Apr 19, 2023 Water and Wastewater Commission

[00:00:01]

OKAY.

IT IS, IT

[CALL TO ORDER]

AND WE WILL HAVE COMMISSIONER MONTI AND COMMISSIONER MA GROUP AND REMOTE.

AND WE GOT COMMISSIONER PENN, MICHELLE, LEE RI, AND MAXWELL S IN PERSON.

SO WE HAVE A CALL AND THIS NO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, SO WE

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

APPROVAL MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 8TH, 2023, REGULAR MEETING FOR THE WATER AND THE WASTEWATER COMMISSION, AND GOT A MINOR COLLECTION ON THE, UH, THE CHAIR.

UH, COMMENDED THE MEETING.

MY CONNECTION AND COMMISSIONER GOT ANY QUESTIONS, OR IF NOT, WE WILL ENTERTAIN MOTION.

AND EVEN YOU DID NOT ATTEND THE MEETING.

YOU STILL CAN VOTE ON IT.

CHAIR, I MOVE TO APPROVE.

MOTION MADE BY COMMISSIONER MICHELLE.

AND ONE SECOND.

SECOND BY COMMISSIONER PAN AND O IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SHOWING ALL PRESENT APPROVE.

AND UNANIMOUSLY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

NOW LET'S

[DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL]

NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSALS.

THANK YOU.

AND I DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTION OR RECUSAL.

COMMISSIONER PEN? NO QUESTIONS.

NO.

RECUSALS COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES.

NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSALS COMMISSIONER, UM, .

UM, NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSAL.

THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER MOTI.

NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSAL.

COMMISSIONER MAROVE? NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSALS.

OKAY, SO THE CONSENT ITEMS ARE ITEM 2, 3, 4.

IS THERE A MOTION CHAIR? I MOVE TO APPROVE MOTION.

MAY I? COMMISSIONER MICHELLE AND I WILL SECOND IT ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SHOWING ALL PRESENT APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OKAY, LET'S MOVE

[5. Update from the Austin Integrated Water Task Force – Commissioner William Moriarty]

GOOD EVENING, CHAIR AND FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.

UH, THE AUSTIN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES PLANNING TASK FORCE HAD A MEETING LAST WEEK ON APRIL 11TH, AND WE COVERED THE FOLLOWING MATTERS.

UM, THE STAFF FROM AUSTIN WATER UPDATED US ON WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS, AND PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THAT UPDATE WAS THE, THE, THE LAKE LEVELS ARE AT, UH, PRECARIOUSLY LOW LEVELS.

I BELIEVE LAKE TRAVIS IS AT 45% AND LAKE BUCHANAN IS SLIGHTLY ABOVE 50%.

SO WE'RE ENTERING A COURSE INTO A, A DIFFICULT SUMMER PERIOD FOR WATER, UH, WATER SUPPLY ISSUES.

SO, UM, WE ALSO HAD A DISCUSSION OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE CONTAINED WITHIN THE WATER FORWARD PROJECT.

AND WE GOT, UH, A PROGRESS REPORT ON EACH ONE.

AND I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, PART OF THE WATER FORWARD PROCESS, WE, WE WROTE AN ORIGINAL REPORT IN 2018 AND THEY WILL UPDATE THAT REPORT IN 2024.

SO THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT REPORT, THE UPDATE UPDATING FOR THINGS LIKE POPULATION AND THE VARIOUS STRATEGIES IS, IS ONGOING.

UH, WE HEARD THINGS ABOUT THE SMART METERS THAT ARE GOING IN A LITTLE BEHIND SCHEDULE, BUT WE'RE CATCHING UP, UH, SEVERAL CONSERVATION RELATED

[00:05:01]

UM, AND OF COURSE THE LARGEST PROJECT IS WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.

AND THAT IS, UH, BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL YEARS AND WE ARE NOW ENTERING A PHASE WHERE THE, UH, INITIAL WORK IS KIND OF COMPLETED, BUT NOW THEY'RE GOING TO GO FORWARD INTO A PILOTING PHASE, WHICH OF COURSE DOESN'T MEAN WE'LL DO THE PILOTING TOMORROW.

THEY'LL DETERMINE A LOCATION FOR THE PILOT AND DO ALL KINDS OF TESTING.

UH, AND SO HOPEFULLY THIS PROJECT WILL BE AVAILABLE.

WE'RE FULL TESTING AND, UH, FULL SCALE ASR IN THE YEAR 2035.

SO THAT'S, OH, 12 YEARS FROM, AND I, I BELIEVE IT'S ACTUALLY SCHEDULED IN THE WATER SUPPLY PLAN TO BE AVAILABLE 2040.

SO FOR ALL OF YOU WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION MEMBERS, IF YOU, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO 2040 AND YOU CAN PROBABLY ATTEND THAT RIBBON CUTTING.

UM, SO WE ALSO HAD A, A LENGTHY PRESENTATION ON EQUITY ISSUES RELATED TO THE WATER FORWARD PLAN.

AND, UH, WE, WE FOUND THAT QUITE INTERESTING AND, UH, THAT, UH, CHAIR AND COMMISSION MEMBERS, THAT INCLUDES MY REPORT.

I'D BE HAPPY TO ATTEMPT TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

COMMISSIONERS GOT ANY QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER MOTY? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR UPDATE.

OKAY, LET'S MOVE ON TO ITEM

[6. Election for officer positions for the Water and Wastewater Commission]

SO TONIGHT WE ARE GOING TO DIRECT THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR FOR A TERM OF ONE YEAR.

AM I CORRECT? YES.

OKAY.

AND FOR THE CHAIR POSITION, I CONSULT WITH COMMISSIONER TO RTA.

SHE CANNOT MAKE IT TODAY, BUT SHE INDICATE THAT SHE'S INTERESTED IN SERVING.

IF I NOMINATE HER AND THE COMMISSIONER IS, UH, IN INTEREST IN HER LEADERSHIP, THEN SHE WILL ACCEPT THAT.

SO I WILL OFFICIALLY NOMINATE HER TO BE OUR NEXT CHAIR FOR THE COMMISSION.

IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND.

SECOND.

BY COMMISSIONER MAXWELLS, IS THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS THAT WE WANT TO BE CONSIDERED? IF NOT, WE WILL GET VOTE OR IN FAVOR FOR COMMISSIONER TOTA TO SERVE AS THE NEXT CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AS SHOWING APPROVE.

AND THANK YOU.

AND NOW LET'S MOVE ON TO THE VICE CHAIR POSITION.

VICE CHAIR WILL BE HELPING THE CHAIR AND WHEN CHAIR IS NOT AVAILABLE, AND AFTER I CONSULT WITH THE MEMBERS, SOME MEMBERS, I THINK COMMISSIONER PENN IS INTERESTED IN WAITING TO TAKE THAT RESPONSIBILITY.

AND SO I OFFICIALLY NOMINATE HIM TO BE THE VICE CHAIR.

WILL, WILL YOU BE ACCEPTED? YES.

