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[CALL TO ORDER]
APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MARCH 29TH, 2023.OH, YOU KNOW WHAT? I DIDN'T DO THE, THE CALLING TO ORDER APPROPRIATELY.
1:30 PM 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET.
UM, IT SAYS SOME MEMBERS MAY BE PARTICIPATING BY VIDEO CONFERENCE, BUT I DO NOT THINK THAT'S THE CASE TODAY.
IT LOOKS LIKE ALL OF US ARE HERE.
[1. Approve the minutes of the March 29, 2023 special called meeting of the Austin Water Oversight Committee.]
HAVE THE MINUTES OF MARCH 29TH, 2023 FOR THE SPECIAL CALLED MEETING OF THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE TO APPROVE.AND DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THOSE FROM VICE CHAIR RYAN ALTAR? IS THERE A SECOND? COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ'S SECONDS.
ARE THERE ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS TO BE MADE TO THE MINUTES HEARING AND SEEING NONE? UM, WE CAN DEEM THESE MINUTES APPROVED BRIEFINGS.
[2. Director’s Report on innovations, events and awards, and upcoming recommendations for Council action.]
ITEM NUMBER TWO, DIRECTORS REPORT ON INNOVATIONS, EVENTS AND AWARDS AND UPCOMING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COUNCIL ACTION.AND WE HAVE DIRECTOR SHA ROLSON WITH US TODAY.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
I'D LIKE TO PROVIDE YOU SOME UPDATES ON ACTIVITIES AT AUSTIN WATER, UH, BEYOND THE SPECIFIC ITEMS WE'LL BE DISCUSSING ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
UH, FIRST WE HAVE SEVERAL IMPORTANT AND EXCITING ITEMS COMING FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL IN JULY AND AUGUST.
UH, THE JUNE 8TH COUNCIL MEETING WILL INCLUDE AN ITEM TO SET A PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE AUGUST 3RD COUNCIL MEETING TO REVIEW AUSTIN WATER'S UPDATED CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES FOR THE AMI ADVANCED METERING PROGRAM.
THE FINAL LOAN INSTALLMENT OF 18 MILLION FROM THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD SWIFT PRO FUNDING PROGRAM WILL BE ON THE JULY 20TH COUNCIL AGENDA.
AND WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING PROPOSALS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGER AT RISK FOR THE $700 MILLION EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT AT THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.
THE CONTRACT AWARD IS EXPECTED TO BE ON THE AUGUST 31ST COUNCIL AGENDA.
WE APPRECIATE COUNCIL'S SUPPORT OF THESE ITEMS, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS OR NEED ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE LET US KNOW.
UH, I'VE BEEN DIRECTOR NOW FOR JUST ABOUT FIVE MONTHS, AND IN THAT TIME I'VE BEEN MAKING MY WAY AROUND THE UTILITY MEETING WITH OUR TEAMS. I'VE ATTENDED ABOUT THREE DOZEN STAFF MEETINGS SO FAR, UH, FROM A SINGLE SUPERVISOR IN THEIR DIRECT REPORTS ALL THE WAY TO PROGRAM AREA.
ALL HANDS MEETINGS AND DIFFERENT WORK GROUPS HAVE DIFFERENT CHALLENGES, BUT THERE ARE A FEW THEMES SUCH AS TRUST AND ENGAGEMENT.
OUR STAFF ARE LOOKING FOR LEADERS WHO HAVE A VISION FOR A CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE, AND THEY WANT TO WORK FOR A TEAM WHERE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE VALUED.
OUR WORK IN THESE AREAS BEGAN LONG BEFORE I BECAME DIRECTOR.
OUR TALENT AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION IS PROACTIVELY REACHING INTO THE ORGANIZATION TO PROVIDE TRAINING AND GUIDANCE FOR OUR LEADERS AND STAFF.
WE ALSO LAUNCHED OUR TECHNICAL TRAINERS IN EACH WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THEY HAVE DEVELOPED AN AUSTIN WATERS FOR SPECIFIC CURRICULUM, AND THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE STAFF ARE MAKING THEIR WAY THROUGH THE TRAINING MODULES.
AND WE HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT PASSING RATE.
I'M FOND OF SAYING THAT AUSTIN WATER IS A LEARNING ORGANIZATION, AND MY CONVERSATIONS WITH STAFF ARE BEARING THAT OUT.
WE HAVE NATIONAL LEVEL EXPERTISE IN EVERY AREA IN WHICH WE PRACTICE, AND THE WORK THAT WE DO MATTERS DEEPLY TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO TODAY I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT AUSTIN WATER STAFF INVOLVEMENT IN WATER RELATED PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR CULTURE AS A LEARNING ORGANIZATION AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO SHARE OUR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AS WELL AS NETWORK WITH OTHER INDUSTRY EXPERTS.
THE TEXAS WATER CONFERENCE IS THE LARGEST REGIONAL WATER AND WASTEWATER CON CONFERENCE IN THE COUNTRY, AND IT'S ACTUALLY MORE DIFFICULT TO GET AN ABSTRACT ACCEPTED THERE THAN AT THE NATIONAL CONFERENCES LAST MONTH.
THIS YEAR'S CONFERENCE WAS HELD IN HOUSTON AND TOPPED ITS 27 YEAR ATTENDANCE RECORD WITH MORE THAN 6,000 ATTENDEES AND 650 EXHIBITORS.
MORE THAN 80 AUSTIN WATER STAFF ATTENDED FROM FIELD PERSONNEL TO EXECUTIVES, AND WE MADE MORE THAN A DOZEN PRESENTATIONS IN 11 DIFFERENT TECHNICAL TRACKS.
ADDITIONALLY, TWO OF OUR STAFF WERE RECOGNIZED WITH THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS IN THE WATER INDUSTRY.
CHARLIE MADDOX WAS INDUCTED INTO THE WATER INDUSTRY HALL OF FAME IN RECOGNITION OF HIS LONG CAREER AS AN INNOVATOR, REGULATOR, UTILITY MANAGER AND MENTOR TO MANY, INCLUDING ME, HEATHER COOK RECEIVED THE GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARD FOR
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HER DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO THE WATER INDUSTRY.AND TRINITY O'NEILL WAS HONORED BY THE COMPETITORS IN THE OPERATIONS CHALLENGE AS THE MOST DEDICATED VOLUNTEER JUDGE DURING THIS MULTI-DAY CHALLENGE.
WE HAVE A PACKED AGENDA FOR YOU TODAY.
SO WITH THAT, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR MOVE ON TO THE EXTERNAL REVIEW UPDATE.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT? UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON TER.
FIRST OF ALL, CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYBODY.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING FOR, UM, THE HORNSBY BEND RENEWABLE GAS PROJECT, DO YOU KNOW WHEN THAT WILL BE COMING TO COUNCIL? I WILL GET YOU THAT ANSWER.
IT IS, IT IS PROCESS SEPTEMBER, SO YOU MIGHT NOT, IT MIGHT NOT BE FULLY ON YOUR YEAH, YOUR IT IS DEFINITELY ON MY RADAR AND WE ARE TRACKING IT.
I'M JUST NOT SURE WHEN IT WILL BE COMING TO COUNCIL.
WE'RE IN THE, WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF ISSUING THE RFP FOR THAT.
I THINK YOU CAN PROCEED WITH YOUR, WITH THE REST OF YOUR REPORT THEN.
[3. Austin Water External Review: Second Quarter Update on Implementation of Recommendations.]
TO, UM, GIVE YOU THE SECOND UPDATE ON THE EXTERNAL REVIEW IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS.UH, AT OUR LAST MEETING, UM, WE INITIATED THIS, UH, REVIEW FORMAT AND WE WILL FOLLOW THE SAME FORMAT AGAIN, UM, TODAY.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE SHOWED YOU ALL LAST, UH, MEETING.
UM, WE HAD, UH, ABOUT A QUARTER OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE IMPLEMENTED, UM, ANOTHER 43% UNDERWAY, AND THE REMAINING WERE PLANNED.
AND AS OF, AND, AND JUST TO, UH, RECAP WHAT WE MEAN BY IMPLEMENTED, UM, THERE'S THREE WAYS WE CALL SOMETHING IMPLEMENTED.
IT'S EITHER, UH, WE'VE COMPLETED THE SPECIFIC ACTIONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
WE HAVE, UM, OPERATIONALIZED THE STEPS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT THAT RECOMMENDATION, OR WE'VE PROGRAMMED A LONG-TERM CAPITAL PROJECT AND IT IS, UH, IT IS IN THE C I P OR THE LONG RANGE PLANNING PROCESS.
SO, UH, TODAY YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE MADE QUITE A BIT OF PROGRESS IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS.
UM, AND WE'RE NOW UP TO 38% IMPLEMENTED, UH, 41% UNDERWAY AND 13% PLANNED.
SO WHAT I WILL DO TODAY IS HIGHLIGHT THE ITEMS THAT HAVE CHANGED, THAT HAVE MOVED FROM, UM, UH, UNDERWAY TO IMPLEMENTED OR FROM PLANNED UNDERWAY.
SO ON THE ITEMS THAT WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED, UM, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO COMMUNICATE SIGNIFICANT HR STAFF TO OPERATE DECISIONS TO OPERATION STAFF.
AND WE HAVE COMMUNICATED ALL OF THE, UH, COMPENSATION CHANGES THAT WE'VE MADE TO BASE PAY.
UM, AND WE HAVE OPERATIONALIZED OUR PROCESSES FOR REVIEWING AND UPDATING, UM, AND SUBMITTING COMPENSATION, UM, CHANGE REQUESTS, UH, ON THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN ATTENDING CAREER FAIRS.
WE'VE HOSTED TWO RECRUITMENT OPEN HOUSES.
I THINK LAST TIME I WAS HERE I TOLD YOU THOSE WERE PLANNED AND WE DID BOTH OF THOSE.
WE HAD A RECRUITMENT OPEN HOUSE AT THE ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND ONE AT THE DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
AND THOSE DID RESULT IN, UH, APPLICANTS AND AT LEAST A COUPLE OF OF HIRES SO FAR.
UM, THERE ARE, UH, UH, SOME OF THOSE APPLICANTS ARE STILL IN PROCESS.
SO WE FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT THOSE EVENTS AND ABOUT BRANCHING OUT AND INTO DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THOSE RECRUITING EVENTS.
UM, OUR TRACKING OF VACANCY RATES HARD TO FILL POSITIONS AND SEPARATIONS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO, UM, BIWEEKLY.
UH, AND WE MONITOR THOSE NUMBERS AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
SO THIS RECRUITING AND RETENTION IS, UM, AND PRIORITIZING OUR VACANT POSITIONS.
THAT IS DEFINITELY A, UH, A, A PART OF HOW WE DO OUR BUSINESS.
SO WE CONSIDER THAT IMPLEMENTED ON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
UM, WE HAVE COMMUNICATED OUR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES PRIOR TO EVENTS.
SO WE HAVE REVISED OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE FOR INCIDENT COMMAND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
UM, WE HAVE COMMUNICATED THAT TO AUSTIN WATER STAFF AND WE HAVE, UM, IMPLEMENTED AS PART OF THAT, UH, THE, THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT WILL HAPPEN AS WE GO INTO AN ACTIVATION.
AND THEN REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE ACTIVATION TO KEEP ALL AUSTIN WATER STAFF, UM, UP TO DATE ON ACTIVITIES IN THE UTILITY FOR OPERATIONS AND ENGINEERING.
THE, UH, FILTRATION STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES ARE AVAILABLE.
UM, THEY'RE, THEY HAVE BEEN UPDATED AND MADE AVAILABLE ON THE O AND M WEBSITE.
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FINALIZED OUR INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACCESSING, UH, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES AND GUIDELINES AND COMMUNICATED THAT TO STAFF.CONTINUING ON WITH OUR IMPLEMENTED ITEMS IN THE AREA OF PUBLIC INFORMATION, UM, THE, UH, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE AS PART OF THE CITY.
UM, UH, ONE OF THE, AS PART OF THE CITY STRUCTURE, UH, HAS BEEN WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO, UH, UPDATE COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS FOR EMERGENCIES, INCLUDING A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS CHECKLIST.
AND WE PARTICIPATED IN THAT PROCESS AND HAVE INCORPORATED THOSE CHANGES INTO OUR PROCESSES, UH, AND THAT THE, THAT COLLABORATION INCLUDES, UM, C P I O, UH, HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, AUSTIN ENERGY WATERSHED PROTECTION, UM, AUSTIN FIRE AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS REGARDING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
WE HAVE, UH, FINALIZED OUR STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINES FOR THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT HAPPENS BETWEEN PUMPING AND TREATMENT, UM, WHEN WE NEED TO, UH, INCREASE OR, OR DECREASE TREATMENT CAPACITY IN ORDER TO MEET THE NEEDS, UH, OUT IN THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
AND WE ARE USING OUR ONLINE, UM, TOOL, THE VOC, WHICH YOU'VE HEARD US TALK ABOUT BEFORE, WHICH IS OUR VIRTUAL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER PLATFORM, UH, TO DOCUMENT THOSE PUMPING CHANGES.
AND THAT THE FIRST BULLET UNDER OPERATIONS, OH, WAIT, OKAY.
SO THERE WERE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO THAT LAST ONE, AND WE JUST COVERED IT IN THAT ONE BULLET.
SO, SO MOVING ON TO OUR PROGRESS, UM, FOR THE ITEMS THAT WERE PLANNED AND ARE NOW UNDERWAY FOR OPERATIONS IN ENGINEERING, UM, WE ARE PLANNING TO STRESS TEST ULRICH.
WE MENTIONED THAT, UM, TWO MONTHS AGO, BUT WE'RE WAITING FOR THE, UH, DEMANDS TO BE QUITE HIGH.
THAT'LL BE THE BEST TIME TO DO THAT STRESS TESTING.
SO THAT IS STILL PLANNED FOR LATE JUNE.
AND THEN WE'LL UPDATE OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES BASED ON THOSE TEST RESULTS.
UM, WE ARE UNDERWAY ON THE REVIEW OF THE BACK WASHING AND FILTER EVALUATION, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.
UM, AND ONCE THOSE, UH, UPDATES ARE COMPLETE, THEN THIS ITEM, THE SECOND BULLET THERE WILL BE COMPLETE AS WELL.
AND THEN REVIEWING THE STAFFING NEEDS FOR SYSTEM FLOW CHANGES, UM, WE HAVE, UH, REVIEWED AND DOCUMENTED OUR SOPS.
UM, AND AGAIN, WITH THE STRESS TESTING OF ULRICH THIS SUMMER, UH, ANY UPDATES NEEDED TO THE SOP RELATED TO STAFFING ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE MADE AT THAT TIME.
ALSO UNDERWAY IS ENHANCING THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE C I P PROCESS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION.
SO WE ARE WORKING ON, UM, THE PREPARATION OF MATERIALS TO HELP OPERATION STAFF UNDERSTAND HOW THE WORK THAT THEY DO FEEDS INTO THE DECISIONS THAT GET MADE ABOUT WHAT PROJECTS MOVE FORWARD IN OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
AND THAT COMMUNICATION WILL HAPPEN, UM, LATER THIS SUMMER.
AND THEN ON, OH, FINALLY ON SOPS IN TRAINING.
UM, AS I MENTIONED IN MY EARLIER REMARKS, WE HAVE, UH, DEDICATED CERTIFICATION TRAINERS AT EACH WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
AND AS PART OF THAT TRAINING, WE ARE, UH, TEACHING STAFF TO ACCESS THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, UM, AND TRAINING THEM, UM, AND WORKING, INCORPORATING THAT TRAINING INTO OUR ONBOARDING OF NEW TREATMENT STAFF AS WELL.
UM, THAT ITEM WAS, UH, ONE LAST TIME THAT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT AS BEING COMPLETED BECAUSE WE HAD ONBOARDED THE TRAINERS.
UM, AND BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM YOU ALL, IT FELT LIKE YOU WANTED TO CONTINUE TO HEAR FROM US THAT, UM, THAT THAT WORK WAS UNDERWAY UNTIL ALL OF THE STAFF HAD BEEN TRAINED.
WE ARE PLANNING TO HAVE THAT WORK COMPLETE BY THE END OF THE YEAR, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO REPORT ON IT.
UM, UNTIL THEN, SO A A QUICK UPDATE ON THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ON HIRING, UH, EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS.
