Jan 17, 2024 Water and Wastewater Commission

FIVE ON THE AGENDA, DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE, UH, ACTION.

WELL, WE'RE GOOD THEN.

OKAY, MOVING ON.

UM, TWO ITEMS, TWO THROUGH

[DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION]

UH, COMMISSIONER PENN, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS? NO QUESTIONS.

NO.

RECUSALS.

GREAT.

COMMISSIONER TAYAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS? NO QUESTIONS.

NO.

RECUSALS COMMISSIONER REYES? NO QUESTIONS.

NO REFUSALS COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES? NO QUESTIONS, NO REFUSALS.

AND COMMISSIONER NAVARRO? NO QUESTIONS.

NO REFUSALS.

COMMISSIONER MUSGROVE? NO QUESTIONS.

NO RECUSALS COMMISSIONER MORIARTY, NO QUESTIONS.

NO REFUSALS.

UM, I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION ON ITEM NUMBER THREE, SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND PULL THAT FROM THE CONSENT.

UM, SO, UM, FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE CONSENT AGENDA, WE HAVE ITEMS TWO, FOUR, AND FIVE MOVE TO APPROVE.

WE HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER PENN.

ANY QUESTIONS OR DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SHOW BY RAISE OF HAND.

LOOKS LIKE IT'S A UNANIMOUS LIBERTY WHO'S PRESENT.

SO ITEMS TWO, FOUR, AND FIVE PASS ON CONSENT AGENDA.

RECOMMEND APPROVAL TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT FOR HYDROGEN PEROXIDE SOLUTION FEED SYSTEM AND MAINTENANCE WITH US PEROXIDE, LLC DO BE DOING

MOVING TO ITEM NUMBER THREE,

[3. Recommend approval to execute a contract for hydrogen peroxide solution, feed system, and maintenance with US Peroxide, LLC d/b/a USP Technologies, for a term of five years in an amount not to exceed $3,275,000.]

[00:05:01]

BUSINESS AS USP TECHNOLOGIES FOR A TERM OF FIVE YEARS IN THE AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $3,275,000.

UM, MY QUESTION IS REALLY MORE OF AN ACCOUNTING ONE.

LET ME FIND THAT ITEM ON HERE.

THAT WAS ITEM THREE.

AND IT'S BASICALLY THE COST ANALYSIS.

IT'S JUST A TERMINOLOGY QUESTION THAT I HAD, UM, WHERE IT SAYS THE PROPOSED CONTRACT PRICING IS 18% HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT WITH A BLS SHOWING 4.85% DECREASE IN THE MARKET FROM LAST YEAR.

AND I'M NOT QUITE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE BLS MEANS.

SURE.

HELLO, UH, MY NAME IS, UH, UH, JONATHAN DASH WITH AUSTIN WATER PURCHASING TEAM.

UM, SO BASICALLY WHAT THE BBLS IS BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS ANALYSIS.

SO BASICALLY WHAT WE ARE DOING IS COMPARING, UM, SIMILAR CONTRACTS.

BASICALLY IT'S, IT'S JUST A, A RATE STUDY, KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT, UM, YOU WOULD SEE FOR, UH, IN INFLATION, STUFF LIKE THAT.

SO, UM, IT COMPARES, BASICALLY THE COMMODITY THAT WE PICKED IS, LET ME FIND IT REAL QUICK, IS THE PRODUCER'S PRICE INDEX FOR, UM, BASIC INOR ON INORGANIC CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING SEASONALLY ADJUSTED.

AND SO IT'S TRACKING OVER A TIMEFRAME.

AND BASICALLY WHAT WE DO IS WE COMPARE THE SOLICIT, SOLICIT TI SOLICITATION TIMEFRAME FROM THE PREVIOUS CONTRACT TO THE SOLICITATION SUBMITTAL DATE OF THE, UH, CURRENT SOLICITATION.

AND THEN WE WILL, WE JUST COMPARE THE GROWTH OVER THAT TIMEFRAME.

AND SO IT ACTUALLY PEAKED IN ROUGHLY JANUARY OF 23, AND IT'S HAS A SLOW DECLINE.

SO FOR REFERENCE IN 2018, IT HAD 120, UH, BASE INDEX, AND, UH, THE MOST RECENT ONE IS 160 BASE INDEX.

SO IT'S INCREASED, UH, LEMME LOOK AT THE TIMEFRAME, BUT, UM, SEE WHEN THE CONTRACT WAS AWARDED, SO YES, IN 2018 TO NOW, IT ACTUALLY DID INCREASE.

SO THAT MIGHT BE A TYPO IN THAT, THAT IS A TYPO CALCULATION ERROR THAT MAKES MORE SENSE.

IT WENT AND IT WENT OUT.

ALTHOUGH I DO UNDERSTAND ON, I DO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU, YOU'RE TRYING TO USE A TOOL THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY SAY PEROXIDE .

CORRECT.

SO, SO, BUT YOU'RE, YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO USE THE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT THINGS ARE REASONABLE.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, SHOULD WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION THAT THAT IS UPDATED IN THE MINUTES, THAT CORRECTION? YES.

UM, SO I'LL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION THAT FOR THE MEETING MINUTES WE UPDATE, UM, ITEM NUMBER THREE ON THE AGENDA, UM, UNDER THE BACKUP INFORMATION, ITEM B, THE COST ANALYSIS, IF WE CAN JUST, UM, I'M ASSUMING DECREASE SHOULD BE INCREASED, BUT IF WE COULD JUST READ THAT AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S AMENDED CORRECTLY FOR THE ME MEETING MINUTES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES.

DO I HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? QUIET GROUP.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.

COMMISSIONER PENN MAKES A MOTION TO APPROVE.

DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND IT.

ALL IN FAVOR SHOW BY RAISE OF HANDS, AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S UNANIMOUS.

SO, UH, ITEM THREE PASSES.

WONDERFUL.

UM, COMMISSIONERS, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MINUTE.

WE NOW HAVE COMMISSIONER SUHA PAN DURANGO.

I'M SORRY IF I DIDN'T SAY THAT CORRECTLY.

NO, UH, PRESENT.

AND ON THE DAAS, UH, WE'D LIKE TO WELCOME YOU.

THIS IS YOUR FIRST COMMISSIONER MEETING, UM, AND TO GIVE YOU A FEW MINUTES TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF.

THIS IS MY FIRST TIME IN AS A COMMISSIONER.

I'VE BEEN WITH AUSTIN WATER FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS NOW, ON THE PRIVATE SIDE WITH RE AND ASSOCIATES.

I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL.

WELL WELCOME.

AND, UM, AND WE WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU.

WE ARE VERY EXCITED.

ALL THE SPOTS

[00:10:01]

ARE FILLED.

LAST YEAR AT THIS TIME, WE WERE HAVING A HARD TIME MAKING FORUM, SO, UH, WONDERFUL.

ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA REPORTS

[6. Update from the Joint Sustainability Committee – Commissioner Chris Maxwell-Gaines]

BY COMMISSION SUBCOMMITTEES.

UH, ITEM SIX, UPDATE FROM JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE FROM COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES.

OKAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, THE, UH, JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE MET ON DECEMBER 13TH, 2023.

AND IN THE MEETING THERE WERE, UH, TWO MAIN UPDATES THAT WERE PROVIDED TO US.

UH, THE FIRST ONE BEING, UH, SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT AND PROCUREMENT EMISSIONS INVENTORY UPDATES.

UH, VERY, AGAIN, I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT BEING ON THIS COMMITTEE.

UM, SO, UH, GOAL TWO OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT WAS PASSED IN 2020 STATES THAT BY 2030, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS EMISSIONS FROM INSTITUTIONAL, COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT PURCHASING BE REDUCED BY AT LEAST 50%.

UM, AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT TRADITIONAL MEANS OF CALCULATING, UM, UH, EMISSIONS, IT REALLY LOOKS AT LIKE BURNING FUEL, RIGHT? SO IF YOU JUST LOOK AT THAT, CITY OF AUSTIN IN 2022 HAD A NET EMISSIONS OF 44,000 METRIC TONS.

UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT WAS JUST FROM BURNING FUEL.

AND SO 83% IS FROM THE CITY VEHICLES, BUT THERE ARE MISSIONS THAT ARE CREATED FROM ALL THE VARIOUS THINGS THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS PURCHASING.

UM, AND SO THAT'S, THIS IS WHAT THIS, UH, SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT, UM, UM, IS TRYING TO ADDRESS.

AND SO, UM, IN 2022, THE PROCUREMENT EMISSIONS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 206,000 METRIC TONS.

SO 44 METRIC TONS OF CARBON FROM, UH, 44,000 METRIC TONS FROM BURNING FUELS, BUT 206,000 METRIC TONS OF CARBON, UH, FOR 2022.

AND THE LARGEST EMISSIONS IMPACT CATEGORY WAS OF COURSE, CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE CATEGORY.

UH, SO YOU THINK ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, ITEMS LIKE CEMENT AND THE IMMENSE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF CEMENT.

SO THAT GOES INTO DEFINING THIS, THIS, UH, UH, UM, UH, EMISSIONS CREATED FROM THE PROCUREMENT OF ALL OF THE VARIOUS MATERIALS.

UM, AND SO, UH, FROM THIS, THEY HAVE DONE THIS EXTENSIVE INVENTORY TO LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, ALL THE VARIOUS CATEGORIES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN PURCHASING AND THE IMPACTS OF THOSE EMISSIONS.

AND THEN RIGHT NOW THEY'RE CREATING POTENTIAL ACTIONS IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE PROCUREMENT, UM, EMISSIONS, BUT PRIORITIZING THOSE CATEGORIES THAT HAVE THE BIGGER IMPACT FIRST, OBVIOUSLY.

SO, UH, A, A VERY INTERESTING REPORT.

AND, UM, AND THAT WAS GIVEN TO US BY, UH, THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.

AND THEN THE SECOND, UM, ITEM IN THE MEETING WAS A REGIONAL ERROR QUALITY, UM, UPDATE.

AND THIS WAS GIVEN BY A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS.

UM, AND SO BASICALLY WITHIN CENTRAL TEXAS, ALL OF THE CITIES HAVE COME TOGETHER, KIND OF VOLUNTARY, AND THEY'VE CREATED WHAT IS THE CENTRAL TEXAS CLEAN AIR COALITION.

AND, UM, AND SO THEN CAP COG IS JUST BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE ALL THE GOVERNMENTS, UH, BUT THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS.

BUT IN PARTICULAR FOR THE, UM, UH, CLEAN AIR COALITION CAP COG IS HELPING TO MONITOR, UM, AIR QUALITY QUALITY, UM, THROUGH, I BELIEVE THEY HAVE 10 MONITORING SITES IN CENTRAL TEXAS, ALONG WITH FIVE OTHER SITES THAT TCQ, UM, UH, MONITORS.

AND SO THEN CAP COG BASICALLY, UM, USES THIS DATA THAT THEY'RE COLLECTING IN ORDER TO PROVIDE IT TO THE CITIES, SO THEN THE CITIES INDIVIDUALLY CAN COME UP WITH ACTIONS AS NEEDED.

UM, THIS PRESENTATION WAS HEAVY ON, UH, GRAPHS AND STATISTICS.

UH, LOTS OF STUFF OUT THERE.

UH, BUT YOU KNOW, FROM WHAT I COULD TAKE FROM IT, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE TWO BIG, UH, POLLUTANTS OF CONCERN IS OZONE AND FINE PARTICULATE MATTER.

UM, AND FROM WHAT I COULD TAKE FROM IT, UH, IN 2023, UH, WE ONLY HAD ONE DAY THAT WAS DEEMED UNHEALTHY AND, UH, FOR OZONE STANDARDS.

AND THAT, OF COURSE WAS IN AUGUST, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE HOTTEST MONTHS EVER.

UM, AND SO, UH, AGAIN, LOTS OF DATA IN THIS PRESENTATION AND, UH, FASCINATING STUFF, BUT, UH, IT JUST SHOWS YOU JUST HOW MUCH, UM, UM, PLANNING AND THINGS ARE HAPPENING FROM A REGIONAL STANDPOINT, AND THEN INFORMATION GATHERING THAT ARE BEING BROUGHT TO THE INDIVIDUAL CITY.

SO THEN THE REPRESENTATIVES IN THESE VARIOUS CITIES CAN MAKE DECISIONS ON HOW TO, UH, UH, ATTAIN THE, UH, STANDARDS.

SO, UM, THAT CONCLUDES MY REPORT.

[00:15:03]

VERY, VERY INTERESTING.

DO I HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES? THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THAT REPORT.

IT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

UH, NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS ITEM

[7. Update from the Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force – Commissioner William Moriarty]

NUMBER SEVEN, UPDATE FROM THE AUSTIN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLANNING COMMITTEE, TASK FORCE COMMISSIONER MORTY, DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE FOR US TODAY? I DO.

UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES, WE CAN.

REUSE, THAT FOR YEARS, THAT WAS ALWAYS CONSIDERED KIND OF A, UH, NOT A VERY WELCOME THING, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE PEOPLE ARE BECOMING A LITTLE MORE OPEN TO THAT, UH, THAT IDEA.

UH, THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE MET ON JANUARY 8TH.

AND, UH, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY ONE THING BEFORE I GET INTO MY REPORT IS THAT THERE ARE TWO UPCOMING WATER FORWARD WORKSHOPS, WHICH ARE NEXT WEEK, JANUARY 23RD AND 24TH.

THE 23RD WILL BE IN PERSON AT THE PDC, AND THE 24TH WILL BE VIRTUAL.

UH, THESE, UH, WORKSHOPS ARE AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET INFORMATION AND FOR THE AWESOME WATER TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK ON THE 2024 PLAN UPDATES.

FOR THOSE OF YOU RECALL, WE DID THE INITIAL PLAN IN 2000, UH, 18, AND THE CONCEPT IS TO UPDATE IT EVERY FIVE YEARS.

SO THE UPDATE IS BEING WORKED ON NOW, AND THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO, UH, GET INPUT AND, UH, DISCUSS THE PLANS.

SO, UM, AND IF I DIDN'T SAY THIS, LET ME GET, SEE, THE JANUARY 23RD MEETING IS AT 6:00 PM AND JANUARY 24TH IS AT 6:00 PM AND I'M SURE THAT, UH, ALL KINDS OF INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE WATER FORWARD WEBSITE.

BACK TO THE MEETING, WHICH TOOK PLACE ON MONDAY, JANUARY 8TH.

UH, FIRST PART OF THE MEETING, WE HAD SOME SPEAKERS FROM LEE COUNTY.

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT SUPER GOOD WITH GEOGRAPHY AROUND HERE, WHICH INCLUDES ME, UH, LEE COUNTY IS NEXT TO BASTROP COUNTY, I BELIEVE IT'S ACTUALLY DIRECTLY EAST.

AND THAT PART OF THE WORLD IS WHERE THE AUSTIN WATER AND THEIR TEAM OF ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS HAVE IDENTIFIED AS A POSSIBLE LOCATION FOR THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.

SO-CALLED A SR PROJECT PROJECT, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN WATER HAVE HAD SOME OUTREACH MEETINGS DOWN THERE.

AND, UM, UH, SO FAR AS WE UNDERSTOOD THAT THE, THE MEETINGS WENT PRETTY WELL.

WELL, THESE THREE INDIVIDUALS FROM LEE COUNTY WANTED TO LET US KNOW THAT, UH, THEY WEREN'T TOO HAPPY ABOUT THE CITY OF BOSTON PLUNKING THEIR A SR FACILITY IN THEIR AREA.

SO THEY, UH, BROUGHT FORWARD SOME, UH, UH, SERIOUS CONCERNS, WHICH WERE, OF COURSE, APPROPRIATELY LISTENED TO.

AND, UH, BUT, UH, THAT WAS HOW THE MEETING GOT STARTED.

