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I BELIEVE THIS IS OUR SONG ONE.
WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED AT T X N IF YOU'RE READY.
[CALL TO ORDER]
AT 9 32.I'M ALISON ALT, I'M CHAIR OF AUDIT AND FINANCE, AND I'M GOING TO CONVENE THIS MEETING.
I'M JOINED ON THE DIAS BY, UM, THE MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE AS CURRENTLY CONSTITUTED COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, ONE MAIN ITEM ON OUR AGENDA.
WE'RE GONNA START THOUGH WITH OUR MINUTES.
[Public Communication: General]
DO WE HAVE ANY SPEAKERS THIS MORNING? WE HAVE TWO IN FIRST ON SPEAKER.SO WE'LL START WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, AND I DON'T HAVE THE NAMES FOR THOSE, SO, UM, IF YOU CAN TELL ME THE NAMES, PLEASE.
THAT'S GREENBERG AND MARY CALL.
OKAY, THANK YOU MS. GREENBERG.
IF YOU WANNA COME UP, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
CHAIR ALTA AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
MY NAME IS BETSY GREENBERG AND I'M A MEMBER OF THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION.
I ATTENDED YOUR MEETINGS IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, AND I'M HERE FOR A THIRD TIME TO ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER RESOLUTIONS THAT THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION PASSED IN JULY OF LAST YEAR.
THESE RESOLUTIONS RECOMMEND CHANGES TO SECTION TWO DASH SEVEN OF THE CITY CODE.
IN PARTICULAR, THE PARTS OF THE CODE THAT DESCRIBE WHAT IS REQUIRED TO BE LISTED IN THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INTEREST.
AS COUNCIL MEMBERS, ONE OF YOUR IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITIES IS MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT LAND USE.
AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NEED TO BE ASSURED THAT THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS DO NOT HAVE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST WHEN MAKING THESE DECISIONS.
SO THE PURPOSE OF THE FIRST RESOLUTION IS TO REQUIRE THAT INTEREST IN REAL PROPERTY BE IDENTIFIED EVEN WHEN THE PROPERTY IS HELD BY A CORPORATION PARTNERSHIP OR OTHER ENTITY IN WHICH THE OFFICIAL OWNS A SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST AS DEFINED ELSEWHERE IN THE CODE.
INTEREST IN ENTITIES ARE DISCLOSED CURRENTLY, BUT THERE IS NO CURRENT DISCLOSURE ABOUT REAL ESTATE THAT THESE ENTITIES OWN.
SO THIS CODE CHANGE WOULD IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY.
THE SECOND RESOLUTION WOULD FURTHER IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY BY REQUIRING THAT THE CITY CLERK POST TO THE CITY'S WEBSITE THE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORMS FILED BY ELECTED OFFICIALS AS WELL AS CANDIDATES FOR ELECTED OFFICE.
CURRENTLY, THE FORMS ARE AVAILABLE, BUT ONLY WITH THE PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST, WHICH MEANS IT CAN TAKE WEEKS TO OBTAIN INFORMATION.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION WHEN YOU DISCUSS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS AT THE END OF TODAY'S MEETING.
IF YOU'RE TROUBLED BY ANY ASPECT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, PLEASE REACH OUT TO ME OR THE COMMISSION LIAISON TO DISCUSS YOUR CONCERNS.
MS. KALE, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I WANNA THANK YOU, FIRST OF ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
I'M SPEAKING TODAY AS A CONSTITUENT TO EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR THE PROPOSED CODE CHANGES RECENTLY RECOMMENDED BY THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION.
BOTH RESOLUTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO IMPROVE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY AROUND THE IMPORTANT LAND USE DECISIONS THAT FREQUENTLY GO BEFORE CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION.
THE FIRST RESOLUTION AFFECTS ANYONE REQUIRED TO FILE THE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE FORM, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF SOVEREIGN BOARDS, THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
IT REQUIRES SUBSTANTIAL INTEREST IN REAL ESTATE BE EASILY IDENTIFIED RATHER THAN SIMPLY LISTED AS PART OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS LIMITED PARTNERSHIPS, REAL ESTATE TRUSTS, OR OTHER BUSINESS VEHICLES.
THE SECOND RESOLUTION RECOMMENDS THAT THE FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS BE PUBLICLY POSTED FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CANDIDATES.
I BELIEVE THAT BO BOTH OF THESE PROPOSED CHANGES BY INCREASING TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, WE'LL SUPPORT A STRONGER, MORE RESPONSIVE CITY GOVERNMENT FOR ALL OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTS.
AND I HOPE YOU C WILL CONSIDER INCLUDING THEM FOR EVENTUAL CONSIDERATION BY CITY COUNCIL.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting of December 13, 2022.]
TO ITEM ONE, THE MINUTES.DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MOVES APPROVAL AND COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES SECONDS THAT ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? THAT IS UNANIMOUS ON THE DIAS.
AND WELCOME TO COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER, UM, WHO IS JOINING US, UM, THIS MORNING AND HOPEFULLY WILL BE JOINING US AS A MEMBER
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OF THIS COMMITTEE.[2. 2022 Austin Water External review presented by Dr. Lynn Katz, Director of the Center for Water and the Environment at the University of Texas.]
SO WE'RE HERE TODAY AT THIS PARTICULAR MEETING, UM, TO DISCUSS THE EXTERNAL REVIEW OF AUSTIN WATER.UM, WE'RE HERE THOUGH BECAUSE AUSTIN KNIGHTS DESERVE SAFE AND RELIABLE DRINKING WATER.
AFTER THE FEBRUARY, 2022 BOIL WATER NOTICE THE FIFTH MAJOR INCIDENT WITH OUR WATER QUALITY AND SUPPLY.
IN AS MANY YEARS, I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HAVE AN EXTERNAL REVIEW OF THESE RECENT WATER SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS AND OUR COMMUNITY TO IDENTIFY WHAT WENT WRONG, HOW TO PREVENT FUTURE FAILURE, AND HOW TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL RESILIENCE AND FUNCTIONING OF OUR WATER SYSTEM.
I TASKED OUR CITY AUDITOR WITH ORGANIZING THIS INDEPENDENT REVIEW OF OUR FIVE MOST RECENT INCIDENTS BY A RE RESOLUTION THAT WAS CO-SPONSORED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS TOVO FUENTES ELLIS POOL, AND KELLY, UM, THREE OF WHOM ARE ON THE DIAS WITH ME TODAY.
THIS WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY ON FEBRUARY 17TH AT THE COUNCIL MEETING.
UM, SHORTLY AFTER THE WATER BOIL.
TODAY WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS WE'RE GONNA HEAR A BRIEFING ON THE FINAL REPORT FROM THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE AND THE UT CENTER FOR WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH WAS COMMISSIONED TO LEAD THE EXTERNAL REVIEW.
THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION WILL HEAR A SIMILAR PRESENTATION THIS EVENING WHILE THE EXECUTIVE TEAM FROM AUSTIN WATER IS ON SITE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AND MAKE AN INITIAL RESPONSIBLY, AUSTIN WATER WILL SHARE THEIR DETAILED IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE FOR REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS AT A JOINT MEETING WITH THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ON FEBRUARY 15TH.
WE ARE STILL DETERMINING WHETHER THAT'LL BE, UM, IN THE MORNING OR THE AFTERNOON.
I WANNA SPEAK BRIEFLY TO THE PROCESS, UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, THIS EXTERNAL REVIEW IS NOT ONLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN DELIVER THE SAFE DRINKING WATER, BUT ALSO TO REBUILD TRUST IN AUSTIN WATER.
IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT, AUSTIN WATER HAS WORKED WITH THE OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR AND THE UT REVIEW TEAM TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO FACILITIES, DOCUMENTATION, AND PERSONNEL, AND THAT AUSTIN WATER IS WORKING ON AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR 49 OF THE 53 RECOMMENDATIONS.
WITH 19 OF THOSE ALREADY UNDERWAY, AUSTIN WATER HAS ALSO COMMITTED TO PROVIDING REGULAR UPDATES TO THIS COMMITTEE AND THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
UM, TO KEEP US ABREAST OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS, I WANNA THANK THE AUSTIN WATER LEADERSHIP TEAM, ESPECIALLY INTERIM ACM GOOD AND NEWLY APPOINTED DIRECTOR RALES ROLSON FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO CHANGE AND TRANSPARENCY DURING THIS PROCESS, RETHINKING OUR APPROACH TO EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND STEWARDSHIP OF OUR RESOURCES.
NOT AN EASY TASK, AND I'M HEARTENED BY THE RESPONSE TO THIS REPORT SO FAR AS WE WORK TO REBUILD TRUST BETWEEN OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR UTILITY.
IT IS MY HOPE THAT AUSTIN WATER WILL ALSO SHARE CLEARLY WITH UTILITY COM CUSTOMERS, WHAT THEY HAVE DONE AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO PREVENT FUTURE BOIL WATER NOTICES, WATER OUTAGES, AND OTHER SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS.
I WANNA PAUSE BEFORE WE GO INTO THE REPORT JUST FOR THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING WHO HAVEN'T READ THE REPORT, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS REPORT IS AN IMPORTANT STEP TOWARDS RESTORING TRUST IN OUR UTILITY, BUT IT IS NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT THE CITY HAS TAKEN OR IS TAKEN FOR THOSE LISTENING.
I WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT EVEN BEFORE THIS REVIEW WAS COMMISSIONED, OUR WATER UTILITY HAD ALREADY TAKEN STEPS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES THAT LED TO THE FOUR INCIDENTS WITH OUR WATER QUALITY.
AND WHILE THIS REVIEW WAS IN PROGRESS IN 2022, AUSTIN WATER TOOK STEPS TO IMPLEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN AUSTIN WATER'S INTERNAL AFTER ACTION REPORT.
FOR THE MOST RECENT WATER QUALITY ISSUE, THE FEBRUARY, 2022 WA BOIL WATER NOTICE.
IN OTHER WORDS, IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WILL HEAR TODAY IS ONLY ONE PIECE OF OUR UTILITIES AFTER ACTION WORK.
I'LL CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO APPENDIX TWO B OF THE REPORT BEING PRESENTED TODAY, WHICH LISTS AFTER ACTION REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE VARIOUS INCIDENTS AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION STATUS.
I WILL NOW INTRODUCE, UM, COREY STOKES, WHO IS OUR AUDITOR, AND THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF, UM, FOR OVERSEEING THIS EFFORT.
THIS WAS INDEPENDENT OF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
UM, IT WAS PROCURED, UM, UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF THE CITY AUDITOR.
THANK YOU MS. STOKES, WITH THAT EXCELLENT INTRODUCTION.
UM, WE, SO AS YOU KNOW, WE DID THIS AS A RESULT OF THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION LAST YEAR.
UH, WE WENT OUT AND CONTRACTED, AS MENTIONED WITH THE CENTER FOR WATER AND ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
AND THEY HAD, UM, MANY, UM, SUBCONTRACTORS WITH D VARIOUS, UH, EXPERTISE, UH, THAT WERE ASSEMBLED AS PART OF THIS TEAM.
LYNN KATZ, WHO LED THAT TEAM WILL BE PRESENTING DR.
[00:10:01]
WRONG WAY.AND IS IT THE CENTER FOR WATER AND ENVIRONMENT? YES.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PREVENT THE PRESENT, THE FINDINGS OF OUR EXTERNAL REVIEW, UM, THAT YOU SO ELOQUENTLY, UH, DESCRIBED OUR GOALS FOR US.
I WANNA START BY, UH, PROCEEDING WITH THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS WORK.
AND BEFORE I DO, I'LL INTRODUCE MYSELF, LYNN KATZ.
UH, I'VE BEEN THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, AND I'M ALSO A PREP PROFESSOR IN CIVIL ARCHITECTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
AND I'VE BEEN THERE SINCE ABOUT 1998.
UM, THE OBJECTIVES FOR THIS REPORT ARE SHOWN HERE.
AS COUNCILWOMAN SAID, WE'VE REVIEWED FIVE WATER QUALITY INCIDENTS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY THE CITY COUNCIL THAT TOOK PLACE BETWEEN OCTOBER, 2018 AND FEBRUARY, 2022.
WE EVALUATED WHETHER CURRENT TECHNOLOGY IS SUFFICIENT FOR MEETING REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.
WE EVALUATED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ITS ABILITY TO MEET DESIGN REQUIREMENTS.
WE EVALUATED OPERATIONS TO MEET, TO DETERMINE IF THEY COULD MEET DESIGN FLOWS DURING NORMAL CONDITIONS AND EXTREME EVENTS.
AND BEYOND THAT, WE WERE ASKED ALSO TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO INCREASE RESILIENCY MOVING FORWARD AND IDENTIFY RELATED ISSUES THAT CAN IMPROVE THE OVERALL RESILIENCE AND FUNCTIONING OF THE UTILITY.
WE ADDRESS THREE KEY QUESTIONS AS PART OF THIS.
THE FIRST WAS, HOW DOES THE WATER QUALITY THAT'S PRODUCED BY THE WATERSHED IMPACT THE RAW WATER QUALITY ENTERING THE PLANT? AND WHAT ARE THE RISKS CREATED BY THAT? AND AGAIN, WE CONSIDERED BOTH NORMAL OPERATIONS AND EXTREME CONDITIONS.
FROM AN ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE, ARE THE PROCESSES CAPABLE OF HANDLING THIS RANGE OF WATER QUALITY? AND THEN FINALLY, FROM A STAFFING AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE, IS AUSTIN WATER POSITIONED TO OPERATE THE PLANT OVER THE RANGE OF WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS THAT HAVE BEEN OBSERVED? SO TO DO THIS, WE ASSEMBLE THE TEAM.
YOU'LL NOTICE THE THREE SQUARE BOXES IN THE CENTER THAT HIGHLIGHT THREE DIFFERENT AREAS, UM, WHERE WE ASSEMBLED THREE DISTINCT GROUPS OF OUR TEAM TO FOCUS ON.
SO THE FIRST IS OPERATIONS DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS AND WATER QUALITY.
THE SECOND IS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, COMMUNICATIONS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
AND THE THIRD IS INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY REQUIREMENTS.
NOW, UM, ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM HAVE, UM, ARE ACADEMICIANS AND OR CONSULTANTS WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE.
SO WITHIN THE OPERATIONS GROUP, UH, SARAH CLARK, PHIL BRAND NEWBERG, AND CHRISTINE OWEN HAVE DECADES OF EXPERIENCE IN WATER TREATMENT PLAN OPERATIONS WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, COMMUNICATIONS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE GROUP.
CASEY FS IS AN EXPERT IN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEMS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT.
CARRIE STEVENS IS AN EXPERT IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY.
