIFER IS IN THE AQUIFER.
IT'S JUST IN KIND OF THE NATURAL ROCK MATRIX, WHICH IS PART OF, UM, WHY IT'S, SO COST-EFFECTIVE COMPARED TO OTHER LARGE STORAGE OPTIONS.
SO THERE WOULD BE, UM, POTENTIALLY SOME IMPACTS FROM THE TRANSMISSION MAIN, SINCE THAT'S RUNNING UNDERGROUND, YOU KNOW, ALONG PEOPLE'S PROPERTIES, BUT ALSO SINCE WE'RE DIRECTLY PUTTING WATER INTO THE AQUIFER AND TAKING IT OUT, FOLKS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT MAYBE FLUCTUATING AQUIFER LEVELS AS A RESULT OF THAT.
UM, AND THEN YES, THE TRANSITION MAIN WOULD TIE BACK INTO THE AUSTIN WATER SYSTEM.
UM, THAT WAS, WE LOOKED AT THAT AS PART OF OUR INTEGRATION POINT ANALYSIS.
UM, SO IT WOULDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE A WATER TREATMENT PLANT COULD REALLY TIE BACK IN AT ANY SPOT WHERE WE COULD HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME, UH, ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO HELP KIND OF, UM, BALANCE OUT THE WATER AND GET IT UP TO THE RIGHT PRESSURE AND DO ANY TREATMENT WE NEEDED.
SO WE LOOKED AT, UM, EXISTING AUSTIN WATER SITES, SUCH AS PUMP STATIONS, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, AUSTIN WATER OWNED SITES WITH, UM, DECOMMISSIONED INFRASTRUCTURE THAT KIND OF, THAT KIND OF LOCATION AND A LARGE ENOUGH CAPACITY SO THAT IT COULD BE TRANSMITTED FAIRLY QUICKLY, LARGE VOLUME TRANSMIT.
SO I MIGHT JUST ADD, UM, AGAIN, WE HAVE BEEN ENGAGING THE PUBLIC IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT, PARTICULARLY VIRTUAL FORUMS. I WOULD SAY A LOT OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE MEETING SO FAR PEOPLE THAT ARE PROBABLY HAVE MORE INTEREST IN THE ACTUAL GROUNDWATER ASPECTS OF IT.
SO THEY'RE GENERALLY FAIRLY FAMILIAR WITH HYDROGEOLOGY IN THEIR AREAS.
AND SO RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST REINFORCE WHAT HELEN SAID.
I THINK A LOT OF THE CONCERN RIGHT NOW IS ABOUT POTENTIAL DRAW DOWN EFFECTS, UM, IN THE AQUIFERS THEMSELVES.
UM, WE DO EXPECT OF COURSE THAT WE WILL HAVE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, AS WE, AS WE FURTHER DEFINE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY LOCATE OR POTENTIALLY LOCATE THE FACILITIES, SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT PHYSICAL FACILITIES, AGAIN, WHAT'S SHOWN HERE ARE SORT OF GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATIONS.
SO SIZE-WISE, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THESE FACILITIES SURFACE FEATURES ARE PRETTY INNOCUOUS AND BLEND IN, BUT TO YOUR POINT, I MEAN, THERE WILL BE NEW THINGS AND THINGS THAT PEOPLE AREN'T USED TO SEEING, AND THERE WILL BE TRANSMISSION MAINS AND PUMP STATIONS AND OTHER THINGS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE STARTING TO KIND OF TEASE THOSE THINGS OUT OF THE COMMUNITY AND OUR ENGAGEMENT.
WE'LL KIND OF TRY TO INCLUDE ALL OF THAT AS OUR PLANNING CONTINUES.
SO THAT'S REALLY, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL.
AND ONE LAST POINT THAT THAT MADE ME THINK IS THERE WOULD ALSO HAVE TO BE SOME KIND OF A SECURITY PERIMETER.
I IMAGINE AROUND WHATEVER THE LITTLE HUTS OR SMALL BUILDINGS MIGHT BE KIND OF LIKE A SUBSTATION FOR AN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION, SOMETHING LIKE THAT ONLY, HOPEFULLY NOT AS, AS, UM, MAYBE IT'D BE NICER LOOKING, NOT THAT WE DON'T LOVE OUR AUSTIN ENERGY SUBSTANCES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.
[5. Austin Water’s Wildfire Mitigation Strategies.]
ALL RIGHT.SO NEXT UP IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS AUSTIN WATERS, WILDFIRE MITIGATION STRATEGIES, AND WE WILL HAVE STAFF JOIN US FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I BELIEVE A MAYOR PRO TEM ALTER REQUESTED THIS BRIEFING AND AS IT IS WILDFIRE PREVENTION AND WILDFIRE SAFETY AWARENESS MONTH, CORRECT? YES, THIS IS VERY TIMELY.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, KEVIN CRITTENDON AUSTIN WATER.
UM, WE'RE HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR FIRE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES PRIMARILY ON OUR WILDLANDS,
[00:50:01]
BUT WE'LL ALSO KIND OF FILL YOU IN ON SOME OTHER ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THROUGHOUT THE UTILITY.UM, OBVIOUSLY AUSTIN WATER IS A FAIRLY LARGE LANDHOLDER, UM, IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO YOU A LOT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING.
I THINK WE'VE GOT A VERY, UM, YOU KNOW, I LIKE TO BELIEVE WE HAVE A VERY STRONG PROGRAM IN THAT REGARD REALIZE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, LAND MANAGEMENT OPEN SPACE MANAGEMENT IS NOT EXCLUSIVELY, YOU KNOW, OUR PROVINCE.
WE DO THAT IN PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHERS.
THERE'S MANY OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS OUT THERE.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF COORDINATION IN THAT REGARD.
AND WILDFIRE PROTECTION IS ALSO SORT OF A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.
AGAIN, WERE VERY PROUD OF OUR WORK.
UM, BUT WE HAVE TO USE A LOT OF PARTNERS TO MAKE THAT, UM, A REALITY.
SO WE'RE GOING TO SHARE WITH YOU KIND OF OUR EFFORTS IN THAT REGARD, SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED AGAIN ON THE WILDLANDS, UM, AND TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE'RE ALSO USING THAT IN OTHER AREAS OF THE UTILITY.
UM, SO, UH, THIS AFTERNOON, SHERRY KOOL IS JOINING ME.
SHERRY IS OUR ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE OFFICER.
UM, SHERRY'S OVER OUR ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE OFFICE IN AUSTIN WATER.
THAT GROUP, UH, INCLUDES OUR HORNSBY BIN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTER.
IT INCLUDES OVERSIGHT OF OUR, UH, WILDLANDS, WHICH INCLUDES OUR WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS AS WELL AS OUR BCP HOLDINGS.
UM, SHERRY AND HER TEAM ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR ABOUT COUNTY'S CANYON LAND CONSERVATION PLANNING MANAGEMENT WORK, AS WELL AS OUR CLIMATE WORK.
SHE'S GOING TO TALK US THROUGH IT.
AND WITH THAT I'M TO TURN IT OVER.
I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE THIS AFTERNOON.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, AUSTIN CONTINUES TO GROW, UM, WITH ALL THAT NEW DEVELOPMENT, A LOT OF TIMES CAN COME MORE, UM, WHAT WE CALL THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE, OR WOOEY, YOU'LL HEAR THAT TERM A LOT, WHICH IS BASICALLY WHERE THE HOMES, UM, ABOUT SOME WILD SPACE OF, OF SOME FORM, UM, IN THIS AREA IN CENTRAL TEXAS, MOST OF OUR FIRES OVER 90% ARE CAUSED BY HUMANS.
IN SOME WAY, WE DON'T HAVE THE DRY LIGHTNING AND SOME THINGS THAT HAPPEN OUT WEST.
AND SO THAT, UM, CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT JUST ALLOWS MORE OPPORTUNITY FOR WILDFIRES THAT THE HOMEOWNERS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT FROM THE WILD SPACE, BUT ALSO FIRES THAT COULD START IN THE HUMAN SPACE, MOVING INTO THE WILDLANDS.
UM, AS YOU ALSO ARE AWARE, I'M SURE THAT IT IS FORECASTED TO BE A HOT DRY SUMMER.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE AS PREPARED AS WE POSSIBLY CAN FOR THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO TODAY I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF THE ROLE OF THE WILD LAND CONSERVATION DIVISION.
UM, HOW WE DO OUR PLANNING, PLANNING IS KEY TO THE WORK THAT WE DO, ALL THE COOPERATIVE PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE, UM, SOME OF THE TOOLS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO USE FOR WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS AND THEN OUR WORK WITH AUSTIN WATER FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS AND OUR NEXT STEPS.