WE, I, I WOULD SAY OVER THE 10 OR 12 YEARS I'VE BEEN ON THIS COMMITTEE, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE EVER HAD VERY MANY SPEAKERS, SO IT WAS KIND OF A NEW THING.

ANYWAYS, THE MEETING THEN, UH, EXAMINED THE CURRENT WATER STATUS, WATER SUPPLY STATUS.

AND THE BIG THING IS, UM, IS WHERE THE LAKES STAND.

AS YOU MAY RECALL, THE LAKE LEVELS COMBINED STORAGE, TRAVIS PLUS BUCHANAN GOT DOWN AS LOW AS 38% IN OCTOBER.

THEY HAVE RECOVERED SOMEWHAT TO 42%.

BUT, UH, WE, WE, OF COURSE, ALL ARE HOPING FOR SOME, SOME GOOD, UH, UH, STRONG RAIN, RAIN EVENTS THAT CAN FILL THOSE LAKES UP, UH, OR WE'LL BE, UH, HAVING, UH, UH, CONCERNS FOR THE SUMMERTIME.

UM, WE, UM, THE AUSTIN WATER DEPARTMENT, AS I MENTIONED ABOUT THE TWO, UH, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENTS, AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING A LOT OF DEATH SORT OF THING WHERE THEY'RE SENDING OUT POLLS AND TAKING INPUT FROM, FROM PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND, UH, EVERYBODY'S OPINION ABOUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRATEGIES.

AND I WANT TO SAY FROM MY MEMORY, WHAT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING ABOUT ONE OF THESE SURVEYS WAS THE SEEMINGLY GROWING INTEREST IN DIRECT POTABLE

[00:20:01]

SO, UH, AS PART OF OUR MEETING, WE'VE COVERED ALL OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE PART OF THE 2018 PLAN.

I MENTIONED THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY, AND THEIR, UH, THE PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING FOR THAT PROJECT WILL BE COMPLETE, UH, IN MARCH OF 2024.

SO LITERALLY A COUPLE MONTHS FROM NOW.

THE OTHER, UH, INTERESTING PROJECT, OR KIND OF A PROJECT OF IMPORT IS WHAT'S KNOWN AS THE INDIRECT PORTABLE REUSE THROUGH LADY BIRD LAKE.

AND, UH, THAT WOULD INVOLVE PYP RECLAIMED WASTEWATER INTO LADY BIRD LAKE AT THE LONGHORN DAM, AND THEN PICKING IT UP AT THE HIGH END AND BRINGING A MIXTURE OF LAKE WATER, UH, RECLAIMED WATER INTO THE ULRICH WATER PLANT.

AND THAT, UH, THE PLANNING WORK IS UNDERWAY, AND I THINK WE SHOULD START TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT PROJECT.

SO, UH, I THINK, I THINK THAT KIND OF COVERS EVERYTHING.

WE'RE MOVING ALONG, UM, ON ALL OF THIS SORT OF THING.

AND, UM, WE'RE HOPING FOR SOME GOOD RAIN FOR, UH, IF THESE LAKES FILLED UP, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ANYONE MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT WATER FORWARD FOR COMMISSIONER MORTY? HEARING NONE, THAT WAS VERY INTERESTING.

I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU STAYING ON THAT TASK FORCE.

AND, UM, COMMISSIONERS, IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO, YOU MIGHT WANNA GO TO A MEETING.

THEY ARE VERY INTERESTING.

UM, I THINK I MIGHT TRY TO GO TO ONE, UH, ONE OF THESE TWO COMING UP.

ALRIGHT, UM, MOVING ON,

[8. Staff briefing on Winter Preparedness]

STAFF BRIEFINGS.

ITEM NUMBER EIGHT, STAFF BRIEFING ON WINTER PREPAREDNESS.

OKAY, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONER SHAY ROLSON DIRECTOR, AND WRONG BUTTON.

GOOD EVENING.

I'M ANA BRIAN BORJA, AUSTIN WATERS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR BUSINESS SERVICES.

AND, UM, WE'RE GONNA, UH, PROVIDE TO YOU TONIGHT, UM, A REPORT ON OUR WINTER WEATHER PREPARATION.

SO, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST YEAR SINCE WINTER STORM, MARA, THE CITY HAS BEEN HEAVILY ENGAGED IN, IN EMERGENCY PREPARATION, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, WINTER WEATHER PREPARATION ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.

AND WE'VE BEEN AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN THAT.

UM, IT'S BEEN LED BY THE CITY'S, UH, HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.

AND BACK IN NOVEMBER, UM, THEY ASSEMBLED A REALLY COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT OUR, AT THE CITY'S PREPAREDNESS, AND THEY, UH, PRESENTED THAT TO A WORK SESSION OF CITY COUNCIL.

AND SO I ENCOURAGE YOU, UM, TO REVIEW THAT IF YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN, IN WHAT ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING.

SO WE HAD A SLIDE IN THAT, IN THAT SLIDE DECK THAT COVERED THE MOBILITY AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEPARTMENTS.

SO TRANSPORTATION, PUBLIC WORKS, AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN ENERGY, WATERSHED PROTECTION.

UM, AND THEN WE HAD, UH, THIS SLIDE DECK AS BACKUP TO THAT PRESENTATION.

SO, UH, WE WANTED TO, UM, GO THROUGH THAT WITH YOU TONIGHT.

AND THE, THE GREAT THING ABOUT DOING IT TODAY IS THAT WE JUST, WE JUST ROAD TESTED IT, UM, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS.

UM, AND I'LL JUST, YOU KNOW, SPOILER ALERT, UM, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, STOOD US IN GOOD STEAD, UM, THE LAST FEW DAYS.

SO WE'LL, WE'LL GIVE YOU A LITTLE, UM, A LITTLE COLOR COMMENTARY AS WE GO THROUGH.

THE COUNTY JUDGE, UM, AND ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS WAS, UM, REALLY WORKING WITH OUR RESIDENTS FOR THEM TO BE PREPARED IN THEIR OWN HOMES AND TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR NEIGHBORS.

SO, THE, THE HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT TONIGHT ARE, ARE BASICALLY ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WHAT WE'RE DOING, UM, WITHIN OUR FACILITIES AND FOR OUR PEOPLE, AND ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.

SO, UM, REALLY FOCUSING ON MAKING SURE OUR FACILITIES ARE READY.

UM, VERY FOCUSED ON POWER, RESILIENCY, TAKING CARE OF OUR PERSONNEL, AND THEN TAKING CARE, UH, OR EXPANDING THE FRAMEWORK OF OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE'RE IN EMERGENCY, WE HAVE REALLY ROBUST PROCESS TO FALL BACK ON.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, COMMUNICATING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, UM, IN LOTS OF WAYS, HELPING THEM BE PREPARED IN THEIR OWN HOMES.

THAT WAS, IF YOU WATCHED ANY OF THE PRESS CONFERENCES OVER THE LAST WEEK, THAT WAS A MAJOR EMPHASIS FROM, UM, THE MAYOR, UM,

[00:25:01]

UM, AND THEN, UM, UH, HAVING, YOU KNOW, THE FALLBACK OF HAVING REALLY STRONG WATER DISTRIBUTION PLANS IN PLACE, WHICH, UM, WE DIDN'T NEED THIS TIME, BUT SOMETIMES WE DO.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO, A LITTLE OVERVIEW ON OUR WINTER PREPARATION ACTIVITIES.

UM, ANA'S GONNA TALK MORE ABOUT, UM, OUR, UH, UH, INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

BUT, UM, LEADING UP TO THE WINTER SEASON, UM, WE HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK ON OUR ACTIVATION THRESHOLDS.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DEAL WITH IN AN EMERGENCY IS, IS IT TIME NOW TO ACTIVATE THE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM? HOW ABOUT NOW, NOW SHOULD WE ACTIVATE THE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM? AND SO SETTING THESE ACTIVATION THRESHOLDS WAS VERY USEFUL THIS PAST WEEK IN TERMS OF WHEN DO WE GO TO OPCON FROM OPCON ONE, WHICH IS NORMAL TO TWO, ELEVATED AWARENESS TO THREE, UH, UH, IMT IS ON STANDBY TO FOUR FULL ACTIVATION.

