[00:00:03]
WE'RE READY, WE'RE READY TO ROLL.
[CALL TO ORDER]
CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AT 1209.ARE WE GONNA PRINT IT OUT, SIGN IT, AND SCAN IT AND SEND IT BACK? IS THAT THE DEAL? IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO PRINT IT OUT, SIGN IT AND SCAN IT, THAT'S FINE.
IF YOU CAN USE, UH, SOMETHING LIKE ADOBE, UM, OR ANOTHER SOFTWARE APPLICATION TO DIGITALLY SIGN THE FORM AND SEND IT BACK, THAT WILL ALSO WORK.
I'M NOT SMART ENOUGH TO DO THAT.
I'LL, I'LL PRINT IT, SIGN IT, AND SEND IT TO YOU.
MARISSA, I WAS TOLD AT THE TRAINING ON FRIDAY THAT YOU CAN SEND AN EMAIL, JUST EMAIL TO MARISSA SAYING THAT, THAT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU WERE PRE, THAT YOU'RE PRESENT AND SIGNING IN FOR THE MEETING.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO ACTUALLY SIGN THE FORM OR DIGITALLY FIGURE IT OUT.
THAT'S WHAT THEY, SO ON FRIDAY, THAT WORKS FOR ME.
SO SEND AN EMAIL TO MARISA SAYING, I'M HERE.
DOES, UH, THIS IS WORKING OR NOT? DO THEY HAVE TO MAKE A STATEMENT ON WHETHER THEY HAVE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST OR NOT? YES, BUT WE'RE NOT VOTING ANYTHING.
AND HERE COMES OUR NEWEST MEMBER JUST COMING IN AND
UM, JUST, JUST GET A SEAT AND GET SETTLED AND THEN, UM, WE CAN LET YOU INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO FOLKS.
WE'LL DO A FEW ITEMS FIRST SO YOU CAN GET SETTLED IN AND, AND JUST PUSH THIS BUTTON SO THE, SO THE GREEN LIGHT COMES ON TO TALK AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE NOT, WHEN YOU'RE NOT TALKING.
SO, SO MOVING INTO OUR AGENDA, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS? NOPE.
I MEAN, PEOPLE, PEOPLE ARE WELCOME TO COMMUNICATE.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
THEN WE ARE GOING TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE LAST MEETING.MARISSA SENT THEM OUT A LITTLE BIT EARLIER TODAY.
I MOVE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
MADELINE, WILL, I ASSUME WILL, UM, ABSTAIN 'CAUSE SHE WAS NOT HERE.
WE'VE GOT FOUR BIG ITEMS TODAY THAT WE'RE GONNA GO OVER AND EVERYONE HAS THEIR PACKET.
BUT FIRST WE DO HAVE A NEW, UM, TASK FORCE MEMBER, UH, FROM, UM, ALISON ALTER.
SHE'S AN APPOINTEE FROM ALISON ALTER.
UM, AND IF YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF, I WAS GONNA GIVE YOU WARNING BEFORE THE MEETING, BUT YOU JUST WALKED IN RIGHT NOW, SO SORRY TO JUMP TO OKAY.
WELL GO AHEAD AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF, THE GROUP.
HI, MY NAME IS MADELINE MATHIS AND I HAVE BEEN RECENTLY APPOINTED BY ALLISON ALTER.
I HAVE A, A BACKGROUND, UH, WORKING FOR THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND THE DRINKING WATER AREA SPECIFICALLY, ALONG WITH, UM, RESTORATION FOR LIKE WETLANDS AND STUFF.
SO I'M EXCITED TO, TO COLLABORATE AND HELP MAKE DROUGHT RESILIENCY IN AUSTIN BETTER.
DO WE WANNA GO AROUND AND DO A QUICK ROUND OF INTRODUCTIONS? PAUL, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF? SURE, YEAH.
UM, I'M PAUL DIRE WELCOME, UM, MADELINE AND, UM, I'M A SECOND YEAR LAW STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS FOCUSING ON PUBLIC INTEREST ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.
HANEY, HOW ABOUT YOU? UH, I'M MICHELLE.
UM, UH, I RETIRED FROM THE CITY, UH, OF AUSTIN, UM, UH,
AND, UH, I'M NOW WORKING CONSULTING.
MY AIM IS, UM, TO SUPPORT, UH, THE JERSEY AND CITIZENS, UM, WITH, WITH CLEAN WATER AND WHATEVER THEY NEED.
AND YOU ARE DISTRICT ONE APPOINTEE, RIGHT? NATASHA HARPER MADISON? THAT IS CORRECT, YEAH.
AND THEN PAUL'S VANESSA FUENTES IS APPOINTEE PERRY.
OH, YOU'RE ON MUTE, PERRY? YES.
[00:05:01]
REAL ESTATE BUSINESS.I'M AN APPOINTEE IN DISTRICT THREE.
AND THEN WE'LL MOVE DOWN TO SARAH FAUST.
OH, WHAT AM I DOING? THERE YOU GO.
UM, I'M A WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ATTORNEY.
I'M CURRENTLY WORKING AS A CONSULTANT WITH, UM, A LOT OF WATER AND WASTEWATER UTILITIES ON VARIOUS ISSUES.
SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT, ALSO UTILITY MANAGEMENT.
UM, I AM KIND OF A CHRONIC CITY OF AUSTIN VOLUNTEER.
I'VE BEEN ON THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION, THE PARKS BOARD AND THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE AND IT'S LOT OF FUN.
SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY WORKING WITH US.
I'M APPOINTED BY, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE DISTRICT SEVEN OR 11? SEVEN.
UM, I'M, UH, MY DAY JOB IS, UH, RUN A RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, UM, FOCUSED ON WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
BUT, UH, AND I THINK I'VE BEEN ON THIS GROUP FOR, IS IT EIGHT YEARS? SEVEN YEARS? I DON'T KNOW.
UM, WE MET THE OTHER DAY, UM, MADELINE ALSO DID THE TRAINING I DID ON FRIDAY.
SO NOW WE HAVE A, A SECOND PERSON THAT CAN HELP ME REMEMBER WHAT THEY TOLD US ACCURATELY, HOPEFULLY BETWEEN US BOTH.
UM, AND, UH, WE WON'T GO AROUND TO EVERYBODY IN THE ROOM.
WE'LL, UM, SINCE YOU'RE HERE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MEET FOLKS.
'CAUSE I, WE HAVE A VERY PACKED AGENDA TODAY.
UM, BUT I WANT YOU TO MEET THE OTHER TASK FORCE MEMBERS.
[2. Water supply outlook with Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) implementation update]
LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO OUR NEXT ITEM.SO IF WE COULD PULL UP THE SLIDES FOR ITEM NUMBER TWO, OUR WATER SUPPLY OUTLOOK WITH THE D C P IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE.
I DID WANNA TAKE JUST A BRIEF MINUTE, UM, TO INTRODUCE A NEW MEMBER OF THE WATER RESOURCES TEAM.
EMILY RAFFERTY HERE ON MY RIGHT.
UM, ONE OF OUR NEWEST MEMBERS, SHE IS GONNA BE HELPING US OUT WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TASKS WITH, UM, UH, ADDITIONAL PLANNING AND RESEARCH TASKS.
AND WE'LL ALSO BE TAKING THE REINS ON THE WATERFORD TASK FORCE LIAISON RESPONSIBILITIES.
SO WE'LL BE TRANSITIONING THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES OVER TIME AND YOU CAN EXPECT TO HAVE MORE EMAIL COMMUNICATION FROM EMILY IN THE FUTURE.
SO GO AHEAD INTO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO THIS IS PART OF OUR STANDARD WATER SUPPLY, UM, OUTLOOK AND UPDATE.
UH, WE GET THESE CHARTS THAT, UM, ARE COMPILED BY RICHARD HOFF POWER, OUR CONSULTING HYDROLOGIST.
THIS GRAPH SHOWS INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKE, SO WATER THAT'S FLOWING INTO LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
YOU CAN SEE THE INFLOWS FROM, UH, JANUARY THROUGH AUGUST, 2023 IN THE PURPLE BARS.
UH, THE UPDATE HERE IS THAT, UM, UH, JULY AND AUGUST INFLOWS WERE VERY LOW.
THE AUGUST INFLOWS WERE AT 86 ACRE FEET, WHICH IS THE LOWEST AUGUST ON RECORD.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, PRETTY REMARKABLE, UM, ACROSS THE, THE PERIOD OF RECORD AS A WHOLE.
SO WE ARE CONTINUING TO EXPERIENCE SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
IF YOU MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, HOLD ON.
UM, FOR THE AV CAN YOU PUT THE FOLKS UP IN CASE FOLKS WANNA ASK A QUESTION? I CAN SEE THEM.
IS THERE A WAY TO PUT THE LITTLE GRID WITH THEIR FACES IN THE CORNER? THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE COMBINED STORAGE OF LAKES, BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS.
SO IF YOU ADDED UP THE VOLUMES OF WATER THAT'S STORED IN BOTH OF THOSE LAKES, UH, THE, WHICH ARE THE RESERVOIRS, UM, THAT WE USE, UH, FOR DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES OR FOR BACKUP TO OUR DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, THE, THE FAR RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE CHART SHOWS WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY WITH OR THROUGH SEPTEMBER 1ST.
