[00:00:02]
WE'LL GO UP HIGH AND SEE IF THAT WORKS.
UH, I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE RESOURCE
[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]
MANAGEMENT, UH, COMMISSION TO ORDER AT 6:06 PM UH, WE'LL START WITH A QUICK ROLL CALL.WE HAVE SEVEN MEMBERS PRESENT.
UH, WHAT WE WANTED TO START OFF WITH
[INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSIONERS]
TODAY WAS INTRODUCTION OF, UH, NEW COMMISSIONERS.UM, UH, IN GENERAL, THERE ARE WHAT, FOUR OF US WHO ARE CONTINUING FROM THE PREVIOUS, UH, YEAR.
AND SO WE THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE GOOD JUST TO HAVE PEOPLE KIND OF GO AROUND, INTRODUCE THEMSELVES VERY BRIEFLY.
UM, SO WE'LL START WITH PEOPLE IN THE ROOM FIRST, IF YOU WANNA LEAD US SAUCE SINCE YOU TO THE LEFT.
I'VE BEEN SERVING ON THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION FOR ABOUT A YEAR, REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR.
I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION FOR ABOUT A YEAR AS WELL, REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN.
UM, I REPRESENT DISTRICT FIVE.
UM, I AM, UH, AN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST AND CONSUMER ADVOCATE.
AND THEN WE'LL KICK IT OVER TO, UH, COMMISSIONER BRENNAN.
HI, I'M KATE BRENNAN, UM, NEW COMMISSIONER.
I BELIEVE I'M REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, AND MY BACKGROUND IS IN, UM, ENERGY MODELING AND CARBON ACCOUNTING FOR RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.
AND I'M, UH, COMMISSIONER FOR D FOUR.
I'VE BEEN ON, I HONESTLY, I'M FORGETTING 2018 OR 2019 WHEN I JOINED.
UH, AND I'M A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER.
UM, YOU NEGLECTED TO SAY THAT YOU ALSO WORK WITH SIERRA CLUB.
YEAH, I'VE WORKED FOR SIERRA CLUB FOR MY DAY JOB.
AND I, AND I'LL ALSO ADD, I WAS CO-CHAIR OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
HELLO, MY NAME'S MELISSA CARTI.
UH, I BELIEVE I'M WORKING WITH, UH, REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO, VANESSA PUENTES.
UH, MY BACKGROUND LIES IN WATER RIGHTS, UH, TRANSPORTATION, AND, UM, ENERGY WITH, UH, TRANSMISSION.
UM, I'VE WORKED WITH T CQ, TECH DOT AND L C R A.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST, COMMISSIONER GARY.
I'M REPRESENTING DISTRICT EIGHT.
UH, MY BACKGROUND IS RISK MANAGEMENT AND POLITICS.
WE'LL OPEN UP THE MEETING TO, UH, COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC.
IS THERE ANYBODY HERE WHO'S, UH, SIGNED UP TO SPEAK THIS EVENING? NOPE.
I'M MOVING ALONG THEN, UH, IN YOUR PACKETS,
[1. Approve the minutes of the Resource Management Commission Regular Meeting on April 18, 2023.]
YOU RECEIVED A COPY OF THE MINUTES BEFORE THE MEETING.I HOPE YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THEM.
IF YOU HAVEN'T, PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT THEM NOW AND THEN I'LL BE LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE.
I MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 18TH MEETING.
THERE'S BEEN A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER DAVIS AND A SECOND BY, UH, COMMISSIONER GARY.
ANY OBJECTIONS THERE BEING NONE? I'LL CONSIDER THE MINUTES APPROVED FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING.
[2. Discussion and recommendation of Austin Water Capital Improvement Projects located in the Drinking Water Protection Zone for approval to include in the 5-year Capital spending plan as required by Financial Policy #8.]
NOW INTO, UH, UH, ITEM FOR DISCUSSION NUMBER TWO, AUSTIN WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS.[00:05:01]
WE HAVE PEOPLE HERE TO, UH, GIVE A PRESENTATION ON THAT MATTER.WE HAVE A ZORA PIZA ON THE LINE.
UH, SO MY NAME IS AURORA PISANO, FINANCIAL MANAGER FOR AUSTIN WATER.
AND, UM, ON THE LINE I ALSO HAVE LAUREN KING, WHO'S SUPERVISED AN ENGINEER, UM, TO COME TO YOU AND PRESENT.
UM, EACH YEAR WE COME AND PRESENT THE C I P PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
AND UM, LAST YEAR WE PRESENTED, UM, THE PROJECTS THAT ARE ON THE NEXT PAGE.
UM, IF YOU WANNA MOVE OVER TO THE NEXT PAGE, UM, DAVID, THAT WAY WE CAN SEE THIS SAP AP PROJECTS ON TABLE ONE.
AND, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, MAJORITY OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE A CARRYOVER FROM, UH, THE LAST FIVE YEAR PLAN WE PRESENTED TO YOU.
ONLY THOSE THAT ARE MA MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK.
ITEM ONE AND ITEM 10 ARE C I P PROJECTS THAT ARE NOW PART OF OUR FIVE YEAR C I P PLAN IN FISCAL YEAR 24 TO 28.
SO, UM, WITH THAT BEING SAID, WITH THE TOTAL OF ALL THE 11 PROJECTS IS 48.46 MILLION.
AND, UM, I'LL OPEN IT UP TO SEE IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ON THE SAP PROJECTS LISTED OR, UM, IN REGARDS TO THIS FINANCIAL POLICY OF THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
UH, THE, THE ENTIRE, UH, AUSTIN WATER FIVE YEAR PLAN IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE CITY'S BUDGET OFFICE, UM, WHEN, ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE PROPOSED BUDGET LATER THIS SUMMER.
SO, BUT WE DO HAVE A LINK THAT I CAN PROVIDE THE LIAISON WHERE PREVIOUS C I P PLANS HAVE BEEN POSTED AND APPROVED, UM, WHEN IT PERTAINS TO 23 TO 27.
SO THIS, UH, 11 PROJECTS HERE ARE, ARE ONLY A SUBSET.
UM, HAVE ALL THESE PROJECTS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED AND STARTED? I WOULD SAY THE ONES THAT ARE NOT MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK HAVE BEEN PART OF A PREVIOUS FIVE YEAR PLAN.
UH, SO THAT WOULD BE THE NINE OUT OF THE 11 PROJECTS BECAUSE THEY ARE EXISTING IN THAT AND THEY'RE EITHER, YOU KNOW, IN DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
SO THEY HAVE STARTED, UM, THE NEW ONE ON, ON HERE WOULD BE THE, THE ONE, THE VERY FIRST ONE, DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT, MEDIUM SERVICE PUMP STATION.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT STARTS OUT WITH ZERO MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THEN IT, IT'S ESSENTIALLY TARGETED TO START IN 2028, CUZ THAT'S WHEN THE SPENDING PLAN STARTS TO REFLECT.
UM, WHERE, WHEN THIS PROJECT WOULD START, CONSTRUCTION OR DESIGN, I SHOULD SAY, UM, IN A SIMILAR CONCEPT, ITEM NUMBER 10, WHICH IS A BARRINGTON OAKS DOWNSTREAM GRAVITY IMPROVEMENTS.
UM, IT HAS $0 TO BE SPENT IN 24 TO 27, BUT JUST GETTING STARTED IN 2028.
SO THAT'S HOW WE, UM, HOW THOSE PROJECTS ARE SELECTED.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THEY HAVE TO BE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
THERE IS A MAP AT THE, UM, ON PAGE FIVE OF THIS MEMO.
AND, AND THEN WE ALSO LOOK TO SEE AT THE SPENDING PLAN, THE DOLLARS THAT ARE GOING TO BE SPENT IN THE FIVE YEAR, 24 TO 28 PERIOD.
SO I, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS MORE ALONG THE LINES.
HAS THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN PAST PLANNING AND SCOPING, SO THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.
IS IS THAT, EXCEPT FOR NUMBER ONE AND NUMBER NINE, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? OR ALL GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN IF THAT'S OKAY.
KING AUSTIN WATER, C I P AND ASSET MANAGEMENT.
[00:10:01]
UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE, UH, SHOWN ON THE, UH, TABLE ARE ALL IN THE BUDGET THAT WE ARE PROPOSING THE FY 24 THROUGH 28 BUDGET THAT IS NOW CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COUNCIL.SO THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH OUR INTERNAL APPROVALS PROJECT TO BE INCLUDE, UH, PROCESSED TO BE INCLUDED INTO THE PLAN.
THEY ARE AT VARIOUS STAGES OF PLANNING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT IN THE SPENDING PLANS YEAR TO YEAR.
UM, BUT THESE ARE ALL PROJECTS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, HAVE GONE THROUGH THE AUSTIN WATER, UH, SCOPING AND APPROVAL PROCESS TO BE PART OF THE BUDGET.
IF I COULD JUMP IN WITH THE QUESTION, UH, IS THERE A, WHAT I'LL CALL A TARGET BUDGET NUMBER THAT YOU ARE AIMING FOR ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AS PART OF THIS? ON AN ANNUAL BASIS? NOT AS MUCH.