UM, AND SO WE FOLLOWED OUR PROCESS THIS WEEK AND, AND CAN REPORT THAT, THAT IT WORKED VERY WELL.

UM, THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE ALSO GO THROUGH OUR WINTERIZATION CHECKLISTS, OUR CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLANS FOR EACH FACILITY.

AND THOSE ARE ALL AVAILABLE IN OUR, IN OUR VIRTUAL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER THAT, THAT, THAT OUR STAFF HAVE ACCESS TO AND CAN COMMUNICATE THROUGH THAT, UM, SOFTWARE.

AND THEN EVERY OCTOBER WE, WE, WE CHECK EVERYTHING, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE MAKE ANY UPDATES THAT WE NEED TO, UM, PURCHASE ANY SUPPLIES, ESPECIALLY ANYTHING THAT HAS A LEAD TIME, MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S IN PLACE.

SO, IN TERMS OF OUR, UM, OUR OPERATIONAL READINESS, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS DURING WINTER STORM YURI, WAS THAT WE SAW SYSTEM DEMANDS WE HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE, UM, EVEN IN THE PEAK SUMMER DAYS.

UH, AND SO WE REALLY TOOK A HARD LOOK AT OUR, WHAT HAD BEEN OUR TRADITIONAL PRACTICE OF DURING, WHAT'S TYPICALLY A LOW DEMAND TIME PERIOD OF THE WINTER MONTHS WHERE WE WOULD HAVE CAPACITY OUT OF SERVICE IN ORDER TO DO REGULAR MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES OR CONSTRUCTION.

AND WE SET A POLICY AFTER YURI THAT WE WOULD MAINTAIN AVAILABLE CAPACITY UP TO 235 MILLION GALLONS A DAY, YEAR ROUND.

UM, AND THAT IS, THAT REQUIRES QUITE A BIT OF COORDINATION, UM, IN ORDER TO DO ALL OF THOSE OTHER THINGS THAT WE NEED TO DO WHILE WE KEEP THAT CAPACITY AVAILABLE.

BUT I CAN TELL YOU, WE WERE GLAD TO HAVE IT THIS WEEK.

UM, SO NORMAL TIME THIS YEAR IS 120 TO 130 MILLION GALLONS A DAY.

UM, I THINK OVER THE, LIKE FOR THE WHOLE DAY YESTERDAY WE WERE AT 1 65, BUT WE HAD PEAK USAGE OF ONE 90 FOR SEVERAL HOURS OVER THE COURSE OF THE DAY YESTERDAY.

SO WE DIDN'T HAVE TO RAMP OUR PLANTS UP ALL THE WAY TO THAT LEVEL, BUT WE CERTAINLY HAD TO BRING MORE CAPACITY ONLINE THAN, THAN WE DID THE WEEK BEFORE.

UM, AS THINGS THOUGHT OUT AND, AND BROKEN PIPES STARTED RUNNING, WE CERTAINLY SAW THE EFFECTS OF THAT YESTERDAY.

AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TOTALS ARE FOR TODAY YET, BUT, UM, I'M SURE THEY'RE JUST AS HIGH AS THEY WERE YESTERDAY.

UM, WE, UH, STAGED EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND PEOPLE, WE HAVE GENERATORS IN PLACE AT OUR CRITICAL FACILITIES.

UM, WE HAVE, WE'VE ADDED, UM, SEVERAL GENERATORS TO OUR FLEET OVER THE LAST YEAR.

UM, WE ARE WORKING ON, UM, ADDITIONAL, SO WE ARE DOING SORT OF, UH, SHORT-TERM, MEDIUM TERM AND LONG-TERM PLANS AS IT RELATES TO POWER RESILIENCY.

UM, WE HAVE EMERGENCY BACKUP GENERATOR CONTRACTS, UM, THAT CAN BE CALLED IN IMMEDIATELY.

UM, YOU ALL REVIEWED, UH, A COUPLE OF THOSE CONTRACTS AT PREVIOUS MEETINGS.

SO THOSE ARE IN PLACE.

UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, UM, OUR PLAN SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT FOR COMMUNITY-WIDE POTABLE WATER DISTRIBUTION SHOULD IT BE NEEDED.

URI, WE PURCHASED TWO POTABLE WATER TRUCKS.

SPEAKING ABOUT OUR EMERGENCY SUPPLIES, UM, ONE OF THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM WINTER STORM URI WAS THAT WE NEEDED TO BE BETTER PREPARED, UM, FOR INCIDENTS.

AND SO WE PUT IN PLACE A HUB WAREHOUSE, UM, THAT HAS ALL OF OUR SHELTER IN PLACE, SUPPLIES THAT ARE NEEDED FOR OUR STAFF.

SO WE ARE FULLY PREPARED WITH COTS, BLANKETS, MEALS, HYGIENE KITS, AND THAT'S ALSO THE HOME FOR OUR EMERGENCY WATER DISTRIBUTION SUPPLIES.

SO IF YOU RECALL DURING WINTER STORM MUY, WE HAD A NEED FOR BOTTLED WATER.

WE ALSO, UM, I'LL SAY INNOVATED WITHIN THAT INCIDENT TO IMPLEMENT WATER TOTES AND ALSO FIRE HYDRANT ADAPTERS.

AND SO WE KEEP THOSE ALL ON HAND.

AND AT THE READY AT OUR HUB, ALSO COMING OUT OF WINTER STORM

[00:30:01]

AND YOU SEE ONE OF THOSE HERE, UM, ON THE SCREEN.

WE KEEP THOSE, UH, READY TO GO INTO SERVICE.

THOSE ARE, UH, LICENSED AND WE HAVE OPERATORS WHO ARE READY TO DEPLOY THOSE.

AND AGAIN, WE HAVE BOTTLED WATER CONTRACTS, UH, WITH, UH, MORE THAN ONE VENDOR SO THAT WE HAVE A DIVERSITY OF SUPPLIERS SHOULD THAT BE NEEDED.

UM, AGAIN, THINKING ABOUT WINTER STORM URI, UH, WE REALLY RELIED ON THIS WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION TO HELP US LEARN SOME OF THOSE LESSONS AND IDENTIFY SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS.

SO WE DID HAVE A WINTER STORM WORKING GROUP THAT A COUPLE OF COMMISSIONERS SERVED ON.

SO SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE SPEAKING OF THIS EVENING CAME OUT OF THAT WINTER STORM WORKING GROUP.

UM, SO THAT INCLUDES BEING READY WITH THE EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES THAT WE NEED BEFORE THE EVENT OCCURS.

UM, SO NEXT I'LL SPEAK TO OUR ENHANCED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.

UM, WE HAVE A, AN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION WITHIN BUSINESS SERVICES THAT OVERSEES AND COORDINATES ACROSS AUSTIN WATER.

WE USE A VIRTUAL SYSTEM CALLED VOC, UM, THAT ORIGINALLY WE HAD PURCHASED AS A EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SOLUTION AND A PLANNING SOLUTION FOR EMERGENCIES, BUT WE REALLY LEARNED THAT WE SHOULD USE IT YEAR ROUND FOR ROUTINE COMMUNICATIONS AS WELL.

SO WE'VE USED THAT SYSTEM TO IMPROVE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ON A DAILY BASIS, AND THAT HAS SERVED US WELL BECAUSE OUR STAFF ARE PRACTICED AT USING IT.

AND WHEN WE GO INTO AN EMERGENCY, WHEN WE GO FROM LEVEL ONE, UH, TO LEVEL TWO OF OUR OPERATING CONDITION OR UP TO THREE OR FOUR, UH, WE HAVE ASSOCIATED REPORTING CADENCES IN THE VOC SYSTEM.

SO AS THE, UM, UM, I'LL SAY INTENSITY OF AN EVENT INCREASES, THEN WE ALSO CAN RAMP UP OUR COMMUNICATIONS USING THAT TOOL.

OUR STAFF ARE TRAINED ON IT AND KNOW WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE, AND IT GIVES US ACROSS THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT A DASHBOARD VIEW OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ALL OF OUR OPERATIONAL UNITS AND OUR SUPPORTING UNITS.