CHAIR.

I WOULD ACCEPT, BUT I DO HAVE ONE CAVEAT.

I HAVE NOT.

CAN YOU TURN YOUR MIC ON? OBJECTION.

THE FIRST TIME.

WAS OPERATOR HERE THIS TIME? UH, YEAH, I WOULD ACCEPT THE NOMINATION, BUT I DO HAVE A CAVEAT.

I HAVEN'T BEEN REAPPOINTED YET.

UM, I HAVE REACHED OUT TO MY COUNCIL MEMBER TO, UH, TO, TO DISCUSS THAT, BUT THAT, THAT'S, THAT IS STILL PENDING.

OKAY.

UM, SO THAT CAN, UH, I WOULD, I WOULD PROPOSE SO THAT IT DOESN'T REQUIRE, UM, A NEW DISCUSSION TO NOMINATE HIM, UH, AS A MEMBER.

AND THEN WHEN THE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UH, NEXT MONTH ARE AVAILABLE, THEY CAN DO THEIR INTERNAL, UH, ELECTIONS WITH THE MEMBERS WHO ARE APPOINTED? NO, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT VICE CHAIR.

YES.

BUT IF, HI, IF HIS, UH, APPOINTMENT IS NOT CONFIRMED, HE WOULDN'T BE ELIGIBLE.

OKAY.

ALL

[00:10:01]

SO WE WILL HOLD ON, ON THE VICE CHAIR POSITION UNTIL NEXT MONTH.

SO WE TABLE IT.

OKAY.

IS THAT, IS THAT, UH, IS THAT OKAY FOR EVERYBODY? I'LL MAKE MOTION TO TABLE THE VICE CHAIR POSITION ELECTION.

OH, IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND.

OKAY.

WE'RE SHOWING EVERYBODY APPROVE IT.

YEAH.

INCLUDING, OKAY.

APPROVE ANTY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

NOW

[8. Appointment of Budget Committee members]

APPOINTMENT OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

SO RIGHT NOW, UH, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER TOTA AND FISHER PLAN PEN AND THE OTHER ONE.

SO, UH, COMMISSIONER FISHER, UH, HE, UM, LET ME KNOW THAT HE WAS NOT ATTENDING TODAY AND HIS, UH, HIS TERM HAS EXPIRED AND IS NOT BEING REAPPOINTED.

SO HE WILL NO LONGER SERVE AS A BUDGET.

ALRIGHT.

COMMITTEE MEMBER.

AND LEMME SEE WHO IS, WHO IS ANOTHER, ANOTHER CURRENT MEMBERS OF AN SUB BUDGET COMMITTEE THAT IS MADE.

OH YEAH, I'M SORRY.

COMMISSIONER.

MICHELLE COMMISSIONER, UH, PEN AND TOTA.

SO THAT'S THE REMAINING, UH, PERSONS IN THE BUDGET COMMITTEE.

SO, UH, WELL, IS THERE, IS THERE ANY VOLUNTEERS THAT ONE SERVE ALERT COMMITTEE? WE CAN HAVE FIVE MEMBERS ALERT COMMITTEE.

SO, AND I'M LEAVING AND COMMISSIONER MS. LEAVING.

SO, UH, COMMISSIONER MUST GOVE, COMMISSIONER MOTY AND COMMISSIONER ANG AND THE COMMISSIONER MAX WILS.

ARE YOU, YOU GUYS INTERESTED IN SERVING AND THE BUDGET COMMITTEE? OKAY, GOOD.

OKAY, WE GOT A TWO VOLUNTEERS ALREADY.

COMMISSIONER MAROVE AND COMMISSIONER, UH, MAX WILLIAMS, MAS AND RI.

OKAY, WE GOT THREE, I'M SORRY.

WE GOT THREE VOLUNTEER TO SERVE ON THE BUDGET COMMITTEE AND NEXT MONTH WE, WE WILL HAVE YOU GUYS ENACTED THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE AND THEN DECIDED ON THE MEETING LOCATION.

AND THE DATES THAT WILL BE, DEPENDS ON YOUR AVAILABILITY OF THE DATES AND THE AVAILABILITY OF THE CITY'S FACILITIES TO CONDUCT MEETING.

OKAY.

AND THIS SERVICE, THIS IS USUALLY LAST UNTIL THE, RIGHT BEFORE THE AUGUST TIME, SEPTEMBER TIME.

OKAY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

AND THAT'S WAY WE WILL SKIP ITEM NUMBER NINE FOR NOW.

AND LET'S MOVE ON

[10. Staff briefing on the 2022 Austin Water External Review implementation]

UM, SIR, CAN I YES, JUST, UH, CONFIRM, UH, IS AGENDA ITEM SIX ELECTION FOR OFFICER POSITIONS? UH, IS, IS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN ON TODAY'S AGENDA? THE ELECTION OF THE CHAIR IS APPROVED.

COMMISSIONER TOTA IS APPROVED AS THE CHAIRPERSON FOR THE WHOLE COMMISSION.

FOR THE WHOLE COMMISSION.

OKAY.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

AND THEN THE, THE WHOLE COMMISSION'S VICE CHAIR IS PENDING, UH, THE APPOINTMENT OF IT AND DEPENDING ON THE NEXT MONTH'S VOTING RESULTS.

OKAY.

RIGHT.

AND THEN BUDGET COMMITTEE, WE GOT THREE VOLUNTEERS.

WE GOT THREE VOLUNTEERS TO SERVE UNLESS COMMISSION, UNLESS SUBCOMMITTEE, AND THEN THE CHAIRPERSON AND, AND VICE CHAIR OF THE BUDGET COMMITTEE WILL BE DECIDED, UH, NEXT MONTH.

OKAY.

THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.

OKAY.

NOW, UM, MS. ROSSON, ITEM NUMBER 10, PLEASE.

GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS CHAIR.

I'M SHAY ROLSON, DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER, AND OUR BRIEFING FOR YOU TONIGHT IS ON THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR THE AUSTIN WATER EXTERNAL REVIEW.

UH, THAT WAS, UH, PUBLISHED AT THE END OF, UM, 2022.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO, UH, BACK IN OUR FEBRUARY MEETING OF THIS COMMISSION, I GAVE YOU AN UPDATE ON, UH, HOW WE FARED IN WINTER STORM.

MARA, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A COUPLE OF NEW COMMISSIONERS, SO I'LL, I'LL BRIEFLY TOUCH ON THAT AGAIN TONIGHT AND THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THAT.

AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO OUR, UH,

[00:15:01]

SO, UM, WE WILL, THERE WERE 53 RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE WON'T TALK ABOUT ALL OF THEM, BUT I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU A FLAVOR OF, OF, OF ALL OF THE ITEMS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, UM, WINTER STORM MARA, UM, WAS A SIGNIFICANT TEST OF OUR POWER RESILIENCY STRATEGIES.

UM, AS WE, UH, AS WE WENT INTO THE WINTER WEATHER, OUR CREWS AND OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM WERE, WERE PREPPED AND READY.