WE LOOK AT A, A SINGLE YEAR AND THEN A FOUR YEAR HORIZON FOR A TOTAL OF FIVE YEAR BUDGET.
UM, THIS YEAR, OUR FIVE YEAR TOTAL IS GONNA BE 1.88 BILLION OVER THE FIVE YEAR, I THINK WE'RE STILL IN THE 200 MILLION FOR FY 24, UH, RANGE.
AND THAT KIND OF MOVES UP AS WE START TO GETTING INTO SOME OF OUR LARGER INVESTMENTS.
THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT, PLANT EXPANSION, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED AS PART OF THIS, UH, GROWTH PROJECTS IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, UH, SUBSET OF THE BUDGET.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTION FROM ANY COMMISSIONERS? YEAH, I'M SORRY.
SO, IN FUNDING, IN FUNDING SOME OF THESE PROJECTS, I'VE NOTICED SOME OF THESE PROJECTS ARE LOCATED IN LIKE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AREAS ARE, WHERE'S THE, I'LL ASK THE BLANKET QUESTION.
WHERE DOES THE FUNDING COME FROM? I KNOW MOST OF IT'S PAID FOR, YOU KNOW, BY THE CITY AND THE CITIZENS.
UM, IS THERE ANY FUNDING, UM, SUPPORTED BY LIKE DEVELOPERS AND SUCH? YES.
UH, FULLY FUNDED PROJECTS THAT ARE BY DEVELOPERS ONLY WILL NOT APPEAR ON THIS LIST BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT PART OF OUR CAPITAL BUDGET.
BUT THE ONES THAT WE HAVE COST PARTICIPATION, I'LL POINT TO THE MARSHALL TRACK PROJECT AS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UM, WE ARE CONTRIBUTING TO A DEVELOPER PROJECT TO ADD ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, TO SUPPORT, UH, FUTURE, UH, GROWTH AND, UH, RESILIENCY IN THAT AREA.
UM, BUT OVERALL GROWTH PAYS FOR GROWTH.
DEVELOPERS PAY FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT IS REQUIRED, UH, FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENTS.
WE DO DO SOME COST PARTICIPATION, UM, THAT APPEARS IN OUR BUDGET, BUT THOSE DEVELOPER PROJECTS OTHERWISE WOULD NOT APPEAR ON THIS LIST.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CLARIFICATION.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY, THERE BEING NONE.
UH, WE ARE REQUIRED TO VOTE ON THIS PROPOSAL FOR APPROVAL TO SEND ON TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, SO I WILL, I GUESS LOOK FOR A MOTION ON THIS ONE.
UH, IS, IS THIS TIME CRITICAL? I MEAN, DOES THE COUNCIL HAVE TO HEAR FROM US AT THIS MEETING? UH, WILL THIS BE VOTED ON BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING BY COUNSEL AURORA? CAN YOU ANSWER THAT QUESTION? SURE.
UH, I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, ARE YOU ASKING TO IF, UM, BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING THAT RESOURCE MEETING, COMMISSION MANAGEMENT COMMISSION MEETS, IS THIS GOING TO COUNSEL? IS THAT THE QUESTION? I DOUBT I'M GONNA HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS, BUT I'M LIKE TO, UM, TALK ABOUT IT WITH SOMEONE FIRST AND, UH, IF COUNSEL IS GOING TO APPROVE THIS, YOU KNOW, UH, IN AN HOUR, WELL, YEAH, I GUESS WE NEED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
IF COUNSEL'S NOT GONNA APPROVE THIS TILL THE FALL, THEN WE HAVE TIME.
I'M SIMPLY ASKING DO WE HAVE TIME? OKAY, I CAN ANSWER THAT.
SO NORMALLY THIS, LIKE I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, THIS IS PART OF OUR, UH, FINANCIAL POLICY THAT GOES IN LINE WITH OUR BUDGET CYCLE.
AND, UH, THERE ARE VARIOUS FINANCIAL POLICIES AS PART OF OUR BUDGET SUBMITTAL.
AND, UM, WE NORMALLY HAVE TO INTERNALLY MAKE SURE WE'RE IN COMPLIANCE WITH OUR MULTIPLE FINANCIAL POLICIES.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME, BUT
[00:15:01]
NOT TOO MUCH TIME WHERE, YOU KNOW, I, I DON'T WANT US TO ADD A DELAY IN THE BUDGET SUBMITTAL PROCESS.UM, I THINK YOU SAID THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
DID I HEAR THAT RIGHT? I WOULD ASK, UH, IF SOMEONE CAN TELL ME WHEN IS THIS A MONTHLY MEETING THAT HAPPENS? SO THAT MEANS THAT WE CAN POSTPONE TO JUNE IF THAT IS THE DESIRE, BUT AT THAT TIME, THEN WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE AN ACTION.
UM, IF IT, IF IT'S OKAY WITH OTHER MEMBERS, UH, I WOULD ASK FOR A BRIEF DELAY.
I AM NOT TRYING TO FILIBUSTER OR IN ANY WAY, UH, MAKE THIS PAINFUL AND JUST SIMPLY, UH, WANTED TO THINK ABOUT IT JUST A LITTLE MORE, IF THAT'S OKAY.
WHAT, WHEN IS YOUR BUDGET SUBMITTAL DUE INTERNALLY? UM, FOR BUDGET OFFICE TO CITY COUNCIL.
UM, I'M THINKING THAT'S PROBABLY IN THE JULY TIMEFRAME.
I KNOW THEIR WORK SESSIONS ARE USUALLY SCHEDULED AUGUST 10TH THROUGH THE 12TH, I BELIEVE.
UM, AND SO THAT IS WHEN COUNCIL WOULD SEE OUR BUDGET SUBMITTED.
BECAUSE OUR NEXT MEETING IS JUNE 20TH, WHICH MEANS THAT THE NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, IF THEY WANTED TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT OUTSIDE OF THE BUDGET WOULD BE JULY 20TH.
SO THAT WOULD BE KIND OF WHAT THAT PROCESS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
BUT IF IT'S PART OF THE OVERALL BUDGETING PROCESS, THEN DEPAUL'S POINT, MAYBE IT CAN BE SAT ON.
I RE I DO REALIZE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE A DECISION FROM US SOONER THAN LATER.
UM, THIS IS NOT ABOUT SELF IMPORTANCE.
UNDERSTAND I HAVE COMMISSIONER DAVIS, UH, QUESTION, UH, THIS IS, UH, REQUIRED TO GO IN FRONT OF WATER AND WASTEWATER AS WELL AS, AND IF SO, WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME OF THAT? UH, THAT'S VERY TRUE.
AS PART OF THIS FINANCIAL POLICY, WE'RE REQUIRED TO ALSO GO TO THE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION, WHICH I'M SCHEDULED TO PRESENT TOMORROW AFTERNOON AND THE WATERWAYS WATER COMMISSION.
SO, UH, UH, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE FIRST ONE DURING THIS, UH, BUDGET CYCLE.
BUT, UM, THE, THE ACTION ITEM WILL ALSO GO TO THOSE OTHER TWO COMMISSIONS BEFORE IT GOES TO COUNCIL.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT IN PREVIOUS YEARS, UM, I'VE HAD A FEW QUESTIONS, BUT NOTHING THAT, UH, WHERE WE POSTPONE THIS ITEM TO ANOTHER MEETING.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, I CAN TAKE A MOTION TO TABLE.
I CAN TAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
I HAVE A MOTION FROM COMMISSIONER ROBBINS TO TABLE.
IS THERE A SECOND? THERE BEING NO SECOND.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE?
UM, THIS WILL BE A ROLL CALL VOTE.
WE WILL START WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS? YES.
AND COMMISSIONER STONES VOTES? YES.
[00:20:03]
THANK YOU.[3. Staff briefing regarding the Water Supply Update and Drought Conditions by Kevin Kluge, Water Conservation Division Manager and Teresa Lutes, Systems Planning Managing Engineer both of Austin Water.]
ON TO STAFF BRIEFINGS.UH, WE HAVE AUSTIN WATER HERE TO DISCUSS OUR QUARTER.
THIS IS THE QUARTERLY UPDATE CORRECT ON WATER SUPPLY AND DROUGHT.
THIS IS CALLED WATER SUPPLY UPDATE AND DROUGHT, CATIONS WATER UPDATE SUPPLY, A WATER SUPPLY UPDATE AND DROUGHT CONDITIONS, CHAIR STONES, UH, AND COMMISSION MEMBERS.
I'M TERESA LUTZ WITH AUSTIN WATER.
I'M A DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE SYSTEMS PLANNING DIVISION, AND I'M HERE TO GIVE, PARDON ME, A WATER SUPPLY UPDATE.
THIS OVERVIEW MAP SHOWS AUSTIN'S WATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND THE BASINS WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN.
CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ACCESS TO UP TO 325,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER PER YEAR FROM THIS COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM.
THIS SUPPLY COMES FROM A COMBINATION OF AUSTIN'S RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS AND WATER SUPPLY CONTRACTS WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY FOR PROVIDING FIRM WATER AND BACKING UP THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS.