SO THE ROLE OF THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION DIVISION IS REALLY TO MANAGE OUR FIRE USE AND OUR FIRE POTENTIAL ON THE WILDLANDS, UM, IN A WAY THAT BENEFITS OUR WATERSHEDS AND THE HABITAT THAT WE'RE TASKED WITH MANAGING AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
SO WE'RE NOT IN A FIRST RESPONDER ROLE, BUT WE'RE IN A ROLE OF TRYING TO BE PREPARED AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS TO BE AS, AS READY AS WE CAN FOR THAT SITUATION.
AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS ARE LISTED ON THAT SLIDE.
I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH ALL THOSE THINGS.
THIS SLIDE IS KIND OF A LARGE SCALE, BUT WE PUT IT IN TO SHOW YOU THE SPAN OF THE LANDS THAT WE MANAGE THAT GO FROM ALL THE WAY UP AROUND CEDAR PARK, DOWN TO KYLE AND CLOSE TO KYLE.
UM, I DON'T HAVE TIME TODAY REALLY TO TALK ABOUT THE TWO PROGRAMS, BUT WE'RE, WE'D BE HAPPY TO PRESENT ON THAT AT ANOTHER, UM, MEETING, BUT THE FIRST ONE OF THE PROGRAMS IS THE BACONIAN CANYON LANDS CONSERVATION PLAN THAT KEVIN MENTIONED AND COUNCIL MEMBER POOL IS OUR CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE ON THE COORDINATING COMMITTEE, UM, WHICH ALSO HAS, UH, COMMISSIONER BRIDGET SHEA FROM TRAVIS COUNTY.
IT'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY THAT WE HOLD THAT PERMIT.
AND THESE LANDS THAT WE MANAGE OUR MITIGATION LANDS FOR THAT PERMIT.
SO BASICALLY BACK IN THE EIGHTIES, THE, A NUMBER OF ENDANGERED SPECIES WERE LISTED IN THE TRAVIS COUNTY AREA.
AND IT CREATED A BIG CONFLICT BETWEEN THE DEVELOPERS AND
[00:55:01]
THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY AND OUR LOCAL LEADERS AT THE TIME HAD THE VISION TO PUT TOGETHER THIS COUNTYWIDE PERMIT.SO IT ENABLES THE DEVELOPMENT TO OCCUR IN A VERY STREAMLINED PROCESS AND ALSO ENABLED US TO COBBLE TOGETHER THIS PRESERVE SYSTEM THAT WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO TODAY.
UH, AND THEN THE SISTER PROGRAM THAT WE MANAGE THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS.
THOSE ARE THE LANDS THAT THE CITY HAS PURCHASED, UM, THROUGH THE BOND, UH, CITIZEN IMPROVED BONDS TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY AND BARTON SPRINGS.
UM, THEY ALSO PROTECT WATER QUALITY IN GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN HAYES COUNTY AND SOUTHWEST TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND SO BETWEEN THOSE TWO PROGRAMS, WE, UM, DIRECTLY MANAGE OVER 25,000 ACRES OF LAND.
AND THEN WE HAVE ABOUT 22,000 ACRES OF LAND IN CONSERVATION EASEMENTS IN THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE CITY PURCHASES THE DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS AND TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY.
BUT THE LAND OWNER CONTINUES TO RANCH OR WHATEVER THE LAND USE WAS, BUT THEY'RE, UH, THEY DON'T DEVELOP THE PROPERTY.
AND SO BETWEEN THOSE TWO PROGRAMS, WE'RE UP TO ABOUT 48,000 ACRES THAT ARE HELPING TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY AND ENDANGERED SPECIES THROUGHOUT OUR REGION.
OUR COUNTY'S CENTRAL TEXAS COUNTIES.
SO PLANNING IS CRITICAL TO WHAT WE'RE WE DO, AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE PLAN.
THAT'S OUT ON THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS, BY THE WAY.
UM, WE HAVE LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR ALL OF OUR PROPERTIES THAT WE MANAGE THAT INCLUDE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION.
AND THOSE PLANS HAVE EXISTED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THOSE PROGRAMS TOOK ABOUT THREE YEARS TO GET THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE BALCONIES CANYONLANDS PRESERVE LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN TOGETHER.
IT'S MULTIPLE VOLUMES, UM, AND THAT'S BEEN UPDATED ALMOST COMPLETELY IN 2007 AND THEN SEVERAL UPDATES OF DIFFERENT, UH, CHAPTERS OF THAT SINCE THEN.
AND THE SAME WITH THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS.
THE FIRST PLAN WAS IN 2001, IT'S ON A 10 YEAR UPDATE CYCLE.
SO WE HAVE A 2012 PLAN THAT WE'RE OPERATING UNDER NOW.
AND WE'RE ACTUALLY WORKING RIGHT NOW ON THE 2022 UPDATE.
AND WE'LL BE COMING BACK TO COUNCIL, HOPEFULLY BY THE END OF THIS YEAR WITH THAT NEXT SLIDE, WE ALSO DID WILDFIRE RISK MODELING.
UM, AUSTIN WAS A MAJOR PLAYER, AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, OR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES ALONG WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND OTHER PARTNERS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY WILDFIRE PROTECTION PLAN.
AND ONE OF THE KEYS, UM, ASPECTS OF THAT PLAN WAS WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME HAZARD MODELING WITH JOSEPH WHITE.
WHO'S A LOCAL EXPERT AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY THAT WOULD, WOULD, UH, THAT LOOKED AT THE RISK OF OUR FUEL TYPES OR VEGETATION, OUR TOPOGRAPHY, OUR CLIMATE.
UM, AND BEFORE THAT, WE HAD BEEN RELIANT ON WESTERN MODELS, WHICH WERE NOT DIRECTLY APPLICABLE TO THIS AREA.
SO THAT WAS A BIG WIN TO BE ABLE TO USE, DEVELOP THOSE MODELS AND USE THEM TO PREDICT RISK.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE FOUND FROM THAT MODELING IS THAT THE MATURE ASH JUNIPER OAK WOODLANDS IS, UM, DOESN'T READILY BURN IN NORMAL CONDITIONS.
IT'S A GOOD, UH, IT'S GOOD TO KEEP THAT MATURE FOREST AND KEEP IT MOIST.
YOU I'M SURE AS, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU GO OUT AND WALK ABOUT IT'S MUCH COOLER AND MOISTER IN THE WOODLANDS THAN IT IS OUT IN THE, IN THE OPEN.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO USE THAT, UM, TO HELP DEVELOP JUST TOOLS TO WORK WITH THAT HABITAT TYPE AND TRY TO KEEP THAT HABITAT IN PLACE, WHICH IS WHAT WE HAVE TO MANAGE FOR, FOR THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER.
WE'VE ALSO DONE STRATEGIC SITE PLANS.
WE DID A SERIES OF MAT BOOKS CALLED WILDFIRE CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR ALL OF OUR, UM, BALCONIES CANYONLANDS PRESERVE LANDS AND WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS.
AND WE'VE SHARED THOSE, UH, ELECTRONICALLY WITH ALL OUR FIRST RESPONDERS.
AND IT'S BASICALLY INFORMATION ABOUT THE ROADS.
CAUSE SOME OF THE ROADS ARE NOT VERY PASSABLE.
THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT POSSIBLE WITH A FULL SIZE FIRE TRUCK.
THEY MIGHT BE POSSIBLE WITH A BRUSH TRUCK, UM, WATER SOURCES, BUILDINGS, UH, THAT SORT OF THING, RARE, UH, SPECIES OR
[01:00:01]
CAVES THAT THEY WOULDN'T WANT TO DRIVE INTO.SO ALL OF OUR STAFF IN THE WILDLANDS HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO BE RESOURCED, UM, PROVIDERS OR RESOURCE, UH, PERSON IN THE EVENT OF A WILDFIRE.
SO WE WOULD BE OUT THERE, UH, HELPING TO, TO JUST PROVIDE INFORMATION TO THE PEOPLE THAT WERE RESPONDING TO THE FIRE.
UH, WE'VE ALSO DONE SITE PLANS, JUST DOING FIREWISE, UM, TREATMENTS AROUND THE BUILDINGS THAT WHERE OUR OFFICES ARE AT AT WRECKER RANCH AND BK AND AT SOME OF OUR OTHER, UH, FACILITIES.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, ANOTHER TYPE OF PLAN THAT WE, UM, REQUIRE OF ANY CONTRACTORS OR INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDERS WHEN THEY COME OUT TO DO WORK ON THE WILDLANDS IS CALLED A WILDFIRE PREVENTION PLAN.
AND THEY LAY OUT IN THIS PLAN BASICALLY WHO, WHO WILL BE OUT THERE.
WHAT TYPE OF WORK ARE THEY DOING? UM, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A SPOTTER IF IT'S GOING TO BE, UM, HOT WORK.
AND IF IT'S IN HIGH FIRE RISK CONDITIONS, UM, THEY LET US KNOW, UH, WHAT TYPE OF FIRE SUPPRESSION EQUIPMENT THEY HAVE.