UH, WE HAD REALLY BEEFED UP THOSE, UM, STRATEGIES AFTER WINTER STORM URI.

AND SO WE WERE, WE WERE RUNNING THOSE IN REAL TIME.

UM, OUR PLANTS OPERATED NORMALLY AND SYSTEM STORAGE, WATER STORAGE STAYED PRETTY HEALTHY OUT IN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

UM, UH, FOR THE MOST PART, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OF SOUTHWEST AUSTIN, WE LOST POWER TO THE DAVIS LANE PUMP STATION, UM, WHICH SERVES SOUTHWEST AUSTIN.

AND WHEN THAT HAPPENED, WE WERE RELYING ON STORED WATER IN THAT PART OF THE SYSTEM UNTIL, UM, POWER COULD BE RESTORED.

THAT IS WHEN, WHEN THAT HAPPENED, THAT'S WHEN WE ACTIVATED OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM AND WENT TO, UM, 24 HOUR SHIFTS.

UM, WE WORKED CONTINUOUSLY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO RESTORE POWER OUTAGES THROUGHOUT THE EVENT.

WE HAD PUMP STATIONS AND LIFT STATIONS COMING IN AND OUT OF POWER LIKE MANY PEOPLE'S HOMES.

UM, AND AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE USED PUMP STATIONS TO MOVE WATER AROUND OUR SYSTEM TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE WERE, UM, OUR, I WAS REALLY, REALLY PROUD OF OUR CREWS, THE WAY THEY HUSTLED GENERATORS.

UM, WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH EACH OTHER, UM, TO GET SITES READY FOR THE ELECTRICIANS TO SHOW UP, AND THEN WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AT THE SAME TIME LEADING INTO THE EVENT.

AND THEN AS THE EVENT WAS UNFOLDING, WE WERE COMMUNICATING, UM, PRETTY MUCH CONSTANTLY WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AS WELL AS OUR INTERNAL AUSTIN WATER STAFF AND, UH, CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.

UM, OUR, UH, PROCESS FOR, UM, FOR PROCUREMENT, THAT'S ONE OF OUR ACTION ITEMS COMING OUT OF THE EXTERNAL REVIEW.

WE PUT THAT TO THE TEST.

WE PROCURED ADDITIONAL GENERATORS IN ADDITION TO OUR FLEET OF PORTABLE GENERATORS, AND WE, UM, WERE ABLE TO GET THOSE IN OUR HANDS VERY QUICKLY.

UM, AND THE CITY, UH, ACTIVATED THE, UM, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER.

AND, UH, AS WE DO, UH, ONE OF THE, UM, POSITIONS ON OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM IS E OOC RESPONDER.

SO WE ACTIVATED THAT POSITION AS WE DO, AND WE HAD SOMEBODY PHYSICALLY IN THE E O C FOR THE ENTIRE TIME THAT THEY WERE ACTIVATED, UH, WHICH HELPED US STAY VERY CLOSELY CONNECTED WITH THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.

UM, IN THE END, WE, WE LO WE DID LOSE WATER SERVICE TO TWO SMALL POCKETS OF OUR SERVICE AREA THAT ARE SERVED BY, UM, HYDRO PNEUMATIC SYSTEMS. UM, THAT WAS ABOUT 40 HOMES.

UM, AND WE DID A LOT OF, UH, OUTBOUND CALLING TO THOSE PEOPLE.

WE DELIVERED WATER TO THEM AND WE GOT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE GOT GENERATORS RUNNING.

THAT TOOK A LITTLE TIME.

AND THEN EVENTUALLY WE GOT POWER RESTORED, UH, AND WE HAD SIX SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS.

UM, WE HAVE ABOUT 135 LIFT STATIONS IN OUR SYSTEMS, SO TO ONLY HAVE, UH, SIX, UH, OVERFLOWS, WE WERE VERY, VERY, VERY PROUD OF THAT PERFORMANCE.

UM, OUR MAIN CHALLENGE WAS HAULING GENERATORS IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS, UM, AND, UH, AND BEING SHORT STAFFED, PARTICULARLY ON ELECTRICIANS.

UM, WE HAD EVERY ELECTRICIAN IN THE FIELD, INCLUDING SUPERVISORS IN THE DIVISION MANAGER, AND WE STILL RAN UP AGAINST MANDATORY REST LEAVE.

UM, SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS A CHALLENGE FOR US.

UM, BUT ON THE SAFETY SIDE, OTHER THAN A FEW SLIPS, TRIPS AND FALLS AND SOME BRANCHES FALLING ON OUR VEHICLES, WE HAD NO SAFETY INCIDENTS.

SO VERY, UM, VERY PROUD OF AUSTIN WATER'S PERFORMANCE IN THIS.

WE FELT LIKE IT WAS A REALLY SIGNIFICANT TEST OF ALL OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN RESILIENCY WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN PUTTING INTO PLACE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.

UM, SO, UM, THAT'S, WE DID, OF COURSE, ALL OF US WERE KEEPING NOTES THROUGHOUT THE EVENT, SO WE, WE CAME UP WITH A LIST OF THINGS WE'LL DO BETTER NEXT TIME, BUT REALLY PROUD OF THE TEAM ON THIS ONE.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

NEXT SLIDE.

OKAY, SO I MENTIONED THERE ARE 53, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE AFTER ACTION.

UM, I MEAN, SORRY, EXCUSE ME, IN THE EXTERNAL REVIEW.

AND

[00:20:01]

WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY.

WE SPENT HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF STAFF HOURS, UM, DOING INTERVIEWS, PROVIDING DATA, REVIEWING THE REPORT, REVIEWING THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE WERE HEAVILY INVESTED IN, IN MAKING THIS, UM, EVALUATION AS, UM, EFFECTIVE AS IT COULD BE.

AND SO WE'RE, UM, WE'RE COMMITTED TO, TO IMPLEMENTING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.

SO, SO, UM, WE HAVE, UH, 14, ABOUT A QUARTER OF 'EM WE CONSIDER IMPLEMENTED.

AND THERE ARE THREE WAYS IN WHICH A RECOMMENDATION MIGHT BE CALLED IMPLEMENTED.

ONE IS THAT THERE WERE SPECIFIC ACTIONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, AND THOSE ARE DONE.

THE SECOND WOULD BE, UM, IF IT'S A NEW PROCESS, UH, FOR US THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED THAT PRO, WE'VE DEFINED THE PROCESS, WE, WE'VE IMPLEMENTED IT, UM, IT'S BECOME A PART OF DAILY OPER OPERATIONS, AND THEN WE COULD, WOULD CONSIDER THAT RECOMMENDATION OPERATIONALIZED AND THEREFORE IMPLEMENTED.

AND THEN THE THIRD IS IF WE'VE PROGRAMMED A LONG-TERM CAPITAL, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE PROGRAMMED IT INTO OUR C I P, OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM, UM, OR A LONG OR A LONG RANGE PLANNING STUDY.