AND, UM, HARRY EVANS WAS A FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF AT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND LED OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE, UM, REVIEW.
AND THEN THE THIRD GROUP WAS THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND AN ENERGY REQUIREMENTS.
AND THAT WAS LED BY A TEAM AT BROWN AND CALDWELL, UM, ENGINEERS WHO REVIEWED THE INFRASTRUCTURE WITH RESPECT TO DESIGN REQUIREMENTS AND, AND CURRENT STATUS.
AND YAL GLAZER, WHO'S A RESEARCH ASSOCIATE WHOSE EXPERTISE IS IN ENERGY.
WE SENT THESE THREE TEAMS OUT INDEPENDENTLY.
AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO REPORT THAT ALL THREE TEAMS CAME BACK WITH A CONSISTENT SET OF OBSERVATIONS AND SIMILAR RECOMMENDATIONS, WHICH GAVE US A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN OUR FINDINGS.
SO WHEN WE STARTED LOOKING AT THE, UM, THIS PROJECT AND WORKED WITH THE CITY AND AUSTIN, UH, AUDITORS, UM, TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, HOW TO GO ABOUT THIS, THE FIRST THING WE SAID IS WE HAVE TO PROVIDE A SCOPE THAT MAKES SENSE THAT WE CAN DO IN A TIMELY FASHION AND ANSWERS THE QUESTION RAISED.
SO TO DO THAT, WE DECIDED TO FOCUS ON THE ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
FIRST, BECAUSE THERE'S COMMONALITIES BETWEEN ALL THREE PLANTS.
THEY ALL OBTAIN WATER FROM THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER.
THEY ALL USE, UM, AS A KEY PROCESS IN REMOVING HARDNESS AND TREATING WATER TO MEET REQUIREMENTS, UH, WITH LIME SOFTENING.
AND THEN WE DECIDED TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON ALL ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT BECAUSE IT'S
[00:15:01]
CRITICAL TO THE SERVICE TO SOUTH AUSTIN.IT'S THE MOST COMPLEX OF THE THREE TREATMENT PLANTS.
YOU CAN SEE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT FIGURE HOW THE SIZES OF THOSE CLARIFIERS CHANGE.
AND SO THAT MAKES EVEN OPERATING THESE, UM, FAIRLY COMPLEX CLARIFIERS MORE CHALLENGING WHEN YOU HAVE DIFFERENT, UH, SIZES ACROSS THE PLANT.
IT WAS IMPACTED BY FOUR OF THE FIVE EVENTS IDENTIFIED BY THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, AND IT'S BEEN SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT STAFFING CHANGES OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
SO WE THOUGHT THIS WAS THE KEY PLAN TO FOCUS ON DURING OUR WORK.
ALTHOUGH MANY OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS EXTEND TO ALL THREE PLANTS.
OUR APPROACH WAS TO PROVIDE MULTIPLE LINES OF EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTED OUR, UM, OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, WE RESEARCHED BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, STAFFING AUSTIN WATER POLICY PROCEDURES, TREATMENT, PLANT DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS, PLANT MAINTENANCE RECORDS, ASSET MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT TRAINING MATERIALS, WATER QUALITY DATA, HISTORICAL DATA FROM SOURCE WATER MONITORING, HISTORICAL, RAW, AND FINISHED WATER DATA AFTER ACTION REPORTS, ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, LIKE AUSTIN WATER, WE CONDUCTED OVER 25 INTERVIEWS WITH PERSONNEL ACROSS AUSTIN WATER WITH, UM, GOING FROM ASSISTANT DIRECTORS ALL THE WAY DOWN TO OPERATORS.
WE REVIEWED THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS AND COMPARED IT TO REGULATIONS PROVIDED BY BOTH THE STATE AND THE UH, NATION.
AND, UM, WE LOOKED AT EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATORS TO FOCUS ON STAFF HIRING AND, UM, PROMOTION.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE COMPARED, UM, THE, UH, UM, INFORMATION TO, UH, FOR COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC INFORMATION TO DOCUMENTS SUCH AS THE AMERICAN WATERWORKS TRENDING IN AN INSTANT, A RISK COMMUNICATION GUIDE FOR WATER UTILITIES.
SO I WANNA FIRST THANK AUSTIN WATER AGAIN BECAUSE THEY WERE INSTRUMENTAL IN PROVIDING ACCESS TO ALL OF THIS DOCUMENTATION THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE UTILITY OPENING UP, UH, TO THE PERSONNEL, TO INTERVIEWS AND, UM, FOLLOW UP MEETINGS AND, UM, ANSWERING QUESTIONS AND VERY, UH, RAPID RESPONSE.
I WANNA MOVE ON NOW TO LOOKING AT QUESTION ONE.
SO THE FIRST OF OUR QUESTIONS, WHICH IS, UM, HOW DOES WATER QUALITY AND, UH, IN THE WATERSHED AFFECT THE WATER QUALITY ENTERING THE PLANT? AND THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER WATER QUALITY IS CONSISTENT WITH RESPECT TO KEY WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS OVER, UM, LONG PERIODS OF TIME THAT WE STUDIED, BUT IT'S SUBJECT TO SPIKES IN ITY DURING STORM EVENTS.
SO WHAT I'M SHOWING YOU HERE IS A PLOT OF DATA THAT WE COMPILED, UM, FROM, UH, WHAT WE RECEIVED FROM AUSTIN WATER FROM 2000 TO 2022.
AND AT WHAT WE'RE PLOTTED ON THE Y AXIS IS RAW WATER TURBIDITY.
AND WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED AREAS WHERE YOU SEE SIGNIFICANT SPIKES HIGHLIGHTING THAT THE SPIKES THAT WE SAW IN 2018 ARE, UM, THAT WE SAW IN FALL OF 2018 DURING THAT EVENT IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN MANY OF THE OTHER SPIKES THAT HAVE BEEN SEEN OVER OVER YEARS.
WE ALSO NOTICED THAT THIS RELATIVELY CONSISTENT, UM, WATER QUALITY THAT EXTENDED OVER THE 10 YEAR, 11 YEAR PERIOD, OR SORRY, 22 YEAR PERIOD THAT WE LOOKED AT, UM, ALSO HELD FOR TOTAL ORGANIC CARBON PH, TOTAL HARDNESS AND ALKALINITY.
SO OTHER WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS THAT ARE KEY TO THE OPERATION OF A LIME SOFTENING PLANT.
OKAY, THE OTHER THING I WANT YOU TO NOTICE IS THAT EVEN THOUGH WE SAW THOSE SPIKES IN THE RAW WATER QUALITY, WHEN WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE FINISHED WATER QUALITY OVER THAT OVER, UM, FROM 2011 TO 2022, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE FINISHED WATER TIBIDITY IS CONSISTENT AND CONSISTENTLY LOW AND FALLS BELOW THE REGULATIONS REQUIRED BY TCE Q OR, AND, AND, UH, THE PRIMARY DRINKING WATER STANDARDS, WHICH SAYS THAT IT MUST BE LESS THAN 0.3 NEPH LOME TIMIDITY UNITS.
THIS IS A UNIT TO QUANTIFY CLOUDINESS, AND BASICALLY IT'S ABOUT THINKING ABOUT LIGHT SCATTERING.
AND THIS VALUE OF 0.3 IS, AS I SAID, A NATIONAL STANDARD REFERS TO AVERAGING OVER OR LOOKING AT THE MONTH.
AND THEN AT NO TIME CAN THE TURBIDITY GO HIGHER THAN ONE NTU YOU.
SO THE ONLY EVENT THAT LED TO A TURBIDITY INCREASE ABOVE THAT VALUE OR ABOVE ANY OF THOSE LED TO THE BOIL WATER NOTICE
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OF 2000 WAS THE 2018 FLOOD EVENT.THE 2022 BOIL WATER, UH, NOTICE WAS NOT A RESULT OF THE WATERSHED.
AND SO IN THIS SLIDE, I'M FOCUSING JUST ON THAT WATERSHED PROPERTIES.
SO MOVING TO QUESTION TWO FROM AN ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE, ARE THE PROCESS HE'S CAPABLE OF HANDLING THIS RANGE OF WATER QUALITY.
WE DO BELIEVE THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS, UM, APPROPRIATE TO TREAT RAW WATER FROM LAKE AUSTIN, AND THAT THE PROCESS DESIGN ALIGNS WITH REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.
SO THAT'S THE BOTTOM LINE FOR THIS ISSUE, SUGGESTING THAT THE PLANT IS APPROPRIATE AS WE LOOK AT THIS PLANT, SORRY, I'M LOSING THE, UH, THERE WE GO.
UM, WITH, AS I SAID, THIS IS A LIME SOFTENING BASED TREATMENT PLANT, VERY WELL SUITED FOR THE RAW WATER QUALITY ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER, WHICH HAS, UM, UH, SUFFICIENTLY HIGH HARDNESS AND ALKALINITY THAT YOU WANNA REMOVE, UH, THE HARDNESS FROM THE WATER, IT MEETS REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS.
UM, AND, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT IS THAT LIME SOFTENING, UM, PROCESSES, UH, REALLY BENEFIT FROM VERY STABLE WATER QUALITY.
SO THE PROCESS THAT'S USED THIS UPFLOW CLARIFIER THAT YOU SEE, UM, IN THE, ON THE RIGHT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MORE CHALLENGING TYPES OF PROCESSES.
IT REQUIRES MORE EXPERIENCED OPERATORS.
AND IT'S NOT A SYSTEM THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BASICALLY START UP OR, UM, CHANGE CONDITIONS ON THE FLY, TAKES SOME TIME, TAKES HOURS TO GET THINGS MOVING GOING, AND IT TAKES TIME FOR THE, UH, FOR A NEW, UM, CLARIFIER TO BE BROUGHT ONLINE SO IT'S NOT, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH VERY RAPID CHANGES IN SYSTEM CONDITIONS.
THERE'S ONE MORE THING I WANTED TO COMMENT ON THIS SLIDE AND IS THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE AS WE DID THIS REVIEW IS THAT THE ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT TYPICALLY OPERATES AT ABOUT 35% OF THE RATED CAPACITY.
AND SO SEVERAL OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS POINT TO THE NEED TO LOOK AT THESE PROCESSES AT THE RATED DESIGN CAPACITY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL, UM, MONTHS AND YEARS, BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN TESTED AT THE 167 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY THAT THEY WERE RATED FOR.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE LOOKED AT.
ALRIGHT, SO BEFORE I MOVE ON TO QUESTION THREE, I WANNA REVIEW THE RESPONSIVENESS TO AUSTIN WATER, TO THE INCIDENTS THAT WE IDENTIFIED.
AND I WANNA FOCUS ON THE WATER QUALITY AND TREATMENT, WHICH IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TWO FIRST, UM, OBJECTIVES OR, UH, QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE ANSWERED.
I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT IN ALL OF THE INCIDENTS THAT WE SEE, THERE'S NO SINGLE CAUSE, BUT RATHER A SERIES OF COMBINED AND CASCADING ISSUES THAT LEAD TO THESE TYPES OF EVENTS.
SO THE FIRST IS, AND, AND I THINK THIS WAS SAID EARLIER, AUSTIN WATER HAS MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARD IMPLEMENTING A MAJORITY OF THE AFTER ACTION REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS ALREADY.
AND THESE HAVE IMPROVED RESILIENCY, WE BELIEVE.
OKAY, SO I'M GONNA START WITH THE FIRE FOAM INCIDENT BECAUSE WE DIDN'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS IN THE REPORT.
UM, BECAUSE AUSTIN WATER REALLY HAD NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CAUSE OF THIS INSTRUMENT, AND WE BELIEVE THEY RESPONDED APPROPRIATELY TO THE ISSUE.
UM, AND, AND, UM, RAPIDLY RESOLVED IT WITH AUSTIN, WITH, IN COOPERATION WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, THE OCTOBER, 2018 BOYLE EVENT.
THIS WAS A WATER QUALITY EVENT IN WHICH THE TURBIDITY, ALKALINITY AND HARDNESS CHANGED.
UM, THIS, YOU KNOW, CHANGED TREMENDOUSLY.
IT WAS AN UNPRECEDENTED EXCURSION FROM TYPICAL WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS AND, UM, WOULD'VE BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR ANY, UH, TREATMENT PLANT TO RESPOND TO.
BUT, BUT FROM THE AFTER ACTION REPORTS, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE STUDIES THAT WERE DONE WAS THE ADDITION OF A POLYMER SYSTEM TO PROVIDE FURTHER RESILIENCY.
THAT POLYMER SYSTEM HAS BEEN INSTALLED AT ULRICH, AND IT'S NOW BEING INSTALLED IN THE OTHER TWO TREATMENT PLANTS.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL PROVIDE FURTHER RESISTANT RESILIENCY.
WE HAVE REVIEWED THE DATA THAT CAME OUT OF THE TESTING OF THE STORED WATER FROM THAT, AND, UM, AGREE WITH THE FINDINGS THAT A POLYMER
[00:25:01]
SYSTEM COULD BE HELPFUL.THE ZEBRA MUSCLE ISSUE, WE BELIEVE THIS WAS A, UM, AN ISSUE IN WHICH THERE WAS DELAYED RESPONSE AND IT WAS MORE REACTIVE THAN PROACTIVE TO AN EMERGING ISSUE.
UH, THERE WAS TREMENDOUS DATA THAT WAS BEING PRESENTED NATIONALLY AT CONFERENCES AND, AND IN DOCUMENTATION THAT ZEBRA MUSCLES WERE SPREADING TOWARDS AUSTIN.
UM, AND WE FELT LIKE, YOU KNOW, THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED, BUT THE, THE AUSTIN WATER HAS RESPONDED TO THIS IN THEIR AFTER ACTION REPORTS, THEY'VE INSTALLED, UH, COPPER SULFATE SYSTEM TO, UM, HAD THAT OFF INTER IMPLEMENTING A, UM, A, A NEWER SYSTEM AS WELL THAT WILL ALSO HELP RESOLVE THIS ISSUE IN THE FU FUTURE.
IN CONTRAST TO THAT THOUGH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICED AND WE LOOKED AT, UM, WAS THEIR RESPONSE TO ANOTHER EMERGING CONCERN THAT'S COMING OUT, WHICH IS CYTOTOXINS, OKAY, THESE CONCERNS AND THEIR, THEIR ABILITY TO ADDRESS THIS OR, OR APPEAR TO BE A LOT MORE PROACTIVE.
THERE'S BEEN MEANINGS GOING ON, THERE'VE BEEN DISCUSSIONS, AND THERE'S ALREADY A REPORT OUT SAYING, HERE'S, UH, AN APPROACH THAT WE CAN EMPLOY TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, UM, IF THEY BECOME APPARENT.