RUN OF RIVER WATER IS A WATER THAT ARE, UH, PERMITTED BY THE STATE, BY THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, AND IS AVAILABLE ON A FIRST IN TIME.
FIRST IN RIGHT PRIORITY SYSTEM.
L C R A FIRMS UP WATER, UM, TO FIRM WATER USERS IN THE BASIN THROUGH CONTRACTING FROM THE RIVER SYSTEM, RELYING ON LAKES TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN AS STORAGE RESERVOIRS TO BACK UP, UH, WATERS, UH, RUN OF RIVER WATER WHEN, UM, WHEN THEIR LOW RUN OF RIVER WATER AMOUNTS AND WHEN THE, THE SYSTEM IS DRY IN, IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
FIRM WATER IS WATER THAT'S EXPECTED TO BE AVAILABLE THROUGH A REPEAT OF THE DROUGHT OF RECORD, WHICH IN THIS RIVER BASIN IS THE DROUGHT WE EXPERIENCED FROM 2008 TO 2015.
THIS IS A GRAPH OF THE, UH, WATER FLOWING INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES.
WE ALSO CALL THAT INFLOWS, UH, WATER FLOWING INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES, WHICH ARE THE REGIONS, UH, STORAGE RESERVOIRS.
THE BARS SHOW HOW LOW THE INFLOWS HAVE BEEN, UH, IN 2022, AND THUS FAR THROUGH 2023.
THE, UH, BARS THERE IN PURPLE ARE FOR 2023, AND THE BARS IN GREEN ARE FOR 2022.
THE INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES ARE AT HISTORIC LOWS WITH THE JANUARY THROUGH APRIL TOTAL, UH, BEING THE LOWEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE LAKES SINCE THEY WERE COMPLETED IN THE EARLY 1940S.
ALSO SHOWN ARE THE INFLOWS FOR 2020, UH, TWO FOR COMPARISON.
AND THEN THE DROUGHT OF RECORD AVERAGE FROM 20, UH, 2008 THROUGH 2015.
ALSO SHOWN ARE THE, UH, PERIOD OF RECORD AVERAGE FROM WHEN THE NA UH, WHEN THE LAKES WERE INITIALLY FILLED BACK IN 1942 TO PRESENT.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRACK THESE INFLOWS, UH, ON A REGULAR BASIS AS THIS DROUGHT THAT WE'RE IN CONTINUES.
UM, AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY GET TO SEE SOME IMPROVED, UH, INFLOWS INTO THE LAKES, UH, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS DROUGHT.
THIS IS A GRAPH OF COMBINED STORAGE IN THOSE TWO WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS.
UH, THE COMBINED STORAGE OF LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN TOTALS ABOUT 2 MILLION ACRE FEET OF WATER.
UH, FOR, UH, TODAY WE HAVE ABOUT 1.02 MILLION ACRE FEET IN THE RESERVOIRS.
THAT'S A 51% FULL AMOUNT, WHICH IS UP ACTUALLY WITH THIS, UH, RAIN WE'VE HAD.
IT'S UP, UH, 1% SINCE LAST WEEK.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT THERE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGES ARE NOTATED.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE IN CURRENTLY IN DROUGHT STAGE DE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGE ONE THAT WAS TRIGGERED WHEN THE, UH, COMBINED STORAGE OF THE RESERVOIRS DROP BELOW 1.4 MILLION ACRE FEET.
AND NOW THEY'RE JUST HOVERING A LITTLE BIT ABOVE 1 MILLION ACRE FEET.
SO WE'RE KIND OF GETTING NEAR THAT STAGE
[00:25:01]
TWO TRIGGER THERE, WHICH IS 900,000 ACRE FEET OF THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.UH, THIS CHART ALSO SHOWS PERIODS OF TIME WHEN L C A, UH, INTERRUPTABLE WATER, WHICH IS WATER L C R A, PROVIDES TO DOWNSTREAM AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION IN THE LOWER THREE COUNTIES.
UH, WHEN THAT, UM, PERIOD OF TIME FROM 2012 THROUGH 2015 AND THEN SINCE MID LAST YEAR, IT'S NOTATED AT THE BOTTOM THERE WITH, UH, THE BLUE BARS.
UM, THOSE ARE TIMES WHEN L C R A CUT OFF THOSE DOWNSTREAM RELEASES FOR, UH, MOSTLY RICE IRRIGATION IN THE LOWER COUNTIES THEY OPERATE.
THE, UH, L C R A OPERATES THE RESERVOIRS IN, UH, IN ACCORDANCE TO A WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT'S APPROVED BY T C Q.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR AND TRACK THE COMBINED STORAGE, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT WETTER PATTERN AND WE'LL HAVE SOME REPLENISHMENT TO THE RESERVOIRS.
BUT THIS IS A KIND OF A CURRENT SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE NOW.
THIS IS, UH, THE MOST RECENT, UH, WATER WEEKLY.
UM, IT'S A A WEEKLY DROUGHT MONITOR, UH, THAT WE HAVE FOR THE STATE OF TEXAS.
IT SHOWS THE CITY OF AUSTIN THERE IN THE MIDDLE WITH THE, UH, THE BLUE STAR.
THIS SHOWS DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE STATE.
UM, THIS HOPEFULLY WILL IMPROVE WITH THIS RAIN.
I EXPECT THE, THE NEXT, UM, DROUGHT MONITOR TO LOOK A LOT, UH, BETTER, A LOT MORE IMPROVED SINCE, UM, WE'VE GOTTEN SOME RAIN.
BUT THIS WAS THE ONE WE HAD WHEN WE WERE PREPARING THIS PRESENTATION.
IT SHOWS HOW, UH, WE'VE BEEN HAVING DROUGHT CONDITIONS UPSTREAM OF AUSTIN AND ESPECIALLY TO THE SOUTHWEST, UH, KIND OF TOWARDS THE SAN ANTONIO AREA.
IT'S BEEN EVEN MORE, UM, IN THE EXCEPTIONAL CATEGORY, BUT, UH, EVEN CLOSE TO AUSTIN AND UPSTREAM, WE'VE BEEN IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS FROM MODERATE DROUGHT ALL THE WAY TO EXTREME.
AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT COMPLETELY AWARE, THE AREA THAT YOU TALKED ABOUT IS, UH, THE RECHARGE TO LAKE BUCHANAN BUCHANAN AND LAKE TRAVIS W RIGHT.
THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN UPSTREAM OF AUSTIN.
THIS, UH, SHOWS THE OUTLOOK, UH, FOR MAY THROUGH JULY FROM NOAA, A THREE MONTH OUTLOOK ON, UH, PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE.
UH, THE, UH, TEMPERATURE IS PROJECTED TO BE ABOVE, UH, NORMAL CONDITIONS, UH, FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS ON THE TEMPERATURE SIDE AND ABOUT, UH, NORMAL CONDITIONS OR EQUAL CHANCES THAT THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK WILL BE ABOUT, UH, THE SAME AS NORMAL.
UH, BUT WE DO SEE THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GONNA TRANSITION TO EL NINO BY THE FALL.
THERE'S AN 80% CHANCE THAT WE'LL TRANSITION TO A A A, A CONDITION OF EL NINO, WHICH WILL GIVE US A CHANCE FOR, UH, WETTER CONDITIONS, UH, INTO THE FALL.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION BEFORE YOU MOVE ON? SURE.
WHAT IS, WHAT IS, UH, PERCEIVED AS A NORMAL CONDITION? WHAT IS THAT BASED ON? THAT'S BASED ON THE, THE PRECIPITATION HISTORY FOR THE AREA.
SO, UM, IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE IN AUSTIN WE HAVE, UH, AN AVERAGE RAINFALL OF ABOUT 32 INCHES.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE, UH, SIMILAR FOUR, BUT THIS IS ON A MONTHLY BASIS, SO HAVING PRECIPITATION IN A KIND OF MORE AVERAGE, UH, CONDITION FOR, FOR THE, OKAY.
AND IS THAT 32 INCHES FOR THE LAST, LIKE 20 YEARS OR SO IN AUSTIN, THAT'S BEEN THE AVERAGE PARTI PRECIPITATION, OR IS IT A DIFFERENT TIMEFRAME THAT YOU'RE REFERENCING? I DON'T HAVE THE SPECIFICS ON THAT.
I'D NEED TO FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOU ON THAT.
THAT'S INFORMATION YOU PROVIDED IS HELPFUL.
THAT'S KIND OF A LONG-TERM AVERAGE.
YEAH, THIS SLIDE, UM, THIS IS A SLIDE THAT IS PRODUCED BY THE LOW COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY.
THEY DO A SIX MONTH OUTLOOK ON COMBINED STORAGE, AGAIN, WHICH IS THE, THE STORAGE IN LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN COMBINED, WHICH, UH, WILL TOTAL 2 MILLION ACRE FEET WHEN FULL THEY'RE PROJECT PROJECTING, UH, OUT INTO THE FUTURE.