UM, WITH COMBINED STORAGE WE'VE DIPPED BELOW 900,000 ACRE FEET OF COMBINED STORAGE.
AND SO, UM, IT, WE HAVE MOVED INTO, UH, STAGE TWO, A DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN RESTRICTIONS AND WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE UPDATE FOR YOU, UM, IN A FEW SLIDES HERE FROM OUR WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER ON THOSE DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS AND OUR CURRENT ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THOSE.
YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I THINK WE GOT A QUESTION TOMORROW.
SO, SO WHAT WAS, UH, UM, WHAT'S THE CAUSE OF THAT SUDDEN DROP THAT JUST HAPPENED, DO YOU KNOW? YEAH.
UM, SO WE'VE BEEN EXPER UH, WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING,
[00:10:01]
UM, ABNORMALLY HIGH TEMPERATURES.UM, THE EVAPORATIVE LOSSES ARE HIGHER THAN NORMAL.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVEN'T, UH, SEEN, UH, HIGH NECESSARILY HIGHER DEMANDS THAT ARE CAUSING, UM, THOSE DROPS.
BUT I THINK THAT THOSE HIGHER TEMPERATURES AND THE LACK OF ANY SORT OF SIGNIFICANT, UM, RAIN OR INFLOW INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THAT STEEP DROP.
IT JUST SEEMS A, SEEMS ALMOST LIKE A RELEASE RATHER THAN WHAT YOU DESCRIBED BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN IN THOSE CONDITIONS ALL SUMMER.
UM, BUT NOT SAYING YOU'RE WRONG, BUT IT JUST SEEMED, IT SEEMS A LITTLE COUNTERINTUITIVE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT LIKE CLIFF DIVE EVERY TIME WE CROSS THAT THRESHOLD, EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE HERE IN 2013.
WELL, SHE, SHE HAS AN UPDATED VERSION THAT SHE SHOWED US VERSUS THE ONE IN THE HANDOUT.
SO IF YOU COULD BRING THAT BACK UP, WHAT'S GOING IT SHOULD BE THE SAME.
WE'RE MISSING THE LATTER PART THAT WE'RE MISSING THAT LAST ROUTE.
'CAUSE WHEN YOU MENTIONED WE LIKE OUR OURS, THE HANDOUT DOESN'T SHOW THE GOING BELOW STAGE TWO.
UM, YEAH, IT DOES, DOES IT? I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT YOUR, OH, YOURS DOES? THAT'S WEIRD.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE.
BUT, UM, MAYBE I'M LOOKING AT THE OLD VERSION.
YOU'LL GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO REDEEM YOURSELF.
I'M JUST LOWERING THE BAR FOR MADELINE.
SO
I BETTER WATER ALL MY TREES AND IT GOES UP OR A LITTLE BETTER STAYS IT'S BEEN STAYING PRETTY CONSTANT BETWEEN 180 200 MILLION GALLONS, UH, PER DAY.
UM, THROUGHOUT AUGUST AND THEN INTO SEPTEMBER, EVEN WHEN WE HIT THE MAGIC, UH, STAGE TWO DECLARATION, THAT USE CONTINUED ABOUT THAT SAME AMOUNT.
IT'S NOT JUST LIKE AN AUSTIN THING THAT'S LIKE, IT'S HOT.
AND IF YOU EVER HAVE A QUESTION LIKE THAT, PLEASE BRING IT UP.
'CAUSE I, IT COULD ALWAYS BE ME, I'M MM-HMM.
IT JUST SEEMS LIKE, UH, LIKE THINGS WERE KIND OF LEVELING OFF AND THEN TOO JUST SUDDENLY DROPPED.
SO I'M JUST, JUST CURIOUS WHAT THAT REASON MIGHT BE.
UH, WELL, MAYBE WE COULD FOLLOW UP WITH THE WEEKLY INFORMATION.
THERE'S A LITTLE BUMP UP HERE.
YOU SEE THAT LITTLE TICK UP MM-HMM.
AND SO THAT KIND OF GIVES YOU A TIME, IT'S REALLY SQUISHED UP BECAUSE THAT, THAT FROM THOSE GRAY LINE TO GRAY LINE, THAT'S A WHOLE YEAR.
UM, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO SEE JUST WITH YOUR EYES BECAUSE OF THE, THE STEEP SOAP OF THAT LINE.
BUT THAT, THAT LINE FROM THAT TICK UP IN ABOUT, I THINK MAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT LINE, WHICH IS TAKING US THROUGH SEPTEMBER.
THAT COVERS, UH, THE, WHERE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY RAIN THAT PERIOD OF TIME WHERE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY RAIN.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO AND HOT DRY SUMMER.
I WATERED MY TREES A COUPLE OF TIMES, ROBERT.
I MEAN, IT, IT'S IT COMPLEX TO TRY TO PARSE OUT ALL THE DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT IMPACT ALL OF THESE THINGS.
WE CONTINUE TO WATCH IT ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, ANOTHER THING, RIGHT? IT'S BEEN HOT AND BEEN A LONG HOT SUMMER WITHOUT A DROP OF RAIN.
RIGHT? AND SO THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WATER SURFACE TEMPERATURE IS ALSO, YOU KNOW, RISING.
'CAUSE WE'RE NOT SEEING INFLOWS TO SORT OF DROP THAT DOWN.
SO IT'S PROBABLY A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS.
WE'LL DO WHAT WE CAN TO FIND MORE INFORMATION TO TRY TO TEASE THAT OUT.
BUT ALWAYS IN THE THROES OF DROUGHTS, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO SORT OF MEASURE OUT EXACT REACTION AND RESPONSE.
BUT WE'LL DO WHAT WE CAN TO KEEP YOU KIND OF APPRISED, REST ASSURED THAT WE'RE, UM, LOOKING AT IT EVERY DAY.
I MEAN, I THINK THE FACT THAT IT'S HOTTER THAN IT'S EVER BEEN, WE HAVEN'T HAD A DROP OF RAIN.
I MEAN THAT TRACKS THE SCALE, Y'ALL JUST A LITTLE WHILE AGO.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, THE, UH, ONE OF THE OTHER PROJECTIONS, THE L C R A SIX MONTH PROJECTION WILL PUT THAT SCALED IN A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AND THAT'S A PART OF IT TOO.
SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UH, THIS IS JUST AN EXCERPT FROM TEXAS, UH, WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARDS, WEEKLY WATER REPORT THAT THEY PUT TOGETHER.
THIS IS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 5TH.
[00:15:01]
YOU'VE BEEN, IF YOU TRACK THESE WATER WEEKLYS OVER TIME, THERE HAS BEEN AN EXPANSION OF EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS WITHIN OUR REGION.UM, AND, UH, AN EXPANSION OF DROUGHT CONDITIONS AND DROUGHT SEVERITY WITHIN THE STATE.
WE'RE NOW ENTIRELY WITHIN EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
IF YOU MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, AND I'LL SAY TOO, WITH THE DROUGHT MAP FROM THIS WEEK, THE EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS ARE FOR THE ENTIRE COLORADO RIVER BASIN DOWN TO THE COAST.
WE ALSO INCLUDE THIS THREE MONTH OUTLOOK FROM NOAA SHOWING, UM, THE TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK AS WELL AS PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK FOR SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER.
WE HAVE, UM, ABOUT EQUAL CHANCES OF SEEING AVERAGE PRECIPITATION ACROSS THOSE THREE MONTHS THROUGH NOVEMBER OF 2023, ACCORDING TO THIS, UH, FORECAST ISSUED ON AUGUST 17TH, 2023.
AND WE HAVE ABOVE AVERAGE CHANCES, UM, FOR HIGHER TEMPERATURES DURING THAT PERIOD OF TIME AS WELL.
DURING, IF YOU MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL GET A LITTLE BIT OF A LOOK INTO WHAT THERESA WAS MENTIONING.
THIS, UH, PROVIDES A A LITTLE BIT, UH, EXPANDED SCALE SHOWING COMBINED STORAGE OVER TIME FROM SEPTEMBER, 2022, UH, THROUGH SEPTEMBER, 2023.
YOU CAN KINDA SEE WE'VE GOT SOME, UH, SOME LITTLE BUMPS IN HERE WHERE WE HAD SOME, UH, INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES AND THEN THAT DROP, UH, IN COMBINED STORAGE, UH, ACROSS THE SUMMER.
UM, THIS WAS RELEASED SEPTEMBER 1ST, 2023 OR A FEW DAYS AFTER THEN.
AND IT SHOWS THE UPDATED PROJECTIONS FOR THE SIX MONTH PERIOD THROUGH MARCH, 2024.
WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING ALONG THE EXTREME DRY CONDITIONS 99TH PERCENTILE RED LINE TOWARDS THE BOTTOM OF THIS.
WE KNOW THAT WE ARE, UH, CURRENTLY IN EL NINO CONDITIONS AND THERE IS STILL A CHANCE, UM, THAT WE MAY GET ADDITIONAL RAIN AND INFLOW DURING THE FALL AND WINTER TIMEFRAME.