THEY HAVE TO HAVE, UH, FIRE EXTINGUISHERS IN THEIR VEHICLES.
SO IT REALLY SERVES AS A TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION TOOL.
UM, IF SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN AND WE NEED TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM, UH, WE HAVE THEIR CONTACT INFORMATION AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO HAVE OUR CONTACT INFORMATION.
NEXT SLIDE COOPERATIVE PROJECTS ARE ALSO KEY TO, TO WHAT WE DO.
WE COULDN'T DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT, UH, COOPERATING WITH ALL OF OUR PARTNERS AND OUR VOLUNTEERS.
THESE ARE SOME OF OUR VOLUNTEERS NEXT SLIDE.
WE ARE VERY ACTIVE IN THE AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY WILDFIRE COALITION.
UM, I SERVE ON THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR THAT ALONG WITH A NUMBER OF OUR STAFF FROM THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND TRAVIS COUNTY PARTNERS.
UM, AND A NUMBER OF OUR WILD-LAND STAFF ALSO SERVE ON COMMITTEES, WORKING COMMITTEES OF THAT COALITION.
UM, THE, WE HAVE A LONG-TERM VOLUNTEER PROGRAM ON LIVE IT'S CALLED LIVE MOISTURE MONITORING.
IT'S VERY DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS THAT GO OUT, UM, BI-WEEKLY AND TAKE SAMPLES OF THE JUNIPER NEEDLES.
THEY GO THROUGH TO DRY THEM AND LOOK AT THE, WHAT THE LIVE FUEL MOISTURE IS.
AND IT'S BEEN A VERY GOOD INDICATOR OF THE FIRE RISK, UM, AND ALSO IS USEFUL FOR OUR PRESCRIBED BURN PROGRAM TO GIVE US INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE FIRE WILL BEHAVE.
UM, WE DO COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS WITH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDERS.
UM, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO POINT OUT TO THEM WHEN THERE'S LINES THAT WE FEEL LIKE, UM, COULD USE SOME TREATMENT.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, EVEN WORKED WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ON MOVING SOME DISTRIBUTION LINES THAT WORKS BETTER FOR THEM TOO, THAT THEY CAN ACCESS THOSE LINES IF WE MOVE THEM OUT OF THE PRESERVE.
AND THEN WE HAVE GUIDELINES THAT THEY HAVE TO FOLLOW FOR MAJOR TRANSMISSION LINES THROUGH THE PRESERVE.
AND SO WE, UM, WORK WITH ALL OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDERS ON THAT PROCESS.
AND THEN WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE, UM, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, WILDFIRE DIVISION.
UM, WE WORK COOPERATIVELY ON EDUCATION WITH OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE PRESERVE.
UH, WE FOUND THAT THEY, UM, LIKED TO HEAR THOSE MESSAGES FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THAT THEY, THEY, UH, HAVE A LOT OF TRUST IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TELLING THEM WHAT THEY SHOULD DO, UM, TO HARDEN THEIR HOME AND BE READY FOR WILDFIRE.
AND SO WE TRY TO PARTNER WITH THEM WHEN WE DO THAT OUTREACH.
WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF TOOLS WE CAN USE FOR WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.
UH, ONE OF THE MAJOR ONES WE USE THAT YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT ARE SHADED FUEL BREAKS.
UM, THIS WAS A TECHNIQUE FROM OUT WEST THAT WE MODIFIED FOR GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER HABITAT, GENERALLY IT'S FOR HABITAT.
IT CAN BE AND OTHER WOODLAND TYPES.
UM, BUT THE IDEA IS THE FIRE IS LIKELY TO COME IN IN THE FINE, WHAT WE CALL FINE FUELS OR GRASS.
UM, AND SO YOU LIMB UP THE TREES, BUT YOU KEEP THE CANOPY INTACT IN THE SHADE.
SO THAT HELPS SHADE OUT THE GRASS AND THE FINER FUELS, BUT YOU TRY TO PREVENT THE FIRE FROM MOVING UP, UM, INTO THE CANOPY WHERE IT WOULD BECOME A MORE SEVERE FIRE.
SO WE'RE DOING THIS WORK NOW ALONG ALL OF OUR, UM, BOUNDARIES, WHERE WE HAVE HOMES WITHIN 150 FEET OF OUR BOUNDARY.
[01:05:02]
UH, IT'S KIND OF A BOOTS ON THE GROUND TYPE ANALYSIS.WE PLAN OUT AHEAD OF TIME WHAT WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO DO, BUT WE MIGHT GO OUT AND FIND THERE'S A NEW HOME AND WE NEED TO DO AN ADDITIONAL STRETCH, OR WE MIGHT FIND A SHORT STRETCH.
WE WERE GOING TO SKIP AND WE FEEL LIKE WE CAN DO THAT.
SO WE CALL ALL OF THIS, THE POTENTIAL TREATMENT ZONE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE THE TOPOGRAPHIC, UM, LAYER LAYERS ON THIS MAP, BUT IT'S VERY STEEP TERRAIN, UH, WHERE A LOT OF OUR PROPERTIES ARE.
AND SO THE BIG CHALLENGE GETTING CREWS IN THERE, IT'S A CHALLENGE GETTING THE MATERIAL OUT WITHOUT CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE HABITAT OR TO THE, UM, SOIL EROSION.
SO, UH, IT'S KIND OF SLOW PACED WORK SOMETIMES, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE THROUGH IT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
WE ALSO HAVE A LIMITATION THAT WE CAN ONLY BE CUTTING IN THE WOODLANDS WHERE THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLERS ARE FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR WHEN THEY'RE NOT HERE.
SO SEPTEMBER 1ST TO MARCH 1ST, SO WE WERE ABLE TO SET UP, UM, SOME LONG-TERM CONTRACTS AND WE'VE GOT GEARED UP.
WE DID SOME WORK, THIS, UM, FALL AND WINTER, AND THEN WE'RE GEARED UP TO HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER.
WE, WE ALSO HAVE HAD SOME CHALLENGES IN THE PAST WITH WORKFORCE BECAUSE WE WERE ALL USING THE SAME CREWS BETWEEN US AND TRAVIS COUNTY AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS.
UM, BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE THOSE CONTRACTS, I THINK WE WON'T HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH THAT.
UM, GOING FORWARD, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WE'VE ALSO DEVELOPED SOME GIS TOOLS TO TRACK ALL THIS WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, OUR GIS FOLKS ALSO DEVELOPED A TOOL TO COLLECT THE DATA WHICH MADE DATA COLLECTION GO A LOT MORE QUICKLY.
OUR STAFF, UM, WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AFD ON ANNUAL WILDFIRE AWARENESS TRAINING, OR WE BRING IN PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT'S GOING ON ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
WE DO INCIDENT COMMAND TRAINING.
WE'VE DONE WE'RE RIGHT NOW, WORKING OUT AT HORNSBY BEND.
UM, KEVIN MENTIONED THAT, UH, CR IS IN MY AREA NOW THE CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND WE HAVE SOME OLD HOUSES OUT ON PLATT LANE, UM, OUT NEAR HORNSBY WHERE AFD IS DOING SOME WILDLAND, URBAN INTERFACE TRAINING.
THEY'RE TRYING TO GET ALL THEIR STAFF THROUGH THAT TRAINING.
UM, AND THERE'S JUST SOME OLD HOUSES THERE THAT HELPS THEM, YOU KNOW, HAVE A PLACE TO WORK.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON THAT.
UM, WE DO, WE LOOK INTO WILDFIRE CAUSES WHENEVER WE HAVE A WILDFIRE ON THE PROPERTIES THAT WE MANAGE, WE TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED, WHAT CAUSED IT.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE DO A LOT OF PRESCRIBED BURN TRAINING AS WELL.
UM, WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO ADD TWO ADDITIONAL STAFF, UM, WITH SUPPORT FROM OUR MANAGEMENT THIS PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE ADDED A FORESTRY SPECIALIST IN 2019, AND THEN IN A SECOND ONE IN 2021, AND THE ONE IN 2021 HAS BEEN FOCUSED LARGELY ON DOING AN ASSESSMENT OF OUR AUSTIN WATER FACILITIES.
NEXT SLIDE WE DO PRESCRIBED BURNING.
UM, IT'S ACCOMPLISHES A LAND MANAGEMENT GOAL PRIMARILY, UH, WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO MANAGE FOR OAK SAVANNA OR FOR BLACK CAT VERIO HABITAT.
UM, BUT IT ALSO CAN REDUCE FUEL LOAD WHERE YOU'RE A LITTLE MORE IN CONTROL OF WHAT'S GOING TO BURN BEFORE, UM, A WILDFIRE, WHERE TO HAPPEN.
UH, WE FOLLOW THE NATIONAL STANDARDS.
WE'VE WORKED WITH AFD ON A PERMITTING SYSTEM.