[00:30:01]
BY ABOUT THE EARLY PART OF JULY, JULY ONE OR SO, IT'S PROJECTED THAT WE'LL LIKELY DROP BELOW THE 900,000 ACRE FEET LEVEL, WHICH WOULD TRIGGER US TO GO INTO STAGE TWO, UH, OF OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.SO WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE, MONITOR THIS AND, UH, AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS.
WE'VE ALREADY GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT OF ADDITIONAL WATER INTO THE LAKE WITH THIS, UM, RAIN, UH, PERIOD THAT WE'RE RAINY, PERIOD THAT WE'VE BEEN IN.
AND WE'LL SEE IF WE CONTINUE TO GET SOME MORE RAIN, UM, BEFORE THIS TIMEFRAME TO HOPEFULLY PUSH THAT OUT A LITTLE BIT.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE DROUGHT SITUATION.
UH, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, WHICH IS AUSTIN'S INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES PLAN, UH, THAT HAS STRATEGIES, UH, TO HELP, UH, PREPARE FOR DROUGHT AND TO, UM, TO INCREASE AUSTIN'S RESILIENCY TO DROUGHT, AND THEN ALSO PROMOTE WATER CONSERVATION AND ADHERENCE TO OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGES.
AND AT THIS POINT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO KEVIN KLUGE, UH, ALSO WITH AUSTIN WATER FOR THE NEXT PART OF THE PRESENTATION.
UH, KEVIN KLUGE, AUSTIN WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER.
AND I'M GONNA BE TAKING US THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL SLIDES THAT DISCUSS THE, UH, REGULATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THESE CURRENT DROUGHT STAGES.
AS THERESA MENTIONED, WE ARE IN DROUGHT STAGE ONE OF OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.
UM, HOWEVER, I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT ALL OF THESE, UH, RESTRICTIONS AND REGULATIONS THAT YOU SEE IN DROUGHT STAGE ONE, OR JUST ABOUT ALL OF THEM ARE ALSO IN OUR CONSERVATION STAGE.
UH, AND THAT'S OUR BASE STAGE, OUR DAY IN, DAY OUT.
SO ANYTIME, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WE HAVE ONE DAY WATER WATERING RESTRICTIONS AND, AND MOST OF THESE WATERING RESTRICTIONS.
SO AUSTIN REALLY FRONT LOADS A LOT OF THEIR SAVINGS IN THEIR, UH, CONSERVATION AND DROUGHT MANAGEMENT STAGES, ALL, ALL THE TIME.
DROUGHT, STAGE ONE RESTRICTIONS.
THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE NOW PRIMARILY REVOLVE AROUND LANDSCAPE WATERING, UH, FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS FOR RESIDENTS.
UH, IT'S A ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING, UH, EITHER WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY, DEPENDING ON YOUR ADDRESS HOSE IRRIGATION CAN TAKE PLACE EITHER DURING THE WEEK OR IN THE WEEKEND AND NOT UP ON THE SLIDE.
BUT COMMERCIAL, UH, CUSTOMERS ALSO HAVE THESE LANDSCAPE WATERING RESTRICTIONS EITHER ON TUESDAY OR FRIDAY.
AND MONDAY IS SD FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SO A LOT OF OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS REVOLVE AROUND THESE LANDSCAPE WATERING RESTRICTIONS.
THERE ARE ALSO RESTRICTIONS ON, UH, PATIO MISTERS AND ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS, AND THERE'S A LOT OF MUCH MORE SPECIFIC RESTRICTIONS THAT TAKE PLACE.
THERESA MENTIONED THAT IN JULY WE MAY BE GOING INTO DROUGHT STAGE TWO.
UH, ACCORDING TO OUR DROUGHT CONTINUENCY PLAN, THE RESTRICTIONS ARE VERY SIMILAR BECAUSE WE'VE FRONT LOADED A LOT OF THESE RESTRICTIONS IN OUR BASE CONSERVATION STAGE, THE PRIMARY CHANGE CHANGES INCLUDE FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION, IT'S STILL ONE DAY A WEEK, BUT YOU CAN'T, YOU HAVE TO STOP YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM AT 5:00 AM INSTEAD OF 8:00 AM TO SAVE A LITTLE BIT OF WATER ON EVAPORATION AND, AND OVERSPRAY HOSE IRRIGATION GOES FROM TWO DAYS A WEEK TO JUST ONE DAY A WEEK ON, ON THE WEEKEND.
AND WE'LL BE HAVING INCREASED ENFORCEMENT IF WE GO INTO STAGE TWO AND INCREASED INVESTIGATIONS, UH, FOR WATERWAYS TO LEAKS OR, UH, RESIDENT REPORTED WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY.
ORNAMENT ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS, THE LARGE ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS ARE PROHIBITED IN STAGE TWO.
UM, GOLF COURSES IRRIGATE JUST ONE DAY A WEEK ON THE FAIRWAYS.
AND THAT LAST BULLET I WANNA BRING ATTENTION TO WHEN WE HIT STAGE TWO.
UH, LANDSCAPE ESTA ESTABLISHMENT IS NO LONGER EXEMPTED FROM WATERING SCHEDULES.
UH, PRIOR TO THAT IN CONSERVATION AND IN STAGE ONE, IF A NEW HOME HAS A NEW LANDSCAPE, THEY CAN WATER THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
[00:35:01]
ON ANY DAY THEY NEED TO IN THE EVENING TO ESTABLISH THAT LANDSCAPE, BUT IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE TWO, THEY'RE NO LONGER EXEMPTED AND THEY HAVE TO ADHERE TO THAT ONE DAY A WEEK, UH, FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS AND THEN THEY COULD WATER ANOTHER DAY FOR, UM, HOSE IRRIGATION.SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL NEED TO BE COMMUNICATING BOTH TO THE BUILDERS AND TO THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY.
KIND OF WRAPPING UP HERE, AS TERESA MENTIONED, AS WE GO FORWARD, WE WILL BE CONTINUING TO MONITOR NOT ONLY THE LAKE LEVELS, BUT OUR AVERAGE DAILY USE TO SEE IF WE'RE SEEING HIGH PEAKS GOING INTO THE SUMMER, WHICH WE OFTEN DO IN JUNE.
AND WE'LL BE PROMOTING WATER CONSERVATION.
UH, WE'LL BE CONTINUING THE ENFORCEMENT AND OUTREACH.
AND FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO BE COMMUNICATING TO THEM THAT WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN WATER CITY STAFF, THEY CAN'T MAKE THESE SAVINGS HAPPEN.
WE REALLY DEPEND ON THE RESIDENTS AND THE CUSTOMERS, BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL TO ONE, ADHERE TO THE IRRIGATION SCHEDULES.
WE'RE ALSO ASKING THEM IF THEY HAVE ONE OF THE NEW SMART METERS, THE MYAT X WATER METERS, UH, TO LOG ONTO THAT AND SIGN UP FOR LEAK ALERTS AND FOR HIGH TIER ALERTS.
AND TO ASK OUR CUSTOMERS TO BE MORE COGNIZANT OF WATERING AND TAKING STEPS TO REDUCE THEIR WATERING, PARTICULARLY THE OUTDOOR LANDSCAPING, UH, WHERE EITHER YOU REDUCE YOUR WATERING TIME OR YOU MIGHT JUST LET YOUR LAWN GOLON FOR THE SUMMER, UH, AND LET IT GO DORMANT RATHER THAN TRYING TO KEEP IT IN EMERALD GREENING ALL SUMMER.
SO THAT IS OUR WATER SUPPLY UPDATE AS WELL, OUR DISCUSSION ON THE DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, UH, AND DROUGHT STAGES.
AND WE'RE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, COMMISSIONER S HAVE YOU SEEN ANY QUANTIFIABLE, UH, REDUCTION IN WATER USE FROM THE MASS INSTALLATION OF SMART WATER METERS? I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE AT, AT A HIGHER MACRO LEVEL.
I HAVE NOT SEEN THAT CUZ WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, UH, OF PUTTING THE METERS IN, OF THE 220, 30,000 METERS.
WE HAVE, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ABOUT ONE 30, 130,000 METERS IN, SO OVER HALFWAY.
UH, BUT IT'S ALWAYS KIND OF A MOVING TARGET WHEN THEY'RE PUTTING IN 500 METERS A WEEK ON THE NUMBERS.
I DO KNOW THAT THE TWO ALERTS THAT I MENTIONED, THE LEAK ALERTS, UM, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN HELPING PEOPLE REALIZE THEY HAVE A WATER LEAK AND, AND TO ADDRESS IT.
LAST YEAR THEY WERE WORKING, AND AGAIN, AS, AS I MENTIONED THIS IS AS WE ARE ADDING METERS, BUT IT WAS ESTIMATED TO SAVE 90 MILLION GALLONS LAST YEAR, THAT ALERT ALONE, UH, WE ALSO HAVE A HIGH TIER ALERT IN WHICH CUSTOMERS WITH THESE SMART WATER METERS, UH, THE, THE SYSTEM WILL LOOK AT THEIR WATER USE OVER THE FIRST EIGHT DAYS.