UM, WE'RE TRACKING THAT, WE'RE MONITORING THESE CONDITIONS, UM, AND WE ARE DOING PLANNING FOR A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT OUTCOMES INCLUDING, UH, CONTINUED DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
AT THIS POINT, I THINK I CAN HAND IT OVER TO, OR I GUESS YOU COULD MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, JUST WANTED TO SUMMARIZE
SO, UM, FOR, UH, UH, OUR, JUST TO SUMMARIZE SOME OF OUR ONGOING ACTIVITIES, UM, WE CONTINUE TO, UM, MONITOR CONDITIONS TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE AND TO IMPLEMENT OUR STRATEGIES AND OUR PLAN.
UM, SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO MONITOR HIGHLAND LAKE'S INFLOWS COMBINED STORAGE LEVELS, FORECASTED WEATHER CONDITIONS AND CLIMATE PATTERNS.
WE ARE CONTINUING OUR COORDINATION WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY.
WE HAVE MONTHLY MEETINGS WITH THEM, UM, AND AS WELL AS ADDITIONAL CONVERSATIONS, UH, THROUGH OUR WATER PARTNERSHIP, UH, TO, UH, WORK TOGETHER ON MANY OF THESE MONITORING TASKS AS WELL AS PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE.
UM, WE'RE CONTINUING OUR UPDATES TO THE WATER FORWARD PLAN, WORKING TOWARDS ANTICIPATED COMPLETION IN 2024.
AND WE'RE ALSO HEAVILY INVOLVED IN THE REGION K WATER SUPPLY PLANNING PROCESS AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
UM, WE'RE ALSO CONTINUING OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF WATER FORWARD STRATEGIES, INCLUDING CONSERVATION AND REUSE STRATEGIES.
UM, IDENTIFYING PILOT PROJECT LOCATIONS FOR AN AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT, AS WELL AS PRELIMINARY PLANNING FOR INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE STRATEGY.
IF Y'ALL RECALL, THAT WAS AN EMERGENCY DROUGHT SUPPLY STRATEGY THAT WOULD BE TRIGGERED, UM, UH, IN BEYOND EMERGENCY, UH, CONDITIONS.
UM, THAT WOULD HELP TO SUPPLEMENT OUR DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES.
AND AT THIS POINT, IF YOU MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS WHERE I'LL HAND IT OVER TO KEVIN K KKI.
UM, IF I HAVEN'T MET YOU, AND I THINK I'VE MET ALMOST EVERYONE BEFORE, MY NAME IS KEVIN KLUGE.
I'M THE WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER.
AND THIS SLIDE TALKS OR SUMMARIZES REALLY THE RECENT ACTIVITIES.
AS WAS MENTIONED BEFORE, WHEN THE RESERVOIR RESERVOIRS ARE FULL, IT'S ABOUT 2 MILLION ACRE FEET OF WATER.
AND IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT EVEN WHEN THE RESERVOIR IS FULL, AUSTIN HAS ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. SO ALL THE TIME, ONE DAY A WEEK FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, WHEN THE RESERVOIR
[00:20:01]
STORAGE LEVELS REACH 1.2 MILLION ACRE FEET, THEN IT GOES INTO STAGE ONE.AND THAT WAS REACHED BACK IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR.
OR I'M SORRY, 1.4 MILLION ACRE FEET.
I WAS A LITTLE AMBITIOUS THERE.
UM, OVER THE LAST 15 MONTHS, AFTER GOING INTO STAGE ONE, UH, WE'VE BEEN STEPPING UP OUR ONGOING DROUGHT MESSAGING MATERIALS GOING OUT, WHETHER IT'S SOCIAL MEDIA OR PAID ADVERTISING, REALLY TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT TO CUSTOMERS THAT WE ARE IN A DROUGHT, WE NEED TO BE SAVING WATER TOGETHER.
AND THEN ON AUGUST 15TH, WE WENT INTO STAGE TWO OF A DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN WHEN, UM, THE STORAGE LEVELS REACHED 900,000 ACRE FEET AND CURRENT STORAGE IS ABOUT 820,000 ACRE FEET.
UM, SINCE WE WENT INTO STAGE TWO, NEXT SLIDE.
SO I MENTIONED THAT, UM, ALL THE TIME.
WE HAVE ONE DAY A WEEK WATERING, BUT AS THE STAGES GO UP, AS WE WENT INTO STAGE ONE AND THEN STAGE TWO, WE RATCHET UP OUR RESTRICTIONS A LITTLE BIT IN EACH STAGE.
THESE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTED RESTRICTIONS IN STAGE TWO.
OF COURSE, ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE YOU SEE LANDSCAPE WATERING, AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND HOSE END SPRINKLERS.
UH, WE, FOR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, WE KIND OF RATCHET BACK HOW FAR INTO THE MORNING THEY CAN, UH, WATER.
IT USED TO BE 8:00 AM AND NOW THEY CAN NEED TO STOP WATERING BY 5:00 AM HOSE END SPRINKLERS.
IN STAGE ONE USED TO BE ABLE TO WATER TWO TIMES A WEEK, AND NOW THERE'S ONLY ONE TIME A WEEK ON THE WEEKENDS, SATURDAY OR SUNDAY.
AND WE'VE SINCE GOING INTO STAGE TWO, INCREASED ENFORCEMENT PATROLS AND INVESTIGATIONS.
UM, SO THE USUAL PATROL STAFF ARE GOING OUT MORE.
WE'VE HIRED A NUMBER OF TEMPORARY STAFF TO HELP US WITH THE PATROLS AND THE ADMINISTRATION PAPERWORK OF, UH, THE INVESTIGATIONS THAT ARE FOUND.
AND NOW MOST EVERYONE IN OUR DIVISION IS TAKING TURNS, TURNS AT GOING OUT AND DOING SOME PATROLLING.
SO WE'VE REALLY KINDA STEPPED THAT UP ON THE RIGHT HAND.
UM, BASED UPON MY INVESTIGATIONS OF WALKING THE DOG AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD, PEOPLE JUST HAVEN'T RESET THEIR AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. THEY'RE STILL JUST RUNNING.
AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST SO HARD TO SEE, BUT THAT'S JUST GONNA BE THE REAL CHALLENGES.
AND I'VE SEEN SOME SOCIAL MEDIA FROM YOU ALL ABOUT RESETTING IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. LIKE DON'T FORGET TO DO THAT.
SO, SO THAT WAS A NICE, UH, SEEING THAT AND THEN SEEING A SOLUTION ONLINE THAT AUSTIN WATER POSTED.
AND I WOULD NOTE THAT, UM, IN ADDITION TO US STEPPING UP OUR OWN ENFORCEMENT, ONCE WE DID HIT, DID HIT STAGE TWO, WE SAW A LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF 3 1 1 REPORTS, UH, FROM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THAT.
SO A LOT OF PEOPLE ALSO ARE OBSERVING AND THERE'S DEFINITELY A LAG TIME BETWEEN WHEN WE GET A REPORT WE'LL SEND OUT A WARNING.
SO SOMETIMES IT CAN SEEM TO TAKE A WHILE, BUT WE ARE RESPONDING TO THOSE REPORTS.
UM, SO I'M AN ATTORNEY, I'M NOT A MEDIA CONSULTANT, SO TAKE THIS FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.
I AM REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT A LOT OF THE, UM, THIS SOCIAL MEDIA POST AND I SAW A PRINT AD THAT HAD A PICTURE OF LAKE TRAVIS AND I GO TO LAKE TRAVIS A LOT.
SO I SEE IT AND I SEE THE DIFFERENCE AND IT'S VERY DRAMATIC.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY GOOD MESSAGING.
I THINK CONSIDER MAYBE SOME PHOTOS WITH LIKE TWO PART, LIKE TRAVIS FULL VERSUS LAKE TRAVIS NOW, BECAUSE I THINK IF YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT, IT MAY NOT COME THROUGH THE SAME WAY.
THERE WAS A PICTURE THAT RAN, I THINK IN THE COMMUNITY IMPACT AND IT SHOWED, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHICH IT IS.
IT WAS SOME, SOME TRIBUTARY BASICALLY AND GRASS HAD GROWN WHERE WE ALL KNOW IT SHOULD BE WATER.
BUT JUST LOOKING AT THE PHOTO ACTUALLY SHOWED IT TO MY NEIGHBOR TO SEE WHAT SHE THOUGHT OF IT.
AND YOU REALLY COULDN'T TELL THAT THAT'S WHAT IT WAS IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW.
SO JUST, YOU KNOW, SOME, UM, SUGGESTIONS.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WAS THINKING ABOUT IS ON THIS PARTICULAR POST THAT YOU PUT IN HERE, IT SAYS, AND I DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS RAN, IT WAS AFTER JULY OF 2023 'CAUSE THAT'S, IT'S TALKING ABOUT THE RECORD, BUT IT SAYS, CONSIDER SKIPPING THE CAR WASH OR CUTTING BACK ON WATERING YOUR LAWN TO MAKE IT LAST.
AND FROM WHAT I KNOW, CUTTING BACK ON WATERING YOUR LAWN IS WHAT WE'RE MANDATING AND WOULD BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE AND HELPFUL THING.