WE HAVE REGULAR MEETINGS WITH THEM TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, AFD HAS ALSO PARTICIPATED IN ALL OF OUR PRESCRIBED BURNS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THAT PROGRAM.
AND THEY, SINCE 2001, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BURN ABOUT 11,000 ACRES ON THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS NEXT LINE.
SO AUSTIN WATER FACILITIES AND OPERATIONS.
UM, WE'RE DOING SOME OF THIS WORK AS PART OF OUR, IF I'M EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT, ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY WORK, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, WE DID AN ASSESSMENT OF ALL THE MAJOR, UH, THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, AND THEN OUR SMALLER, UM, TREATMENT PLANTS, UH, SATELLITE FACILITIES, AND THEN ALSO LIFT STATIONS.
[01:10:01]
UM, ALL THE AUSTIN WATER FACILITIES, WE WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE THIS ASSESSMENT.UM, AND WE'RE JUST NOW STARTING TO WORK WITH OUR OPERATIONS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF ON IMPLEMENTATION OF A LOT OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, ONE OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITIES WAS ALL RICK WATER TREATMENT PLAN, AND WE WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE, UM, ALL THE WORK THAT WAS RIGHT AROUND THE PLANT THIS PAST SEASON.
AND RIGHT NOW THERE'S A CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ON THE NORTH SIDE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING IN AFTER THAT PROJECT TO SEE IF WE NEED TO DO ADDITIONAL WORK ON THAT PART OF THE PROPERTY.
SO THE NEXT STEPS ARE, WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE, UM, WORKING WITH OUR PARTNERS.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS.
WE HELPED TRAIN A CREW THAT DID, UM, SHE HAD FEEL BREAK WORK, AND WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT AGAIN, UM, WITH THAT CREW AND THEN WITH OUR NEW CONTRACTS, WE'LL BE CONTINUING THAT WORK.
AND THEN ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW IS JUST CLIMATE CHANGE CONSIDERATIONS FOR, FOR THE WOODLANDS AND THE GOLDEN CHEEK WARBLER HABITAT.
WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP THOSE WOODLANDS INTACT, YOU KNOW, KEEP THEM, KEEP THE WATER THERE.
UM, WE DO BERMS AND SWALES AND DIFFERENT THINGS TO SOIL RESTORATION PROJECTS TO TRY TO, UM, KEEP THAT ENVIRONMENT THE WAY IT IS.
AND THEN ON THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS, WE'RE MANAGING MORE TOWARDS, UH, UH, OAK SAVANNA.
SO THERE MAY BE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES ON HOW WE DEAL WITH WHAT OUR CHANGING CLIMATE AND BRINGS TO US.
UM, THAT'S THE LINK FOR OUR WEBSITE AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE OVERVIEW.
UM, YOU KNOW, NOT OBVIOUS THAT AUSTIN WATER WOULD BE THE PLACE WHERE WE WOULD BE DOING OUR WILDFIRE WORK.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AS WE'RE IN, UM, WILDFIRE AWARENESS MONTH THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP, UM, PREVENT, UM, WILDFIRE.
WHAT DID ASK IF YOU COULD GO A LITTLE BIT DEEPER ON THE FACILITY ASSESSMENTS? UM, SO AS I UNDERSTAND IT, YOU SAID THAT THE, THE FACILITY ASSESSMENTS WERE COMPLETED AND THAT YOU'D DONE A PORTION OF THE FIELDS REDUCTION WORK AT OLD RICH.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU'RE TACKLING THAT THOSE THAT WORK AND THE TIMEFRAME OBVIOUSLY FEELS MITIGATION HAS TO HAPPEN ON A REGULAR BASIS, BUT IN TERMS OF COMPLETING THE INITIAL WORK LAID OUT IN THOSE PLANS, WHAT IS THE TIMETABLE? YEAH, WE, UM, WE'VE JUST FINISHED WRITING UP THAT INFORMATION.
AND SO WE'RE JUST NOW MEETING WITH OUR OPERATIONS FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO LET THEM KNOW, YOU KNOW, WHAT ALL THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE.
AND I THINK, UM, DUE TO THE SEASONAL RESTRICTIONS WITH GOLDEN G WARBLER HABITAT, IT'LL PROBABLY BE AGAIN, WE'LL GET THAT ALL READY TO ROLL BY SEPTEMBER 1ST.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN START IMPLEMENTING MORE OF THAT WORK BEYOND ALL RICK IN THE FALL.
BUT, UM, WE ALSO HAVE TO GO THROUGH MORE DEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION FOR THAT WORK BECAUSE OUR LIFT STATIONS ARE SOMETIMES WITHIN PARKLAND OR EVEN ON PRIVATE PROPERTY WITH AN EASEMENT.
AND SO WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE GENERAL SERVICES, OUR, UH, GENERAL PERMIT AND WORKING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS ON, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE OKAY WITH THE PROPOSED WORK THAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO.
SO I THINK IN THE FALL OF LEE, WE CAN MAKE A GOOD, UM, GET A GOOD CHUNK OF THAT DONE.
UM, I GIVE, SAY TWO YEARS ON THAT WORK, IT WOULD PROBABLY TAKE TWO TO NON BIRD SEASONS TO IMPLEMENT ALL THOSE MEASURES.
SOME OF THEM, UM, ARE A LOT OF THE VEGETATION, BUT SOME OF IT IS STRUCTURAL TOO.
SO WE JUST NEED TO GET BACK WITH THE OPERATIONS STAFF ON HOW, WHETHER, YOU KNOW, WE COULD REPLACE A WOODEN FENCE WITH A METAL FANS OR WOODEN BUILDING, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IT'LL TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO GET ALL THAT INTO PLACE.
SOME OF THAT MIGHT HAVE TO GO INTO CIP PROJECTS AND IS THAT INFORMED BY THE WE CODE AT ALL? IS IT INFORMED BY THE WE CODE THAT WE ADOPTED AND INTERFACE THE WOOEY CODE AS I, I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON THE WIFI CODE, BUT A LOT OF IT APPLIES TO NEW DEVELOPMENT AND THIS IS MORE INFORMED JUST BY BEST PRACTICES FOR WILDFIRE PREVENTION, UH, WHILE TRYING TO CREATE A, UM,
[01:15:02]
A FUEL BREAK BETWEEN THE FACILITY AND THE WILD SPACE.ALSO LOOKING AT THE ELECTRICAL SUPPLY, WE'VE ALSO LOOKED AT WHETHER OR NOT THE ELECTRICAL SUPPLY TO THAT FACILITY COULD BE COMPROMISED OR NOT.
UM, SO IT'S MORE INFORMED BY JUST BEST PRACTICES FOR, UH, MORE FIREWISE TYPE TECHNIQUES THAT PEOPLE WOULD DO AROUND THEIR HOME, BUT NOT NECESSARILY TO COMPLY WITH THE WEEK.
YEAH, IT DIDN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT'S WHAT I SAID INFORMED BY.
I DIDN'T MEAN THAT IT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, COMPLYING WITH IT BECAUSE IT DOESN'T APPLY TO ALL STRUCTURES.
UM, BUT I THINK THEY'VE, YOU KNOW, IN APPLYING THAT WE CODE IN OUR AREA, THEY'VE BEEN LEARNING A LOT ABOUT HOW IT WORKS AND HOW IT, WHERE THEIR CHALLENGES AND, UM, HAVE DEVELOPED, UM, SOME TECHNIQUES AND A GREATER KNOWLEDGE THAN, THAN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND HAD BEFORE.
SO THEY MAY BE ABLE TO ADD SOME ADDITIONAL INSIGHT TO THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT BE DOING THERE, UM, THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO OUR AREA AND WHAT WE'RE OBSERVING IN TERMS OF THE WILDFIRE RISKS.
SO IT MIGHT BE, UM, IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH, UM, THE FIRE MARSHALL FOR THIS WORK TO, TO CIRCLE BACK AND JUST SEE, YOU KNOW, HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING WITH THAT THAT WE NEED TO BE THINKING ABOUT HERE THAT THAT MIGHT HELP US ACHIEVE OUR GOALS, GOALS FASTER AND MORE EFFECTIVELY? I'M SURE ALL WHICH IS NOT THE ONLY TREATMENT PLANT THAT'S IN THE WEEK CODE.
UM, WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR DAVIS? UM, DAVIS DIDN'T HAVE AS MUCH DOESN'T HAVE AS MUCH, UM, HABITAT OR WHY, YOU KNOW, WOODLANDS CLOSE TO THE FACILITY, BUT THERE IS SOME LAND THAT WE OWN.
THAT'S JUST NORTH OF THE PLANT AND WE DO HAVE SOME PLANS TO DO WORK IN THERE.
SO THAT WOULD BE COMING UP THE NEXT FALL.
AND WE DID, WE DID HAVE SOMEONE FROM AMD WHO HELPED US WITH THE ASSESSMENTS.
SO, BUT THAT'S A GOOD SUGGESTION.