AND IF IT APPEARS THAT THE TREND OF THEIR WATER USE WILL PUT THEM INTO TIER THREE OF OUR RATES, WHICH IT REALLY JUMPS UP IN TIER THREE IN TERMS OF FIXED COST AND PER THOUSAND GALLONS COST, UM, IT WILL SEND OUT AN ALERT TO THEM JUST LETTING THEM KNOW, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE ALL FINE, BUT YOU'RE ON TRACK TO GO INTO TIER THREE AND FACE THESE HIGHER RATES.
AND THAT ONLY STARTED IN JULY, BUT BETWEEN JULY AND DECEMBER, IT WAS ESTIMATED TO SAVE 70 MILLION GALLONS BECAUSE THREE QUARTERS OF THE CUSTOMERS WHO RECEIVED THAT ALERT ENDED UP USING LESS THAN WHAT THEY'RE PROJECTED TO USE.
SO OVERALL, I DON'T HAVE ANY NUMBERS ON, AND WE MAY NOT SEE THAT UNTIL WE'RE ENTIRELY BUILT OUT, BUT THESE TWO ALERTS HAVE SHOWN THAT THEY ARE SAVING WATER.
SO KIND OF TAGGING ALONG, UH, COMMISSIONER ROBBINS, UM, FOLKS, I'M GONNA START RECOGNIZING PEOPLE SO THAT THAT WAY WE DON'T START TALKING OVER EACH OTHER.
UH, SO IF YOU LIKE COMMISSIONER ROBBINS FINISH UP AND THEN IF YOU JUST WAVE AT ME, THEN I'LL CALL YOU.
[00:40:04]
HEY, I HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION.UM, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE, UH, I GUESS RESULTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING FROM THE DROUGHT PLANS THAT IT'S CURRENTLY IN PLACE AND IF IT'S MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
AND THEN SIMILARLY, HISTORICALLY, HAVE YOU SEEN REDUCTIONS FROM, UM, GOING INTO THAT PHASE TWO PLAN AND ARE THEY MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS? WELL, IN TERMS OF THE RESTRICTIONS, WE, WE KNOW THAT THE RESTRICTIONS WORK BOTH FOR, UH, SAVING WATER AND FOR LAWNS.
UH, ONE DAY A WEEK IS A RECOMMENDED WATERING SCHEDULE BY TEXAS AG AGRILIFE, A TURF SCIENTIST.
AND WE HAVE SEEN A BIG SAVINGS OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS COMING OUT OF THE 2011 DROUGHT TO NOW IN TERMS OF SAVINGS FOR, UH, PER PERSON WATER USE IN TERMS OF SAVINGS, YOU KNOW, GOING INTO DROUGHT STAGE ONE, UM, THAT'S REALLY HARD TO QUANTIFY BECAUSE LAST YEAR IT WAS DROUGHT STAGE ONE, BUT IT WAS ALSO VERY HOT AND DRY.
SO IT WAS HARD TO, UM, SEE, KIND OF TEASE OUT THE SAVINGS WHERE PEOPLE WERE SAVING AND WHERE THEY'RE JUST USING MORE PEOPLE, WERE USING MORE WATER.
BUT IT DOES BRING UP A GOOD POINT AS WE GO IN, PARTICULARLY IF WE GO INTO STAGE TWO, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF IT RAINS ALL MAY AND ALL JUNE, WE MAY NEVER SEE STAGE TWO.
BUT IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE TWO, THAT WILL BE SOMETHING WE WILL PARTICULARLY NEED TO KEEP AN EYE ON THAT DAILY WATER USE AND SEE IF IT'S PEAKING UP, YOU KNOW, FROM 1 31 THAT IT IS KIND OF, NOW IF IT STARTS PEAKING UP TO 150 MILLION GALLONS A DAY, 60, 70, 80 MILLION, IF WE START SEEING THAT TREND, THEN WE KNOW THAT WE DO NEED TO UP OUR ENFORCEMENT AND OUR OUTREACH FOR BOTH.
SO I DON'T THINK I EXACTLY ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, BUT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING WE'LL NEED TO BE MONITORING AS WE GO TOWARDS STAGE TWO.
YEAH, AND IT'D BE GREAT TO SEE THAT KIND OF DATA.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THESE PRESENTATIONS ARE QUARTERLY I'D, I'D LOVE TO SEE KIND OF HOW WATER USAGE TRENDS WITH THE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PHASE ONE AND PHASE TWO, IF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING Y'ALL ARE ABLE TO SHOW US.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION, SO THANKS.
AND I CAN, I CAN BRING THAT BACK NEXT TIME WE HAVE A QUARTERLY UPDATE.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR ANYONE ELSE ON THE COMMISSION THOUGH? OUR HANDS ARE UP.
COMMISSIONER GARY, GO AHEAD PLEASE.
FIRST I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I JUST HAD A COUPLE OF, UM, QUESTIONS.
HOW ARE YOU EDUCATING THE, THE RESIDENTS? HOW ARE YOU EDUCATING THE, THE BUILDERS AND EVERYONE THAT ABOUT THE PROGRAM, ABOUT THE, THE WATER USAGE, ABOUT THE RESTRICTIONS? AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS IN REGARDS TO ENFORCEMENT AND WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IF YOU CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO ABOUT THAT.
AND I WAS JUST WONDERING, IS THAT ALSO FOR STAGE ONE AND IF IT'S NOT ONE, AND THAT'S IT.
CAN YOU REPEAT THE QUESTION AT THE VERY END? I'M NOT SURE.
I, SO THE LAST QUESTION WAS REGARDING THE ENFORCEMENT ASPECT.
AND THE CONSEQUENCES OF, OF, OF BREAKING THE RESTRICTIONS.
I JUST WANTED YOU TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT AND JUST EXPLAIN, YOU KNOW, THE DIFFERENCE WHY I SEE IT ON STAGE TWO AND NOT STAGE ONE.
STARTING WITH, WITH OUTREACH, PRIMARILY THE OUTREACH IS ELECTRONIC OUTREACH, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE MEDIA ON, ON RADIO AND TV, WHAT HAVE YOU.
UH, AUSTIN WATER PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE PUTS A LOT OF INFORMATION OUT, PARTICULARLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, UH, UH, FACEBOOK AND, AND, UH, NEXT DOOR I BELIEVE.
AND THAT'S A LOT OF WHAT WE TRY TO DO IN TERMS OF, OF EDUCATING THE PUBLIC.
UH, IF WE DO START TO GO TO STAGE TWO, TWO, WE'LL REALLY NEED TO START PICKING THAT UP AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW THAT IF WE'RE HITTING 900,000 ACRE FEET, THIS IS SOMETHING WE NEED TO DEAL WITH.
IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT, UNDER STAGE ONE, WE HAVE, UH, PATROL STAFF GOING OUT, UH, FOUR DAYS A WEEK.
UH, PRIMARILY PATROLLING IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, BUT ALSO IN THE EVENING HOURS.
AND, AND THAT IS WHAT WE HAD GOING LAST SUMMER AND THEN GOING FORWARD, THEY ALSO DO INVESTIGATIONS WHEN PEOPLE REPORT ON THREE 11 IN TERMS OF EITHER A WATER LEAK OR THEIR NEIGHBORS WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY, WHAT HAVE YOU.
THEY ALSO GO OUT AND DO INVESTIGATIONS.
UM, IN SOME CASES, SOMETIMES THEY JUST SEND A POSTCARD, UM, BUT IF IT'S A REPEAT,
[00:45:01]
THEY GO OUT AND ACTUALLY DO INVESTIGATIONS.IF WE HIT TO STAGE TWO, UH, WE WILL BE DOING, UH, WE'LL BE INCREASING PATROLS, UH, PROBABLY 50%.
SO WE'LL BE DOING MORE PATROLS IN THE EVENING, MORE PATROLS ON THE WEEKEND.
UM, WE MAY BE HIRING NEW OR TEMPORARY STAFF TO EXPAND OUR PATROLS, UM, AND, AND OUR INVESTIGATION ABILITY.
BUT REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE WE HAVE ON PATROLS, IF I CAN DOUBLE MY PATROL STAFF FROM FOUR TO EIGHT, UH, IS STILL IS VERY DEPENDENT ON AUSTIN RESIDENTS COMPLYING WITH THE SCHEDULE.
UH, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY CATCH IS ACTUALLY A, A SMALL PERCENTAGE.
SO IT REALLY DEPENDS ON ALL THE RESIDENTS COMING TOGETHER AND ADHERING TO THAT ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING SCHEDULE.
DID THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? IT DID.
UM, YOU DO HAVE TICKETING AUTHORITY IN A WORSE CASE, DON'T YOU? RIGHT.
I, I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT, UM, IF WE HAVE STAFF GOING OUT ON PATROL AND THEY DO SEE SOMEONE WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY, THEY WILL GIVE 'EM A WARNING, FIRST OF ALL.
UM, BUT THEN IF THEY ARE CUT AGAIN WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY, WE DO HAVE, UH, VI VIOLATION.
UH, IT'S AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS.
IT DOESN'T GO THROUGH THE MUNICIPAL COURTS.
IT'S, WE OFFER AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING.