AT THIS POINT, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY SER ISSUES WITH IT AT THE PLANT, SO I DON'T WANNA ALARM ANYONE.
UM, BUT MY POINT IS, IS THAT THIS IS A PROACTIVE RESPONSE, AND I THINK IT SHOWS POSITIVE SIGNS FOR AUSTIN WATER MOVING FORWARD.
WINTER STORM EARLY HIGHLIGHTED THE CRITICAL ROLE OF ENERGY RESILIENCY AND AUSTIN WATER IS MOVING FORWARD WITH, UM, THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN REQUIRED BY SENATE BILL THREE.
UM, AND FINALLY FEBRUARY 22ND, BOIL WATER.
THIS WAS A SERIOUS AND AVOIDABLE FAILURE THAT EXPOSED SOME OF THE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES, UM, INCLUDING STAFFING, TRAINING, INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND MANAGEMENT.
AND SO THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS WE SPENT A LOT OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE THIS IS WHERE ATTENTION NEEDED TO BE.
SO MOVING FORWARD, AS WE THINK ABOUT RESILIENCY IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN FOCUS ON QUESTION THREE, WHICH SAYS, FROM A STAFFING AND AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE IS OPERATE THE PLANT OVER THE RANGE OF WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS OBSERVED.
OUR, OUR REVIEWS SUGGESTED THERE'S A SERIOUS DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHAT UPPER MANAGEMENT'S EFFORTS TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS, UM, AND, AND THE INTERACTION WITH THE PLANT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PLANT TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THESE EFFECTIVELY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NOTICED IS THAT THE CURRENT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, UH, HAS SOME CHALLENGES WITH RESPECT TO INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND ATTENTION TO PLANT NEEDS.
IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT A PLOT THAT WE'VE PUT TOGETHER OF, UM, DIRECT REPORTS OR AND SECONDARY REPORTS TO ASSISTANT DIRECTORS, UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THERE'S ONE THAT STANDS OUT, AND THAT IS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OVER OPERATIONS WHO HAS A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER NUMBER OF REPORTS.
NOW, WORK BY GORDON, UM, THAT WE CITED IN OUR WORK, SUGGESTS THAT A NARROW SPAN OF CONTROL IS APPROPRIATE FOR WORK THAT IS COMPLEX BY NATURE.
HIGH RISK RECEIVES A HIGH DEGREE OF SCRUTINY, REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF COORDINATION, AND IS GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED TO US THAT FITS AUSTIN WATER.
AND WE AGREE WITH THIS CONCEPT OF NARROW SPAN OF CONTROL, KEY CONCERNS IDENTIFIED, UM, AS WELL INCLUDE, UM, EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP AND ADEQUATE STAFFING AT ULRICH.
WHEN WE TALK WITH THE PEOPLE AT THE, UM, PLANT THAT THERE WERE CONCERNS RAISED BY THE STAFF THAT INCLUDED POOR COMPENSATION FRUSTRATION OVER THE LACK OF EFFECTIVE TRAINING, ACCESSIBILITY TO THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES THAT WEREN'T BEING ROUTINELY ACCESSED, AND THE TIME REQUIRED FOR, UM, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, UM, FUNDING TO BE, UM, FUNDED, SORRY, AND EXECUTED.
SO WE'VE GONNA HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE LOOKED AT BECAUSE AGAIN, THESE ARE THE KEY AREAS THAT WE WANTED TO FOCUS ON, WANTED TO FOCUS ON TODAY.
UM, THE FIRST IS TO ADDRESS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE ISSUES BY ESTABLISHING CLEAR LINES OF SUPERVISION AND REPORTING EXPECTATIONS.
WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD BE A SINGLE PERSON IN CHARGE OF THE
[00:30:01]
ULRICH TREATMENT PLANT.AND THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION THAT AUSTIN WATER, UH, HAS AGREED WITH, AND WE'RE EXCITED THAT THAT, UM, CAN MOVE FORWARD.
WE BELIEVE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE GREATER EMPHASIS ON DOCUMENTATION, TRAINING, AND TEAM BUILDING, AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.
WE ALSO BELIEVE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, AN EXAMINATION OF ATTRITION AND RETENTION, AND THAT THIS NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS, INCREASING COMPENSATION AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
WE BELIEVE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE GREATER ENGAGEMENT OF THE PLANT STAFF AND THE ASSET MANAGEMENT OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES AND EMERGING ISSUES IN WATER TREATMENT.
AND FINALLY, WE BELIEVE THAT AUSTIN WATER SHOULD REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE CITY MANAGER TO STREAMLINE COMMUNICATIONS AND PROCESSES.
IN TERMS OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS, AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA GO BACK TO RECRUITING AND RETAINING SKILLED WORKFORCE ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS AN EXAMPLE AS WHEN WE SEND DIFFERENT PEOPLE OUT TO LOOK AT THINGS AND TO, UH, TO INTERVIEW, WE'RE COMING BACK WITH SIMILAR FINDINGS.
UM, THE SKILLED WORKFORCE IS A KEY ISSUE.
WE BELIEVE TRAINING IS NEEDED FOR PLANT SPECIFIC PROCESSES, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE AND SCENARIO CHANGING.
THE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FACILITY APPEARS TO BE WELL DESIGNED AND SUITABLE TO HANDLE EVENTS.
AND AUSTIN WATER HAS A ROBUST ONLINE EMERGENCY PLATFORM VEHICLE, GEE, FOR, UM, HANDLING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS.
BUT MORE TRAINING IS NEEDED, UH, SO THAT ALL STAFF UNDERSTAND HOW THE AUSTIN WATER DECISION MATRICES OCCUR AND ARE CLEAR ABOUT ESCALATION PROCESSES.
SO WE BELIEVE THAT THEY NEED TO ESTABLISH, DOCUMENT, COMMUNICATE, AND CONTINUALLY REINFORCE NOTIFICATION THRESHOLDS FOR ESCALATION OF EMERGENT EVENTS.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE BELIEVE THAT THE SPAN OF CONTROL ALSO NEEDS TO BE REDUCED AT THE PLANT DURING EMERGENCY EVENTS, SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENS AT THE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER.
SO OVERALL, UH, WE MADE OVER 50 RECOMMENDATIONS IN FOUR OF THE AREAS.
WE FEEL LIKE THE AUSTIN, UH, THE AFTER ACTION REPORTS HAVE DONE A A VERY GOOD JOB OF ADDRESSING A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT WE SAW AS WELL.
THERE WERE STILL SOME REMAINING THAT WE WANTED TO, UM, HIGHLIGHT AND, UM, UM, THAT ARE PROVIDED IN THE REPORT.
ONE IS ASSOCIATED WITH WATER QUALITY VARIABILITY.
UM, THE POLYMER SYSTEM IS A VERY GOOD STEP TOWARDS RESILIENCY.
BUT ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS YOU NOTICE IN THE WATER QUALITY CHANGES THAT OCCURRED DURING THE 2018 EVENT IS THAT THE ALKALINITY AND HARDNESS ALSO DROPPED.
AND THIS CAN BE, UM, CONCERNING FOR A LIME SOFTENING PLANT.
AND SO WE THINK THERE SHOULD BE A REVIEW LOOKING AT WHETHER THERE'S POTENTIAL FOR, UM, THIS TO BE A CONCERN IN FUTURE EVENTS THAT ARE, AGAIN, VERY, VERY EXTREME.
UM, IN ADDITION, WE THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE A FOCUS ON EMERGING CONTAMINANTS LIKE THERE IS WITH SIANO TOXINS.
THERE ARE OTHER EMERGING CONTAMINANTS THAT COULD BE OF CONCERN THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AS WELL.
IN TERMS OF THE DESIGN CAPACITY, I, I MENTIONED ALREADY THAT THE PLANT NORMALLY OPERATES AT ABOUT 35% OF CAPACITY.
WE REALLY THINK PROCESS TESTING NEEDS TO OCCUR, UM, AT DESIGN FLOWS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE PREPARED.
UM, EMERGENCY ENERGY RESILIENCE, AGAIN, WE BELIEVE THAT SENATE BILL THREE, THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN ITEMS ARE BEING ADDRESSED AND THAT THEY NEED TO CONTINUE IN TERMS OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS.
THIS IS AN AREA WHERE WE SAW A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT FROM THE AFTER ACTION REPORTS, AND I WANTED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT BECAUSE, UM, IT'S CLEARLY MORE PROACTIVE AND RESPONSIVE AND I THINK THEY'VE MADE, UM, GREAT IMPROVEMENTS TO THIS.
ONE AREA, THOUGH THAT WE DID WANT TO MENTION WAS THAT, UM, AT THE PRESENT TIME, THE, UM, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER FOR DISPATCH DOES NOT REPORT TO THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR COMMUNICATION.
AND WE THINK THIS IS A CHANGE THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN FROM OUR UNDERSTANDING, AND WE SUPPORT THAT FULLY.
WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR AUSTIN WATER TO OWN THEIR ENTIRE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN BILLING
UM, I KNOW ALL OF US ENJOY JUST GETTING A SINGLE BILL.
SO, UM, MOVING FORWARD AS WE MOVE TO, UM, AREAS WHERE WE THINK THAT, UM, MORE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE, UM, ONE OF THE ISSUES
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THAT CAME ABOUT IS A LOT OF THE LOW PRIORITY PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE MAINTENANCE HAS BEEN DEFERRED DUE TO STAFFING, UM, ISSUES THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH 30% OPEN STAFF POSITION, IT'S HARD TO FIND THE RESOURCES TO DEAL WITH, UH, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE.NOW, HIGH, THE PRIORITIES ARE BEING PUT ON MAINTENANCE THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, RISK TO HUMAN HEALTH AND, AND DELIVERY OF THE WATER.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER MAINTENANCE ITEMS THAT, YOU KNOW, NEED TO HAPPEN ON A, ON A ROUTINE BASIS AT A PLANT.
AND, UM, THIS IS AN AREA THAT WE SAW SOME CONCERN.
UM, OF PARTICULAR CONCERN IS THE SOLIDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, WHICH IS A KEY, A CRITICAL PART OF A, OF ANY TREATMENT PLANT.
IF YOU CAN'T GET YOUR SOLIDS OR YOUR RESIDUALS OFFLINE AND THEY, THEY CAN'T STAY ON THE PLANT, THEN YOU CAN'T OPERATE.
SO ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE HAD CONCERN WAS THE, UM, THE CENTRIFUGES, THEIR AGE AND CONDITION, UH, IS SUCH THAT THEY REQUIRE A LOT OF MAINTENANCE, WHICH IS PUTTING MORE DEMAND ON THE STAFF.
AND, UM, THERE IN 2020, UH, THERE WAS A REVIEW OF THE SOLIDS HANDLING SYSTEM.
THE CENTRI FUSIONS ARE SET TO BE REPLACED, AND WE REALLY HOPE THAT THAT HAPPEN CAN HAPPEN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
FINALLY, I'M NOT GONNA TALK MORE ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVE AND OPERATIONS, CUZ I DEALT WITH THAT ALREADY.
SO I JUST WANNA PROVIDE SOME FINAL COMMENTS.
ONE IS THAT AUSTIN WATER HAS A LONG HISTORY OF PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY WATER TO THE CITY.
OVER A HUNDRED YEARS, THE WATER QUALITY AND TREATMENT FACILITIES ARE APPROPRIATE AND FINISHED WATER MEETS NATIONAL ESTATE STANDARDS.
MORE THAN 99% OF THE TIME ARE I, SOMEONE ASKED ME I SHOULD PUT PLUS ON THERE, AND I SAID MORE THAN 99 PLUS.
BUT, BUT THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB AND THEY'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR A REALLY LONG TIME, AND THERE HAVE BEEN THESE OCCASIONS THAT WE'VE SEEN.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, COMMITMENT BY AUSTIN WATER FOR MEETING THIS MISSION OF PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY.
I BELIEVE THAT THE STAFF FROM TOP TO BOTTOM UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE IN PROTECTING THE PUBLIC FROM ACUTE AND CHRONIC HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONSUMPTION, WHICH MAKES US A VERY, VERY CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
FINALLY, WE BELIEVE THAT EFFECTIVE OPERATION OF A TREATMENT PLAN IS COMPLEX AS ULRICH REQUIRES A FULL COMPLIMENT OF OPERATORS, A BETTER TRAINED STAFF AND COORDINATION AMONG THE STAFF, SUPERVISORS AND MANAGEMENT AT ULRICH AND ACROSS AUSTIN WATER.
WE HOPE THAT OUR REPORT PROVIDES RECOMMENDATIONS THAT AUSTIN WATER, UM, WILL HELP AUSTIN WATER IMPROVE THEIR ABILITY TO, UM, PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFE WATER TO THE CITY AND AS RESIDENTS, BOTH DURING NORMAL OPERATION, NORMAL OPERATIONS, AND EXTREME EVENTS.
AND WITH THAT, UH, THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
I WANNA ALSO SEND MY THANKS TO THE AUDITORS WHO WORKED WITH US, COREY STOKES AND, AND KATHY HARRISON.
AND, UM, IF YOU WANNA CONTACT, UH, EITHER ME OR COREY, WE PROVIDED THE INFORMATION HERE.
SO THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
AS IS OUR PRACTICE, WE WILL, UM, BEFORE WE ASK YOU QUESTIONS, WE WILL INVITE UP AUSTIN WATER IF THEY WANT TO PROVIDE ANY RESPONSE TODAY IN ADVANCE OF THEIR LARGER PRESENTATION.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION TODAY TO THESE MATTERS.
AND THANK YOU TO THE OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITORS, THE UT CENTER FOR WATER AND ENVIRONMENT, AND THEIR TEAM, AND TO OUR, UH, INTERIM A C M WHO WAS OUR INTERIM DIRECTOR AT AUSTIN WATER.
OVER THE MAJORITY OF THIS REVIEW, ROBERT GOOD.
AND ESPECIALLY THANK YOU TO THE AUSTIN WATER LEADERSHIP AND STAFF WHO PARTICIPATED SO FULLY IN THIS REVIEW.
UM, WE ARE A LEARNING ORGANIZATION AND WE ARE ALREADY WORKING ON MANY OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE WANNA REINFORCE AREAS WHERE WE'RE STRONG AND WHEN WE WANNA STRENGTHEN AREAS THAT NEED IT.
SO, AS YOU MENTIONED, UM, CHAIR AL ALTER, WE ARE ALREADY WORKING ON MANY OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE WILL REPORT OUT MORE DETAILS ON OUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AT A FUTURE MEETING.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE TODAY ABOUT OUR CURRENT STATUS OR PROGRESS.
UM, SO REALLY BRIEFLY, UM, THANK YOU DR.