I'LL GET BACK WITH THEM ON SOME OF THE WOOEY CODE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I DIDN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT FIREWISE, BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY THE, WE TRY TO HELP PROMOTE THAT.
THE BEST THING THAT CITIZENS DO IS TO HELP IS TO HARDEN THEIR HOMES BECAUSE THE EMBERS CAN COME FROM A MILE AND A HALF AWAY.
AND SO EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT RIGHT NEXT TO THE WOODLAND, UM, IT'S BETTER.
IF YOU CAN HARDEN YOUR HOME TO WILDFIRE RISK OR ANY KIND OF FIRE COULD COME FROM ANOTHER STRUCTURE.
AND, UM, THE LAST THING I JUST WANTED TO, TO FLAG US OUT, I'M, I'M PLEASED THAT YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO PARTNER WITH THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS AND I, AND I REALLY HOPE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE, UM, THAT CONNECTION.
I GOT TO MEET SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE CREW.
WE HAD A EXHIBIT IN, I THINK IT MAY STILL BE OUT THERE, UH, AN EXHIBIT OPENING ON FRIDAY WITH OVER A HUNDRED.
SOME PEOPLE THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS AND THE CADET, UM, PROGRAM OVER AT PART AND, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR US TO LEARN FOR EQUITABLE GREEN JOBS.
UM, AND I KNOW YOU MENTIONED THAT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES YOU'RE HAVING IS GETTING YOUR CREWS.
AND SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH JUAN TUCKER IS LEADING THAT PROGRAM.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF REALLY INNOVATIVE IDEAS AND WE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, ABLE TO CHANNEL SOME OF THOSE FOLKS IN TO YOUR CONTRACTORS.
WE'RE WORKING ON SOME MODELS THAT HELP, YOU KNOW, TAKE OUR CREWS THAT WE'RE DOING AND HAVING THEM, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH THE CONTRACTORS WHO ARE THEN THE ONES WHO ARE DOING SOME OF THE OTHER WORK.
UM, BUT THEN THEY'RE GETTING CREWS THAT HAVE THE EXPERIENCE.
WE'RE ABLE TO GET FOLKS WHO OTHERWISE DON'T HAVE ACCESS THROUGH THAT PROGRAM AND WE'RE ABLE TO RECRUIT BETTER BECAUSE WE'RE ABLE TO PROMISE JOBS AT THE OTHER END.
UM, AND THAT'S REALLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY REALLY LEARNED FOR THE EQUITABLE GREEN JOBS IS THAT IT'S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO GIVE THEM THE FOOTHOLD IN, INTO THAT TYPE OF JOB.
WE NEED TO BE CREATING THESE PATHWAYS AND GIVEN THE JOB MARKET THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, UM, AND THE CHALLENGE THAT OUR CONTRACTORS ARE HAVING HIRING, ET CETERA.
UM, I JUST WANT TO FLAG THAT FOR YOU AS SOMETHING TO LOOK AT, UM, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT PROGRAM HAS SET UP A TRIPLE C DOES A LOT OF THAT WORK AND IT SORT OF HELPS DO SOME OF THAT NAVIGATING TO HELP YOU SOLVE YOUR CONTRACTING PROBLEMS, HELPING YOU SOLVE YOUR HIRING PROBLEMS. SO I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO HAVE THOSE OTHER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW AUSTIN WATER CAN BE PART OF THOSE PATHWAYS, UM, THROUGH A TRIPLE C OR THROUGH THE OTHER EQUITABLE GREEN JOBS THAT WERE PATHWAYS THAT WE ARE DEVELOPING.
CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOUR, ANY COLLABORATION YOU MIGHT BE DOING WITH UT AND SPECIFICALLY THE WILDFLOWER CENTER? I KNOW THEY ALSO DO SOME ROUTINE PRESCRIBED BURNS, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF IT IS JUST MAINTENANCE AND PART OF IT IS RESEARCH.
[01:20:01]
SO I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU ARE IN CONTACT WITH THEM.UM, WE HAVE A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THEM AND WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER PARTNERS TO WORK ON PRESCRIBED BURNS TOGETHER.
SO WE HAVE, WE DO SEND FOLKS TO WORK ON THEIR BURNS.
THEY ARE MORE RESEARCH ORIENTED, AND THEY'RE USUALLY PRETTY SMALL, UM, THERE AT THE WILDFIRE CENTER, BUT WE DO PARTICIPATE WITH THEM AND THEY ALSO COME OUT AND ASSIST US WITH PRESCRIBED BURNING AS WELL.
AND I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT OUR VICE CHAIR KITCHEN HAS JOINED THE MEETING.
I HAVE ONE MORE QUICK QUESTION.
UM, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES YOU HAVE IN PLACE IF THERE WERE A SIGNIFICANT WILDFIRE OF IT FOR THE, FOR THE UTILITY OPERATIONS, WHAT WE HAVE IN PLACE IN TERMS OF LIKE AN OPERATION PLAN, WHERE THERE TO BE A SIGNIFICANT WILDFIRE EVENT ON THE WILDLANDS? NOT ON THE WILD? WELL, I MEAN, I GUESS I WANT TO KNOW ON THE WILD LINES, BUT I'M ALSO PARTICULARLY INTERESTED WITH RESPECT TO THE UTILITY STRUCTURES THEMSELVES, SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, FOR THE WILDLANDS, WE DO HAVE A, UM, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR HOW, WHAT WE'LL DO WITH OUR STAFF AT, AT RIKER RANCH, UM, IN THE EVENT OF ANY KIND OF EMERGENCY EVENT OR DIFFERENT KINDS OF EVENTS OF COURSE HAVE DIFFERENT RESPONSE, BUT FOR A WILDFIRE, WE HAVE A PLAN ON WHAT WE WOULD DO IF THERE WAS A WILDFIRE AT THAT PARTICULAR FACILITY, IF THERE'S A WILDFIRE AND ANOTHER WILD-LAND FACILITY, I THINK OUR ROLE WOULD BE AS A RESOURCE, UH, TO HELP WITH THAT.
AND I'LL TAKE THIS MOMENT TO INTRODUCE MATT HOLLIN, WHO MANY OF YOU KNOW, WHO IS OUR NEW DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION DIVISION.
UM, WE HIRED HIM AWAY FROM WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT AND WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE HIM, UM, MANAGING THE WILDLANDS.
SO I'LL JUST OPEN UP AND IT'S A RELEASE TO OTHER FACILITIES WITHIN THE UTILITY.
OF COURSE WE HAVE SORT OF AN ALL HAZARDS, UM, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RESPONSE.
I'M PROBABLY GOING TO JUST ASK, UM, HONOR TO COME UP AND TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT IT, BUT GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE I'M ON A BRYAN BOREHAM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SERVICES AT AUSTIN WATER.
AND AS KEVIN MENTIONED, UM, WE WOULD, UM, HANDLE OUR RESPONSE TO A WHILE BUYER, EITHER IN THE COMMUNITY OR SPECIFICALLY AFFECTING OUR FACILITIES AND PROPERTIES, UM, FOLLOWING THE PROCEDURES THAT WE HAVE THROUGH OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION.
SO WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A MATRIX OF, UM, OPERATING CONDITION LEVELS AND WE WOULD ESCALATE FROM NORMAL OPERATIONS UP THROUGH, UM, ESCALATED AWARENESS TO A LIMITED SCOPE INCIDENT OR A FULL, FULL UTILITY INCIDENT.
SO OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM IS MONITORING CONDITIONS.
UM, EVERY DAY WHEN THERE IS ELEVATED WILDFIRE RISK, THAT INFORMATION IS SHARED WITH OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM AND OUR UTILITY, UH, LEADERSHIP TEAM.
SO IF THAT WERE TO EVOLVE FROM ELEVATED RISK, UM, TO AN ACTUAL INCIDENT, WE WOULD MOST LIKELY, UH, INITIALLY PUT OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM ON STANDBY IF IT WAS HEIGHTENED RISK.
BUT IF A FIRE WERE TO BREAK OUT, I EXPECT THAT WE WOULD ACTIVATE OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM TO ADD A MINIMUM MONITOR IF NOT OVERSEE OPERATIONS.
SO, AS KEVIN SAID, IT'S AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH.
WE WOULD FOLLOW THE PROTOCOLS THAT WE HAVE FOLLOWED IN OTHER EMERGENCIES.
DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? YES, BUT I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW THAT YOU'VE HAD SOME SPECIFIC EXERCISES OR THINKING THROUGH THE SPECIFIC TYPES OF SCENARIOS THAT MIGHT BE EXPERIENCED IN A WILDFIRE SITUATION.
I MEAN, AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH GIVES YOU A FRAMEWORK.
UM, BUT IT DOESN'T GIVE YOU THE INSTINCTS TO KNOW IN A WILDFIRE SITUATION THAT YOU'VE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT BEFORE.
WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT WE WOULD TALK ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT WAS THE WILDLANDS SITUATION? UM, ALTHOUGH I THINK THERE, THAT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST HAZARDS, UM, BUT FOR THE, FOR THE UTILITY, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT COULD THAT MEAN FOR THE UTILITY AND WHAT ARE THE PIECES THAT YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT MIGHT BE A SPECIFIC RESULT OF A WILDFIRE, UM, THAT IS AFFECTING ANY ONE OF THE UTILITIES, UM, FACILITIES, CAUSE IT COULD BE A TREATMENT PLANT.
YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW ARE WE THINKING ABOUT
[01:25:01]
HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT THAT BEYOND THE PREPAREDNESS PIECE? AGREED.UM, I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT AND CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TAKE INTO ACCOUNT FOR FUTURE, UM, EXERCISES, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A PROGRAM OF REGULAR, UM, SCENARIOS AND EXERCISES.
UM, WHEN SHERRI COOL MENTIONED, UM, THE FACILITY PLANNING EXERCISE, A MEMBER OF OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM WAS PART OF THAT TEAM PARTNERING WITH AFD AND WILDLANDS AND THAT MEMBER OF OUR EMERGENCY, UM, MANAGEMENT TEAM ALSO HAS A BACKGROUND IN FIREFIGHTING.
SO I THINK SOME THOUGHT HAS, HAS BEEN GIVEN, UM, AS THOSE FACILITIES HAVE BEEN EVALUATED, BUT, UH, IT'S A EXCELLENT POINT THAT WE COULD CERTAINLY CONSIDER, UH, SCENARIOS SPECIFIC TO THAT.
I MEAN, YOU COULD HAVE EMBERS FLOATING INTO ANY ONE OF THE TREATMENT PLANTS BEYOND THE SHADED FIELD BREAKS, CREATING A LOT OF HAVOC FOR INSTANCE.
UM, AND SO I JUST, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT INCORPORATED INTO SOME OF YOUR, YOUR EXERCISES IN THE, IN THE NEAR FUTURE AS APPROPRIATE.
I MIGHT ADD, I DO BELIEVE WE'VE ACTUALLY DONE A DESKTOP ON WILDFIRE.
IT'S BEEN QUITE SOME YEARS SINCE WE'VE DONE IT.
SO I COULDN'T GIVE YOU THE DATE, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE THAT.
I ACTUALLY PARTICIPATED IN A TABLETOP AGAIN, I'M INCIDENT COMMANDER AND IN MY OTHER JOB, BUT, UM, LIKE LAST WEEK THAT INVOLVED, I THINK IT WAS ACTUALLY THE DETONATION OF A NUCLEAR DEVICE THAT WOULD HAVE FIRE RESPONSE ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
SO NOT SPECIFICALLY WILDFIRE, BUT ONLY TO SAY THAT.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, IT'S CERTAINLY A RISK THAT WE SEE AND IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING WE NEED TO CONTINUALLY PLAN FOR AND THINK ABOUT.
AND I THINK WITH THE, WITH THE WILDFIRES THAT WE WERE SEEING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND IN TEXAS, THERE'S SOME MORE, UM, KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CASE OF UTILITIES THERE.
I WILL DEFINITELY TAKE YOUR FEEDBACK TO OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFF.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION COLLEAGUES.
[2. Status updates on Winter Storm Uri and February 2022 Boil Water After-Action Reviews.]
UM, WE SKIPPED OVER ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH WAS STATUS UPDATES ON WINTER STORM URI AND THE FEBRUARY, 2020 TO BOIL WATER AFTER ACTION REVIEWS.UM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO QUICKLY GO OVER IT OR WOULD YOU PREFER A MEMO UPDATE INSTEAD, OUR NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WOULD BE ON AUGUST 24TH.
OH, I HAVE THIS DOWN TILL THREE 30.
SO I'M COMFORTABLE WITH GOING, I'M COMFORTABLE GOING THROUGH THE REPORT, BUT UM, IF NO ONE ELSE WANTS TO, AND I JUST THINK THIS IS OUR KEY RESPONSIBILITY.
ALL RIGHT, THEN WE'LL GO THROUGH A BRIEF UPDATE.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS, RANDY JENKINS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT AUSTIN WATER.
AND AS MENTIONED, I'M HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR AFTER ACTION STATUS.
AND SO AS A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW AS MENTIONED, I'M GOING TO COVER BOTH WINTER STORM YURI IMPROVEMENTS PLAN AS WELL AS OUR ORRICK TURBIDITY EVENTS IMPROVEMENT PLAN.
AND SO WHAT I'D LIKE TO START OUT WITH IS THAT WE DO PLAN TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A DETAILED OVERVIEW AND UPDATE ON SPECIFIC STATUSES, BUT WE'RE GOING TO USE THIS BRIEFING TO PROVIDE A HIGH LEVEL OF THOSE ACTIVITIES.
AND SO TO DATE, UM, FOLLOWING WINTER STORM URI, WE PROVIDED AN UPDATE IN JANUARY AT OUR LAST A WALK MEETING.
AND THEN FOR THE TURBIDITY EVENT, WE REPORTED OUT IN MARCH TO YOU.
AND SO THIS IS A COMBINED OF ALL OF THOSE ACTIVITIES.
AND SO WITH URI OF THE 79 IMPROVEMENTS IDENTIFIED FROM OUR FORMAL AFTER ACTION REPORT.
I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT 68 OF THOSE ITEMS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED TO DATE WITH OUR ORIC TURBIDITY EVENT.
38 IMPROVEMENTS WERE IDENTIFIED WITH 30 OF THOSE COMPLETE AND OF THOSE THAT REMAIN OF OUR, OF, OF OUR OVERALL ACTIVITIES.
UM, 14 ARE, UM, PROVIDED IN OUR LA LONGER-TERM CIP INITIATIVES.
AND SO THOSE DO NOT HAVE A NEAR-TERM COMPLETION, BUT THEY ARE MOVING FORWARD IN OUR CIP PLANNING PROCESS.
AND SO TO HIGHLIGHT OUR RECENTLY COMPLETED, COMPLETED RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENTS, UM, WE'VE KIND OF IDENTIFIED THEM INTO SEVERAL BUCKETS.
SO UNDER OPERATION STAFFING PROCEDURES AND TRAINING, UM, WE'VE ADDED ACCESS FOR MANAGEMENT STAFF TO MONITOR SKATED REMOTELY.
AND THIS IS A DIRECT FOLLOW-UP ACTION FROM OUR ORRICK TURBIDITY EVENT FROM THIS PAST FEBRUARY.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'VE ENABLED EXTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS OF TURBIDITY EXCEEDANCE ALARMS. SO AGAIN, THIS IS RELATED TO SCADA AND THE FEBRUARY EVENT MOST RECENT.
[01:30:01]
LASTLY, WE'VE ENABLED AUTOMATIC BACK WASHING OF FILTERS FOR OUR TURBIDITY TRIGGER.SO THOSE WOULD AUTOMATICALLY KICK ON IN THE EVENT OF A SIMILAR EVENT.
UM, SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED TO DATE, UM, WE HAVE COMPLETED OUR DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT POWER DISTRIBUTION UPGRADE.
SO THAT IS, UM, IN PLACE AS WELL AS WE HAVE ADDED OUR THIRD ELECTRICAL FEED, UM, TO OLRICK.
UM, CERTAINLY THAT DID NOT COME WITHOUT A LOT OF HARD WORK FROM BOTH AUSTIN WATER STAFF AND AUSTIN ENERGY STAFF, BUT WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THAT THIRD FEED HAS BEEN ENABLED FOR AUTOMATIC SWITCHING.
IN ADDITION, OUR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO TEST OUT OUR IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE, UM, MODELED AND IDENTIFIED FROM OUR URI AFTER ACTION.
UM, WE TESTED THOSE OUT IN THE FEBRUARY EVENT, UM, AND THOSE WENT OFF WITHOUT A HITCH AND THOSE WERE, UM, THAT WE PROVIDED EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS USING MY ATX WATER CUSTOMER PORTAL, AS WELL AS OUR WARRANTS, CENTRAL TEXAS, UM, SYSTEM.
AND THEN IN ADDITION, UM, THAT WAS A DIRECT FOLLOW-UP FROM OUR WINTER STORM YURI, UM, WHERE WE DID NOT, BUT HAVE SINCE THEN, UM, ENACTED, UH, INTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS TO ALL OF AUSTIN WATER STAFF SO THAT THEY WERE MADE AWARE AND INFORMED OF THE EMERGENCY.
AND SO THAT, UM, SERVED US WELL, SO THAT AS THEY'RE OUT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THEY'RE GETTING QUESTIONS, THEY HAVE THE SAME INFORMATION, UM, THAT ALL STAFF MEMBERS DO AS WELL AS, AS YOUR OFFICES.
SO SOME OF THE RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY AND I'LL NOTE THAT THESE ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER 30TH.