SO JUST, YOU KNOW, A COMMENT THAT YOU MIGHT THINK ABOUT MAYBE JUST EMPHASIZING THE IRRIGATION AS
[00:25:01]
OPPOSED TO THE, THE CAR WASHING OR STATING, YOU KNOW, PLEASE CHECK THE RULES FOR YOUR, THE NEW RULES ARE OUT, OR WHATEVER IT IS.AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SAW A FEW OTHER HIGHLIGHTED, UH, RESTRICTIONS, UM, FINAL IT'S LANDSCAPE ESTABLISHMENT, UM, WILL BE SOMETHING GOING FORWARD THAT BUILDERS, UM, WILL NEED TO CONTEND WITH IN TERMS OF ESTABLISHING THEIR LANDSCAPES.
DO BUILDERS STILL HAVE TO PUT IN LANDSCAPES OR DO THEY WAIT UNTIL THE END OF, OF, UH, THIS DROUGHT STAGE IN ORDER TO, 'CAUSE YOU HAVE, DON'T YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR LANDSCAPE INSTALLED FOR YOUR CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY? THANK YOU.
UM, TEAMWORK, UM, YOU HAVE TO HAVE YOUR LANDSCAPE INSTALLED FOR THAT, BUT I REM I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS AUSTIN, BUT SOME CITY PASS WAS LIKE, WE'RE GONNA FOREGO THAT, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE A DEPOSIT DOWN TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE GONNA COME BACK AND PUT THOSE LANDSCAPES IN AFTERWARDS.
'CAUSE YOU DON'T WANNA PUT IT IN AND NOT BE ABLE TO ESTABLISH IT.
THAT'S DOESN'T, THAT'S NOT A GOOD STRATEGY EITHER.
THAT, THAT, UH, FOREGOES OF, OF PUTTING IN THE LANDSCAPE IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN CONSIDERING.
UM, CURRENTLY NOW THE BEST OPTION FOR LAND OR DEVELOPERS WOULD BE TO SUBMIT A ZEROSCAPE LANDSCAPE.
VARIANCE, WHICH IS THE OTHER LOGICAL THING TO DO HERE IS TO PUT IN A VERY WATER CONSERVING LANDSCAPE.
AND THEN YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ESTABLISH IT WITH THE REGULAR WATERING SCHEDULE.
AND MANY OF THE BUILDERS ALREADY USE THOSE TYPES OF PLANTS IN TURF IN THEIR NORMAL CASE OF OPERATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN SEE I HAD IN MY HAND UP, BUT I GUESS PROBABLY NOT.
UM, SO ON, ON THIS SLIDE, I WOULD LOVE JUST A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ENFORCEMENT OF ALL OF THIS.
UM, 'CAUSE I'M, I'M REALLY NOT FAMILIAR WITH HOW THE PROCESS WORKS.
I'VE, I'M GETTING BITS AND PIECES LIKE JENNIFER'S WALKING AROUND HER NEIGHBORHOOD AND READY TO CALL 3 1 1 AT ANY MOMENT, WHICH IS GREAT.
SO LIKE YOU FOLLOW UP ON THAT, BUT JUST, AND SO WE'RE ALL DOING THAT MAYBE ACROSS AUSTIN AND THAT'S, THAT SEEMS IMPORTANT THAT WE ALL HOLD EACH OTHER ACCOUNTABLE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
BUT ON A, MAYBE LIKE A ZOOMED OUT SCALE, IF YOU GUYS HAVE A PICTURE OR OF THE CITY AS A WHOLE AND, YOU KNOW, ARE THERE LIKE MAJOR ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS GOING ON AGAINST MAJOR OFFENDERS? YOU KNOW, LIKE LET'S SAY JUST HYPOTHETICALLY, LET'S SAY ALL THE GOLF COURSES IN TOWN ARE IRRIGATING THEIR FAIRWAYS THREE TIMES A WEEK OR SOMETHING.
IS SOMEBODY LIKE INVESTIGATING THAT AND ENFORCING THAT? DO YOU HAVE A, DO YOU HAVE A HANDLE ON THAT? I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS ABOUT THAT PROCESS.
WELL, I WOULD SAY JUST FOR THE GOLF COURSES, UH, GIVE A BIT OF DEFENSE FOR THE GOLF COURSE.
THE, ALMOST ALL OF THEM USE RECLAIMED WATER OR SOME TYPE OF AUXILIARY WATER, UH, TO WATER THEIR, THEIR FAIRWAYS AND GREENS.
UM, SO THAT'S FORTUNATELY, FORTUNATELY TAKEN CARE OF PRETTY WELL IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT.
OUR PATROLS, WE HAVE STAFF GOING OUT.
A LOT OF THAT IS FOCUSED ON THE LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION, AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE.
UM, SOME NEIGHBORHOODS ARE GOOD PLACES TO GO IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR, UH, LANDSCAPE, UH, WATERING VIOLATIONS.
UM, BUT WE'VE DON'T FOCUS JUST ON THOSE.
AND WE ALSO LOOK OUT FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS ALSO IRRIGATING AT THE WRONG TIME.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE EXPANDING IN, WE, OUR OTHER STAFF MEMBERS WHO DON'T USUALLY GO OUT ON PATROL, WE ARE, UH, WORKING ON DISTRIBUTING, UM, SIGNS THE YARD SIGNS AROUND JUST TO CATCH PEOPLE'S EYE IN CASE THEY DON'T HEAR IT ON THE RADIO OR NEWS OR SOCIAL MEDIA OR ANY OTHER TYPES OF MEDIA.
AND WE'RE ALSO REACHING OUT MORE TO RESTAURANTS, UM, 'CAUSE THERE IS A, A RESTRICTION THAT RESTAURANTS NOT SERVE WATER UNLESS PEOPLE ASK FOR IT.
AND DO NOT USE PATIO MISTERS EXCEPT BETWEEN THE HOURS OF FOUR AND MIDNIGHT.
AND SO WE ARE FOCUSING ON THAT ALSO.
ANYTHING ELSE? THANKS, THANKS FOR THAT RESPONSE.
MY ONE FOLLOW UP THOUGHT ON THAT IS, UM, I WOULD ASK, AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HERE KNOWS THE ANSWER TO THIS, IF THERE ARE ACTUALLY LIMITATIONS ON THE AMOUNT OF, UM, INFORMATION YOU CAN RELEASE PUBLICLY ABOUT YOUR INVESTIGATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS? BECAUSE AS I THINK WE ALL KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF VALUE IN, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, PUBLIC SHAMING.
UM, AND IF PEOPLE THINK THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY'RE DOING THE WRONG THING, THEN THEY'LL OFTEN STOP.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU CAN GET COMMERCIAL OPERATORS OR RESTAURANTS AND WHATNOT, LIKE,
[00:30:01]
YOU KNOW, THINKING OUT LOUD HERE, BUT YOU CAN HAVE A WORST VIOLATOR OF THE WEEK AND HIGHLIGHT THEM ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND PEOPLE CAN KNOW ABOUT IT AND AVOID THEM AS A BUSINESS, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.I MEAN, I JUST THINK MAYBE WE NEED TO GET CREATIVE, BUT, UM, THERE MAY BE SOME LEGAL LIMITATIONS ON THAT.
BUT JUST A THOUGHT, THE NUMBER OF, UH, PENALTIES WE ACTUALLY GIVE OUT IS RELATIVELY LOW.
UM, MAYBE 10 OR SO FOR THE LAST MONTH.
BUT THE NUMBER OF WARNINGS WE GET ABOUT IS PROBABLY 200, 250 OR SO.
UM, AND A LOT OF THAT IS OUR INTENT ON EDUCATING PEOPLE TO REMIND THEM TO RESET THEIR, THEIR SPRINKLER SYSTEMS OR, UM, SOMETIMES PEOPLE MAY HAVE HAD IT SET BY THEIR IRRIGATOR AND NOT REALIZE THAT IT WAS RUNNING EVERY OTHER DAY.
UM, AND IT SHOULD BE JUST ONE, ONE DAY A WEEK.
SO A LOT OF WHAT WE DO IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT IS, ARE THESE WARNINGS AND THEN FOLLOWING UP ON THAT MM-HMM.
I CAN'T REMEMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE.
I BELIEVE, WELL, WE HAVE PENALTY RANGES SET BY THE COUNSEL, UM, AND THE PENALTY RANGES CHANGE IN THE STAGE OF DROUGHT AND THE NUMBER OF VIOLATIONS THAT A PERSON HAS RECEIVED.
SO THEY GET A WARNING AND THEN THEIR FIRST VIOLATION, I BELIEVE FOR RESIDENTIAL IT STARTS AT 75 AND THE RANGE, I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT IT GOES UP, BUT 75 TO A HIGHER NUMBER AND THEN THAT RANGE INCREASES MAYBE THE THIRD TIME THEY GET CAUGHT OR FOURTH TIME, WHAT HAVE YOU.
UM, THE PENALTIES THAT WE ASSIGN ARE ALSO BASED ON HOW MUCH THEY HISTORICALLY HAVE USED IN IN THE PAST.
UM, SO SOMEONE WHO IS IN THE TOP 1% OF ALL RESIDENTIAL WATER USERS WILL RECEIVE A HIGHER PENALTY THAN THE BOTTOM 90%.
SO THERE IS A FORM ON OUR WEBSITE THAT I COULD FORWARD TO YOU, WHICH PROVIDES A BUNCH MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION
WHERE, WHERE WE ARE GONNA RUN OUT OF TIME FOR JUST ONE MORE.