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I THINK THIS WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, REPORT FOR RESTORING TRUST AND HELPING US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT AND WHERE WE NEED TO IMPROVE.UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE WHERE WE'RE DOING RIGHT, UM, FOR, YOU KNOW, THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING OR DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT THE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS A LOT OF REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT.
UM, AND I THINK WE'LL BE TALKING A LOT ABOUT THOSE, YOU KNOW, IN OUR QUESTIONS.
UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT WE DO COLLEAGUES, IS THAT, UM, WE CAN EACH ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS IN SERIES.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT AUSTIN WATER WILL BE COMING BACK WITH THEIR IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.
YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN ASK QUESTIONS OF AUSTIN WATER AS MUCH AS YOU WANT, BUT THIS WILL BE THE MAIN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE.
UM, I BELIEVE WITH, UM, THE TEAM, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY COME BACK ON THE 15TH.
UM, SO I KNOW FOR ME, I WILL, IN MY QUESTIONS, PROBABLY FOCUS MORE ON THE UT TEAM AND HIGHLIGHT THINGS THAT I WANT AUSTIN WATER TO ANSWER WHEN THEY COME BACK WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, RATHER THAN HAVE YOU GIVE A PARTIAL ANSWER TODAY.
BUT OBVIOUSLY ANYONE CAN ASK ANYTHING OF AUSTIN WATER.
UM, SO I'M GONNA START WITH ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS AND THEN I'LL PASS IT ON, UM, TO, TO OTHER, OTHER FOLKS.
DID YOU WANNA SPEAK BEFORE I ASK MY QUESTIONS OR, OR DID YOU WANNA GO NEXT? ARE YOU GONNA LEAD OFF WITH THE QUESTIONS OR END WITH YOUR QUESTIONS? I AM, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
SO I WAS GONNA DO ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS AND THEN LET OTHER PEOPLE EACH ASK QUESTION, A COUPLE QUESTIONS, AND THEN WE'LL KIND OF ROTATE.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO GO AFTER YOU ASK YOUR FIRST COUPLE.
KATZ, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND COMING UP, I THINK MY MY COUPLE QUESTIONS ARE, ARE FOR YOU IN, IN YOUR TEAM.
UM, SO OVERALL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STRUCK ME IN THIS REPORT WAS THAT IT WASN'T A BIG EMPHASIS ON BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, THERE WERE A FEW THINGS LIKE THE SLUDGE TREATMENT AND, AND MAYBE WE CAN COME BACK TO THAT ONE.
UM, BUT YOU DID IDENTIFY THAT THERE ARE OBSTACLES IN THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT PROCESS THAT YOU OBSERVED.
UM, SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT AND THE RELATED, UM, LEARNINGS THAT YOU HAD ABOUT THE STATUS OF THE INTERNAL CONDITION ASSESSMENT, WHICH WOULD ALSO BE RELATED TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS? SURE.
UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OF ISSUES.
ONE IS, YOU KNOW, THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROCESS, YOU KNOW, IT CAN TAKE UP TO 10 YEARS BETWEEN IDENTIFYING, UM, AN ISSUE THAT GETS APPROVED, THAT'S GONNA GET APPROVED FOR THE, UH, OR LOOKED AT FOR THAT PROCESS TO IMPLEMENTATION.
UM, THAT CAN BE A LONG TIME FOR A CRITICAL PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE AT A PLANT.
SO ONE OF OUR CONCERNS IS ABOUT THE TIMEFRAME.
YOU COULD SEE THAT THAT WAS ALSO EXPRESSED BY, BY THE STAFF.
THE OTHER AREA THAT WE, UM, FELT, AND THIS WAS REALLY MORE ABOUT ENGAGEMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE LISTEN, WE TALK WITH, UM, AUSTIN WATER ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT THEY USE FOR, UM, THE C I P UH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT PROCESS, HOW IT'S WORKING, HOW IT'S EVOLVING.
AND IT SOUNDED GREAT, RIGHT? IT WAS, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, IT SEEMED LIKE IT WOULD BE A GOOD PROCESS.
THE ISSUE THAT WE HAVE THOUGH IS THAT, UM, WE FELT LIKE THERE WASN'T ENOUGH CONNECTION BETWEEN THAT PROCESS THAT EXISTS AND CAN EVALUATE, UH, IMPORTANT AREAS AND, AND, AND THE OPERATIONS AT A PARTICULAR PLANT, ESPECIALLY AT ULRICH.
UM, WE FELT LIKE WITHOUT GOOD ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE GROUPS AND ACROSS ULRICH ITSELF THEN, AND THE, AND THE LACK OF STAFFING TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, AND EVALUATE DIFFERENT PIECES OF INFRASTRUCTURE, INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE PLANT, IT CREATES A DIFFICULT SITUATION FOR THINGS TO GET PRIORITIZED AT A LEVEL THAT MOVE THEM INTO THAT C I P, UM, AREA WHERE THEY'RE GONNA GET FUNDED.
SO I THINK THAT WAS OUR, OUR VIEW.
UM, AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS THAT THERE WERE FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS, OR EFFECTIVELY THREE, BECAUSE THERE WAS OVERLAP WHERE AUSTIN WATER DISAGREED WITH THE REPORT.
UM, CAN YOU, AS, AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR TEAM SPEAK TO YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE UNDERLYING PROBLEMS THAT YOU WANTED AUSTIN WATER TO SOLVE IN MAKING YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS OR WHAT YOU HOPE WOULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH THOSE CHANGES? SO THERE WAS MORE AUTONOMY FROM HR.
UM, THE REPORTING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND THE SPAN OF CONTROL OF THE OPERATIONS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, I BELIEVE WERE THE THREE, UM, AREAS THAT THEY DISAGREED WITH.
AND THE CITY MANAGER, UH, REPORTING RELATIONSHIP WAS, WAS REPEATED TWICE.
SO LET ME SPEAK FIRST TO, UM, HR STAFFING
[00:45:01]
ISSUES AT UTILITIES ARE NATIONAL PROBLEMS. THIS IS NOT AN AUSTIN PROBLEM.UM, THERE'S A REPORT THAT COMES OUT EVERY, EVERY YEAR CALLED THE STATE OF THE WATER INDUSTRY, OKAY? AND IN THAT REPORT, IT HIGHLIGHTS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE MAJOR AREAS OF CONCERN IN 2022, AGING WORKFORCE AND ANTICIPATED RETIREMENTS IS NUMBER FOUR ON THAT LIST.
NUMBER 11 IS TALENT ATTRACTION AND RETENTION.
UM, IN FACT, EVEN EPA HAS GOTTEN INVOLVED IN CREATING PROGRAMS, AND I THINK THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION HAS APPLIED FOR A GRANT TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT THIS ISSUE AND TRY AND FIND SOLUTIONS.
WE BELIEVE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A CONCERTED EFFORT TO, UM, ATTRACT PEOPLE TO AUSTIN WATER AND OTHER UTILITIES.
UM, THE OTHER ISSUE THAT WE FOUND IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN WATER IS A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? I MEAN, PEOPLE THINK OF ENERGY AS A CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE POWER, IF THE POWER GOES OUT AT YOUR HOUSE, YOU KNOW IT, YOU'RE OUT, YOU'RE WITHOUT POWER.
IF THE WATER IS NO LONGER SAFE TO DRINK, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY EVEN KNOW IT RIGHT AWAY UNLESS THERE'S GREAT COMMUNICATION TO GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A WORKER AT A, AT A, AT A WATER UTILITY IS SIGNIFICANT.
THEY'RE WORKING HARD AND THEY TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY.
AND AS A RESULT, WE, WE SEE THAT HIRING AT AN A UTILITY THAT PROVIDES WATER TO A CITY IS AN AREA WHERE, UM, STAFFING IS CRITICAL.
AND WE BELIEVE THAT IF, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT HIRING AT BETTER, AT HIGHER LEVELS IS KEY BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE BOARD THAT THERE'S ATTRITION, UM, ACROSS THE COUNTRY AT HIGHER LEVELS.
PEOPLE ARE RETIRING, PEOPLE ARE MOVING ON.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE SALARIES ARE COMPETITIVE.
UM, BOTH WITH OUR NEIGHBORING CITIES WITH NEIGHBORING JOBS AROUND AND COMPETITIVE NATIONALLY.
AUSTIN WATERS DONE A MARKET SURVEY.
I THINK THEY MADE LIKE A HUNDRED AND ONLY HALF OF THEM GOT IMPLEMENTED.
AND THEN THE CITY RAISED THE, UM, THE, UH, MINIMUM SALARY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS AN AREA THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, UM, WITH RESPECT TO, UH, THE SPAN OF CONTROL.
YOU KNOW, WE REALLY ALSO FEEL THAT, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, I MEAN, THERE ARE PROS AND CONS TO TO, TO, YOU KNOW, HOW THE SPAN OF CONTROL GOES.
BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A SYSTEM IN WHICH, UM, THERE IS A, A WIDE SPAN OF A CONTROL FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS A LOT OF PEOPLE REPORTING TO THEM, AND, AND SOME OF THOSE, THOSE REPORTS ARE SOMEWHAT CONFLICTING, RIGHT? EVERYBODY WANTS THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE TAKEN CARE OF.
UM, EVERYBODY WANTS THEIR WORK DONE.
EVERYBODY NEEDS THE ATTENTION TO BASICALLY BE IN CONTACT WITH THE PEOPLE WHO ARE OVERSEEING THAT SPAN OF CONTROL AND HAVE INTERACTION WITH THEM TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PROBLEMS THAT ARE EXIST CAN BE SEEN.
AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT TOUCHES AND THE MORE TOUCHES WE FEEL THAT ARE, UM, AVAILABLE, AND THE GREATER ABILITY TO FOCUS ON ISSUES RAPIDLY, UH, IS, IS BETTER WITH A SMALLER SPAN OF CONTROL.
AND FROM OUR RESEARCH, WE FELT LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CRITICALITY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE, THE HIGH RISK, THE PUBLIC SCRUTINY, ALL OF THESE THINGS DICTATE US, UH, A NARROWER SPAN OF CONTROL.
AND THEN WITH RESPECT TO THE THIRD ISSUE, UM, REPORTING, OH, I ALSO WANNA SAY THOUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, REPORTING TO THE SITTING MANAGER, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY REALLY HAPPY ABOUT WAS THAT AUSTIN WATER DOES AGREE THAT THERE SHOULD BE A SINGLE POINT OF, UM, OF, UH, LEADERSHIP AT THE, AT THE ULRICH TREATMENT PLANT.
WE ALSO BELIEVE BECAUSE OF, UH, BEING ABLE TO HAVE MUCH WRAP, MORE RAPID ACCESS WHEN IT'S NEEDED TO THE CITY MANAGER, WE BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUES WITH THIS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SHOULD BE SIMILAR TO WHAT AUSTIN ENERGY HAS.
[00:50:01]
IN FACT, AUSTIN ENERGY IS LIKE THE CLOSEST SISTER AGENCY RIGHT NOW, AUSTIN WATER REPORTS TO MOBILITY.AND WE'RE NOT SURE THAT THAT'S REALLY THE BEST, UH, REPORT FOR THEM.
AND SO THAT'S WHY WE MADE THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE CITY MANAGER.
UM, I'M GONNA RECOGNIZE, UH, VICE CHAIR POOL AND IF EACH OF YOU, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, UM, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY WHO'S ON THE COMMITTEE.
AND THEN IF COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER, IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE UP.
AND THEN I DON'T KNOW IF COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON HAS QUESTIONS.
IF YOU COULD EACH JUST ASK A COUPLE QUESTIONS AND WE'LL ROTATE THROUGH IF YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO OPEN BY THANKING, UM, THE AUDITOR, HER STAFF AND, UH, AUSTIN WATER AND THE STAFF, UM, AT THAT DEPARTMENT FOR, UH, DIGGING IN AND TAKING ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
AND I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR NEW AUSTIN WATER DIRECTOR, MS. ROS RSON.
UM, THAT WAS QUITE, UM, AN INTRODUCTORY, UM, AN INTRODUCTION, UH, FOR THE COUNCIL AND THIS COMMITTEE TO YOU.
AND THANK YOU FOR A VERY, UM, CAREFUL, THOUGHTFUL, UH, PRESENTATION OF, UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S, UH, POSITIONS.
MR. GOOD, THANK YOU ALSO FOR HELPING TO SHEPHERD THESE CONCERNS OVER THE LAST MANY MONTHS, UH, AND YOUR CONTINUING INVOLVEMENT.
UM, WE ARE STRONGER FOR THE PROFESSIONALISM THAT ALL OF YOU BRING EVERY DAY, UH, TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND I THANK YOU AND THE CITY MANAGER FOR ALL OF THAT.
UM, I, I DID WANT TO JUST FOCUS A LITTLE BIT ON WHAT HAPPENED AT ULRICH, UM, AND ASK, UM, UH, PROFESSOR KATZ IS, IS IT DR.
KATZ? UM, BOTH OR PERFECTLY FINE.
I AM A DOCTOR AND I AM A PROFESSOR.
UM, SO PRO, UH, PROFESSOR, THE, UM, WE KNOW THAT WHAT HAPPENED AT ULRICH, UM, WAS PROBABLY THE RESULT OF SOME CASCADING SITUATIONS WITH STAFFING AND HIRING AND ADVANCEMENT AND SALARIES.
UM, BUT WE ALSO KNOW THAT THIS WAS AN INTENTIONAL ACT BY, UH, ONE OR TWO INDIVIDUALS THAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM.
AND I UNDERSTAND THESE FOLKS ARE NO LONGER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, SO WITH REGARD TO DELIBERATE ACTION AND, UM, KNOWING THAT THESE ACTIONS WERE INTENTIONAL, UM, CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW HOW WE CAN MANAGE THAT THROUGH THINGS LIKE INCREASED STAFFING AND OVERSIGHT AND SALARIES AND TRAINING? IS THE, I, UH, IMAGINE THERE'S A DIRECT LINE TO THAT, INCLUDING HAVING A BETTER SENSE OF WHO MIGHT BE THE, UH, PERSON WHO WOULD TAKE THIS KIND OF DRASTIC ACTION FOR WHATEVER MOTIVATIONS, BUT IDENTIFYING THAT KIND OF A SITUATION IN ADVANCE.
BUT WHAT, WHAT IN THE, WHAT IN THE PORTFOLIO OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS COULD HAVE KEPT THAT FROM HAPPENING? SO FIRST OF ALL, I'M NOT GONNA SPEAK TO WHAT THE, UM, ANY INTENT OR, UH, WHATEVER ASSOCIATED WITH WHAT HAPPENED.
DURING THAT EVENT, I'M NOT PRIVY TO THAT.