WE'VE ALSO CONDUCTED MULTIPLE TABLETOP EXERCISES, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

UH, EVERY YEAR WE CONDUCT AT LEAST TWO TABLETOP EXERCISES.

UH, IN 2023, WE PARTNERED WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR ONE OF THOSE EXERCISES.

AND ANOTHER EXERCISE WE PARTNERED WITH, UH, THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE WESTLAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

WE'VE INTEGRATED WORKING WITH OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANTS IN THOSE EXERCISES AS WELL.

SO IN, UH, PRIOR YEARS, THOSE EXERCISES FOCUSED ON KIND OF THE HEADQUARTERS COORDINATION OF INCIDENTS.

BUT AS WE'VE MATURED AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE NOW HAVE THE SIMULATION INVOLVING THE WHOLE ORGANIZATION.

WE ALSO CONDUCT MONTHLY PRACTICE WITH OUR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS, OUR LIFE SAFETY PLANS, SHELTER IN PLACE, AND, UH, EVACUATION DRILLS THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM.

AND WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY PLANS OFFICER SENIOR POSITION THAT'S FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.

SO THAT POSITION WORKS CLOSELY WITH OUR HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT SEAMLESS COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION, AND WE'RE READY TO WORK WITH OUR COMMUNITY IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY.

COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION ACROSS CITY DEPARTMENTS.

SPEAKING ABOUT OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM, THIS IS, UM, A SYSTEM THAT IS PRESCRIBED BY THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.

WE DO FOLLOW THE FEDERAL INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM.

WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A TEAM THAT HAS THREE ROTATING SHIFTS.

THERE'S A TOTAL OF 34 POSITIONS, BUT WE HAVE MORE THAN 150 STAFF WHO ARE NAMED AND TRAINED TO SERVE IN THOSE ROLES.

UH, THIS ALLOWS US TO HAVE A VERY CLEAR CHAIN OF COMMAND DURING EMERGENCIES, AND IT ALLOWS, UM, FOLKS WHO ARE NOT INVOLVED IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO CONTINUE WORKING IN THEIR REGULAR DAY JOBS SO THAT THE NON-EMERGENCY ASPECTS OF AUSTIN WATER CONTINUE TO OPERATE.

AND THEN THE FOLKS WHO ARE PULLED OUT TO WORK A SPECIFIC EMERGENCY CAN FOCUS ALL OF THEIR ATTENTION ON THE EMERGENCY TASK AT HAND.

UH, THIS ALSO HELPS US TO HAVE CLEAR COMMUNICATION WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.

AND AS SHEA MENTIONED IN, UH, THIS RECENT WINTER SEASON, WE'VE REALLY SEEN THAT, UH, UM, I THINK COME TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF

[00:35:01]

SO, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE GOT A INTERDEPARTMENTAL GROUP THAT'S, UH, UM, COMMUNICATING AND COORDINATING WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE SO THAT, UM, WE ARE ALL MOVING FORWARD AS ONE CITY WITH CONSISTENT MESSAGES AND CONSISTENT DIRECTION.

WE ALSO PROVIDE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM, UH, SYSTEM TRAINING TO OUR STAFF.

ALL OF AUSTIN WATER STAFF ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM TRAINING.

WE'VE TRAINED OVER 1200 EMPLOYEES IN THAT SYSTEM.

THAT INCLUDES, UM, BEGINNER, UH, AND THEN BEGINNER LEVEL TRAINING.

AND THEN DEPENDING ON AN EMPLOYEE'S ROLE, THEY MAY BE REQUIRED TO TAKE INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED TRAINING.

SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF OUR TRAINING PROGRAM.

WE HAVE ALSO MADE THAT TRAINING AVAILABLE TO OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.

UM, SO THEY HAVE ATTENDED OUR TRAINING, AND THAT GIVES US, AGAIN, THOSE, UM, CONNECTIONS WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS SO THAT WE, UH, HAVE THOSE WORKING RELATIONSHIPS PRIOR TO AN EMERGENCY.

SO AS WE GET INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS ABOUT HOW WE GET READY FOR WINTERIZATION, HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING AT OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.

SO INSULATING OUR WEATHER EXPOSED CRITICAL COMPONENTS, UM, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, UH, PROCESS UNITS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO FREEZING THAT WOULD PREVENT US FROM, UM, BEING ABLE TO OPERATE OUR PLANTS, SUCH AS IF WE CAN'T GET SLUDGE OUT OF OUR PLANTS, UM, THAT'S A, THAT'S A, WE WE CAN'T TREAT WATER.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE HEATERS INSTALLED WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED.

UM, WINTERIZING THE, THE KEY, UH, CHEMICAL FEED SYSTEMS. SO SOMETIMES THERE'S, THERE ARE, UM, CHEMICAL FEED SYSTEMS THAT WE USE ON A DAILY BASIS, BUT WE MAY NOT ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE THEM.

AND IN THAT CASE, WE WILL, UH, DRAIN AND TAKE THEM OFFLINE.

UM, THEN WE'LL TOP UP THE CHEMICALS THAT WE DEFINITELY HAVE TO HAVE.

SO THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING GOING INTO A WINTERIZATION EVENT.

I MENTIONED, UM, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN'T, IF WE CAN'T MOVE SLUDGE, THAT HAS BEEN, THAT WAS A RECURRING THEME COMING OUT OF THE WINTER, UH, STORM AFTER ACTION FROM YURI.

AND SO NOW WE HAVE A COLD WEATHER STRATEGY FOR SOLIDS MANAGEMENT.

UM, THAT'S BEEN, THAT'S BEEN ROAD TESTED.

OUR FLEET, AND YOU CAN SEE A COUPLE OF THOSE HERE.

OUT IN OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS FOR BEING ABLE TO MANAGE OUR SYSTEM IN AN EMERGENCY IS TO BE ABLE TO HAVE, HAVE EYES ON IT, BE ABLE TO SEE OUR, UM, WHAT THE PRESSURES ARE IN OUR SYSTEM, WHAT THE LEVELS ARE IN OUR STORAGE TANKS.

UM, THAT DATA IS INVALUABLE IN AN EMERGENCY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MOMENT.

UM, WE HAD A LOT OF PRESSURE POINTS FREEZE DURING YURI, AND SO, UH, WE HAVE BEEN MOVING THOSE UNDERGROUND.

WE'RE ABOUT HALFWAY DONE WITH THAT, UM, AT THE TIME OF THIS REPORT.

UM, AND THEN FINISHING THE, THE REST OF THEM, UM, TOWARD THE END OF THE YEAR.

AND THEN THERE WERE A FEW THAT COULDN'T BE BURIED, AND SO THEY'VE BEEN INSULATED OR HAD HEATERS INSTALLED.

SO, UM, THAT'S REAL IMPORTANT FOR US.

UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

UM, SOME OTHER EXAMPLES ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING IN OUR PUMP AND LIFT STATIONS.

SO DAVIS LANE PUMP STATION IS, UH, ONE OF OUR LARGE PUMP STATION THAT SERVES SOUTHWEST AUSTIN.

AND, UM, WE ACTUALLY RENTED A GENERATOR.

THESE ARE NOT, UH, THE PICTURES OF THOSE GENERATORS.

UM, THE GENERATOR THAT WE RENTED FOR DAVIS LANE CAME IN ON TWO 18 WHEELER TRUCK BEDS.

UM, AND SO WE, WE GOT THAT IN PLACE IN EARLY DECEMBER, AND IT'LL BE THERE UNTIL MARCH.

UM, IT'S VERY COST EFFECTIVE AS LONG AS WE DON'T RUN IT.

UM, BUT IF WE NEED TO RUN IT, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO PAY FOR IT .

SO, UH, WE HAVE THAT IN PLACE.

NOW.

WE ALSO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LEARNED IN MARA, UM, AS WELL AS YURI, WAS, UM, WHEN WE DEPLOY, WE HAVE A FLEET OF, UM, OF MOBILE GENERATORS.