UH, JUST ANOTHER SLIDE, NEXT SLIDE.
UM, SO JUST GOING FORWARD, AS I MENTIONED, UH, WITHIN AUSTIN WATER AS, AS KEVIN CRITTENTON MENTIONED, WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE RESERVOIR AND THE STORAGE LEVELS, UH, WE'RE DOING MORE ENFORCEMENT AND MORE OUTREACH.
AND FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO EMPHASIZE THAT THEY NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THEIR WATER USE, CHECK THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, SIGN UP FOR MY A T X WATER, UH, TO GET LEAK ALERTS AND HIGH TIER ALERTS, AND THEN TAKE ACTION AND, UH, TAKE STEPS TO SAVE WATER.
UM, THANKS SO MUCH KEVIN AND MARISA.
UM, DEFINITELY NEED SOME RAIN HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
[3. Mandatory reuse ordinances update]
FORWARD, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE MANDATORY REUSE ORDINANCE UPDATE.WE'VE GOT THREE IMPORTANT ITEMS COMING UP.
UH, AND THIS MEETING RUNS UNTIL TWO 30 TODAY.
UH, SO WHY DON'T WE HOLD OUR QUESTIONS TILL THE END OF CATHERINE'S PRESENTATION, JUST SO SHE CAN GET THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND THEN JUST IN CASE SHE ANSWERS SOME OF THE QUESTIONS OR SOMETHING, AND THEN WE CAN ASK THEM THEN, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL MAKE IT THROUGH ALL OF OUR ITEMS IN TIME.
I'M CATHERINE JASINSKI, A SUPERVISING ENGINEER WITHIN THE UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION OF AUSTIN WATER, GIVING A BRIEFING ON THE MANDATORY WATER REUSE ORDINANCES THAT WERE A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE 2018 WATER FORWARD PLAN.
I WILL JUST GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THE ORDINANCES.
WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THEM FOR, UH, SEVERAL YEARS AND TALK ABOUT SOME RECENT PUBLIC, UH, ENGAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION STEPS AND THEN, UH, TALK ABOUT THE FINAL STEPS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, JUST AS A BIT OF A BACKGROUND, UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE ORDINANCES SINCE ABOUT MAY OF 2019 WHEN WE WERE DIRECTED BY, UH, CITY COUNCIL TO INCLUDE WATER FORWARD CODE REVISIONS INTO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REVISION PROCESS THAT WAS ONGOING AT THAT TIME, WE WERE SPECIFICALLY ASKED TO ADDRESS CODE CHANGES FOR LARGE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAD 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE OF GROSS FLOOR AREA.
AND WE HELD MULTIPLE PUBLIC STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS
[00:35:01]
OVER THE SUMMER OF 2019.UM, BUT ULTIMATELY THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REVISION, UH, DIDN'T MOVE FORWARD.
BUT WE DID GET A LOT OF, UH, STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK, UM, IN 2019 ABOUT THE, THE SHAPE OF THE ORDINANCES AND THE, AND THE PROGRAMS THEMSELVES.
THE NUMBER ONE, UH, STAKEHOLDER CONCERN THAT WE HEARD WAS ABOUT THE COST OF THESE SYSTEMS AND IMPLEMENTING THEM WITHIN NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
UH, THE SECOND ONE WAS WE WERE ASKED TO, UM, OFFER DEVELOPER INCENTIVES TO OFFSET SOME OF THE COSTS.
THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY WANTED TO AVOID INCREASING PROJECT REVIEW TIME DUE TO NEW REGULATIONS FROM THE ORDINANCES.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, THEY, WE JUST NEEDED TO CLARIFY WHAT THE MANDATORY REUSE PROGRAMS WOULD LOOK LIKE, WHAT SORT OF WATER SOURCES WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BE COLLECTED, AND WHAT WOULD THEY BE USED FOR WITHIN THESE NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
AND SO, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE ONSITE WATER REUSE PROGRAM, WE, UH, NEEDED TIME TO KIND OF DEVELOP OUR, UH, RESPONSES TO THESE CONCERNS.
AND SO OUR APPROACH, UM, WAS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM AND THE ORDINANCES IN A PHASED APPROACH.
AND PHASE ONE BEGAN IN DECEMBER OF 2020.
THAT'S WHEN WE ADOPTED A NEW SET OF REGULATIONS WITHIN, UH, CHAPTER 1513 OF THE CITY CODE FOR THE DESIGN, PERMITTING AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS. PREVIOUSLY, THE REQUIREMENTS WERE IN THE PLUMBING CODE.
THEY WERE HARD TO INTERPRET AND UNDERSTAND.
AND SO THAT WAS, UH, AN ATTEMPT TO ADDRESS SORT OF LIKE PERMITTING CLARITY FOR THESE SYSTEMS. AND THEN WE FOLLOWED THAT UP WITH A, UH, PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM, UH, FOR THESE SYSTEMS TO ENCOURAGE VOLUNTARY ADOPTION OF, UH, ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS BEFORE PHASE TWO WOULD BEGIN, UH, THE MANDATORY PHASE OF THE PROGRAM AND SHOULD MENTION THAT THE THE VOLUNTARY PERIOD WAS SET UP TO BE A, A THREE YEAR PERIOD TO ALLOW US TO GET, UM, SUCCESSFUL SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTED TO GET SOME EXPERIENCE WITH THESE SYSTEMS, UM, AND TO, UH, COLLECT SOME OF THE COST INFORMATION AND THEN COME UP WITH OUR FINAL SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT THE FINAL MANDATORY PROGRAM WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UH, THAT'S WHEN COUNSEL DIRECTED US TO, I MENTIONED THAT THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE REVISION PROCESS, UH, KIND OF GOT, UM, TABLED, UH, BY THE CITY.
AND SO COUNCIL DIRECTED US TO JUST PUT THE WATER FORWARD CODE AMENDMENTS INTO THE CURRENT LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
UM, AND TWO OF THOSE CODE REQUIREMENTS WENT IN, WENT INTO EFFECT DECEMBER 1ST, 2021.
THOSE, UH, RELATE TO WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATIONS, WHICH IS FOR ALL NEW DEVELOPMENTS, COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS TO DO A WATER USE ASSESSMENT, WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DEVELOPMENT STAGE TO ASSESS WATER NEEDS FOR THE PROJECT, AND THEN TO LEARN ABOUT INCENTIVES AND CODES THAT WE HAVE FOR CONSERVING WATER WITHIN THE DEVELOPMENT BEFORE YOU START TO BUILD ANY OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND THEN WE ALSO EXPANDED THE RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION ORDINANCE.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM REQUIREMENT WAS, UH, PUT INTO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE WITH AN EFFECTIVE DATE OF DECEMBER 1ST, 2023, WHICH IS LATER THIS YEAR.
AND FOR THE RECLAIMED WATER REQUIREMENTS, WE'VE HAD A RECLAIMED CONNECTION ORDINANCE SINCE 2012.
UH, IT'S STIPULATED THAT ALL COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN 250 FEET OF A RECLAIMED WATER MAIN WOULD HAVE TO CONNECT AND USE THE RECLAIMED WATER FOR NON-POTABLE NEEDS LIKE IRRIGATION AND COOLING AND TOILET FLUSHING.
AND WITH THE 2021 CODE AMENDMENT, WE EXPANDED THE REQUIREMENTS TO SAY THAT THOSE LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITH 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE, IF, IF THOSE PROJECTS ARE WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, THE PROJECT WOULD HAVE TO CONNECT AND USE RECLAIMED WATER FOR THE SAME TYPES OF USES, IRRIGATION, TOILET FLUSHING, COOLING.
UM, BUT THERE WAS ALSO A STIPULATION PUT INTO THAT AMENDMENT THAT THE VARIANCES WOULD BE GRANTED FOR MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING PROJECTS UNTIL DECEMBER 1ST, 2023.
AND THAT WAS TO ADDRESS HOUSING AFFORDABILITY CONCERNS.
AND SO, YEAH, SO HERE'S KIND OF THE EXACT LANGUAGE FROM THAT ORDINANCE THAT, UH, SAYS THAT BE ON OR BEFORE DECEM, SEPTEMBER 28TH, 2023, WHICH IS LATER THIS MONTH.
THE CITY MANAGER HAS TO PROVIDE A REPORT AND POSSIBLE, POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE, UH, IMPACTS TO HOUSING AFFORDABILITY FROM THESE NEW WATER REUSE ORDINANCES.
AND SO WE'RE CURRENTLY FINALIZING THAT REPORT TO BE SUBMITTED TO COUNCIL BY THE END OF THE MONTH.