AND, UM, SO I, I CAN ONLY REPORT ON WHAT DID HAPPEN MM-HMM.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE, WE TALKED ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COMPLEXITY OF ULRICH IN TERMS OF ITS OPERATIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE NEED TO HAVE REALLY EVEN GOOD INTERACTION BETWEEN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, WHO'S SAYING WE NEED MORE WATER, AND THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PLANT JUST CAN'T TURN A KNOB AND PRODUCE MORE WATER.
UM, BUT LIKE ANY ORGANIZATION, YOU KNOW, CULTURE IS A KEY AND CULTURE COMES FROM THE TYPES OF RECOMMENDATIONS WE MADE.
GOOD TRAINING, GOOD INTERACTIONS, UM, THE ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO, UM, BE REWARDED FOR, YOU KNOW, MERIT, MERIT TO RECEIVE MERIT AWARDS FOR, FOR GOOD WORK.
AND, AND, UM, BEING ABLE TO, UH, SEE ADVANCEMENT, BEING ABLE TO, UH, HAVE, UM, A SITUATION WHERE YOU HEAR, YOU BELIEVE THAT YOUR VOICE IS BEING HEARD ALL THE WAY FROM THE NEXT PERSON YOU WORK TO, AND THEN ALL THE WAY UP A A LINE OF COMMUNICATION THAT'S WORKING WELL TOGETHER.
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KNOW, THE ABILITY TO KNOW YOUR JOB, RIGHT? WELL, TO KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE WORKING, WHO WERE, UM, OPERATING, SAY THE FILTERS, UH, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE, UM, SHIFT BEFORE YOU WERE, DID IT THE SAME WAY YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT.HAVING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES THAT YOU CAN RELY ON UNDERSTANDING ESCALATION OF INCIDENTS.
AND WHEN PEOPLE WORK AT A PLACE WHERE THEY ARE COMFORTABLE WITH THE WORKING, THE, THE SYSTEM, AND THEY'RE BEING COMPENSATED APPROPRIATELY AND THEY'RE BEING ACKNOWLEDGED, UM, FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DO, I THINK YOU START TO BUILD THAT TYPE OF, UH, CULTURE IN WHICH EVERYONE IS INVESTED IN THE PLANT.
AND I THINK THE FOSTERING OF A SENSE OF ACCOUNTABILITY ALL THE WAY DOWN TO EACH INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE, UM, AT THE CITY.
SO A, A PRIDE IN THE WORK, A RECOGNITION THAT IS PUBLIC SERVANTS.
WE ARE DELIVERING, UM, IMPORTANT UTILITIES AND SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITY THAT THEY RELY UPON.
AND THE HEALTH AND THE SAFETY OF THE COMMUNITY IS OUR, IS OUR UNIQUE JOB.
I, I APPRECIATE THE DIFFICULTIES IN ALL OF THAT.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PERSONNEL AND HUMAN RESOURCES, THERE'S ALWAYS, IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS A VERY DIFFICULT, UM, ENGAGEMENT.
BUT I THINK THAT THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE IN THIS REPORT, THE REQUEST TO STEP UP, UM, UH, THE LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT AMONG THE STAFF TO INCREASE THE STAFFING, TO TIGHTEN THE LINES OF REPORTING, INCREASED TRAINING LEVELS, AND A REAL FOCUS ON THE BUILDING OF, UH, OF THE STAFF WILL GO A LONG WAY TO SUPPORTING WHAT IS, AS YOU POINT OUT, A WELL-FUNCTIONING 99%, UM, STURDY, PREDICTABLE RESOURCE FOR, FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND I THINK THAT THIS AUDIT AND THIS REPORT AND THESE FINDINGS COME AT A REALLY IMPORTANT TIME FOR US TO RESET WITH A NEW DIRECTOR.
THERE'S A SENSE OF URGENCY AND THERE'S A SENSE OF, UM, UH, ENGAGEMENT AND ACTIVITY, I THINK THROUGHOUT, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN PERSONNEL AS, AS AN ENTITY, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO WAYS TO CONTINUE TO MAKE BETTER IMPROVEMENTS, UM, IN THE WAY WE DELIVER SERVICES AND THE, UH, THE PRECISE NATURE AND OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY.
THAT WAS REALLY ABOUT THE ONLY THING I WANTED TO ADDRESS HERE TODAY.
THE DIFFICULTIES RELATING TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMPONENT, BUT ALSO THE VERY IMPORTANT ELEMENTS THAT YOU BRING IN THIS REPORT THAT IF WE, UM, CAN BUILD ON THEM, SHOULD MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE.
AND HOPEFULLY THESE SORTS OF THINGS WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER OF FUENTES AND THEN COUNCIL KELLY FOR THE PRESENTATION.
LOTS OF EXCELLENT INFORMATION AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT HOW THE EMPLOYEES AT ULRICH WILL REALLY AT ALL AWESOME WATER.
UM, PLANTS ARE CRITICAL EMPLOYEES DOING VERY IMPORTANT WORK FOR OUR CITY AND DELIVERING, UM, DELIVERING WATER QUALITY WATER SERVICES, RELIABLE SERVICES, UM, AS WELL AS MAINTAINING THE TRUST OF OUR COMMUNITY AND FOR FORECASTING THE TRENDS THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE INDUSTRY, KNOWING THAT WE DO HAVE AN AGING WORKFORCE, KNOWING THAT WE HAVE A RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ISSUE.
I'D LIKE TO INVITE THE, THE NEW DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER, UM, TO COME UP.
CAUSE I'D LIKE TO ASK HER SOME QUESTIONS.
ONE OF THE PARTS OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION THAT STUCK OUT TO ME IS THE 30% STAFFING VACANCY THAT WE HAVE AT AUSTIN WATER.
CONGRATULATIONS ON, THANK YOU.
AND I GUESS FIRST AND AND FOREMOST, I'D LIKE TO, TO HEAR FROM YOU ON WHAT YOUR VISION IS FOR THE UTILITY AND, AND WHAT ARE YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS ON HOW WE ADDRESS THE 30% STAFFING VACANCY, KNOWING JUST HOW CRITICAL IT IS FOR US TO, TO HAVE THE STAFF AT ULRICH AND AT ALL OF OUR PLANTS, UH, DELIVERING THESE CRITICAL OPERATIONS.
WELL, I THINK LIKE MANY INTRACTABLE PROBLEMS, IT'S A MATTER OF USING ALL THE TOOLS IN OUR TOOLBOX.
KATZ MENTIONED, THIS STAFFING IS AN ISSUE, UH, ACROSS THE WATER INDUSTRY, AND CERTAINLY IT'S AN ISSUE ACROSS THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND SO WE, UM, OUR, UH, HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION WITHIN AUSTIN WATER IS REALLY ENGAGED ON SOME STRATEGIES FOR RECRUITING NEW FOLKS INTO OUR PLANTS THAT INCLUDE, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING, UM, MEET AND GREETS AT THE PLANTS WHERE THEY CAN SEE WHAT THEY
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WOULD BE GETTING INTO, WHERE WE WOULD PROVIDE APPLICATION ASSISTANCE ON THE SPOT.THOSE KINDS OF, OF REALLY, UM, THOUGHTFUL AND, UM, CREATIVE OPPORTUNITIES.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT, UM, ON SOME OF THESE STRATEGIES.
KATZ MENTIONED, UM, OR ALLUDED TO SALARY COMPRESSION.
SO AS WE IMPLEMENT OUR SALARY STUDY, AND ALSO AS THE CITY ADDRESSES OUR, UM, OUR, UH, MINIMUM WAGE WE'RE, WE HAVE SOME SALARY COMPRESSION ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO GO BACK AND ADDRESS.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, OTHER ELEMENTS OF OUR, OF OUR SALARY STUDY THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH HUMAN RESOURCES TO ADDRESS.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE TACTICAL, UM, UH, KIND OF SOME OF THE ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN, SOME OF THE TOOLS IN OUR TOOLBOX AND WE'LL, UM, WE'LL COME BACK WITH, YOU KNOW, SLIDES AND MORE DETAIL ON THAT, UM, AT A LATER DATE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, FUNDAMENTALLY, UM, Y DR.
KATZ SPOKE A LOT TO THE ISSUES OF CULTURE, AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY WHAT I SEE AT AUSTIN WATER.
YOU KNOW, WHAT BROUGHT ME TO AUSTIN WATER WAS THE DEDICATION OF OUR STAFF.
UM, THE LEVEL OF TECHNICAL EXPERTISE ACROSS OUR ORGANIZATION AND THE COMMITMENT TO INNOVATION, UH, REALLY FROM FIELD STAFF TO EXECUTIVE TEAM MEMBERS.
I WAS OUT AT ULRICH YESTERDAY MEETING WITH THE OPERATION STAFF AND THE MAINTENANCE STAFF, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE STOKED TO DO SOME OF THIS STUFF.
THEY, OPERATION STAFF ARE TALKING ABOUT BEING EXCITED TO PUT THE PLANT THROUGH ITS PACES AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY ESTABLISH, UH, THE PROCESSES THAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO RUN IT AT, AT BE CONFIDENT IN OUR ABILITY TO BRING IT UP TO HIGHER FLOW RATES AS NEEDED.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF ENERGY AT AUSTIN WATER AROUND, UM, REALLY BEING THE BEST THAT WE CAN BE AND THAT WE HAVE ALL THE TOOLS WE NEED TO DO THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, ENSURING THAT WE HAVE FAIR COMPENSATION AND COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION AND FOR OUR WORKFORCE IS SOMETHING THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AS A POLICYMAKER.
AND SO WHEN DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD HAVE THOSE PLANS AVAILABLE AND SUBMITTED TO HR? OR WHAT KIND OF TIMELINE ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT FOR US TO, TO RAISE THE WAGE? WE ARE ALREADY, UH, WE'VE ALREADY SUBMITTED PLANS TO HR.
SOME OF THOSE HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED OR ARE IN THE PROCESSES OF BEING IMPLEMENTED.
OTHERS, WE ARE STILL, UM, ENGAGING WITH THEM ON, UH, NOT ALL OF OUR SUGGESTIONS MEET THEIR, UM, REQUIREMENTS.
AND SO WE'RE EVALUATING THOSE AREAS.
UM, I, I DON'T HAVE A DEFINITIVE TIMELINE WHEN I THINK WE'LL SORT OF BE THROUGH THIS PART OF IT, OTHER THAN TO SAY IT'S REALLY SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO DO AS A PART OF OUR NORMAL BUSINESS ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
UM, I DON'T THINK THAT WE'RE GONNA COME, WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN ACTION ITEM LIST OF 10 ITEMS AND THEN BE DONE WITH THIS ISSUE.
I THINK STAFFING AND COMPENSATION IS, IS JUST A CONTINUAL CHALLENGE OF THE FUTURE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE OUR ACM VERONICA IN THE, IN THE ROOM, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT I CAN JUST REALLY EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING THESE PLANS, UH, APPROVED AND, AND WORKED ON IN OUR HR DEPARTMENT, NOT ONLY FOR FOR AUSTIN WATER, BUT ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE, UH, TO US.
AND, UM, JUST KNOWING THE CRITICAL STAFFING SHORTAGES THAT WE ARE STILL CONTINUING TO SEE ACROSS THE CITY, I THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, UM, THAT FOLKS KNOW WHAT A PRIORITY IT IS TO US.
AND ONE THING I WANTED TO, MY LAST THING I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT AND JUST THANK YOU FOR, FOR VISITING ULRICH YESTERDAY AND HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
THE NEXT QUESTION I HAD IS HOW, UM, HOW, CAUSE ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WAS HIGHLIGHTED IS THE ENGAGEMENT OF PLANT STAFF AT ULRICH IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AND JUST HAVING THEM MORE INVOLVED AND WHAT WAS GOING ON? UM, HOW HAS THIS INFORMATION BEEN COMMUNICATED TO THEM AND HOW ARE THEY, AND HOW DO YOU FORESEE INVOLVING PLANT STAFF AND THE CHANGES TO COME? WELL, WE ARE, UM, HAVE BEEN IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, UM, FOR SOME TIME.
UH, AND IN THE AFTER, UM, AFTER ACTION, IF IN THE AFTER ACTION OF THE FEBRUARY 22 BOIL WATER NOTICE EVENT, WE, UM, ONE OF OUR STRATEGIES WAS TO IMPLEMENT TRAINERS AT THE PLANTS.
AND WE, SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THAT AND WE NOW HAVE THOSE STAFF IDENTIFIED AND IN PLACE, AND WE'RE GETTING THEM RAMPED UP AND WE'RE GETTING PLANT STAFF ENGAGED WITH THOSE FOLKS.
SO THIS IS A, IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS.
UM, BUT IN TERMS OF ENGAGING PLANT STAFF, UM, WE'RE, THAT'S A, THAT'S A FOCUS FOR US AS WE, UM, AS WE WORK ON THESE, UH, UPDATES TO OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES TRAINING STAFF, GETTING EVERYONE DOING THE SAME THINGS IN THE SAME WAYS.
UM, AND REALLY WHAT I HEARD A LOT ABOUT YESTERDAY WAS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER.
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STAFF ARE VERY FOCUSED ON HOW DO THEY GET THAT INFORMATION OUT OF THE BRAINS OF THE MORE SENIOR PEOPLE AND INTO THE BRAINS OF THE NEW FOLKS THAT WE'RE BRINGING ON BOARD.SO THERE'S A LOT OF FOCUS, UM, JUST WITHIN THE RANKS OF THE, OF THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE STAFF ON, ON THAT KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT.
YOU KNOW, THE, YOU CAN'T WRITE DOWN EVERY SINGLE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HOW TO OPERATE A, A VERY COMPLEX TREATMENT PLANT AND HOW TO MAINTAIN, UH, HIGHLY COMPLEX EQUIPMENT.
AND SO THAT KIND OF, UM, ON THE JOB TRAINING HAS TO BE A COMPONENT IN WHAT WE DO TOO.
THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN, AND JUST THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED, DR.
KATZ AND, UH, AND OUR CITY AUDITOR AND HER TEAM.
I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE AND, AND, AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE THIS BRIEFING, UM, IN A TIMELY MANNER SO THAT WE ARE GETTING THIS INFORMATION BACK OUT TO OUR, OUR COMMUNITY.
AND I WANNA THANK, UH, CHAIR ALTAR FOR, FOR HER STRONG LEADERSHIP ON, ON GETTING THIS AUDIT CONDUCTED AND THIS REPORT TO US.
COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, ARE YOU READY? THANK YOU.
UM, I AM, AND I JUST WANNA ECHO WHAT YOU SAID AND WHAT ALL MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID ABOUT BEING SO THANKFUL THAT WE'RE AT A PLACE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE LEADERSHIP OF COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR, UM, REALLY COMING FORWARD TO MAKE THIS AUDIT HAPPEN.