AND DEPLOYING THOSE GENERATORS IS VERY LABOR INTENSIVE BECAUSE THEY'VE GOTTA BE WIRED UP BY OUR ELECTRICIANS.

AND SO IT REQUIRES OUR STAFF TO MAKE THEIR WAY AROUND OUR SYSTEM.

AND IN MARA, WE WERE, WE HAD LIFT STATIONS IN AND OUT OF POWER, UM, AND SO WE WERE HAULING GENERATORS TO ONE LIFT STATION THAT WAS OUT OF POWER.

THEN THE POWER WOULD COME BACK ON AND WE TAKE THAT LIFT STATION TO ANOTHER, UM, UH, THAT GENERATOR TO ANOTHER LIFT STATION, AND THEN THE FIRST LIFT STATION WOULD BE OUT OF POWER AGAIN, WE'D HAVE TO GO BACK.

AND SO, UM, A NEW INNOVATION THAT OUR TEAMS HAVE COME UP WITH OF THESE DOCKING STATIONS THAT WILL MAKE THAT IN AND OUT MUCH FASTER FOR US.

UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT THIS TIME.

POWER STAYED ON, UM, AT MOST OF OUR LIFT STATIONS, BUT, UM, UH, THAT'S, THAT'S A NICE INNOVATION FOR US.

UM, AND THEN WE DID ADD SOME, SOME GENERATORS TO

[00:40:01]

UH, AND I MENTIONED THOSE CITYWIDE CONTRACT EARLIER.

WE'VE ALSO, UH, IMPROVED OUR COMMUNICATIONS TO THE COMMUNITY.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, UP UNTIL THIS POINT, WE'VE BEEN SPEAKING ABOUT WHAT WE AS AUSTIN WATER CAN DO TO BE PREPARED, BUT EQUALLY IMPORTANT IS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND FOR EACH ONE OF US AS INDIVIDUALS TO BE READY IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

SO OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE WITHIN THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TEAM AT AUSTIN WATER HAS DEVELOPED ENHANCED WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS MESSAGING.

AGAIN, THESE ARE SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME TO US OUT OF WINTER STORM MURRY AND OUT OF THE WINTER STORM WORKING GROUP OF THIS COMMISSION.

UM, SOME OF THE MESSAGING COVERS LOCATING YOUR WATER, SHUTOFF WEATHERIZING, HOW TO PROPERLY DRIP FAUCETS AND HOW TO STAY INFORMED.

UH, THE MESSAGING IS AVAILABLE IN MULTIPLE FORMATS.

SO WE'VE GOT VIDEOS, WE'VE GOT, UH, FLYERS.

IT'S TRANSLATED INTO MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, AND WE PUSH THAT OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN THROUGH OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN COLLABORATION, AGAIN WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS.

SO WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY'S PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE AND WITH THE CITY'S HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TO PUT THAT OUT.

WE ALSO HAVE A REAL TIME OUTAGE MAP THAT IS ALWAYS ACTIVE.

IT'S AVAILABLE YEAR ROUND.

UM, THE LINK IS, UH, CONTAINED WITHIN THIS, UM, WITHIN THIS PRESENTATION.

AND IT'S EASILY, UM, AVAILABLE ON AUSTIN WATER'S WEBSITE.

SO THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, STARTED AS A TOOL DURING AN EMERGENCY, BUT IS NOW A TOOL THAT CUSTOMERS CAN USE YEAR ROUND.

WE'VE BEEN DISTRIBUTING WINTER WEATHER TOOLKITS AND INFORMATION AT AUSTIN WATER AND CITYWIDE PREPAREDNESS EVENTS.

SO THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, POP-UP EVENTS HOSTED BY THE HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT.

THERE HAVE BEEN, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE HOSTED, UH, LIKE WORKSHOPS OR NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP, UM, MEETINGS WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO SET UP A TABLE AND GIVE OUT A METER KEY HOB COVERS, UH, INFORMATIONAL HANDOUTS.

AND THEN WE CONTINUE TO USE OUR, MY A TX WATER PORTAL TO PUSH OUT MESSAGING AS WELL.

SO IF YOU'RE AN AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMER, UM, DURING THE WEATHER THAT WE JUST EXPERIENCED, YOU PROBABLY RECEIVED AN EMAIL MESSAGE THAT, UM, GAVE YOU SOME TIPS ON PREPARING FOR WINTER WEATHER.

UH, YOU PROBABLY RECEIVED A MESSAGE TODAY ABOUT HOW TO, UH, PREPARE FOR THAWING PIPES IF YOU HAVE FROZEN PIPES.

WE FOUND THAT THE PORTAL IS A VERY EFFECTIVE WAY OF COMMUNICATING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.

WE GET A LOT OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM OUR CUSTOMER CUSTOMERS ON THAT.

AND THEN WE DO HAVE AN OUTREACH PLAN FOR MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES, UH, MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES.

UM, WE HAVE TO CONNECT WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS IN A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT WAYS BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY, UM, GOING TO BE BILLED INDIVIDUALLY AS AN AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMER.

SO WE'VE WORKED OUT WAYS TO CONNECT WITH THEM.

WE COORDINATE VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY'S 3 1 1 AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN UTILITIES.

SO ANYTIME AN EVENT IS UNDERWAY, WE MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS HAVE THE SAME MESSAGES TO SHARE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, AND ALSO TO RESPOND TO ANY CUSTOMER CALLS THAT THEY RECEIVE.

AND FINALLY, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE'VE GOT SHELTER SUPPLIES, UH, AT OUR PLANTS AND AT OUR SERVICE CENTERS SO THAT OUR STAFF ARE TAKEN CARE OF IF THEY ARE ACTIVATED FOR 24 7 OPERATIONS.

AND LASTLY, WE'LL TALK ABOUT PREPARING OUR OWN EMPLOYEES.

UH, OF COURSE, WE HAVE COLD WEATHER TRAINING AND SAFETY BRIEFINGS THAT ARE A REGULAR PART OF OUR OPERATIONS, AND CERTAINLY THOSE ARE EMPHASIZED WHENEVER WE ARE HEADING INTO A WEATHER EVENT.

WE HAVE ALL OF THE COLD WEATHER PROTECTION THAT OUR EMPLOYEES NEED, AS WELL AS WARMING STATIONS.

WE MONITOR THE WEATHER FORECAST AND WE SHARE THAT WITH OUR ORGANIZATION.

AND I WILL SAY THAT'S NOT JUST DURING WINTER WEATHER YEAR ROUND.

OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TEAM IS MONITORING FOR EVERY TYPE OF WEATHER EVENT.

SO WHENEVER WE GET A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE, UM, FLASH, WHETHER IT'S ABOUT, UH, RED FLAG WARNING RELATED TO FIRE, WHETHER IT'S ELEVATED RISK OF, UH, THUNDERSTORMS OR RAIN EVENTS, OR WINTER WEATHER, IT ALL GETS SHARED WITH OUR ORGANIZATION SO THAT WE ALL HAVE THE AWARENESS OF HOW THAT CAN AFFECT OUR ORGANIZATION, OUR OPERATIONS IN THE FIELD, AND OUR CUSTOMERS.

WE ALSO HAVE SUPPLIES FOR DRIVING ON ICE.

UM, THAT WAS, AGAIN, A STRONG RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR WINTER STORM WORKING GROUP, UM, CHAINS FOR TIRES, SPIKES FOR BOOTS, AND OUR FLEET SERVICES, UH, BOTH OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN WATER PROVIDE TRAINING AND REMINDERS TO OUR STAFF ON HOW TO USE THOSE ITEMS. SO WE'RE READY IN CASE THEY'RE NEEDED.

[00:45:01]

THAT CONCLUDES OUR PREPARED MATERIALS.

WE CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

COMMISSIONER MORTY, GO AHEAD.

DISTRIBUTION WITHIN THE PLANT, UM, AS WELL AS THE, UM, AS OUR, OUR POWER DISTRIBUTION, UH, KIND OF OUR SUBSTATION ON THE PLANT SITE.

CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YES.

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO COMMEND YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION AND ALL THE WORK THAT WENT INTO IT.