SO, UM, AS OF THE TIME THAT WE HIT PRINT ON THIS PRESENTATION, WE HAD HIRED 214, I THINK AS OF TODAY.
THAT NUMBER IS ACTUALLY 228 POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE FILLED.
UH, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY ON PACE TO EXCEED OUR, UH, RECORD RECRUITMENT LAST YEAR OF 300 HIRES.
UM, WE HAVE SET AN EVEN MORE AUDACIOUS GOAL CLOSER TO 400 THIS YEAR,
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AND, AND WE INTEND TO MEET IT.UH, AS I MENTIONED, WE, WE'VE DONE OPEN HOUSE RECRUITING EVENTS AT DAVIS AND ULRICH.
UM, WE HAVE PLACED ADVERTISEMENTS AND COMMUNITY IMPACT.
WE HAVE PARTICIPATED IN SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTIONS.
WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT ON THEIR, UH, GET HIRED CAMPAIGN, PARTICIPATED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAREER EXPO.
AND THEN, UM, THAT GRAPHIC ON THE LOWER LEFT WAS OUR FULL PAGE BROCHURE THAT WE PUT IN THE TEXAS WATER CONFERENCE PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTING ALL OF OUR, UH, TECHNICAL PRESENTATIONS AND, UM, AND, AND ATTEMPTING TO RECRUIT, UH, YOU KNOW, TECHNICAL STAFF FROM THAT CONFERENCE.
UH, WE ALSO, I THOUGHT I HAD BROUGHT, UH, COPIES OF IT UP HERE WITH ME.
OH, I DROPPED 'EM ALL OVER THE FLOOR.
SO WE ALSO, UM, HAD MADE THE THANK YOU, RANDY.
WE ALSO HAD MADE THESE, UM, BUSINESS CARDS THAT SAY, AUSTIN WATER IS HIRING AND HAVE A QR CODE FOR FOLKS TO SCAN.
AND WE HANDED THOSE OUT SHAMELESSLY AT THE CONFERENCE AS WELL.
SO I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT, UH, I'VE BEEN MAKING THE ROUNDS MEETING WITH DIFFERENT TEAMS HERE.
HERE'S SOME PHOTO DOCUMENTATION OF THAT.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF THE RETENTION EFFORTS, UH, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED A NUMBER OF RETENTION STRATEGIES IN THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
UM, ONE IS THE RETENTION STIPEND, WHICH IS A 10% STIPEND FOR ALL STAFF WITH MORE THAN A YEAR OF AUSTIN WATER SERVICE THAT THEY SEE IN EVERY PAYCHECK.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A NEW HIGHER RETENTION BONUS, UM, AND THAT PAYS OUT, UH, A TOTAL OF $3,000 OVER TWO YEARS AT, AT INTERVALS.
UM, WE ALSO IMPLEMENTED A SAFETY INCENTIVE PAY.
THAT'S A RECOGNITION THAT EVERY EMPLOYEE AT AUSTIN WATER OPERATES IN A SAFETY SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENT.
THERE ARE THREE TIERS TO THAT SAFETY INCENTIVE PAY, DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH TIME AN EMPLOYEE SPENDS IN THE FIELD VERSUS IN THE OFFICE.
AND IT'S A COMBINATION OF STIPEND AND, UH, LEAVE PAID TIME OFF.
UM, AND WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED, UH, ENHANCED, UH, A LICENSE STIPEND THAT WE HAD ALREADY.
SO IF AN EMPLOYEE HAS A LICENSE ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT IS REQUIRED FOR THEIR JOB, THERE IS A STIPEND ASSOCIATED WITH THAT LICENSE.
UM, AND WE'VE IMPLEMENTED THAT FOR T C Q REQUIRED LICENSES AS WELL AS, UM, ELECTRICIAN LICENSES.
WE HAVE SOME EXEMPT STAFF THAT, UH, ARE ON CALL TO RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES.
UM, AND, UH, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED A PILOT PROGRAM WITH H R D TO, UM, PAY THEM STRAIGHT TIME FOR TIME OVER 40.
SO IF, UH, IF WE HAVE A REGULAR EXEMPT EMPLOYEE THAT'S WORKING 40 HOURS A WEEK, UM, ON THEIR REGULAR JOB AND THEN GETS CALLED TO GO OUT TO A WATER MAIN BREAK OR A SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW OR SOME OTHER KIND OF EMERGENCY, THEN WE ARE ABLE TO PAY THEM STRAIGHT TIME FOR THAT TIME, UM, WHICH IS A VERY NICE BENEFIT FOR THEM.
UH, AND THEN WE'VE ALSO BEEN DOING A NUMBER OF JOB TITLE AND PAY GRADE REVIEWS, AND WE'VE BEEN COORDINATING WITH, UM, THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO GET THOSE, UM, APPROVED.
AND WE'VE DONE AN ANALYSIS OF ALL OF OUR STAFF.
SO, UM, SOMETIMES STAFF WHO'VE BEEN IN THEIR POSITIONS FOR A LONG TIME, UH, THEY TEND TO FALL BEHIND IN THE WAY THE CITY DOES THE ZONING FOR PAY.
AND SO WE ARE DOING A ZONING ANALYSIS OF STAFF THAT MEETS CERTAIN CRITERIA, AND WE'VE SUBMITTED THAT TO THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT FOR REVIEW.
SO ONE OF THE DISCUSSION ITEMS THAT WE HAD AT THE LAST MEETING WAS HOW WE WILL REPORT OUT ON ITEMS FROM THE EXTERNAL REVIEW THAT WE HAVE OPERATIONALIZED, UM, BUT OUR ONGOING WORK AS A PART OF OUR, UH, OF EVERYDAY OPERATIONS.
AND SO THIS SLIDE COVERS, UM, HITS THE HIGHLIGHTS OF HOW WE INTEND TO REPORT OUT ON THOSE ITEMS. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE, WE WILL PROVIDE ANNUAL UPDATES ON WATER FORWARD AND OUR LONG RANGE PLANNING, AND THAT WILL COVER, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EXTERNAL REVIEW RELATED TO, UH, RAW WATER QUALITY, UM, AND ENHANCING WATER SUPPLY TO THE SOUTH PRESSURE ZONES.
UM, WE WILL ALSO INTEND TO PROVIDE, UH, SEMI-ANNUAL UPDATES ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE, MY ATX WATER, UM, AND THAT WILL INCLUDE, UM, THE EXTERNAL REVIEW, COMMENT RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO, UH, HIRING STAFF, UM, TO SUPPORT THAT PROGRAM.
WE ALSO BRING TO COUNCIL, UH, CONTRACTS FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, AND WE WILL, WILL ALSO PROVIDE AN ANNUAL UPDATE ON OUR C I P PROGRAM.
AND THAT WILL COVER THE, UH, C I P RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EXTERNAL REVIEW.
AND THEN WE WILL PROVIDE AN ANNUAL
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UPDATE ON OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UM, PROGRAM.AND, UH, THAT WILL ADDRESS THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE EXTERNAL REVIEW RELATED TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
AND THEN AGAIN, SAME, UH, WITH THE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND TRAINING, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
AND I, I WAS PRETTY IMPRESSED WITH THE GOOD WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING AND, UH, KIND OF HAVING A FRESH LOOK AT RECRUITING AND RETENTION.
AND I WONDERED, UM, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, ARE YOU SHARING THOSE IDEAS WITH OTHER DIRECTORS AT THE CITY, UM, FOR THEM TO KIND OF, FOR THEM TO CHECK AND SEE IF THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT YOU'RE DOING, LIKE STRAIGHT TIME FOR EXEMPT EMPLOYEES WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NEVER RECEIVE OVERTIME PAY? I MEAN, THAT'S PART OF, UM, THE WAGE.
AND, UH, OUR ACT EXEMPT MEANS YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T GET PAID MORE, EVEN THOUGH THE EXPECTATION IS THAT SHE WILL SHOW UP AND DO MORE WORK IF NEEDED.
UM, THAT, AND THERE WAS ANOTHER THING ON THERE THAT YOU HAD, OH, THE ZONES LOOKING PROACTIVELY AT THE ZONING AND PEOPLE FALLING BEHIND, UH, IN THE SALARY ZONES, IS THAT INFORMATION THAT CAN BE SHARED TO OTHER, OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY? I'M HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH OTHER PARTS OF THE CITY.
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE IN THE BEGINNING STAGES OF IMPLEMENTING THAT AND SEEING HOW WELL IT WORKS.
UM, THE STRAIGHT TIME PAY OVER 40 IS, UM, IS A PILOT, UM, WITH H R D.
THEY WANT TO SEE HOW THAT, HOW THAT PLAYS OUT.
UH, SO I THINK THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF TIME LEFT, UM, THAT WE NEED TO GO THROUGH TO SEE HOW WELL THESE PROGRAMS WORK.
UM, BUT CERTAINLY I, UM, AM IN CONVERSATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, UM, AND SHARING, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE SHARE OUR STRATEGIES ABOUT A LOT OF THINGS, INCLUDING HIRING AND RETENTION, RIGHT? MY GUESS IS IF IT'S, IF IT WORKS AND IT'S SUCCESSFUL IN WATER, THEN WE CAN ASSESS WHY IT IS, IT WORKS WELL AT WATER AND SEE IF IT IS, CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS, BECAUSE THAT, THAT COULD BE A BENEFIT THAT WOULD BE NOT ONLY, UH, FISCALLY VALUABLE, BUT ALSO FOR, UM, EXPERTISE AND, AND EXPERIENCE IN A JOB THAT A PERSON ALREADY HOLDS WHO HAPPENS TO BE EXAMINED.
AND ALSO THE, UM, CREATIVE STRATEGIES THAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS ARE EXPLORING, WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THOSE TOO.
SO THE, THE, UH, THE STRATEGY SHARING GOES BOTH WAYS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, VICE CHAIR, AL ALTER.
JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR HOSTING US OUT AT ULRICH.
OUR TEAM WENT OUT THERE AND GOT THE TOUR.
UH, I RECOMMEND ANYBODY, I KNOW, I'M SURE Y'ALL HAVE, BUT, UM, IT WAS REALLY NEAT TO SEE IT ALL IN ACTION, AND SO I JUST WANNA THANK YOU FOR LETTING US DO THAT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT.
I THINK, UM, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S, UH, THAT MAKES MY ENGINEER'S HEART HAPPY TO GET TO WALK AROUND THE TREATMENT PLANTS, SO I APPRECIATED THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT WITH YOU.
AND ALSO I THINK THAT IT'S HARD TO APPRECIATE THE SCALE AND MAGNITUDE AND COMPLEXITY OF WHAT AUSTIN WATER DOES DAY IN AND DAY OUT UNTIL YOU SEE IT WITH YOUR OWN EYES.
SO WE ARE HAPPY TO HOST ANYONE WHO WOULD, UH, LIKE TO COME OUT AND TAKE A LOOK WITH US.
I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT'S GONE INTO MOVING THESE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD AND AND SERIOUSNESS WITH WHICH YOU'RE LOOKING AT THEM.
I WAS WONDERING, UM, YOU TALKED A LOT ABOUT THE STRATEGIES FOR FILLING THE VACANCIES AND GAVE US THE NUMBERS THAT YOU'VE HIRED, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE VACANCIES LEVEL IS WHAT MATTERS AND WHERE WE'RE AT.
AND, AND JUST KNOWING HOW MANY YOU RECRUIT ISN'T GIVING THE FULL PICTURE.
SO CAN YOU SHARE WHAT THE CURRENT VACANCY RATE IS AT ULRICH AND WHERE IT WAS LIKE GOING BACK A BIT? SURE.
SO SPECIFIC TO ULRICH, OUR VACANCY RATE HAS NOT BUDGED VERY MUCH, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE, UM, HIRED INTO ULRICH.
WE HAVE HAD SOME ATTRITION FROM THERE AS WELL.
OVERALL, FOR THE, UH, OVERALL UTILITY, WE STARTED THE FISCAL YEAR AT JUST UNDER 15%.
UM, AND AS OF THE MOST RECENT, UM, UH, UH, PAY PERIOD 10, WE WERE AT 11%.
IF WE STAY ON, UH, ON TARGET, THEN WE, UH, WE AIM TO FINISH THE YEAR CERTAINLY UNDER 10%, HOPEFULLY CLOSER TO 8%.
UM, WE DID SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR ATTRITION NUMBERS HAVE BEEN QUITE HIGH, UH, OVER THE LAST 18 MONTHS OR SO.
UH, THE LAST TWO MONTHS WE'VE SEEN A DECLINE IN ATTRITION RATES.
SO WE'RE HOPING THAT SOME OF OUR STRATEGIES ARE STARTING TO, UM, TO HAVE SOME SUCCESS.
SO, UM, DO YOU HAVE A, I WAS GONNA ASK YOU ABOUT THE RETENTION RATE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THE ATTRITION RELATE RATE IS SIMILAR TO THAT.
IS THERE ANYTHING MORE YOU CAN TELL US ABOUT HOW THOSE RATES ARE TRENDING? SO THE
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LAST TWO MONTHS WE'VE SEEN ATTRITION FALL, SO THAT'S A GOOD THING.FEWER FOLKS LEAVING, UH, AUSTIN WATER, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO CALL THAT A TREND, BUT WE'RE NOT READY TO SAY THAT YET.
SO BY OUR NEXT MEETING, WE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE, UM, HA BE ABLE TO TELL YOU IF THESE RETENTION STRATEGIES ARE REALLY, UM, MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR US.
AND I WANTED TO CLARIFY ON THE, UM, STRAIGHT PAY FOR THE EXEMPT, THAT'S, IF THEY ACTUALLY ARE CALLED TO GO TO AN EMERGENCY, IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE WORKING AN EXTRA COUPLE HOURS TO GET THEIR JOB DONE FOR THAT WEEK, THAT'S THEY'RE ON CALL TO GO TO AN EMERGENCY AND THEN THEY'RE ACTUALLY CALLED TO GO OUT TO WORK THE EMERGENCY.
THIS IS VERY SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO RESPONDING TO AN EMERGENCY IN THE FIELD.
IT'LL BE, BE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THAT PILOT, UM, STANDS OUT.
ARE THERE OTHER, UM, RESOURCES OR MEASURES THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO EXPLORE WITH HR TO FURTHER, UH, REDUCE THE VACANCY RATE? WE HAVE, UH, I MENTIONED JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND PAY GRADE REVIEWS.
UM, WE'RE DOING THAT IN A, IN A FEW DIFFERENT AREAS, UM, TO LOOK AT SPECIFIC JOB FUNCTIONS.
UH, WE'RE DOING SOME RECLASSIFICATIONS OF POSITIONS.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY SORT OF OVERARCHING ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES BEYOND WHAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED SO FAR THAT WOULD AFFECT ALL OUR STAFF, BUT WE'RE CONTINUING TO TRACK HOW THE ONES THAT WE HAVE DONE ARE PERFORMING, UM, IN ORDER TO HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THOSE PROGRAMS. THANK YOU.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU'RE GETTING THE SUPPORT THAT YOU NEED FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE FOR ANY OF THOSE HR NEEDS, PARTICULARLY IF IT PERTAINS TO ULRICH.
SO WHEN YOU GAVE THE VACANCY RATES GOING FROM 15% THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR TO 11%, BUT ULRICH IS STAYING THE SAME, UM, UM, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT WHAT THAT MEANS FOR OUTSIDE OF ULRICH THEN? LIKE IS, I MEAN, ARE WE, ARE, ARE OTHER PLANTS ALL FINE OR ARE, IS IT, IS IT, IS THERE A PARTICULAR PATTERN? SO IN TERMS OF OUR TREATMENT PLANTS, UM, THE, UH, AND I DON'T KNOW IF STEPHANIE WOULD LIKE TO WEIGH IN ON THIS, BUT I WILL SAY THAT THE, UM, NUMBER OF STAFF THAT WE HAVE AT THOSE PLANTS IS, UM, SUCH THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE GAIN A FEW AND LOSE A FEW IT, THEN OUR ATTRITION RATE, YOU KNOW, OUR VACANCY RATE DOES NOT REALLY CHANGE THAT MUCH.
UM, HANCOCKS IS, UH, I BELIEVE EITHER FULLY STAFFED OR ONLY HAS A COUPLE OF VACANCIES.
DAVIS HAS IMPROVED A LITTLE BIT.