UM, WE HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY, I THINK, AS COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE ONGOINGS AT AUSTIN WATER AND, AND AREAS OF OPPORTUNITIES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED.
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW ROLE.
UM, WELCOME TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN FAMILY.
UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT ARE THE 30% VACANCY RATE, UM, THE 70% OF AUSTIN WATER OPERATORS FEELING BURNED OUT AND FRUSTRATED AND I KNOW EARLIER DR.
KATZ HAD MENTIONED THE COMPRESSION ISSUE, KIND OF ALLUDED TO IT, BUT OTHER THAN, UM, NEEDING TO FIX COMPRESSION, HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY OTHER UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES PERHAPS FROM RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE TO THE $20 PER HOUR THAT MAY AFFECT MORALE OR ANYTHING AT AUSTIN WATER THAT WE COULD ADDRESS? WELL, I THINK WE, WE HAVE TO FACTOR THAT INTO OUR, OUR FUTURE PLANS FOR, FOR COMPENSATION AND, AND RETENTION PRACTICES.
UM, I THINK, UH, IT, IT DOES CREATE FRUSTRATION ON THE PART OF STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME, UM, TO HAVE NEW STAFF COMING IN VERY CLOSE TO THEIR, UM, THEIR RATE OF PAY.
SO WE, WE, WE NEED TO ADDRESS THAT.
I DON'T HAVE A, A, LIKE, YOU KNOW, A, A FIVE POINT LIST OF HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THAT, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY VERY MUCH ON OUR MINDS.
AND THEN, UM, YOU TALK ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE LOSS.
UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY SORT OF MENTORSHIP PROGRAM OVER AT AUSTIN WATER OR ANYTHING SIMILAR TO THAT THAT WOULD HELP WHEN THERE'S A RETIREMENT, KIND OF PROVIDE THAT INHERENT KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU CAN'T JUST LEARN FROM READING A BOOK? WE DO HAVE OUR, OUR MAINTENANCE TEAMS TEAM UP THE NEWER HIRES WITH THE MORE EXPERIENCED STAFF.
AND SO THEY, UM, THEY LEARN ON THE JOB AS WELL AS LEARNING HOW TO USE THE, THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
SO WE HAVE THAT, I DON'T KNOW, UM, THAT IT'S NECESSARILY A STRICTLY FORMAL PROCESS, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY A, A, A PRACTICE, UM, THAT, THAT WE USE IN ORDER TO TRAIN NEW OPERATORS.
AND THAT'S COMMON IN UTILITIES.
YOU, UM, YOU DON'T COME IN KNOWING HOW TO, EVEN IF YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE AS AN OPERATOR OR, OR A MAINTENANCE WORKER, YOU DON'T HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH THAT PARTICULAR PLANT AS NEW STAFF.
SO, UM, IT'S VERY COMMON TO HAVE THOSE KINDS OF ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, UM, PRACTICES IN PLACE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, RYAN ALTA, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANKS FOR, FOR LETTING ME JOIN IN TODAY.
UH, I ACTUALLY HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS FOR DR.
AND MY QUESTIONS ARE A LITTLE TECHNICAL.
YOU'LL FORGIVE THE, THE ENGINEER IN ME, BUT ARE THESE MACHINE, ARE THESE PLANTS RATED FOR A CERTAIN LEVEL OF INTAKE TURBIDITY? SO FOR INSTANCE, IF IT HITS 300 NTU, DO WE KNOW WE'RE GOING OFFLINE OR, OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO, UM, THEY'RE RATED, THE PLANTS ARE RATED FOR A PARTICULAR DESIGN CAPACITY BASED ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN TERMS OF FLOW.
SO ULRICH IS RATED FOR 167 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY BASED ON THE, UM, REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN, UH, THE EFFLUENT THAT IT IS TARGETING.
NOW, UM, SO THAT MEANS IF YOU GO TO TCEQ RECOMMENDATIONS, OR YOU LOOK AT 10 STATE STANDARDS OR NATIONAL STANDARDS, THEY'RE GONNA LOOK AT HOW FAST IS THE FLOW GOING OVER, UM,
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WITH THE INTENT THAT THE PROCESSES ARE, ARE SET BEING DESIGNED FOR A PARTICULAR TURBIDITY.UM, YOU KNOW, ANY PLANT IS, IS THAT'S DESIGNED BASED ON THE WATER QUALITY THAT YOU HAVE, IS GOING TO BE DESIGNED WITHIN CERTAIN RANGES AND, AND EXPECTATIONS OF CHANGING WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS.
BUT IN 2018, UM, THE TURBIDITY WENT, YOU KNOW, FROM ITS NORMAL INFLUENCE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT OCCURS LESS THAN SIX NTUS 90% OF THE TIME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO AS HIGH AS OVER 300.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ME HOLDING UP A GLASS OF WATER THAT YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING IN, ALMOST EVEN AT THAT SIX END TO USE MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OF CLOUDINESS TO SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE, UM, THERE'S MUD IN THE WATER, IT'S GONNA, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA BE TRANSLUCENT.
UM, SO FOR A TREATMENT PLANT TO BE DESIGNED FOR THAT RANGE OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AND, BUT, BUT A LONG ENOUGH DURATION OF THE EVENT.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, AUSTIN WATER HAS HANDLED, FROM MY UNDERSTANDING OF LOOKING AT THE DATA EVENTS THAT HIT VERY HIGH TURBIDITY, BUT THEY DON'T STAY THERE THAT LONG.
SO IT'S A, IT'S A QUESTION OF TIME.
IT'S A QUESTION OF, OF THE AMOUNT.
AND IT'S A, A, UM, IT'S, IT'S ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE YOU DONE SCENARIO TESTING TO KNOW HOW TO CHANGE THE OPERATING CONDITION? SO WHEN YOU'RE DOING A, UM, A SOFTEN IMPLANT, YOU'RE ADDING CHEMICALS, RIGHT? IF YOU LOOK AT THE DESIGN OF THE PLANT, YOU'LL SEE A NUMBER OF POINTS FOR CHEMICAL ADDITION.
SOME OF THOSE ARE ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LIME, THE PROCESS ITSELF FOR LIME SOFTENING.
AND, UH, SO IT INCLUDES, UM, THE ADDITION OF LIME AND IT INCLUDES THE ADDITION OF IRON AND TRYING TO OPTIMIZE THOSE THINGS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO THAT, WE DO THAT IN THE LAB.
YOU CAN TEST IT, BUT DOING SOMETHING IN THE LAB IS NOT THE SAME AS DOING IT WHEN YOU'RE TREATING, YOU KNOW, 60 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY.
SO YOU CAN OPTIMIZE THE, UM, OPERATIONS FOR IT.
YOU CAN TRY AND STRESS TEST WATER QUALITY CONDITIONS, BUT NOT VERY EASILY BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH WATER TO BRING IN.
SO YOU DO THESE THINGS IN THE LAB, AND THEN YOU HOPE, SO AFTER THE 2018, UM, EVENT, WHAT HAPPENED WAS, IS THAT, UM, THE CITY HIRED, OR, UH, I DON'T KNOW, HIRING PROCESSES.
WELL, SO AUSTIN WATER BASICALLY, UM, ASKED, UH, UH, ENGINEERING FIRM TO LOOK AT WHAT THEY COULD DO, AND THEY DID A LOT OF TESTING IN THE LAB, AND THEY DID IT WITH WATER THAT WAS BANKED FROM THE EVENT.
AND FROM THAT THEY LOOKED AT ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS THAT COULD HANDLE THAT WATER IN THE LAB.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, BASED ON, YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING A SOLIDS CONTACT CLARIFIER, THAT'S LIKE THE ONE THAT, OR A UPFLOW CLARIFIER, THAT'S THE, THAT'S LIKE THAT, THAT'S WHAT YOU CAN DO.
SO YOU CAN BE PREPARED, YOU CAN STUDY, BUT THAT TYPE OF AN EXCURSION IS, IS IS VERY EXTREME.
AND IF YOU LOOKED AT THE DATA THAT WE SHOWED YOU WITH TURBIDITY, THERE WERE OTHER EXCURSIONS OF WHICH THEY WERE EASILY, UM, ABLE, I WOULDN'T SAY EASILY, I WASN'T AT THE PLANT, BUT, UH, THEY WERE ABLE TO HANDLE, UM, THE CHANGES IN WATER QUALITY.
WELL, AND, AND THE REASON I ASK IS, AS I LOOK AT THAT CHART, WHAT STANDS OUT TO ME AS THOSE PEAKS SEEM TO BE GROWING, RIGHT.
AND I DON'T, MAYBE THAT'S JUST A SMALL SAMPLE SIZE, BUT, AND YOU TOUCHED ON IT A LITTLE BIT OF LOOKING AT, AND THIS MIGHT BE WITH OUTSIDE OF YOUR BOUND OF, OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, BUT ARE THERE ANY FACTORS IN TERMS OF THE INTAKE, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, INCREASED, UH, USE OF OUR RESOURCES THAT ARE LEADING TO THE, THE TURBIDITY BEING AT A GREATER LEVEL WHEN AN EVENT LIKE A FLOOD OR SOMETHING HAPPENS? UM, WE DID NOT STUDY THAT.
SO, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T THINK THE DATA SHOWED US ENOUGH STATISTICAL EVIDENCE THAT WE COULD, WE COULD SAY THAT, SURE.
WE KNEW THAT THE, YOU KNOW, DURING THAT MONTH IN 2018, THERE WAS A, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A TWO MONTH PERIOD THAT HIT RECORD RAINS OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME.
SO WHETHER THEY'RE GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN, I MEAN, UM, LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ASK
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THE HYDROLOGISTS IN THE ROOM WHO, UH, LOOK AT THIS MORE FREQUENTLY, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE THINK OF THINGS LIKE HUNDRED YEAR, UM, STORMS OR 500 YEAR STORMS AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE VALUES HAVE ACTUALLY CHANGED IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.SO I CAN'T REALLY SPEAK TO, TO THE FUTURE LIKE THAT.
I CAN SAY THAT THE WATER'S BEEN PRETTY STABLE OVERALL, AND THAT THERE'S NO EVIDENCE THAT IT'S CHANGED.
WE LOOKED AT WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS, YOU KNOW, OVER 20 YEAR PERIODS FOR A LOT OF PARAMETERS, NOT JUST TURBIDITY.
WE LOOKED AT ALKALINITY AND HARDNESS AND, UM, WE DON'T SEE SIGNIFICANT TRENDS.
THERE'S BEEN A SLIGHT DROP IN PH A LITTLE BIT, UM, BUT IT SEEMS TO BE COMING BACK AS WELL.
AND SO THAT COULD JUST BE A, A CYCLICAL TREND.
SO WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA TO BE ABLE TO, TO COMMENT.
THEN THE OTHER QUESTION, SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE TOUCHED ON THIS, SO AROUND THE STAFFING CHALLENGE, AND YOU MENTIONED THAT THIS IS NOT A LOCAL CHALLENGE.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE DEALING WITH ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
GIVEN THAT THAT IS THE CASE, WHAT ARE OTHER CITIES OR UTILITIES DOING ABOUT IT? ARE THEY, AND THIS MIGHT BE OUTSIDE OF THIS REPORT, IT MIGHT BE JUST IN YOUR ANECDOTAL WORK, ARE THEY HIRING THIRD PARTY PEOPLE, OR ARE WE JUST ALL STRUGGLING TO DO DEFERRED MAINTENANCE? WHAT'S, WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE? SO, SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE TRYING.
THERE'S BEEN, I'VE READ SOME THINGS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT HIRING MORE DIVERSE GROUPS, DOING MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO TO BE MORE IN INCLUSIVE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, GROUPS THAT WOULD HAVE PARTICULAR OPPORTUNITIES TO COME IN WITH EXPERTISE, INCLUDING, UM, VETERANS, I THINK WAS ONE OF THE ONES THAT I SAW.
UM, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES, SAY AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO GET CERTIFIED, UM, OR TO WORK ON, ON THE EDUCATION ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, UM, CERTIFICATION TAKES A WHILE.
AND THAT'S WHY I ADDED THAT, THAT FIGURE THAT SHOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO, YOU KNOW, TO MOVE TO THE POINT WHERE YOU'RE, UM, UH, A SUPERVISOR, WHICH TAKES, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST ABOUT FIVE YEARS OF, OF EXPERIENCE.
AND, AND, UM, SO I THINK EDUCATION, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I, I FEEL LIKE, UH, I WANNA SAY IF YOU PAY THEM, THEY WILL COME
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES TIME TO GET THE EXPERIENCE AND IT TAKES TRAINING AND I THINK A LOT OF OTHER UTILITIES ARE LOOKING AT, AT THIS AS WELL.
AND I THINK, UM, OKAY, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES OUT THERE.
AS I SAID, EPA HAS LOOKED, YOU KNOW, HAS SORT OF CITED THIS.
AND THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION HAS A GRANT, I THINK, AS PART OF THAT LOOKING AT, AT THE ISSUE.
SO I THINK THEY'LL, THERE ARE THINGS OUT THERE.
WELL THANK YOU AND THANK YOU CHAIRMAN ALTER, EXCITED TO DIVE INTO THIS AS WE GO FORWARD.
UM, AND, AND WELCOME TO THE DIETS
UM, SO I HAVE, UH, SEVERAL OTHER QUESTIONS FOR, FOR DR.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU CITE IN THE REPORT IS A HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION.
UM, AND I, IN PARTICULAR, I'M WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND HOW A HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION WOULD APPROACH SCENARIO PLANNING.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN FROM THE ADVOCATES THAT HELPED US MOVE FORWARD WITH WATER FORWARD AND WHO'VE BEEN REALLY ACTIVE, UM, IN, IN, IN, IN OUR WATER, UM, DECISIONS.
UM, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT SHOULD WE BE DOING UNDER BEST CASE FOR OUR SCENARIO PLANNING? UM, SO WE COULD SPEAK TO THAT, PLEASE.
UM, SO THERE'S FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION.
THERE'S, UM, COMMITMENT TO CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT TO MITIGATE CURRENT AND FUTURE RISK.
THERE'S DEVELOPMENT OF SYSTEMS AND PROCEDURES THAT ARE MATCHED TO THAT CRITICALITY.
THERE IS, UM, ALERTNESS TO OTHER FORCES THAT WOULD AFFECT THOSE OPERATIONS COMMITMENT TO RESILIENCE WITH FORMAL SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO RECOVER FROM ERRORS AND RESPECT FOR EXPERTISE REGARDLESS OF RANK.
IN OTHER WORDS, LISTEN TO EVERYONE.
I THINK THOSE ARE THE THINGS WE'VE TRIED TO HIGHLIGHT IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, UM, THE CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, SHAY POINTED OUT THAT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THEY WANNA LEARN AND THEY WANNA DO MORE.