UM, OVER THE YEARS, WE'VE SEEN SOME BAD THINGS HAPPEN AND, UH, YOU GUYS ARE CLEARLY LISTENING AND, UH, TAKING THE KINDS OF PRECAUTIONS AND, UM, PREPAREDNESS THAT THAT WILL CARRY US THROUGH.

I WOULDN'T GET TOO CONTENT ABOUT THE STORM WE'VE JUST EXPERIENCED IT WAS COLD, BUT THERE WAS NO MOISTURE AND NO ICE.

THAT'S WHEN YOU'LL REALLY BE UNDER THE GUN.

BUT AGAIN, I'D SAY TO DIRECTOR SHEA AND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ANNA, THIS IS GREAT STUFF.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

ONE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON YOUR LIST OF THINGS IS OVER THE YEARS WE'VE HAD WHAT I WOULD DESCRIBE AS MASS CONTAMINATION EPISODES WHERE BAD STUFF GETS IN THE WATER AND IT GETS IN THE HOUSES.

AND I'VE NEVER BEEN CONVINCED WE'RE DOING A VERY GOOD JOB OF ALERTING HOMEOWNERS WHEN WE HAVE FUNNY STUFF IN THE WATER.

AND I DON'T SAY THIS AS A QUESTION, BUT AS A RECOMMENDATION, I THINK YOU, YOU TALK ABOUT ALL YOUR 3 1 1 AND ALL KINDS OF NOTIFICATION, YOU OUGHT TO PUT THAT ON THE LIST WHEN YOU GET SOME BAD MATERIAL IN THE WATER, HOW YOU CAN ALERT USERS.

MY QUESTION, MY ONE AND ONLY QUESTION IS, OVER THE YEARS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HAVING GENERATOR POWER TO THE THREE LARGE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.

IT WAS ALWAYS THE THEORY THAT WE HAD TWO FEEDS FROM THE, UH, ELECTRIC UTILITY, AND THAT WAS GOOD ENOUGH.

BUT WE DISCOVERED IN RECENT STORMS THAT BOTH FEEDS WOULD GET KNOCKED OUT.

WHAT'S THE STATUS ON GETTING GENERATOR SETS? SO THOSE PLANTS CAN KEEP GOING.

COMMISSIONER MORIARTY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR REMARKS AND YOUR RECOMMENDATION, UM, AND YOUR QUESTION.

AND ALSO THANK YOU FOR HAVING SERVED ON OUR WINTER STORM WORKING GROUP.

UM, UH, APPRECIATE THAT, UH, YOUR INPUT ON THAT AS WELL REGARDING THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.

UM, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO ULRICH, I'LL TALK ABOUT ULRICH.

UM, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN MAKING A SERIES OF IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BE BEE CREEK SUBSTATION TO, UM, TO ULRICH.

AND THAT CONTINUES.

THEY HAVE A, UM, SOME IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SUBSTATION ITSELF AS WELL AS, UM, THE TWO, UH, POWER FEEDS THAT COME INTO THAT SUBSTATION.

ON OUR SIDE, WE ARE REPLACING ALL OF OUR, UM, UH, LOW SERVICE PUMP STATION ELECTRICAL WOOD, CONTINUING THE CONSTRUCTION OF OUR ELECTRICAL FEED RENEWAL PROJECT, UM, ON THE LOW SERVICE SIDE OF THE PLANT.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE PLANS IN SUPPORT OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S WORK, UH, THAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT FALL.

WE HAVE PLANS TO BRING A, A RENTAL GENERATOR ON SITE.

IT'LL, IT, IT, IT'LL, IT'LL BE SIMILAR TO THE ONE I DESCRIBED EARLIER FOR THE DAVIS LANE PUMP STATION, SO THAT WE HAVE POWER RESILIENCY THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THAT WORK.

AND THEN ULRICH IS ONE OF THE SITES FOR OUR RESILIENCY AS A SERVICE, UM, PROGRAM WITH AUSTIN ENERGY.

SO THAT PROGRAM IS, UM, IS WHERE WE WILL, IT'S A THREE-WAY CONTRACT BETWEEN US AND A, UM, AND A GENERATOR PROVIDER AND THAT GEN GENERATOR PROVIDER AND AE WHERE, UM, THAT A GENERATOR WILL BE DEPLOYED FOR OUR BACKUP POWER THAT WILL BE GUARANTEED TO US WHEN WE NEED IT, WHEN WE DON'T NEED IT.

THEIR CONTRACT WITH AE ALLOWS THEM TO OPERATE THAT POWER, THAT GENERATOR TO PUT POWER ON THE GRID WHEN IT'S FINANCIALLY BENEFICIAL TO DO THAT.

UM, AND THAT SORT OF CREATES A THREE-WAY WIN, WIN, WIN, UM, FOR US.

AND SO, UM, ULRICH IS ONE OF OUR SITES FOR DOING THAT RESILIENCY AS A SERVICE.

AND YOU'LL BE HEARING MORE ABOUT THAT AS THAT, UM, AS THAT PROJECT COMES TO FRUITION.

OKAY.

THAT TAKES CARE OF ALBERT.

ALBERT.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER TWO? WELL, DAVIS, UH, DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANTS, WE REPLACED THE, UM, POWER FEED SEVERAL YEARS.

THE, SO OUR, WE HAVE TWO VERY ROBUST POWER FEEDS COMING INTO DAVIS.

UM, AND WE REPLACED THE

[00:50:01]

SO, UM, SO THE DAVIS LANE ELECTRICAL, UM, RESILIENCY WORK IS, IS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE AT, SORRY, I SAID DAVIS LANE, DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT.

UM, AND HANCOCK'S, I BELIEVE THEIR, UM, POWER RESILIENCY, THAT'S ANOTHER SITE THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FOR OUR RESILIENCY AS A SERVICE.

BUT, UM, GENERALLY THEIR POWER RESILIENCY IS, IS ALSO GOOD AS A, AS A, AS A, AS OUR MOST, AS OUR YOUNGEST PLANT, OUR NEWEST PLANT.

AND THEN WE ARE ALSO COMMISSIONER LOOKING AT, UM, POWER RESILIENCY FOR KEY PUMP STATIONS.

SO WE'RE DOING A DUAL FEED PROJECT, UM, AS WELL AS RESILIENCY AS A SERVICE AT THE DAVIS LANE PUMP STATION.

UM, AND, AND SO THOSE ARE THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S MORE, BUT THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THE HIGH POINTS AND THE, AND THE MAJOR PLAYERS FOR US IN TERMS OF WHERE WE NEED POWER RESILIENCY.

THE YEARS ARE, UH, THE USE OF THE CITY'S REVERSE 9 1 1 SYSTEM.

I APPRECIATE YOUR ANSWERS.

OKAY, I HAVE A QUESTION.

PLEASE GO AHEAD.

UM, SPECIFICALLY ON, ON WATER CONTAMINATION.

WHEN, WHEN THAT HAPPENS, WHAT, WHAT TYPE OF COMMUNI LIKE AN AUSTIN WATER EMPLOYEE OR THEIR SENSORS THAT DETECT THAT, WHAT DOES THAT COMMUNICATION LOOK LIKE? I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT IS SOMETHING NOT JUST FOR THE WINTER, BUT YEAR ROUND.

WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION.

THE, UM, WE MONITOR OUR WATER QUALITY GOING INTO THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN REAL TIME.

UM, AND, UH, THE PRIMARY THING THAT WE, UM, WELL, WE MONITOR, UM, A NUMBER OF PARAMETERS AND IF THEY ARE OUT OF SPEC, THEN WE WOULD IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY, UH, WE HAVE A PROCESS IN PLACE FOR, UH, NOTIFYING CHAIN OF COMMAND, UM, IMPLEMENTING EMERGENCY PROCESSES AND THEN NOTIFYING OUR REGULATORY, UM, UH, OVERSIGHT, WHICH IS TCEQ, UM, AND THEN ISSUING EITHER A, A DO NOT DRINK OR A BOIL WATER NOTICE TO OUR COMMUNITY.