UM, AND IT WAS SORT OF A, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY ADOPTED THE CODE AMENDMENTS IN 2021
[00:40:01]
WITH, WITH FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION DATES, AND THAT WAS TO GIVE STAFF TIME TO DEVELOP THE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE APPLICABILITY FOR, FOR THE MANDATORY PROGRAMS AND THEN TO ALSO COMPILE COSTS AND SAVING ESTIMATES FOR THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS.AND JUST TO SUMMARIZE THE ACTIVITY FROM THE VOLUNTARY PROGRAM, THE KIND OF THREE YEAR PERIOD WHERE WE'RE DEVELOPING THE MANDATORY, UH, PROGRAM IN TERMS OF ONSITE REUSE PERMIT APPLICATIONS, WE HAD TWO COOLING SA COOLING TOWER SYSTEM APPROVALS AS RE CONDENSATE TO COOLING TOWER REUSE SYSTEMS. WE HAD TWO PILOT INCENTIVE APPLICATIONS WHERE, UM, WE HAD VOLUNTARY, UH, INSTALLATION OF RAINWATER AND CONDENSATE REUSE SYSTEMS. AND THEN WE ACTUALLY HAD TWO BLACKWATER, UM, SYSTEM APPLICATIONS THAT ARE KIND OF, UH, UH, ANIMAL, I GUESS, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S THE RIGHT WORD TO USE, BUT, UM, THOSE ARE KIND OF NEW AND INNOVATIVE AND NOT GONNA BE REQUIRED AS PART OF OUR, OUR MANDATORY PROGRAM, BUT WE'VE HAD CUSTOMERS INTERESTED IN THOSE AND SO WE'RE HELPING TO WORK THOSE THROUGH THE PERMITTING PROCESS.
THROUGH THE T C E Q, WE COMMISSIONED OUR, UH, OSCAR AND CLARA DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS, WHICH ARE RIGHT BEHIND US HERE.
THERE'S, THAT'S THE BLACK WATER REUSE SYSTEM FOR THE TOILET FLUSHING IN, IN THIS BUILDING.
AND THEN THE AC CONDENSATE AND RAINWATER SYSTEM FOR LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION.
IT'S BEEN FULLY OPERATIONAL SINCE MAY OF 2022, AND WE'VE BEEN GIVING TOURS TO THE PUBLIC, JUST GAVE A TOUR TO SOME M E P ENGINEERS YESTERDAY.
UM, SO GETTING GOOD, GOOD, UH, DEMONSTRATION KIND OF USE OUT OF THE SYSTEMS. IN TERMS OF THE WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATIONS, WE'VE REVIEWED OVER 300 SITE PLANTS SINCE DECEMBER OF 2021, AND THAT'S BEEN A GOOD TOUCH POINT WITH NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO START GOING THROUGH THE WATER ASSESSMENTS FOR THEIR PROJECTS AND TO LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THE FUTURE REQUIREMENTS FOR RECLAIMED CONNECTIONS AND ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS. AND THEN, UH, THOSE, THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE LARGE 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR GREATER HAVE HAD TO MEET WITH US IN PERSON TO HAVE A MORE KIND OF INTIMATE SORT OF, UH, DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, THE POTENTIAL FOR WATER SAVINGS IN THEIR PROJECT.
AND THEN WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON INTEGRATING INTO THE CITY'S OVERALL DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR NEW REQUIREMENTS ARE ALIGNED WITH ALL OF THE CURRENT KIND OF CITY PRACTICES FOR REVIEWING DEVELOPMENT PERMITS, PERMITS.
AND THAT'S TO ADDRESS THE CONCERN ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FROM STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT NOT WANTING NEW REGULATIONS TO REALLY ADD TIME TO THE REVIEW PROCESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PROJECT.
AND SO, UH, OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MANDATORY ONSITE WATER RE PROGRAM ARE TO REQUIRE RAINWATER AND AC CONDENSATE AS THE ONSITE SUPPLIES.
AND DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT YOU ARE, WE'VE SORT OF LUMPED THEM INTO TWO DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
YOU'RE EITHER A SINGLE BUILDING OR MAYBE, UM, THREE BUILDINGS, BUT YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE STORIES, KIND OF BIG DENSER TYPE OF DEVELOPMENTS OR YOU'RE WHAT WE'RE CALLING A SUBURBAN MULTIFAMILY, WHICH IS A MAYBE 24 BUILDING THREE STORY THAT EACH HAS THREE STORIES IN THEM AND THEY'RE VERY DISPERSED AND THEY'RE MORE KIND OF IN THE OUTLYING AREAS OF, OF THE CITY.
AND SO DEPENDING ON WHICH OF THOSE TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS YOU ARE, THAT WILL DETERMINE WHAT YOU NEED TO USE THE ONSITE WATER FOR.
AND SO THE SUBURBAN SPREAD OUT, UM, SYSTEMS, THEY'LL, THEY'LL JUST BE REQUIRED TO USE THE WATER FOR IRRIGATION.
BUT THE OTHER TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS WILL HAVE TO USE THE WATER FOR ANY NON-POTABLE DEMANDS THAT THEY HAVE IN THE, IN THE BUILDINGS, INCLUDING TOILET AND URINAL, FLUSHING, IRRIGATION, COOLING, AND CLOTHES WASHING.
AND THEN THERE'S JUST A COUPLE NOTES AT THE BOTTOM THAT THE AMOUNT OF RAINWATER THAT IS REQUIRED TO BE COLLECTED IS BASED ON THE ROOF AREA AND, UH, YOU HAVE TO SIZE IT TO COLLECT ONE INCH OF ROOF RUNOFF.
AND THEN IF YOU DO HAVE ACCESS TO RECLAIMED WATER, OR IF YOU WANTED TO USE ANOTHER SOURCE WATER SUCH AS GRAY WATER OR BLACK WATER THAT YOU COULD CHOOSE TO DO THAT, AS LONG AS YOU MEET THE SAME AMOUNT OF, UM, POTABLE WATER OFFSET THAT YOU WOULD'VE UNDER THE, THE STANDARD, UH, RAINWATER AND CONDENSATE SYSTEM REQUIREMENT.
AND SO WE DID SOME MODELING AND PROJECTING BASED ON CURRENT DEVELOPMENT TRENDS AND HOW MANY LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS HAVE COME THROUGH THE PERMITTING PROCESS IN THE RECENT, UH, THE RECENT PAST.
UM, IF WE IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM, WE SHOULD GET IN THE RAIN, LIKE THIS IS PROJECTING THAT WE WOULD MEET OUR TARGET OF 5.7 M G D BY 2040.
UM, AND THIS CHART IS ALSO SHOWING
[00:45:01]
THE BREAKDOWN THAT 40% OF THE WATER WOULD COME FROM COMMERCIAL PROJECTS AND THE REMAINING 58% WOULD BE COMING FROM THE KIND OF MORE MULTI-FAMILY SECTOR OF PROJECTS.IN TERMS OF THE REPORT FOR, UM, THE COSTS OF THESE REQUIREMENTS, WE DID, UH, UM, A FULL BLOWN ASSESSMENT OF THE COSTS AND ALSO COMPARE THEM TO THE SAVINGS OR IN INCENTIVES THAT THE CITY OFFERS.
AND SO, UH, THEY INCLUDE CAPITAL COSTS, UH, TO INSTALL A COLLECTION AND TREATMENT SYSTEM, UH, THE COST TO DUAL PLUM BUILDING AND SUPPLY NON POTABLE WATER TO THE DEVELOPMENT.
THERE'S JUST AN ASTERISK THERE BECAUSE YOU HAD A, A CONSULTANT STUDY TO HELP US FIGURE OUT THE, THE COST OF THE DUAL PLUMBING.
THERE'LL BE OPERATIONAL COSTS, UH, FOR THE ONGOING MAINTENANCE AND O AND M A**L CROSS CONNECTION AND BACKFLOW TESTING, AND THEN YOU'LL NEED AN OPERATOR AND SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL ELECTRICITY AND CHEMICALS TO MAINTAIN YOUR ONSITE SYSTEM.
THE TYPES OF SAVINGS THAT THESE PROJECTS WILL REALIZE ARE REDUCED IMPACT FEES AND METER CHARGES FROM A REDUCED RELIANCE ON THE CITY'S, UH, CENTRALIZED INFRASTRUCTURE.
YOU'LL SEE REDUCED, UM, UTILITY BILLS FROM USING LESS WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICE.
AND, UH, WE'VE ALSO, UH, WORKED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO GET RELIEF FROM SUB-METERING, UM, MULTI-FAMILY UNITS IF YOU HAVE A NON-POTABLE WATER SUPPLY IN YOUR BUILDING.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, A REDU REDUCED WATER QUALITY VOLUME TO MEET OUR STORM WATER MANAGEMENT ORDINANCES.
THAT'S ANOTHER CONSULTANT STUDY THAT WE HAVE WORKED ON AND WORKED WITH THE WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TO KIND OF DETERMINE THE CRITERIA FOR THAT.
AND SO, UH, OVERALL, NEXT SLIDE.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE NET COSTS AFTER FACTORING ALL OF THE COSTS AND SAVINGS, THERE STILL WILL BE A NET IMPACT TO, UM, UH, TO HOUSING UNITS.
UH, AND THEY KIND OF VARY BASED ON THE TYPE OF BUILDING.
UM, MID RISES ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN HIGH RISES JUST BECAUSE OF THE, THE LAYOUT OF THE BUILDING.
YOU NEED MORE HORIZONTAL RUNS OF PIPING, SO THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL PLUMBING COST THAT YOU HAVE TO, UM, FACTOR IN.
AND SO, BUT IN, IF YOU'RE COMPARING THOSE COSTS TO MARKET RATE UNITS, MULTIFAMILY UNITS SOLD IN AUSTIN, THIS IS SOME RECENT DATA THAT WE PULLED, UM, WHICH ARE SELLING FOR 500,000 TO $5 MILLION RANGE.