SO RIGHT AT THE END OF OUR FISCAL YEAR, UM, UNDER A SIMILAR BUCKET APPROACH, OPERATIONS, STAFFING PROCEDURES, AND TRAINING OUR NEW OPERATIONS AND TRAINING POSITIONS THAT YOU APPROVE THROUGH THE RECENT RESOLUTION.
UM, THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS IS UNDERWAY FOR ALL 16 OF THOSE STAFF MEMBERS THAT WE'LL BE ADDING BASED ON THE FEBRUARY EVENT.
AND THEN, UM, WE'VE ALSO DEFINED AND IMPLEMENTED OPERATIONAL SITUATION AWARENESS CRITERIA FOR ALL OF OUR OPERATIONAL STAFF AND IN POSITIONS THAT HANDLE THAT ACTIVITY THROUGHOUT OUR UTILITY.
IN ADDITION, INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS, UH, REPLACEMENT OF THE NORTH AUSTIN RESERVOIR, THAT'S BEEN A LONGSTANDING CIB PROJECT, BUT IS NEARING COMPLETION THERE.
UM, AT THE FINAL STAGES OF WORKING THROUGH, I BELIEVE SOME OF THE VALVE TURNING EXERCISES TO GET, UM, THAT RESERVOIR UP AND RUNNING.
SO WE ARE, WE'RE REALLY CLOSE THERE.
UM, ALSO NOTE THE COMPLETION OF WINTERIZATION OF COMPONENTS AT PLANTS.
AND YOU MAY, UM, NOTE THAT YOU'VE HEARD THAT ACTIVITY BEING MARKED AS COMPLETE BEFORE.
AND I WANT TO JUST POINT OUT THAT THIS IS ACTUALLY PERTINENT TO SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT WE'VE RECENTLY ADDED TO OUR PLANTS AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE COMPONENTS ARE WINTERIZED AS WELL.
SO THOSE, THOSE LAST PIECES WILL BE COMPLETED BEFORE THIS FALL, BEFORE WE NEAR THE NEXT WINTER SEASON.
UM, LASTLY, UM, REVIEW SCADA, ALARM SEEDING, ALERT POP-UPS AND MONITORIZATION OPPORTUNITIES OF OUR SCADA SYSTEM.
THOSE ARE UNDERWAY AND WILL BE NEARING COMPLETION.
AND THEN, UM, THE LAST BUCKET OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, UM, WE IMPLEMENTED EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN IN ORDER TO MEET THE SB THREE REQUIREMENTS.
AND WE GAVE YOU A SPECIFIC REPORT OUT ON SB THREE HERE RECENTLY, BUT I'LL NOTE THAT OUR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN IS NEAR IMPLEMENTATION.
AND THEN THE LAST BULLET POINT ON OUR SLIDE HERE IS INCREASED INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM ROSTER AND CONDUCT ANNUAL TRAINING ACTIVITIES.
UM, AS ANA MENTIONED, JUST A MINUTE AGO, WE DO CONDUCT REGULAR TRAINING, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIFFERENT, UH, SCENARIOS.
AND SO THOSE ARE STILL, UM, HAPPENING AND OCCURRING.
AND WE DID RECENTLY COMPLETE, UM, ONE IN PERSON.
SO IT WAS REALLY NICE TO GET BACK IN A ROOM, UM, WITH STAFF NOW THAT WE'RE POST PANDEMIC.
UM, IN ADDITION, ALL OF, UM, THE EXECUTIVE TEAM HAVE TAKEN, UM, NAMES AND, AND BUILT OUT OUR IMT ROSTER.
AND SO THAT, UM, HAS BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AND WE HAVE INCREASED STAFFING AND POSITIONS BASED ON THESE LAST TWO EVENTS.
AND SO, AS I MENTIONED AT THE ONSET OF THIS PRESENTATION, UM, SEVERAL OF, OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE STILL MARKED AS NOT COMPLETE, BUT CERTAINLY ON ITS WAY TO BEING UNDERWAY OUR LONGER TERM RESILIENCY IMPROVEMENTS.
AND SO, UM, THOSE HAVE BEEN NOTED IN RCI PLEAT CIP PLANNING EFFORTS AND ARE ON THE HORIZON AND IN OUR FORECAST.
UM, BUT THOSE INCLUDE AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN OF FILTERS FOR TURBIDITY EXCEEDENCES, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT THAT THAT'S MORE OF A PROGRAMMING ASPECT OF THE AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN
[01:35:01]
AND HOW YOU WOULD, UM, MANEUVER, UM, PRODUCTION CAPACITY AT THAT, AT THAT MOMENT.UM, BUT WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THOSE AND THEN WATER STORAGE AND TRANSMISSION PROJECT PROJECTS AND A DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
UM, AS YOU NOTED IN WINTER STORM YURI, THE CAPABILITY TO HAVE ADDITIONAL ELEVATED STORAGE THROUGHOUT OUR SERVICE AREA WAS SOMETHING NOTED.
AND THAT IS ON OUR HORIZON, UM, ELECTRIC GEN GENERATION AND POWER RESILIENCY PROJECTS THAT ALL OF OUR TREATMENT PLANTS, LIFT STATIONS AND PUMP STATIONS THAT IS ALSO, UM, LISTED FOR IMPROVEMENTS DOWN THE ROAD, IMPROVED CHEMICAL STORAGE AND SLEDGE STORAGE DISPOSAL CAPABILITIES AT ALL OF OUR TREATMENT PLANTS.
AND THEN LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST WOULD BE THE COMPLETION OF, UM, INSTALLATION OF ALL OF OUR MITX WATER AND AMI METERS.
SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT OVERVIEW AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THE PROGRESS, A COUPLE SMALL QUESTIONS FOR THE PART ABOUT THE SCADA FOR THE RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS WAS THAT, WERE THOSE CHANGES WITH THE ACCESS TO THE REMOTE SCADA OR THE ENABLED EXTERNAL NOTIFICATION, ET CETERA, IS THAT ONLY AT ULRICH OR WAS IT AT OTHER PLANTS AS WELL, OR THEY ALREADY HAD IT GOOD AFTERNOON COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS SHEA ROLSON AND I'M ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ENGINEERING AT AUSTIN WATER.
THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WERE NOTED WERE LOOKING AT OUR SKATE IMPROVEMENTS FOR ALL OF OUR FACILITIES, NOT JUST FOR ULRIC, BUT THE ONES THAT ARE COMPLETED.
SO THERE, THERE WERE TWO PARTS TO THIS GATE.
THERE WAS THE PART THAT WAS CON THE, ADDING THE ACCESS FOR MANAGEMENT STAFF TO MONITOR SKATER REMOTELY THAT'S FOR ACROSS THE PLANTS, NOT JUST FOR OLDER.
AND IS IT, UM, FOR MULTIPLE TYPES OF, UM, SYSTEMS OR IS IT ONLY THE TYPE OF SYSTEM THAT FAILED IN THIS CASE? I WILL HAVE TO LOOK INTO THE EXACT CHANGES THAT WERE MADE AND GET BACK TO YOU, BUT WE CAN DO THAT.
CAUSE ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I GOT FROM A FEW FOLKS, YOU HAVE MORE OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE WAS IMPORTANCE OF HAVING THOSE SCADA ALARMS AND HAVING THAT MONITORING AND RAISE THE QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER THERE WERE OTHER INCIDENCES WHERE NOTIFICATION HADN'T HAPPENED, WHERE THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN OTHER, UM, PROBLEMS AT THE PLANT THAT WERE GOING ON NOTICE BECAUSE THAT WASN'T HAPPENING.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THERE'S PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CLEARLY THAT HUGE OPERATION AND THERE'S MANY, MANY TYPES OF SYSTEMS WHERE YOU MIGHT HAVE SCADA.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE WHEN YOU HAVE A CHANCE, IF, IF, IF THAT'S A BROADER HOW BROAD THAT IS BEING IMPLEMENTED OR HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
UM, AND THEN WITH RESPECT TO THE, MY, IT TAKES WATER.
UM, CAN YOU UPDATE US ON, ON THE TA CURRENT TIMELINE FOR COMPLETION? SO WE ARE EXPECTED TO COMPLETE INSTALLS BY SPRING OF 2024.
WE HAVE WHAT WE'LL BE PROVIDING AN AMI, UM, UPDATE AT OUR NEXT, UH, COMMITTEE.
I BELIEVE THAT'S ON OUR SLATE, AT LEAST FOR COMMISSION.
I KNOW, UM, IT IS SLATED, SO WE ARE WELL UNDERWAY.
WE I'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE A SMALL ANNOUNCEMENT, ALTHOUGH I WAS REALLY HOPING FOR A BIG SHEBANG.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, ACHIEVED, UM, 50,000 PLUS METER INSTALLATIONS ACROSS THE CITY THUS FAR.