THEY'VE HIRED THE SAME AS ZURICH, BUT THEY HAVEN'T LOST A COUPLE OF THE WAY ULRICH HAS.
SO IT'S REALLY, UM, A MATTER OF, UM, JUST THE SPECIFIC NUMBERS FOR THOSE PLANTS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN SAY THERE'S A TREND WHERE WE'RE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT ONE PLANT OR ANOTHER.
UM, OTHER THAN WE'RE JUST REALLY FOCUSED ON SUPPORTING ALL THE PLANTS AND THEIR HIRING.
SO WITH RESPECT TO ULRICH, THERE WAS ALSO SOME MANAGEMENT CHANGES.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THOSE A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL? I THINK YOU'RE REFERRING TO HAVING, UM, DEDICATED OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER TREATMENT TO ULRICH THAT'S IN PLACE.
AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK TO SUPPORT, UM, ALL OF OUR WATER TREATMENT TEAMS. WE HAD A, A LEADERSHIP MEETING, UM, EARLIER THIS WEEK ON MONDAY WITH ALL OF THE LEADERS FROM ALL THREE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS TO TALK ABOUT, UM, TO DO SOME LEADERSHIP TRAINING AND TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN SUPPORT ALL OUR STAFF AND, AND, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THE DIVISION MANAGER WAS A PART OF THAT.
SO WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON, UM, SUPPORTING THE PLANTS AND, AND GETTING THEM THE RESOURCES THEY NEED, THE TRAINING THAT THEY NEED, THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING.
SO IT, IT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS.
SO AS YOU, YOU KNOW, MOVE FORWARD IF YOU'RE, IF YOU DO NEED RESOURCES OR, OR THERE ARE OBSTACLES, UM, TO ADDRESSING THE VACANCIES, PARTICULARLY AT ULRICH, PLEASE, UM, BE IN TOUCH WITH US.
UM, AND OBVIOUSLY WITH THE CITY MANAGER, UM, BUT I THINK THAT'S A HIGH PRIORITY.
UM, IF WE WANNA REALLY ADDRESS THE CHALLENGES THAT WE EXPERIENCED IN THE PAST, WE HAVE TO GET ULRICH MORE STAFFED UP.
UM, AND SO ALL OF THESE EFFORTS ARE GREAT AND ULTIMATELY THEY WILL HELP US DO THAT, BUT, BUT WE DO NEED TO TRY TO MOVE THAT NEEDLE AS WELL.
IT IS CERTAINLY A PRIORITY TO AUSTIN WATER.
ALL RIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO, UM, ITEM FOUR,
[4. Updates on water supply and drought response.]
IF YOUR REPORT IS COMPLETE, DIRECTOR ITEM FOUR IS UPDATES ON WATER SUPPLY AND DROUGHT RESPONSE.AND WHO DO WE HAVE FOR THIS PRESENTATION? KEVIN CRITTENDON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, WILL COME UP AND INTRODUCE THIS TEAM.
[00:30:01]
CRITON.THAT'S THE RADIOACTIVE, OH, SHUT UP.
ALL RIGHT, WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR, POOL AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS KEVIN CRITTENDON, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AT AUSTIN WATER.
UM, THIS AFTERNOON WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH WATER SUPPLY AND DROUGHT CONDITIONED UPDATE.
UM, YOU MAY RECALL THAT, UH, A YEAR AGO IN, UH, WE'RE COMING UP, UH, ON IN JUNE, WE DID ENACT OUR, UH, STAGE ONE DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS AS RELATED TO AN ONGOING, UH, REGIONAL DROUGHT THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING.
UH, WE'VE BEEN, UH, FORTUNATE THAT OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS AND MONTHS WE'VE BEEN SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF LOCAL RAINFALL.
SO THAT'S, UH, GENERALLY GOOD NEWS, BUT, UH, NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO REALLY CHANGE OUR CURRENT TRAJECTORY.
UM, WE'VE STILL, THE BASIN REMAINS IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS, AND WE STILL CONTINUE TO, UH, WATCH FOR POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES AND TRY TO JUDGE THAT IMPACT ON OUR WATER SUPPLY.
UM, OVER THE PAST YEAR, WE'VE BEEN BUSY, UH, MONITORING WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS ACROSS OUR BASIN.
UH, THAT INCLUDES WORKING WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY JUST TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE, UM, UH, ENACTING THEIR, UH, AMENDED, UH, UM, WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.
UH, WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WATER CONSERVATION STAYS ON TOP OF MIND TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE CONTINUE TO PROMOTE ALL OF OUR WATER CONSERVATION OFFERINGS AND OF COURSE, OUR WATER CONSERVATION, UM, ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.
UH, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS ON WATER FORWARD.
SO A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO.
UM, A AGAIN, WE ARE OPTIMISTIC THAT, UH, AS POTENTIALLY WEATHER PATTERNS MAY SHIFT IN THE LATE SUMMER, EARLY FALL, UH, TO REFLECT AN EL NINO CONDITION, WE'RE GONNA REMAIN OPTIMISTIC THAT PERHAPS WE GET SOME ADDITIONAL RAINFALL, AND THAT DOES MANIFEST ITSELF AS ADDITIONAL INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKE.
UM, BUT EVEN WITH THAT, WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL, UH, THERE'S A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT WE WILL BE MOVING INTO A STAGE TWO DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS.
SO, UH, THIS AFTERNOON WE'LL HAVE A PRESENTATION TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ON THAT.
SHE'S OUR DIVISION MANAGER OF OUR ASSISTANCE PLANNING GROUP, AND THEY DO OUR, UH, WATER SUPPLY PLANNING IN ADDITION TO THEIR SYSTEM PLANNING WORK.
AND THEN KEVIN KLUGE, WHO IS OUR DIVISION MANAGER OVER WATER CONSERVATION.
ARE WE LOOKING AT ANY, UH, DAM RELEASES FROM THE HILL C R AT ALL RIGHT NOW? THERE HAVE NOT BEEN ANY, AGAIN, LAKE TRAVIS IS VERY LOW.
UH, I THINK COMBINED STORAGE BETWEEN LAKE TRAVIS AND, AND BUCHANAN IS ABOUT 50%.
SO, SO LAKE BUCHANAN IS ALSO LOW, AS LOW AS TRAVIS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'RE EXACTLY.
THERE'S TYPICALLY LCR WILL KEEP A LITTLE MORE WATER IN BUCHANAN JUST TO TRY TO KEEP IT AS FAR UPSTREAM AS THEY CAN, BUT IT'S REASONABLY BALANCED.
UM, I'LL SIMPLY SAY THAT THERE'S A LOT OF ROOM IF WE ACTUALLY START GETTING SOME, SOME WATER, SO THAT'LL BE A GOOD THING.
UH, CHAIR POOL AND, AND, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS APPRECIATE THAT.
I'M THERESA LUTZ, DIVISION MANAGER FOR SYSTEMS PLANNING.
I WANNA, UM, GIVE A QUICK UPDATE ABOUT OUR WATER SUPPLY.
WE HAVE, UM, THIS MAP SHOWS OUR WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS THAT, UH, THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER, UM, MANAGES AND, AND OPERATES LAKES TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN, UPSTREAM OF, UM, AUSTIN, INCLUDING OUR INTAKES AT OUR THREE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, HANCOCK'S, ULRICH, AND, UH, DAVIS.
UM, CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ACCESS TO UP TO 325,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER SUPPLY FROM THIS, UH, COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM.
THAT SUPPLY COMES FROM A COMBINATION OF OUR CITY OF BOSTON, SENIOR RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS, AND THEN ALSO WATER SUPPLY CONTRACTS WITH L C R A, WHERE THEY PROVIDE FIRM WATER AND BACKUP TO OUR RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS.
SO RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS ARE JUST, UH, ACCESS TO WATER IN THE STREAM, IF, IF IT'S AVAILABLE, UH, IN A PRIORITY, FIRST IN TIME, FIRST IN RIGHT SYSTEM THAT THE T C Q, THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OVERSEAS THAT SYSTEM.
BUT THE, WE HAVE CONTRACTS WITH L C R A, AS I MENTIONED, FOR, UH, RELEASES OF FIRM WATER FROM LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN, TO FIRM UP THOSE WATER RIGHTS SO THAT IF THERE IS NOT ENOUGH WATER IN THE, IN THE RIVER TO MEET OUR NEEDS, UM, UNDER OUR, UH, RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS, THEN L C R CAN RELEASE THAT STORED WATER AND PROVIDE THAT WATER TO US.
AS A A POINT OF REFERENCE, LAST YEAR WE USED ABOUT 175,000 ACRE FEET.
UH, SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE KIND OF ON A RELATIVE SCALE TO OUR, TO OUR ACCESS TO UP TO 325,000 ACRE FEET.
[00:35:01]
THIS IS A, A GRAPH THAT SHOWS THE INFLOWS TO THE HIGHLAND LAKES.I'LL POINT OUT A FEW THINGS ON THE, ON THE GRAPH.
WE'RE EXPERIENCING VERY LOW INFLOWS TO THE HIGHLAND LAKES, UH, THIS YEAR, SO FAR THIS YEAR, FROM JANUARY TO APRIL, WE'VE HAD THE LOWEST AMOUNT OF INFLOWS SINCE THE LAKES WERE COMPLETED IN 1942.
THIS IS OUR LOWEST YEAR THUS FAR.
AND LAST YEAR, 2022 WAS THE LOWEST YEAR, UH, FOR THE WHOLE YEAR IN THAT SAME, UH, PERIOD OF RECORD.
SO WE'RE EXPERIENCING VERY LOW INFLOWS.
UH, ANOTHER, UH, IN THOSE, UH, 2022 INFLOWS ARE SHOWN THERE IN GREEN.
AND THE 2023 THUS FAR THIS YEAR IN PURPLE, UH, ALSO SHOWN ON THE GRAPH ARE AVERAGE INFLOWS FOR THE 2008 TO 2015 PERIOD.
THAT PERIOD'S SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE THAT'S THE NEW DROUGHT OF RECORD FOR OUR BASIN HERE IN THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN.
UH, AND THAT IS AN AVERAGE OVER THAT, UH, NEW DROUGHT OF RECORD PERIOD.
THAT WAS JUST FAIRLY RECENTLY.
HERE WE REFER TO IT AS THE 20 TEENS DROUGHT.
IT'S OUR NEW DROUGHT OF RECORD FOR THIS BASIN.
ALSO FOR REFERENCE SHOWN IN THE, UH, SO THOSE ARE IN THE DARK BLUE BARS.
THE, THE DROUGHT OF RECORD AVERAGE AND THEN ALSO SHOWN FOR REFERENCE ARE THE AVERAGES FOR THE PERIOD OF RECORD ALL THE WAY BACK TO 1942 WHEN THE LAKES WERE COMPLETED.
SO, JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING WE MONITOR ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE, UH, CONTINUALLY, UM, LOOK AT THE INFLOWS AND THE AMOUNT OF INFLOWS AND KEEP TRACK OF THIS PARTICULAR GRAPH ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRACK THOSE, BUT JUST RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE IN A VERY LOW INFLOW PERIOD.
THIS IS ANOTHER KEY WAY TO LOOK AT OUR WATER SUPPLY PICTURE.
THIS IS THE COMBINED STORAGE IN LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN.
THOSE ARE OUR TWO WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIRS.
AS I AS MENTIONED EARLIER, UH, L C R A OPERATES THOSE UNDER A WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT IS, UH, APPROVED BY THE TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND IS PART OF THEIR PERMIT FOR OPERATING THESE RESERVOIRS.
UH, THE RESERVOIRS ARE JUST, UH, THE COMBINED STORAGE IN THOSE IS 2 MILLION ACRE FEET, A LITTLE OVER 2 MILLION ACRE FEET.
AND THE AMOUNT THAT'S IN THOSE COMBINED RESERVOIRS RIGHT NOW IS A LITTLE OVER 1 MILLION.
SO THE LEVEL IS ABOUT 51%, UM, IS THE AMOUNT OF STORED WATER THAT WE HAVE IN THE RESERVOIRS.
WE HAVE OUR DROP CONTINGENCY PLAN TRIGGERS THAT ARE, UH, PEGGED OFF OF THE COMBINED STORAGE LEVELS.
AS MENTIONED, WE'RE CURRENTLY IN STAGE ONE.
WE ENTERED THAT IN ABOUT JUNE LAST YEAR IN 2022 WHEN THE COMBINED STORAGE DROPPED BELOW 1.4 MILLION ACRE FEET AT THAT POINT.
AND, UM, THE NEXT STAGE WILL BE THE, UH, STAGE TWO TRIGGER.
IF THE COMBINED STORAGE CONTINUES TO DROP, IT WILL BE, UH, THAT WOULD BE, UH, AT 900,000 ACRE FEET OF STORAGE.
BUT AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST AT ABOUT 51%, JUST A LITTLE OVER, UH, 1 MILLION ACRE FEET RIGHT NOW.
WANTED TO POINT OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE.
UH, WE MADE A NOTATION AT THE BOTTOM, I THINK YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT THE, UH, THE RELEASES FROM THE HIGHLAND LAKES, UH, FROM, UH, STORED WATER DOWN THROUGH, UM, THE LAKES.
TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN, UH, L C R A RELEASES WATER, UM, FOR INTERRUPTABLE PURPOSES FOR, UH, AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION IN THE LOWER THREE COUNTIES, UH, TOWARD, DOWN TOWARDS MATAGORDA BAY.
AND, UM, THOSE RELEASES HAVE, UH, STOPPED SINCE MID LAST YEAR, 2022.
UM, THERE, THE L C R A OPERATING UNDER THEIR WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN, UH, UH, PROVIDES THIS INTERRUPTABLE TYPE WATER.
AND WHEN WE'RE IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND CONDITIONS ARE MET, UH, TO ALLOW FOR THOSE, UM, RELEASES TO BE STOPPED.
THEN, UM, THAT'S TRIGGERED BY THE WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN.
SO RELEASES HAVE, HAVE, WERE DOWNSTREAM RICE IRRIGATION STOPPED MID LAST YEAR, AND THEN THEY WERE ALSO STOPPED FROM 20, UH, 12 THROUGH 2015 IN THE 2018 DROUGHT.
BEFORE YOU MOVE OFF OF THAT, YES.
IF I CAN ASK, THERE WAS, UH, THERE WERE SOME CONVERSATIONS A YEAR OR TWO AGO AND MAYBE BEFORE THAT ABOUT THE, UM, INTERRUPTABLE STORED WATER AND THE, THE, UM, QUALITY OF THE WATER AND THE, UM, AMOUNT FLOWING DOWN TO MATAGORDA BAY AND THE IMPACTS ON THOSE COMMUNITIES AND THE FISHERIES AND SHRIMPERS AND SO FORTH.
SO DURING THAT, THAT DISCUSSION, THERE WAS SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT
[00:40:01]
A NEW STORAGE FACILITY SOMEWHERE ON THE COLORADO, SOUTH OF AUSTIN, AROUND COLUMBUS, MAYBE, OR IN BASTROP COUNTY SOMEWHERE.IS, DO YOU HAVE ANY, IN, DO YOU HAVE ANY UPDATES ON THAT? UH, HAS THAT CONVERSATION CONTINUED OR ANY STATUS? YEAH.
DO YOU KNOW THERE, THERE IS CONTINUING TO BE, UH, I THINK, UM, UH, THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY L C R A IS LOOKING AT POTENTIAL, UH, ADDITIONAL, WHAT THEY REFER TO AS OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR, UM, UM, LOCATIONS, POTENTIALLY SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MATAGORDA BAY AND AUSTIN ALONG IN THE AREA WHERE YOU WERE MENTIONING.
I THINK THEY'RE STILL LOOKING AT THAT AS PART OF THEIR, AS PART OF OUR REGIONAL WATER PLANNING PROCESS REGION.
AND THEN ALSO LCR IS, UH, WORKING ON A, A WATER SUPPLY RESOURCE REPORT THAT THEY'RE DEVELOPING WHERE THEY'RE, UH, LOOKING AT WATER SUPPLIES AND WATER SUPPLY NEEDS IN THE BASIN, SO THAT, THAT MAY COME OUT OF THAT, THAT MAY BE, UM, PO POTENTIALLY RELEASED SOMETIME LATER THIS YEAR, POSSIBLY EARLY NEXT YEAR.