THE RE ORDINANCES CAN ADD 0.02 TO 1.42% TO THE OVERALL COST, AND THAT'S ASSUMING THAT THE COST WOULD JUST BE PASSED ON TO THE BUYER OF THE UNIT.
AND THEN NEXT SLIDE, WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE COSTS ON MORE OF LIKE A MONTHLY BASIS.
SO LOOKED AT THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE PROJECT AND THE BUILDING AND, UH, FACTORED IN THE, THE SAVINGS AND VERSUS THE COST OVER 30 YEARS AND CALCULATED THE NET PRESENT VALUE AND THEN, UM, DIVIDED THAT INTO A MONTHLY AMOUNT.
AND SO THAT KIND OF WOULD REPRESENT HOW MUCH ADDITIONAL RENT SOMEONE WOULD PAY FOR THESE UNITS.
UM, AND SO FOR THE HIGH RISE TYPES OF BUILDINGS THAT ARE EXPANDING A RECLAIMED MAIN 500 FEET TO THEIR PROJECT, THERE'S ACTUALLY A NET SAVINGS TO THE PROJECT OVER 30 YEARS.
AND SO, UM, THAT WAS THE ONLY SORT OF LIKE TYPE OF BUILDING WHERE YOU'D SEE SAVINGS OVER TIME.
UM, AND THEN THE MID RISES ARE EIGHT TO $10 PER MONTH PER UNIT FOR A MID-RISE MIXED USE, IT'S A LITTLE BIT LESS.
AND THEN FOR THE SUBURBAN MULTIFAMILY, FOUR TO $5 PER MONTH, THE RAINWATER AND AC SYSTEMS ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN JUST UTILIZING RECLAIMED RANGING FROM A $3 TO $23 PER MONTH.
AND SO IN ADDITION TO JUST THE, THE SORT OF LIKE NET COSTS OF, UH, IMPLEMENTING THESE SYSTEMS AND NEW DEVELOPMENT WILL ALSO BE INCLUDING WITHIN OUR REPORT SOME, UM, LESS TANGIBLE SORT OF, UH, COSTS OR SAVINGS THAT RESULT FROM THESE SYSTEMS. UM, WE'RE ALSO GONNA BE, UH, PROPOSING EXEMPTIONS TO THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS, UM, BECAUSE WE'VE HEARD THAT THOSE PROJECTS DON'T HAVE, UH, UH, REALLY, UH, THE BUDGET TO EVEN INCREMENTALLY PAY ANOTHER ADDITIONAL 1%.
AND SO THE MARGINS ARE VERY TIGHT FOR THOSE, THOSE PROJECTS.
UM, WE'RE RECOMMENDING CONTINUING THE ONSITE REUSE PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE, UM, EITHER LESS THAN 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR JUST NOT REQUIRED FOR WHATEVER REASON TO MEET OUR ORDINANCES.
BUT WOULD, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE AN EXEMPT, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT BUT STILL WANTED TO IMPLEMENT ONE OF THESE, YOU COULD APPLY FOR THE INCENTIVE.
[00:50:01]
OTHER LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE CHANGES, UM, THAT ARE UNDER COUNCIL CONSIDERATION IN THE NEAR FUTURE THAT COULD OFFSET SOME OF THE COSTS OF DOING THESE, SUCH AS REMOVING PARKING MINIMUMS FROM NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.OUR INITIAL KIND OF ANALYSIS HAS SHOWED THAT THAT WOULD MORE THAN OFFSET THE COST OF INSTALLING A REUSE SYSTEM IN A NEW DEVELOPMENT.
AND THEN ALSO MENTIONING THAT PACE FINANCING IS A VIABLE OPTION FOR, UM, MAKING THESE SYSTEMS COST NEUTRAL IF IT WORKS OUT FOR YOUR PROJECT.
UM, THERE'S OTHER, UM, BENEFITS TO INSTALLING THESE TOO, SUCH AS OVERLAP WITH OTHER CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR, UM, THE FUNCTIONAL GREEN CODE CHANGES THAT ARE, UM, UNDER, UNDER CONSIDERATION SOON BY COUNCIL.
AND THEN ALSO THE AUSTIN ENERGY GREEN BUILDING RATING PROGRAM IS REQUIRING DUAL PLUMBING FOR, UM, NON-RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
SO THERE'S OVERLAP WITH OTHER CODES WITHIN THE CITY.
SO THEY SORT OF HAVE LIKE A MULTI, LIKE A MULTILAYERED BENEFICIAL, UM, OVERLAPPING REQUIREMENT THAT IT'S HARD TO QUANTIFY THE EXACT SAVINGS, BUT THERE ARE SAVINGS THERE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE COST OF INACTION, UM, OF NOT, UH, IMPLEMENTING THESE REUSE ORDINANCES, UM, AND JUST NOT BEING PREPARED AS A CITY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND BEING VERY RESILIENT AND, AND FORWARD THINKING.
AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE FACED WITH WHAT PHOENIX IS LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, WHERE THEY'VE OVER SORT OF ALLOCATED DEVELOPMENT PERMITS WITHOUT ENSURING THAT THERE'S A SUFFICIENT WATER SUPPLY AT THE MOMENT TO, TO SERVE THOSE DEVELOPMENTS.
SO SOME RECENT AND NEXT STEPS.
WE HAD STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS IN JUNE TO PRESENT THESE FINAL, UH, REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN COLLECTING STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK OVER THE SUMMER THAT THE COMMENT PERIOD HAS ENDED, AND WE'RE JUST NOW FINALIZING OUR, UM, OUR COST REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS DUE TO COUNCIL AND AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, MENTIONED SEPTEMBER 28TH.
UM, AND THEN, UM, TRY GETTING EVERYTHING READY TO BE IMPLEMENT IMPLEMENTING THE MANDATORY PROGRAMS BY DECEMBER 1ST.
THERE ARE STILL SOME CODE CHANGES THAT, UH, COUNCIL WOULD HAVE TO, UM, ADOPT TO FULLY IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAMS. AND SO, UM, WE'RE JUST KIND OF ALL PREPARING THAT ALL OF THAT WOULD BE COMPLETED BY DECEMBER 1ST WHEN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODES OF THESE PROGRAMS WILL BE MANDATORY.
UM, ALSO UPDATING OUR GUIDANCE AND PROGRAM CRITERIA FOR PROJECT APPLICANTS AND PLANNING SOME WEBINARS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY ON HOW TO, UM, GET YOUR PROJECT READY FOR SITE PLAN SUBMITTAL BEGINNING DECEMBER 1ST TO MEET THE, THE NEW PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
UM, QUESTIONS FROM FOLKS UP ON THE SCREEN.
PERRY AND PAUL PERRY, YOU CAN GO FIRST.
I KNOW THAT A LOT OF BIG USERS HAVE NOT A LOT, A HANDFUL HAVE DRILLED WELLS AND ARE PUMPING IT OUTTA THE GROUND AND SORT OF THUMBING THEIR NOSE AT THE CITY.
OTHER PEOPLE GET WATER OUT OF THE LAKE, UH, THAT ARE ON THE LAKE.
IS ANY OF THAT REGULATED OR IS THIS SIMPLY IS WHAT'S REGULATED, UH, AUSTIN WATER SUPPLYING WATER OR DO WE KNOW, MARISA, DO YOU WANNA TAKE THAT? SURE, I CAN START OFF.
AND THEN, UM, WE HAVE A, A BEVY OF EXPERTS OVER HERE, UH, KEVIN, KEVIN AND THERESA WHO CAN ADD TO THAT.
UM, UH, SOME FOLKS WHO DO DRILL WELLS THAT DEPENDING ON WHERE THAT FALLS, IF THAT FALLS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE BURTON SPRINGS EDWARDS AQUIFER, UM, CONSERVATION DISTRICT OR OTHER, UM, CONSERVATION DISTRICTS, DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED, THERE MAY BE SOME LEVEL OF AUTHORITY THAT THOSE HAVE.
CITY OF AUSTIN DOES NOT HAVE JURISDICTION OVER THOSE, UM, WELLS.
UH, SOME FOLKS WHO ARE PULLING WATER FROM THE LAKE OR UM, FROM THE COLORADO RIVER, WE TYPICALLY DO NOT REGULATE, UM, THEIR WITHDRAWAL OF WATER.
UM, THERE ARE SOME, YOU KNOW, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN ENTITIES THAT ARE DRAWING WATER, UM, FROM THE LAKE OR FROM THE COLORADO RIVER.
AND UM, THEY, IF THEY'RE WITHDRAWING THAT WATER UNDERNEATH THE CITY'S, UH, CURRENT WATER RIGHTS AND CONTRACTS, THEN THAT'S MONITORED AND REPORTED, UH, BY THE CITY.
UM, AND, UM, WOULD FALL UNDERNEATH OUR, UH, AVAILABILITY OF, OF WATER SUPPLIES.
UM, THERESA OR KEVIN, DID YOU ALL WANNA ADD ANYTHING TO THAT? YEAH, I THINK, I THINK PROBABLY THE KEVIN CRITTENDON, UM, I THINK PROBABLY THE MOST DIRECT ANSWER IS, UH, THERE'S NOT ANY BLANKET PROHIBITION AGAINST SOME OF THESE ACTIVITIES.