AND I THINK TO THE COMM, TO COMMISSIONER MORIARTY'S POINT, UM, IT IS A CHALLENGE TO REACH ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS TIMELY.

UM, AND SO WORKING ON PROCESSES IN THE FUTURE TO, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REACHING PARTICULARLY OUR VULNERABLE POP POPULATIONS, I WILL SAY THAT, THAT WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT TRACK RECORD OF VERY HIGH WATER QUALITY, AND WE ALSO HAVE A VERY HIGH QUALITY SOURCE WATER.

UM, AND SO UNLIKE SOME OF OUR, UM, PEER UTILITIES, WE, UM, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, WE START FROM A VERY GOOD PLACE IN AUSTIN BECAUSE WE HAVE VERY WELL PROTECTED SOURCE WATER.

IF I MAY, CAN I ADD SOMETHING BACK TO THAT? PLEASE.

THE THING THAT I'VE NEVER BEEN SATISFIED WITH WAS THE EPISODE WE HAD, I BELIEVE IT WAS IN SOUTH AUSTIN WHEN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT INJECTED THE FIRE RETARDANT, UH, THEY WERE PUTTING OUT A FIRE AND THEY, THEY, THE BACKFLOW PREVENTED DIDN'T WORK, AND THE WATER MAINS PULLED FIRE RETARDANT INTO THE SERVICE FOR 300 HOUSES.

AND I REMEMBER KIND OF LIVING THROUGH THIS AS A COMMISSIONER AND I WAS NEVER SATISFIED WITH WHAT WAS DONE.

THE HOMEOWNERS WERE NOT TIMELY INFORMED.

THERE WAS CONFUSION.

THE, THE, THE REVERSE CALL SYSTEM DIDN'T WORK.

THERE WERE PUTTING DOOR HANGERS ON THE DOORS AND PEOPLE DIDN'T GO THROUGH THOSE DOORS.

AND I MEAN, THIS FIRE RETARDANT REMAINED IN THE WATER FOR NINE DAYS BEFORE PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT IT.

AND I, I, I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE AND I REALLY THINK THIS, AND AGAIN, YOU COULD, I, I GET THE POINT THAT YOU'RE CHECKING EVERYTHING COMING OUT OF THE WATER PLANT, BUT WHAT IF YOU GET A, A CONTAMINANT THAT'S NOT SOURCED THROUGH THE WATER PLANT, IT COMES FROM, IN THIS CASE, FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OR SOME OTHER THING, OR, OR WHO KNOWS WHAT.

AND I, I, I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT THERE HAD TO BE A MORE, A BETTER APPROACH TO ALL OF THIS STUFF THAT WE COULD GET HOMEOWNERS.

I MEAN, THEY, THEY WERE KNOCKING ON DOORS AND IT WAS JUST A, NOT A GOOD SYSTEM.

SO I I, THAT, THAT'S MY CASE STUDY, IF YOU WILL, ON CONTAMINATION EPISODE.

IF I MAY, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK TO HOW WE DO NOTIFY CUSTOMERS IN, IN THE EVENT OF AN ISSUE IN THE WATER SYSTEM AND COMMISSIONER MORIARTY.

UM, WE CERTAINLY HAVE LEARNED FROM EVENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERY EVENT THAT WE EXPERIENCE, WE DO AN AFTER ACTION REVIEW AND WE LOOK FOR WHAT ARE THE IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.

AND SO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAVE IMPROVED OVER

[00:55:01]

SO THAT IS A SYSTEM THAT AUSTIN WATER DOES NOT CONTROL.

THE CITY OF AUSTIN, HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UM, OPERATES THAT SYSTEM, BUT WE HAVE ALL GOTTEN BETTER AT KNOWING, UH, YOU KNOW, AND HAVING PROCEDURES FOR WHEN TO ACTIVATE THAT SYSTEM.

SO THAT IS ONE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE BECOME MORE ADEPT AT USING ANOTHER SYSTEM THAT WE DIDN'T.

BUT I'VE HEARD THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE A HARDWIRED PHONE IN YOUR HOUSE, SO THAT DOESN'T WORK.

SO, UH, THERE, THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT SYSTEM.

IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY, UH, CALL OUT TO HARDWIRED PHONES, AS YOU SAID, THAT IS CORRECT, BUT YOU CAN ALSO ENROLL YOUR CELL PHONE.

AND SO THE CITY HAS MADE A BIG PUSH WITH, UM, ENCOURAGING FOLKS TO SIGN UP FOR THAT.

AND IT'S CALLED WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS.

AND SO THAT WAS A BIG PUSH LEADING INTO THIS WINTER SEASON.

UH, SO AGAIN, WE ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO SIGN UP FOR WARREN CENTRAL TEXAS AND ENROLL YOUR CELL PHONE SO THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE THOSE ALERTS.

UM, SO THERE'S THE CELL PHONE NOTIFICATION.

UH, THEN ANOTHER TOOL THAT WE DID NOT HAVE, UH, AT THE TIME OF THE FIRE FOAM INCIDENT, UM, BUT WE HAVE NOW IS THE MY A TX WATER PORTAL.

AND SO WE CAN MESSAGE OUR CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY THROUGH THAT PORTAL AND WE CAN FOCUS THAT MESSAGE ON A SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREA.

SO AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THESE INCIDENTS LEARNING HOW TO EFFECTIVELY USE THAT PORTAL WHENEVER WE HAVE INCIDENTS, UM, SUCH AS, SUCH AS THAT ONE, WHICH ARE VERY RARE.

THE FIRE FOAM INCIDENT, UM, HAS ONLY HAPPENED ONCE AND WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM TO ENSURE THAT THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

UH, BUT WE WILL PUSH OUT NOTIFICATION THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA IF IT'S APPROPRIATE.

WE WILL GO DOOR TO DOOR, KNOCK ON DOORS, USE DOOR HANGERS, SO THERE'S NO KIND OF ONE SIZE FITS ALL THAT WORKS FOR EVERY CUSTOMER.

SOME FOLKS NEVER GO IN THEIR FRONT DOOR, SOME PEOPLE DON'T ANSWER THEIR CELL PHONE.

YOU KNOW, SOME FOLKS DON'T WANNA GET TEXT MESSAGES ON THEIR CELL PHONE.

SO WE'VE GOTTA HAVE ALL THE TOOLS AND USE ALL OF THE TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL.

UM, AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO.

SO I, I APPRECIATE THE COMMENT, UM, AND THE FEEDBACK THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNICATE, UH, QUICKLY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, THAT IS WHAT WE AIM TO DO AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT.

UM, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT.

COMMISSIONER.

JUST ONE, ONE LAST QUESTION IS, DOES THAT FALL UNDER THE ROLE OF THE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM? IF, IF THERE WAS GONNA BE SUCH INCIDENT WHERE COMMUNICATION, IS THAT WHAT THESE THREE, FOUR POSITIONS AND 154, IS THAT UNDER THEIR ROLE? YES, WE HAVE A, A ROLE WITHIN OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM THAT IS SPECIFICALLY DEDICATED TO OVERSEEING OUR COMMUNICATIONS.

AGAIN, THAT WAS A, A RECOMMENDATION THAT CAME OUT OF WINTER STORM MARA, SOMETHING THAT WE TALKED WITH THE WINTER STORM WORKING GROUP ABOUT.

UH, WE HAVE THE INCIDENT COMMANDER LEADS OUR OVERALL RESPONSE TO AN INCIDENT.

WE CREATED ANOTHER POSITION, THE DEPUTY INCIDENT COMMANDER, WHO WILL SPECIFICALLY COORDINATE COMMUNICATIONS, UH, BOTH, UH, TO THE PUBLIC, UM, AND WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS AN ORGANIZATION AND THEN WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT.

ALRIGHT.

THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, SEE NONE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

THAT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE AND, AND GOOD JOB BY THE WAY.

VERY GOOD JOB.

AGENDA ITEMS. ITEM NUMBER NINE.

ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO FUTURE

[9. Discussion of future agenda items]

IS THERE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS THAT, UH, COMMISSIONERS WOULD LIKE TO SEE BEING BROUGHT FORWARD? NO.