AND I THINK THAT'S A, UM, A THEME THAT, YOU KNOW, WILL RESONATE WELL WITH, WITH BOTH MANAGEMENT AND STAFF AT ANY ORGANIZATION.
AND I THINK A COMMITMENT TO THAT WILL HELP.
UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE SOPS,
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UH, TO THE POINT WHERE ALL STAFF ARE UNDERSTANDING THEM, FOLLOWING THEM, FEEL THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THEM, THEM, UM, HAVING THE, UH, UM, UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, YOU KNOW, EMERGENCY EMERGING CONTAMINANTS ON HAVING STUDIES DONE THAT HELP YOU LOOK AT ISSUES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST BROUGHT UP.WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE? ARE WE SEEING, UH, TRENDS OCCURRING? ARE THERE CON EMERGING CONTAMINANTS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE LOOKING TOWARDS HOW WE CAN TREAT THEM, THE SIANO TOXINS BEING, YOU KNOW, ONE EXAMPLE OF THAT, UM, ENGAGEMENT ACROSS WHERE WE RESPECT EVERYONE IN THE ORGANIZATION AND WHAT THEY CONTRIBUTE.
THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THE IDEA OF MENTORSHIP, FOR EXAMPLE, IS, IS ONE OF THE KEY ONES THAT I WOULD POINT OUT FOR, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT AT ULRICH, ESPECIALLY, IT TAKES A LONG TIME, A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME TO LEARN THOSE PROCESSES.
THIS KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND TRANSFER THAT SHAY REC COM INDICATED ALSO IS, IS A KEY.
AND THOSE ARE THE KEY THINGS THAT I THINK ASSOCIATED WITH A HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATION THAT WE TRIED TO FOCUS ON IN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND BELIEVE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE BELIEVE IT'S DOABLE AND WE BELIEVE THAT AUSTIN WATER'S COMMITTED TO MAKING THAT MOVE FORWARD TOO.
SO, SO, UM, YOU CALLED FOR, YOU KNOW, DOING MORE SCENARIO PLANNING.
ONE OF THE THINGS YOU, YEAH, YOU SAID FOR HOT AND COLD WEATHER, YOU DIDN'T MENTION WILDFIRE, WHICH IS A REAL RISK.
AND OUR PLANTS ARE IN HIGH WILDFIRE RISK MM-HMM.
WHAT WOULD BE INVOLVED IF THERE WAS A WILDFIRE AND THE WATER SUPPLY WAS CONTAMINATED OR YOU COULD NOT REACH THE PLANT? UM, SO WHAT I WORRY ABOUT WHEN YOU HAVE A WILDFIRE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU GET THAT RUNOFF, UM, THAT COMES IN, YOU'RE GONNA CHANGE THE ORGANIC, NOT ONLY THE, THE, THE TOTAL ORGANIC COMP, UH, MATTER THAT'S IN THE SYSTEM, BUT THE COMPOSITION OF THAT ORGANIC MATTER.
AND SO, ONE EXAMPLE THAT I CAN THINK OF OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD IS THAT IF THAT ORGANIC MATTER CHANGES, IT MAY NOT BE AS AMENABLE TO THE LIME AND IRON CHEMICALS THAT ARE BEING ADDED TO THE PLANT TO REMOVE THEM.
THAT CAN HAVE A CASCADING EFFECT.
FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IF YOU'RE NOT REMOVING AS MUCH ORGANIC MATTER, THEN YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO, UM, CREATE MORE ISSUES WITH YOUR, UH, DISINFECTION SYSTEM, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE USE, BUT ALSO THE PRODUCTION OF BYPRODUCTS.
SO THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT.
UM, I THINK WE DID MENTION WILDFIRES IN THE REPORT AS AN EMERGING ISSUE, BUT, UM, UH, WE DIDN'T GO INTO DEPTH IN INTO IT, BUT THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF THINGS THAT YOU COULD DO.
AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF, UH, THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF STUDIES DOWN, THERE'S LITERATURE OUT THERE, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, LOOK, HAS LOOKED AT WILDFIRES IN OTHER AREAS OF THE COUNTRY AND THE IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY COMING IN.
UM, AND SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, REVIEWING THOSE, LOOKING AT WHAT THE CHANGES ARE, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER, UH, THE, THE PROCESSES IN THE PLANT, HOW YOU WOULD RESPOND TO THEM.
SO WOULD YOU, YOU KNOW, WOULD YOU CHANGE YOUR DISINFECTION SYSTEM? WOULD YOU HAVE TO INCREASE YOUR CONTACT TIMES TO MEET, UM, UH, REQUIREMENTS, BUT ALSO MINIMIZE, UM, THE, UH, DISINFECTION BYPRODUCTS THAT YOU WOULD FORM.
SO THOSE ARE, THAT'S THE TYPE OF THING I THINK ABOUT THAT CAN OCCUR.
AND I THINK, I THINK THERE'S A LOT THAT CAN BE LEARNED BOTH FROM LITERATURE AND YOU CAN, AND, AND YOU CAN LEARN FROM TESTING AS WELL.
OLSON, I'LL WANNA BE FOLLOWING UP WITH YOUR, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME UP RIGHT NOW.
I'LL, I'LL WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR STAFF TO, TO THINK THROUGH SOME OF THOSE ISSUES CUZ I'M, I'M PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
KATZ, IN THE REPORT, YOU MADE IT CLEAR THAT OUTSIDE OF THESE EVENTS, UM, THE DATA PRESENTED INDICATED THAT AUSTIN WATER CONSISTENTLY DELIVERED SAFE AND CLEAN WATER ACROSS VARIOUS MEASURES.
WE SEE THAT IN APPENDIX TOO DEEP, NO, TO, UM, WHAT I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WELL FROM THE REPORT THOUGH, WAS THAT WE HAD ASKED IN THE RESOLUTION ABOUT WHETHER AND HOW THESE PARTICULAR SITUATIONS IMPACTED HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
CUZ ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE GOT A LOT WAS, YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE NOTICE I DRANK THE WATER, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT LEVEL OF, OF RISK, UM, OR SITE HEALTH AND SAFETY RISK WE WERE AT, UM, YOU KNOW, DURING THESE WATER BOIL PERIODS, UM, IF THEY DRANK THE WATER.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S MULTIPLE QUESTIONS WITHIN THAT QUESTION, WHICH IS WHY I'M THINKING A LITTLE BIT BEFORE I RESPOND ON, THE FIRST THING I WANNA SAY IS THAT WHEN, WHEN THE CITY ISSUES A BOILED WATER NOTICE, THAT MEANS YOU SHOULDN'T DRINK THE WATER
[01:25:04]
WHETHER, WHETHER I, I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A HIGH RISK ASSOCIATED WITH THE INCIDENT THAT OCCURRED IS IRRELEVANT BECAUSE WE WE'RE VIOLATING A STANDARD AND, AND THE STANDARDS ARE SET TO PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH.AND NO ONE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU VI WHEN THE PROBLEM IS, NOT ALL OF OUR STANDARDS CAN BE BASED ON I MEASURED THIS CONTAMINANT AT THIS MOMENT IN ALL OF THE WATER THAT YOU'RE DRINKING SO THAT I KNOW IT'S SAFE FOR YOU.
SO WE, WE ARE VERY CONSERVATIVE ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO SAY THAT WATER IS SAFE.
UM, AND SO IF IN AN EVENT OCCURS AND WE, WE DON'T MEET A TURBIDITY STANDARD, WHICH IS NOT A IN ITSELF SUGGESTS ANYTHING ABOUT HEALTH, IT IS A, IT IS, YOU KNOW, WE USE A TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY, WE USE FILTRATION TO SAY THAT IF WE FILTER THIS WATER, YOUR RISK WILL BE LOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE PROTO OR, OR CRYPTOSPORIDIUM IN YOUR WATER.
IF THE TREATMENT PROCESSES WORKING, THEN THE TURBIDITY WILL BE LOW, RIGHT? IF THE TURBIDITY IS NOT LOW, THEN AND WE DON'T MEET THAT REQUIREMENT, THEN WE ISSUE A BOIL WATER NOTICE BECAUSE THE REGULATION IS SET BASED ON THE TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY, NOT DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF SOMEONE SEEING A CRYPTOSPORIDIUM IN THE WATER.
SO, SO IT'S A COMPLICATED ISSUE IS MY POINT.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY NOW, AUSTIN WATER, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWS NATIONAL PRIMARY DRINKING WATER STANDARDS AND T C Q REGULATIONS AND THEY'RE TESTING THE WATER DURING, AT, BASED ON, UM, COMPLIANCE.
THEY ISSUE WATER QUALITY REPORTS TO THE PUBLIC.
UM, THEY ARE UNDER SCRUTINY FOR MEETING THOSE REQUIREMENTS.
AND WHEN THEY DO, THEN THE ASSUMPTION IS, IS THAT HUMAN HEALTH IS PROTECTED.
UM, SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YOU KNOW, WE DIDN'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE HEALTH RISKS BECAUSE, UM, WE DIDN'T FEEL THAT IT ADDRESSED THE THREE QUESTIONS TO A POINT THAT WE COULD ANSWER.
THE QUESTION WAS THERE WASN'T A HEALTH RISK, THERE WAS A RISK BECAUSE THERE WAS A BOILED WATER NOTICE.
AND I, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN THE HIGHER LEVELS OF TURBIDITY AND THE HIGHER LEVELS OF THE, THE PROTOZOA, UM, IN THE WATER.
AND THAT'S, IT'S A PROXY IN SOME WAY EXACTLY TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY, UM, TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO, TO LOOK AT THAT.
AND THE RULES ARE TRYING, ARE DESIGNED TO KEEP YOU HEALTHY, WHETHER IT COMES OUTTA YOUR TAP AND IN THAT MOMENT YOU WERE AT RISK, WERE NOT ABLE TO SAY AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
UM, YOU HIGHLIGHTED THE NEED TO STRESS TEST YES.
THE FACILITY FOR FULL CAPACITY USAGE.
SO SAYING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GENERALLY RUNNING THE PLANT, I THINK IT WAS 35% OF THE CAPACITY, RIGHT? UM, HOW DOES ONE DO THAT SAFELY? AND IS IT NORMAL TO NOT HAVE DONE THAT? UM, WELL IT TAKES TIME AND IT TAKES STAFF TO, TO DO IT.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK SHEA COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT BETTER TOO, HOW YOU WOULD DO IT AT THE PLANT.
I'M NOT A, UM, AN OPERATOR AND, AND, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF, UM, FILTERS, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT? SO I CAN OPERATE, YOU KNOW, EVEN AT CAPACITY, I THINK IN TERMS OF DESIGN REQUIREMENTS, UM, THE PLANT CAN RUN SIMPLY 14 OUT OF THE 17 AND STILL MEET AND STILL MEET CAPACITY BASED ON THE DESIGN SPECS.
OKAY? IF I ONLY, IF I WAS, IF I'M OPERATING FEWER FILTERS, THEN I CAN INCREASE THE FLOW RATE TO THOSE FILTERS AND, AND, AND TEST THAT WAY.
SO, UM, YOU NOTICE WHEN WE SHOW THE PLANT DRAWING, THERE'S MULTIPLE FILTERS, THERE'S MULTIPLE CLARIFIERS.
SO, UM, NOT ALL OF THEM ARE OPERATING, UH, AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SO IF YOU, YOU CAN STRESS TEST IT BY, YOU KNOW, UM, PRODUCING OR YOU CAN STRESS THAT THE WHOLE PLANT SIMPLY BY PRODUCING MORE WATER, RIGHT? SO YOU CAN PRODUCE MORE WATER ACROSS THE ENTIRE PLANT AND GO UP TO THAT VALUE, AND THEN YOU JUST HAVE TO HAVE SOMEWHERE TO PUT IT.
UM, AND I, AS I SAID, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SHEA CAN ADDRESS BETTER THAN I COULD.
UM, AND SO MY LAST QUESTION FOR YOU, AND THEN I HAVE A, A COUPLE QUESTIONS, UM, FOR AUSTIN WATER IS, UM, I BELIEVE THE REPORT SUGGESTED
[01:30:01]
THAT THE TYPE OF STUPIDITY EVENT THAT WE SAW IN 2018 WAS NOT SOMETHING WE EXPECTED TO BE MORE FREQUENT WITH CLIMATE CHANGE.CAN YOU EXPLAIN WHY? OR, OR, WELL, FOR THE SAME REASON, WE DON'T EXPECT A HUNDRED YEAR FLOOD TO OCCUR EVERY YEAR, BUT IT COULD OCCUR TWO YEARS IN A ROW.
SO IT'S, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, A STATISTICAL PROBABILITY.
WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S WHY.
OKAY, BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO ME WITH CLIMATE CHANGE, WE MAY SEE MORE OF THOSE MAY AND THAT, BUT WE CAN'T JUST ASSUME WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE IT FOR A HUNDRED YEARS.
WELL, YEAH, BUT, BUT LET ME SAY THIS, RIGHT? SO, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN HIGHER LEVELS OF TURBIDITY AT THE PLANT THAT THE PLANT'S BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE, OKAY? SO THERE'S HIGHER, AND THEN THERE'S JUST REALLY, REALLY HIGH.
SO EVEN THE CHART THAT I SHOWED YOU, I THINK HAD THAT, THAT WE PUT IN THE DOCUMENT CAME FROM, YOU KNOW, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM THE DATA THAT WAS PRESENTED TO, UM, THE STATE, UM, AND DOESN'T REPRESENT THE HIGHEST TURBIDITY THAT WAS SEEN DURING THAT EVENT, IT WAS EVEN HIGHER THAN THAT.
SO MY POINT BEING IS THAT, UM, THAT WAS QUITE AN EXCURSION, AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE SAYING THAT THERE ARE EXCURSIONS, BUT AUSTIN WATER'S BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE A LOT OF THOSE EXCURSIONS AND, AND MEET WATER QUALITY STANDARDS.
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND, AND YOUR TEAM'S WORK.
OLSON, I HAVE A COUPLE, I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU AND JUST SOME THINGS I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COVERING AT OUR NEXT MEETING.
SO I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT LEVEL OF INFORMATION WE CAN EXPECT WHEN YOU COME BACK IN FEBRUARY 15TH AND FEBRUARY 15TH ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
SO WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO DO ON FEBRUARY 15TH IS REVIEW THE RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, PROBABLY IN SORT OF SIMILAR GROUPINGS, RIGHT? THIS ONE IS ABOUT OPERATIONS, THIS ONE IS ABOUT RECRUITING AND RETENTION.
UM, AND REALLY TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE, THE OVERARCHING STRATEGIES THAT WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN WHAT OUR PROGRESSES.