AND THEN AS THAT GOES THROUGH THAT PROCESS, UH, VIOLATORS CAN BE FINED, UM, PARTICULAR AMOUNTS, I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MUCH IT IS, IT DOES GO UP IN EACH STAGE OF THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.
I THINK IT MAY BE $50 NOW, AND IT MIGHT BE GO UP TO 75 AS A BASE FOR THE FIRST TIME IF SOMEONE WAS CAUGHT VIOLATING.
UM, SO YES, WE DO HAVE THAT AUTHORITY TO FIND BOTH COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
THERE QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ELSE ON THE COMMISSION THAT I MIGHT HAVE MISSED? YES, THIS IS COMMISSIONER KARA GOTTI.
I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS, UH, KIND OF PIGGYBACKING ON EVERYONE ELSE, BUT A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE DATA, UM, THAT SUPPORTS HOW MUCH WATER, UH, PER CAPITA? UM, I GUESS DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT STAGE WE'RE IN OR WHAT KIND OF DROUGHT WE'RE IN, OR IF WE'RE HAVING, UM, TO COMPARE WHEN WE'RE IN A DROUGHT, WHEN WE'RE NOT IN A DROUGHT, THE DATA TO SEE HOW MUCH WATER WE'RE ACTUALLY USING WHEN WE'RE IN A DROUGHT, WHEN WE'RE NOT IN A DROUGHT FROM YEAR TO YEAR.
UM, WE, WE CERTAINLY HAVE HISTORICAL DATA BOTH, UM, AT A, UH, ANNUAL PER PERSON WATER USE A AVERAGE OVER ENTIRE YEAR.
AND WE DO HAVE, UH, I GUESS DAILY PRODUCTION VOLUMES.
AS I MENTIONED, ONE LAST MONTH IT WAS 130 MILLION GALLONS.
AND THEN IN THE SUMMER IT GOES UP PEAKING TO 1 50, 1 70, 180, 1 90, UH, MILLION GALLONS.
SO WE DO HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
WE, IT'S BEEN QUITE A WHILE SINCE WE HAVE GONE INTO STAGE TWO.
I THINK THE LAST TIME WAS STAGE TWO WAS 20, 20 15 OR SO, 15, 20 15.
UM, SO WE HAVE BEEN, SO DO YOU SEE, DO YOU SEE A TREND ANYWHERE? DO YOU SEE ANY TREND ANALYSIS SEEING THAT WE ARE AS A COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE USING LESS WATER? MORE WATER? WHAT, WHAT ARE YOU SEEING IN YOUR ANALYSIS? WELL, CERTAINLY BACK IN 2011 WE USED 162 MILLION GALLONS.
THAT WAS LIKE THE DRIEST YEAR ON RECORD AT KIND OF THE HEIGHT OF THAT, THAT MULTI-YEAR DROUGHT.
SO WE WERE USING 162 GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY, PER PERSON PER DAY IN THAT YEAR, WHICH IS TO BE EXPECTED.
IT WAS A REALLY HOT AND DRY YEAR.
THE FOLLOWING YEARS WE STARTED INSTITUTING THE WATERING RESTRICTIONS, EVENTUALLY MAKING IT DOWN TO ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING.
UM, AND, AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS REALLY PUSHING THE PER PERSON WATER USE DOWN TO THE MID ONE TWENTIES, UM, WHICH HAS BEEN A GREAT, UH, SUCCESS IN TERMS OF WATER USE.
UM, HOWEVER, WE HAVE BEEN STILL BUMPING AROUND THAT MID ONE TWENTIES AND LAST YEAR, UH, IT WENT UP TO 132 GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY.
SO WE HAVE MADE GREAT STRIDES INITIALLY GOING DOWN TO ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING.
BUT I, I THINK THAT THE MESSAGE WOULD BE, WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO CUZ WE'VE KIND OF PLATEAUED OUT AT THAT
[00:50:01]
MID ONE TWENTIES, UM, AND EVEN BUMPED UP A LITTLE BIT LAST YEAR.DO YOU RIGHT, AND I APPRECIATE YOU HAVING THIS INFORMATION AS I'M ASKING THE QUESTION, SO SORRY.
UM, IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST DRIVER FOR THIS, DO YOU THINK, IS THE EDUCATION ON DROUGHT? DO YOU THINK IT'S THE EDUCATION ON THE SMART METER, SMART WATER METER, WHICH I ACTUALLY HAVE NOT EVEN HEARD OF.
I'VE JUST HEARD GLIMPSES OF IT.
I DON'T EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT TO BE HONEST.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE, THE, I'M TRYING, I GU I GUESS MY QUESTION IS JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHAT IS OUR BIGGEST DRIVER? WHAT, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST GOAL THAT WE CAN, THAT Y'ALL CAN GET TO IN ORDER TO PUSH, YOU KNOW, BACK TO THE ONE 20 PER CAPITA TYPE TYPE SO WE CAN SAVE WATER? YEAH, I THINK, I THINK IT'S A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE, I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE IN THE EARLY 2010S, 2011 THROUGH 2015, YOU KNOW, THEY LIVED THROUGH THE YEARS OF SEEING LAKE TRAVIS REALLY LOW AND THEY REALLY RESPONDED TO THAT.
BUT SINCE THEN, SINCE 2015, THINGS HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, NORMAL OR PRETTY GOOD.
UH, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN THOSE LESSONS ABOUT WATERING.
AND WE'VE HAD A LOT OF NEW PEOPLE COME IN WHO MAYBE DIDN'T REALIZE WE WERE IN ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING OR WHAT THE WEATHER IN CENTRAL TEXAS IS LIKE.
UH, SO THERE'S A KIND OF A REEDUCATION THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH RESIDENTS IN TERMS OF WATERING, BUT ALSO, AS YOU MENTIONED THAT MY ETX WATER, I THINK THAT WILL BE A BIG THING.
UH, AS, AS YOU ALLUDED TO, NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT.
I THINK THAT'LL BE ONE OF THE GAME CHANGERS GOING IN, NOT ONLY FOR AUSTIN WATER, BUT ALL WATER UTILITIES.
THAT ABILITY FOR CUSTOMERS TO KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH WATER THEY'RE USING ON AN HOURLY TIME STEP.
UM, AND TO BE ALERTED FOR HIGH USE OR HIGH OR LEAKS, WHAT HAVE YOU.
I THINK THAT WILL HELP A LOT IN TERMS OF, OF MOVING US DOWN THAT ONE 20 MID ONE 20 PLATEAU, UM, BOTH THE REEDUCATION AND INTRODUCTION OF MY ETX WATER COMPLETION OF THAT IN, I'D SAY WITHIN TWO YEARS WE'LL HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT, UM, NEARLY 100% WITH A SMART METER.
I'M JUST CURIOUS, AM I RECOGNIZED MR. ROBINS? GO AHEAD.
HOW MANY COMMISSIONERS HAVE USED, UH, THE ATX SYSTEM? I'M JUST CURIOUS.
I HAVE, WELL, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO CHECK IT OUT IF YOU HAVEN'T YET.
IT'S FASCINATING TO KNOW HOW MUCH WATER YOU USE AT TWO IN THE MORNING,
I LIKE HOW AUSTIN ELECTRIC SHOWS ME EVERY WEEK HOW MUCH I USE, SO I DEFINITELY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TRACKING THIS AS WELL.
ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? OKAY, THEN I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU ACTUALLY.
UM, LET'S PLAY MAD MAX FOR A SECOND AND EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT DROUGHT STAGE THREE LOOKS LIKE.
DROUGHT STAGE THREE IS 600,000 ACRE FEET.
UH, I DON'T BELIEVE WE'VE EVER GONE INTO DROUGHT STAGE THREE DURING THAT LAST BIG DROUGHT.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT WE GOT DOWN TO? YEAH, I THINK WE GOT DOWN TO ABOUT 630,000 ACRE FEET.
SO THE COMBINED STORAGE GOT CLOSE TO TRIGGERING THAT DROUGHT STAGE THREE, BUT WE DID NOT HAVE TO GO INTO THAT.
WE ONLY HAD TO GO TO STAGE TWO IN THAT LAST DROUGHT.
AND IF YOU DO GO INTO DROUGHT STAGE, DROUGHT STAGE THREE, UH, THE RESTRICTIONS, UH, STAY A LOT LIKE WHAT THEY'VE SEEN.
THE, THE CHANGE IS THAT FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, YOU CAN STILL WATER ONE DAY A WEEK, UM, BUT YOU WON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WATER IN THE EVENING.
YOU COULD ONLY WATER IN THE MORNING, UH, FOR SIX HOURS DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.
UM, THERE'S SOME CHANGES ON RESTRICTIONS FOR PATIO MISTERS.
YOU HAVE TO TURN PATIO MISTERS OFF EARLIER IN THE EVENING AND, UH, CAN'T NOT OPERATE SPLASH PADS.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE FEW OF THE CHANGES, BUT A LOT OF THE RESTRICTIONS ARE SIMILAR TO STAGE TWO.
UM, BUT LIKE, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WHEN WE GET TO STAGE THREE AND WE'LL HAVE TO DO THE OUTREACH AND ENFORCEMENT EVEN MORE.
AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS WHAT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WATER USAGE IN GENERAL, UH, FOR THE AUSTIN
[00:55:01]
REGION, ARE YOU ABLE TO QUANTIFY AT ALL THE INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF WATER USAGE THAT WE'VE HAD OVER TIME, UH, TIED IN WITH POPULATION GROWTH IN THE AREA? YES, WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE, I HAVE TO ADMIT, I CANNOT THINK OF THE MANY OF THE NUMBERS OFFHAND, BUT YES, ON AN, ON AN PARTICULARLY ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, WE CAN DELINEATE THE VOLUMES FOR RESIDENTIAL, RESIDENTIAL, OUTSIDE COMMERCIAL, DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMMERCIAL.SO WE CAN GAUGE ON THAT, THAT ANNUAL BASIS ON HOW WATER USE HAS CHANGED OVER TIME WHILE OUR POPULATION HAS CHANGED.
DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING I WANNA ADD THAT, UM, AS AN EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, WE DO TRACK OUR POPULATION SERVED AND THEN HOW MUCH WATER WE'RE USING, UH, BECAUSE OF THE, UM, INCORPORATION OF THE NO MORE THAN ONE DAY PER WEEK WATERING AS OUR, UH, STANDARD PRACTICE AND, UH, THE RESULTS OF OUR COMMUNITY RESPONDING TO THE, THE DROUGHT OF THE 2008 TO 2015 AND LOWERING OUR WATER USE DOWN IN THOSE PER CAPITA WATER USE SAVINGS.
WE ESTIMATED THAT WE DROPPED OUR OVERALL WATER USE DOWN, UH, SO THAT WE WERE SERVING ABOUT 300,000 ADDITIONAL PEOPLE WITH THE SAME AMOUNT OF WATER UNTIL ONLY RECENTLY WE'VE STARTED TO GET BACK UP TO OVERALL WATER USE LEVELS THAT WE HAD AS, UH, LA AS RECENTLY AS IN THE, UH, AROUND YEAR 2000 OR SO.
SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GAIN 300,000 MORE PEOPLE AND, AND ARE USING ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF WATER, UH, BY REDUCING THAT PER CAPITA WATER USE.
UH, WE'RE SERVING ABOUT 1.1 MILLION PEOPLE NOW.
UH, IT'S, IT EQUATES TO ABOUT 250,000 METERS OR 250,000 CUSTOMERS, BUT IT'S ABOUT ONE POINT, UH, 1 MILLION PEOPLE.
AND WE CONTINUE TO GAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, IN OUR POPULATION AND OUR WATER USE IS, IS GOING UP SOME, BUT NOT AS FAST AS, UM, AS IT CERTAINLY HAD PRIOR TO US, UH, INCORPORATING THOSE RESTRICTIONS AND THEN HAVE CONTINUED TO HAVE THAT GOOD CONSERVATION AND, UH, REDUCED WATER USE FOR OUTDOOR IRRIGATION SINCE THE DROUGHT.
AND I WOULD SAY IF YOU, IF YOU'RE CURIOUS, WE DO HAVE, I HAVE, WE DO HAVE SOME NEAT SLIDES SHOWING HOW WATER USE IS ALL DIVIDED UP, UM, TO THE VARIOUS DIFFERENT CUSTOMERS THAT WE COULD EITHER PROVIDE IN A FUTURE UPDATE OR WE COULD JUST SEND TO THE COMMISSION.
UM, I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING READ.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED A FULL PRESENTATION ON IT, BUT I THINK IT'D BE AN INTERESTING READING NONETHELESS.
SO IF YOU COULD SEND IT OVER TO NATASHA, SHE CAN GET IT TO US.
LAST CHANCE FOR QUESTIONS BEFORE I LET THESE FINE PEOPLE GO HOME FOR THE EVENING.
[4. Presentation by Texas Gas Service regarding a quarterly update of the Central Texas Energy Efficiency Program by Jasmine King-Bush, Energy Efficiency Program Manager.]
ITEM NUMBER FOUR, PRESENT PRESENTATION BY TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UH, FOR QUARTERLY UPDATE ON THE, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM.UNLESS SHE'S, SHE SAID SHE'S MUTED.
JASMINE, CAN YOU UN HELLO, CAN YOU, HELLO, JASMINE?
[01:00:01]
YES, MA'AM.I WAS TALKING AND I WAS LIKE, I MUTE THIS.
I'M, UH, UNABLE TO ATTEND IN PERSON.
UM, AND I AM IN A, AN AREA THAT DOES NOT HAVE GREAT COVERAGE.
SO I HAVE MY PRESENTATION ON MY LAPTOP AND I'M GOING TO WALK THROUGH THE SLIDES, UM, THROUGH THE PHONE.
SO IF WE ARE ON THE FIRST SLIDE, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I GAVE A BIT OF AN INTRODUCTION REALLY QUICKLY FOR THE NEW, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.
MY NAME IS JASMINE KEITH BUSH.
I'M THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM MANAGER.
I OVERSEE, UM, AND HAVE THE, THE PRIVILEGE OF LEADING EE PROGRAMS FOR TEXAS GAS SERVICE, UM, ACROSS THE STATE.
UH, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UH, HE'S ON PTO THIS WEEK, BUT HIS NAME IS MICHAEL
HE IS THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM SUPERVISOR.
HE WILL BE WITH ME THE NEXT TIME WE COME BEFORE YOU FOR OUR NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING.
UM, AND FOR THIS, THE PURPOSE OF THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL BE COVERING Q4 2022 UPDATE AND Q4 2023 UPDATE.
UH, AND WE CAN GO TO THE SECOND SLIDE.
UH, JUST A COUPLE, UH, HIGHLIGHTS ON THE, UH, EFFICIENCY PROGRAM OVERALL, UM, AND Q4 2022.
UM, WELL, AS I SAID MOST RECENTLY, WE DISTRIBUTED THE 2022 ANNUAL REPORT THIS PROGRAM PROVIDES, PROVIDES AN ANNUAL REPORT OF PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AND UTILIZATION WITH A FEW HIGHLIGHTS IN A DIGITAL, UH, FORMAT THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED ON APRIL 30TH.
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A COPY, PLEASE LET ME KNOW OR LET NATASHA KNOW TO REACH OUT TO ME AND I CAN MAKE SURE THAT YOU RECEIVE, UM, A COPY FOR REVIEW.
UM, LAST YEAR WE HIRED ALEX SEPTA.
HE, UH, JOINED THE TEAM AS EDUCATION OUTREACH SPECIALIST.
UH, PREVIOUSLY HAVING WORKED WITH THE BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC UTILITY BOARD, HE BRINGS WITH HIM A WEALTH OF INFORMATION.
WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE HOW HE, UM, FURTHERS RELATIONSHIPS, UH, WITH, UH, VENDORS AND RETAILERS IN THE AREA.
AND, UM, HELPED US TO, UM, PARTICIPATE IN MORE COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENTS AND EDUCATION EVENTS.
UH, LAST YEAR Q4, WE PARTICIPATED, UH, AS A JOINT VENTURE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY IN THE TEXAS BOOK FESTIVAL THAT HAD GREAT OUT TURNOUT.
I THINK WE HAD ABOUT 50,000 PEOPLE COMING THROUGH THE VARIOUS TENTS.
UM, AND, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, JOINING THEM, UH, IN A, AN ADVENTURE.
UH, AGAIN, IN THE FALL, UH, WE, UH, KEPT UP, UH, OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE COMMUNITY IMPACT AS, UH, THE COMMUNITY IMPACT PAPER.
IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE IT AS A GREAT, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF LOCAL INFORMATION THAT IS SPECIFIC TO VARIOUS REGIONS THROUGHOUT AUSTIN, A BIT NORTH AUSTIN, A BIT SOUTH.
UM, SO AS THEY EXPANDED THEIR TERRITORY THIS YEAR, WE ALSO EXPANDED OUR, UM, OUR, UH, OUR VISIBILITY IN THOSE PUBLICATIONS.
AND THEN WE ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THE WATERLOO CREEK SHOW.
AGAIN, THIS IS PART OF OUR, UH, ENDEAVOR TO BE PRESENT MORE IN THE COMMUNITY AND COMMUNITY OUTREACH EVENT.
UH, Q1 OF 2023, WE PARTICIPATED IN THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, UH, HOLIDAY FESTIVAL AT HOUSTON PILSON.
UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE PARTICIPATE IN ANNUALLY.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE RE-UPPED WITH K U T AND K UTX.
SO YOU MIGHT HEAR US, UH, WITH OUR ADS PROVIDING EDUCATION AND AWARENESS OF VARIOUS REBATE, CONSENSUS AND PROGRAM OVERALL.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, UH, TOUCHPOINT FOR OUR COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.
WE HAVE, UH, FOR THOSE WHO ARE, UH, UH, NEW CONGRATULATIONS, UM, BUT WE HAVE TWO, UH, ARMS OF OUR COMMERCIAL PROGRAM.