THIS, UM, WATER SUPPLY REPORT THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON.
BUT, UM, THEY, THEY ALSO HAVE, UM, BEEN, ARE VERY INTO CONSTRUCTION ON ANOTHER OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR CALLED THE ARBUCKLE RESERVOIR.
WHICH IS FURTHER DOWN IN THE BASIN.
IT'S CLOSER TO THE, TO THE COAST, UHHUH
AND ALSO INTERRUPTABLE CUSTOMERS IF THE WATER'S AVAILABLE FOR THAT.
THAT IS STILL, HASN'T BEEN COMPLETED.
THEY'VE HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH, UM, CONSTRUCTION AND LEAKAGE DUE TO THE, UH, SOME OF THE, UM, SOIL AND OTHER CONDITIONS THAT THEY'VE ENCOUNTERED IN THAT CONSTRUCTION PROCESS.
SO I DON'T HAVE A VERY LATE, UH, VERY UP TO DATE, UH, ESTIMATE ON WHEN THAT MIGHT BE COMPLETED, BUT THEY'RE STILL WORKING ON THAT AND TRYING TO GET THAT COMPLETED.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO PURSUE, UM, AT A, AT OUR NEXT MEETING, DEPENDING ON WHAT OTHER AGENDA ITEMS WE HAVE ON IN FRONT OF US DIRECTOR AND FOR MY NEWER COLLEAGUES.
UM, ON, ON THE DAIS, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A COUPLE OF, DRAW A COUPLE OF CONNECTIONS TO THE DOTS CUZ WE'VE GOT THIS NATURAL, THE, SO THE FRESHWATER FLOWS GOING DOWN TO THE GULF ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE ECONOMY BELOW AUSTIN, RIGHT? AND ABOVE US, THE RANCHERS AND SO FORTH NEED THE WATER AS WELL.
SO THERE'S THIS NATURAL TENSION TO MAKE SURE AUSTIN GETS ENOUGH WATER.
UM, AND THERE WAS AN AGREEMENT, AND I THINK MAYBE IT WAS IN LATE 1990S, EARLY TWO THOUSANDS, IT WAS MAYBE UNDER THEN MAYOR WATSON WHERE WE CRAFTED THAT AGREEMENT WITH THE L C R A TO HAVE THE ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY MADE AVAILABLE TO THE CITY.
AM I GETTING MY DATE? HOW AM I DOING ON MY DATES? YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.
AND, BUT NOW WHAT YOU CAN, AND YOU CAN TELL FROM THOSE INFLOWS THAT EVEN THEN WHEN WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT IT, IT'S NOWHERE NEAR AS BAD AS IT IS NOW.
SO THE NATURAL TENSION WITH AUSTIN AND THE DOWN RIVER FOLKS, AND THEN HERE COMES TESLA AND THEY ARE TAKING A SIGNIFICANT, THEY'RE DRAINING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WATER.
AND WE HAD TALKED ABOUT THE WATER BUDGET THAT TESLA WAS GOING TO, UM, TAKE FROM THE COLORADO RIVER AND I'D, I'D LIKE TO ALSO GET AN UPDATE ON, ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW THAT HAS BEEN ACCOMMODATED.
I THINK IT HAS, BUT IT WOULD BE GOOD TO GET UPDATED ON THAT.
UM, SO ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE KIND OF AT PLAY AND WE ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTED, BUT WE MAY NOT HAVE ALL THAT MUCH INFLUENCE, UM, OTHER THAN JUST RESPONDING AND REACTING TO THE CONDITIONS AS THEY, AS THEY ACCRUE.
AND THE, UH, AS I MENTIONED, THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY OPERATES, THE STORED WATER OPERATES THE, UH, LAKES TRAVIS AND MCCANNON IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN APPROVED BY T C Q.
WE ARE VERY INVOLVED AS A, AS STAKEHOLDERS IN THE UPDATE PROCESS THAT WAS COMPLETED, I BELIEVE IT WAS COMPLETED IN 2016.
AND, UH, AND THEN ANOTHER UPDATE PROCESS THAT WAS COMPLETED IN 2020 TO UPDATE THE WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN TO REFLECT THESE, UH, THE, UH, IN LOWER INFLOWS THAT WERE SEEN DURING THE DROUGHT, NEW DROUGHT OF RECORD.
AND THERE IS ANOTHER UPDATE TO THAT BECAUSE THAT'S A, THAT'S A FORUM AND A, UM, PROCESS WHERE ALL OF THE STAKEHOLDERS AND ALL OF THE BASIN INTERESTS AND NEEDS ARE LOOKED AT KIND OF HOLISTICALLY IN RELATION TO OPERATION OF THE RESERVOIR RESERVOIRS.
UH, THERE'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE UPDATE
[00:45:01]
PROCESSES, UM, SCHEDULED FOR 2025, WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THESE ADDITIONAL LOWER INFLOW SO THAT IF NEEDED, ADJUSTMENTS TO THE LCR WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN CAN BE MADE.AND SO THAT'S A, UM, I JUST THOUGHT I SHOULD MENTION THAT BECAUSE IT'S, UH, KIND OF A SCHEDULED, UH, FORUM WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO, UH, PUT, HAVE INPUT TO THAT PROCESS THAT IS KEY IN, IN L C'S DECISION MAKING ABOUT HOW THE, THE, UH, STORAGE, HOW THE STORED WATER IS MANAGED.
IS THAT UNDER THE AUSPICES OF REGION K OR IS THAT TCE, EQ OR T HEALTHCARE? C OKAY.
WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IS HOW MUCH WATER IS TESLA TAKING OUT OF THE COLORADO RIVER? IT DOESN'T AFFECT US DIRECTLY BECAUSE IT'S SOUTH OF US, UM, BUT IT DOES HAVE AN IMPACT ON, UH, FOLKS NEEDING THE FRESHWATER INFLOWS BELOW, UM, BELOW TRACKS COUNTY.
I THINK I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO WANTED TO STOP YOU AT THAT POINT, SO YOU CAN PROCEED.
UH, NEXT WANNA SHOW THE, UH, THE WATER WEEKLY GRAPH THAT WE HAD AT, AT THAT TIME WHEN, UH, WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE THE, UH, THE PRESENTATION.
UH, IT, IT VERY MUCH SHOWS THE, UH, THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS FOR THE STATE AND THEN ALSO UPSTREAM OF AUSTIN, UM, WHERE THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN IS.
WE'RE IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS THERE.
THIS WEEK'S, UH, PICTURE LOOKS A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
WE'VE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF RAIN, UH, BUT IT'S STILL, WE'RE STILL EXPERIENCING DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTIES UPSTREAM.
AND WE, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE MORE INTENSE AREAS I THINK ARE SHRINKING A LITTLE BIT WITH THIS RAIN THAT WE'RE HAVING.
AND WE'RE, WE'RE EVEN GETTING SOME BENEFICIAL RAIN TO THE BASIN TODAY.
WE GOT SOME OVERNIGHT, UM, IN TODAY, BUT, UH, IT'S, IT'S, WE'RE STILL IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
THE AMOUNT THAT WE'RE GETTING IS NOT ENOUGH AT THIS POINT TO, UH, TO MOVE THE DIAL VERY MUCH ON, ON HOW MUCH STORED WATER THERE IS IN THE RESERVOIR.
WILL, UM, LOOK FOR, UM, HOPEFULLY MORE, UM, WETTER CONDITIONS INTO THE FALL AND, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING ON AS LONG AS THEY CAN.
NOW WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO INTO THE SUMMER, WANNA JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, POINT THIS OUT THAT WE'RE GETTING READY TO GO INTO A PERIOD WHERE WE MAY HAVE ABOVE AVERAGE, UH, TEMPERATURES AND THEN, UM, KIND OF NORMAL EQUAL CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION.
BUT TYPICALLY DURING THE, THE SUMMER, OUR PRECIPITATIONS FAIRLY LOW.
SO HOPEFULLY IN THE, UH, IN THE FALL, WE'LL GET SOME INCREASED CHANCES FOR RAIN.
UH, SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRACK THIS, UH, AS TIME GOES ON.
THIS IS A KEY GRAPH THAT IS, UH, PRE PREPARED BY THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY.
IT'S A SIX MONTH PROJECTION FOR THE COMBINED STORAGE IN LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN.
AND THIS IS ONE THAT WE'VE BEEN TRACKING.
THEY PRE PREPARE THIS ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND, UM, AND RELEASES AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH MONTH.
UH, IT PROJECTS OUT IN THIS PARTICULAR ONE THAT WE MAY BE CROSSING THAT 900,000 ACRE FOOT TRIGGER FOR OUR DROUGHT STAGE TWO IN THE, UH, JULY TIMEFRAME, LIKELY IN JULY, LATE LATE JUNE, UH, OR IN JULY.
BUT WITH THIS RAIN, IT, UH, THIS WAS DONE ON MAY, MAY 1ST.
SO WITH THE, THE LITTLE BIT OF RAIN WE'VE GOTTEN THAT MAY POSSIBLY PUSH OUT INTO JULY, UH, THOSE LOWER, THOSE LOWER LINES THAT, UH, WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING ALONG THE, IN THE DRY AND EXTREME DRY CONDITION LINES.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE DROUGHT.
UM, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN.
WE HAVE A, UH, PRESENTATION ALSO TODAY ON, ON OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND, UM, UPDATE PROCESS.
WE, UM, THAT'S OUR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES PLAN.
WE'RE ALSO PROMOTING WATER CONSERVATION AND ADHERENCE TO OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGES.
AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THE, THE DROUGHT RELATED ACTIVITIES WE'RE CONTINUING TO, UH, TO DO AND MONITOR.
SO AT THIS POINT, I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO KEVIN KLUGE.
GOOD AFTERNOON CHAIR POOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AS WAS MENTIONED, UH, KEVIN KLUGE, WATER CONSERVATION MANAGER.
AS THERESA MENTIONED, WE ARE FOLLOWING OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN AND ARE IN STAGE ONE AT THIS POINT.
AND ON THE SCREEN YOU SEE THE, THE PRIMARY DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS THAT WE ARE ADHERING TO NOW.
BUT I WANTED TO MENTION AND REMIND US ALL THAT
[00:50:01]
AUSTIN IS A VERY FORWARD LEANING CITY IN TERMS OF WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES.AND IN OUR CONSERVATION STAGE, OUR STAGE WITHOUT DROUGHT, WE HAVE NEARLY ALL OF THESE SAME RESTRICTIONS.
SO WE ARE CONSERVING DAY IN AND DAY OUT, 365 YEARS A DAY, EVEN WITHOUT DROUGHT, AS YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN THERE.
ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE LANDSCAPE WATERING.
THAT'S OUR PRIMARY, UH, RESTRICTION OF, OF WATER TO SAVE WATER IN A DROUGHT OR EVEN WITHIN OUTSIDE OF A DROUGHT.
FOR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, THEY'RE ABLE TO IRRIGATE ONE DAY A WEEK ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO HAVE HOSE IRRIGATION, UH, TUESDAY, TWO DAYS A WEEK, EITHER ON WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY OR SATURDAY, SUNDAY, DEPENDING ON ODD OR EVEN ADDRESSES.
OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS ARE SIMILARLY, UH, FACE SIMILAR, UH, REGULATIONS ON IRRIGATION, EITHER ON TUESDAY OR FRIDAYS.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE A NUMBER OF OTHER PATIO MISTERS ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS THAT, THAT MUST ADHERE TO WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES.
IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE DROUGHT, MANY OF THE RESTRICTIONS ARE, ARE VERY SIMILAR.
UM, ON, IN TERMS OF LANDSCAPE WATERING, THE PRIMARY CHANGE, WE, WE STILL HAVE ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING, AND WE REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DAYS FOR HOSE IRRIGATION DOWN TO ONE DAY A WEEK ON THE WEEKENDS.
IN TERMS OF AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION, THE CHANGE IS JUST HOW LATE THEY CAN IRRIGATE RATHER THAN 8:00 AM THEY CAN ONLY IRRIGATE TILL 5:00 AM REDUCING WATER LOSS THROUGH EVAPORATION AND, UM, SPRAYING, WE WILL ALSO BE INCREASED IN ENFORCEMENT AND IN ENFORCEMENT PATROLS AND INVESTIGATIONS.
IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE TWO, AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE A NUMBER OF THE OTHER RESTRICTIONS THAT WILL COME INTO PLAY.
IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE TWO ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS, SOME RESTRICTIONS ON GOLF COURSE FAIRWAYS, AND THAT, THAT LAST BULLET IS A NOD TO LANDSCAPE ESTABLISHMENT AND IS NO LONGER BEING EXEMPTED FROM WATERING SCHEDULE.
SO IF A NEW HOME HAD NEW LANDSCAPE THAT NEEDED TO BE ESTABLISHED PRIOR TO STAGE TWO, THEY'RE ABLE TO WATER, UM, MORE THAN ONE DAY A WEEK, NOT DURING THE DAY, BUT MORE THAN ONE DAY A WEEK.
UM, IF WE DO GO INTO STAGE TWO, THIS, THOSE NEW LANDSCAPES WILL HAVE TO ADHERE TO THE ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION, THEN A SECOND DAY FOR HOSE IRRIGATION.
AND THEN FINALLY, NEXT STEPS FOR AUSTIN WATER.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SITUATION IN TERMS OF LAKE LEVELS AND DAILY WATER USE.
WE'LL BE PROMOTING OUR WATER CONSERVATION MEASURE AND ADHERING TO OUR OWN DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.
UH, WE WILL BE ALSO IMPLEMENTING OUR WATER CONS, OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, IN ORDER TO, TO PROVIDE WATER IN THE SHORT TERM AND LONG TERM FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
OUR MESSAGE REALLY WILL BE THAT WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER, BECAUSE DESPITE ALL THAT WE CAN DO AS AN ENFORCEMENT TEAM OR WATER CONSERVATION TEAM, IT REALLY DEPENDS ON AUSTIN CUSTOMERS AND RESIDENTS ADHERING TO THE WATERING SCHEDULE AND TO THE OTHER REGULATIONS.
SO WE'RE ASKING THEM, WE WILL BE ASKING THEM THIS SUMMER TO TAKE TIME TO LOOK AT THEIR OWN WATER USE, PARTICULARLY THROUGH THE MY ETX WATER PORTAL, AS MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS RECEIVE THOSE SMART METERS AND ABLE TO DO THAT.
AND WE'RE GONNA ASK THEM TO ENSURE THAT THEY ARE WATERING ON THE WATERING SCHEDULE, AND ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT ADDITIONAL STEPS TO SAVE WATER, PERHAPS WATERING LESS, OR LETTING THEIR LAWN GO BLONDE FOR THE SUMMER, LETTING IT GO DORMANT INSTEAD OF WATERING IT THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
AND WITH THAT, WE ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
ANY QUESTIONS?
AND, UM, ONE IS, ARE WE LOOKING AT DROUGHT AND WATER SUPPLY IN CONTEXT OF CLIMATE MIGRATION? YEAH.
SO IN, IN RELATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE, YES, VERY DEF DEFINITELY IN OUR, UH, WATER FORWARD PLANNING PROCESS.
AND, UM, WE'RE HOPING, YOU KNOW, THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRY TO PUSH THE, PUSH THAT IDEA
[00:55:01]
FORWARD THROUGH THE, UH, STATE WATER PLANNING PROCESS THROUGH REGION K THE MOST WE CAN, AND IN A, ANY OTHER KIND OF PLANNING FORUM.BUT DEFINITELY WITH OUR WATER FORWARD PROCESS, WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT.
AND, UH, I THINK, UH, THE NEXT PRESENTATION, WE'LL, WE'LL TOUCH ON THAT SOME.
UM, I WAS JUST WONDERING IF WE WANTED TO BE MONITORING THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS OR THE LAKE LEVELS.
WHAT ARE THE BEST RESOURCES FOR THAT? RIGHT.
UM, THE, UH, SOME OF THE BEST RESOURCES ARE THE LOW COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY.
THEY, UM, POST AND ON A DAILY BASIS OR ON A CONTINUAL BASIS, YOU CAN, UM, TRACK THE, UM, THE LAKE LEVELS, THE COMBINED STORAGE LEVELS, AND HOW MUCH WATER IS COMING INTO THE, UH, THE RESERVOIR, UH, L CRA'S WEBSITE.
WE CAN PROVIDE A, A LINK, UH, TO THOSE SPECIFIC ONES, IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, SO THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE TO, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOK FOR THOSE PARTICULAR SPOTS IN, IN THEIR, UH, WEBSITE.
BUT I THINK, UM, L CRA'S WEBSITES THE BEST PLACE.
THEN THEY ALSO HAVE, THEY HAVE, UM, THEY HAVE THAT INFORMATION KIND OF IN A SUMMARY FORMAT, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER TOOL IF YOU REALLY WOULD WANNA GET INTO IT, INTO THE DETAILS.
THEY HAVE A POWERFUL SYSTEM CALLED HYDRO MET, WHERE THEY HAVE, UM, INFORMATION, IT'S, UH, UH, SHOWN GRAPHICALLY WITH, UM, GAUGE LOCATIONS.
SO YOU CAN LOOK AT, UM, STREAM FLOW AND, UH, RAINFALL AND ALL KINDS OF, YOU CAN LOOK AT THE RADAR IN THAT, UM, PORTAL AS WELL.
SO THAT, THAT'S ANOTHER PLACE.
IT ALSO HAS A GOOD HISTORICAL OVERVIEW.
YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE DROUGHTS OF RECORD, EVEN I THINK BACK TO THE FIFTIES, RIGHT? IT MAY GO BACK THAT FAR.
USED TO BE ON THE MAIN PAGE, LC.COM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS THESE DAYS.
THEY PUT, UM, THE LAKE LEVELS DAILY AND THE STATESMAN ON THE BACK, ON THE WEATHER PAGE.
AND WE, WE ALSO HAVE A, A DROUGHT PAGE THAT WE'VE, UH, STARTED HAD, UH, HOSTED.
IT'S BEEN UP FOR SOME NUMBER OF MONTHS.
IT'S BEEN UP FOR A GOOD WHILE.
WE HAVE A LINK THERE TO L SERIES WEBSITE, BUT WE CAN PROVIDE MORE SPECIFIC LINKS IF, UM, IF THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL, I WOULD BE INTERESTED.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I NEED TO GO INTO THE, THE UBER DETAIL, BUT, BUT FOR THE LAKE LEVELS AND THEN, OKAY.
IN TERMS OF, I, I REALLY AM INTERESTED IN THIS, THE MAP THAT YOU HAD FOR THE WATER WEEKLY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE AREA'S AT IN THE LEVEL OF DROUGHT.
SO IF THERE'S A LINK TO WHERE WE FIND THAT, EVEN IF IT'S WITH THE LAG OF THE WEEK, THAT WOULD BE MM-HMM.
THAT'S THROUGH THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, AND THEY POST THAT WEEKLY.
SO YOU, WE CAN SEND YOU THAT LINK AS WELL.
I THINK, UM, THERE ARE NO MORE QUESTIONS FOR THAT PANEL ITEM NUMBER
[5. Water Forward updates.]
FIVE IS OUR WATER FORWARD UPDATE.I'M KEVIN CRITON AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER.
UM, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO, HOW'S THAT? IS THAT BETTER? YOU'RE, YOU'RE DOING GREAT.
UM, JUST AS A MATTER OF HISTORY, IN 2018, THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED, UH, OUR A HUNDRED YEAR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLAN, UH, WHICH WAS INTENDED TO IDENTIFY A SUSTAINABLE WATER FUTURE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT EFFORT'S BEEN DUBBED WATER FORWARD AND LIVES ON TODAY.
UM, THAT REALLY IS OUR STRATEGIC PLAN OR BLUEPRINT FOR PROVIDING OUR WATER SUPPLY FOR OUR GROWING COMMUNITY IN THE FACE OF A CHANGING CLIMATE.
UM, THIS AFTERNOON WE'RE GOING TO TALK TO YOU, GIVE YOU A BIT OF A PRESENTATION ON A LITTLE BIT OF A HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE ON OUR WATER FORWARD 2018 ACTIVITIES.
ALSO UPDATE, UH, SOME OF THE IMPLEMENTATION, UM, STRATEGIES RELATED TO THAT, AND THEN GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE LOOKING FOR WATER FORWARD 24, WHICH WILL BE OUR PLANNED FIVE YEAR UPDATE.
SO WE'RE APPROACHING THAT SHORTLY.
SO WITH ME THIS AFTERNOON IS MARISA FLORES GONZALEZ.
SHE IS THE SUPERVISOR OF OUR WATER PLANNING TEAM THAT IS IN OUR WATER, UM, UH, SYSTEMS PLANNING DIVISION.
AND SO SHE'S GONNA TAKE US TO THE PRESENTATION.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, FOR HAVING US HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON WATER FORWARD AND AN UPDATE.
LIKE KEVIN SAID, MY NAME IS MARISA FLORES GONZALEZ.
[01:00:01]
FOR NINE YEARS.I'VE BEEN WITH THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AND PROJECT SINCE ITS BEGINNING OR INCEPTION.
UM, SO LIKE KEVIN MENTIONED AS WELL, WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WATER FORWARD 2018, THE DEVELOPMENT OF THAT PLAN, AS WELL AS OUR PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION.
AND WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THE FIRST UPDATE TO THE WATER FORWARD PLAN, WHICH WE'RE CALLING WATER FORWARD 2024, AND WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT HOW WE ARE ADDRESSING UNCERTAINTY IN THIS PLAN UPDATE PROCESS.
UH, THIS PLAN WAS INITIALLY, UH, DEVELOPED IN RESPONSE TO THE SEVERE DROUGHT THAT WE EXPERIENCED FROM 2008 TO 2016.
YOU SAW SOME OF THE, UH, COMBINED STORAGE LEVELS FROM THAT DROUGHT ON THE SCREEN AS PART OF TERESA AND KEVIN'S PRESENTATION.
UM, WE KNEW THAT, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THAT DROUGHT, WE NEEDED TO THINK IN NEW AND INNOVATIVE WAYS ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF OUR WATER SUPPLIES MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO, UM, CITY COUNCIL CREATED THE FIRST WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE.
UM, THERE WAS A 2014 TASK FORCE, THE AUSTIN WATER RESOURCE PLANNING TASK FORCE THAT MET FOR A SET THREE MONTHS, CAME OUT WITH A A LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
ONE OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO CREATE AN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLAN.
SO THEN COUNCIL CREATED A SECOND TASK FORCE, THE AUSTIN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLANNING COMMUNITY TASK FORCE.
AND FOR SHORT, BECAUSE IT'S A TERRIBLE ACRONYM, WE CALL IT THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, WORKING WITH THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, UM, WE WANTED TO ADDRESS, UH, KEY DRIVERS, UH, IN MANAGEMENT OF OUR WATER SUPPLIES.
DROUGHTS WORSE THAN THE DROUGHT OF RECORD DROUGHTS, WORSE THAN THE DROUGHTS WE'VE HISTORICALLY SEEN HERE IN THE COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKES BASIN.
A STRONG CONTINUED POPULATION GROWTH AS WELL AS IMPACTS, UM, THAT WE MAY EXPERIENCE ON OUR SURFACE WATER SUPPLIES DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO WORKING CLOSELY WITH, UH, THE, OUR COUNCIL APPOINTED WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, AUSTIN WATER LED DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLAN, UM, BY, UH, INCORPORATING ALSO COMMUNITY INPUT THAT WE GAINED AT ATTENDING AND, AND HOSTING OVER A HUNDRED DIFFERENT COMMUNITY EVENTS.
THE TECHNICAL WORK FOR THE PLAN WAS SUPPORTED BY A VARIETY OF CONSULTANTS, INCLUDING ENGINEERING, HYDROLOGY, AS WELL AS CLIMATE SCIENCE, UH, CONSULTANTS.
AND ULTIMATELY THE PLAN WAS APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY BY COUNCIL IN NOVEMBER OF 2018.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE THE FOUR MAIN CATEGORIES OF WATER FORWARDS STRATEGIES.
THEY INCLUDE REDUCING DEMAND BY CONSERVATION, MOVING REUSE FORWARD AT MULTIPLE SCALES.
UM, THAT MEANS EVERYTHING FROM REUSING WATER THAT'S GATHERED ONSITE FOR LIKE RAINWATER HARVESTING, STORMWATER HARVESTING, UM, OR GRAYWATER HARVESTING, UM, TO CONNECTING TO OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM.
UM, OUR THIRD CATEGORY OF STRATEGIES INCLUDED INCLUDES WORKING WITH OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS TO PROTECT OUR CORE COLORADO RIVER SUPPLIES.
AND OUR FOURTH CATEGORY IS BUILDING RESILIENCY TO DROUGHT THROUGH KEY SUPPLY STRATEGIES LIKE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.
AND ALL OF THIS IS BUILT ON A FOUNDATION OF CONTINUED STAKEHOLDER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
I'M GONNA WALK YOU THROUGH SOME OF THE KEY, UM, I IMPLEMENTATION MILESTONES THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
SO STARTING IN 2019, THE PLAN WAS APPROVED IN NOVEMBER OF 2018.
AND STARTING IN 2019, WE TOOK THAT FIRST YEAR TO DO, UM, THE DETAILED WORK OF TACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING WITHIN THE UTILITY WITH ALL OF THE DIFFERENT GROUPS WHO WOULD BE INVOLVED IN OR LEADING STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION, AS WELL AS ACROSS, UM, VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT INCLUDED IDENTIFYING STAFFING AND RESOURCE NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT KEY PLAN STRATEGIES.
WE ALSO BEGAN, UM, CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT PROCESSES, UH, TO HELP SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE STRATEGIES, ONE OF WHICH IS CALLED OUT ON THE SCREEN, UM, BEGINNING THE CONSULTANT PROCUREMENT PROCESS FOR OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PILOT AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PROJECT.
I'M GONNA TAKE JUST A SECOND TO EXPLAIN WHAT AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS.
UM, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS A STRATEGY WHERE WE WOULD TAKE WATER FROM OUR EXISTING COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKES WATER SUPPLIES.
WE WOULD TREAT THAT WATER TO POTABLE DRINKING WATER STANDARDS, CONVEY THAT VIA A TRANSMISSION MAIN, A PIPE TO A WELL FIELD, AND THEN THAT WATER WOULD BE INJECTED UNDERGROUND INTO A NATURALLY OCCURRING AQUIFER WHERE IT WOULD BE SAFER EVAPORATION AND AVAILABLE FOR US TO PULL BACK OUT TO INTEGRATE INTO OUR DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN THE EVENT OF A DROUGHT OR POTENTIALLY ANOTHER EMERGENCY SITUATION THAT WOULD HELP TO AUGMENT OUR WATER SUPPLIES.
BUT IT IS AN A SLIGHTLY INGENIOUS
[01:05:01]
STRATEGY IN THAT IT'S SIMPLY STRETCHING OUR CURRENTLY AVAILABLE WATER SUPPLIES AND UTILIZING WATER, UM, DURING AVERAGE OR WET PERIODS TO MAKE USE OF THAT LATER DURING DRY PERIODS.UM, TO GO BACK TO OUR IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE, UH, IN 2020, THE UTILITY BEGAN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MY ATX WATER ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT, REPLACING ALL OF THE ANALOG METERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY WITH DIGITAL METERS THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO PROVIDE MORE REAL-TIME INFORMATION ABOUT WATER USE TO CUSTOMERS, AND WOULD ALSO PROVIDE US WITH A TON OF INFORMATION THAT WE COULD USE TO BETTER, UM, DO OUR WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING, UM, AND ALLOW US TO DEVELOP TARGETED PROGRAMS FOR CUSTOMERS.
UM, ALSO IN 2020, OUR ONSITE WATER REUSE TEAM, UH, BROUGHT BEFORE COUNCIL AND RECEIVED COUNCIL APPROVAL OF A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK TO STREAMLINE THE DEVELOPMENT AND PERMITTING OF ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS. AGAIN, THAT'S THINGS LIKE RAINWATER, GRAYWATER, STORMWATER HARVESTING, AS WELL AS AN INCENTIVE THAT, UM, WE'VE ESTABLISHED TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE DEVELOPERS TO INSTALL THESE TYPES OF ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS IN WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE VOLUNTARY PERIOD BEFORE MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS GO INTO EFFECT.
ALSO, IN 2020, WE EXECUTED A CONTRACT WITH A CONSULTANT HDR TO HELP US WITH, UM, THE ASR PILOT AND PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PROJECT.
THAT, UM, CONSULTANT CONTRACT WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL ON HDR, BEGAN THE WORK TO HELP US DO DESKTOP ANALYSES TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PILOT LOCATIONS FOR AN ASR PROJECT.
THE NEXT YEAR IN 2021, AUSTIN WATER BROUGHT BEFORE COUNCIL AND RECEIVED COUNCIL APPROVAL OF A SUITE OF CODE CHANGES.
UM, THOSE INCLUDED WATER BENCHMARKING REQUIREMENTS REQUIRING THAT ALL NEW DEVELOPMENTS SUBMITTING THE SITE PLAN ALSO SUBMIT A WATER BENCHMARKING CALCULATOR.
THAT CALCULATOR PROVIDES US WITH ESTIMATES OF WATER USAGE ON THE SITE, INCLUDING INDOOR AND OUTDOOR USAGE AND PORTABLE AND NON PORTABLE USAGE, UM, THAT ALLOWS US TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION OR REUSE ON THE SITE, AND DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE GREATER THAN 250,000 SQUARE FEET IN GRO GROSS FLOOR AREA.
ALSO HAVE TO MEET WITH UTILITY STAFF, UH, TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, UH, THAT MAY BE PRESENT PER THEIR BENCHMARKING CALCULATOR.
UM, WE ALSO, AS PART OF THAT SUITE OF CODE CHANGES, UM, COUNCIL ALSO APPROVED CODE CHANGES REQUIRING ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS BE INSTALLED AGAIN IN LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, THOSE THAT ARE GREATER THAN 250,000 SQUARE FEET IN GROSS FLOOR AREA.
THOSE CODE REQUIREMENTS, UM, ARE ALSO, UH, ARE NOT EFFECTIVE UNTIL DECEMBER OF 2023, AND THERE'LL BE AN AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT THAT'LL BE COMING TO COUNCIL IN SEPTEMBER OF 2023.
LOOKING AT THAT CODE CHANGE AS WELL AS, UH, AN ADDITIONAL CODE CHANGE THAT WAS APPROVED, EXTENDING OUR EXISTING RELAND WATER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS FOR, AGAIN, LARGE DEVELOPMENTS.
IF NOW THOSE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE WITHIN 500 FEET OF OUR RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM MUST CONNECT TO THAT SYSTEM AND USE THAT WATER FOR SIGNIFICANT NON-POTABLE PURPOSES, INDOOR, AS WELL AS, UM, OUTDOOR, THAT AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT THAT I MENTIONED WILL COVER THE POTENTIAL AFFORDABILITY IMPACTS OF BOTH THE ONSITE WATER REUSE REQUIREMENTS AS WELL AS THE EXTENSION OF THE RECLAIM WATER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS IN 2021, OUR CONSERVATION DIVISION ALSO DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED A NEW VOLUNTARY RECLAIM WATER CONNECTION INCENTIVE SO THAT EXISTING DEVELOPMENTS WOULD HAVE A FURTHER INCENTIVE TO CONNECT TO THE RECLAIM SYSTEM, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, CUTTING OVER THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM TO CONNECT TO THE RECLAIM SYSTEM AND USE, UM, NON PORTABLE WATER FOR OUTDOOR USES.
AND OUR WATER RESOURCES PLANNING TEAM HAD BEEN WORKING ON CON WORKS VERY CLOSELY WITH THE REGIONAL WATER PLANNING TEAM, HAD BEEN WORKING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGION K WATER PLAN, AND IN 2021, THE REGION K WATER PLAN WAS ADOPTED BY TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD.
WE ONLY HAVE A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME BETWEEN PLANNING CYCLES FOR THE REGIONAL WATER PLANNING PROCESS, AND SO WE'RE NOW BACK IN THAT PLANNING PROCESS ON SEVERAL COMMITTEES AND CONTINUING TO ENGAGE WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS THROUGHOUT THE BASIN.
IN 2022, UM, OUR CONSULTANT, UM, AND AUSTIN WATER STAFF, UH, REACHED A KEY MILESTONE AS IN THAT WE COMPLETED A PRELIMINARY STORAGE ZONE SCREENING FOR OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
WE WERE ABLE, WE HAD STARTED WITH A MUCH BROADER SCOPE LOOKING AT MANY DIFFERENT COUNTIES AROUND TRAVIS COUNTY.
WE WERE ABLE TO NARROW DOWN OUR SCOPE LOOKING AT FAVORABLE AQUIFERS IN, UH, TRAVIS BASTROP AND LEE COUNTIES.
[01:10:01]
NOW WE'RE DOING MORE DETAILED STUDY AND LOOKING AT DIFFERENT PROJECT ALTERNATIVES WITHIN, UH, THAT SMALLER AREA.UM, WE ALSO BEGAN THE WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN UPDATE PROCESS IN 2022, BEGINNING KEY TECHNICAL TASKS, AND OUR CONSERVATION DIVISION BEGAN THE PROCESS TO DEVELOP IRRIGATION AND LANDSCAPE CODE CHANGES FOR NEW SINGLE FAMILY AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS.
NOW, HERE IN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF 2023, OUR MY ATX WATER, UM, PROJECT HAS CONTINUED METER INSTALLS.
THEY'VE PASSED THE HALFWAY POINT.
THEY HAD PANCAKES AND ALL SORTS OF GAMES FOR THE KIDDOS.
UM, AND THEY'VE REACHED THE POINT OF, UH, ABOUT 140,000 INSTALLS, UH, ACROSS THE CITY.
UM, THE UTILITY HAS ALSO BROUGHT ON A CONSULTANT TO REVIEW AUSTIN WATER'S WATER LOSS PROGRAM.
UH, THAT CONSULTANT, BLACK AND VEECH IS EXPECTED TO DELIVER A REPORT, UM, BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR, BEGINNING OF NEXT.
THE ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE SCREEN IN BLUE ARE SHOWING KIND OF FUTURE ITEMS THAT WE EXPECT, KIND OF KEY HIGHLIGHTS, UM, THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO.
IN 2023, WE ANTICIPATE THAT, UM, ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS TO CODIFY THE NEW ONSITE WATER REUSE AND RECLAIM WATER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS WILL BE BROUGHT BEFORE COUNCIL.
AND WE ALSO ANTICIPATE IDENTIFYING A PILOT LOCATION AT ONE OR SEVERAL PILOT LOCATIONS, UM, FOR THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
UH, BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR IN 2024, UM, WE PLAN TO BEGIN FIELD TESTING FOR THE ASR PILOT PROJECT, AND WE ALSO HOPE TO COMPLETE THE, UM, WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN UPDATE BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.
SO JUST TO DIVE INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN UPDATE PROCESS, OUR KEY THEME WITHIN THIS UPDATE IS PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY.
WE KNOW THAT THE FUTURE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT FROM THE PAST.
WE KNOW THAT WE ARE FACING CONDITIONS OF GREATER UNCERTAINTY, INCLUDING, UH, THAT, THAT WE FACE THROUGH CLIMATE CHANGE, AND WE WANNA BE ABLE TO ADAPT, LEARN FROM OUR IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS SO FAR, AND FIGURE OUT WHAT, UM, ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A RESILIENT, ROBUST WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE WHO CONTINUE TO MEET EVERY OTHER MONTH, UM, WITH SUBCOMMITTEES MEETING ON THE OFF MONTHS.
UM, WE HAVE WORKED WITH THEM TO UPDATE OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES FROM THE WATER FORWARD 18 PLAN.
THEY INCLUDE CREATING A PLAN THAT IS RESILIENT TO GROWTH, DROUGHT, AND CLIMATE CHANGE, USING THE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WATER RESOURCE PLANNING THAT INCORPORATES THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY'S VALUES, USING AN EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY LENS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT THE PLAN, INCLUDING DIVERSE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT MAKE USE OF ALL WATER SOURCES, INCLUDING REUSE, CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY, CONTINUING TO PROTECT AUSTIN'S NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND MINIMIZING IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATIONAL RISK.
IN ALIGNMENT WITH, UM, ONE OF OUR KEY GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT IS NEW FOR THIS, UM, WATER FORWARD UPDATE, WE ARE DOING THIS PLANNING USING AN EQUITY LENS.
WE, UM, CONVENED FOR, UH, THE COURSE OF 12 MONTHS, A COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS GROUP.
THAT COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS GROUP HAD THE SPECIFIC TASK OF HELPING US TO DEVELOP AN EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP.
THAT EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP, UH, INCLUDES TWO, UH, KEY PARTS, WELL, SEVERAL KEY PARTS.
UH, THE FIRST INCLUDES A HISTORY OF EQUITY AND WATER WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, THE SECOND INCLUDES A FRAMEWORK THAT WE WILL BE USING TO EVALUATE OUR WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
THAT FRAMEWORK INCLUDES A SERIES OF QUESTIONS CENTERED ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT THEMES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS GROUP.
THOSE QUESTIONS ARE QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL ASK ABOUT OUR WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO UNDERSTAND THE DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS AND BURDENS FROM IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANNED STRATEGIES, ESPECIALLY, UM, BURDENS THAT ARE INEQUITABLE ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
WE'RE USING THAT TERM MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES TO PRIMARILY MEAN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AS WELL AS LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES.
AND THE INTENT OF THAT ANALYSIS TO IS TO IDENTIFY WHICH, UM, PLAN STRATEGIES MAY HAVE INEQUITABLE BURDENS ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND HOW WE MAY NEED TO ADJUST PLAN STRATEGIES OR ADJUST OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE THOSE BURDENS.
UM, WE ARE PAIRING THAT, THAT FRAMEWORK OF QUESTIONS WITH WHAT WE'RE CALLING AN EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY, UH, WELL, THAT, THAT FRAMEWORK OF QUESTIONS AS WELL AS A SPATIALLY DISAGGREGATED
[01:15:01]
DATA ARE PAIRED TOGETHER TO CREATE OUR OVERALL EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY TOOL.THAT WILL BE ONE, UH, LENS THAT WE'LL USE TO EVALUATE OUR WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
IN ADDITION TO THE MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION FRAMEWORK, SIMILAR TO WHAT WE USED IN THE LAST PLANNING PROCESS THAT LOOKS AT THINGS LIKE WATER SUPPLY RELIABILITY, USING GAR WATER AVAILABILITY MODELS, UM, COST AND, UH, COST, UM, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, OTHER SOCIAL IMPACTS, AS WELL AS IMPLEMENTATION, UM, UH, CONSIDERATIONS.
ANOTHER COMPONENT OF OUR EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP ARE, UH, SUGGEST RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE THE PROCEDURAL EQUITY OF OUR PROCESS.
THAT MEANS MAKING OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, MORE EQUITABLE AS WELL AS, UH, MAKING OUR OVERALL DECISION MAKING PROCESS MORE EQUITABLE.
UM, THAT, UH, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE FEEDING INTO OUR EDUCATION AND ENGAGEMENT PLAN.
AND ALL OF THAT FEEDS INTO OUR OVERALL WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN UPDATE.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH CLIMATE SCIENTISTS AT UT TO UPDATE THE CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGY ANALYSIS THAT WE'VE PERFORMED AS PART OF THE LAST WATER FORWARD PLAN.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, REACHED SUB SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION OF THAT CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGY ANALYSIS.
UM, WE'VE TAKEN OUTPUTS FROM GLOBAL CLIMATE MODELS, LOOKING AT SEVERAL DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT EMISSION SCENARIOS, UM, AND HAVE CREATED OUTPUTS OF TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION THAT WE HAVE INCLUDED IN AN ANALYSIS TO CREATE PROJECTIONS OF STREAM FLOW.
THOSE PROJECTIONS OF STREAM FLOW THEN GO INTO OUR HYDROLOGIC MODELS THAT ALLOW US TO MODEL HOW MUCH WATER COULD BE AVAILABLE TO THE CITY, UM, IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT CLIMATE FUTURES, UM, IN, UH, UH, UH, TO MEET OUR CUSTOMER WATER DEMANDS.
UH, EMBEDDED IN ALL OF THAT ANALYSIS, WE ARE ABLE TO PULL OUT SEVERAL HIGH LEVEL CLIMATE TRENDS THAT ARE LISTED HERE ON THE SCREEN.
UH, THOSE INCLUDE, UH, TRENDS THAT WE EXPECT ANNUAL MEAN TEMPERATURES, UH, TO INCREASE OVER TIME.
WE, UH, EXPECT THAT THE NUMBER OF HOT DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES ABOVE A HUNDRED, UH, 100 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT WILL INCREASE.
UM, OUR RESULTS ARE SHOWING THAT THE DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL IS PROJECTED TO CHANGE, UH, AND THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE LESS FREQUENT AND MORE INTENSE RAINFALL EVENTS IN THE FUTURE.
WE ARE, UH, ALSO SEEING THAT THE NUMBER OF DRY DAYS WITH PRECIPITATION BELOW 0.01 INCHES ARE ALSO PROJECTED TO INCREASE.
A KEY TAKEAWAY HERE IS JUST THAT WE WILL SEE EXTREME EVENTS, UM, BEGIN TO GET MORE EXTREME, MORE INTENSE RAINFALL EVENTS, UM, SEPARATED BY POTENTIALLY LONGER OR MORE SEVERE DROUGHTS.
WE HAVE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHER, AS WELL AS OTHER AUSTIN WATER STAFF TO DEVELOP A PROJECTIONS OF POPULATION.
THESE, UM, POPULATION PROJECTIONS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS THAT WE USE WITHIN OUR WATER DEMAND MODELING.
ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN, OUR GRAPHS OF OVERALL PROJECTED POPULATION OUT TO 2120.
UH, THE, UH, KIND OF BROWN LINE TOWARDS THE LEFT OF THE GRAPH SHOWS HISTORICAL AUSTIN WATER SERVED POPULATION.
SO HOW MANY RE HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE PROVIDING RETAIL AND WHOLESALE WATER SERVICE TO.
UH, THE PURPLE LINE ON THE TOP SHOWS THE WATER 4 20 18 POPULATION PROJECTION, AND THEN THE THREE DOTTED LINES, GREEN, BLUE, AND ORANGE SHOW THE POPULATION PROJECTIONS THAT WE ARE USING FOR THIS WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN PROCESS.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT AS WE GET FURTHER OUT TO 2120, THERE IS A LARGER FAN, AND THOSE POPULATION PROJECTIONS ARE A BIT LOWER THAN THE PURPLE WATER FORWARD 2018, UH, PROJECTIONS.
UM, THAT IS BECAUSE WE ARE, UH, USE, TRYING TO USE A, UM, RANGE OF POSSIBLE FUTURE POPULATIONS TO INFORM OUR ANALYSES.
WE ARE TRYING TO CAPTURE SOME OF THE UNCERTAINTY THAT IS INHERENT IN DOING 100 YEAR WATER PLANNING BY PLANNING FOR A, A POTENTIAL, UH, NUMBER OF FUTURES RATHER THAN TRYING TO GUESS AT WHAT WE OR PREDICT WHAT WE THINK THE FUTURE WILL BE.
UM, ALSO THE REASON THAT THOSE PROJECTIONS ARE A BIT LOWER THAN THE 2018 PROJECTIONS.
UM, UPON THE, UH, KIND OF RECOMMENDATION OF OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHER, WE'RE USING DECLINING GROWTH RATES AS WE GET OUT INTO, UM, THE LATER, UH, PERIOD OF OUR 100 YEAR PLANNING HORIZON, RATHER THAN USING FLAT, UM, GROWTH RATES IN THAT LATER PERIOD AT THE 100 YEAR PLANNING HORIZON.
[01:20:01]
CONTROL TOTAL POPULATION PROJECTIONS, AND THEN WE DISAGGREGATE THOSE PROJECTIONS INTO A SMALLER GEOGRAPHY.SO WE TAKE THOSE LARGER PROJECTIONS AND WE ALLOCATE THEM INTO WHAT WE CALL POLYGONS, UH, GEO SHAPES ON THE MAP, UM, THAT ARE SOMEWHAT ANALOGOUS IN SIZE AND SHAPE TO CENSUS TRACKS.
UM, WITHIN EACH ONE OF OUR POLYGONS, WE THEN WILL HAVE PROJECTIONS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE AND EMPLOYEES COULD BE PRESENT ALONG EACH OF THOSE THREE DIFFERENT POPULATION SCENARIOS.
UM, FOR OUR FOUR KEY TIME STEPS, 20 20, 20 40, 20 80, AND 2120, AND THE MAPS ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN SHOW DENSITIES IN TERMS OF PEOPLE PER ACRE.
AS WE MOVE THROUGH EACH OF THOSE TIME STEPS, UH, THE YELLOW, UH, AND ORANGE SHADES SHOW HIGHER DENSITIES.
THE BLUE, THE PURPLE AND BLUE SHADES SHOW, UH, LOWER DENSITIES.
AND YOU'LL NOTICE THAT OVER TIME AS WE GET OUT TO THE FULL 100 YEAR PLANNING HORIZON, SOME OF THOSE YELLOW AND ORANGE SHADES MOVE OUT FROM JUST DOWNTOWN INTO AREAS.
UM, FURTHER OUT IN BETWEEN OUR, UM, PRIMARILY IN BETWEEN, UH, I 35 AND MOPAC, OUR POPULATION DISTRIBUTION IS INFORMED BY HISTORICAL TRENDS WHERE WE'RE SEEING SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS COMING IN, SITE PLANS, SUBDIVISION PLANS, AS WELL AS OUR, UH, IMAGINE AUSTIN GROWTH CONCEPT MAP, UM, WITH THE CENTERS AND CORRIDORS, AS WELL AS FUTURE PROJECT CONNECT ALIGNMENTS.
SO, LIKE I MENTIONED, THOSE POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS THEN FEED INTO WHAT WE CALL THE DISAGGREGATED DEMAND MODEL.
OUR DISAGGREGATED DEMAND MODEL TAKES THOSE SPATIALLY ALLOCATED PROJECTIONS, UM, AS WELL AS HISTORICAL BILLING DATA, UH, FROM MULTIPLE CUSTOMER SECTORS.
AND WE CREATE, UM, FACTORS FOR EACH CUSTOMER SECTOR AND SUB-SECTOR APPLY THAT TO OUR PROJECTIONS OF GROWTH TO COME UP WITH PROJECTIONS OF FUTURE WATER DEMAND.
THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF, UM, BASELINE YEAR WATER USE FROM THE WATER FORWARD 2018 PLAN.
UH, WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING OUR UPDATED DEMAND PROJECTIONS, BUT THIS SNAPSHOT PROVIDES YOU WITH A KIND OF EXAMPLE OF THE TYPE OF RESULTS WE WILL GET FROM OUR DEMAND MODELING.
WE, UM, WILL SEE RESULTS, UM, BROKEN DOWN, NOT JUST AT THE SECTOR LEVEL.
SO SECTORS OF THINGS LIKE SINGLE FAMILY, RESIDENTIAL, MULTI-FAMILY, RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL, UM, LARGE VOLUME, ET CETERA, UH, WILL ALSO BREAK THAT DOWN INTO SUB-SECTORS.
SO IN THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR, THOSE SHADES OF GRAY, YOU'LL HAVE VARIOUS SUB-SECTORS LIKE HOSPI, UH, HOSPITALS, OFFICES, SCHOOLS, RESTAURANTS, HOSPITALITY, INDUSTRIAL, ET CETERA.
AND THEN BEYOND THE SUB-SECTOR LEVEL, WE WILL ALSO BREAK DOWN OUR ESTIMATES INTO ESTIMATES OF INDOOR AND OUTDOOR WATER USE.
SO IN THE SHADES OF BLUE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, THE DARKER BLUE IS INDOOR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL USAGE.
THE LIGHTER BLUE IS OUTDOOR SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL.
UM, SAME THING FOR MULTI-FAMILY.
DARKER IS, UH, INDOOR MULTI-FAMILY.
THE LIGHTER IS OUTDOOR MULTI-FAMILY.
THE REAL POWER OF DOING ALL OF THIS WORK IS THAT WE CAN THEN USE THIS VERY GRANULAR DEMAND INFORMATION TO IDENTIFY WHAT ARE OUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, CONSERVATION AND REUSE.