UM, AND SO IT IS, YOU KNOW, FULLY ON THE TRACKS WE WOULD CONSIDER THAT IMPLEMENTED.

UM, UNDERWAY ITEMS ABOUT 43%, 23 ITEMS ARE UNDERWAY.

THAT MEANS WE'VE MADE A PLAN AND WE'VE STARTED TO, TO WORK ON THE PLAN, BUT IT'S NOT DONE YET.

AND THEN, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT 12 THAT WE HAVE A PLAN FOR THEM, BUT WE HAVEN'T REALLY GOTTEN GOING.

AND SO THOSE ARE, WE CONSIDER THOSE PLANNED.

AND THEN FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS WE DID NOT AGREE WITH, AND I'M, I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THOSE RIGHT OFF THE BAT HERE.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO THERE WERE FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE SAID DO NOT AGREE.

UM, ONE OF THOSE WAS, WELL, THEY'RE ACTUALLY THREE, UM, TWO OF THEM WERE THE, THE SAME, BUT ONE OF THEM WAS GREATER AUTONOMY FOR AUSTIN WATER HUMAN RESOURCES.

THIS WAS REALLY GEARED AT, UM, TRYING TO GIVE AUSTIN WATER MORE ABILITY TO HAVE OUR OWN JOB TITLES, TO HAVE OUR OWN COMPENSATION, UM, STRATEGIES.

AND WE ARE ALLY A PART OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, WE FOLLOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT RULES.

UM, AND WHILE WE HAVE A VERY QUALIFIED AND HIGH PERFORMING HUMAN RESOURCES TEAM WITHIN AUSTIN WATER, UM, THEY WORK HAND IN HAND WITH THE CITY'S HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ADHERE, UH, TO ALL OF THE RULES AND REQUIREMENTS OF BEING A CITY DEPARTMENT.

UM, SO THAT IS WHY WE, WE CALLED THAT ONE DO NOT AGREE, UM, IN TWO SEPARATE RECOMMENDATIONS, THEY RE RECOMMENDED THAT, UH, THE AUSTIN WATER DIRECTOR SHOULD REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE CITY MANAGER, UM, AS OPPOSED TO AN ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.

UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT A WATER UTILITY CAN BE, UM, CAN BE INTEGRATED INTO A CITY STRUCTURE.

AND WE BELIEVE THAT, UH, I BELIEVE PERSONALLY THAT, YOU KNOW, REPORTING TO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, ROBERT, GOOD ALONGSIDE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS AND WATERSHED PROTECTION AND AVIATION IS A REALLY GOOD COHORT FOR US.

UM, AND THAT'S WORKING VERY EFFECTIVELY.

SO, UH, WE, WE WOULD KEEP THAT, THAT STRUCTURE.

AND THEN THE THIRD ONE WAS, UH, REDUCING THE SPAN OF CONTROL FOR THE DIRECTOR AND THE O SPECIFICALLY THE OPERATIONS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.

UM, AND WE, WE DO LOOK AT SPAN OF CONTROL WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE'RE EVALUATING OUR ORGANIZATION.

UM, BUT THAT SPAN OF CONTROL ALONE WOULD NOT BE A REASON THAT WE WOULD, THAT WE WOULD CHANGE OUR ORGANIZATION.

SO THIS ONE IS, UM, WE SAID, DO NOT AGREE TO THIS BECAUSE WE DON'T INTEND TO GO, UM, MAKE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES JUST FOR THIS REASON.

BUT WE ARE ALWAYS EVALUATING OUR ORGANIZATION, UM, AND, AND MAKING CHANGES, UM, YOU KNOW, TO MORE EFFECTIVELY MEET OUR BUSINESS NEEDS.

AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

OKAY.

SO THERE WERE 14 RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT WE CALLED IMPLEMENTED.

I'M GONNA GO OVER A FEW ON THIS SLIDE AND A FEW ON THE NEXT SLIDE.

UM, I WON'T HIT ALL 14, BUT JUST GIVE YOU AN IDEA.

YOU DO HAVE THEM IN THE, UH, STATUS REPORT THAT WE SENT OUT.

UM, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO FOLLOW, FOLLOW ALONG THERE.

SO THE FIRST ONE IS, UM, HIRING ABOVE ENTRY LEVEL.

WHEN A CANDIDATE IS QUALIFIED, WE, UM, WE ADVERTISE AT MULTIPLE LEVELS, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE TO TRY TO CAST A WIDE NET FOR ALL OF OUR POSITIONS WHERE WE CAN.

AND CERTAINLY WHENEVER WE ARE ABLE TO BRING SOMEONE IN THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, HAS EXPERIENCE AND IS QUALIFIED, WE DO THAT.

UM, SO WE, UH, BASED ON THE WAY OUR HIRING PROCESS IS STRUCTURED, UM, THIS IS, YOU KNOW, FULLY PROGRAMMED

[00:25:01]

THE EXTERNAL REVIEW RECOMMENDED THAT WE INCREASE OUR PURCHASING AUTHORITY DURING EMERGENCIES.

WE HAVE, UM, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, WE PUT THIS TO THE TEST IN MARA WITH PROCURING THE ADDITIONAL GENERATORS.

AND, UM, THAT WAS A VERY FAST AND EFFECTIVE.

UM, AND SO THAT IS, UH, WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY WE NEED IN EMERGENCIES, AND WE'VE PROVED THAT UNDER OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONCERN THROUGHOUT THE EXTERNAL REVIEW ABOUT THE CENTRIFUGE EQUIPMENT AT ULRICH, WHICH IS, UH, WHICH HAS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR PLANT OPERATIONS.

SO, UM, I THINK LAST MONTH WE BROUGHT IN, UH, WE BROUGHT THROUGH A CONTRACT FOR FIVE YEAR SERVICE AGREEMENT FOR THE CENTRIFUGES, UM, CITY COUNCIL APPROVED THAT.

UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE PROGRAMMED INTO OUR C I P THE REPLACEMENT OF THOSE CENTRIFUGES.

SO DESIGN OF THAT WILL, WILL GET STARTED IN THIS, UH, IN THIS FIVE YEAR CIP P SO THAT IS HAPPENING.

AND THEN ADDRESSING THE PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE BACKLOG, WE HAVE, UM, MOBILIZED OUR, OUR, WHAT WE CALL OUR I D I Q INDEFINITE DELIVERY, INDEFINITE QUANTITY, ESSENTIALLY AN ON-CALL CONTRACTOR THAT WE HAVE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MAKE ASSIGNMENTS TO.

WE'VE BEEN UTILIZING OUR I D I Q CONTRACTOR TO ADDRESS THE PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE BACKLOG THAT HAS ACCUMULATED BECAUSE OF OUR, UH, WATER PLANTS BEING SHORT-STAFFED.

SO WE'RE, WE HAVE ADDRESSED THAT AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN, UH, UNDER DEVELOPING ADDITIONAL PATHWAYS FOR, UM, WATER SUPPLY TO REACH THE SOUTH PRESSURE ZONES, UH, WE ARE UPDATING OUR LONG RANGE PLAN, UM, AND THAT WILL BE A PART OF THAT.

AND THEN ALSO, WE ARE CURRENTLY REVIEWING STATEMENTS OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR DESIGN ENGINEERS FOR TWO NEW ELEVATED TANKS AND AN ASSOCIATED TRANSMISSION MAINS, SO THAT THAT WORK IS, IS FULLY IN PROGRESS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UNDER PUBLIC INFORMATION, THERE WAS A RECOMMENDATION TO PROVIDE MEDIA TRAINING FOR OUR STAFF.

WE HAVE, UM, BROUGHT A CONSULTANT ON BOARD.

WE'VE, UM, DONE SEVERAL, UM, OF THOSE TRAINING COURSES.

I'VE BEEN THROUGH THE TRAINING COURSE, THE EXECUTIVE TEAM HAVE ALL BEEN THROUGH IT.

IT'S REALLY EXCELLENT.

AND WE ARE, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO, UH, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, IT IS IMPLEMENTED BECAUSE THAT IS A THING THAT WE DO NOW.

WE BRING IN OUR TEAMS TO, TO GET THAT MEDIA TRAINING, ANYONE WHO, UM, MAY FIND THEMSELVES IN FRONT OF A TV CAMERA, AND WE WANT THEM TO FEEL CONFIDENT THAT THEY, UH, HAVE THE SKILLS AND TRAINING TO DO THAT EFFECTIVELY.

AND THEN PUBLISHING INFORMATION IN LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH.

UM, WE HAVE SOME KIND OF READY TO GO BOILER PLATE LANGUAGE THAT WE'VE TRANSLATED INTO MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.

AND THEN WE HAVE OUR PROCESS IN PLACE FOR BEING ABLE TO, UM, TRANSLATE LANGUAGES AS NEEDED IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.

AND THEN FINALLY, UNDER SOPS IN TRAINING, UH, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO INCORPORATE NEW TRAINING POSITIONS.

UM, LAST SPRING WE DID THAT.

WE IDENTIFIED THE POSITIONS, WE HAVE FILLED THEM.

WE NOW HAVE A DEDICATED TREATMENT, UM, TRAINER IN EACH OF OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.

SO WE HAVE SOMEONE DEDICATED THE PLANT TO TRAIN OPERATION STAFF, AND THAT'S WHERE THEY, THAT'S WHERE THEY SPEND THEIR, THEIR DAYS.

UM, AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S WORKING VERY WELL.

I'VE HAD THE CHANCE TO VISIT WITH THOSE TRAINERS AS WELL AS WITH THE STAFF.

AND ACTUALLY WHEN I WENT OUT TO THE WASTEWATER PLANTS, THEY WANNA KNOW WHEN THEY'RE GETTING THEIR TRAINERS.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S MAYBE NEXT ON OUR LIST.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

OKAY.

SO MOVING ON TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE UNDERWAY.

AGAIN, THESE ARE ONES THAT WE, WE HAVE A PLAN AND WE STARTED THE PLAN, BUT WE DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE QUITE ACROSS THE FINISH LINE YET.

UM, UNDER EMPLOYEE AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATING SIGNIFICANT DECISIONS TO OPERATIONS STAFF, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT CAME OUT OF THE INTERVIEWS THAT THE EXTERNAL REVIEW TEAM DID WITH OUR OPERATIONS STAFF THAT THEY JUST DIDN'T REALLY, THEY FELT LIKE THERE WAS A DISCONNECT BETWEEN DECISIONS BEING MADE AT THE HIGHER LEVELS OF THE ORGANIZATION AND THEM UNDERSTANDING WHAT WAS GOING ON.

AND SO WE ARE, UM, WORKING TO, UM, WELL, FOR ONE THING I'VE BEEN GETTING OUT, UH, INTO THE SITES QUITE A BIT.

UM, YOU KNOW, AS A, AS THE NEW DIRECTOR, UM, I THINK I'M UP TO TWO DOZEN SITE VISITS NOW, UM, AND, AND MORE ON THE WAY SO THAT THAT HELPS SOMEWHAT, YOU KNOW, FOR THEM TO FEEL LIKE THEY'VE HEARD FROM THE, THE DIRECTOR.

BUT THEN ALSO WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON JUST OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION.

WE'VE REALLY BEEFED THAT UP IN TERMS OF HOW WE GET INFORMATION OUT TO ALL OF OUR STAFF, UM, IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

UM, SO THAT'S UNDERWAY.

UM, CONTINUING TO ADVOCATE FOR INCREASED OPERATOR SALARIES.

UM, WE WERE ABLE TO GET,

[00:30:01]

WE HAVE A RETENTION STIPEND NOW THAT WE IMPLEMENTED IN MARCH FOR ALL AUSTIN WATER STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN WITH US FOR MORE THAN A YEAR, IS A 10% BUMP IN PAY THAT THEY SEE IN EVERY PAYCHECK.

UH, AND WE WERE, UH, ABLE TO LOOK AT SOME DISTINCT CATEGORIES OF, OF STAFF SUCH AS THE ELECTRICIANS AND ABLE TO GET THEM, UM, KIND OF PEGGED UP TO, TO MORE OF A MARKET BASED PAY.

SO WE'VE, WE'VE HAD SOME SUCCESS WITH THAT, AND WE HAVE SOME OTHER STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THERE.

UH, AND THAT GOES RIGHT INTO RECRUITING AND RETAINING A SKILLED WORKFORCE.

UM, WE, LAST YEAR WE FILLED 300 POSITIONS, WHICH WAS AMAZING.

UM, IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, WE'VE FILLED 178 POSITIONS, SO WE'RE ON TRACK TO DO EVEN BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.

UH, HOWEVER, UM, ATTRITION CONTINUES TO BE A REAL PROBLEM FOR US.

WE'RE SEEING RETIREMENTS, UM, TRANSFERS TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UH, LEAVING THE CITY ENTIRELY FOR OTHER OPPORTUNITIES.

UM, THAT'S REALLY, UM, WHAT IS, UH, WHAT'S HURTING US RIGHT NOW FROM A STAFFING PERSPECTIVE IS, IS THE ATTRITION.

SO THOSE STRATEGIES THAT I TALKED ABOUT ON RETENTION ARE, ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND KEY TO US TO, TO TRY TO STEM THAT ATTRITION, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UM, COMMUNICATING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, THAT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UM, PROCESSES WORK IS WHEN WE GO INTO AN EMERGENCY, WE ACTIVATE OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM.

SO WE HAVE, UM, MANY, I THINK, UH, OVER A HUNDRED, MAYBE 150 NAMES ON OUR 150 NAMES ON OUR, UH, IN DIFFERENT ROLES ON OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM.

SO WHEN WE GO INTO AN ACTIVATION, WE TAKE THOSE INDIVIDUALS OUT OF THEIR DAY-TO-DAY JOBS, AND THEY ARE ASSIGNED TO THEIR SPECIFIC ROLE ON THE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM.

AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR, UH, EVERYONE ACROSS AUSTIN WATER TO UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT WE ARE NOW IN AN EMERGENCY POSTURE AND PEOPLE WILL BE PLAYING DIFFERENT ROLES.

AND SO WE HAVE ROLLED OUT SOME COMMUNICATION, UM, THAT ALERTS ALL OF AUSTIN WATER, WE'RE DOING THIS NOW, THIS IS THE EMERGENCY.

AND THEN WE PROVIDED, UM, UPDATES INTERNALLY DURING WINTER TOMORROW.

WE PROVIDED UPDATES, UM, TO ALL AUSTIN WATER AT THE CLOSE OF EVERY SHIFT, UM, OR AT LEAST I THINK TWICE A DAY.

UM, AND SO THAT, UH, THAT'S GOING VERY WELL.

SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON OUR, ON OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT MESSAGING AND THEN PUBLIC INFORMATION.

UM, WE ARE CONTIN, WE'VE, WE HAVE HAD A PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE BUILD OUT PLAN IN PLACE, AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO, UH, FILL THAT TEAM, UM, TO BUILD OUT THAT TEAM, AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THAT.

UM, SO NOT QUITE, NOT HAVEN'T GOTTEN ALL THOSE POSITIONS IN PLACE YET, BUT MAKING VERY GOOD PROGRESS ON THAT.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AND THEN ON, UH, REPORTING STRUCTURE.

UM, ONE OF THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PLAN FROM THE, UH, EXTERNAL REVIEW WAS TO ESTABLISH A SINGLE PERSON IN CHARGE OF ULRICH.

WE HAVE A SUPERINTENDENT FOR OPERATIONS AND A SUPERINTENDENT FOR, UM, MAINTENANCE.

AND SO WE HAVE ASSIGNED OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER WATER TREATMENT PLANTS TO BE, UH, DEDICATED TO ULRICH, UH, WATER TREATMENT PLANT.

AND, AND SHE OFFICES THERE NOW AS WELL.

SO THAT'S, UM, WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF DETERMINING HOW WE WILL, UH, MANAGE AT THE DIVISION MANAGER LEVEL WITH THE OTHER TWO PLANTS.

UM, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, WE USE A SOFTWARE CALLED VOC, UH, THAT, UM, ALLOWS US TO HAVE A SINGLE PLATFORM THAT EVERYONE LOGS INTO, REPORT THEIR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, UM, REALLY ORGANIZE OUR EMERGENCY ACTIVITIES.

AND WE ARE WORKING ON, WE IMPLEMENTED THAT SOFTWARE AROUND THE TIME OF WINTER STORM URI.

AND SO WE'VE BEEN SLOW, NOT SLOWLY, WE'VE BEEN VERY CONSISTENTLY BUILDING IT OUT AND USING IT FOR MORE AND MORE, UM, COMMUNICATIONS IN DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS.

AND SO THE EXTERNAL REVIEW REALLY REINFORCED THE VALUE OF THAT, UH, AND ENCOURAGED US TO EXERCISE IT ON KIND OF SMALL LOW STAKES, NO CONSEQUENCES EVENTS, REALLY GET PEOPLE IN THE HABIT OF USING IT ALL THE TIME.

AND WE'RE DOING THAT.

UM, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, DESKTOP, THE SECOND BULLET DESKTOP, UM, TABLETOP EXERCISES FOR EMERGENCY PLANNING.

UM, AND SO WE ARE LOOKING AT ONE RIGHT NOW.

ANNA BRIAN BORJA WAS JUST TELLING ME THIS MORNING THAT SHE WAS OUT AT ULRICH PLANNING, UH, ONE OF THESE, UM, TABLETOP EXERCISES THAT WILL INVOLVE,

[00:35:01]

UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THE, THE TRAINERS THAT ARE OUT AT THE PLANTS, UM, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT OUR, THAT OUR PEOPLE ARE TRAINED FOR PLANT SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE EACH OF OUR PLANTS IS, IS WE HAVE, WE HAVE THREE LARGE PLANTS AND THEY ALL ARE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER.

SO REALLY MAKING SURE THAT OUR OPERATION STAFF FEEL, UM, TRAINED UP AND, AND READY TO HANDLE, UM, THE KINDS OF THINGS THEY MIGHT ENCOUNTER IN OPERATING THOSE BIG PLANTS.

UM, AND THEN IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN PUMPING AND PLANT OPERATIONS.

YOU KNOW, WHAT THE NEEDED PLANT CAPACITY IS, IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO HOW MUCH WATER IS BEING USED OUT IN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.

SO OUR PUMPING TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, UM, MANAGING, UH, STORAGE TANK LEVELS AND PUMP OPERATIONS, AND THEN THAT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PUMPING AND PLANT OPERATIONS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE CAPACITY THAT THEY NEED TO SUPPLY THE SYSTEM.

UM, THE EXTERNAL REVIEW FOUND THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULD DO THAT A LITTLE MORE SMOOTHLY, SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

OKAY.

SO GETTING INTO PLANNED RECOMMENDATIONS.

UM, SO WE HAVE A PLAN FOR STRESS TESTING, THE CAPACITY OF ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.

SO, YOU KNOW, WATER PLANTS, UM, GENERALLY HAVE A LOT MORE, UM, DESIGN CAPACITY THAN YOU NEED ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS BECAUSE THEY ARE DESIGNED TO BE ABLE TO SUPPLY WHAT YOU NEED IN THE VERY WORST CASE OF DEMAND.

UH, AND SO WE DON'T GENERALLY RUN OUR PLANTS UP TO THEIR DESIGN CAPACITY.

UH, SO WE ARE GOING TO BE CONDUCTING SOME STRESS TESTING OF ULRICH, AND WE'RE GONNA DO THAT THIS SUMMER WHEN DEMANDS ARE HIGH AND THE TEAM'S EXCITED ABOUT IT.

SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'LL TAKE ULRICH NORMALLY, I, WE, UM, WE RUN ULRICH, I THINK AT ABOUT 60 OR 90 MGD, KIND OF DEPENDING, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA RUN IT UP TO 140.

SO, UH, IT HAS 167 MGD A CAPACITY, SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.

UM, AND THEN, UM, THE EVALUATION OF CAPITAL PROJECTS BASED ON CONDITION ASSESSMENT, UM, WE DO THAT ALREADY.

WE, UM, WE USE THE CONDITION WHEN THE, UM, MAINTENANCE STAFF ARE OUT WORKING ON OUR EQUIPMENT, THEY RECORD THE CONDITION THAT THAT EQUIPMENT IS IN, AND THAT DIRECTLY FEEDS INTO OUR C I P PLANNING PROCESS IN TERMS OF THE BUDGETS THAT WE SET FOR RENEWAL PROJECTS.

UM, BUT WE ARE GONNA CON, WE NEED TO WORK A LITTLE BIT WITH HOW MAINTENANCE STAFF UNDERSTAND THEIR ROLE IN THAT, UM, REALLY, UH, STRENGTHEN THAT COMMUNICATION, UM, SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THE WORK THEY'RE DOING IN THE PLANT DIRECTLY RELATES TO THE, THE ENTERPRISES UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT OUR RENEWAL BUDGETS NEED TO BE.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT OUR MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS SUPPORTING PLANT OPERATIONS.

NEXT SLIDE.

OKAY.

SO, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE STAND ON THE 53 ITEMS. AND THEN I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL ITEMS AND KEY FINDINGS, UM, THAT THE, THAT THE EXTERNAL REVIEW FOUND.

UM, THE FIRST ONE IS THAT OUR POWER RELIABILITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN, UM, IS EFFECTIVE.

AND WE DEFINITELY SAW WINTER STORM MAS BEING A SIGNIFICANT TEST OF THAT PLAN.

UM, THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN IS REQUIRED, UH, BY T C Q, WE HAVE SUBMITTED IT TO T C Q, WE'VE RESPONDED TO A FEW QUESTIONS FROM THEM.

THIS WAS A REQUIREMENT THAT CAME OUT OF WINTER STORM URI, UM, FROM THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IN SENATE BILLI.

AND WE HA, I DON'T THINK WE'VE GOTTEN BACK OUR FINAL APPROVAL, BUT WE'VE, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST ABOUT THERE.

WE'VE RESPONDED TO OTHER QUESTIONS, SO WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S IN GOOD SHAPE.

UM, THE, THE REVIEW ALSO FOUND THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS ADEQUATELY DESIGNED AND HAS SUFFICIENT CAPACITY AND THAT OUR TREATMENT PROCESSES ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THE RAW WATER QUALITY THAT WE HAVE.

UM, SO THAT'S, UH, ALWAYS NICE TO HEAR.

AND THEN THEY ALSO FOUND THAT WE HAVE TAKEN STEPS TO MITIGATE OUR WATER QUALITY RISKS AND IMPROVE OUR OPERATIONAL RESILIENCY.

SO A LOT OF THE WORK THAT WE DID COMING OUT OF, UM, THE COLORADO RIVER FLOODING IN 2018, ZEBRA MUSSELS, UM, WINTER STORM URI, UM, THEY ACKNOWLEDGED, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT WORK HAD BEEN EFFECTIVE AND THAT WE ARE MITIGATING THOSE RISKS.

UM, AND THEN OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES ARE WELL THOUGHT OUT AND ALIGNED WITH FEMA STANDARDS.

AGAIN, THAT SCENARIO THAT WE'VE BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON, UM, BUILDING THAT TEAM OUT, UH, MAKING IT EFFECTIVE.

AND IT WAS NICE TO HEAR FROM

[00:40:01]

NEXT SLIDE.

SO IS A, IS, UM, IS THE SAME PRESENTATION THAT WE GAVE TO THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, OUR, OUR COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS.

UM, AND WE WILL REPORT OUT TO THEM IN MAY, AUGUST AND OCTOBER.

AND SO AFTER EACH OF THOSE MEETINGS AT THE NEXT COMMISSION MEETING, WE WILL PROVIDE YOU THAT SAME INFORMATION.

AND OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE ALL OF THESE, UH, OPERATIONALIZED BY THE END OF THE, BY THE END OF THE YEAR.

REALLY, I WANT IT DONE BY THE, BY THE TIME WE MEET WITH YOU ON OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER.

SO THAT'S THE PLAN, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

COMMISSIONERS GOT ANY QUESTION FOR THE DIRECTOR? COMMISSIONER MO, YOU GOT ANY QUESTION? COMMISSIONER MAROVE? NO, SIR.

CHAIR, NO QUESTIONS HERE.

THANK YOU.

UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL, I HAD A QUESTION.

OH, AND I HAD SOME QUESTIONS AHEAD.

OKAY.

UH, THE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE, THE BOIL WATER, NOTICE THE INCIDENT BACK IN FIRST ONE, WHATEVER THAT WAS, 2018, UM, THAT WAS TO INSTALL THOSE POLYMER SYSTEMS, AND I BELIEVE THEY ARE INSTALLED AND ARE THEY RUNNING NOW? AND IF SO, IS HOW'S THAT WORKING? AND ARE THEY, UM, DO THEY, DO THEY COST, I MEAN, I THINK I SAW SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE COST OF THE, OF THE POLYMER SYSTEMS RUNNING FULL-TIME VERSUS PART-TIME.

YES.

SO THE, THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SYSTEM AT ULRICH IS COMPLETE.

UM, THE CONSTRUCTIONS OF OF THE SYSTEMS AT HANCOCKS AND DAVIS ARE UNDERWAY.

UM, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE EMERGENCY MATERIALS ON HAND IF WE NEED 'EM, AND, UM, UH, WE ARE RUNNING ULRICH ALL THE TIME.

WE ARE, WE DID SAY IN THIS REVIEW THAT WE WOULD LOOK AT THE COST BENEFIT OF NOT RUNNING THEM ALL THE TIME.

UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF OF RUNNING THEM ALL THE TIME IS WE KNOW THAT THEY'LL WORK WHEN WE NEED THEM.

UM, AND THE PLANT OPERATORS ARE FAMILIAR WITH THEM.

UM, SO, UM, BUT WE WILL, WE ARE, WE WILL REVIEW, WE DID COMMIT TO, TO REVIEWING WHETHER, UM, THERE'S VALUE IN ONLY RUNNING THEM WHEN WE NEED THEM FROM A COST PERSPECTIVE.

OKAY.

I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM RUN LIKE A REGULAR, LIKE THREE DAYS A MONTH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE YOU STILL RUN THEM FAIRLY OFTEN, BUT MAYBE NOT ALL THE TIME.

BUT, UM, AND THEN DEFINITELY WHEN THEY'RE, THE ALKALINITY IS SO LOW, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN THIS YEAR WITH THE, THE BIG FLOOD COMING THROUGH, BUT IT VERY WELL COULD WITH THE, THE DROUGHT WE'VE GOT GOING ON NOW OR THE LOW WATER LEVELS.

SO, UM, ANYWAY, I'D BE INTERESTED IN KEEPING IN UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT.

GREAT.

AND, UM, LET'S SEE WHERE MY NOTES, UM, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION.

DID, DID AL YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WAS A, THE REPORT FROM UT AND SAID THAT IT WAS FOR MAINLY ULRICH, BUT THEN, UM, I THINK THAT ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS WAS SAYING THAT IT SHOULD BE ALL PLANTS THAT DAVIS AND RIC AND HANCOCKS, AND I DON'T KNOW, DID, DID YOU, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU WERE MENTIONING DAVIS AND HANCOCKS OR ALL THE WATER PLANTS MORE OFTEN IN YOUR, YOUR REPORT THAN WHAT THEY DID IN THE, IN THEIR REPORTS.