SO, UM, THAT WAS A BIG MILESTONE STONE THAT WE WERE LOOKING TO HIT SO MORE TO COME ON THAT PROGRESS, BUT, BUT IT'S, IT'S UNDERWAY AND DOING WELL AND YOU SHOULD STILL CELEBRATE THAT.
HOWEVER, YOU, HOWEVER YOU, HOWEVER YOU PLANNED.
UM, UM, WE, WE NEED TO CELEBRATE THOSE WINS WHEN WE HAVE BIG PROJECTS THAT TAKE YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.
YOU KNOW, JUST TO CONTINUE THE THREAD ON THE, ON THE S SCADA ALARMS, WHEN WE DID THE TOUR, WHICH I FOUND VERY HELPFUL AND THANK YOU TO, TO STAFF FOR HELPING, UM, HOST US AND SILICATE THAT TOUR, I FOUND IT SUPER INFORMATIVE.
UH, JUST LOOKING, BEING IN THE CONTROL ROOM AND THE OPERATIONS ROOM, THE ALARMS, THEY THEY'RE TRIGGERED QUITE FREQUENTLY.
I MEAN, JUST EVEN IN THE AMOUNT, THE TIME THAT WE WERE THERE, I COULD SEE THE ALARMS POPPING UP AND IT'S NOT, IT DOESN'T TAKE OVER YOUR ENTIRE SCREEN.
IT'S A LITTLE TINY BOX TO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR SCREEN.
UM, THAT'S VERY EASY TO DISMISS.
SO AS PART OF THE MODERNIZATION EFFORTS THAT Y'ALL ARE LOOKING AT WITH UPDATING THE ALARM SYSTEM, UM, ARE YOU ALSO TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE VISIBILITY OF THE ALARM, THE, UM, THE FREQUENCY OF IT, ANY, UM, ADDITIONAL TRIGGERS.
AND THEN MY SECOND PART TO THAT QUESTION IS, UM, SEEING HOW OFTEN THE ALARMS
[01:40:01]
ARE GOING OFF THERE.AND, AND I DON'T KNOW TO THE EXTENT OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THAT SITUATION, BUT, UM, THE MANAGERS THAT RECEIVE THE EXTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS, ARE THEY JUST GETTING NOTIFIED ONCE IT'S A CERTAIN ALARM THAT GETS TRIGGERED OR ARE THEY ALSO SEEING AND RECEIVING NOTIFICATION OF ALL OF THOSE SMALLER ALARMS GOING OFF GOOD AFTERNOON, RICK CORN, UM, AUSTIN WATER ZURICH FOR OPERATIONS, I'LL KIND OF ADDRESS KIND OF THOSE TWO PARTS.
UM, THE FIRST ONE IS THAT, UH, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF, UM, SCREENS AND, UM, ALARMS THAT COME IN, BUT IT'S ALSO CUSTOMIZED BY THE OPERATOR.
SO YOU COULD HAVE INDIVIDUAL SCREENS THAT ARE JUST DEDICATED TO ALARMS. AND SO EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE SMALL AND SCREENS, YOU CAN HAVE A DEDICATED JUST ALARMS ONLY AND FILTERED THROUGH THOSE.
SO, UM, THAT WAS KIND OF, THAT IS KIND OF BY DESIGN AS WE KIND OF GO IN THROUGH THE MONITORIZATION LOOK AND FEEL OF SOME OF THE SCREENS THAT YOU HAVE TO MAKE.
AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS ONE IS DEDICATED TO AN OPERATOR THAT SITS IN THE CONTROL ROOM.
THAT'S ALSO, UH, ATTENTIVE TO NOT ONLY ALARMS, BUT THE SCREENS TO CONTROL OPERATIONS.
SO IT'S REALLY CUSTOMIZED TO THAT INDIVIDUAL.
UM, IF YOU COULD REPEAT THE OTHER PART OF THAT QUESTION YEAH.
TO THE EXTENT WHERE SUPERVISORS OFFSITE ARE NOTIFIED OF THE NOTE OF THE ALARMS, JUST KIND OF HOW YOU MENTIONED IS YOU COULD GET, UH, QUITE A BIT OF ALARMS JUST IN SITTING DOWN FOR A SMALL PERIOD OF TIME.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, IDENTIFIED SOME CRITICAL ALARMS AND SO PARTICULAR LIKE TURBIDITY, THAT WAS ONE THAT'S PROGRAMMED IN TO HAVE AN EXTERNAL NOTIFICATION PROCESS.
AND SO THAT WAS DEMONSTRATED, UH, NOT ONLY AT A TEST LEVEL, BUT ALSO ON A PRODUCTION LEVEL.
AND SO IF A TURBIDITY ALARM EXCEEDS A THRESHOLD THAT WE HAVE FOR ALL RICK OR ANY OTHER PLANT, UH, THAT NOTIFICATION WOULD GO EXTERNALLY TO A GROUPING.
SO NOT JUST ONE INDIVIDUAL, BUT ALSO A GROUP OF, UH, MAYBE SUPERVISORS OR MANAGERS OR WHOEVER WE HAVE ON THAT DISTRIBUTION LIST.
AND THAT HAS BEEN TESTED AND IS ACTIVE RIGHT NOW.
UM, I THINK TO, UM, THE POINT EARLIER ABOUT, UM, HOW ARE WE, UH, IMPLEMENTING THIS IT'S THE IMPLEMENTATION IS ACROSS THE BOARD, CAUSE EVERY PLANT IS UNIQUE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE STANDARD EYES, STANDARDIZED NOTIFICATIONS ON TURBIDITY FOR ALL PLANTS.
WE HAVE STANDARDIZED OF VIEWS TO ALL THE PLANTS RIGHT NOW.
SO EVERY PLANT YOU CAN ACCESS BY, UM, WHO NEEDS TO HAVE ACCESS TO IT, MEANING IF I'M FAMILIAR WITH AND I MANAGE AND OPERATE ALL RICK VERSUS HANCOCK'S, THOSE INDIVIDUALS HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE PLANTS RIGHT NOW.
THERE WILL BE SOME STANDARDIZATION OF THE TURBIDITY ALARMS AND THE HIGHER LEVEL OF ALARM, CORRECT.
WE'VE STARTED OUT WITH TURBIDITY.
THEY MAY EXPAND TO OTHER TYPES OF NOTIFICATIONS, BUT DEFINITELY TURBIDITY IS KIND OF A HIGH PRIORITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE TWO MAIN FOCUSES IS DISINFECTION AND PARTICLE REMOVAL.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE PARTICLE REMOVAL, BUT WE CAN EASILY DO THAT FOR OTHER TYPES OF ALARMS. OKAY.
ANY FINAL QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
[6. Identify items to discuss at future meetings.]
SO OUR LAST ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ITEM SIX TO DISCUSS FUTURE ITEMS COLLEAGUES.OUR NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE AUGUST 24TH AND THEN OUR FINAL COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THE YEAR WILL BE OCTOBER 19TH.
SO I ONLY HAVE TWO COMMITTEE MEETINGS LEFT.
UM, ANY, ANYONE HAS ANY POTENTIAL TOPICS THAT THEY'D LIKE FOR THE COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER YES.
SPICY VICE-CHAIR KITCHEN? UM, I'M HOPING IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'VE DONE THIS PERIODICALLY, BUT IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE AN UPDATE ON WATER FORWARD, UM, AND AT ONE OF THESE MEETINGS.
WE WILL ADD THAT IN FOR AUGUST 24TH, UH, PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, WE CAN LOOK AT AN OVERVIEW OF THE UPDATE ON MOTOR FORD, BUT IT'D BE INTERESTING TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS FOR THE, UM, THE, THE STORAGE, THE, UM, AQUIFER STORAGE.
WE DID HAVE, UH, RECEIVED A BRIEFING ON THE AQUIFER STORAGE RECOVERY PROJECTS.
UM, SO STAFF DID PROVIDE A BRIEFING EARLIER TODAY ON IT.
SO I'LL GO BACK AND LOOK AT IT.
I WAS JUST GOING TO POINT OUT FOR THOSE WATCHING THAT THERE, THERE IS A DOCUMENT IN THE BACKUP WITH A WATER FORWARD QUARTER TO, UM, REPORT, OR
[01:45:01]
AT LEAST IN THE BACK OF THAT.I HAVE IT ON IF IT'S ONLINE, UM, THAT MIGHT BE A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AS, AS BACKUP.
IT MAY NOT BE ENOUGH OF WHAT YOU WANT, BUT, UM, YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN THAT.
YEAH, NO, I'M PRETTY, I APPRECIATE THAT MAYOR PER TIM.
I JUST THINK IT'S USEFUL TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION PUBLICLY PERIODICALLY.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S WHY I WAS SUGGESTING, I KNOW WE HAVE THE REPORTS AND THINGS, SO THANK YOU.
WELL, COLLEAGUES, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
IT IS NOW 3 21 AND I WILL ADJOURN OUR AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING.