[00:00:01]
COULD YOU GUYS HEAR ME? CAN HEAR YOU? YES, YOU CAN.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT BILL AND HI PERRY.
WE'VE GOT, UM, UH, PEOPLE IN THE ROOM TODAY, WHICH WE'RE NOT USED TO, AND IT'S NICE TO SEE FOLKS.
WE'VE GOT, UM, SARAH AND ROBERT AND MADELINE FROM THE TASK FORCE AND MYSELF HERE IN THE ROOM.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT SEVERAL VISITORS, AND THEN THERESA AND MARISA AND EMILY AND KEVIN AND, AND OTHER STAFF HERE.
SO PEOPLE ARE COMING IN HOT FOR 2024.
ARE WE GOOD? EVERYBODY? WE'RE ALL WARMED UP AND READY TO GO.
[CALL TO ORDER]
THE MEETING TO ORDER 1203.SO THE MEETING'S BEEN CALLED TO ORDER AT 1203.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
COMMUNICATION AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE WANTING TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS TODAY.IT'S SO NICE TO HAVE FOLKS HERE TO, TO, UM, TO SHARE WITH US.
IT'S USUALLY JUST US IN THE ROOM, SO THANKS A LOT.
AND WHO DO WE HAVE? DO WE HAVE A LIST OR? YES, WE HAVE A LIST, UH, THREE, UH, SPEAKERS WHO HAVE SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.
AND UH, THE FIRST ON THE LIST IS CHERYL SMITH.
AND I SEE CHERYL'S NAME UP THERE ONLINE.
CHERYL, IF YOU'RE TALKING, YOU'RE MUTED AND WE CAN'T HEAR YOU.
DO YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, MA'AM.
AND JUST AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE THREE MINUTES PER SPEAKER, UM, FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
EMILY WILL BE KEEPING THE TIME.
I'M SPEAKING TO YOU, TO YOU TODAY AS A CITIZEN OF LEE COUNTY.
I WANT TO GO ON RECORD AS TO NOT OPPOSING A SR, BUT STRONGLY OPPOSING SIGHTING OF AN A SR PROJECT AND LEE OR BASTROP COUNTY, DUE TO POSSIBLE NEGATIVE IMPACTS TO OUR AQUIFERS AND GROUNDWATER.
QUALITY ENGINEERING MODELING STUDIES, AND EVEN PILOT PROJECTS CANNOT ACCURATELY DEPICT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON UNDERGROUND OVER TIME.
USUALLY IT TAKES PUMPING TESTS OVER TIME TO GET A SOMEWHAT GOOD IDEA OF HOW THE AQUIFER RESPONDS TO GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWALS OR INJECTIONS.
SOMETIMES PRELIMINARY STUDIES ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A BEST GUESS.
VISTA RIDGE IN BURLESON COUNTY IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF FAILED SCIENCE.
THEY DIDN'T ANTICIPATE ALL THE WELL THE DRAWDOWNS IN THE WELLS HAPPENING AS QUICKLY AS IT DID, AND THOUGH SOME IMPACTS WERE CERTAINLY EXPECTED THAT NONE AS DRASTIC AS WHAT HAPPENED, UH, WERE PREDICTED.
SO LET ME EMPHASIZE THE SCIENCE WAS WRONG.
A SR IS NOT A PROJECT THAT CAN BE COMPLETELY CONTAINED WITHIN AN AQUIFER SYSTEM THAT IS NOT FULLY KNOWABLE.
MY PRIMARY CONCERN IS CONTAMINATION TO OUR PRISTINE, PROLIFIC GROUNDWATER THAT REQUIRES ALMOST NO TREATMENT.
YES, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR SURFACE WATER WILL BE TREATED TO DRINKING WATER STANDARDS, BUT THOSE STANDARDS DO NOT RESULT AND WATER AS PURE AS THE WATER IN OUR AQUIFERS.
I WILL NOT GO INTO ALL THE CONTAMINANTS THAT WOULD STILL REMAIN IN YOUR WATER AFTER TREATMENT, BUT THERE ARE MANY, ACCORDING TO A PAPER PUBLISHED BY THE SAN DIEGO LAW REVIEW IN 2020 ENTITLED THE FRAGILE FUTURE OF A SR OVER ONE QUARTER OF THE A SR PROJECTS IN THE UNITED STATES FAIL AND ARE SHUT DOWN.
SO IF YOUR PROJECT GOES FORWARD, ARE YOU WILLING TO PUT UP BOND AND DIFY OUR COUNTIES FROM ANY LOSS THAT SUFFERED BY CONTAMINATION OR OTHER NEGATIVE IMPACTS? SHUT DOWN THE PROJECT IF CONTAMINATION IS FOUND, REMEDIATE THE AQUIFERS AT PRESENT.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE PROJECTS THAT REMOVE VERY LARGE AMOUNTS OF GROUNDWATER FROM LEE COUNTY AND DELIVER TO VARIOUS INTERSTATE 35 QUARTER COMMITTEES TO THE NORTH AND WEST.
WILL THE LARGE WITHDRAWALS, UH, AND EXPORT GROUNDWATER FROM THESE PROJECT, UH, IMPACT AND A SR PROJECT? WILL THE A SR PROJECT IMPACT THE GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWALS? A SR MIGHT BE A GREAT OPTION FOR CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT PLEASE DO NOT ASK OUR COMMUNITIES TO THE, TO YOUR AGE TO SUFFER THE RISK OF CONTAMINATION TO OUR PRISTINE AND AQUIFERS.
WHILE WE RECEIVE NONE OF THE BENEFITS, SELECT THE SITE THAT WILL NOT RISK GROWING OF PRISTINE GROUNDWATER.
OUR RURAL LANDSCAPES ARE ALREADY BEING DESTROYED BY MULTIPLE LARGE PIPELINES,
[00:05:01]
CROSSING OUR COUNTIES, TAKING OUR GROUNDWATER WEST INTO YOUR COMMUNITIES.NOT TO SPEAK OF THE LOSS FROM COUNTY TAX REVENUES CAUSED BY NONPROFIT STATUS OF ALL THESE PROJECTS, PLEASE.
UM, IS THERE A WAY FOR FOLKS TO SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS IF THEY WANT TO FOLLOW UP AND HAVE THINGS IN THE, LIKE PACKET OR WHATEVER? UM, WE HAVE A SPEAK OF BOSTON PAGE WHERE WE, UM, INVITE FOLKS TO PROVIDE COMMENTS AND IF FOLKS WOULD LIKE TO SHARE COMMENTS, UM, THEN THEY'RE WELCOME TO EMAIL THOSE TO OUR TASK FORCE LIAISON.
THE TASK FORCE LIAISON IS EMILY, EMILY
SO IF, IF FOLKS HAVE, ARE NOT ABLE TO COMPLETE THEIR COMMENTS OR HAVE THEM WRITTEN DOWN, THEN YOU KNOW, THEY CAN SHARE THEM WITH EMILY.
UM, AND WE CAN, MY MIC ISN'T ON.
UM, I WAS ASKING ABOUT IF FOLKS ARE NOT ABLE TO FINISH THEIR COMMENTS OR HAVE COMMENTS IN WRITING, WAS THERE A WAY TO SUBMIT THEM IN WRITING? AND YOU CAN DO THAT, UM, TO EMILY RAFFERTY ARE, UM, OR TASK FORCE LIAISON, AND THE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE, SHE CAN SHARE HER EMAIL ADDRESS AND THEN WE CAN GET IT TO CHERYL.
I KNOW THAT YOU ALL KNOW CHERYL, AND MAYBE YOU CAN GET THAT TO HER AS WELL.
IF YOU WANNA SUBMIT ANYTHING IN WRITING.
I'M NOT PRESUMING THAT YOU DO, BUT JUST SINCE SHE DIDN'T GET TO FINISH, RIGHT? YEAH.
UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, CHERYL.
UM, WHO'S NEXT ON OUR LIST? MICHELLE GNI.
IS MICHELLE, IS THAT THE, THE CALL IN LINE NUMBER HERE? OKAY.
MICHELLE, YOU'RE UP NEXT AND YOU'RE MUTED RIGHT NOW.
SORRY IT DIDN'T WORK THE FIRST TIME.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, MADAM CHAIR AND MEMBER.
MY NAME IS MICHELLE GANGES, AND I'M SPEAKING ONLY FOR MYSELF AS A LEE COUNTY RETIRED ATTORNEY AND AQUIFER ADVOCATE.
FOR THE 25 YEARS I'VE LIVED IN LEE COUNTY, OUR CENTRAL CARA WILCOX AQUIFER HAS BEEN TARGETED AS FUEL FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AT OUR EXPENSE.
THE THREAT OF OVER PUMPING REGIONWIDE AS WELL AS CONTAMINATION BY ALCOA
I, TOO AM NOT OPPOSED TO A SR, BUT I AM OPPOSED TO THIS PROJECT.
IT'S SIMPLY A FACT THAT A MULTITUDE OF LEE COUNTY LANDOWNERS AND RESIDENTS HAVE NO TRUST OR CONFIDENCE THAT URBAN INTERESTS WILL EVER APPRECIATE THE COST OF THEIR THIRST TO OUR DONOR COMMUNITY.
I BELIEVE THAT WAS THE CLEAR MESSAGE COMING FROM YOUR LISTENING SESSIONS IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN TOLD OTHERWISE.
OUR COUNTY JUDGE MALAK AND HIS COMMISSIONERS COURT FORMALLY RESPONDED TO YOU BY PASSING A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE PROJECT.
ALL TEXANS MUST PROTECT OUR AQUIFERS AS SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES, WHICH DEPENDS NOT ONLY ON QUANTITY OF WATER, BUT ALSO ITS QUALITY.
I BELIEVE YOUR PROPOSED PROJECT THREATENS THE LADDER.
YOU CAN'T ASSURE US THAT INJECTING MASS QUANTITIES OF SURFACE WATER, OF QUESTIONABLE QUALITY INTO GROUNDWATER IN THE PRISTINE SIMSBORO AQUIFER IS INFALLIBLE.
THE SIMSBORO IS PERHAPS INCOMPARABLE IN QUANTITY PLUS QUALITY, A VERITABLE GOLDEN GOOSE OF WATER.
YET AUSTIN WOULD INJECT MASS QUANTITIES OF ENTIRELY DIFFERENT WATER WITH CONSTITUENT CONTAMINANTS AND OR COMPONENTS THAT MAY TRIGGER RELEASE OF CONTAMINANTS LIKE ARSENIC FROM THE AQUIFER FORMATION ITSELF.
EVEN A PILOT PROJECT POSES A THREAT.
BOTTOM LINE, THERE IS NO APPARENT BENEFIT TO LEE COUNTY OF A PROJECT WHICH ENDANGERS A MIGHTY TEXAS AQUIFER, POTENTIALLY TAKE LANDOWNER'S PROPERTY THROUGH CONDEMNATION WHILE ENDANGERING THEIR AQUIFER, PROVIDES NO APPARENT TAX BENEFIT TO THE DONOR COMMUNITY, BUT DOES ENDANGER ITS WATER SUPPLY AND FURTHER POLARIZES A COMMUNITY WHICH IS ALREADY AT THE MERCY OF GROUNDWATER EXPLOITATION THAT THREATENS THEIR FAMILIES AND LIVELIHOODS.
I THINK SAYING ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS NOT HYPERBOLE.
AND THE GOLDEN RULE SHOULD ONCE AGAIN BE YOUR GUIDE.
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, YOU DECIDED NOT TO DIRECTLY TAKE OUR WATER, YOUR NEIGHBOR'S WATER AS ONE OF YOUR WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES.
I'M HERE AGAIN TO ASK YOU NOT TO RISK IRREPARABLY CONTAMINATING YOUR NEIGHBOR'S WATER, THAT TO YOUR CREDIT, YOU DECIDED YOU COULD NOT JUSTIFY TAKING DIRECTLY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE HARD WORK YOU'VE PUT IN AND WE WILL BE WATCHING.
UM, AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS IN WRITING AND WANNA SUBMIT THEM, UM, THEN YOU CAN DO SO TO EMILY RAFFERTY AND WE CAN GET YOU HER EMAIL ADDRESS.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE ONE MORE COMMENTER.
[00:10:01]
TABLE TO THE MIC.YOU JUST NEED TO PRESS THE BUTTON.
I'M WITH THE SIMSBORO AQUIFER WATER DEFENSE FUND, UH, WORKING WITH LANDOWNERS IN BASTROP IN LEE COUNTY.
UM, I WANTED TO ADDRESS A NON-AG AGENDA ITEM, WHICH WAS, UH, THE IMPENDING EPA RULES ON PFAS AND PFOS AND TO JUST PUT THAT ON THE TASK FORCE AND ON AUSTIN WATERS ROADMAP.
UM, AND THE REASON BEING, UH, WORKING WITH ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP, WE'VE, UH, BEEN TESTING THE WATERS IN THE COLORADO RIVER DIRECTLY BELOW LADYBIRD LAKE, AND WE'RE FINDING FOUR TO 10 TIMES THE EPA THRESHOLDS FOR PFAS AND PFOS.
UM, AND THAT'S IN ALL, UH, YOU LIKE 30, UH, CHEMICALS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
AND SO I'M ASSUMING, UM, THAT IN YOUR WATER SUPPLY OUT OF, UH, UH, LAKE AUSTIN AND TRAVIS LAKE, YOUR ACTUAL SUPPLY POINT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THE SAME, UM, EXCEEDING, UH, AMOUNTS OF CONTAMINATION.
THAT'S THE WATER YOU WOULD BE TREATING TO THEN INJECT INTO THE CARRIZO WILCOX AQUIFER.
AND SO THAT'S THE POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION THAT EXISTS.
WE'RE DEALING WITH PARTS PER TRILLION IN PFAS AND PFOS, AND WE DON'T HAVE IT IN THE CARISA WILCOX AQUIFER.
NOW, THIS PROJECT COULD POTENTIALLY PROVIDE THAT LEVEL OF CONTAMINATION.
SO THE, THE WOULD HAVE THAT ON YOUR ROADMAP AND SEE WHERE THAT CONVERGES WITH THIS A SR PROJECT.
LIKE, LIKE ALL THE SPEAKERS HAVE SAID, THE A SR CONCEPT IS GREAT IN SAN ANTONIO.
THEY'RE TAKING PRISTINE EDWARDS AQUIFER WATER AND RE-INJECTING IT INTO THE CARRIZO WILCOX.
AND SO YOU'RE NOT DEALING WITH THAT POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, SAME LEVEL OF CONTAMINATION.
UM, YOU COULD HAVE SOME CHEMICAL INTERACTIONS, BUT THEY'VE WORKED THAT OUT.
SO IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT PROJECT, UM, THAT, THAT YOU ALL ARE CONFRONTED WITH, WITH YOUR WATER SUPPLY.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANNA TALK ABOUT ON YOUR AGENDA, YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS RESULTS OF YOUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND THAT WAS DEALING WITH UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE WHERE YOU DID A GOOD SURVEY AND THEN YOU HELPED THOSE PEOPLE.
THEY, THEY PRIORITIZED AND YOU LIST BY PRIORITY.
YOU GAVE THEM A NUMBER, A STATISTICAL NUMBER THAT WASN'T DONE IN LEE AND BASTROP COUNTIES.
THAT'S WHAT WOULD BE HOPEFULLY IN THE FUTURE ENGAGEMENT, WE HAVE A CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO WE CAN GIVE YOU A NUMERICAL RESPONSE TO SAY, HELL NO, NOT HERE.
YOU KNOW, SO THAT, BECAUSE THE KU NEWS STORY THAT WAS ON DECEMBER 7TH THAT AIRED HERE IN AUSTIN, TALKED ABOUT THE A SR PROJECT AND YOU WERE GONNA PROTECT PICK A PILOT SITE.
THE SUMMARY THAT WAS GIVEN IN THAT NEWS STORY DID NOT RELATE WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN OUR MEETINGS IN BASTROP IN LEE COUNTY.
THANK YOU FOR COMING UP TODAY.
AND, UM, I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE REPRESENTATIVE TI FOR COMING TODAY.
SO LET'S KEEP MOVING ON THE AGENDA.
UM, OUR NEXT ITEM IS TO REVIEW AND APPROVE THE MEETING MINUTES.
WELL WAIT, I WAS, I NEED TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE TOO.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WE'LL HAVE MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT A SR IN THE FUTURE.
UM, DO YOU, CAN YOU GIVE US KIND OF ANY LIKE, TIMELINE OF, OF WHEN THAT'S GONNA BE COMING UP? SURE.
FOR FOLKS, UM, WE WILL BE HAVING MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT A SR IN THE FUTURE.
WE HAVE NOT, UH, SPECIFICALLY PROGRAMMED THAT INTO AN UPCOMING AGENDA.
OUR NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING IS ON MARCH 5TH, SO, UM, THAT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE ADD TO THE MARCH 5TH AGENDA IF THE TASK FORCE WOULD LIKE, UM, TO DO THAT.
MM-HMM,
AND WE'LL BE SENDING OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE OPEN HOUSES AS WE FINALIZE DATES AND PLANS, UM, TO, UH, SHARE MORE BROADLY.
SO OUR NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING IS IN MARCH.
WE HAVEN'T SET THE AGENDA YET, BUT IF YOU, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE IN ADVANCE IF IT'S COMING, IF IT, THAT ITEM IS COMING UP AND THERE'S OPEN HOUSES COMING
[00:15:01]
UP AT THE END OF FEBRUARY WITH INFORMATION WILL BE ONLINE.AND THEN THERE'S THIS SPEAK UP AUSTIN PAGE, WHICH HAS LOTS OF THINGS TO SPEAK UP ON, BUT THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD, I'VE GONE IN AND DONE SOME SURVEYS AND STUFF ON WATER FORWARD AND THE LANDSCAPE, UM, TRANSFORMATION AND OTHER THINGS.
IT'S A GOOD PORTAL AND IT HAS LOTS OF EXTRA INFORMATION TO INFORM YOU AS YOU'RE ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS, BUT, SO PLEASE REACH OUT IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS COMING UP, BUT, OKAY.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
LET'S MOVE ON TO REVIEWING AND APPROVING THE MEETING MINUTES, UM, FROM OUR NOVEMBER 30TH TASK FORCE MEETING.I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
SO THE, THE, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED AND SO WE'RE GONNA
[2.Update on Lower Colorado River and Highland Lakes water supply conditions]
MOVE ON TO HER DISCUSSION ITEMS. WE'VE GOT THREE OF 'EM.UM, THE UPDATE ON THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKES WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS.
UM, I WAS HOPING THIS IS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GONNA SAY, BUT I WAS HOPING IT WOULD BE A VERY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION JUST FROM WITNESSING WEATHER OVER THE PAST MONTH AND A HALF.
YOU CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO FOR UM, FOLKS WHO MAY BE JOINING US FOR THE FIRST TIME EVERY UH, TASK FORCE MEETING, WE GIVE A LITTLE UPDATE ON WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS FOR THE COLORADO RIVER AND THE HIGHLAND LAKES.
THIS FIRST CHART SHOWS INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES, UM, ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
UH, 2023 IS SHOWN IN THE PURPLE BARS 2020 SHOW.
2022 IS SHOWN IN THE GREEN BARS.
THE DARK BLUE BARS ARE SHOWING AN AVERAGE OVER 2008 TO 2015, WHICH WAS THE LAST, UH, WORST DROUGHT THAT WE EXPERIENCED, UH, SINCE THE LAKES WERE BUILT.
AND THE LIGHT BLUE BARS SHOW AN AVERAGE FROM 1942 TO PRESENT.
AND THAT'S A PERIOD OF TIME, UM, DURING WHICH THE HIGHLAND LAKES HAVE, UH, BEEN CONSTRUCTED.
UM, WITHIN, UH, THE LAST MONTH, DECEMBER, WE AGAIN SAW LOWER THAN AVERAGE INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES.
UM, 2023 OVERALL NOW RANKS AS THE FOURTH LOWEST INFLOW YEAR IN THE PERIOD OF RECORD.
UM, COMING ON THE HEELS OF 2022, WHICH WAS AGAIN A RECORD BREAKING LOW INFLOW YEAR.
UH, WE WERE HOPING TO GET A LITTLE LITTLE BIT MORE RAIN OUT OF THE EL NINO AND WE HAVE NOT YET EXPERIENCED THAT.
YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS CHART IS SHOWING COMBINED STORAGE OF LAKE BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 1ST, 2024.
WE DID GET A LITTLE BIT OF A BUMP UP, UM, DURING THE FALL OF 2024, BUT SINCE THAT TIME WE HAVE, UM, EITHER DECLINED OR REMAINED FLAT.
WE HAVE BEEN AT 42% FULL IN TERMS OF COMBINED STORAGE FOR MANY WEEKS NOW.
UM, WE ARE STILL WITHIN STAGE TWO OF OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN RESTRICTIONS AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR COMBINED STORAGE AS, UH, CONDITIONS PROGRESS.
YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
MS 2022 THE LOWEST INFLOWS, OR WERE YOU JUST SAYING IT WAS RECORD BREAKING? IT WAS RECORD BREAKING AND IT WAS THE LOWEST.
AND LAST SUMMER WAS THE HOTTEST SUMMER IN 150 YEARS, THEY SAID.
THINGS ARE LOOKING REALLY AWESOME.
2023 GLOBALLY WAS THE HOTTEST YEAR.
THERE'S A NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE TODAY SHOWING THAT 2023 GLOBALLY WAS, UM, IS THE HOTTEST YEAR, UH, RECORDED.
UH, WE HAVE SEVERAL MORE SLIDES WITHIN YOUR PACKETS.
UM, THIS IS COURTESY OF THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, WHICH PULLS INFORMATION FROM THE US DROUGHT MONITOR.
UM, THIS DROUGHT MAP SHOWS, UM, CONDITIONS, UM, AS OF DECEMBER 26TH, WHICH SHOWS THAT LESS THAN 40% OF THE STATE WAS STILL IMPACTED BY DROUGHT.
UM, IF WE DON'T GET ADDITIONAL RAIN DURING THE COURSE OF THE SPRING, OF COURSE WE'LL START TO SEE THE, THAT DROUGHT AREA EXPAND.
[00:20:01]
OUR NO THREE MONTH OUTLOOK FOR DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY.ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE SEASONAL TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK WITH ABOUT EQUAL CHANCES OF US EITHER, UM, BEING NEAR NORMAL, UH, OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL.
IN TERMS OF TEMPERATURE PRECIPITATION, WE'VE ALSO GOT EQUAL CHANCES.
UM, WE WILL, WE ANTICIPATED TO CONTINUE IN AN EL NINO CONDITION THROUGH THE WINTER.
THERE IS A 60% CHANCE THAT AS WE MOVE INTO, UM, APRIL THROUGH JUNE, 2024, WE WILL TRANSITION TO ENZO NEUTRAL CONDITIONS.
AND THE LAST SLIDE IS SHOWING THE JANUARY 1ST, 2024 UPDATE OF CRA'S LAKES, BUCHANAN, AND TRAVIS TOTAL COMBINED STORAGE PROJECTIONS.
SO LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, A LITTLE BIT OF A BUMP UP IN THE LATTER PART OF OCTOBER IN TERMS OF COMBINED STORAGE WITH COMBINED STORAGE REMAINING FLAT, UM, THROUGH TODAY.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN TRACKING, UM, KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF THESE PROJECTIONS.
IT REALLY ALL DEPENDS ON THE SPRING AND WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SPRING.
UM, WE TYPICALLY HAVE A BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL WITHIN OUR BASIN.
UM, WITH, UH, RAIN COMING IN EITHER MAY OR THE FALL, SEPTEMBER OCTOBER TIMEFRAME, UM, THERE IS A CHANCE THAT WE'LL GET ADDITIONAL RAIN IN THE MAY TIMEFRAME, UM, RIGHT BEFORE THE SUMMER.
AND IF WE DON'T, THEN WE WOULD, UM, EXPECT TO SEE COMBINED STORAGE BEGIN TO FALL AS WE ENTER INTO THE SUMMER.
YEAH, THIS IS NOT LOOKING GREAT.
EL NINO HAS REALLY NOT DELIVERED IN THE WAY THAT WE'RE ACCUSTOMED TO, AND THIS SEASONAL PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK IS CENTRAL TEXAS IS EQUAL CHANCES.
SO BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, COULD RAIN OR NOT.
SO IT'S, LET'S HOPE FOR SOME RAIN.
UM, ANY, UH, COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM FOLKS ON THE TASK FORCE BESIDES, YOU KNOW, DEPRESSION ABOUT WATER SUPPLY? IF WE, THERE YOU GO.
IF WE DON'T END UP GETTING THE RAINFALL AND WE END UP DROPPING BELOW, WHEN WILL THE, UM, AUSTIN WATER KIND OF START TO DO EMERGENCY PURCHASING OF LIKE, BETTER FILTRATION AND OTHER THINGS TO KIND OF TRIGGER THAT NEXT STEP? IS THERE LIKE A TIMELINE FOR LIKE, WORST CASE SCENARIO IF BY THE SPRING WE AREN'T GETTING WHAT WE EXPECTED? SO, UM, WITHIN THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS INTERNALLY, WE GAVE AN UPDATE LAST TIME ABOUT THE PLANNING THAT WE'RE DOING FOR INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE, WHICH IS THE CURRENT EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY THAT'S INCLUDED WITHIN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN.
UM, WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD ON WATER QUALITY MODELING, UM, PERMITTING CONVERSATIONS, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, BRINGING ON, UH, RESOURCES TO ASSIST WITH PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING DESIGN OF THAT STRATEGY, UM, WITHIN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.
IF, UH, AS WE PROGRESS, UM, AND AS WE SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW CONDITIONS MAY BE CHANGING, IF RAIN DOES NOT MATERIALIZE, THEN WE'LL BE MOVING FORWARD AT A MUCH MORE RAPID PACE WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT STRATEGY.
AGAIN, THAT STRATEGY IS ONLY TO PROVIDE 20 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY.
SO IT'S NOT A SILVER BULLET SOLUTION.
IT'S GOING TO BE A PART OF OUR DROUGHT RESPONSE PLAN, WHICH WILL ALSO INCLUDE, UM, MORE, UH, STRINGENT DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGES, UM, AND ENFORCEMENT, UH, OF THOSE DCP STAGES AND RESTRICTIONS.
THE TI THE, KIND OF, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE TIMING, WE ARE IN THE CRITICAL TIME PERIOD FOR PLANNING FOR EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLIES CURRENTLY.
I WAS LOOKING, SCANNING THE ROOM.
THERE'S PEOPLE HERE I'M NOT USED TO, TO SCAN THE WHOLE ROOM HERE.
[3.Water Forward 2024 community engagement update]
OUR WATER 4 20 24 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UPDATES.OH, CAN YOU GIVE US JUST A MOMENT? I THINK WE MAY, UH, THERE MAY BE TRUNCATED VERSIONS OF THE
[00:25:01]
SLIDES THAT WERE PROVIDED OH.UM, FOR THE FOLKS ONLINE, UM, MARISA AND EMILY NEED TO CHECK IN WITH AB 'CAUSE UH, THERE'S A SLIDE ISSUE.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE BACK IN ACTION.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND PROCEED WITH THE WATERFORD 2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT UPDATE.
AND EMILY IS GIVING THIS PRESENTATION.
IS THIS YOUR FIRST PRESENTATION, EMILY? IT IS MY FIRST PRESENTATION.
SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU NERVOUS OR ANYTHING.
UM, HI EVERYBODY, I'M EMILY RAFFERTY.
UM, I'M ON THE WATER RESOURCES TEAM AS A PROGRAM MANAGER AND I'LL BE GIVING YOU AN UPDATE ON THE WATER FORWARD 2024 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
SO HERE'S AN OVERVIEW OF THE CALENDAR.
UM, SO THE OVERALL GOAL OF THIS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WAS TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY AND GET FEEDBACK ON THE WATER FORWARD 18 PLAN AND WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO INFORM THE WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN UPDATE.
AND SO IN SEPTEMBER, UM, WE STARTED, UH, REFINING THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP HISTORY SECTION TO POST ON THIS SPEAK OF AUSTIN PAGE, WHICH I'M STILL WORKING ON, BUT IT'S GETTING CLOSE TO BEING DONE.
AND THEN IN OCTOBER WE SENT OUT E-BLASTS, TWO SEPARATE ONES.
WE SENT ONE OUT TO ORGANIZATIONS WORKING WITH MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES TO SET UP ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS REGARDING WATER FORWARD 2024 PLAN UPDATE.
AND THEN ANOTHER E-BLAST WAS SENT OUT TO AUSTIN AND HILL COUNTRY AREA ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ABOUT THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS PROJECT.
AND THEN IN NOVEMBER WE LAUNCHED A SURVEY TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK REGARDING THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR THE WATER FORWARD 2024 UPDATE.
AND ALSO BEGAN HOLDING ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WITH ORGANIZATIONS, WHICH WE ARE ALSO DOING THROUGHOUT JANUARY AND INTO FEBRUARY.
AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON THIS MONTH IS WE'RE HOLDING IN PERSON IN VIRTUAL WORKSHOPS WITH THE BROADER COMMUNITY.
AND THE DATES FOR THOSE WORKSHOPS ARE JANUARY 23RD AND 24TH.
AND THEN IN MARCH, UM, WE'RE GONNA REVIEW
[00:30:01]
THE FEEDBACK FROM THE SURVEY AND THE ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS AND THE WORKSHOPS.AND THEN HERE'S A LIST OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'VE REACHED OUT TO.
THE ONES IN BLUE ARE ONES THAT WE'VE ALREADY MET WITH OR HAVE A MEETING ON THE BOOKS WITH.
UM, AND WE'LL CONTINUE DOING MORE OUTREACH INTO THE BEGINNING OF 2024.
SO THE OVERALL PURPOSE OF THIS OUTREACH, UM, IS TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK REGARDING WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR 2024 PLAN, UPDATE, AND, UM, FEEDBACK REGARDING THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP APPROACH.
AND THE AUDIENCE IN THIS INSTANCE IS ORGANIZATIONS THAT WORK WITH MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.
AND THE RESPONSES THAT WE'VE GOTTEN SO FAR HAVE BEEN REALLY POSITIVE.
UM, ORGANIZATIONS ARE GLAD THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THESE ISSUES AND PLANNING FOR SOLUTIONS 'CAUSE THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT IT AS WELL.
SO THEY'RE HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.
UM, WE'RE DEDICATED TO THAT AND WE GOT SOME GOOD FEEDBACK ABOUT TRYING TO ENGAGE PEOPLE IN MORE EVERYDAY PLACES LIKE GROCERY STORE, HEB, UM, LIBRARIES, PLACES LIKE THAT.
JUST A REMINDER THAT NOT, UM, EVERYBODY IS ENGAGED WITH A COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION.
SO THAT WAS SOME GOOD FEEDBACK.
AND THEN WE GOT FEEDBACK TO DO MORE, UM, EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS ABOUT WATER FORWARD AND THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
AND THEN WE ALSO LAUNCHED A SURVEY AND THE PURPOSE OF THAT SURVEY WAS TO GET COMMUNITY FEEDBACK REGARDING WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR THE WATER FORWARD 24 UPDATE.
AND THE AUDIENCES IS, WE SENT OUT ONE, UM, SURVEY AT FIRST WITH AUSTIN ENERGY THAT WE WORKED WITH TO SEND OUT TO A GEOGRAPHICALLY STATISTICALLY VALID POPULATION IN NOVEMBER.
AND WE KEPT THAT SURVEY OPEN FOR THREE WEEKS AND WE GOT 101 RESPONSES.
UM, AND WE WANTED TO GET SOME MORE FEEDBACK.
SO WE WENT AHEAD AND ADDED THAT TO OUR SPEAKUP AUSTIN PAGE AND KEPT THAT OPEN FOR ANOTHER THREE WEEKS.
AND WE ALSO SENT OUT, UM, AN EMAIL TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS INVITING THEM TO TAKE THE SURVEY AND ENDED UP GETTING 473 RESPONSES FROM THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE ON SPEAK UP, WHICH THEY WERE ALL THE SAME QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M FOLLOWING.
YOU HAVE THIS LIST OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS MM-HMM.
AND YOU MET WITH THE ONES IN BLUE OR HAVE SCHEDULED A MEETING? YES.
AND THEN THE SURVEY
SO THAT WASN'T RELATED TO THE SEPARATE NO.
SO THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION MEETINGS, WE DID THAT OUTREACH TO HOLD ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS WITH THEM.
AND ARE THOSE, I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THAT MEETING? ARE YOU SORT OF WE'RE GIVING AN OVERVIEW OF THE LIKE WATER FORWARD AND THE UPDATES THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE 2018? UM, AND SHOWING THEM OUR APPROACH WITH THE WATER OR THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP AND GETTING FEEDBACK ON THAT AS WELL IS THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
IS THERE FEEDBACK ON THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN INCORPORATED OR PRESENTED IN ANY WAY? I'M JUST CURIOUS HOW WE KNOW WHAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS, WHAT THE FEEDBACK WAS.
YEAH, THE FEEDBACK HAS BEEN PRETTY GENERAL SO FAR.
UM, I THINK THE EMILY'S CORRECT IN SAYING THAT THE FEEDBACK HAS BEEN FAIRLY GENERAL ON SPECIFIC WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES OR SUGGESTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
WE FOUND THAT THE, ONE OF THE GREATEST BENEFITS OF HAVING THESE ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS HAS BEEN RECONNECTING WITH ORGANIZATIONS WHO MAY, UM, HAVE NOT BEEN AWARE OF WATER FORWARD, WHO MAY BE LEARNING ABOUT THE PLAN FOR THE FIRST TIME OR WHO, UH, HAVE POTENTIALLY HEARD ABOUT WATER FORWARD IN THE PAST.
AND IT, THIS, IT'S JUST BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO CONNECT WITH THEM TO SHARE INFORMATION.
WE HAVE BEEN TAKING NOTES FROM EACH OF THOSE MEETINGS.
UM, AND WE, UH, ARE HAPPY TO SUMMARIZE THE CONVERSATIONS IN THOSE MEETINGS.
THOSE NOTES ARE NOT EXPLICITLY INCLUDED WITHIN THESE SLIDES.
UM, DID YOU ASK THEM TO TAKE THE SURVEY? WE SHARED INFORMATION ON OUR SPEAK UP AUSTIN PAGE ABOUT THE UPCOMING WORKSHOPS AND, UM, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS WERE ALSO INCLUDED ON THE EMAIL BLAST THAT WE SENT OUT THAT SHARED INFORMATION ON THE SURVEY
YEAH, THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION WAS WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS? OKAY.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO FOLLOW ALONG.
I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, I MEAN IF THESE ARE REALLY BUSY GROUPS, ESPECIALLY SOME OF THE ONES THAT YOU HAVEN'T LINED UP YET, BUT HOPE TO MEET WITH AND IT'S GOOD IF, UM, YOU'RE ABLE TO CAPTURE THEIR FEEDBACK IN A WAY THAT'S INCORPORATED OVERALL SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST THAT YOU CAN SAY YOU MET WITH THEM, BUT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT PERSPECTIVE THEY'RE REPRESENTING AND WHAT THEY'RE SHARING.
[00:35:01]
RIGHT.I THINK THAT'S GREAT FEEDBACK.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF MEETING WITH ALL OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPILING FEEDBACK.
THIS IS JUST TO PROVIDE AN OVERALL UPDATE ON OUR ACTIVITIES.
SO QUITE A FEW TO GO STILL? MM-HMM,
WHAT'S THE TIMELINE? WE ARE HOPING TO GATHER FEEDBACK THROUGH MARCH.
SO HERE'S THE INFORMATION THAT WAS ON THE SURVEY.
UM, SO THE FIRST QUESTION WAS ABOUT SUPPLY STRATEGIES.
UM, AND IT HAD PEOPLE RANK THEM IN ORDER OF PRIORITY OF IMPLEMENTATION.
SO NUMBER ONE IS TOP PRIORITY AND THEN NUMBER NINE WOULD BE THE LOWEST.
UM, AND THE STRATEGIES THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THIS ARE AQUIFER STORAGE, RECOVERY, RECLAIMED WATER, DIRECT POTABLE REUSE, INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE, ADDITIONAL HIGHLAND LAKE SUPPLY, NEW OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR, INTER BASIN TRANSFER, BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION, AND SEAWATER DESALINATION.
IT'S KINDA HARD TO SEE UP ON THERE, BUT IT'S IN THE PACKET, UM, AND IN THE SLIDES AS WELL.
UM, SO WE SEPARATED THE RESULTS OUT BETWEEN THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESULTS AND THE SPEAKUP AUSTIN RESULTS.
UM, THEY CAME OUT PRETTY SIMILAR.
SO RECLAIMED WATER CAME IN FIRST ON BOTH AND AQUIFER STORAGE RECOVERY FOLLOWED.
UM, WHERE THEY BEGIN TO DIFFER IS IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESULTS.
INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE WAS RANKED NUMBER THREE, WHEREAS IN THE SPEAKUP RESULTS IT WAS NUMBER SIX.
AND THEN NUMBER FOUR FOR BOTH OF THESE RESULTS IS DIRECT POTABLE REUSE.
AND NUMBER FIVE FOR BOTH IS NEW OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR.
AND THEN WHERE THEY DIFFER AGAIN, IS IN THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN RESULTS.
BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION CAME IN AT NUMBER THREE, UM, WHEREAS IT DIDN'T COME IN UNTIL NUMBER SEVEN IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESULTS.
UM, BUT THE BOTTOM FOUR ARE VERY SIMILAR BETWEEN, UM, THE TWO RESPONSES.
SO ADDITIONAL HIGHLAND LAKE SUPPLY, UH, SEAWATER, DESALINATION, INTER BASIN TRANSFER, ALL IN THE BOTTOM FOUR.
AND THEN THE SURVEY QUESTION NUMBER TWO WAS THE SAME FORMAT ABOUT THE DEMAND STRATEGY.
SO AGAIN, IT ASKS PEOPLE TO RANK THEM IN, UM, ORDER OF PRIORITY OF IMPLEMENTATION.
AND THE ONES INCLUDED IN THE DEMAND STRATEGIES ARE MY A TX WATER FIXING WATER PIPE LEAKS AND OTHER SYSTEM LOSSES ORDINANCES TO REDUCE OUTDOOR WATER USE REBATES TO REDUCE OUTDOOR WATER USE ORDINANCES FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE REBATES FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE AND WATER USE BUDGETING.
AND THEN THE RESULTS BETWEEN THE TWO ARE VERY SIMILAR IN THIS QUESTION.
UM, SO NUMBER ONE ON BOTH OF THEM IS FIXING WATER PIPE LEAKS AND OTHER SYSTEM LOSSES, WHICH WE ALSO SAW REFLECTED A LOT IN THE OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES.
A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON FIRST.
UM, AND THEN NUMBER TWO AND NUMBER THREE FOR BOTH OF THESE ARE ORDINANCES TO REDUCE OUTDOOR WATER USE IS NUMBER TWO.
AND THEN NUMBER THREE IS REBATES TO REDUCE OUTDOOR WATER USE, WHICH ALSO IS REFLECTED A LOT IN THE OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES WAS THAT PEOPLE REALLY THOUGHT THE OUTDOOR WATER USE IS WHERE WE SHOULD, UM, BE FOCUSING OUR EFFORTS.
AND THEN WHERE THESE, UM, RESULTS ARE DIFFERENT IS MY A TX WATER AND REBATES FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE ARE FLIPPED.
UM, SO FOR AUSTIN ENERGY RESULTS, MY A TX WATER COMES IN AT NUMBER FOUR AND IT'S NUMBER FIVE ON THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN.
AND THEN REBATES FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE.
AND THEN THE BOTTOM TWO RESULTS FOR BOTH OF THESE SURVEYS IS THE SAME.
UM, ON ORDINANCES FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE IS NUMBER SIX.
AND THEN WATER USE BUDGETING COMES IN AT NUMBER SEVEN, UM, FOR BOTH OF THE RESULTS.
I I HAVE A JUST CLARIFYING QUESTION.
SO THE AUSTIN ENERGY ONE WAS SENT OUT TO A GEOGRAPHICALLY STATISTICALLY VALID POPULATION.
UM, I MEAN I THINK I WENT AND TOOK THE SURVEY THROUGH THE AUSTIN WATER.
I PROBABLY DIDN'T GET THE EMAIL FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, BUT UH, WHY ARE WE NOT COMBINING THE RESULTS OF THE TWO? IS IT BECAUSE OF, I MEAN YOU CAN JUST ANSWER IT.
YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
WE STARTED OFF BY UTILIZING AUSTIN ENERGY TO
[00:40:01]
SEND OUT THE SURVEY BECAUSE THEY DEVELOP A LIST, UM, OF MADE UP OF THEIR CUSTOMER BASE THAT, UM, IS MORE RANDOMIZED.UM, AND WE WANTED TO SEE WHAT THE RESULTS FROM THAT SURVEY WOULD BE.
UH, WE THEN NOTICED THAT WE GOT A FAIRLY LOW RESPONSE RATE.
SO WE OPENED IT UP TO THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN PAGE.
WE HAD THOSE QUESTIONS POSTED ON THE SPEAK UP BOSTON PAGE AND SENT OUT AN EMAIL BLAST TO FOLKS WHO ARE ON OUR WATER FOUR NEWSLETTER SIGNUP OR INCLUDED ON OUR WATER 4 24 STAKEHOLDER LIST, INCLUDING COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND OTHERS.
UM, THAT GROUP CAN BE SOMETHING OF A SELF-SELECTING GROUP.
UM, AND SO THAT IS WHY WE'RE KEEPING THEM SEPARATE FOR A PRESENTATION TO Y'ALL.
UM, WELL THANKS FOR ASKING THAT.
'CAUSE I HAD THE SAME QUESTION, JENNIFER, AND I THINK, YEAH, I THINK WITH THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN, YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT'S PEOPLE THAT CAME ACROSS THAT THROUGH SOME CHANNEL THEY'RE CONNECTED WITH AND HAVE ENOUGH INTEREST IN ENGAGEMENT TO TAKE THE SURVEY.
AND LIKE WHAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING TO ME IS HOW ON SPEAK UP AUSTIN ORDINANCES FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE.
UM, I GUESS THAT ONE WAS THE SAME.
WERE THEY BOTH THE SAME? MM-HMM.
I NOTICED THE, I THOUGHT THAT THIS ORDINANCES FOR ON ONSITE WATER REUSE WAS LOWER ON THE SPEAK OF AUSTIN, BUT NOT, ANYWAYS, THANKS FOR ASKING THAT QUESTION.
SO THIS QUESTION WAS ABOUT DIRECT POTABLE REUSE.
SO IT STATED THAT IN 2018, THE WATER FORWARD PLAN DOES NOT INCLUDE A DIRECT POTABLE REUSE STRATEGY.
AND THEN THE STATEMENT TO EITHER AGREE OR DISAGREE TO IS DIRECT POTABLE REUSE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE 2024 UPDATE AND EVALUATED BASED ON FEASIBILITY COST AND OTHER CRITERIA.
UM, AND THESE ARE THE RESULTS FROM THE SPEAK UP PAGE.
THEY'RE VERY SIMILAR TO THE, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY ONE.
AND THEN IT GOES DOWN FROM THERE.
AND IN THE AUSTIN ENERGY RESULTS, 37% STRONGLY AGREED.
AND THEN IT LOWERED FROM THERE IN A SIMILAR UM, AMOUNT.
SO THIS WAS THE LAST QUESTION.
IT WAS AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION AND IT SAID, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEW STRATEGIES OR MODIFICATIONS TO CURRENT LONG-TERM STRATEGIES THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE CONSIDERED IN THE 2024 PLAN UPDATE? UM, AND THE KEY TAKEAWAYS HERE IS THERE WAS SUPPORT FOR CONSIDERING DIRECT POTABLE REUSE.
THERE WAS SUPPORT FOR FOCUSING ON DEMAND STRATEGIES FIRST AND THEN SUPPLY.
UM, PEOPLE SAID DUE TO THE COST OF THEM AND THE EFFECTIVENESS, THERE WAS SUPPORT FOR MORE RESTRICTIONS AND ENFORCEMENT FOR OUTDOOR WATER USAGE.
THERE WERE CONCERNS AND POTENTIAL MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT A SR IMPLEMENTATION.
AND THEN THERE WERE ALSO A GOOD AMOUNT OF CONCERNS ABOUT GROWTH IN AUSTIN.
SO THE OVERALL SURVEY TAKEAWAYS WAS THE RESPONSES FROM THE AUSTIN ENERGY SURVEY WERE VERY SIMILAR TO SPEAK UP AUSTIN RESPONSES, WHICH, UM, I THINK IS A GOOD THING.
UM, SHOWS THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY WOULD BE SIMILAR OR DIFFERENT, BUT IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THAT THEY, THERE ISN'T A HUGE DISPARITY.
UM, AND THEN THE STRATEGIES WERE RANKED SIMILARLY TO HOW AUSTIN WATER IS PRIORITIZING THEM.
AND THEN THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE THINK THAT DIRECT POTABLE REUSE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE 2024 UPDATE.
SO LASTLY, UM, WE DID OUTREACH ABOUT THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS, WHICH JUST AS A REFRESHER, THAT PROJECT SUPPORTS WATER FORWARD'S GUIDING PRINCIPLE OF PROTECTING THE HEALTH OF THE COLORADO RIVER THROUGH CONSERVATION OF LAND IN THE HIGHLAND LAKES WATERSHED.
AND WE BEGAN THAT OUTREACH IN OCTOBER OF 2023 AND REACHED OUT TO AUSTIN AREA AND HILL COUNTRY AREA ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THE PURPOSE OF THAT OUTREACH WAS TO CREATE ONGOING PARTNERSHIPS WITH ORGANIZATIONS THAT CAN INFORM OUR FINAL PLAN REPORT.
SO THIS IS A LIST OF ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS WE REACHED OUT TO.
AND AGAIN, THE ONES IN THE BLUE ARE ONES THAT WE HAVE ALREADY MET WITH OR HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED WITH.
AND THEN SO FAR THE FEEDBACK IN THOSE ONE-ON-ONE MEETINGS HAS BEEN POSITIVE.
ORGANIZATIONS ARE EXCITED, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS PROJECT AND ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING INVOLVED WITH IT.
ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? HAVE YOU GUYS CONSIDERED REACHING OUT TO THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS
[00:45:01]
IN AUSTIN FOR FEEDBACK ON THESE SURVEYS? BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD GET A, A LARGE POPULATION AND YOU MIGHT GET MORE SURVEY RESPONSES.WHAT DO YOU MEAN EXACTLY BY THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN AUSTIN? JUST LIKE THE TOP COMPANIES.
JUST THERE'S A LOT OF COMPANIES THAT EMPLOY A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE.
AND THEY COULD SEND A EMAIL OUT THROUGH THEIR ORGANIZATION OR THAT MIGHT REACH A WHOLE NOTHER POPULATION OF PEOPLE WHO MIGHT NOT LOOK AT THEIR UTILITY BILLS OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, ANY COMMENTS FROM FOLKS THAT ARE ONLINE OR REMOTE? OKAY.
UH, ROBERTS, UM, IT'S INTERESTING ON THE DIRECT POTABLE REUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO'S CERTAINLY NOT OPPOSED TO IT, I THINK THAT'S, UH, IT'S KIND OF COOL.
DID THEY KNOW WHAT DIRECT PORTAL REUSE IS? WAS THERE LIKE AN EXPLANATION, UM, IN THE SURVEY QUESTION SO THEY CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT, WHAT IT IS? YEAH, THERE'S A BLURB NEXT TO EACH OF THE STRATEGIES WITH AN EXPLANATION OF IT.
AND THERE WAS ALSO A LINK TO, UM, THE WATER FORWARD PLAN WITH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE STRATEGIES.
AND THEN ALSO JUST SAY, GREAT, GREAT JOB ON YOUR FIRST PRESENTATION.
[4.Presentation of Water Forward 2024 initial list of water management strategies and initial feedback from Task Force on strategies and portfolio themes]
OUR NEXT AND FINAL PRESENTATION IS ON THE WATER 4 20 24 INITIAL LIST OF WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND FEEDBACK AND INITIAL FEEDBACK FROM TASK FORCE ON STRATEGIES AND PORTFOLIO THEMES.LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT SARAH COMING UP HERE FOR THIS ONE.
SO, UH, SARAH'S GONNA DO THE MAJORITY OF THE PRESENTING, JUST GONNA PRESENT ALL THE HARD PARTS AND I'M JUST GOING TO PRESENT SOME OF THE INITIAL SLIDES, BUT JUST WANTED TO TIE THIS BACK TO AN EMAIL THAT EMILY SENT OUT, UM, WITH A SPREADSHEET, UM, BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS.
WE WANTED TO SEND THAT OUT TO FOLKS WITH A LITTLE BIT OF LEAD TIME IN ADVANCE OF THIS MEETING.
UM, THAT SPREADSHEET INCLUDES THESE SAME STRATEGIES.
UM, IT INCLUDES A, A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ABOUT EACH OF THE STRATEGIES, A DESCRIPTION, WHERE THE STRATEGY COMES FROM, AND WHETHER OR NOT THAT STRATEGY WAS INCLUDED, UM, UH, AS A RECOMMENDED STRATEGY IN THE WATER 4 20 18 PLAN, OR, UM, WHETHER IT WAS CONSIDERED BUT NOT INCLUDED.
UM, THAT IS WHERE WE'RE BEGINNING AS WE UPDATE OUR WATER 4 20 24 WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND GO THROUGH THIS SCREENING PROCESS.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA GO THROUGH THE STRATEGIES AND PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION ABOUT EACH ONE.
THERE IS BASICALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO KIND OF WALK THROUGH THAT CONTENT IN THE SPREADSHEET TOGETHER AND FOR TASK FORCE MEMBERS TO ASK QUESTIONS, UM, PROVIDE INITIAL FEEDBACK THAT YOU MAY HAVE, UM, AS WELL AS FOR US TO HEAR IF YOU HAVE FEEDBACK ON ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES THAT WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERING WITHIN THIS PLAN UPDATE PROCESS.
UM, YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, OVERALL WITHIN WATER FORWARD, AS Y'ALL WELL KNOW, WE ARE PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY.
OUR GOAL WITHIN THIS PLAN UPDATE IS TO DEVELOP A RANGE OF FUTURE CONDITIONS.
WE HAVE NOW DEVELOPED, UM, OVER 600 DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT WILL BE TESTING GROUPINGS OF WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AGAINST.
OUR GOAL IS TO FIND COMMON NEAR TERM STRATEGIES THAT WORK FOR A BROAD RANGE OF THOSE FUTURES.
AND, UM, FOR THE AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN WITH KEY DECISION POINTS SO THAT WE CAN ADAPT TO CHANGING CONDITIONS OVER TIME.
AGAIN, WE'LL BE REEVALUATING, GET KEY DECISION POINTS, AND WE'LL BE UPDATING THE PLAN AND CONTINUING TO UPDATE THE PLAN ON A FIVE-YEAR BASIS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT NEW INFORMATION.
UM, SO THIS IS AN OVERVIEW OF OUR WATER 4 24 SCENARIO PLANNING METHODOLOGY.
WE STARTED BY DEFINING OUR NEEDS.
UM, AT THE NOVEMBER TASK FORCE MEETING, WE PRESENTED THE RESULTS OF OUR PRELIMINARY NEEDS ASSESSMENT, SHOWING POTENTIAL SHORTAGES THAT WE MAY EXPERIENCE OUT INTO THE FUTURE.
UM, WE ARE NOW AT THE STEP OF IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS WHERE WE'LL BE IDENTIFYING SCREENINGS AND CHARACTERIZING WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, OR UPDATING THE CHARACTERIZATION OF WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FROM THE 2018 PLAN.
WE ARE BUILDING OFF OF THE 2018 PLAN.
THIS IS IN JUST A, A FRESH RESTART.
[00:50:01]
WE ARE BUILDING OFF OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE MADE, UM, WITH 2018 PLAN STRATEGIES.AFTER THIS STEP, WE'LL BE EVALUATING THOSE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS.
WE'LL BE USING A MODEL TO TEST OUR WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ACROSS THOSE OVER 600 DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND IDENTIFY TOP PERFORMING WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
THEN WE'LL BE CONSTRUCTING 50 YEAR PORTFOLIOS FOR FURTHER EVALUATION USING THAT MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK THAT LOOKS AT THINGS LIKE COST YIELD, UM, AND SUPPLY RELIABILITY, UM, UH, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, IMPLEMENTATION, FEASIBILITY, AND OTHER IMPACTS.
UM, AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME WE'LL BE CONDUCTING A VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT TO IDENTIFY SYSTEM STRESSORS THAT'LL INFORM OUR DECISION POINTS AND THRESHOLDS TO INFORM OUR 100 YEAR ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
FROM THE 50 YEAR PORTFOLIO EVALUATION.
WE'LL DO THAT TRADE-OFF ANALYSIS AND IDENTIFY A PREFERRED 50 YEAR PORTFOLIO AND HAVE A FULL EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS PERFORMED ON THAT FULL, UM, 50 YEAR PORTFOLIO.
WE ARE ALSO, UM, GOING TO USE OUR EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP THAT WAS DEVELOPED, UH, WITH THE HELP OF OUR COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS GROUP, UH, ALONG WITH DATA AND INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GATHERING VIA GIS AND OTHER SOURCES TO DO INDIVIDUAL EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY EVALUATIONS OF THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD THROUGH THE CHARACTERIZATION PROCESS.
SO OUR PROCESS HERE FOR STRATEGY CHARACTERIZATION IS TO REVIEW THE STRATEGIES THAT WERE CONSIDERED AND OR RECOMMENDED IN WATERFORD 2018.
WE'LL REVIEW THE PROGRESS OF ONGOING PROGRAMS. WILL, UH, OR PROJECTS WILL IDENTIFY ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES FOR THE WATER 4 24 INITIAL LIST.
THEN WE'LL SCREEN THOSE STRATEGIES THROUGH A FEASIBILITY FILTER THAT INCLUDES THINGS SUCH AS, IS IT A PROVEN TECHNOLOGY? IS THERE SUFFICIENT DATA OR INFORMATION TO CHARACTERIZE THIS STRATEGY? UM, WE'LL IDENTIFY ANY VARIABLES THAT WE MAY WANT TO, UH, UM, ATTACH TO THE STRATEGY OF VARIABLES LIKE DIFFERENT OPERATIONAL SCHEMES OR A SCALE OF A STRATEGY.
AND WE'LL UPDATE THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE STRATEGY.
THIS LISTS OFF THE DIFFERENT STRATEGY TYPES THAT WE ARE INCLUDING WITHIN THE PLAN.
THERE ARE SUPPLY STRATEGIES, UM, STRATEGIES THAT ARE ADDING TO OUR POTABLE WATER SUPPLIES.
THOSE INCLUDE EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLIES LIKE INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE.
THERE ARE DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT REDUCE OUR POTABLE WATER USE.
UM, THESE INCLUDE BOTH TRADITIONAL CONSERVATION OPTIONS AS WELL AS REUSE OPTIONS.
AND THEN THERE ARE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.
AND SOME OF THOSE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES INCLUDE, UM, LAND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES, UM, AS IDENTIFIED IN THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS OR EDUCATION AND OUTREACH BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.
ALL RIGHT, AND THIS IS THE POINT WHICH I'LL HAND IT OVER TO SARAH TO WALK US THROUGH OUR SUPPLY STRATEGIES.
GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, SARAH EATON PRESENTING THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
AND SORRY, I'M A LITTLE BIT HOARSE.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR ME CLEARLY.
WE'RE GONNA START OUT, UM, WITH THE SUPPLY STRATEGIES THAT HAVE BEEN, UM, PULLED IN FROM THE WATER FORWARD 18 PLAN.
THERE ARE QUITE A FEW WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES, SO WE WANTED TO PRESENT THEM IN SOME, SOME GROUPINGS TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT CLEARER AND EASIER TO FOLLOW.
UH, WE HAVE ALL OF THE STRATEGIES THAT, UH, HELP US TO STORE WATER FROM TIMES THAT WE HAVE PLENTY AND USE THAT WHEN THERE'S LESS AVAILABLE SUPPLY FROM THE COLORADO RIVER.
AND THOSE ARE IN THE BRIGHTER GREEN.
WE ALSO HAVE POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES, UM, CONSIDERS A SUPPLY STRATEGY INCLUDING THAT EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY, UM, AND DIRECT POTABLE REUSE, UH, AS WELL AS THE BLUE CATEGORY OF SORT OF ADJUSTMENTS TO WATER RIGHTS AND WATER SUPPLY CONTRACTS.
SO THIS INCLUDES, UH, DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN SORT OF MOVE, MOVE AROUND PAPER WATER, EITHER PURCHASING ADDITIONAL WATER RIGHTS OR, UM, A PARTNERSHIP WITH CORPUS CHRISTI.
AND WE CAN GO INTO EACH OF THESE IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
AND THE LAST CATEGORY IS NEW WATER SUPPLIES.
SO THIS IS LARGELY WATER SUPPLIES THAT WOULD, UM, NEED TO BE MOVED INTO OUR AREA FROM ELSEWHERE LIKE SEAWATER, DESALINATION
[00:55:01]
AND SOME OF THESE, AS WE MENTIONED, THESE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE STRATEGIES THAT WERE RECOMMENDED IN THE WATER FORWARD 18 PLAN, BUT THAT WERE CONSIDERED.AND, UM, WE'RE SORT OF OPENING IT UP PRIOR TO THE FEASIBILITY FILTER TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY STRATEGIES THAT WERE CONSIDERED BUT NOT RECOMMENDED IN WATER FOUR 18, THAT THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE STILL APPLICABLE AND UP TO DATE.
YES, SARAH, WHEN YOU SAY INITIAL HERE, IS THIS OUR COMPLETE INITIAL LISTED STRATEGIES OR? SO THIS IS THE LIST OF STRATEGIES CARRIED OVER FROM WATER FORWARD 18.
THE ONLY REASON I WANNA BE CAREFUL ABOUT SAYING IT'S COMPLETE IS THAT WE HAVE ONGOING COMMUNITY INTERNAL TASK FORCE OUTREACH.
AND IF THERE ARE ANY ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES THAT COME UP THAT PASS THROUGH THAT FEASIBILITY FILTER OF, YOU KNOW, SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO BE CHARACTERIZED, THOSE WOULD BE INCLUDED AS WELL.
SO THESE ARE STRATEGIES THAT WERE CONSIDERED FOR WATERFORD, THE ADOPTED PLAN? YEAH.
WERE EITHER CONSIDERED OR INCLUDED MM-HMM.
'CAUSE SOME OF THESE WERE NOT ACTUALLY, DID NOT END UP BEING INCLUDED IN THE PLAN.
AND THEN THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES AS WELL EITHER ALREADY IDENTIFIED OR TO BE IDENTIFIED.
WE ARE ALL EARS FOR ANY GOOD IDEAS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
AS EMILY HAS MENTIONED WITH THE SPEAK OF AUSTIN AND THE VARIOUS EFFORTS TO GET FEEDBACK IF THERE'S NEW IDEAS OR, OR NEW TAKES ON EXISTING STRATEGIES.
UM, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE HOPING TO GAIN FROM THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
UM, WE THINK THAT THIS IS, IF THIS COVERS A LOT OF THE SORT OF STANDARD GROUPINGS OF WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES, BUT, UM, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW.
SO THE FIRST GROUP OF STRATEGIES, UM, AND EACH OF THESE SLIDES IS GONNA HAVE THE DESCRIPTION OF THE STRATEGY WITH ANY COMPONENTS OR DETAILED DESCRIPTION ON THE LEFT.
UM, THE ORIGIN, WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS, UH, RECOMMENDED FROM THE WATER FOUR 18 PLAN OR IF MAYBE IT WAS CONSIDERED BUT NOT RECOMMENDED AND THEN THE STATUS, IF IT WAS RECOMMENDED, THERE'S A STATUS PROVIDED.
IF IT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED, THE STATUS IS SHOWN AS NOT APPLICABLE.
SO AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS A PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PART OF OUR WATER FOUR 18 PLAN AND ONE OF OUR MAJOR INITIATIVES.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER TWO, WHICH WAS OBVIOUSLY INCLUDED AND RECOMMENDED IN THE PLAN.
UM, AS WE'VE DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY THAT IMPLEMENTATION PHASE ONE A IS NEARING COMPLETION, UM, WHICH WILL BE FINALIZED IN MARCH OF 2024.
BEFORE WE MOVE ON INTO THE NEXT PHASES, THE THE OTHER TWO STORAGE STRATEGIES THAT WE HAVE SHOWN HERE ARE, UH, TWO OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR OPTIONS.
SO ONE OF THEM WOULD BE A NEW RESERVOIR OPTION.
UH, THIS WOULD MEAN CONSTRUCTING A NEW OFF CHANNEL, SO OFF OF THE MAIN STEM OF THE COLORADO RIVER SOMEWHERE WHERE WATER WOULD BE PRESUMABLY PUMPED OR PIPED FROM THE COLORADO RIVER UP TO A STORAGE RESERVOIR, UM, TO BE USED.
UM, ONE COLORADO SUPPLIES ARE RUNNING LOW AND THE OTHER, UM, STRATEGY LISTED, WHICH WAS NOT RECOMMENDED IN WATER FOUR 18 IS THE OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR, UH, USING THE EXISTING RESERVOIR, DECKER LAKE.
AND THE, THE OTHER SORT OF CAVEAT THAT THESE ARE PRESENTED, THESE ARE STRATEGIES FROM WATER FORWARD 18.
UM, SOME OF THEM NOW INCLUDE SOME DETAILS OR CONFIGURATIONS THAT WE'RE HOPING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IN THE, IN OUR CONSIDERATION OF WATER FORWARD 24.
SO, UM, ONE OF THOSE BEING A REQUIREMENT THAT THE DECKER LAKE OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR ALTERNATIVE BE CONSIDERED WITHIN A VERY LIMITED OPERATING RANGE.
SO THAT LAKE IS THE, THE TARGET NOW IS TO KEEP IT AT A PRETTY CONSTANT LEVEL FOR RECREATION AND OTHER USES.
AND THIS IS A CONSTRAINT THAT THE, THE OPERATING RANGE AS A WATER RESERVOIR WOULD BE VERY MINIMAL.
SO THAT ONE WAS NOT CONSIDERED, UM, BUT IS SORT OF ON THE TABLE IN THIS INITIAL LIST FOR OUR FIRST PASS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STORAGE STRATEGIES OR ANY COMMENTS FROM TASK FORCE OR OTHERS? ALRIGHT, MOVING RIGHT ALONG.
SO IN WATER FORWARD 18, UM, WE DIDN'T NECESSARILY HAVE REUSE ORGANIZED IN THE SAME WAY.
UM, IN WATER 4 24, WE'RE HOPING TO KEEP THE POTABLE REUSE CONSIDERED AS A WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY BECAUSE WE'RE THINKING OF IT MORE AS A POTABLE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY.
WHEREAS THE NON POTABLE RECLAIMED WATER, CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER AND LIKE ONSITE REUSE SYSTEMS ARE CONSIDERED AS A DEMAND MANAGEMENT
[01:00:01]
STRATEGY BECAUSE THEY'RE REDUCING OUR DEMAND FOR POTABLE WATER.WAS THERE ANOTHER QUESTION OR? NO? OKAY.
UM, I ACTUALLY HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR.
IN THE PIPING KIND OF RELATED BUT ALSO A LITTLE UNRELATED FOR THE, THE PIPING AND EVERYTHING.
I'VE SEEN OTHER COUNTRIES USE HYDROPOWER AND GENERATE ENERGY AND STUFF.
WOULD YOU GUYS ANALYZE ANY OF THAT BENEFIT OF LIKE USING THE, THE GRAVITY BASICALLY TO HELP CREATE SOME ENERGY FOR AUSTIN ITSELF? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK THERE'S SOME REALLY INTERESTING PROJECTS OF LIKE ENERGY RECOVERY ON CANALS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, IN GENERAL, A LOT OF THE LOCATIONS WHERE YOU MAY BE ABLE TO DO AN OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR, WE'D PROBABLY LOOKING FOR, UM, IT, IT'S LIKELY TO BE RELATIVELY FLAT, SO THERE MAY NOT BE AS MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY, BUT I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GOOD POINT AND SOMETHING TO DEFINITELY CONSIDER AS IF THAT, AS THAT STRATEGY SORT OF MOVES FORWARD.
UM, SO WITH THE POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES, WE HAVE THE THREE POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES, UH, WHICH ARE, WHICH ARE REALLY SORT OF GROUPED INTO TWO.
THE FIRST TWO ARE DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS OF OUR INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES.
SO THE, THE FIRST IS THE, THE CONFIGURATION THAT WAS RECOMMENDED IN WATER FOUR 18, WHICH COMBINES, UM, THE, THE INDIRECT PORTABLE REUSE FROM WASTEWATER, UM, TREATMENT PLANT, HIGHLY TREATED AFFLUENT INTEL LADYBIRD LAKE FOR, UM, USE TO BE BLENDED AT ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT, UM, TO SUPPLEMENT THE POTABLE WATER SUPPLY, WHICH WOULD ALSO BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE LOCAL INFLOWS FROM UM, SPRINGS.
SO THAT'S A, IT'S A MULTI BENEFICIAL COMPONENT OF THAT STRATEGY.
THE OTHER CONFIGURATION OF THAT WHICH WAS CONSIDERED IN WATER FOUR 18 BUT WAS NOT RECOMMENDED, UM, WAS USING EITHER GROUNDWATER INFILTRATION OR A BED AND BANKS PERMIT.
SO BASICALLY JUST DIFFERENT MECHANISMS FOR ASSISTING WITH THE PURIFICATION OF THE WATER AND CONVEYANCE OF THE WATER FROM, UM, THE WASTEWATER PLANTS UP TO THE INTAKE TO THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
UH, THE LAST IS DIRECT POTABLE REUSE, WHICH AS WE NOTED IN SOME OF THOSE, UH, SURVEYS SEEMS TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE PUBLIC SUPPORT THAN MAYBE WE WOULD'VE ANTICIPATED.
UM, DIRECT POTABLE REUSE WAS CONSIDERED BUT NOT RECOMMENDED IN THE WATER 4 8 18 PLAN.
UM, AND REALLY THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INDIRECT AND DIRECT POTABLE REUSE IS THE INCLUSION OF THAT ENVIRONMENTAL BUFFER.
SO INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE TAKES THE EFFLUENT AND PUTS IT IN EITHER A LAKE OR AN AQUIFER OR AN ENVIRONMENTAL BUFFER FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME BEFORE IT GOES INTO THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
AND DIRECT POTABLE REUSE USUALLY HAS A COUPLE OF OTHER COMPONENTS TO THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT OR THE WATER TREATMENT SIDE AND THE WATER GOES PRETTY MUCH DIRECTLY.
SO THAT'S, IT DOES NOT HAVE THAT, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL BUFFER BUT IS LIKELY TO HAVE A HIGHER LEVEL OF OF TREATMENT.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES WITH THE NEW EPA RULING ON THE P FOAS AND PAS? UM, ARE YOU GUYS CONSIDERING THE COST OF TREATMENTS AND THE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES WHEN LOOKING AT DIRECT VERSUS INDIRECT AND THOSE TYPE OF CONTAMINANTS THAT ARE NOT QUITE REQUIRED BUT THEY'RE ON THEIR WAY TO BEING SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE REGULATED AS WELL? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
IN, IN ALL OF THE RECLAIMED WATER QUALITY ANALYSIS WORK THAT WE HAVE DONE AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO, WE'RE CERTAINLY LOOKING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CURRENT REQUIREMENTS ARE AND UNDERSTANDING IF THERE ARE ANY PRETTY WELL UNDERSTOOD REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE COMING DOWN IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND MAKING SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY.
UM, THE, THE P-F-A-S-I THINK DEFINITELY WILL.
UM, IT PRESENTS A LOT OF OF CHALLENGES JUST BASED ON THE DIFFICULTY THE, THE AMOUNT OF PFAS AND THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTING.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT OUR UTILITY HAS TAKEN ON ALREADY FROM THE WATER TREATMENT SIDE AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'D BE INCLUDING IN OUR CONSIDERATIONS AND DISCUSSION.
AND YET ANY PLANNED TREATMENT WOULD INCLUDE TREATMENT FOR THAT.
ANY OTHER POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES YOU DIDN'T MISS MUCH
SO THE NEXT CATEGORY IS WATER RIGHTS AND WATER
[01:05:01]
SUPPLY CONTRACTS.THE FIRST OF WHICH IS, UM, SECURING ADDITIONAL SUPPLIES FROM LCRA.
UM, THIS WAS CONSIDERED BUT NOT RECOMMENDED IN THE WATER 4 8 18 PLAN.
UM, AND THE NEXT STRATEGY IS A REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP WITH CORPUS CHRISTI AND THIS IS SORT OF A, A WATER TRADE TYPE STRATEGY WHERE THERE WOULD BE SOME COST SHARING FOR A SEAWATER DESALINATION PLANT FOR CORPUS CHRISTI, WHICH WOULD THEN ALLOW CORPUS TO, UM, IN EXCHANGE FOR A PORTION OF THEIR COLORADO RIVER WATER RIGHTS.
SO THE WATER RIGHTS THAT THEY HAVE COULD THEN BECOME AVAILABLE TO AUSTIN IF AUSTIN HELPED THEM TO, UM, BUILD THIS ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY WITH SEAWATER GAL.
SORT OF AVOIDS THE HAVING TO ACTUALLY PIPE THE WATER UP FROM THE COAST TO AUSTIN BUT ACHIEVE THE SAME GOALS WITH THE SEAWATER DESALINATION PLANT.
IS CORPUS CHRISTI CURRENTLY TAKING DELIVERY OF THAT WATER? IT'S BEING, IT'S BEING PIPED OVER TO LATE I SOMETHING I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME OF, I'M NOT SURE IF THEY HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY CALLING ON IT AND USING IT.
I DON'T KNOW IF MARISA, YOU'RE AWARE.
THEY'RE USING, IS IT LAKE TEXTBOOK SAND? YEAH, I THINK THEY HAVE, THINK THEY LAKE TANA AS A, AS A KIND OF A BUFFER RESERVOIR ALONG THE WAY.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'RE ACTIVELY DOING THAT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF, UM, AVAILABILITY AND OTHER SUPPLIES THEY MAY HAVE ACCESS TO, BUT I, I AM AWARE THAT THEY CAN TAKE IT.
I'M JUST NOT SURE IF LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE TODAY IF THEY ARE, BECAUSE THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO TRANSPORT IT ALONG THE WAY SO IT PROBABLY IS NOT THE FIRST CHOICE ON THEIR LIST OF UH YEAH.
BUT IT'S JUST INTERESTING TO THINK ABOUT ARE THEY CURRENTLY TAKING THAT WATER? SO WHAT'S THE AVAILABILITY? IT IS A SENIOR WATER, RIGHT? SO IT SHOULD BE AVAILABLE, BUT LIKE WHAT IS THE PRACTICAL IMPACT ON OUR WATER SUPPLIES IF WE'RE NOT LIKE TRANSPORTING IT DOWNSTREAM FOR THEM? WOULD IT BE, WOULD WE BE IN A DIFFERENT POSITION RIGHT NOW ANYWAY, YOU KNOW? SURE.
AND THAT'S AS FAR AS I CAN TAKE THAT THREAD WITHOUT GETTING MYSELF CONFUSED, BUT, UM, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S INTERESTING.
AND TO YOUR POINT, I THINK ANY, ANY PROGRESS WE MADE ON THAT STRATEGY WOULD CERTAINLY INCLUDE THE SUPERPOWERS OF DR. RICHARD HOFF POWER TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE, WHAT THOSE IMPACTS WOULD BE ON THE OVERALL FLOWS IN THE COLORADO AND ENSURING THAT WE AREN'T HAVING ANY, UM, NEGATIVE IMPACT.
IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON WATER RIGHTS, I DO HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, THIS IDEA OF CORPUS CHRISTI, ISN'T IT TOO FARFETCHED IN TERMS OF, UH, THE PIPELINE WOULD BE FAIRLY LONG AND THE COST WOULD BE PROHIBITIVE? UM, SO THE IDEA IS ACTUALLY JUST BUILDING ASSISTING IN THE COST OF A SEAWATER DESALINATION PLANT FOR CORPUS CHRISTI, WHICH WOULD ALLOW AUSTIN TO USE SOME OF CORPUS CHRISTI'S COLORADO WATER RIGHTS.
SO THERE WOULD NO, THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY, IT WOULD ACTUALLY REDUCE HOW MUCH WATER IS BEING PHYSICALLY TRANSFERRED FROM THE COLORADO RIVER TO CORPUS OR CORPUS TO THE COLORADO RIVER BECAUSE WE WOULD BE ASSISTING THEM IN BUILDING A LOCAL SEAWATER DESALINATION PLANT AND WE WOULD PULL THE WATER OUT FROM THE HIGHLAND LAKES.
WE WOULD, WE WOULD BE ACCESSING IT AT THE SAME LOCATIONS THAT WE CURRENTLY ACCESS OUR WATER RIGHTS.
SO WE, WE WILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH LCRA BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT ARE MANAGING THE HIGHLAND LAKES AND THERE HAS TO BE AN AGREEMENT WITH LCRA ON THAT, IS THAT CORRECT? I BELIEVE THAT THERE WOULD, THERE WOULD BE DISCUSSIONS WITH BOTH LCRA AND TCEQ IN TERMS OF THE, THE WATER RIGHTS AND HOW THOSE WATER RIGHTS ARE BEING MANAGED AND, UM, WOULD REQUIRE SOME, AN A, A CHANGE IN THE WATER RIGHT.
AS WELL AS, UM, WHICH WOULD BE GOING THROUGH TCQ AND, AND CERTAINLY DISCUSSIONS WITH LCRA.
THE LAST CATEGORY OF STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING IS, IS THE NEW WATER SUPPLIES.
UH, AND THIS HANEY GETS TO YOUR QUESTION, UH, CONSIDERING SEAWATER DESALINATION, WHICH WAS NOT IN RECOMMENDED AS A, UM, WAS NOT AS A RECOMMENDED STRATEGY IN THE WATER 40 18 PLAN, EXCUSE ME,
[01:10:01]
CONVENTIONAL GROUNDWATER BEING, UH, IMPORTATION OF GROUNDWATER, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, IS OF DRINKING WATER OR CLOSE TO DRINKING WATER QUALITY AS OPPOSED TO, UH, BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION, WHICH IS THE OTHER STRATEGY LISTED, WHICH WOULD BE DESALINATION OF, OF NATURALLY BRACKISH GROUNDWATER AND IMPORTATION TO AUSTIN, OR IF THAT'S AVAILABLE WITHIN THE AUSTIN AREA.UH, BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION WAS RECOMMENDED, UM, BUT IT WAS RECOMMENDED AS A STRATEGY TO BE IMPLEMENTED LATER IN A LATER DECADE.
SO THAT IMPLEMENTATION HAS NOT STARTED YET.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS ON NEW WATER SUPPLIES? ALRIGHT, SO THAT, UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
OH, THERE IS A TABLE THAT DID NOT SHOW UP.
THIS WAS A REALLY HANDY, UM, SUMMARY OF OUR WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES SHOWING THE RELATIVE COST AND YIELD.
UM, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THIS GETS OUT TO EVERYONE BECAUSE IT'S, UH, NOT VERY INFORMATIVE AS, AS IT IS CURRENTLY PRINTED, BUT THAT'S, IT'S ALSO BLANK IN OUR PACKET.
YEAH, I HAVE A PACKET IN FRONT OF ME TOO, SO SORRY ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET THAT OUT TO YOU.
UM, OR MAYBE WE CAN GET IT OVER BY THE END OF THE PRESENTATION.
WHAT WAS SLIDE RIGHT BEFORE THIS ONE? SORRY.
IT WAS THE LAST CATEGORY OF SUPPLY STRATEGIES, WHICH WAS THE NEW WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES.
AND THEN THIS ONE IS JUST THE SUMMARY.
PARDON ME? LIKE THAT ONE PAGE? NO, IT'S NOT, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A TABLE ON IT, WHICH SUMMARIZES ALL OF THE PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES AND SHOWS YOU A LITTLE WATER DROPLET AND DOLLAR SIGN SORT OF LEVEL OF, OF HOW EXPENSIVE AND HOW MUCH YIELD WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE STRATEGIES.
BUT APPARENTLY WE WERE TRYING TO KEEP THAT IN OUR BACK POCKET, SO, OKAY.
WELL UPLOAD OR A REVIS, UM, A REVISED VERSION OF THE SLIDES TO INCLUDE THAT.
I THINK IT'S JUST A PDF PRINTING ERROR.
WE'VE GOT ALMOST ALL THE INFORMATION, SO, SO CAN I ASK THE QUESTION? OF COURSE.
THAT'S, MAKE SURE YOUR LINE IS ON.
SO YEAH, I'VE BEEN ASSUMING THIS WHOLE TIME THAT ALL OF THIS IS, YOU'RE JUST TELLING US THESE ARE THE OPTIONS AND EVEN LIKE UP ON THE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, IT'S LIKE THOSE PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT COST OR TERM AND LIKE WITH THIS, YOU'RE SAYING THERE WAS THIS ONE SLIDE ABOUT RELATIVE COST, BUT ESSENTIALLY RIGHT NOW YOU'RE, WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT THESE AS LIKE OPTIONS AND THEN YOU'RE GONNA TELL US ABOUT THIS IN DEPTH EVALUATION YOU'RE GONNA GO THROUGH ABOUT THE STRATEGIES, CORRECT.
SO, UM, AND THE STRATEGIES THAT ARE BEING PRESENTED TODAY, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION, ARE, UM, TEAGAN FROM WATER FORWARD 18 AND IT'S, IT'S UPDATES TO THOSE COSTING YIELDS AS BEST WE UNDERSTAND THEM NOW PRIOR TO HAVING GONE THROUGH AND DONE LIKE A COMPLETE RE-CHARACTERIZATION.
SO IT'S SORT OF OUR HIGH LEVEL ESTIMATES OF COST AND YIELD BASED ON THE STRATEGIES AS THEY WERE CONCEIVED IN WATER FOUR 18.
SO ALL OF THE COST AND YIELD INFORMATION FROM WATER 40 18 IS AVAILABLE AND HAS BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO, UM, FOLKS AS WE'VE BEEN PRESENTING THAT INFORMATION.
WE'VE USED, UM, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST THE RELATIVE YIELD AND THE RELATIVE COSTS THAT WAS DEVELOPED THROUGH THAT PREVIOUS PLANNING PROCESS QUESTION.
SO WHEN THEY DID THE COMMUNITY SURVEYS, THEY DID HAVE SOME COST INFORMATION.
THE COMMUNITY SURVEY DIDN'T INCLUDE DETAILS ON COSTS AND YIELD.
UM, WE DID PROVIDE LINKS TO THE WATERFORD 18 PLAN FOR FOLKS WHO WOULD WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT.
WE WERE ADVISED, UM, BY, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE PROFESSIONALS AT MAKING SURVEYS TO TRY TO INCLUDE FEWER WORDS, UM, TO TRY TO MAKE THE SURVEY MORE ACCESSIBLE TO FOLKS.
OF COURSE, THIS CONTENT HAS REQUIRES A LOT OF CONTEXT.
UM, SO WE PRIORITIZE DESCRIBING THE STRATEGY SO PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND THEM.
WELL, SO THE ANSWER IS THEY WERE LOOKING AT A SET OF STRATEGIES IF THEY WANTED TO CLICK THROUGH TO LOOK IN THE WATER 2018 PLAN ABOUT THE RELATIVE COST, THEY COULD HAVE DONE THAT.
BUT OTHERWISE THEY WERE JUST LOOKING AT A SET OF STRATEGIES WITHOUT COST INFORMATION.
SO LIKE I AS A CUSTOMER DON'T KNOW THE COST, LIKE HOW THIS RELATIVELY MAY AFFECT AUSTIN WATER WHEN I VOTE FOR A NEW RESERVOIR
[01:15:01]
AND THIS INITIAL SURVEY.AND THIS IS BEFORE WE'RE DOING THE UPDATES, THE COST AND YIELDS.
MY OTHER QUESTION IS, WHEN YOU SAY YOU GOT THE COSTING INFORMATION FROM WATER FORWARD 2018, BUT SOME OF THESE STRATEGIES WERE NOT, UM, WERE LIKE NOT INCLUDED IN 2018.
SO DID YOU STILL USE THE INFORMATION FROM 2018 BEFORE THEY WERE EXCLUDED OR WHAT? I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THAT WORKS.
YEAH, SO THEY WERE INCLUDED IN THE DISCUSSION IN WATERFORD 2018.
THERE WAS A, A BROAD SET OF STRATEGIES THAT WAS CONSIDERED AND CHARACTERIZED IN WATERFORD 18 AND SOME OF THOSE THAT WERE THEN NOT RECOMMENDED IN THE RECOMMENDED PORTFOLIO BUT STILL HAD A CHARACTERIZATION WERE ABLE TO USE THE INFORMATION THAT WAS DEVELOPED ABOUT THEM FROM THE WATER FOUR 18 PROCESS.
THOSE THAT DIDN'T PASS THE FEASIBILITY THRESHOLD IN WATER FOUR 18 ARE LARGELY NOT CONSIDERED IN HERE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T REALLY GET ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, DIDN'T HAVE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO CONSIDER THEM THEN.
SO THE ONES THERE ARE STRATEGIES IN THAT, THE SPREADSHEET THAT WE SENT THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT THROUGH THE SCREENING PROCESS.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE AS, WE DON'T HAVE DETAILED INFORMATION RELATED TO THOSE STRATEGIES BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THE CHARACTERIZATION PHASE INTO THE 2018 PROCESS.
UH, I HAVE ONE QUESTION TO KIND OF ADD ON THAT.
UM, WHEN REFERRING TO THE 2018 PLAN, DID YOU GUYS REFERENCE THE PAGES IF THAT COST ANALYSIS WOULD BE ON OR WAS IT JUST UP TO THEM? 'CAUSE IT'S A PRETTY EXTENSIVE DOCUMENT TO EXACTLY, TO SORT THROUGH.
BUT IN THE SURVEY, DID WE REFERENCE THE LOCATIONS OF THE COST INFORMATION? I DON'T THINK THAT WE REFERENCED THE SPECIFIC PAGES THAT THE COST INFORMATION WOULD BE INCLUDED ON.
AGAIN, THIS IS AN INITIAL SURVEY TO GATHER SOME PRELIMINARY FEEDBACK.
ONCE WE HAVE UPDATED COSTS AND YIELDS, THEN THOSE WOULD BE, I WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE SHARING THOSE WITH PEOPLE RATHER THAN SHARING OLD COSTS FROM 2018.
I THINK THAT WOULD CONFUSE PEOPLE FOR US TO SHARE THE 2018 COSTS AND THEN SHARE POTENTIALLY VERY DIFFERENT 2024 COSTS.
UM, BUT WITH INFLATION WE DO THINK THAT THERE WILL BE SOME SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THE COST.
ALRIGHT, SO LET'S NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
APOLOGIES AGAIN ABOUT THAT SUMMARY.
WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S MADE AVAILABLE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
IT'S GONNA GET STUCK ON THE ONE THAT COMES UP BLANK, YOU KNOW.
UH, NOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES OR WE CAN ACTUALLY GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SIMILAR TO THE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES, WE'VE GROUPED THE DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES INTO SOME, A COUPLE OF SORT OF OVERARCHING CATEGORIES, UM, UTILITY SIDE WATER LOSS CONTROL, OUTDOOR WATER USE REDUCTION, NON-POTABLE REUSE, AND CUSTOMER SIDE WATER USE MANAGEMENT.
SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO I MENTIONED THERE ARE MAY BE SOME PLACES WHERE THE ORGANIZATION OF THESE STRATEGIES WE'RE STARTING TO ALIGN IT MORE CLOSELY WITH HOW WE'D LIKE THEM TO BE ORGANIZED IN WATER 4 24, EVEN IF THEY ARE STRATEGIES THAT WERE CONSIDERED IN OR THAT ARE RECOMMENDED FROM WATER FOUR 18 AND CARRIED OVER.
UM, ONE OF THEM IS SORT OF GROUPING ALL OF THE TOOLS AND COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP THE UTILITY SIDE WATER LOSS CONTROL.
SO THIS STRATEGY INCLUDES, UM, A PROGRAM ON OUR PRODUCTION METERS TO ENSURE THAT WE GET ACCURATE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MUCH WATER IS ENTERING OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FROM THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, AS WELL AS A PROGRAM ON OUR CUSTOMER METERS.
SO THAT INCLUDES, UM, A DISTINCT PROGRAM FOR LARGE CUSTOMER METERS TO ENSURE ACCURACY AND REPLACEMENT AS NEEDED.
UM, A BIG COMPONENT OF THAT IS SO THAT THOSE METERS ARE COMPATIBLE WITH OUR ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE AND, UM, CAN FEED INTO THAT LARGER SET OF DATA.
THE NEXT COMPONENT IS THE MY A TX WATER.
SO THOSE ARE THE INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER METERS.
SO THOSE ARE THE SMALLER INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER METERS AND THE DATA ANALYSIS THAT'S REQUIRED, UH, IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THE METERS IN PLACE THAT ARE PROVIDING YOU WITH A LOT OF DATA, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF EFFORT AND, UM, POTENTIALLY SOME ANALYSIS PACKAGES AND EMPLOYEES THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED TO MAKE GOOD USE OF
[01:20:01]
THAT DATA SO THAT WE CAN USE IT TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THERE MIGHT BE POTENTIAL FOR SAVINGS OR IDENTIFY LOCATIONS WHERE THERE COULD BE LEAKS IN THE SYSTEM.UM, THE NEXT COMPONENT IS ENHANCEMENTS TO OUR EXISTING LEAK DETECTION PROGRAM.
AND SO THAT'S THE ON THE GROUND TEAMS WHO GO OUT TO RESPOND TO KNOWN LEAKS OR DO PROACTIVE, UH, LOOKING FOR, UM, FOR LEAKS IN OUR WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
AND THE LAST IS RENEWING AUSTIN, WHICH IS OUR ONGOING PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM.
SO THESE ARE RECOMMENDED AND THE IMPLEMENTATION IS UNDERWAY.
UM, MOST OF THESE COMPONENTS ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY AND UH, WE HAVE A, UM, CONSULTANT WHO'S CURRENTLY WORKING ON THIS WITH THE, THE FOLKS WHO MANAGE OUR WATER LOSS CONTROL INTERNAL TO AUSTIN WATER AND WILL BE PROVIDING A REPORT WHICH WILL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SORT OF THE RANGE OF COSTS WOULD BE THAT COULD IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF UTILITY SIDE WATER LOSS.
ANY QUESTIONS? I JUST HAVE A COMMENT HERE.
I SURE I HAD A NOTE FROM EARLIER TOO.
UM, I KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME, BUT WE HAD A PRESENTATION ON WATER LOSS AND WHAT THE CITY DOES TO APPROACH WATER LOSS AND LIKE THE GOALS OF THE ENHANCED PIPES REPLACEMENT, YOU KNOW, SO MANY MILES PER YEAR.
I REMEMBER SEEING A MAP OF MM-HMM.
ANYWAY, IT WAS, IT WAS VERY, IT WAS REALLY GREAT AND, AND I REMEMBER IT AND, AND I WANNA SAY IT WAS LIKE MAYBE ALMOST LIKE EIGHT YEARS AGO OR SOMETHING.
IT WAS LIKE A REALLY LONG TIME.
BUT ANYWAY, UM, IT WOULD BE REALLY AWESOME TO TAKE THIS STRATEGY AND TO DIG INTO IT A LITTLE BIT.
AND I KNOW WE HAVE A LOT ON OUR PLATE, BUT IF MM-HMM.
AND I THINK THAT THERE'S A LOT OF INTEREST TO UNDERSTAND REALLY AS WE'RE IN THIS PHASE ABOUT WATER LOSS AND NOT ONLY HOW MUCH IT IS 'CAUSE THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT THAT AND, UM, IN THE LEGISLATURE AND IN THE STATE AND AS WATER SUPPLIES GET MORE CONSTRAINED, BUT TO UNDERSTAND THE STRATEGIES THAT AUSTIN IS UNDERTAKING AND THE, MAYBE EVEN LIKE THE SAVINGS OR HOW MUCH WE'RE INVESTING MM-HMM.
BUT ANYWAY, IF WE COULD DO THAT OR LIKE PUT THAT IN THE, IN THE PIPELINE FOR THE FUTURE, I THINK THAT WOULD BE OF GREAT INTEREST TO FOLKS, OR AT LEAST TO ME.
AM I SPEAKING OUT OF TURN? HOPEFULLY NOT.
UM, SO, 'CAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS ONE OF OUR, I PRESUME THAT THIS IS ONE OF OUR STRONGEST AND MOST AND MORE IMPORTANT STRATEGIES FOR I AGREE.
AND I THINK THAT THERE, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE THOSE OTHER, UM, FOLKS WORKING ON THIS QUESTION SPECIFICALLY, UM, THERE SHOULD BE SOME, SOME GOOD NEW INFORMATION THAT WE CAN SHARE WITHIN RELATIVELY SOON.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA TO DIG INTO IT.
ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON UTILITY SIDE? WATER LOSS CONTROL.
AND THIS IS ANOTHER, UM, INSTANCE OF WE'RE CARRYING OVER WHAT WAS CONSIDERED IN WATER FORWARD 2018.
UM, A COUPLE OF THE COMPONENTS FOR THE WATER EFFICIENT AND NATIVE LANDSCAPES WERE RECOMMENDED IN WATER FORWARD 18.
UM, AND WE'VE GROUPED THOSE ALL TOGETHER THIS TIME.
SO THIS INCLUDES ORDINANCES, REBATES, ONGOING PROGRAMS, AND THEN SOME DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL EXPANSIONS OR ENHANCEMENTS TO THE, UM, THE SORT OF PROMOTING WATER EFFICIENT AND NATIVE LANDSCAPES.
SO, SO JUST A QUESTION ON THIS.
UM, WE HAD HISTORICALLY TALKED ABOUT THE RELATIVE CARROTS THAT WE COULD OFFER, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, UM, SUBSIDY OR SUPPORT, UM, WITH, WITH TAX DOLLARS OR OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME.
UM, BUT, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A, UM, THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S, THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY, UM, AN AMOUNT OF WATER THAT IS USED FOR HOUSEHOLD WHICH IS PRICED AT A REASONABLE LEVEL OR AT CURRENT PRICING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND THAT THERE'S A AMOUNT OF WATER ABOVE THAT LEVEL, WHICH WE BELIEVE IS MOST LIKELY GOING TO SOURCES
[01:25:01]
LIKE THIS, UM, OUTDOOR USES THAT'S OPTIONAL AND NOT REQUIRED FOR SURVIVAL.AND, AND THAT, THAT THAT CAN PROVIDE, WE CAN, WE, WITH FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, WE CAN, WE CAN CHANGE BEHAVIORS OR, YOU KNOW, BENEFIT FROM THAT FINANCIALLY, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO GO PAY FOR SOME OF THESE OTHER STRATEGIES.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF I'M BEING CLEAR OR MM-HMM.
AND, UM, THE, AND IT'S A GOOD LEAD IN, IT'S ACTUALLY, I REALIZE IT'S A FEW SLIDES DOWN, BUT, UM, WE DO HAVE UNDER THE, UM, THE CUSTOMER SIDE WATER USE MANAGEMENT CATEGORY, A LITTLE BIT MORE DISCUSSION ON THE BENCHMARKING AND BUDGETING STRATEGY, WHICH WAS INCLUDED IN THE WATER FOUR 18, UM, RECOMMENDED PORTFOLIO, BUT MAYBE DIDN'T HAVE AS MUCH DETAIL.
AND I THINK WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT A LOT MORE AS WE'VE BEEN UPDATING THESE, UH, DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
AND I THINK ALTHOUGH IT'S ON THE CUSTOMER SIDE, WATER USE MANAGEMENT, IT CERTAINLY APPLIES TO THE OUTDOOR WATER USE REDUCTION AS WELL BECAUSE THE STRATEGY IS GENERALLY USING THE AVAILABLE DATA THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO GATHER THROUGH THE ADVANCED METERING AND MY A TX WATER PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH WHAT SOME OF THOSE APPROPRIATE BUDGETS ARE FOR CERTAIN HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND CUSTOMER TYPES.
SO THAT, UM, TODD, WE COULD DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS LIKE UNDERSTANDING A REASONABLE RANGE OF WHAT WATER USE SHOULD BE AND EITHER INCENTIVIZING THAT YOU STAY WITHIN THAT RANGE OR EITHER FINANCIALLY OR OTHERWISE PENALIZING GOING OUTSIDE OF THAT RANGE IN ORDER TO REALLY ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO BE AWARE AND STAY WITHIN THEIR WATER BUDGET.
UM, MARISA, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANTED TO ADD TO THAT ONE? NOPE, REALLY GOOD SUMMARY.
UH, I HAVE A, A THING I'D LIKE TO ADD.
I'VE NOTICED IT'S ONLY RELATING TO NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND NEW HOUSES AND NEW IRRIGATION, BUT I THINK IT'D BE REALLY BENEFICIAL TO LOOK AT PEOPLE WHO ALREADY HAVE PRE-EXISTING LAWNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND INCENTIVIZING THEM AND USING ZERO, ESCAPING IN NATIVE PLANT SPECIES AS WELL BECAUSE YOU COULD REALLY REDUCE WATER THAT'S ALREADY CURRENTLY BEING USED MORE SO THAN JUST FUTURE USAGE.
THIS IS, THIS KIND OF TIES BACK TO MY POINT, WHICH IS PROVIDING A FINANCIAL INCENTIVE FOR FOLKS TO RETROFIT, UM, OR CHOOSE TO SPEND A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY TO, TO SUPPORT, YOU KNOW, WATER CONSUMING LANDSCAPE.
UM, EITHER WAY I THINK WE BENEFIT AS A SOCIETY BECAUSE WE CAN EITHER, YOU KNOW, USE LESS WATER OR HAVE MORE MONEY TO GO IMPLEMENT NEW STRATEGIES.
I WONDER TOO ABOUT HAVING A, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A 100 YEAR WATER PLAN AND ALMOST SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE WORTH LOOKING AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE WHERE THERE IS NO OUTDOOR USAGE OF MM-HMM.
UM, YOU KNOW WHAT IN THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'D BE, IT'D BE A STRETCH GOAL.
MY NEIGHBORS THAT HAVE, YOU KNOW, REALLY NICE ST.
AUGUSTINE WOULD PROBABLY HATE ME FOR SAYING THAT, BUT, UM, BUT IT DOES SEEM LIKE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER.
PROBABLY NOT ME, I'LL BE DEAD, BUT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT EACH OTHER GOING, I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY USED TO DO THAT.
UM, BUT THAT MIGHT BE A NICE STRETCH GOAL.
UM, AND IT'S HARD, IT'S HARD TO, HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW PEOPLE WILL STILL BE WATERING.
WE'VE HAD SOME, SOME REALLY INTERESTING QUESTIONS LIKE, WILL THERE BE GOLF COURSES? LIKE HOW IS THIS ALL, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW LOOK LIKE WHEN WE'RE DOING THE DEMAND EVALUATION AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT RANGE OF WATER DEMANDS WE REALLY HAVE TO ADDRESS THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, THROUGH THOSE FUTURE DECADES? UM, AND YOU ARE ALL DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, OF GIVING TEASERS FOR FUTURE SLIDES.
ONE OF THEM IS SUMMARIZING SOME OF THE COMMENTS THAT WE'VE GOTTEN BACK FROM THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS AND OTHER, WE HAD A LOT OF REALLY INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS AROUND, UM, THE CITY ON SOME OF THEIR COMMENTS ON THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
AND THEY INCLUDED THINGS LIKE THE TURF BUYBACK PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN, IN SOME OF THE OTHER LIKE MAJOR WESTERN CITIES.
AND SO I THINK THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE DEFINITELY REALLY USEFUL TO KEEP ON THE TABLE AS OTHER TOOLS.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS CONSIDERED THAT WAS, UH, REALLY INTERESTING AND CRITICAL IN THE WATER 40 18 PLAN IS MAKING SURE THAT WE DO HAVE ENOUGH WATER AVAILABLE, BE IT RECLAIMED WATER OTHERWISE, TO MAINTAIN THE TREE CANOPY AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTED AROUND THE CITY AND NOT JUST FOCUSED AROUND PLACES WHERE THERE'S RECLAIMED WATER.
YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING HOW TO, TO REALLY WEAVE IN THAT EQUITY FOCUS AND ALSO MAINTAINING THE, YOU KNOW, OUR ENVIRONMENT AS BEST WE CAN.
[01:30:01]
CONSIDERATIONS GOING INTO THAT, BUT CERTAINLY LOOKING AT HOW IT CAN BE REALLY EFFICIENT WITH OUR WATER USE AND, AND YEAH, LET'S LIMIT THAT ST.THAT WAS A BIG FOCUS OF THE LAST WATER 4 20 18 PLAN.
SOME OF Y'ALL WILL REMEMBER THOSE PIE CHARTS SHOWING HOW, YOU KNOW, WE IDENTIFIED THE AMOUNT OF, UH, POTABLE WATER BEING USED FOR NON-POTABLE PURPOSES AND TRYING TO SHRINK THAT SLICE OF THE PIE OVER TIME.
AND IN THE 2018 PLAN, THAT WAS A PART, A BIG PART OF OUR GOAL WAS TO TRY TO MEET THE APPROPRIATE WATER USE WITH THE APPROPRIATE WATER QUALITY.
I THINK IT'S A GOOD GOAL TO SET.
ONE THING I WANTED TO ALSO MENTION, UH, TODD, IN RELATION TO WHAT YOU WERE BRINGING UP BEFORE, WE, WE ALSO KIND OF HAVE A CURRENT PROGRAM THAT, UM, WE'VE HAD IN PLACE FOR A LONG TIME THAT HAS AN EFFECT OF, I THINK SOME OF WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS OUR INCLINING BLOCK RATES THAT IS, HAS, UM, PUT, YOU KNOW, UM, RE RESULTED IN SAVING WATER WHERE WE HAVE AS, AS YOU GO HIGHER IN TIERS AND USE MORE WATER, THEN THE, THE PRICE GOES UP SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND THAT'S HAD AN EFFECT OF, UH, HELPING US SAVE WATER AND HELPING, UM, YOU KNOW, REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT'S USED OVER, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A BASE AMOUNT FOR A HOUSEHOLD.
'CAUSE WHEN WE GET BACK TO TALKING ABOUT IT AND, UM, GET INTO MORE DETAIL, THAT'S, THAT'S A FACTOR THAT'S ALREADY IN PLACE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IS HELPING US SAVE WATER NOW AND, AND, UM, HAS BEEN AND WILL BE IN THE FUTURE TOO.
UM, SARAH, I JUST HAVE A QUAL UH, A QUESTION.
UM, THIS IRRIGATION EFFICIENCY CODE CHANGE WHERE WE TALK ABOUT, UM, NO LONGER REQUIRING INSTALLATION OF PERMANENT IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, IS THAT JUST FOR COMMERCIAL? 'CAUSE WE DON'T REQUIRE IT FOR SINGLE FAMILY, DO WE? I THINK THIS WAS ENVISIONED AS A CODE CHANGE FOR COMMERCIAL AND, UM, SINCE THIS WAS ORIGINALLY INCLUDED, THIS WAS CONSIDERED AS PART OF THE, EVEN BEFORE THE SCREENING WAS COMPLETED AND IT FELL OUT AT THE SCREENING LEVEL, I THINK, UM, THAT MAY HAVE BEEN BECAUSE OF CHANGES THAT WERE HAPPENING CONCURRENTLY TO, UM, THE LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES OKAY.
THAT HAVE POTENTIALLY MADE THIS A, A MOOT POINT.
SO WE NO LONGER REQUIRE, I BELIEVE SO.
WELL THAT'S JUST CONFUSING TO HAVE IT ON THIS.
SORRY, I DIDN'T
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, WE'RE BRINGING BACK UP ANY OF THE, THE SORT OF OUTDOOR WATER USE STRATEGIES THAT WERE CONSIDERED IN WATER FORWARD 18.
BUT THAT DOES LEAD US TO SOME CONFUSION AND, AND THIS JUST KIND OF LIKE, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL ARE AWARE OF THIS OR NOT, BUT JUST LIKE THERE'S JUST GENERAL CONFUSION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE EV AND SEVERAL JUST KIND OF CONVERSATIONS THAT HAPPEN WITH RANDOM PEOPLE, THERE IS CONFUSION ON WHETHER OR NOT WE REQUIRE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS OR NOT.
UM, SOME, I, AND I HONESTLY DON'T EVEN KNOW THE ANSWER ANYMORE, BUT THIS, THIS DOESN'T, DOESN'T HELP ME WITH GETTING CLARITY OF THAT
AND I KNOW YOU'RE JUST DOING THINGS FOR THE LAST PLAN, BUT OKAY.
WE MAY HAVE TAKEN OUR LOGICAL CONSISTENCY TOO FAR, BUT WE'LL FOLLOW, WE'LL FOLLOW UP ON THAT.
SO WE'LL IGNORE THE IRRIGATION EFFICIENCY CODE CHANGE AND KEEP FOCUSING ON THE WATER EFFICIENT NATIVE LANDSCAPES.
UM, THERE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, INFORMATION AND TIMELINE ON THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ONGOING AND PLANNED THROUGH SORT OF THE BEGINNING ABOUT A YEAR FROM NOW.
UM, JUST LISTING OUT WHEN SOME OF THOSE, UM, INSPECTIONS, REBATES, UH, AND DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THAT OVERALL PROGRAM ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED.
AND I DID WANT TO ALSO CIRCLE BACK THAT, UM, TO MADELINE'S COMMENT THAT THERE, THERE ARE REBATES AVAILABLE NOT JUST TO NEW TO LIKE HOMEOWNERS FOR EXISTING LANDSCAPING, YOU KNOW, TRANSFORMING YOUR EXISTING LANDSCAPE.
UM, AND THIS IS, THIS IS A NEWER PROGRAM THAT'S BEING IMPLEMENTED ON TOP OF THAT EXISTING PROGRAM, WHICH IS I THINK LARGELY REBATES FOR EFFICIENT, UM, EFFICIENT IRRIGATION AND FOR NATIVE PLANTS.
BUT UM, YEAH, THIS IS FOCUSING ON SORT OF THE UP AND COMING COMPONENTS OF THAT, UH, CONSERVATION PROGRAM.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY, CAN I ALSO ASK ANOTHER QUESTION? SURE.
I THOUGHT WE ALREADY INSPECTED NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEMS THROUGH LIKE OUR ENFORCEMENT OF TEXAS LAW.
KEVIN'S KID, HE'S LIKE, MAN, SHE'S KEVIN, GET UP.
THIS IS SOMETHING I GET TO PUT TO HIM.
NICE TO HAVE THE EXPERT SITTING BEHIND YOU.
[01:35:03]
YEAH, THEY'RE A LITTLE SLOW.KEVIN KLUGE, WATER CONSERVATION MANAGER REGARDING THE QUESTIONS ON IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS.
IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS FOR NEW HOMES ARE CURRENTLY REALLY LIMITED TO THE INSPECTION OF THE BACKFLOW DEVICE FOR, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERNS TO MAKE SURE THAT BACKFLOW DEVICE ISN'T LETTING THE POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED WATER BACK INTO THE SYSTEM.
THAT'S REALLY THE EXTENT OF THE IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS.
AND THAT IS, I WOULD SAY THROUGHOUT THE STATE IS WHAT'S DONE WELL, I THOUGHT THAT AUSTIN, I MEAN, I REMEMBER THIS FROM SOME PREVIOUS TASK FORCE I SAT ON ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION IN A, IN THE WAY BACK, I THINK IT WAS MANY YEARS AGO.
BUT, UH, THERESA WAS THERE, BUT, UM, THAT, THAT AUSTIN WAS GONNA BE DOING INSPECTIONS AND, AND THAT THE PLUMBING INSPECTORS WERE GONNA BE DOING THAT AND THAT, SO THERE WAS A SPECIAL TRAINING FOR THEM AND THERE WAS ALL THIS, I MEAN, YOU KNOW IT RIGHT.
IT'S NOT HAPPENING ANYMORE IF IT EVER DID START HAPPENING.
AND THAT'S A VERY SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE DOING.
AND AGAIN, I I'M ALSO VERY FOGGY YEAH.
ON THE DETAILS THAT WAS INTENDED TO BE DONE BY THE PLUMBING INSPECTORS.
UM, HOWEVER, OVER THE COURSE OF YEARS AND, AND BUDGET CONSTRAINTS YEAH.
WHAT THEY DID HAS BEEN REALLY SHRUNK.
SO NOW WE ARE TAKING THAT IN-HOUSE INTO AUSTIN WATER.
'CAUSE THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US.
AND SO, UH, WE THINK IT'LL HAVE BETTER RESULTS WHEN THE PEOPLE DOING THE INSPECTIONS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR KEVIN WHILE HE IS SITTING HERE?
SO THAT BRINGS US TO NON-POTABLE REUSE STRATEGIES.
UM, THE FIRST IS LOOKING AT ONSITE REUSE AND OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM.
SO THE ONSITE REUSE WAS CONSIDERED IN RECOMMENDED IN THE 2018 PLAN.
UM, THIS WAS CONSIDERED IN 2018 LOOKING AT, UM, A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT POTENTIAL SOURCE WATERS, INCLUDING RAINWATER, STORMWATER, AC CONDENSATE, GRAY WATER, AND BLACK WATER.
UM, OUR INTENT FOR THE UPDATE IS TO KIND OF FOCUS ON, UM, WHAT OUR ONSITE WATER REUSE FOLKS HAVE IDENTIFIED AS ONE OF THE SORT OF MOST ECONOMICAL AND PREFERRED COMBO OF THE RAINWATER COLLECTION AND AC CONDENSATE COLLECTION AS SORT OF OUR TEMPLATE FOR MOVING ONSITE WATER REUSE FORWARD.
UM, SO WE'RE EXCITED TO SORT OF DIG INTO A DEEPER EVALUATION OF HOW WIDELY THAT MIGHT BE IMPLEMENTED.
I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THIS OF COURSE, AS WELL.
UM, SO I, I REMEMBER, UM, YEARS AGO, BILL POINTING OUT THE FACT THAT, UM, WE WERE GONNA BE BUILDING A LOT OF NEW BUILDINGS.
UM, AND MANY OF THEM WERE STATE BUILDINGS, WHETHER THEY BE ON THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS CAMPUS OR FOR THE STATE GOVERNMENT.
UM, AND, AND THEY, THEY WERE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS KIND OF REQUIREMENT, UM, WHETHER IT BE THIS OR PURPLE PIPE OR SOME OTHER WORDS WE WERE USING.
UM, I, I WOULD LIKE US TO EXPLORE WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN, WE CAN CLOSE THAT LOOPHOLE.
UM, IT, IT SEEMS THAT, UM, THAT, THAT THEY ARE A SIGNIFICANT USE USER OF OUR, OF AUSTIN WATER.
AND, UM, THE MORE BUILDINGS THAT WE BUILD THAT DON'T COMPLY HERE, THE THE WORST WE'RE CREATING THE PROBLEM.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.
UM, AS PROBABLY MOST OF YOU'RE AWARE, STATE BUILDINGS ARE NOT SUBJECT TO OUR MUNICIPAL CODES.
UM, SO WE HAVE HAD ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, STATE ENTITIES, UM, INCLUDING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AND OTHERS TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO CONSERVE AS WELL AS TO MAKE USE OF OUR RECLAIM WATER SYSTEM.
UH, WE HAVE HAD ENCOURAGING CONVERSATIONS AND HAVE AN ONGOING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, UM, SOME OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS
[01:40:01]
AS WELL WITH OTHER STATE AGENCIES, UM, WHO COULD BENEFIT.UM, AND IT WOULD BENEFIT ALL OF US FOR THEM TO ALSO BE CONSERVING AS WELL AS USING OUR RECLAIMED WATER.
AND I WONDER IF THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO EXPLORE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES AGAIN, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE PROVIDE, UM, WATER AT A, AT A REDUCED RATE FOR THOSE THAT IMPLEMENT THESE STRATEGIES.
UM, AND, AND IT ENCOURAGES FOLKS TO IMPLEMENT THESE STRATEGIES SO THAT THEY CAN GET WATER AT A REDUCED RATE.
UM, I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN ALIGN INCENTIVES HERE SO THAT THIS IS NOT A, AN ARGUMENT, A DEBATE, UM, CONCILIATION, WHATEVER ALL OF OUR INCENTIVES ARE ALIGNED AROUND THE FINANCIALS.
TODD, TODD, I THINK YOU BRING UP A REALLY GOOD POINT ABOUT HOW AND WHEN AND HOW MUCH IS AUSTIN WATER GOING TO INVEST AND UPTAKE.
UM, AND IT'S GONNA BE A REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE OF THE CONVERSATION.
AND UNTIL, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE I DON'T, I DON'T THINK NECESSARILY THINK THAT FOLKS ARE GONNA DO IT.
SOME WILL AND, AND THERE MAY BE SOME ACROSS THE BOARD REQUIREMENTS, BUT THERE'S ALSO GONNA BE, UH, SOME OF THIS CARROT TYPE STUFF HAPPENING TOO.
UM, AND, AND HAVING REALLY BIG WATER USING ENTITIES LIKE THE CAPITOL OR UT HOOKUP TO THE RECLAIM SYSTEMS WOULD BE REALLY GREAT.
I KNOW THAT THE MAYOR IS INTERESTED IN THAT.
UM, AND MAYBE WITH HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH FOLKS AT THE CAPITOL, THEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD HAPPEN.
AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES IT JUST HAS TO BE THE RIGHT PERSON TALKING TO THE RIGHT PERSON TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
BUT, UM, AS A, ACROSS THE BOARD POLICY, IT'S NOT SOMETHING I THINK THAT AUSTIN CAN MAKE HAPPEN, BUT I KNOW THAT, I KNOW THAT AUSTIN WATER HAS BEEN HAVING LOTS OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UM, BUT I THINK WE JUST HAVE TO KEEP PLUGGING AWAY.
IT IS FRUSTRATING THAT, UM, FOLKS DON'T SEE THE OPPORTUNITY THAT IS THERE RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM LITERALLY RUNNING DOWN THE STREET BETWEEN BOTH CAMPUSES.
UM, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I JUST COME BACK TO THE, I JUST COME BACK TO THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, LOOK A LET'S HOPE THAT A SR WORKS AND WE CAN FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DO IT THAT'S NOT DISRUPTIVE TO OTHER COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE FIGURE OUT OTHER WAYS TO, UM, TO BRING NEW WATER INTO THE SYSTEM.
BUT, BUT TO ME, ALL OF THOSE ARE, ARE BIG EXPENSIVE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT WORK.
THE ONE THING THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IS CREATE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES THAT ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO USE LESS WATER.
UM, ESPECIALLY LESS POTABLE WATER FOR NON-POTABLE WATER USAGE.
I THOUGHT MARISSA OR WHOEVER SAID THAT SAID THAT.
WELL, SO I, I JUST, I WANT US TO PUSH REALLY HARD ON THE STUFF THAT WE THINK HAS A GREATER CHANCE OF SUCCESS.
AND THESE SLIDES, I THINK, INDICATE THINGS THAT HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF SUCCESS.
AND WE CAN ALSO THINK ABOUT IF WE WANT TO THINK ABOUT, I KNOW THAT SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM HAS IN THE PAST, LIKE ASSIGNED AN ACRE FOOT PRICE FOR STRATEGIES THAT THEY WOULD INVEST IN, YOU KNOW, DONE ALL THE MATH FOR IT.
I DON'T KNOW, IT USED TO BE $400 WAY BACK.
I'M SURE IT'S WAY MORE NOW PER ACRE FOOT.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A LOT OF THESE STRATEGIES PUT OFF, PUT OFF, UM, THE LCRA TRIGGER, WHICH MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO START PAYING LCRA FOR WATER ON A PER ACRE FOOT BASIS AT THE GOING RATE, UM, FOR WATER THAT'S ABOVE OUR RUN OF RIVER WATER RIGHTS.
SO THAT'S A, A BIG INCENTIVE AND, AND SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT AS FAR AS HOW MUCH TO INVEST.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S DEFINITELY MATH TO BE DONE ON HOW THAT IS, BUT I MEAN, WE'RE NOT GOING TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD WITHOUT PAYING FOR WATER SUPPLY.
AND INCENTIVES ARE PAYING FOR WATER SUPPLY AS LONG AS WE CAN MAKE SURE THOSE SAVINGS ARE REALLY, WILL REALLY HOLD UP AND, AND BENEFIT OUR WATER SUPPLY.
AND WE, WE DO HAVE, UM, IT, UH, RECLAIMED WATER IS COSTS LESS THAN POTABLE WATER.
SO THERE IS ALREADY SOME, UH, FINANCIAL INCENTIVE IN THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, CURRENTLY.
BUT WE, UM, CERTAINLY ARE OPEN TO EXPLORING OTHER OPTIONS FOR INCENT, YOU KNOW, INCENTIVIZING THAT WE HAVE PROGRAMS AND, UM, LOWER COSTS FOR THAT WATER.
PERRY, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I SAW YOU COME OFF MUTE.
UM, I AM AWARE OF THE TIME HERE 'CAUSE I JUST LOOKED AND, UH, WE SHOULD, LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A BUNCH OF SLIDES TO GO, BUT LUCKILY THERE'S A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM AROUND THIS.
THERE'S A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM TOPIC.
THE DISCUSSION HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD.
[01:45:01]
THINK WE CAN GET THROUGH IT.UM, SO OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED AND ONSITE REUSE AS SORT OF, I THINK EVERYONE'S PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THOSE TWO SYSTEMS. UM, THE, THE STRATEGIES WOULD WE'RE PROJECTING OUT GROWTH OF BOTH OF THOSE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES OVER THE COURSE OF THE PLANNING HORIZON.
UM, AND THOSE WILL GIVE US KIND OF A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO REEVALUATE THROUGH THE UPDATE, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION NOW THAN WE DID IN THE WATER 40 18 PLAN.
I WAS JUST WONDERING, HAVE YOU GUYS ANALYZED LIKE HARVESTING OF THE COMPOST RECLAIMED WATER AS WELL? SINCE WE DO HAVE LIKE A CENTRALIZED PLACE DOING COMPOSTING, I'VE SEEN OTHER CITIES KIND OF USE THAT AS ANOTHER SOURCE OF WATER BECAUSE DURING THAT COMPOSTING PROCESS YOU CAN HARVEST.
UM, BUT I WILL ADD IT TO THE LIST.
I IF YOU HAVE EXAMPLES OF CITIES THAT HAVE DONE THAT, UM, I KNOW YOU DO LOTS OF RESEARCH ON DIFFERENT WATER SUPPLIES.
MAYBE YOU CAN SHARE IT WITH, UH, SARAH AND MARISA, BECAUSE I'VE REMEMBER HEARD OF THAT.
WELL, THE COMPOSTING, I THINK THAT THE CITY IS, UH, NO LONGER IN CHARGE OF THIS.
THEY HAVE A CONTRACTOR THAT THEY SELL THE COMPOSTING TO.
UM, AND SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH CONTROL THAT'S, UH, THAT, THAT WE HAVE ON, ON, ON, ON THE, UM, ON THAT.
SARAH, DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION? WELL, IT'S KIND OF A, YOU DON'T NEED TO RESPOND RIGHT NOW.
I, I GUESS I, I'M TRYING TO, I KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON, ON THIS, SO I'M SORT OF TRYING TO INTERNALIZE AND PROCESS IT AND IT'S, I THINK I'M, IT'S CONFUSING TO ME THAT NON-POTABLE REUSE IS A DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND NOT A SUPPLY STRATEGY DEMAND.
LIKE A DPR R IS A SUPPLY STRATEGY DEMAND FOR POTABLE WATER.
SO WHEN YOU'RE THINKING OF DEMAND MANAGEMENT, WE'RE REDUCING THE DEMAND FOR POTABLE WATER.
BUT NOTED, I THINK REUSE WATER COULD BE ITS OWN CATEGORY.
IT COULD BE CONSIDERED AS A SUPPLY.
I THINK IT'S NOT NECESSARILY STRAIGHTFORWARD NO MATTER WHERE IT, WELL, I GUESS IN THE SENSE THAT YEAH, EVERYTHING ELSE IS LIKE REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF WATER WE PUT OUT.
AND I'M KIND OF THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROBERT SAID WHEN HE WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IMAGINE LIKE IN A HUNDRED YEARS WE WERE LIKE, WE PUT WATER ON PLANTS AND DID YOU MEAN LIKE FRESH POTABLE WATER ONLY OR DID YOU MEAN LIKE THAT WE WATER AT ALL? UM, GUESS I WAS TALKING ABOUT FRESH POTABLE.
BUT, BUT YOU COULD ARGUE ANY WATER, UH, FOR THE TREES.
YOU MADE A GOOD COMMENT ABOUT TAKING CARE OF TREE CANOPY, BUT YEAH.
BUT, UH, BUT IT'S EVEN, BUT I MEAN, I THINK AT SOME POINT EVEN THIS, THIS WASTE WATER IS GOING TO PROBABLY, YOU KNOW, MORE AND MORE BECOME YEAH.
AND YOU'RE SORT OF LIKE JUST CONTINUING THE CULTURE OF OUTDOOR WATERING.
I MEAN, I'D LIKE WE HAVE TO HAVE IT AS A STRATEGY.
I JUST DON'T KNOW IF IT'S A, BUT I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
STRATEGY AND I KIND OF GET TWISTED AND I'VE JUST KIND OF LEARNED TO ACCEPT IT.
IT, IT MIGHT BE WORTH THINKING ABOUT HOW WE CATEGORIZE 'EM.
BECAUSE I DO THINK SUPPLY, UM, IT COULD BE POTABLE SUPPLY, NON-POTABLE SUPPLY AND DEMAND MANAGEMENT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
'CAUSE THAT WOULD FURTHER DELINEATE THAT SOME STREAMS OF WATER ARE POTABLE FOR POTABLE NEEDS.
AND OF COURSE IT SOMETIMES GETS USED FOR NON POTABLE NEEDS AS WELL.
AND THEN WE HAVE NON POTABLE SUPPLY OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER.
Y'ALL ARE VERY CREATIVE AND GOOD AT, AT FIGURING THIS OUT.
BUT, BUT THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION THAT MAYBE LIKE IN HOW WE, HOW WE KIND OF PUT 'EM IN BUCKETS.
I THINK THE WAY THAT IT MAKES HAS MADE SENSE TO OUR TEAM.
I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD COMMENT AND WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK AT HOW WE'RE ORGANIZING IT.
THE WAY THAT IT'S MADE SENSE TO OUR TEAM IS IF WE'RE LIKE, STARTING FROM THE DEMAND END, WHATEVER DEMANDS CAN BE MET, BEING SORT OF THE, THE POTENTIAL POOL OF WATER THAT YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSERVE OR MEET IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
HAVING THE, THE DEMAND REDUCTION AND THE NON-POTABLE MM-HMM.
BUT IF I REDUCE, IF I DO BETTER AND BETTER WITH MY LANDSCAPE AND MY NEIGHBORS DO, AND WE REDUCE THE WATER WE NEED AT ALL OUTSIDE NOW, WE DON'T NEED THE ENERGY OF MOVING ALL THAT WATER AROUND.
WE DON'T NEED THE COST AND EXPENSE.
[01:50:02]
I, I DON'T FEEL STRONGLY THAT WE NEED TO KEEP ONE GROUPING MECHANISM OVER ANOTHER.I THINK THE WAY THAT'S IS GOING TO BE KIND OF BEST UNDERSTOOD BY FOLKS WHO ARE NOT TRAPPED IN MODELS ALL DAY
AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS WONDERING IS IF IN THE SURVEY WHEN THEY, WITH A KEY TAKEAWAY WAS DEMAND MANAGEMENT, IF THIS IS, IF THIS, YOU KNOW, LIKE MAY, I'M SURE THEY SUPPORT THESE BIG CITYWIDE REUSE SYSTEMS, BUT IF THAT WAS REALLY WHAT THEY MEANT, OR IT WAS MORE LIKE CULTURAL SHIFT TOWARDS LESS WATER, LESS WATER USE OF ANY KIND.
I WAS GONNA LOOK BACK TO HOW THOSE WERE PORTRAYED IN THE SURVEY, BUT YEAH, THOSE ARE REALLY GOOD QUESTIONS AND YEAH, WE CERTAINLY SUFFER FROM, UM, LIVING WITHIN A MODELING BUBBLE WHERE SOME OF THOSE EXPLANATIONS ARE MAYBE WE HAVE THE, THE SAME ENGINEERING COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS THAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS.
I THINK WE'VE ADDRESSED CENTRALIZED AND ONSITE WATER REUSE.
UM, THE REMAINING STRATEGIES, UH, DECENTRALIZED RECLAIMED.
THIS IS USING SOME OF OUR SMALLER WASTEWATER FACILITIES, SO THOSE, UM, THAT AREN'T THE TWO, THE TWO MAJOR WASTEWATER FACILITIES THAT ARE OUT.
UM, MORE ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE, UM, SERVICE AREA TO COLLECT AND TREAT WASTEWATER FOR, FOR COMMUNITY SCALE REUSE.
SO REUSE WITHIN THE VICINITY OF THAT PLANT, WHICH MAY NOT BE A FEASIBLE AREA TO REACH CURRENTLY WITH OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM.
UM, THE NEXT IS COMMUNITY SCALE SEWER MINING.
SO THE DISTINCTION HERE IS THAT WHEN WE SAY COMMUNITY SCALE, WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT AN OVERALL SCALE.
SO THIS COULD BE SOMETHING, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT LIKE UT COULD BE LOOKING AT THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED A COMMUNITY SCALE SEWER MINING, WHERE THEY'RE BASICALLY SCALPING SOME PORTION OF THE WASTEWATER THAT'S FLOWING THROUGH OR NEAR THEIR LOCATION AND TREATING IT ONSITE TO BE USED, UM, THROUGH A, A NON-POTABLE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
AND SIMILAR STORMWATER HARVESTING HAPPENING IN A COMMUNITY SCALE, UM, THAT REQUIRES, YEAH, BOTH COLLECTION AND THEN DISTRIBUTION OF NON-POTABLE WATER, UH, STORM WATER AND SIMILAR RAIN RAINWATER HARVESTING.
SO THOSE ARE THE OTHER OPTIONS.
THE COMMUNITY SCALE RAINWATER HARVESTING WAS CONSIDERED BUT NOT RECOMMENDED IN WATER FOUR 18.
UM, THE OTHER STRATEGIES WERE RECOMMENDED.
THE COMMUNITY SCALE STORMWATER HARVESTING, I BELIEVE WAS RECOMMENDED AT A LATER DECADE.
SO THERE'S NO CURRENT IMPLEMENTATION UNDERWAY, BUT, UM, THE SEWER MINING AND THE DECENTRALIZED RECLAIMED ARE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION IS UNDERWAY THERE.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REMAINING NON-POTABLE REUSE? ALRIGHT, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THIS IS EVERYONE'S FAVORITE GRAPHIC, RIGHT? WE CAN, UM, PULL THIS FROM OUR ONSITE WATER FOLKS
AND THIS IS REALLY LOOKING AT, UM, WHEN WE'RE CONSIDERING THOSE ONSITE WATER SOURCES, THE POTENTIAL FOR, FOR COLLECTING AND TREATING WATER ONSITE TO BE USED.
UM, THERE WE HAVE SORT OF THE, THE BALANCE BETWEEN THE COST AND THE LEVEL OF CONTAMINANTS FOR THESE DIFFERENT SOURCES.
AND THIS WAS WHAT WAS SORT OF USED TO GUIDE SOME OF THE DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS IN THE WATER FORWARD 18 PLAN ABOUT THE, THE DIFFERENT SOURCE WATERS.
AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THE SORT OF THE, THE PREFERRED COMBO RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE USING AS A, AS REPRESENTATIVE AND SORT OF THE, I THINK THAT THE ONSITE TEAM SAID THAT THE AC CONDENSATE AND RAINWATER MEETS BETWEEN 40 AND A HUNDRED PERCENT ON AVERAGE OF THE, OF THE NON-POTABLE DEMANDS FOR THE SORT OF BUILDING TYPOLOGY FOR WHICH THAT WOULD BE THE MOST APPROPRIATE.
SO I THINK THAT'S LIKE A PRETTY GOOD SWEET SPOT FOR, UM, WHAT THEY'VE, THEY'VE SORT OF IDENTIFIED THAT AS A GOOD SWEET SPOT FOR MOVING FORWARD.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA REALLY FOCUS ON IN THIS PLAN, WHICH WOULDN'T PRECLUDE ANYONE FROM DOING A BLACKWATER RECYCLING SYSTEM.
I THINK THOSE WILL STILL BE DISCUSSED AND CONSIDERED, BUT AS IN TERMS OF A TEMPLATE AS WHAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH AND MODELING, WE'LL BE STICKING WITH THAT.
SO THE LAST CATEGORY IS OUR CUSTOMER SIDE DATA-DRIVEN WATER USE MANAGEMENT.
AND THIS IS GOING BACK TO WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE, FOCUSING ON, UM, ADVANCED METERING, THE
[01:55:01]
DATA COLLECTED THROUGH THAT TO ESTABLISH WATER BUDGETS AND BENCHMARKING SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT AN APPROPRIATE WATER BUDGET WOULD BE FOR A CERTAIN TYPE OF CUSTOMER.AND, AND THEN INCENTIVIZE STAYING WITHIN THAT BUDGET.
UM, THIS IS THE, THE BENEFIT OF THAT IS IT'S SORT OF LIKE NOT TELLING YOU HOW TO GET THERE, BUT TELLING YOU WHAT THE GOAL IS, WHICH I THINK PEOPLE, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A NICE WAY TO APPROACH IT.
BUT WE DO HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITIES IN HELPING PEOPLE GET THERE.
UM, INCLUDING SOME OF THE COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL, UM, OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING SWIMMING POOL, RETROFIT, UM, OR SOME OTHER CONSIDERATIONS AROUND SWIMMING POOLS AND REDUCING WATER USE ASSOCIATED WITH THEM.
THAT WAS CONSIDERED BUT NOT INCLUDED.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT A LITTLE BIT MORE REVISITING, UM, AS WELL AS THE, UM, ONGOING OR BASICALLY COMPLETED IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STEAM BOILER AND COOLING TOWER MANDATES, UM, IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS.
THE ONE ADDITIONAL STRATEGY LISTED HERE IS THE SELLER DISCLOSURE FOR WATER USE ESTIMATES AND BENCHMARKING, WHICH IS BASICALLY REQUIRING A SELLER OF A COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TO DISCLOSE IF THERE WERE ANY EQUIPMENT OR FIXTURES THAT, UM, IS USING TOO MUCH WATER BASICALLY AT THE POINT OF SALE.
AND THAT WAS, UM, NOT INCLUDED IN THE PLAN BECAUSE I, SO LET'S SEE.
DO WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE OF THESE? NO, WE'RE GOOD.
UM, SO THESE ARE SORT OF SHORTER DESCRIPTIONS FOR WHAT ENDS UP BEING A VERY LARGE ALL-ENCOMPASSING SET OF WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, UH, THE WATER USE STRATEGIES, BUT REALLY THAT CUSTOMER SIDE DATA-DRIVEN WATER USE MANAGEMENT IS, WILL BE PULLING IN REALLY ALL OF THE OTHER, INCLUDING ALL OF THE OTHER INCENTIVES AND REBATES AND INSPECTIONS AND DIFFERENT TOOLS THAT YOU COULD USE IN ORDER TO MEET THOSE PROJECTED BUDGETS AS WELL AS THE, THE DATA ANALYSIS ASSOCIATED WITH A MI IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH WHAT APPROPRIATE BUDGETS WOULD BE.
ANY QUESTIONS AS WE NEAR THE END OF OUR TIME? UM, GO FOR IT.
I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING ABOUT PROTECTIONS TO EXISTING WATER SOURCES.
AND I WAS WONDERING IS THAT, I KNOW WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT DXL THAT THERE WAS A PART ON ONE OF THE LADDER, UM, SECTIONS MM-HMM.
AND ACTUALLY IF WE CAN GO AHEAD TWO SLIDES SO THAT WE SKIP OVER THE OTHER BLANK TABLE THAT CARRIED THROUGH, THEN WE DON'T HAVE TO DWELL ON
UM, THAT BRINGS US NICELY TO, UM, OUR EXISTING WATER RESOURCE PORTFOLIO.
AND THEN RIGHT AFTER THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, WHICH INCLUDES THAT, UM, PROTECTION OF COLORADO'S CORE OR AUSTIN'S CORE COLORADO RIVER WATER SUPPLY.
DID YOU HAVE ANOTHER COMMENT MARISA? NO.
JUST, JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THESE PORTFOLIO STRATEGIES ARE WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE, WHAT ARE GONNA BE THE FOUNDATION OF OUR MODELING.
SO OUR COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKE SUPPLIES WILL CONTINUE TO BE OUR CORE SUPPLIES IN THE FUTURE.
THOSE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ARE GONNA BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE PLAN TOO.
UM, THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS AND THOSE LAND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES FOCUS MAINLY ON WATER QUALITY.
SO WHEN YOU SAY EXISTING WATER RESOURCE PORTFOLIO STRATEGIES, THESE ARE THE FOUR STRATEGIES THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN EVERY PORTFOLIO.
UM, AND I, AND I MAY BE SKIPPING AHEAD, BUT, AND WE'RE GONNA IDENTIFY SOME DIFFERENT THEMES FOR PORTFOLIOS, BUT EVERYONE WOULD HAVE THESE FOUR IN IT BECAUSE THESE ARE RIGHT.
THIS IS OUR, THIS IS OUR, OUR CORE SET OF STRATEGIES.
THAT'S A, THE TITLE'S A LITTLE JARGONY, THAT'S WHY I WAS WANTED TO MAKE SURE.
SO I THINK THAT WE'VE TALKED THROUGH ALL THESE AND IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, MAYBE I'LL POP OVER TO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND THIS IS GOING TO MADELINE'S COMMENT, ONE OF THEM BEING THE PROTECTION OF AUSTIN'S CORE COLORADO RIVER SUPPLIES.
THIS IS IN THE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES CATEGORY AND THAT'S LARGELY BECAUSE THE SOURCE WATER PROTECTION WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, AS MARISA NOTED, UM, WE DIDN'T WANT TO HINGE THAT ON A SPECIFIC WATER YIELD INCREASE BECAUSE I THINK THE VALUE OF THAT WATERSHED PROTECTION IS GREATER THAN ANY INCREMENTAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS AND PRESERVATION.
UM, OUR LIKE CENTRAL GOALS OF THE, OF THE PLAN.
[02:00:01]
THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS AND THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DOING TO IDENTIFY KEY CONSERVATION PRIORITY AREAS, UM, IS ALIGNED WITH THAT, THAT FIRST BULLET, UM, AND WILL BE PRESENTED AS ONE OF THE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE PLAN.JUST TO NOTE, THERE'S, I KNOW WE'RE OVER TIME ALREADY, BUT, UM, WE, UNDERNEATH THAT PROTECT AUSTIN'S CORE COLORADO RIVER SUPPLIES CATEGORY WITHIN THE SPREADSHEET THAT WAS SENT TO Y'ALL.
IT ALSO LISTS OUT OTHER BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AS WELL.
THAT INCLUDES OUR ONGOING COORDINATION WITH THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY, OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE REGIONAL WATER PLANNING PROCESS, OUR CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS AND WATER USERS WITHIN THE BASIN, ONGOING WATER SUPPLY ANALYSIS AND PLANNING EFFORTS.
SO THERE'S A LONG LIST OF THINGS, UM, WITHIN THAT BUCKET.
AND THE OTHER BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES, I DUNNO IF THERE ARE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
A LOT OF THIS IS, UM, ENSURING THAT WE ARE ABLE TO OPERATE THE LAKES IN A WAY THAT IS BE, YOU KNOW, ALLOWS US TO LOWER THE LEVELS IF WE'RE EXPERIENCING SEVERE DROUGHT.
UM, WATER RIGHTS AMENDMENTS IS REALLY JUST ALIGNING OLDER WATER RIGHTS WITH THEIR CURRENT OR PROJECTED FUTURE WATER USES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL, UM, TIDY IN THAT RESPECT.
AND THEN, UM, THE ONGOING, UM, PROMOTING THE USE OF WATER EFFICIENT FIXTURES.
SO WE DO, WE DIDN'T, WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME TO FOCUS ON IT, BUT FORTUNATELY YOU HAVE THIS AVAILABLE TO YOU.
BUT, UM, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED, LIKE I SAID, WE HAD REALLY GOOD DISCUSSIONS THROUGHOUT THE CITY DEPARTMENTS AND WITH SOME OF THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS AND SOME OF OUR PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS HERE.
UM, LISTING OUT SOME OF THE POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES.
AND A LOT OF THESE ARE ALSO COULD MAYBE BE CONSIDERED AS, AS LIKE TOOLS WITHIN THE EXISTING STRATEGIES THAT WE'VE, UM, THAT WE'RE USING A NUMBER OF STRATEGIES TO REDUCE OUTDOOR WATERING.
EITHER A NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF IRRIGATION BAND, WHICH EXEMPTS SPORTS FIELDS AND PARKS AND PLACES WHERE THE TURF IS CONSIDERED FUNCTIONAL OR TURF BUYBACK, UM, TOILET REBATES, POOL WATER USE REDUCTION PROGRAM.
SO A REVISION TO THE PREVIOUS STRATEGY THAT WAS ADDRESSING POOLS, BUT LOOKING AT HAVING SOME AUDITS OR INSPECTIONS MADE AVAILABLE TO FOLKS.
UM, SINGLE FAMILY GRAY WATER EXPANDED OR IMPROVED ENFORCEMENT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. UM, SOME FOLKS WERE INTERESTED IN SINGLE FAMILY PROPERTIES CONNECTING TO RECLAIMED AND, UM, VARIOUS LIKE AUDITING AND INSPECTION OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS EXPANSION OF THE MINOR PLUMBING REPAIR PROGRAM FOR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS.
AND FROM THERE I'M GOING TO PASS IT OVER TO MARISA FOR OUR LAST OVERTIME PUBLIC SLIDES.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS ON THIS, WE'RE GONNA BE, OH WELL CAN YOU MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE? THANK YOU.
WE'RE, UM, SEEKING YOUR ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ON POTENTIAL STRATEGIES TO EITHER ADD INTO THE LIST FOR SCREENING OR COMMENTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE ON STRATEGIES THAT ARE ALREADY INCLUDED WITHIN THIS LIST.
UM, IT WOULD BE WONDERFUL TO GET THAT FEEDBACK IN THE SPREADSHEET THAT WE HAVE PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED.
IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES THAT YOU WANNA ADD TO THE LIST, YOU'RE WELCOME TO ADD ROW TO THE BOTTOM OF THE LIST.
UM, ANY INFORMATION THAT YOU WANNA PROVIDE, REFERENCES OR LINKS WOULD ALSO BE MOST WELCOME.
THAT COULD HELP US TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, UM, FEEDBACK YOU MIGHT BE PROVIDING.
UM, AFTER WE HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPILE THE TASK FORCE'S FEEDBACK AS WELL AS, UM, FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED, UH, FROM OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, FROM THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, UM, WE WILL GO THROUGH A FEASIBILITY SCREENING FOR EACH OF THE STRATEGIES.
OUR GOAL IS TO GET TO UP TO 14 DEMAND MANAGEMENT AND 14 SUPPLY STRATEGIES, WHICH WILL GO THROUGH A FULL CHARACTERIZATION TO DEVELOP COST AND YIELD INFORMATION, WILL ALSO BE USING THEIR EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY FRAMEWORK, UM, AND TOOL TO EVALUATE THOSE STRATEGIES FROM AN EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY PERSPECTIVE.
UM, WE'VE DONE SOME WORK ALREADY TO TRY TO COMBINE, UH, LIKE STRATEGIES, UM, AND TO BE ABLE TO FIT WITHIN THIS, UH, THIS KIND OF FRAMEWORK AND THE NUMBER OF STRATEGIES THAT OUR CONSULTANT WILL BE HELPING US TO CHARACTERIZE.
WE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE DOING THAT SORT OF CONSOLIDATION.
UM, WE'LL BE, UH, WORKING WITH THE CONSULTANT TO UPDATE
[02:05:01]
OUR COST AND YIELD ESTIMATES BY EITHER REASSESSING THE 2018 PLAN ASSUMPTIONS AND UPDATED DATA OR, UM, INCORPORATING NEW INFORMATION FOR STRATEGIES THAT MAY BE, UM, NEWLY CHARACTERIZED.WE'LL BE ESTABLISHING RANGES FOR COST AND YIELDS AND WE'LL BE CATEGORIZING THOSE BY THEIR TAKETO PLANNING HORIZON.
ALL OF THIS CHARACTERIZATION INFORMATION WILL THEN BE USED IN THIS VERY LONG ACRONYM MODEL, THE WAVE MODEL.
UM, THAT'LL HELP US TO ASSESS DIFFERENT GROUPINGS OF STRATEGIES AGAINST THOSE MANY DIFFERENT SCENARIOS THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT THIS INITIAL MEETING JANUARY 9TH.
UM, WE UNFORTUNATELY HAVE RUN OVER OUR TIME, BUT IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO PROVIDE, OF COURSE WE'D LOVE TO RECEIVE THAT IN THE SPREADSHEET ON THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
AND WE'D ALSO LOVE TO RECEIVE ANY FEEDBACK THAT YOU HAVE ON PORTFOLIO THEMES THAT WE MAY BE, UM, CONSIDERING AS WE MOVE INTO NEXT STEPS OF THIS PROCESS.
OUR NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR MARCH 5TH, AND THAT'S WHEN WE HOPE TO HAVE OUR CHARACTERIZED WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES READY FOR REVIEW.
THIS IS FINAL, IT'LL LIKELY BE MORE LIKE AN INITIAL CHARACTERIZATION, UM, THAT WE'LL HAVE READY TO PRESENT.
WE'LL ALSO PROVIDE AN A PRESENTATION AND INTRODUCTION TO THE, UM, WAVE ANALYSIS, THE VULNERABILITY AND OPTIMIZATION ANALYSIS THAT'LL ASSESS THESE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
UM, IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO GET A QUORUM FOR THE MARCH 5TH MEETING, OUR BACKUP DATE IS MARCH 19TH.
UM, BUT WE'LL BE FOLLOWING UP WITH Y'ALL TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN HIT ONE OF THOSE DATES AS THAT DATE GETS CLOSER.
YEAH, WE'VE GOT A PRETTY BIG CONFLICT ON MARCH 19TH.
'CAUSE WE'VE GOT THE CENTRAL TEXAS WATER CONSERVATION SYMPOSIUM.
SO WE'LL LIKELY BE STICKING WITH OUR MARCH 5TH DATE.
WE'LL BE MISSING LOTS OF PEOPLE FOR THAT.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? UM, I HAVE A QUESTION.
SO YOU WANT FEEDBACK ON THE PORTFOLIO THEMES IS ARE YOU GONNA SEND AN EMAIL AROUND ABOUT THAT? YEAH, WE'LL SEND AN EMAIL, UH, FOLLOWING UP WITH THAT, UH, SPREADSHEET AGAIN AND THEN WE'LL SEND AN EMAIL.
THAT EMAIL WILL INCLUDE A REQUEST FOR A PORTFOLIO BEING FEEDBACK.
WE'RE REQUESTING THAT BY JANUARY, UH, 12TH.
IF WE, IF FOLKS NEED A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, THEN WE CAN CERTAINLY YEAH.
I THINK WE'LL NEED TILL NEXT YEAR FOR SURE.
UM, BUT FOR THE PORTFOLIO THEMES, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT HERE AND PORTFOLIO WAS USED IN MANY WAYS MM-HMM.
I MEAN, OF COURSE ANY THEME CAN BE BROUGHT UP, BUT, BUT WE DID HAVE A LOT OF WORK ON THAT BEFORE.
SO JUST PROVIDING THAT CONTEXT SO THAT FOLKS CAN KIND OF THINK ABOUT WHAT A PORTFOLIO THEME MAY BE.
'CAUSE UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT GOING ON AND, AND, AND I'M STRUGGLING TO KEEP UP, BUT I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS ONCE.
SO FOR OTHER FOLKS TOO AND FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE SPOTTY MEMORIES LIKE MYSELF, UM, IT'LL BE HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT.
AND ARE WE HAVING SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS? WE ARE HAVING SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS.
THOSE HAVE NOT BEEN SCHEDULED YET.
UM, WE WILL NEED TO SEND OUT SOME DOODLE POLLS TO GET THOSE SCHEDULED.
AS YOU CAN SEE ON OUR SCHEDULE, WE'VE GOT BACK TO BACK MONTHLY MEETINGS FOR GOOD PORTION OF THE YEAR.
SO WE'LL, UM, WE'LL BE NEEDING TO DO SOME KIND OF SCHEDULING JUJITSU TO MAKE ALL OF THAT WORK.
AND THEN I PRESUME THAT ROBERT, AND I'LL NEED TO GET WITH Y'ALL TO MAYBE TALK SOME SPECIFICS ON SOME FUTURE AGENDAS AND JUST KIND OF STAGING THIS OUT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, FOLKS? ALL RIGHT.
UM, WE'RE ADJOURNED THEN AT TWO 12.
JUST, JUST GLAD NOT TO SEE THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER ON THERE AS AN OPTION.