WE HAVE A COMMERCIAL DIRECT INSTALL PROGRAM, WHICH IS THE, UH, LION SHARE OF THE COMMERCIAL PROGRAM, AND THAT IS ADMINISTERED BY A THIRD PARTY COMPANY BY THE NAME OF CLEAR REVOLT.
THEY WORK WITH UTILITIES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND UP INTO CANADA.
UH, AND THEY PARTNER, UH, WITH US TO, UH, REACH OUT TO LOCAL RETAILERS, UH, LAUNDROMATS, UH, HOTELS, MOTELS, UM, LOW INCOME APARTMENTS TO PROVIDE WEATHERIZATION, UM, EFFORTS, UH, SHOWER HEAD REPLACEMENT, UM, DRYER, SMART SCENE TRACK.
AND SO THIS IS JUST PROVIDING SOME OVERSIGHT, UH, INTO THE PROJECTS THAT WERE COMPLETED, UH, IN Q4 AND, UH, INITIATED IN Q1 AND WITH A LITTLE, UH, VISUAL MAP OF WHERE THOSE PROJECTS TOOK PLACE.
AND HERE'S JUST A FEW OF THE RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS.
UH, WE ENGAGE IN BEHAVIOR EDUCATION.
SO OUR PROGRAM IS NOT LIMITED TO JUST OFFERING, UH, REBATES AND INCENTIVES.
WE ALSO TRY TO PROVIDE TIPS AND TRICKS AND, UH, EDUCATIONAL ON HOW CUSTOMERS USING TEXAS GAS SERVICE CAN USE IT MORE EFFICIENTLY.
UH, AND SO WE, UH, Q4 UH, WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THE ORGANIZATION AS A WHOLE TO, UH, PROVIDE TIPS AND TRIPS, TRICKS AND EDUCATION IN THE PIPELINE NEWSLETTER.
[01:05:01]
UH, WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS IS THAT IT REACHES BEYOND WHERE THE SERVICE AREAS ARE FOR THE PROGRAM.UM, IT GOES INTO THE ENVIRONMENT WHICH, UH, REACHES OUR CUSTOMERS THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE RETHINK AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM, BUT WE CAN STILL REACH THEM WITH THE EDUCATION.
UH, I'M WORKING WITH VENDORS RIGHT NOW TO EXPAND OUR DIY KITS.
WE OFFER A WATER KIT RIGHT NOW FOR ANY CUSTOMER INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS OF A, A CITY THAT HAS OUR PROGRAM.
UM, AND THEY CAN REQUEST THAT AND RECEIVE A KIT IN THE MAIL WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A VIDEO THAT SHOWS 'EM HOW TO INSTALL, UH, LOW FLOW SHOWER HEAD, LOW FLOW AIRS FOR FAUCETS AND KITCHEN.
UM, AND I'M LOOKING TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO KIND OF GET THOSE INTO LOOK, UM, AND, UM, INCREASE, UM, RELEVANCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO SOMETHING LIKE A PIPE RACK, UM, SOMETHING LIKE WEATHER STRIPPING, DIY WEATHER STRIPPING.
SO I'M LOOKING INTO SOME, UM, QUOTES FROM VARIOUS VENDORS TO SEE HOW WE CAN EXPAND THAT OR MAYBE WE CAN ADD THAT TO THE WA WATER KIT AND HAVE A WEATHER AS A HEAT KIT AND A WATER KIT.
I'LL BE REPORTING BACK ONCE WE HAVE MADE A DECISION.
AND THEN JUST REPORTING SOME GEOGRAPHIC GROWTH.
WE, UM, HAVE EXPANDED OUR EE PROGRAM, UH, INTO PFLUGERVILLE, MARVEL FALLS AND BUTTA.
IT'S NOT REALLY RELEVANT TO AUSTIN, BUT JUST LOOKING AT, UM, WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING REQUESTS FROM THOSE CITIES.
THEY WANT TO SEE OUR PROGRAM, UM, ACTIVE IN THOSE AREAS.
UM, AND A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE THEY'VE SEEN THE SUCCESS, UM, AND THE PRESENCE IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
UH, THIS SLIDE REALLY IS A, IS A GRAPHICAL, UH, REPRESENTATION OF PROGRAM PERFORMANCE YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, AND SO, UH, I HAVE INCLUDED, UH, 20 21, 20 22 AND YEAR TO DATE 2023, UM, STATS.
SO AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE YEAR, YOU'LL SEE, UM, THE BARS GROW AS UTILIZATION AND PARTICIPATION INCREASE.
UM, BUT THOSE WHO, UH, EITHER WERE NOT IN THE AREA ARE POSSIBLY UNAWARE, UM, IN, UH, YOU'LL SEE A HIGH, UH, USAGE FOR THE, UM, WATER HEATING IN 2021.
AND THAT ATTRIBUTED TO ALL OF THE WATER HEATERS THAT WERE DAMAGED DURING THE STORM URI.
UM, AND THEN WE SEE A PRETTY STEADY USAGE WITH THE, UM, HOME IMPROVEMENT.
UM, THAT IS A COLLABORATION WE DO WITH AUSTIN ENERGY CALLED THE HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S WHERE, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS WHO ARE ALSO TEXAS GAS CUSTOMERS CAN MAKE USE OF ATTIC INSULATION, DUCT CEILING, AND, UH, PERFORMED BY A LICENSED CONTRACTOR.
AND THEY WILL RECEIVE THREE REBATES FROM BOTH, FROM BOTH UTILITIES.
UH, WE ALSO OFFER A LOW INCOME FREE EQUIPMENT PROGRAM THAT IS FOR TEXAS GAS CUSTOMERS WHO ARE IN THE, UM, SERVICE AREAS COVERED BY THE PROGRAM, UH, THAT WE WILL, UM, EXPRESS THEIR NEED, UH, THROUGH A COMMUNITY AGENCY, MEALS ON WHEELS, UM, OFTEN ENERGY'S LOW INCOME WEATHERIZATION PROGRAM.
UH, THEY WILL BE, UH, REFERRED TO US.
OUR STAFF WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE, UM, ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE.
AND, UH, WE WILL WORK WITH LOCAL LICENSED CONTRACTORS TO ASSESS WHAT THE NEEDS ARE.
UM, AND WE WILL GO IN, UH, PERFORM THOSE NEEDS, UM, VIA THE CONTRACTOR AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO THE PARTICIPANTS.
UM, THIS PROGRAM, UH, UNDERSTANDABLY SO, HAS A VERY, UH, HIGH BURN RATE.
SO WE HAVE, UH, A SET BUDGET FOR THAT, AND IT IS, IS PRETTY SPENT BY THE THREE QUARTERS OF THE YEAR.
BY THE THIRD QUARTER OF THE YEAR WE'RE PRETTY SPENT, UM, BECAUSE OF THE HIGH DEMAND.
UM, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT INCREASE.
UM, SO, UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO EITHER INCREASE THE BUDGET OR HOW WE CAN PARTNER WITH LOCAL CONTRACTORS TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO, UH, IN A MORE COST EFFECTIVE MANNER TO MAKE SURE WE CAN CONTINUE TO HELP AS MANY FAMILIES AS POSSIBLE.
AND IF I'M TRACKING WITH YOU ALL, THAT IS MY LAST SLIDE, I AM AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
I SEE COMMISSIONER ROBBINS HAS HIS HAND UP.
WELL, I EMAILED, UH, JASMINE, UH, LIKE THE STAFF AFTERNOON AND SHE'S PROBABLY ALREADY, SHE PROBABLY ALREADY KNOWS WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY.
BUT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE REST OF YOU, UH, YOU HAVE NOT PROVIDED THE METRICS THAT THIS COMMISSION NEEDS TO ANALYZE YOUR PROGRAM AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL.
[01:10:01]
UM, EXCUSE ME, WE, WE NEED YOUR ESTIMATED FUEL COST ESTIMATED LIFETIME OF THE MEASURES, UM, THE, UH, BREAKDOWN BETWEEN, UH, REBATES AND, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, UM, AND, UH, YOUR ASSUMED INTEREST RATES.UH, AND I GUESS I COULD BE CRITICIZED IF THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I ASKED FOR IT, BUT IT ISN'T, I REMEMBER ASKING FOR THE SAME, THESE SAME KINDS OF METRICS MANY MONTHS AGO, AND AT THE TIME YOU SAID YOU'D CONSIDER IT AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE THEM.
IS THAT A QUESTION? I DON'T WANNA SPEAK OVER YOU.
YES, IT'S A QUESTION I JUST DON'T WANT, I WANNA RESPOND, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I, I HEAR THE TOTALITY OF THE QUESTION.
THAT'S PRETTY MUCH THE TOTALITY.
SO THE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS ARE OUTLINED IN THE ANNUAL REPORT THAT WAS DISTRIBUTED, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, THE, UH, UH, REBATE IN DOLLARS AND, UM, UNITS.
SO IF, IF YOU DON'T HAVE A COPY OF THAT, AND I KNOW WE SPOKE EARLIER, I WILL MAKE SURE TO GET IT TO YOU.
I AM, UM, AS YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M, I HAVE NOT GOTTEN BACK TO MY HOME OFFICE