AND NOT JUST AT THIS CITYWIDE TOTAL, BUT IT WITHIN SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIES THAT HELPS US TO TARGET, UM, OR CREATE, UH, TAILORED PROGRAMS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN OUR WATER FORWARD PLANNING PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE KIND OF THE, THE BEST OUTCOME IN TERMS OF CONSERVATION AND, AND REUSE EFFICIENCY.
I'LL ALSO MENTION THAT OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TO SHIFT TO A FIT FOR PURPOSE APPROACH WHEN IT COMES TO REUSE.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW, UM, YOU'LL SEE FOLKS USING POTABLE WATER FOR OUTDOOR WATER USE IN TIME.
UM, OUR GOAL IS TO SHIFT THAT PARADIGM SO THAT WE'RE MATCHING THE APPROPRIATE WATER QUALITY WITH THE APPROPRIATE END USE.
WE WANNA SEE A GREATER SHIFT TO USING NON-POTABLE WATER FOR NON-POTABLE PURPOSES, LIKE OUTDOOR WATER USAGE, OR EVEN FOR INDOOR PURPOSES LIKE TOILET FLUSHING, URINAL FLUSHING, OR OTHER COMPATIBLE, UH, NON-POTABLE INDOOR END USES.
LIKE I MENTIONED, THE, UH, A KEY THING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITHIN THIS PLANNING PROCESS IS TO PLAN FOR UNCERTAINTY.
AND TO DO THAT, WE'RE TESTING OUR GROUPINGS OF WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, NOT JUST AGAINST ONE OR SEVERAL DIFFERENT PLANNING SCENARIOS.
IN THIS UPDATED PLANNING PROCESS, WE ARE GOING TO BE TESTING AGAINST HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT FUTURE SCENARIOS.
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WE'LL BE LOOKING AT 71 DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF FUTURE HYDROLOGY OR STREAM FLOW.WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF FUTURE WATER DEMAND, AS WELL AS THREE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF POTENTIAL FUTURE REGIONAL SUPPLIES.
UM, BY REGIONAL SUPPLIES, WE MEAN SUPPLIES THAT ARE DEVELOPED OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT COULD HAVE A BENEFIT FOR THE, THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN AS A WHOLE.
WHEN YOU COMBINE ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, YOU COME UP WITH 639, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, PLANNING SCENARIOS, DIFFERENT PLANNING STORIES, AND WE'LL BE USING AN OPTIMIZATION MODEL AND A PROGRAM TO TEST OUR DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AGAINST THOSE AND TO FIND, UM, STRATEGIES THAT MEET OUR NEEDS, UM, AMONGST IN THE NEAR TERM, UH, AMONGST ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS.
UM, WE'RE DEVELOPING A RANGE OF FUTURES AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIND COMMON NEAR TERM STRATEGIES THAT WORK FOR THE BROADEST RANGE OF THOSE FUTURES.
UM, IN THE NEAR TERM, IN THE FIRST 50 YEARS, WE'RE COMING UP WITH A, UM, UH, A LIST OF RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES, UM, SIMILAR TO HOW WE DID IN THE LAST WATER FORWARD PLANNING PROCESS THAT ALSO ALIGNS WITH OUR, THE WORK THAT WE DO IN THE REGIONAL WATER PLANNING PROCESS.
FOR THE LATTER 50 YEARS OF THE, UH, PLANNING HORIZON, WE'LL BE DEVELOPING AN ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN WITH KEY DECISION POINTS THAT'LL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE MAY NEED TO ADAPT OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIES IN ALIGNMENT WITH CHANGING CONDITIONS THAT'LL ALLOW US TO REEVALUATE OUR IMPLEMENTATION AT KEY DECISION POINTS.
IN ADDITION TO THE FIVE YEAR PLAN UPDATES TO THE WATER FORWARD PLAN, OUR NEXT STEPS AND THIS UPDATE ARE TO REVIEW THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FROM THE WATER FORWARD 2018 PLAN.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO BE GATHERING WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, AS WELL AS COMMUNITY INPUT ON THOSE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO UNDERSTAND ARE THERE ANY NEW STRATEGIES THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER, AND ARE THERE OTHER CONFIGURATIONS OF STRATEGIES, INCLUDING EXISTING STRATEGIES IN THE PLAN THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER.
WE'LL BE WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT TO UPDATE THE CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPPLY REUSE AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES.
AND FOR US, THAT MEANS CREATING UPDATED COST ESTIMATES FOR EACH OF THE STRATEGIES, UPDATED YIELD ESTIMATES, AS WELL AS OTHER DATA THAT WE'LL BE USING FOR MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING ANALYSES SOME OF OUR NEAR TERM NEXT STEPS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER FORWARD 2018 PLAN, WHICH WILL CONTINUE EVEN AS WE ARE UPDATING THE WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN INCLUDE, UM, THE DELIVERY OF AN AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT IN SEPTEMBER, 2023 RELATED TO THE ONSITE WATER REUSE AND RECLAIM CODE REQUIREMENTS, AS WELL AS, UM, ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS THAT'LL BE BROUGHT BEFORE COUNCIL TO CODIFY THOSE NEW CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE AND RECLAIM WATER.
UM, OUR CONSERVATION DIVISION IS ALSO PLANNING TO HOST THEIR FINAL PUBLIC MEETINGS, UM, RELATED TO THE IRRIGATION AND LANDSCAPE CODE CHANGES FOR NEW SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENTS.
AND THOSE CODE CHANGES ARE PLANNED TO BE INCLUDED IN LOCAL AMENDMENTS AS PART OF THE ADOPTION OF THE 2024 UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE.
I, UH, MY UNDERSTANDING GETS THAT THAT ALSO WILL, UM, BE CONTINUING WITHIN THE NEXT SIX TO NINE MONTHS.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A, A LITTLE UPDATE HERE.
UM, IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WATER 4 20 24 PROCESS, YOU CAN VISIT US ONLINE AT OUR SPEAK UP AUSTIN PAGE, SPEAK UP AUSTINS.ORG/WATER-FOUR-TWENTY 24.
WE HAVE A LINK ON THAT PAGE TO REQUEST A PRESENTATION AT A COMMUNITY EVENT OR A MEETING.
AND WE ALSO HAVE LINKS TO SIGN UP FOR OUR WATER FORWARD NEWSLETTER WHERE FOLKS CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR, UM, WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE MEETINGS, AS WELL AS OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE, THE PLAN AND KEY IMPLEMENTATION MILESTONES.
SO, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
THAT'S, THAT WAS A GREAT PRESENTATION, MARISSA.
SO YES, WE WILL BE, UM, A QUESTION FOR YOU ON THE WATER FORWARD, UM, STAKEHOLDERS AND THE TASK FORCE THAT, THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AS SOME
[01:30:01]
OF THE NEXT STEPS.IS THAT, ARE YOU LOOKING FOR, UM, APPOINTEES FROM THE DIAS OR ARE THESE APPOINTMENTS THAT YOU'LL BE MAKING, IS THIS A TASK FORCE THAT YOU'LL BE GATHERING AT A STAFF LEVEL? UM, WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE STANDING WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE ON THAT TASK FORCE.
I BELIEVE WE DO HAVE TWO VACANCIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND, BUT WE ARE CONTINUING TO MEET WITH THE EXISTING WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE.
AND WERE THOSE APPOINTEES OF THE COUNCIL OR WERE THEY GATHERED TOGETHER AT THE STAFF LEVEL? WHO, WHO APPOINTED THEM TO THE TASK FORCE? THEY WERE COUNCIL APPOINTED.
I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR EVERYONE TO GET A LIST OF WHO THE APPOINTEES ARE, WHERE THE VACANCIES ARE, AND ALSO IF YOU COULD PROVIDE A LIST OF FOLKS WHO HELPED IN THE PAST.
I FEEL LIKE IT'S GOOD TO GET FRESH EYES ON THINGS, BUT IT'S ALSO USEFUL TO HAVE SOME HISTORICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE.
SO IF THERE ARE FOLKS WHO SERVED IN THE PAST MAYBE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN SERVING AGAIN.
I'M ANNA BRIAN BORJA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SERVICES AT AUSTIN WATER.
UM, SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP VACANCIES ON OUR TASK FORCE, I'D LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU THAT WE WILL GLADLY SHARE WITH YOU A LIST OF VACANCIES ON THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, AS WELL AS OUR WATER WASTE WATER COMMISSION.
WE DO HAVE A FEW VACANCIES AND WE UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT THESE, UH, FOLKS ARE VERY IMPORTANT ADVISORS TO US.
UH, WE REALLY VALUE THEIR INPUT AT OUR COMMISSION, SO THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THAT OPPORTUNITY AND WE WILL DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP WITH A LIST OF WHERE THOSE VACANCIES EXIST.
I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT TWO THINGS.
ONE WAS THE LOCATIONS AND THE PHASING IN OF THE NEW WATER METERS.
I THINK WE SAW A MAP AT ONE POINT.
UM, IF WE COULD SEE THAT AGAIN AT, UM, EITHER TODAY OR AFTERNOON.
AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
RANDY JENKINS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AT AUSTIN WATER.
AND I DO HAVE THOSE NUMBERS AVAILABLE IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE 'EM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY SHARE THEM WITH YOUR OFFICES DIRECTLY.
GO AHEAD AND SEND THEM TO US, UH, TO, TO ALL THE OFFICES SO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION.
UM, CAUSE I THINK EVERYBODY'S INTERESTED IN SEEING WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO GET THAT NEW METER, CUZ IT, IT REALLY IS, IS A GREAT IMPROVEMENT.
THE LEAK DETECTION ALONE JUST, YOU KNOW, MAKES US ALL REALLY HAPPY.
UM, AND ON WATER FORWARD, I KNOW WE HAD SOME IMPLEMENTATION KIND OF FITS AND STARTS.
WE WORKED TO, UM, GET THINGS GOING AND THEN WE PUT THINGS ON PAUSE AND THEN WE STARTED BACK AGAIN.
BUT WE AGREED, UM, TO DO THINGS IN PHASES AND THERE WERE SOME ITEMS THAT HADN'T YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED CUZ THEY NEEDED A LITTLE BIT ADDITIONAL FOUNDATIONAL ASSISTANCE.
ARE YOU IN A POSITION, MAYBE DIRECTOR OR MAYBE, UH, MR. CRITTENDON OR, UM, MS. FLORES GONZALEZ TO TELL US ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ITEMS FROM WATER FORWARD? THE FIRST GROUPING, PHASE TWO AND WHERE WE ARE WITH, WITH THOSE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS? SO I WOULD SAY GENERALLY WE'RE VERY MUCH, YOU KNOW, ON SCHEDULE, I KNOW THERE WAS SOME CONCERN SPECIFICALLY ABOUT, UH, THE INITIAL APPROACH TO INCLUDE SOME OF THE ORDINANCE REQUIREMENTS AS PART OF THE PRIOR, UM, UH, CODE NEXT OR LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE UPDATES.
UM, I THINK IT WAS A YEAR AGO-ISH.
YOU'LL HAVE TO GIMME THE, THE DATES, BUT ACTUALLY WE DID BRING SORT OF SEPARATE FROM A COMPREHENSIVE CODE REWRITE, WE PULLED OUT SOME OF THE ITEMS FROM THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE THAT RELATE TO ONSITE REUSE MM-HMM.
SO THOSE ARE MOVING FORWARD, I WOULD SAY THE CHALLENGE.
AND THEN MARI DID MENTION THAT WE, WE ARE SCHEDULED TO BRING TWO COUNCIL IN THE SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME, A SPECIFIC, UH, AFFORDABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE.
AND SO THAT, THAT'S KIND OF THE ONLY, I WOULD SAY, MAJOR ITEM THAT'S KIND OF OUT OF SEQUENCE OTHERWISE.
MARISA ALSO IN INDICATED WE'RE WE WILL BE BRINGING, UM, SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'LL DO THROUGH THE PLUMBING CODE, UH, RELATED LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION.
SO I THINK THOSE ARE REALLY THE KIND OF THE TWO KEY POINTS THAT REQUIRED SPECIFIC, UM, CHANGES TO CODE.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GETTING THERE AND WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY MUCH ON TIME.
AND I REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABILITY, UM, A YEAR AGO AND GETTING THE ASSESSMENT ON THE IMPACTS ON AFFORDABILITY, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WAS ASKED WAS, CAN WE AFFORD
[01:35:01]
NOT TO MAKE THESE CHANGES? AND THAT AFFORDABILITY HAS A DIFFERENT DEFINITION.ONE IS PURELY FINANCIAL, THE OTHER IS MORE EXISTENTIAL.
AND I WOULD ARGUE FRANKLY, MORE ALL-ENCOMPASSING AND MORE CRITICAL.
SO MY QUESTION TO YOU ALL IS, IS THAT ALSO PART OF THE ASSESSMENT THAT YOU ARE BRINGING TO THIS MATTER? SO, WE'LL AGAIN, WE'LL, WE'LL CERTAINLY BRING THAT DATA FORWARD AND, AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A, A FULL HEARING ON KIND OF ALL THE IMPACTS OF WHAT AFFORDABILITY MEANS IN THAT CONTEXT.
I MEAN, I, I DO THINK WE NEED TO LOOK AT WHAT THE LONG RANGE EFFECTS ARE AND WE'RE LOOKING AT SOME PRETTY DIRE CHARTS IN THE UPDATES TODAY.
AND IF WE ARE NOT GOING TO CONTINUE WITH WATER FORWARD IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS, AT LEAST THE FIRST GROUPING OF THEM BEFORE WE EVEN GO INTO GETTING NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL UPDATES IN THE PHASE TWO, UM, WHAT WOULD THOSE LINES LOOK LIKE IF WE DON'T IMPLEMENT WATER FORWARD AT ALL? I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT CUZ AFFORDABILITY COMES IN DIFFERENT COLORS MM-HMM.
AND I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO BE REALLY CLEAR AND HONEST, UM, AND STRAIGHTFORWARD IN OFFERING THAT INFORMATION.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALISON ALTER, THANK YOU, UH, BOTH FOR A GREAT, UM, SET OF PRESENTATIONS AND MARISSA, I'M ALWAYS IN AWE OF HOW YOU COVER THAT WHOLE TERRITORY OF WATER FORWARD, UM, SO ELOQUENTLY.
UM, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT PLAN AND THIS UPDATE IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT AND I WANNA RECOGNIZE ALL THE WORK THAT HAS GONE INTO THIS PIECE.
UM, COMING OUT THOUGH FROM THE EXTERNAL VIEW AND THE BIO WATERS, I'M INTERESTED IN WATER QUALITY AND I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING AT THIS POINT.
SO MAYBE YOU CAN EXPLAIN HOW WATER QUALITY IS NOW BEING INTRODUCED MORE DIRECTLY INTO THIS PLAN, WHICH IS MORE, MORE BEEN ABOUT SUPPLY THEN WATER QUALITY AND I THINK THE, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SOME OF THE SCENARIO PLANNING AND THE OTHER PIECES.
UM, YOU KNOW, WERE TO ALSO LOOK AT WATER QUALITY.
WE CAN EVOLVE THE SUPPLY WE WANT.
IF IT'S NOT A GOOD QUALITY, IT'S NOT GONNA HELP US.
SO CAN YOU SPEAK TO HOW THAT'S BEING INCORPORATED? AND I MAY HAVE MISSED IT CUZ THERE'S A LOT OF MATERIAL, BUT, BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW MORE OF HOW THAT'S BEING INCORPORATED.
UM, IT'S JUST THAT THERE'S, LIKE YOU SAID, THERE IS A LOT OF MATERIAL TO COVER AND SO WE'VE COVERED SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS.
ONE PIECE THAT I DIDN'T MENTION, UM, THAT'S NEW FOR THE WATER 4 20 24 UPDATE IS WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS.
AND WE ARE IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW NAME.
UM, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS, I HAVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT, FEEL FREE TO OFFER THOSE.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, SO OUR WATER RESOURCES PLANNING TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING WITH OUR WILDLANDS CONSERVATION DIVISION, UM, WITHIN AUSTIN WATER TO DO AN ANALYSIS LOOKING AT AREAS UPSTREAM OF OUR INTAKES WITH STILL WITHIN THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER BASIN, UM, BUT IN THE COUNTIES FURTHER UP INTO THE HILL COUNTRY TO IDENTIFY PRIORITY AREAS FOR CONSERVATION.