SO WE WANT TO ADDRESS THE SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO OPERATIONALIZE THE WAY WE DO THAT INTO OUR NORMAL, UM, BUSINESS.
AND SO WE'LL WANT TO, UM, GIVE YOU A SENSE OF THAT AND THEN, UH, A TIMELINE FOR, FOR IMPLEMENTING SPECIFIC RE RECOMMENDATIONS AS WELL AS WHAT WE'RE DOING TO DRILL THAT INTO WHAT WE DO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS.
AND I, AND I KNOW THAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, NEW INTO THE POSITION AND HAVE A LOT OF THINGS TO DO, AND I APPRECIATE THE PRIORITY THAT YOU'RE PLACING ON IMPLEMENTING, UM, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND WHAT THEY REPRESENT FOR REBUILDING TRUST WITH THE, THE COMMUNITY.
APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO, TO MEET WITH A LOT OF THE ADVOCATES, UM, MULTIPLE TIMES TO, TO TALK THROUGH SOME OF THESE ISSUES.
I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT JUST A FEW THINGS THAT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE REPORT COVERS AND DON'T EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER THESE RIGHT NOW.
BUT IN TERMS OF YOUR IMPLEMENTATION REPORT OR YOUR PRESENTATION, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT YOU HIGHLIGHT WHAT THE NEXT STEPS PLANS ARE ON THE CENTRIFUGE, UM, AND, AND DELIVERING WATER TO SOUTH AUSTIN, UM, IN THOSE CONTINGENCIES THAT WERE RAISED.
UM, HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY YOU'RE WAITING UNTIL THE BUDGET TO GET THE NEW POSITION TO OVERSEE THE OTHER PLANTS THAT ONE CAN OVERSEE ULRICH.
UM, THE ULT IMPLEMENTATION DATE SEEMS OFF.
I'M NOT SURE WHY WE HAVE TO MAKE TILL OCTOBER 1ST, UM, FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, UM, WHEN YOU REPORT BACK, IF YOU CAN PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW YOU'RE GONNA ADDRESS THE UNDERLYING ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED IN THE FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS WHERE YOU DISAGREED.
UM, SO YOU MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT SOLUTION, UM, BUT I WANNA KNOW HOW YOU'RE ADDRESSING KIND OF THAT UNDERLYING, UM, SET OF QUESTIONS THAT WERE RAISED.
UM, I KNOW YOU IN YOUR PRIOR CAPACITY WORKED A LOT ON THE POWER RELIABILITY ISSUES.
IF YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU UPDATE US ON THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE TO IMPROVE POWER RELIABILITY AT ULRICH AND THE OTHER PLANTS.
UM, THE REPORT RECOGNIZE THAT WATER FORWARD DOESN'T TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION, UM, CONTAMINATION OF OUR WATER OR QUALITY OF OUR WATER ISSUES.
UM, SO IF YOU CAN MAKE SURE YOU'RE HELPING US UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S GONNA BE IN THE UPDATE, UM, TO WATER FORWARD, UM, IF YOU CAN EXPLAIN WHAT YOU'RE CURRENTLY DOING IN TERMS OF THE SCENARIO PLANNING AND HOW YOU ARE APPROACHING MAKING THOSE CHANGES.
UM, AND THEN IF YOU CAN PROVIDE MORE DETAILS ON COMPENSATION AND WHAT MANAGEMENT IS GOING TO CHANGE TO MAKE HR MORE RESPONSIVE, THAT MAY BE AT THE ACM LEVEL, CITY MANAGER LEVEL.
UM, BUT THERE WERE A, A LOT OF ISSUES THAT WERE RAISED OVER THE RESPONSIVENESS OF HR.
[01:35:01]
UM, TWO THINGS.UM, AND THEN AS AN, THIS ISN'T, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS PART OF THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN OR PART OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, UM, SEVERAL PEOPLE SUGGESTED IN THEIR RESPONSES TO THE REPORT THAT IT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL IN REBUILDING TRUST IF WE HAD SOME SIMPLE ANSWERS TO LIKE, WHAT IS AUSTIN WATER DOING TO PREVENT CYTOTOXINS BEING AN ISSUE? AND, UM, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO PREVENT FUTURE ADAGES, LIKE WHAT WE SAW, UM, SO THAT THE COMMUNITY CAN HEAR.
WE ARE COMING UP ON SEVERAL ANNIVERSARIES, UM, IN FEBRUARY, AND I THINK THE COMMUNITIES ON EDGE AND, AND BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE IN THAT WAY I THINK WOULD BE REALLY, UM, IMPORTANT.
SO I WANTED TO MENTION ALL THOSE.
AND THEN, THEN I DO WANNA CONCLUDE, UM, AND THIS MAY BE FOR, FOR CITY MANAGEMENT IN GENERAL.
UM, I SEE ACM GOOD AND ACM ZENO HERE.
UM, I COULDN'T HELP BUT READ THIS REPORT AND FEEL LIKE I'VE HEARD THESE THINGS BEFORE, UM, THAT THERE ARE ECHOES OF WHAT'S IN THIS REPORT WITH RESPECT TO MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION THAT I HEAR FROM LOTS OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
UM, SO WE HEAR PROBLEMS WITH HR MOVING EFFECTIVELY.
SO WE CAN HIRE INCONSISTENT TRAINING, LACK OF TRAINING, NEW STAFF, NOT TRAINED WELL, LACK OF CULTURE OF REPORTING PROBLEMS. CROSS-TRAINING MEANS WE HAVE A FEW WITH EXPERTISE, A DEPARTMENT THAT IS UNDERSTAFFED AND HAS TOO MANY TASKS FOR THE FEW PEOPLE AVAILABLE.
WE HAVE SYSTEMS OR SOPS, BUT STAFF SEE AS VOLUNTARY OR DON'T FOLLOW LACK OF SCENARIO PLANNING AT MULTIPLE LEVELS.
MORE WORK TO BE ABLE TO REACH COMMUNITY IN THE LANGUAGES THEY SPEAK.
MORE ATTENTION COULD BE PAID TO INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, A BACKLOG OF PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE AND VERY LONG CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TIMELINES, JUST TO NAME A FEW, WHICH TO ME, I HEAR ECHO THROUGHOUT THE CITY ORGANIZATION.
AND I WOULD REALLY, YOU KNOW, INVITE OUR SENIOR MANAGEMENT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS REPORT AND NOT LOOK AT IT SOLELY THROUGH THE LENS OF AUSTIN WATER.
WE HAVE MANY DEPARTMENTS THAT NEED TO BE HIGH RELIABILITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT NEED TO BE FUNCTIONING BETTER, THAT ARE EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS. WE SAW THINGS GO WRONG IN FEBRUARY OF 22.
WE HAVE A ROADMAP FROM THIS REPORT OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO FOR AUSTIN WATER.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS IN THERE THAT WE HEAR, UM, IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
AND I'M NOT GONNA SINGLE OUT, YOU KNOW, PARTICULAR DEPARTMENTS PER SE, BUT I WILL SAY AS CHAIR OF AUDIT AND FINANCE AND AS A COUNCIL MEMBER, I HEAR OVER AND OVER AGAIN LITTLE PIECES OF THESE THINGS.
UM, YOU KNOW, ABOUT DEPARTMENT MORALE, DIFFERENT THINGS ABOUT COMMUNICATION, NOT SENIOR MANAGERS.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS HAPPEN IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS TOO.
WE NEED TO BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THOSE AND MAKING SURE, UM, THAT WE ARE ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES.
AND I THINK AUSTIN WATER WILL BE MUCH IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THEIR NEEDS IF WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO SOME OF THE MORE SYSTEMIC, UM, ISSUES THAT ARE COMING OUT THERE IN TERMS OF MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATION.
AND SO THIS IS NOT ALL ON, UM, THE DIRECTOR'S SHOULDERS HERE.
THERE IS AN UPPER MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY TO LOOK AT THESE ECHOES AND FIGURE OUT HOW WE ADDRESS THESE.
WE ARE COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, BUT WE IGNORE THESE ISSUES, UM, AT OUR PERIL.
AND WHILE THERE ARE NATIONAL ISSUES THAT DOESN'T, UM, MEAN THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING WE POSSIBLY CAN.
EVERYONE WANTS TO COME TO AUSTIN, LET'S PUT IN THE EFFORT, YOU KNOW, LEAN IN AND MAKE THESE THINGS HAPPEN.
SO I WANTED TO SAY THAT AND, AND, UM, LET ME CONCLUDE BY JUST SAYING THAT THIS REPORT IS MORE THAN A LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
I THINK IT REALLY PROVIDES US A ROADMAP.
AND SO THANK YOU TO UT AND YOUR PARTNERS FOR YOUR WORK AND THANK YOU TO THE CITY AUDITOR AND KATHY HARRISON IN YOUR OFFICE WHO HELPED GUIDE THAT PROCESS.
I THINK THIS IS A GOOD MODEL, UM, FOR US TO REALLY GET THE INFORMATION WE NEED, UM, AS A COUNCIL TO KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO LIVE, LEAN IN.
UM, WHAT THIS REPORT DOES IS IT HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR SYSTEMIC CHANGE.
UM, AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN EMBRACE THE NEW THINKING ABOUT OUR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND EMERGENCY PLANNING SO THAT WE CAN BETTER PREPARE FOR THE WATER QUALITY AND SUPPLY EVENTS THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE IN THIS NEW WORLD.
UM, MANY CITIES ARE GRAPPLING WITH IT.
WE HAVE A ROADMAP OF HOW WE CAN DO BETTER AND WHAT WE CAN DO HERE.
I BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT OUR CITY CAN EMERGE FROM THIS PROCESS AND THESE EVENTS, UM, MORE PREPARED AND MORE RESILIENT.
UM, BUT THAT STARTS WITH TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
AND AS WE IMPLEMENT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, I HOPE WE WILL KEEP THAT IN MIND AND THAT WE WILL, UM, WORK TO REALLY TAKE ON
[01:40:01]
THE SYSTEMIC CHALLENGES THAT ARE, ARE REALLY, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGING US, UM, IN IMPORTANT WAYS ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION, UM, AND IN WAYS THAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF ADDRESSING.WE HAVE GREAT PEOPLE, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, FROM THIS REPORT, WE HAVE GOOD INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE SUPPORTING OUR PEOPLE AND THAT WE HAVE THE SYSTEMS WE NEED SO THAT OUR MANAGEMENT, OUR LEADERSHIP CAN ACT WITH THE AGILITY THAT TODAY'S CHALLENGES DEMAND.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO'S INVOLVED.
I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE HAS QUESTIONS.
THOSE, TO THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING, UM, WE WILL CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION ON FEBRUARY 15TH.
UM, WE DON'T KNOW YET WHETHER IT'LL BE MORNING OR AFTERNOON.
[3. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings.]
WE DO HAVE A FULL PACKED AGENDA AND I'M NOT GONNA INVITE MS. STOKES TO COME UP AND TALK ABOUT OUR FUTURE, FUTURE ITEMS. SO THANK YOU.SO, UM, I SHOW FOR, FOR NEXT MONTH AND THERE MAY STILL BE OTHER ITEMS. UM, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO IDENTIFY.
UM, BUT WE WILL BE PRESENTING, UM, RESULTS OF A FIRE TIME OVER AUDIT OVERTIME AUDIT THAT WAS DONE BY A OUTSIDE CONTRACTOR.
UM, WE HAVE AN AUDIT OF STRATEGIC DIRECTION 23 RELATED TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDABILITY.
THERE'S A CHANCE THAT ONE MAY MOVE TO MARCH, UM, AN UPDATE ON THE ANIMAL SERVICES PROJECT.
SO WE WANTED TO COME BACK AND TALK ABOUT THAT AUDIT THAT WAS, UM, PASSED, UH, WAS, UM, ASKED FOR THROUGH A RESOLUTION THIS SUMMER OR LAST SUMMER NOW THAT IT'S 2023.
UM, AND THEN AN UPDATE ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.
THAT'S A PERIODIC UPDATE THAT HAPPENS.
AND THAT WOULD, WOULD FALL AT THE FEBRUARY, I MEAN, AT THE, YEAH, FEBRUARY MEETING.
UM, AND THE LAST THING I HAVE ON HERE IS I BELIEVE IT'S A REPORT BACK RELATED TO A BUDGET WRITER FROM BUILDING SERVICES ABOUT CONVERTING, UM, CONTRACT EMPLOYEES TO PERMANENT EMPLOYEES.
SO IT'S, YES, AS YOU SAID, QUITE A PACKED AGENDA.
UM, IT MAY BE THAT THAT SOME THINGS SLIDE TO MARCH, BUT, UH, WE'LL BE WORKING ON THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS.
AND OUR CURRENT PLAN, UM, COLLEAGUES WHO ARE ON THE COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY'S ON, ON, UM, LINE WILL BE TO HAVE THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING IN THE MORNING, AND THEN THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE IN THE AFTERNOON.
THAT WOULD BE A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING FOR O FOR AUDIT AND FINANCE.
UM, THAT SEEMS TO BE BE THE BEST.
AND THEN THE CHAIR OF AUSTIN WATER AND CHAIR OF AUDIT AND FINANCE WILL WORK TOGETHER, UM, FOR ORCHESTRATING THAT AFTERNOON.
UM, BUT I DO THINK THAT, UM, THIS IS, THIS IS, UM, REALLY RELEVANT FOR BOTH COMMITTEES AND THERE'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF OVERLAP.
SO I THINK, I THINK THAT'LL WORK WELL.
UM, AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DO THIS IN A, IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SO I THINK THAT WILL BE, UM, THE PLAN, UM, THE LIKELY PLAN, BUT WE WILL, WE WILL CONNECT MORE ON THAT WITH EACH OF THE, EACH OF THE FOLKS AND LET YOU KNOW.
UM, THANK YOU MS. STOKES, FOR YOU AND YOUR STAFF'S WORK, UM, ON THE EARLIER AUDIT.
I KNOW WE, WE TOOK A DIFFERENT ROUTE THAN USUAL, UM, FOR THIS KIND OF THING, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WAY THAT YOU AND YOUR STAFF, UM, DELIVERED.
AND I WANT TO, UM, ALSO DO A SHOUT OUT FOR OUR, OUR, UM, CONTRACT THAT WE PUT IN PLACE WITH UT, UM, SO THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO MOVE MORE QUICKLY, UM, WITH CONTRACTS OF THIS SORT WHEN WE NEEDED THEM.
UM, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, UM, THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER, UM, NOIA PUT TOGETHER.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S A REALLY USEFUL WAY FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MOVE, MOVE FASTER ON THINGS.
SO THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO'S HERE.
UM, AND WITH THAT, IT IS 1116 AND I WILL ADJOURN THIS MEETING.