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I THINK WHAT WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING AT IS SITE BY SITE APPLICATION WHEN IT COMES TO INDIVIDUAL, UM, ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES.AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE AND KIND OF SEEING WHAT DIFFERENT SITES MAY OFFER AND WHAT DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTS MAY CHOOSE.
UM, WE WANNA BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCENTIVIZE, UM, LOOKING FOR OTHER OPTIONS.
AND SO THAT'S WHY KIND OF HOW WE CRAFT THIS PROGRAM BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, SO I, I THINK, UH, PART OF YOUR ANSWER IS SORT OF STAY TUNED AND WE'LL KIND OF SEE HOW IT'S PLAYED OUT.
I MEAN, IN SOME CASES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO WANNA ENCOURAGE THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLIES THAT THAT OFFSET WHERE WE WOULD NORMALLY HAVE TO GO TO OUR CORE DRINKING WATER SUPPLY, WHICH IS COLORADO RIVER.
UM, BUT WE DON'T WANT TO CREATE ANY UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE BY HAVING THEM, YOU KNOW, USE GROUNDWATER.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, RIGHT, I MEAN, TO THE EXTENT THAT DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS AND THERE'S WHAT, WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS, YOU KNOW, NUISANCE, YOU KNOW, OR EXTRANEOUS GROUNDWATER IMPACTS, YOU KNOW, IT, IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO WASTE THAT WATER.
SO IT'S A BIT OF A NUANCE, KIND OF A SITE BY SITE KIND OF REVIEW THAT WE'LL HAVE TO BE KIND OF DEALING WITH AS WE GET MORE FAMILIAR WITH KIND OF HOW WE'RE GONNA APPLY THIS.
UM, THANKS CATHERINE FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, MY QUESTION'S KIND OF A MULTIPLE PARTS HERE, BUT IT'S BASED ON THE IDEA THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, SO THIS ORDINANCE IS ONLY GONNA APPLY TO DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE CITED WITHIN 500 FEET OF A RECLAIMED WATERLINE, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING THAT CORRECTLY, CORRECTLY IF I'M WRONG.
SO I GUESS HOW EXTENSIVE IS OUR CURRENT NETWORK OF RECLAIMED WATERLINES AND DO YOU FEEL THAT, DOES AUSTIN WATER FEEL THAT WE'VE SORT OF ADEQUATELY CAPTURED ALL OF THE, THE BIG, THE BIG DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE'RE LIKE, THAT WE CAN ANTICIPATE OR THAT WE'RE EXPECTING TO KIND OF, I'M SURE WE HAVE SOME FORECASTS OF LIKE, WELL, THERE'S GONNA BE SOME MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS PART OF TOWN AND HERE AND HERE AND HERE, AND OUR RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM CURRENTLY IS CLOSE ENOUGH TO CONNECT TO THOSE, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE.
SO WE'RE GONNA CAPTURE THEM WITH THIS ORDINANCE.
AND THEN I GUESS THE LAST QUESTION WOULD BE, ARE THERE, I'M SURE THERE ARE, BUT ARE THERE PLANS TO EXPAND THE NETWORK RECLAIMED WATER LINES IN THE FUTURE? YEAH, THANKS.
SO THE, THE ORDINANCES APPLY, IT'S, IT'S, I THINK IT'S MAY MAYBE BETTER TO THINK ABOUT IT THIS WAY THAT THE MORE OF THE TRIGGER IS THE SIZE OF THE DEVELOPMENT.
SO IF YOU'RE A LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT THAT'S 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE, YOU'RE EITHER GONNA HAVE TO CONNECT TO THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM OR INSTALL AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM.
AND SO IF YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET, YOU'RE MORE THAN LIKELY JUST GONNA INSTALL, UM, CONNECT TO THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM IF YOU'RE, YOU KNOW, A MILE AWAY FROM IT OR WHATEVER YOU WOULD INSTALL THE ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM INSTEAD.
UM, IN TERMS OF WHO HAS ACCESS TO THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, WE HAVE BEEN STRATEGIC ABOUT WHERE WE HAVE INSTALLED, UM, A LOT OF OUR MAINS.
AND SO THERE'S A SYSTEM THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
IT DOESN'T COVER ALL OF DOWNTOWN, BUT IT REACHES, UH, THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
WE EXPECT A LOT OF LARGE DEVELOPMENTS TO BE, UM, DEVELOPED IN THAT AREA.
AND THEN OVER TIME AS NEW PROJECTS COME IN AND START INCREMENTALLY EXPANDING, YOU KNOW, 500 FEET AT A TIME AND HELPING US BUILD OUT THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM THAT WILL ALLOW ADDITIONAL USERS TO CONNECT.
UM, AND SO THAT'S SORT OF THE APPROACH OF THAT.
THIS, THE UTILITY HAS PUT IN STRATEGIC PIPES AND THEN THE, UM, THESE NEW DEVELOPMENTS WILL HELP US EXPAND IT IN INCREMENTALLY.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE, UM, A PLANNING PROCESS WHERE WE LOOK AT, UH, WHERE NEW GROWTH IS EXPECTED AND NEW DEMANDS.
AND WITH OUR C I P PROGRAM, WE WOULD, UM, CHOOSE TO INSTALL, UM, ADDITIONAL PIPING INTO FUTURE AREAS OF THE CITY WHERE GROWTH IS ANTICIPATED.
PAUL, THERE HAS BEEN IN THE PAST, I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE LATELY, THERE USED TO BE A QUARTERLY REUSE OR RECLAIM LINE SYSTEM UPDATE IN THE WAY BACK.
UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN ONE LATELY, BUT THERE ARE MAPS WITH THE EXISTING AND PROPOSED AND PERHAPS THAT COULD BE SHARED WITH THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS SINCE THAT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF, OF, UM, OF REDUCING OR, YOU KNOW, SWITCHING POTABLE WATER USE TO NON POTABLE WATER USE WHERE APPROPRIATE.
UM, SO THAT WOULD BE JUST A HANDY DATA POINT FOR FOLKS TO HAVE.
MAYBE WE CAN INCLUDE IT IN THE PACKET FOR THE NEXT MEETING OR
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EMAIL IT AROUND TO FOLKS.WHAT I WAS GONNA MENTION IS THAT, UH, THERESA ACTUALLY MADE A PRESENTATION TO AWO THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL IN AUGUST, I THINK 2023.
AND WE CAN SEND OUT A LINK TO THAT LAST MONTH PRESENTATION, UM, TO THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS TO WATCH.
AND UM, YOU CAN SEE THE MATERIALS, THE BACKUP MATERIALS ONLINE AS WELL.
THAT WAS ABOUT THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM.
IT INCLUDES SOME SYSTEM MAPS AND PLANS FOR EXPANSION.
UM, AND THEN, YEAH, JUST APPRECIATE CATHERINE KIND OF EXPLAINING WE'RE, WE ARE TRYING TO CAPTURE THOSE BIG DEVELOPMENTS, UM, BY EITHER MEANS BY THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM WHERE IT'S AVAILABLE OR BY THESE ONSITE REQUIREMENTS.
WITH THE P F A P F A S CONTAMINANTS AND STUFF IN THE WATER, IS THERE, UH, ANYTHING THAT THE RECLAIMED WATERS GOING THROUGH BEFORE, JUST BECAUSE I'VE SEEN THERE'S SOME RESEARCH SHOWING THAT IT CAN CONTAMINATE GROUNDWATER AS WELL, SO LIKE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, IS RELA AND GLAD ARE GONNA BE USED AT THE SAME LEVEL AS OTHER AREAS THAT AREN'T AS SENSITIVE? YEAH, GOOD QUESTION.
UM, I GUESS YOU'RE MAYBE CONCERNED ABOUT WITH USING RECLAIMED WATER FOR IRRIGATION OUTDOOR AND APPLYING IT.
YEAH, SO THERE ARE, UM, ALREADY WITHIN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE YOU CAN'T USE RECLAIMED WATER WITHIN ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE AREAS.
CRITICAL, UH, WATER QUALITY FEATURES, UM, THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE AND UM, THERE'S, SO THERE ARE RESTRICTIONS ALREADY IN THE CODE ABOUT NOT USING IT FOR IRRIGATION IN, IN UH, UH, DESIGNATED AREAS.
SO, UH, UM, ARE MORE PEOPLE USING THIS BUILDING 'CAUSE CLARA'S HIBISCUS, UM, LOOKS FANTASTIC RIGHT NOW.
HAVE YOU SEEN IT? THERE ARE LIKE MORE PEOPLE COMING TO THE BUILDING.
WE EVEN HAD A GRADUATION, A C C GRADUATION RECENTLY AND UM, THE OPERATORS NOTICED THEY'RE LIKE, WHOA, A LOT OF TOILETS GOT FLUSHED THIS WEEK.
UM, SO YEAH, WE ARE GETTING GOOD USE OUT, OUT OF THE BUILDING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S A CORRELATION BETWEEN FLOWERING OF THE HIBISCUS AND TOILET USAGE IN THE BUILDING.
I THINK THERE IS, I THINK YOU MIGHT BE RIGHT 'CAUSE IT'S THE REST OF THE PLANTS DO NOT LOOK LIKE THAT