SO I WAS JUST WONDERING, ARE YOU NOW INCLUDING THEM IN YOUR, IN YOUR EVALUATIONS? WELL, WE INTEND FOR ANYTHING THAT WE DO, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THIS EXTERNAL REVIEW TO APPLY TO, TO ALL, TO, TO EVERYTHING WE DO.

UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE POLYMER SYSTEMS WILL GO IN AT ALL THREE PLANTS.

THE TRAINERS ARE GOING IN AT ALL THREE PLANTS.

THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT WILL APPLY TO, TO ALL THREE PLANTS.

AND THEN OF COURSE, A LOT OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE, UM, ENTERPRISE WIDE, NOT JUST AT THE TREATMENT PLANTS.

OKAY.

UM, THEN MY LAST COMMENT IS THE, THE, SO HAVE YOU GOT TO THE POINT WHERE IF SOMEBODY COMES TO YOU THAT WORKS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THAT IT'S AN OPERATOR THAT A GREAT OPERATOR OR WHATEVER, AND SAYS, I'VE BEEN, I'VE BEEN HIRED BY ANOTHER UTILITY, DO YOU HAVE HAVE THE ABILITY TO COUNTER THAT OFFER TO A ASK OFF FOR THEM MORE MONEY? OR DO YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO GO TO A ANOTHER UTILITY AND HIRE A GOOD OPERATOR AWAY FROM THEM AND BRING

[00:45:01]

UM, IF, UH, AND ON THE TOPIC OF RECRUITING FROM OTHER UTILITIES, UH, WE HAD A BIG CONTINGENT AT THE TEXAS WATER CONFERENCE LAST WEEK, AND WE HAD BUSINESS CARDS MADE UP THAT SAY, AUSTIN WATER IS HIRING AND HAD QR CODES, UH, WITH THE LINK TO OUR LIST OF JOB OPENINGS, AND WE GAVE THE OPERATORS STACKS OF THEM TO HAND OUT TO PEOPLE.

SO WE'LL SEE HOW THAT TURNS OUT FOR US.

UM, HOW, HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU REACT TO, UH, AN OFFER IN HAND BECAUSE THEY, THEY TAKE, THEY TYPICALLY WHEN YOU, BY THE TIME YOU HAVE THAT, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ALREADY NEEDING TO GET BACK TO THAT, THAT COMPANY THAT'S MADE YOU THE OFFER.

SO I DON'T KNOW HOW, HOW QUICKLY CAN YOU TURN IT AROUND AND OFFER THEM MORE OR WHATEVER.

WELL, WE WILL CERTAINLY ACT AS SOON AS WE KNOW.

UM, AND THEN IT COMES DOWN TO STAYING IN CONTACT WITH THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO GET A RESPONSE FROM THEM.

OKAY.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU, SHAY.

THANK YOU.

YES.

I HAVE A QUESTION AND A COMMENT.

UM, YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER THIS, BUT FROM A, FROM A RECRUITING STANDPOINT, IS THERE SOME FEEDBACK HAPPENING? UM, DOES THE CITY OF AUSTIN WORK WITH AUSTIN I S D IN TERMS OF HOSTING JOB FAIRS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS? UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS BEING DONE AND I JUST DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT SINCE I DON'T HAVE HIGH SCHOOL AGED KIDS YET.

SO THAT'S MY QUESTION, AND THEN I WILL HAVE A COMMENT.

SO DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? OKAY.

HERE ANNA, WE'LL GET ANOTHER ONE.

YEAH.

OKAY.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

I'M ANNA BRIAN BORJA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SERVICES.

AUSTIN WATER HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE, UM, SUMMER YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM, WHICH IS A PROGRAM, UH, CO-SPONSORED BY TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

IT RECRUITS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, UH, TO WORK IN DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY.

AND WE HAVE FOR MANY YEARS, UM, HIRED THOSE HIGH SCHOOL INTERNS.

SO THAT IS ONE WAY THAT WE HAVE PARTICIPATED WITH THAT PART OF THE WORKFORCE.

GREAT.

YEAH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I, I JUST DON'T KNOW THAT, UH, PART OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN HIRING, SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING THAT.

AND THEN, JUST AS A COMMENT, I WANNA COMMEND AUSTIN WATER.

UM, LAST MONTH I DRIVE A CERTAIN WAY TO WORK, AND I NOTICED THAT THERE WAS POTENTIALLY A WATER LEAK, UH, IN THE ROAD.

AND IT WAS RIGHT AT A SPOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF A, UH, STREET COAL, UH, UM, UH, CURB INLET.

SO MEANING THE WATER WASN'T RUNNING DOWN THE STREET GUTTER SO PEOPLE COULD JUST DRIVE BY AND NOT NOTICE IT.

AND DAY AFTER DAY, I DROVE BY AND FINALLY I SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GONNA CALL 3 1 1 DID THAT.

LITERALLY, I BELIEVE LIKE TWO DAYS LATER, IT WAS FIXED.

YOU COULD SEE THE NEW PATCH OF ASPHALT.

SO, YOU KNOW, FROM A WATER CONSERVATION PROFESSIONAL, I APPRECIATE THAT.

BUT EVEN MORE SO AS A CITIZEN OF CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, THAT RESPONSIVENESS WAS REALLY, IT, IT MADE YOU EXCITED THAT, THAT SOMEONE THAT YOU, YOU CALLED AND SOMEONE LISTENED.

AND SO, I MEAN, AGAIN, YOU KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BIG ISSUES IN TERMS OF WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, BUT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM MAY NOT RESPONSIVENESS.

AND JUST FROM A CITY OF AUSTIN RESIDENT, THAT REALLY MAKES A, A BIG, UH, DEAL.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU.

THAT'S HOW WE DO IT.

ANY MORE QUESTION FOR THE DIRECTOR? IF NOT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR UPDATE.

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH.

AND I FORGOT TO WELCOME OUR NEW COMMISSIONER, SAM ANRI AND BOARD, UH, MR. ANRI, WILL YOU GIVE US A QUICK BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF YOURSELF? OKAY.

UM, WELL, I REPRESENT, UH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER, DISTRICT FIVE, AND I, UH,

[00:50:01]

BACK THEN IT WAS, UH, T WC AND THEN TNR, CCC AND TCQ AND ALL THAT.

AND THEN, UH, FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS AND WORKED WITH, UH, TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD FOR ABOUT FIVE YEARS, AND THEN 22 YEARS ALMOST WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND RETIRED THREE YEARS AGO.

AND I WANTED TO TRAVEL EVERYWHERE AND THEN COVID HAPPENED AND JUST STAYED HOME FOR NO STUFF AND I'M GLAD TO BE HERE.

WELCOME ABOARD.

OKAY,

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

AND FROM THERE, THE BUDGET BUDGET COMMITTEE MEMBERS WILL ELECT THEIR CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, AND THEN THEY WILL SCHEDULE COORDINATE WITH THE CITY STAFF FOR THE FUTURE MEETING DATES AND THE LOCATION.