THE INTENT OF THAT WORK IS TO FIGURE OUT KIND OF WHAT, UH, WHAT STRATEGIES, WHAT CONSERVATION STRATEGIES, UH, CAN WE IMPLEMENT, UM, TO BETTER PROTECT DRINKING WATER, SOURCE WATER, UH, SOURCE WATER PROTECTION, OR TO PROVIDE SOURCE WATER PROTECTION FOR OUR DRINKING WATER.
THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME AS I WORK MY WAY THROUGH THAT.
UM, WE'VE BEEN DOING THE SPATIAL ANALYSIS LOOKING AT MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS, UM, IN INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, UM, RELATED TO SOILS, AQUIFERS, VEGETATION COVER, UM, SLOPES, AS WELL AS WATER SUPPLY FACTORS, INCLUDING, UM, THE RELATIVE STREAM FLOW VOLUMES CONTRIBUTED BY VARIOUS STREAM FLOW SEGMENTS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES, UM, AS WELL AS SPRING FLOW AND OTHER, UH, UH, HYDROLOGIC FACTORS TO COME UP WITH A SET OF PRIORITY AREAS.
UM, IF I COULD SHOW YOU ON THE MAP, UH, WHAT HAS BEEN KIND OF COMING UP IN OUR RESULTS, UH, BASED ON PROXIMITY TO OUR INTAKES AS WELL AS THIS OTHER VARIETY OF FACTORS.
UM, THE PET RIVER BASIN, UM, HAS, UH, BEEN HIGHLIGHTED AS A A KEY AREA.
UH, SOME OF THE AREAS IN BETWEEN, UM, LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN HAVE COME UP AS AS KEY AREAS.
UM, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR, UM, EXPERTS ON, UM, LAND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE DIFFERENT APPROACHES THAT WE COULD TAKE.
UM, WHETHER THAT'S, UM, THROUGH EDUCATION PROGRAMS, PARTNERSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE WORKING, UM, ALREADY WITHIN THESE AREAS, UM, UH, TO ENCOURAGE BETTER LAND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
[01:40:01]
WORKING WITH LANDOWNERS OR, UM, THINGS LIKE, UM, THE PURCHASE OF CONSERVATION EASEMENTS OR OTHER FEE SIMPLE ACQUISITION STRATEGIES, UH, TO TRY TO, UM, BETTER PRESERVE SOME OF THESE AREAS THAT WE KNOW ARE, UH, CRITICAL FOR MAINTAINING HIGH QUALITY IN OUR SOURCE WATER.SO KIND OF GOING BACK TO ROOT CAUSES IN TERMS OF WATER QUALITY PROTECTION, THAT'S ONE OF OUR KEY STRATEGIES MOVING FORWARD.
UM, IT IS A, A REALLY BROAD SCOPE.
UM, IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING TO THINK OF ALMOST AS A LEGACY PROJECT TOO.
WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A A LOT OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT HAPPENING WITHIN THE HEALTH COUNTRY AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS TO WORK WITH PARTNERS, UM, TO BE ABLE TO BETTER PROTECT, UM, THOSE WATER SUPPLIES THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE CORE PARTS OF OUR SUPPLY PORTFOLIO MOVING FORWARD.
ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UM, IN WE WILL BE WORKING ON IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS IS WORKING WITH L C R, THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY USING, UH, WATER QUALITY MODEL THAT THEY'VE DEVELOPED, THEY CALL THE KREMS MODEL TO RUN, UM, VARIOUS SCENARIOS OF, UM, UH, UH, UH, WATER QUALITY SIMULATIONS, LOOKING AT THE IMPACTS OF FUTURE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, LOOKING AT KIND OF BASELINE, UH, SCENARIOS, UM, THAT, UM, COULD TURN ON OR OFF VARIOUS EXISTING PROTECTIONS, UH, FOR THE HIGHLAND LAKES, THE HIGHLAND LAKE CURRENT HIGHLAND LAKES ORDINANCE, THE, THE DISCHARGE BAN ON THE HIGHLAND LAKES, CERTAIN PROTECTIONS THAT ARE KEY, UM, TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING AND TO CONTINUE IMPLEMENTING TO FURTHER PRESERVE, UH, THE HIGH QUALITY OF WATER THAT, THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET FROM THE HIGHLAND LAKES.
THAT'S A STARTING PLACE FOR US.
I'LL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR WORK HAS TYPICALLY BEEN ON THE QUANTITY SIDE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN US FOCUS ON BECAUSE WE EXPERIENCE THESE PERIODS OF DROUGHT.
SO THAT HAS BEEN A, A HIGH PRIORITY FOR US MOVING FORWARD.
WE KNOW THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING ECOLOGICAL SHIFTS WITHIN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
THE YANO RIVER FLOOD, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THESE EVENTS ARE PROMPTING US.
UM, AND THIS GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE FURTHER PROMPTING US TO TAKE ACTIONS AND LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN FURTHER PROTECT WATER QUALITY.
UM, I THINK ALL OF THOSE ARE, ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
I'M TRYING TO, TO PUT THIS IN THE CONTEXT WITH THE EXTERNAL REVIEW AND THE PIECES THAT THEY WANTED US TO FOCUS ON, AND EVERYTHING YOU SAID IS IMPORTANT, BUT I'M NOT, I, I FEEL I'M NOT, I'M NOT A TECHNICAL SCIENTIST, BUT I, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S STILL A DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHAT THEY WERE ASKING US TO BE MODELING AND TO BE THINKING ABOUT AND WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
AND NONE OF THAT'S TO SAY THAT WHAT YOU JUST SAID WERE NOT IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF WATER QUALITY.
UM, BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE A DIFFERENCE THAT I THINK AS WE MOVE FORWARD, WE SHOULD EXPLORE.
UM, ANNA BRIAN BORJA, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SERVICES AT AUSTIN WATER.
IN ADDITION TO WHAT MARISA HAS BEEN DISCUSSING, UH, THE EXTERNAL REVIEW IDENTIFIED OTHER SCENARIOS THAT THEY TASKED AUSTIN IN WATER WITH LOOKING AT, UM, CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS COLD AND HOT WE'RE PART OF THAT RECOMMENDATION.
IT ALSO INCLUDED, UH, OIL, OIL SPILL INTO THE LAKES, UH, FLOOD WATER MANAGEMENT AND PFAS CURRENTS AND FINISHED WATER.
UM, UH, WILDFIRE HAS ALSO BEEN FREQUENTLY MENTIONED AS A SCENARIO THAT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR.
SO, UM, WE ARE PREPARING AND EVALUATING ALL OF THE RISKS, UM, THAT ARE RELATED AND CITED IN THAT RECOMMENDATION, UH, IN TERMS, UH, AND THEY'RE AT VARYING STAGES OF PREPARATION.
SO THE, THE CLIMATE WORK THAT MARISA IS DESCRIBING IS OBVIOUSLY ON A LONGER, UH, TIME HORIZON.
WE HAVE A SCENARIO THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY PREPARING TO EXERCISE BOTH IN THE FIELD AT ONE OF OUR PLANTS AND, UM, AT OUR DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER, WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TO PREPARE FOR THAT.
UM, OUR STAFF ARE MONITORING, UM, P F A S AS A RISK THAT WE NEED TO RESPOND TO AS AN ORGANIZATION.
UH, WE'VE RECENTLY COMPLETED THE NEXT PHASE OF WORK RELATED TO, UH, FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT FOR OUR FACILITIES.
AND, UH, WE ALSO ARE, UH, UPDATING OUR OIL SPILL RESPONSE PLAN.
UH, ONE OTHER ELEMENT THAT'S OFTEN BEEN MENTIONED IN CONTEXT OF, UH, WATER QUALITY IS, UM, HA UM, HARMFUL ALG BLOOMS AND SIANO TOXINS.
THAT IS ALSO A SCENARIO THAT WE'RE PREPARING FOR AN EMERGENCY, UM, UH, SIMULATION AS WELL AS WE HAVE ONGOING, UM,
[01:45:01]
TECHNOLOGIES THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED TO DETECT THAT.SO JUST TO GIVE A BROADER PICTURE, SOME OF THESE RISKS ARE BEING ADDRESSED ON MORE, UH, SHORT TO MEDIUM TIME SCALES.
UM, DOES THAT HELP TO GIVE A PICTURE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING? IT DOES.
I JUST WANNA, I MEAN, IN THE RESPONSE TO THAT ITEM IN THE EXTERNAL REVIEW, IT WAS, IT WAS GONNA BE DEALT WITH IN WATER FORWARD AND, AND I'M NOT SURE THAT I'M TOTALLY SEEING THAT AND WE CAN CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION YES.
BUT, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, IF IF THE FOCUS IS ON DROUGHT FOR WATER SUPPLY AND WATER QUALITY, THEN WHEN WE HAVE COLD SPELLS THAT CREATE SHORT-TERM SUPPLY ISSUES, NOT NECESSARILY ACCOUNTING FOR IT AND IT MAY NOT BELONG IN WATER FORWARD, I JUST WANNA, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PLANNING FOR IT IN THE, IN THE RIGHT WAYS.
AND, AND SINCE THE RESPONSE WAS WE'RE DOING IT IN WATER FORWARD, THAT'S WHERE I WAS LOOKING FOR IT TO BE.
UM, SO MAYBE WE CAN CONTINUE, I DON'T HAVE THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS TO, TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION ON THE DIAS RIGHT NOW.
SO MAYBE WE CAN, WE CAN, UM, CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION AS THE PROCESS EVOLVES.
BUT I DID WANT TO COMMUNICATE WHAT, WHAT I AM TRYING TO SEE WHERE THAT IS AND IF WATER FORWARD IS NOT THE PLACE FOR IT, THEN WATER FORWARD IS NOT THE PLACE FOR IT.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PLANNING FOR IT, UM, APPROPRIATELY.
IT LOOKS LIKE THE DIRECTOR MAY HAVE, UM, SOME THINGS TO OFFER.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD ONE TIDBIT THAT, UM, AT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION EARLIER I MENTIONED THAT THE, UH, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF REPORT OUTS TO THIS COMMITTEE THAT COVER DIFFERENT TOPICS.
UM, AND WATER FORWARD OF COURSE IS ONE OF THEM THAT COVERS SOME OF THOSE EXTERNAL REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE ONGOING.
WE ALSO WILL BE REPORTING ON OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
THAT WAS ANOTHER ITEM THAT WAS ON THERE.
AND SO A LOT OF THE SCENARIO PLANNING THAT, UM, ANNA IS TALKING ABOUT WILL BE REPORTED OUT AS PART OF, IN THAT FRAMEWORK.
SO IT'S NOT ONLY IN WATER FORWARD THAT WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT WATER QUALITY.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND CUZ I KNOW, YOU KNOW, HAVING WORKED WITH THAT, ADVOCATES ON THE EXTERNAL VIEW AND DIFFERENT PIECES ARE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE WATER QUALITY AND, AND, AND SO I JUST, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOME CLARITY ON THAT.
A, WE'RE DEALING WITH IT AND B, WHERE WOULD, WHERE WOULD YOU FOLLOW KIND OF WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING AND SO WE CAN, WE CAN THINK THAT THROUGH MORE AS, AS WE GO WITH THESE THINGS AND, AND THE PRESENTATIONS.
UM, I DID WANNA ASK IF WE COULD GET, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS FOR FUTURE MEETINGS OR OR HERE, BUT UM, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET SOME ATX METER INFORMATION SPECIFIC FOR THE DISTRICT TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE IT'S BEING ROLL ROLLED OUT.
UM, AND WHEN, UM, AND I THINK IT WOULD ALSO BE HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE THE, THE NEW METER, YOU KNOW, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY CAN GET OUT OF THE NEW, UM, SOFTWARE OR IF IT'S SOMETHING YOU WAIT TO, UM, TO DO UNTIL YOU GET THAT, UM, NEW METER.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, THE LAST QUESTION I HAD WAS ABOUT THE PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM AND THE EXTENSION.
MAYBE IT'S NOT THE PURPLE PIPE, IT'S THE RECLAIMED THE RECLAIMED WATER PIPE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO DO, I THINK IT ALLOWS YOU TO DO SOME OF THE PURPLE PIPE, BUT THERE I MAY BE MIXING TWO DIFFERENT RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEMS THERE, BUT, BUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS LIKE THE BUILDINGS DOWNTOWN TO USE THE RECLAIMED WATER, CERTAINLY OUR, OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM.
UM, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT? I, I WAS JUST WONDERING, UM, HOW THAT FITS INTO WATER FORWARD AND THE PLANS FOR EXPANSION OF THAT AND THAT MAY BE A FUTURE MEETING.
SO WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS UNDERWAY THAT WE CALL COMPLETING THE CORE THAT, UM, THAT EXTEND THAT, UM, CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM LOOP INTO DOWNTOWN THAT ALLOWS, UH, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENTS TO CONNECT TO IT, UM, THAT ARE WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE AS REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE.
UM, AND UH, CERTAINLY IF WE HAVE MORE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, UM, KEVIN AND MARISA CAN COVER THOSE.
I THINK MAYBE WE COULD CONSIDER THAT AS AT ONE OF OUR FUTURE MEETINGS, UM, TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT CENTRALIZED RECLAIM WATER SYSTEM AND, AND I KNOW THERE'S SOME CONVERSATIONS GOING ON WITH THE COUNTY, WHICH I HOPE ARE CONTINUING TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, ON THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK IT, IT, IT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS THAT AT AT SOME FUTURE MEETING WHEN WE HAVE SPACE IN THE SCHEDULE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH MR. CRITTENDON AND MS. FLORES GONZALEZ.
[7. Discussion and possible action regarding remaining Austin Water Oversight Committee meeting dates for 2023.]
ADDENDUM ITEM SEVEN.LET'S GO AHEAD AND TAKE THAT UP.
AND THIS IS A, UH, ACCOMMODATION.
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THE CHANGE IN THE COUNCIL MEETING THAT WAS AGREED TO, UM, AT OUR LAST COUNCIL MEETING.AND SO I ASKED, UM, THE WATER UTILITY STAFF TO LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE AND SEE IF IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO PUSH OUR PLANNED AUGUST 30TH MEETING UP TO, UP A WEEK EARLY TO AUGUST 23 AND IT WOULD, IT WOULD BE AT ONE O'CLOCK INSTEAD OF ONE 30.
SO IT'S UP TO US TO, UM, APPROVE THIS IF WE CAN DO THIS DAY AND TIME OR, UM, IF NOT, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, HAVE A, A DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
BUT IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT, ARE Y'ALL OKAY WITH THE DATE CHANGE? WAS THERE A REASON WE SWITCHED TO ONE FROM ONE 30 OR, AND THAT'S TO ACCOMMODATE I THINK THE ROOM OR SOMETHING.
WE CAN'T, WE HAVE TO BE OUT AT A CERTAIN TIME BECAUSE THE ROOM IS ALSO ENCUMBERED.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION? YES MA'AM.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE MOVING OUR AUGUST 30TH, 2023 AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING FROM ONE 30 ON AUGUST 30TH TO ONE O'CLOCK ON AUGUST 23RD.
AND LOOKS LIKE I, LIKE I GOT TWO SECONDS.
WE'LL GIVE THAT ONE TO JV TWO COUNCIL MEMBER VELAZQUEZ, IS THERE ANY, UH, ADDITIONAL COMMENT AND LOOKING LIKE THAT IS APPROVED ACROSS THE BOARD? WE WILL OFFICIALLY MOVE THAT AUGUST MEETING A WEEK EARLY.
UM, MS. OLSON, DO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT? EXCUSE
[6. Identify items to discuss at future meetings.]
ME, OTHER THAN MAYBE FUTURE ITEMS, WHICH I THINK WE'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THROUGHOUT THE MEETING, THAT IS EVERYTHING WE HAVE ON OUR AGENDA FOR YOU TODAY.HAPPY TO DISCUSS ANY FUTURE ITEMS. UM, AND WE'LL BE PREPARED TO BRING THOSE BACK NEXT TIME.
AND DO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONNECT UP WITH STAFF AND, AND HAVE ADDITIONAL DEEP DIVES FOR YOU AND YOUR STAFF CUZ I BET THEY HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AS WELL THAT DON'T NECESSARILY GET HEARD FROM US ON THE DIAS.
THAT BEING IT AT 3:23 PM I ADJOURN THIS MEETING OF THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU STAFF FOR REALLY GOOD INFORMATION.