* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:02] OKAY, WELL, OH, AND HERE COMES SARAH FAUST. EXCELLENT. OKAY. [CALL TO ORDER ] UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. OH, I DID THAT WITHOUT LOOKING AT MY AGENDA. HOLD ON A SECOND. I REALLY JUMPED THE GUN. OKAY. UM, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? FEEL LIKE EVERYBODY HERE IS PART OF THE OPERATION OR THE TASK FORCE? ALRIGHT. UM, CAN WE, UH, OUR NEXT IS WE HAVE TWO ACTION ITEMS ON THE AGENDA. ONE AT THE BEGINNING AND ONE AT THE END. BUT, UM, APPROVAL OF [APPROVAL OF MINUTES ] THE MINUTES FROM THE, UM, TASK FORCE MEETING ON JANUARY 9TH. I MOVE APPROVAL SECOND, SECOND FROM HANEY UP THERE. YOU'LL HAVE TO GET THE NEXT ONE. WE'VE GOT TWO ITEMS THOUGH. OKAY. JUST GET READY TO STICK YOUR HAND UP FASTER. OKAY. UM, ANY DISCUSSION? UM, ALL IN FAVOR? AYE. AYE. OKAY. GOOD JOB. ALRIGHT, THOSE, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. OKAY. UH, SO NEXT, UH, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA TODAY. THE FIRST ONE [2. Update on Lower Colorado River and Highland Lakes water supply conditions ] IS THE, UM, ARE STANDING ITEM, BUT THE WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS UPDATE ON THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKES. MM-HMM, . OKAY. AND YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE. UH, THIS GRAPH SHOWS HIGHLAND LAKES INFLOWS, UM, OVER THE 12 MONTH PERIODS. UM, LIGHT BLUE BARS SHOWING THE AVERAGE ACROSS THE PERIOD OF RECORD FROM 1942 TO PRESENT THE DARK BLUE BARS SHOWING THE AVERAGE FROM 2008 TO 2015 GREEN BARS SHOWING INFLOWS, UH, ON A MONTHLY BASIS FOR 2023. AND THE PURPLE BARS SHOWING INFLOWS, UH, FOR JANUARY THROUGH FEBRUARY, 2024, UH, INFLOWS, UH, IN THE BEGINNING OF 2024 HAVE CONTINUED TO BE LOW, UM, LOWER THAN NORMAL. UM, AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO EXPERIENCE DROUGHT CONDITIONS, UM, HERE WITHIN THE HIGHLAND LAKE BASIN. IN NEXT SLIDE, COMBINED STORAGE. UM, THIS GRAPH IS SHOWING COMBINED STORAGE THROUGH JANUARY 1ST, 2005 THROUGH MARCH 1ST, 2024. UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY IN DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN STAGE TWO. UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT WE DID EXPERIENCE, UH, A LITTLE JUMP UP IN INFLOWS DURING THE FALL, UM, IN LATE 2023. UM, HOWEVER, SINCE THAT TIME, WE'VE BEEN HOLDING STEADY AT APPROXIMATELY 42% FULL SINCE THE LAST WEEK OF OCTOBER. IF YOU CHECK THE LCRA RIVER OPERATIONS REPORT THIS MORNING, UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE DID GET AN ADDITIONAL PERCENTAGE POINT, UH, TO 43%. UM, IN TERMS OF COMBINED STORAGE, THAT'S NOT ACTUALLY DUE TO INFLOWS. UM, THAT IS BECAUSE THEY INSTALLED A NEW SENSOR ON LIKE BUCHANAN, UM, MONITORING THE LEVEL OF LIKE BUCHANAN THAT ADDED, UM, ABOUT 4.8 INCHES TO THE DEPTH OF LIP BUCHANAN AND, UM, INCREASED, UH, COMBINED STORAGE TO 43%. WELL, YOU KNOW, UM, WHEN THEY PUT IN MORE ACCURATE, ACCURATE MEASURES, IT COULD HAVE GONE THE OTHER WAY. SO I'M GLAD IT WE GOT AN EXTRA PERCENT. YEAH, INSTEAD OF LOSING SOME THROUGH ACCURATE MEASURING. YES, WE WERE ALL VERY EXCITED THIS MORNING TO SEE THAT, UM, ADDITIONAL PERCENTAGE POINT AND THEN READ THE FINE PRINT, UM, ON THE UPDATED CENSORING EQUIPMENT FROM YESTERDAY. NEXT SLIDE. UH, THIS IS A PRODUCT FROM TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD WITH, UM, MAPS AND INFORMATION, UH, FROM THE US DROUGHT MONITOR. IT DOES SHOW, UM, LITTLE CHANGE TO DROUGHT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE STATE. YOU'LL NOTICE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF YOU'VE BEEN TRACKING THESE, UM, DROUGHT MAPS FOR SOME PERIOD OF TIME, THERE HAS BEEN OVER THE PAST, UM, MONTHS AND YEAR A DECREASE IN THE, UM, UH, AREA OF DROUGHT AND THE INTENSITY OF DROUGHT ACROSS THE STATE. UM, HOWEVER, UNFORTUNATELY WE STILL HAVEN'T SEEN RELIEF FROM THE DROUGHT CONDITIONS, UM, WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING HERE IN TERMS OF, UM, UH, LOWER THAN NORMAL INFLOWS INTO THE, UH, HIGHLAND LAKES. NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS A PRODUCT FROM, UM, NOAH SHOWING A THREE MONTH OUTLOOK, AND THAT TITLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN UPDATED, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. UM, FROM MARCH THROUGH MAY OF 2024. THIS IS THE LATEST THREE MONTH OUTLOOK. UM, IT WAS ISSUED A COUPLE OF [00:05:01] WEEKS AGO, FEBRUARY 15TH. UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT ABOUT EQUAL CHANCES OF SEEING AVERAGE SEASONAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOUT EQUAL CHANCES, UM, MAINLY EQUAL CHANCES WITHIN THE, UM, UPPER, UH, COLORADO RIVER BASIN FOR SEEING AVERAGE SEASONAL PRECIP. UM, THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER, WHICH IS ALSO A PART OF NOAH, UM, DOES AS OF, UH, FEBRUARY 8TH HAS INDICATED THAT A TRANSITION FROM EL NINO TO ENZO NEUTRAL IS LIKELY BY THE APRIL TO JUNE, 2024 TIMEFRAME AT ABOUT A 79% CHANCE, AND THAT THERE ARE INCREASING ODDS OF LA NINA DEVELOPING IN THE JUNE THROUGH AUGUST 20, 24 TIMEFRAME AT ABOUT A 55% CHANCE. NEXT SLIDE. UM, THESE ARE COMBINED STORAGE PROJECTIONS PRODUCED BY THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY, UM, FOR LAKE BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS. UM, THIS IS THE, UM, UH, PROJECTION AS OF FEBRUARY 1ST. UH, WE WERE WAITING AND HOPING THAT WE WOULD GET UPDATED PROJECTIONS, UM, BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN THOSE UPLOADED TO THE LCRA WEBSITE JUST YET. UM, WE, UH, CAN FOLLOW UP AFTER THE MEETING, AFTER WE GET COM, UH, YOU KNOW, GET THOSE UPDATED COMBINED STORAGE PROJECTIONS AND SHARE THAT WITH THE TASK FORCE. NEXT SLIDE. ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. OKAY. [3. Update on Reuse Ordinances related to clarifying requirements and modifying variances for Reclaimed Water Connections and Onsite Water Reuse requirements, reauthorizing the Onsite Water Reuse Systems pilot incentive, creating a GoPurple Community Benefit Charge, and approving negotiation and execution of an interlocal agreement related to reclaimed connections for the Travis County Courthouse ] UM, SO NEXT, UH, AH, THE MIC ALWAYS GETS ME. OKAY. THIS LIGHT IS LIKE WHEN IT'S ON, YOU CAN'T SEE IT WHEN IT'S ON OR NOT, OR NOT, BUT YOU CAN HEAR IT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING. SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY PROBLEM IS. UM, SO THIS IS A BIG WEEK. UH, THE ONSITE WATER REUSE ORDINANCES, WHICH WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UM, MORE THAN A COUPLE TIMES ON THIS TASK FORCE, UM, ARE GONNA BE UP AT CITY COUNCIL ON THURSDAY, UM, WHICH IS A BIG DEAL. I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT IT. IT'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK FOR, FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE. AND, UM, BUT WE'RE GONNA HEAR IN DETAIL ABOUT THAT FROM THE, FROM OUR, FROM THE AUSTIN WATER DIRECTOR AND, UM, AND HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS TO LEARN ABOUT THE ORDINANCES THAT ARE COMING FORWARD. AND, UM, AND AS IS THE PROCESS WITH MANY OF THESE THINGS THAT GO TO COUNCIL FOR VOTING AND THEY GO TO DIFFERENT BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS TO GET, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE PEOPLE ON THOSE COMMISSIONS TO HEAR, HEAR ABOUT IT AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS. AND THIS TASK FORCE, IT'S NOT A COMMISSION, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT WE DO HAVE ON THE AGENDA LATER ON A LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THESE. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST REALLY GLAD THAT WE'RE TO THIS REALLY BIG MILESTONE. I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THE DIRECTOR. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON TASK FORCE MEMBERS. UM, MY NAME IS SHAY ROLLS ROLSON, AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER AND APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY. THIS IS, THIS SLIDE DECK, UH, HAS BEEN USED FOR PRESENTATIONS TO A VARIETY OF, UM, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AS WELL AS CITY COUNCIL. UM, SO THERE'S A FEW THINGS IN HERE THAT YOU ALL WILL BE, UH, EVEN MORE FAMILIAR WITH THAN MOST PEOPLE, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL, UH, UH, YOU'LL GET THE FULL PRESENTATION. UM, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WE'LL START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW OF, OF WATER FORWARD, UM, WHICH OF COURSE YOU ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH, AND THEN TALK ABOUT WHAT SOME OF THESE REUSE STRATEGIES ARE. UM, AND OF COURSE, OUR COMMUNITY IS, IS HAVING A CONVERSATION THAT AUSTIN WATER IS DEEPLY INVOLVED WITH ABOUT AFFORDABILITY. AND SO WE RECOGNIZE THE, UM, THE NEED TO ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY IN THE NEAR TERM, EVEN AS WE, UM, MUST MAKE INVESTMENTS FOR THE LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR COMMUNITY. SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT, UH, WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED IN THAT REGARD. UM, AND THEN KEY 2024 ACTIVITIES TO ADVANCE REUSE THAT, UM, UH, A LOT OF THOSE WILL HAPPEN THIS WEEK, UM, ON THURSDAY WHEN CITY COUNCIL, UM, UH, REVIEWS SEVERAL, UH, REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL ACTION RELATED TO THESE UM, INITIATIVES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, AS YOU ALL KNOW, BETTER THAN MOST WATER FORWARD IS AUSTIN'S 100 YEAR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLAN. IT WAS UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN 2018. IT HAS A NUMBER OF DIVERSE STRATEGIES AND IS ADAPTIVE TO GROWTH, DROUGHT, AND CLIMATE CHANGE WITH THE GOAL OF, UH, SUSTAINABLE, RESILIENT, EQUITABLE AND AFFORDABLE WATER [00:10:01] FUTURE FOR OUR COMMUNITY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UM, AS MARISA WAS JUST DISCUSSING, WE GET, UH, ALL OF OUR WATER FROM THE COLORADO RIVER AND THE HIGHLAND LAKES. WE HAVE THREE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS THAT TAKE WATER FROM LAKE TRAVIS AND AUSTIN, DELIVER IT TO OUR CUSTOMERS WHERE IT IS COLLECTED, UM, CONVEYED TO OUR, A NUMBER OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS TO THE TWO MAJOR PLANTS ARE SHOWN HERE, UH, AND THEN DISCHARGED BACK TO THE COLORADO RIVER AND TREATED EFFLUENT FROM THOSE PLANTS, UH, IT'S HIGHLY TREATED AND THEN FURTHER POLISHED AND THEN PUMPED BACK UP INTO OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM FOR NON-DRINKING WATER USES. UM, SO ALL TOLD, WE HAVE A COMBINATION OF UP TO, UH, 325,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR COMBINATION OF RUN OF RIVER RIGHTS AND STORED WATER THROUGH CONTRACTS WITH LCRA IN 1999. WE, UM, AS A COMMUNITY GOT FAIRLY CONCERNED ABOUT OUR WATER RESOURCES AND ENTERED INTO AN ADDITIONAL CONTRACT WITH LCRA, UH, FOR STORED WATER. UM, WE PAID A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS UP FRONT FOR THAT CONTRACT, UM, BUT NO USE FEES UNTIL WE HIT THE TRIGGER, WHICH IS TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS, UM, WHERE OUR WATER USE EXCEEDS 201,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, AT WHICH TIME WE'LL BE AGAIN, MAKING USE PAYMENTS ANNUALLY, UM, INTO THE FUTURE. SO, UM, WE ESTIMATE THAT THOSE USE PAYMENTS ARE, UM, ABOUT $10 MILLION A YEAR OR WOULD BE, AND SO THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL SAVINGS FOR US. AND ALSO, UH, WHEN WE SIGNED THAT CONTRACT, WE THOUGHT WE WOULD HIT THAT TRIGGER BETWEEN 2015 AND 2020. BUT THANKS TO THE INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF WATER CONSERVATION, UM, THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS REALLY LEANED INTO OUR WATER USE LAST YEAR WAS AROUND 175,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR. SO THAT SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT THESE STRATEGIES WORK. UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO LEAN INTO CONSERVATION, AND IT REALLY SPEAKS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM BECAUSE EVERY DROP OF WATER, UM, THAT WE CAN, UH, THAT WE USE, THAT RECLAIMED WATER THAT WE USE IS A DROP OF POTABLE WATER WE DON'T NEED. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UM, WATER FORWARD GUIDING PRINCIPLES, UM, IT'S THIS ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN IS UPDATED ON A FIVE YEAR CYCLE, AS YOU ALL ARE VERY WELL AWARE, WE ARE, UM, WORKING ON THE UPDATED PLAN TO BE SUBMITTED TO COUNCIL AT THE END OF THIS YEAR. UM, AND OF COURSE, PROTECTING THE COLORADO RIVER, UM, REDUCING OPERATIONAL RISKS AND FOCUSING ON OUR LOCAL SUPPLIES, OUR KEY PRINCIPLES. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THE TOP LINE PRINCIPLES MAY LOOK FAMILIAR TO, UM, TO FOLKS WHO ARE ENGAGED THROUGHOUT THE CITY. UH, WE ARE VERY WELL INTEGRATED WITH THE STRATEGIC PLANS, UM, THROUGHOUT THE CITY, SUCH AS THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, AUSTIN ENERGY'S STRATEGIC PLAN, WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT'S, RAIN TO RIVER STRATEGIC PLAN, AND AUSTIN RESOURCES RECOVERY, ZERO WASTE PLAN. UM, ALL OF THESE PLANS REST ON THE THREE-LEGGED STOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE EQUITY, AFFORDABILITY AND RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, OF COURSE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY AND THE RECOGNITION THAT WE KNOW AUSTIN IS GROWING. WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE AND WHEN THAT GROWTH WILL HAPPEN. WE KNOW THE CLIMATE IS CHANGING. UM, WE DON'T, UH, KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THOSE SCENARIOS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE. SO WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR STRATEGIES THAT ADDRESS THE BROADEST RANGE OF, UH, FUTURE SCENARIOS THAT WE CAN. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND OF COURSE, YOU JUST SAW THE 2005 TO PRESENT VERSION OF THIS SLIDE FROM, UM, MARISA. THIS IS THE, UH, COMBINED STORAGE IN LAKE BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS BACK TO WHEN THE DAMS WERE CONSTRUCTED. SO THIS IS THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND LAKES. UM, AND, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, DEEP DROUGHT ON THE LEFT SIDE WAS THE DROUGHT OF THE FIFTIES. THAT WAS OUR DROUGHT OF RECORD FOR A LONG, LONG TIME UNTIL THE MOST RECENT DROUGHT OF 2008 TO 2016, WHICH IS DEEPER AND LONGER. AND OF COURSE, WE'RE IN A, A VERY SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT RIGHT NOW. SO WHAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR ARE STRATEGIES THAT NOT ONLY PROVIDE WATER FOR OUR FUTURE WATER NEEDS, BUT BRIDGE THESE TIMES OF DEEP UNCERTAINTY, UH, FOR US. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OUR STRATEGIES, WE CAN PUT THEM IN FOR BROAD BUCKETS. WE HAVE OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH LCRA, OUR, UM, THIS TASK FORCE, OUR, UH, REGIONAL PLANNING WITH, UH, THE STATE WATER PLAN SUPPLY STRATEGIES, OUR STRATEGIES TO EXPAND, UM, OUR SOURCES OF WATER, OUR CONSERVATION STRATEGIES, WHICH I MENTIONED ALREADY, WHICH ARE THE [00:15:01] DEMAND SIDE OF THAT EQUATION. AND THEN REUSE, WHICH IS REALLY OUR SWITCH HITTER. SO IT'S AN ADDITIONAL SUPPLY BECAUSE IT'S ADDITIONAL MOLECULES OF WATER DELIVERED TO OUR CUSTOMERS. AND ITS CONSERVATION BECAUSE THE MORE REUSE WE USE, THE LESS POTABLE WATER WE NEED. NEXT SLIDE. SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT, UM, WHY NOW AND WHY REUSE AT THE TIME WHEN WE SIGNED THAT CONTRACT WITH LCRA, UM, ON, THAT'S THE PICTURE ON THE LEFT. THAT'S WHAT YOU SAW IF YOU WERE OUT PADDLING ON TOWN LAKE. UM, IF YOU WERE OUT ON LADY BIRD LAKE TODAY, UM, THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT IS WHAT YOU WOULD SEE. SO AUSTIN HAS CHANGED A LOT IN 25 YEARS, AND, UH, WE NEED TO, UM, INVEST NOW TO BE READY FOR WHATEVER HAPPENS IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. AND I THINK I'VE COVERED THIS ALREADY, BUT THE VALUE OF REUSE. YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A, UM, A VALUE ON EVERY LEG OF OUR STOOL, UM, FROM AFFORDABILITY TO RELIABILITY TO ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO THIS ISN'T NEW WORK. THIS IS WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN INVESTED IN IN A LONG TIME FOR A LONG TIME. AND, UM, I'M REALLY, UH, GRATEFUL TO THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE CITY THAT HAVE PARTNERED WITH US ON THIS WORK BECAUSE BY INSTALLING THESE ONSITE WATER REUSE AND RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTIONS TO CITY FACILITIES, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THIS WORKS. UM, SO THE, THE, THE CENTRAL LIBRARY, THIS BUILDING THAT WE'RE SITTING IN TODAY, AE HEADQUARTERS, AS WELL AS A NUMBER OF OTHER DEVELOPMENTS, THIS IS JUST A, A SNAPSHOT, ARE USING RECLAIMED WATER RIGHT NOW TO FLUSH TOILETS, ARE COLLECTING, UH, RAINWATER, AIR CONDITIONING, CONDENSATE AND, UH, STORM WATER AND REUSING IT. THIS BUILDING ACTUALLY HAS A BLACK WATER SYSTEM, WHICH IS NOT WHAT'S REQUIRED UNDER THE PROPOSED ORDINANCES, BUT, UM, UH, IS ALSO A DEMONSTRATION PROJECT OF WHAT THE FUTURE OF WATER, UM, MAY LOOK LIKE FOR THESE TYPES OF BUILDINGS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UM, YOU ALL PROBABLY KNOW THIS, BUT AS A, UM, AS A POINT THAT I'VE MADE IN, IN SEVERAL OF MY OTHER PRESENTATIONS IS WHY PURPLE? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PURPLE PIPE DAY. UM, AND IT'S, IT'S A PRETTY MUNDANE REASON THAT WE HAVE A COLOR COATING SYSTEM IN THE WATER BUSINESS. AND RECLAIMED WATER PIPES ARE PURPLE. SO IF YOU SEE PURPLE PIPES OUT IN THE WILD, THOSE ARE NON-POTABLE WATER PIPES. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, UM, AS I MENTIONED, THIS ISN'T NEW WORK. THIS IS THE NEXT, UH, THE NEXT STEP ALONG OUR PATH. UM, SO, UH, UM, ELEMENTS THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE, WE HAVE THE ONSITE WATER REUSE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, UM, THAT WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. UM, WE HAD A VOLUNTARY RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION INCENTIVE, UM, THAT, UM, AND WE WILL, WE ARE PROPOSING TO CONTINUE, CONTINUE OUR INCENTIVE PROGRAM. UM, ALL DEVELOPMENTS CURRENTLY HAVE TO DO WATER BENCHMARKING, UM, ONSITE, UH, UM, WATER REUSE AND EXTENSION OF THE RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS WERE APPROVED BY COUNSEL. AND WHAT WE ARE DOING NOW IS DEFINING WHAT THOSE REQUIREMENTS ARE. SO THE REQUIREMENTS GO INTO EFFECT APRIL 1ST. AND SO THIS IMPORTANT WORK IS, UM, THAT COUNSEL WILL REVIEW ON THURSDAY IS TO FILL IN THE DETAILS. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UM, OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, SINCE ABOUT THE MID NINETIES, AUSTIN WATER AND THE CITY HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS IN OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM. GOING BACK TO THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER PLANT RECLAIMED WATER INITIATIVE, UH, PHASE ONE A BACK IN 1996. UM, AND THE, THE BARS ON THE BOTTOM, UH, DON'T EXACTLY LINE UP WITH THE YEARS, BUT, UH, ARE THERE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT WE HAVE INVESTED A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN PROJECTS THAT ARE COMPLETED, PIPES, PUMPS, TANKS. UM, WE HAVE $94 MILLION IN PROJECTS THAT ARE ONGOING, AND WE HAVE ANOTHER $203 MILLION IN PLANNED WORK. SO THIS IS A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT FOR AUSTIN WATER IN THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHAT, UM, $194 MILLION WILL BUY YOU, THIS IS WHAT OUR CURRENT CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, UH, LOOKS LIKE TODAY. YOU CAN SEE THE PURPLE BOXES, UM, ON THE RIGHT. THE ONE ON THE NORTH IS THE WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER PLANT. THE ONE ON THE EAST IS THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL WASTEWATER PLANT. AND THEN OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM EXTENDS, UH, WEST FROM THERE INTO THE, UM, THE HEART OF OF AUSTIN. UM, AND PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDERWAY RIGHT NOW WILL CONNECT THOSE TWO SYSTEMS TO HELP THE SYSTEM BE MORE RESILIENT AND ROBUST WITH MULTIPLE SOURCES AND A FULLY CONNECTED, UM, CENTRAL CORE, IF YOU WILL, OF RECLAIMED WATER. UM, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. [00:20:03] SO, UH, AS I MENTIONED AT THE TOP, AFFORDABILITY IS REALLY TOP OF MIND FOR US. AND SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF AFFORDABILITY INCENTIVES THAT ARE PROPOSED, UM, IN THE COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS FOR THURSDAY. UM, WE ALSO WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, AS I MENTIONED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDES. UM, WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY SCALE RECLAIMED WATER, UM, WHICH COULD BE, FOR EXAMPLE, A NEW, UM, DEVELOPING COMMUNITY THAT WOULD INSTALL A SMALL WASTEWATER PLANT LOCALLY IN THE COMMUNITY, TREAT THE WATER TO RECLAIMED WATER STANDARDS, AND THEN REUSE IT RIGHT THERE RATHER THAN PUTTING IT IN THE COLLECTION SYSTEM TO DELIVER IT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE REGIONAL PLANTS. AND THEN BACK UP, UM, AND THEN, UH, ON ONSITE WATER CAPTURE AND REUSE. AND, UM, AGAIN, THIS IS WHERE COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY DEVELOPMENTS WOULD CAPTURE, UH, RAINWATER, STORM WATER, AIR CONDITIONING, CONDENSATE, AND THEN REUSE IT ON SITE. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UM, SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UH, OUR AFFORDABILITY MEASURES, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT INCENTIVES AND GRANTS, UM, THE OPPORTUNITIES TO REDUCE MONTHLY FIXED CHARGES, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT HELPING DEVELOPMENTS GET INTO THE EXPEDITED BUILDING PERMIT REVIEW PROCESS. THERE IS A LOW INTEREST LOAN PROGRAM UNDER CONSIDERATION THAT WOULD BE DEVELOPED BY THE FINANCIAL AND, AND ADMINISTERED BY THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT WITH, UH, INITIAL FUNDING FROM AUSTIN WATER TO LAUNCH THAT, UM, THAT IS IN CONSIDERATION RIGHT NOW. AND THEN COST SHARING, UM, WHICH REALLY SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT, UM, AS YOU SAW ON THE SLIDE OF THE MAP OF OUR EXISTING CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM, THERE IS, THERE'S A LOT OF CITY LEFT TO COVER. AND SO ANYTHING THAT, THAT AUSTIN WATER CAN DO TO HELP INCENTIVIZE MORE, UH, RECLAIMED WATER PIPE IN THE GROUND IS GOOD FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS. UM, AND THEN, UH, THERE ARE, THERE'S A STATE ADMINISTERED PROGRAM CALLED PROPERTY ASSESSED CLEAN ENERGY, UM, AND TRAVIS COUNTY ADMINISTERS, UM, THAT PROJECT HERE LOCALLY, WHICH PROVIDES LOANS FOR BUILDINGS THAT ARE IMPLEMENTING, UM, THESE ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS. WE WROTE A WHITE PAPER ABOUT HOW THAT COULD APPLY TO OUR RECLAIMED WATER INITIATIVES, AND WE'RE PREPARED TO HELP DEVELOPMENTS GO THROUGH THAT PROGRAM AS WELL. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, OF COURSE, ALL OF THESE, UH, FINANCIAL INCENTIVES, UH, REQUIRE FUNDING. SO WE'VE IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF, UH, FUNDING STRATEGIES. UM, ONE IS THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE. WE CURRENTLY HAVE A COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE OF 15 CENTS PER THOUSAND GALLONS, WHICH FUNDS OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR OUR, UH, LOW INCOME AND MOST VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS. UM, THIS WOULD ADD AN ADDITIONAL 15 CENTS THAT WOULD BE DEDICATED TO FUNDING THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM EXPANSION, UM, AND ONSITE WATER REUSE PROGRAMS. UH, OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANT PROGRAM CUSTOMERS DO NOT PAY THE CBC, SO THEY WOULD NOT PAY THIS, UM, FEE AS WELL. BUT EVERY, ALL OF OUR OTHER CUSTOMERS WOULD PAY THIS FEE. UM, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT A VOLUNTARY RATE PROGRAM. SO WE'RE IN A COST OF SERVICE STUDY RIGHT NOW LOOKING AT OUR PROPOSED RATES, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR TO BEGIN FISCAL YEAR 2025. AND, UM, WE'RE, WE'LL BE ADDING THIS VOLUNTARY RATE WHERE, UM, PEOPLE WHO REALLY WANNA DO MORE CAN, AND IT'LL BE MODELED AFTER AUSTIN ENERGY'S GREEN CHOICE PROGRAM FROM SEVERAL YEARS AGO, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO REMEMBER THAT. UM, AND THEN AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, I, I MENTIONED THAT DEVELOPMENT NOW ARE REQUIRED TO DO WATER BENCHMARKING AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE. WE WILL BE LOOKING AT HOW WE CAN, UM, CHARGE MORE WHEN THE, UH, POTABLE WATER ALLOTMENTS FROM THE WATER BENCHMARKING FORM ARE EXCEEDED, UM, WHICH WOULD HELP US IMPLEMENT SORT OF A, UM, INCLINE RATE STRUCTURE LIKE WE HAVE ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE, ON THE COMMERCIAL SIDE. UM, BUT THAT'S, UH, NOT PROPOSED TO GO INTO EFFECT AT THIS TIME, BUT THAT'S A FUTURE STRATEGY. AND THEN WE'VE ALSO, UM, NOT ON THE SLIDE, BUT WE'VE ALSO, THROUGH THE COURSE OF OUR, UM, CONVERSATIONS AS WE'VE BEEN ROLLING TOWARD MARCH 7TH COUNCIL DAY, WE ARE LOOKING AT LARGE DEVELOPMENTS, UM, THAT ARE GREATER THAN 500 FEET FROM OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM AND HAVE MULTI-FAMILY THAT THEY CAN INSTALL DUAL PLUMBING AND THEN PAY A FEE IN LIEU OF, [00:25:01] UM, HAVING TO IN INSTALL ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS. SO, UM, THE GOAL THROUGH ALL OF THESE IS REALLY JUST TO HAVE A LOT OF TOOLS IN OUR TOOLBOX IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD EFFECTIVELY. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, A QUICK SUMMARY OF WHAT THE CURRENT AND PROPOSED REQUIREMENTS ARE. SO CURRENTLY, UM, SMALL DEVELOPMENTS LESS THAN 250,000 SQUARE FEET ARE REQUIRED TO CONNECT TO THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER IF THEY ARE WITHIN 250 FEET. AND THAT IS NOT PROPOSED TO CHANGE, UM, UH, AT THIS TIME LARGE DEVELOPMENTS, UM, SO THAT'S GREATER THAN 250,000 SQUARE FEET THAT DO NOT HAVE MULTIFAMILY ARE CURRENTLY REQUIRED TO CONNECT TO RECLAIMED WATER IF THEY'RE WITHIN 500 FEET. AND THAT, UM, THAT WILL REMAIN AS WELL AS, UH, THEY WILL BE REQUIRED TO INSTALL AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM AND USE IT, UM, FOR ALL THE USES THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER, INCLUDING TOILET FLUSHING, WHICH WILL REQUIRE, UH, DUAL PLUMBING OF THEIR, UM, BUILDINGS. AND THEN LARGE DEVELOPMENTS WITH MULTIFAMILY CURRENTLY HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENTS AS SMALL DEVELOPMENTS. AND, UM, WE ARE PROPOSING TO, THEY WILL GO TO HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENTS AS THE, AS THE OTHER LARGE DEVELOPMENTS WITHOUT MULTIFAMILY. SO CONNECT WITHIN 500 FEET AND OR INSTALL ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM, INCLUDING DUAL PLUMBING, UM, FOR TOILET FLUSHING. UM, AND WE ARE PROPOSING TO EXCLUDE PROJECTS THAT ARE ACCREDITED BY THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT FOR AFFORDABILITY UNLOCKED, UH, OR FOR THE STATE LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT. UM, AND THESE, THAT IS THE CATEGORY THAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO PAY A FEE IN LIEU OF THE ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO OUR, OUR, OUR KEY ACTIVITIES ARE PRIMARILY AROUND, UH, WHAT IS TODAY, TUESDAY, TWO DAYS FROM NOW, THURSDAY, MARCH 7TH, PURPLE PIPE DAY. UM, AND THAT WILL INCLUDE, UH, A NUMBER OF REQUESTS FOR COUNCIL ACTION INCLUDING CODE CHANGES, UM, RELATED TO DEFINING WHAT AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM IS AND WHAT THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM CONNECTION REQUIREMENTS ARE. UH, REAUTHORIZING THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM, AS I MENTIONED, UM, THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE AND, AND A CELEBRATION OF A NEW INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WHERE WE ARE PARTNERING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY TO EXTEND RECLAIMED WATER LINE TO THE NEW COUNTY COURTHOUSE, WHICH IS ALREADY DUAL PLUMED AND READY FOR US TO GET THERE. UM, AND THEN, UH, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE, THE FEE ITEM THAT WILL COME FORWARD WITH OUR BUDGET ADOPTION IN AUGUST. NEXT SLIDE. AND WITH THAT, I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND I HAVE A LOT OF SMART PEOPLE HERE TO HELP ME ANSWER THEM. I'D JUST LIKE THE RECORD TO SHOW THAT RICHARD HOFF POWER IS VERY SNAPPILY DRESSED IN A PURPLE SHIRT TODAY. , DO WE HAVE ANY, UM, QUESTIONS? I SEE BILL WITH HIS HAND UP. GO AHEAD. BILL, TWO QUESTIONS. THE 50% CHARGE TO FUND THE PURPLE PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM. UH, HAVE YOU ALL DEVELOPED THE RULES ON HOW WE GET AT THAT MONEY? AND I PRESUME IT'S NOT GOING TO BE DROPPED INTO THE CIP PROGRAM. IT'S GOING TO BE SEPARATE AS AN INCENTIVE FOR OTHERS TO, UH, EXTEND LIVES. SHAY, CAN YOU REPEAT HIS QUESTION? 'CAUSE IT WAS A LITTLE CHOPPY. IT WAS, I BELIEVE THE QUESTION IS HOW WE WILL ACCOUNT FOR THE 15 CENT COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE FEE. UM, IT WILL NOT GO INTO THE CAP PROGRAM, WHICH IS ALREADY FUNDED BY A SIMILAR CHARGE. IT WILL BE, UM, IT WILL BE ACCOUNTED FOR, UM, TO GO ONLY TO RECLAIMED WATER, UM, AND ONSITE WATER REUSE. UM, AND I BELIEVE OUR, YEAH, WE'LL LET JOSEPH GONZALEZ SPEAK MORE DIRECTLY TO THAT QUESTION. UH, THAT, THAT'S CORRECT. UM, YOU KNOW, ALTHOUGH WE, WE DO MAINTAIN A, UH, SEPARATE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE FUND. UH, SO FROM A FUNDING PURPOSE OR FROM A FUNDING PERSPECTIVE, UH, THE REVENUE WOULD GO INTO THAT FUND. UH, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THAT IT WOULD BE USED, UH, PRIMARILY FOR, FOR, UH, TWO, TWO GENERAL COST ITEMS. ONE IS, YOU KNOW, IN INCENTIVIZING, UM, ONSITE REUSE. UM, BUT WE, WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT WE WOULD ALSO USE, UH, SOME OF THE FUNDING TO FUND, UM, TO SUPPORT OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS AND OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM TO, UH, ACCELERATE THE, [00:30:01] UM, THE SYSTEM GROWTH FOR OUR RECLAIM SYSTEM. YEAH, I DON'T LIKE THAT AS MUCH. UH, JUST DROPPING THIS MONEY IN THE SOUP WITH THE REGULAR PURPLE PIPE PROGRAM, I KIND OF THOUGHT THIS 15% DEAL, WHICH IS WORTH 4.1 MILLION A YEAR, WAS GOING TO BE USED TO BUILD PURPLE PIPE FOR PEOPLE THAT OTHERWISE WOULDN'T BUILD IT WITHOUT AN INCENTIVE. BUT YOU'RE SAYING THAT'S NOT THE CASE? NO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, UH, WANTING AGAIN TO ACCELERATE THE GROWTH OF, OF THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM AND, AND SUPPLEMENTING THE EXISTING FUNDING FOR, YOU KNOW, THE, THE RECLAIMED UH, THE RECLAIMED CAPITAL PROGRAM, UH, IS THE FASTEST, QUICKEST WAY TO, UM, TO EXPAND OUR SYSTEM AND TO ADD MORE CUSTOMERS, UH, TO THE RECLAIMED PROGRAM. BUT, BUT ANYWAYS, IS THERE GONNA BE A RULE BOOK ON HOW WE GET AT THIS MONEY? IS SOMEONE GONNA WRITE THE RULES, HOW IT, HOW IT WORKS? OR DO WE JUST SHOW UP AT THE WATER DEPARTMENT AND SAY, I WANNA EXTEND THE LINE, I'D LIKE MY MONEY? WELL, THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM IS, IS, AND, AND KEVIN MAY BE ABLE TO BETTER ANSWER THIS QUESTION, BUT THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM IS AN EXISTING PROGRAM THAT WE'RE ASKING COUNCIL TO, TO EXTEND AND REAUTHORIZE. UM, SO WE, WE'VE GOT RULES, UH, AROUND THE, THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM AND UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE ARE LOOKING AT DEVELOPING A BUDGET TO, TO ALLOCATE THE FUNDING INTO THOSE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS, INCENTIVES, UM, YOU KNOW, COST SHARING AND, AND, UM, SUPPLEMENTING OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM BUDGETS. THERE'S ALREADY, THE RULES ARE WRITTEN AND I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT IT. YES. OKAY. SECOND QUESTION. UH, ONE THING, UH, I I WOULD SAY ABOUT ALL THE PURPLE PIPE AND THE MILEAGE OF LINES, I THINK WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF BUILDING LINES, BUT WHAT WE'VE NOT DONE A GOOD JOB OF IS GETTING PEOPLE TO HOOK UP TO THE LINES. AND I WONDER IF THE WATER DEPARTMENT WOULD CONSIDER, UH, PERFORMING A STUDY WHERE WE LOOK AT THE, UH, TENS OF, UH, OR, OR HOW MANY MILES OF LINES THAT WE ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE AND SEE HOW MANY CUSTOMERS WHO, WHO COULD BE EDUCATED AS TO THE VALUE OF THIS WOULD BE WILLING TO HOOK ON. BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY WITH ALL THE LINE WE PUT IN, WE'RE ONLY RECYCLING 3% OF OUR EFFLUENT. AND I'M JUST WONDERING IF THERE WEREN'T SOME TARGETS THAT ARE ALREADY HAVE A LINE SITTING IN THE STREET AND IF SOME KNOWLEDGEABLE PURPOSE OF A WATER DEPARTMENT TALK TO THE PEOPLE THEY GET CONVINCED ON THE HOOKUP. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THAT? SO WE ARE AWARE OF A NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS THAT ARE WITHIN WHAT WE WOULD CALL STRIKING DISTANCE OF THE EXISTING RECLAIM LINE. UM, WE DO HAVE A VARIETY OF OUTREACH THAT, THAT, UM, TRIES TO TOUCH, UH, THOSE PARTICULAR, UM, CUSTOMERS. WE ALSO HAVE GRANT FUNDS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO EXTEND THE LINE TO EXISTING CUSTOMERS THAT AREN'T OTHERWISE CONNECTED OR REQUIRED TO CONNECT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. SO, UM, IT IS AN ACTIVE EFFORT THAT GOES ON KIND OF EVERY DAY IN THE WEEK. AND WE DO IT, UM, BOTH FROM OUR CONSERVATION STAFF AS WELL AS OUR PROJECT STAFF. WE WERE ACTUALLY WORKING ON RECLAIMED LINES, UM, AS WELL AS OUR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT STAFF. SO WE'RE ALL AWARE OF IT, UH, AND WE ARE WORKING THAT, UM, I WOULD SAY FAIRLY ACTIVELY. DOES THAT PROGRAM THAT YOU DO, IS IT, DOES IT MEET WITH REGULAR SUCCESS OR NOT? I WOULD SAY WE HAVEN'T HAD WILD SUCCESS IN THAT PARTICULAR REGARD, BUT, UH, WE CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS AND, UH, LOOK FOR THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AS BEST WE CAN. HOW MUCH SUCCESS WOULD YOU SAY YOU'VE HAD? I DON'T HAVE THAT INFORMATION IN FRONT OF ME. I CAN CERTAINLY FIND THAT OUT. OKAY. ALRIGHT. I'M GOOD. THANK YOU. WELL, ONE OF THE MAYBE POSITIVE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE SUMMER THAT WE SEEM TO BE HEADING INTO, IS THERE MAYBE MORE INTEREST IN HOOKING UP TO THOSE LINES? UM, DO WE HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE TASK FORCE OR RESPONSES? UH, JUST PAUL, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT FOR PAUL TO GO. SORRY PAUL, JUST CALM DOWN. DON'T WORRY. . UM, OKAY, THANKS. UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE EXCESS USAGE FEES. UM, YOU MENTIONED THAT THESE ARE NOT, UH, UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR THIS PARTICULAR GO ROUND IN FRONT OF THE COUNCIL, BUT THERE FOR SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE. AND I WAS WONDERING, UH, LIKE WHEN YOU WERE EXPECTING TO BRING THOSE FORTH FOR CONSIDERATION? SO THE, WE HAD IN RECENT YEARS, WE STARTED THE WATER BENCHMARKING. UH, AND SO THAT'S ALLOWING US TO REALLY COLLECT A LOT OF GOOD DATA AROUND HOW THAT EXCESS USAGE FEE COULD BE REASONABLY APPLIED. AND [00:35:01] SO WE NEED TO GIVE THAT SOME TIME TO MATURE. AND SO I WOULD SAY IT'S, IT'S, YOU KNOW, NOT NEXT YEAR, BUT NOT 10 YEARS FROM NOW, IF THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH. . YEAH, THAT'S HELPFUL. I MEAN, I JUST WONDER ALSO, 'CAUSE WE ARE THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, HOW THAT, UH, PLAYS INTO OUR PLAN. I MEAN, IS IT, I DON'T HAVE ALL THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN FRONT OF ME, BUT IS IT, IS THERE, LIKE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT IS LIKE, WE'RE KIND OF BANKING ON IT BE BECOMING LIVE AT SOME POINT? UM, YEAH, WE WILL BE, UM, THE, THE BENCHMARKING IS A PART OF THE DATA-DRIVEN WATER USE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, WHICH KIND OF ENCAPSULATES ALL OF THE, UM, HOPEFULLY BEHAVIORAL AND FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL IMPROVEMENTS TO WATER EFFICIENCY THAT WE CAN PROMOTE AS A RESULT OF GATHERING THE DATA THAT DR. ROLSON WAS MENTIONING. SO LIKE WITH THE COMMERCIAL COMPONENT THAT SHE'S DISCUSSING IS SIMILAR TO, YOU KNOW, OUR INCREASED ABILITY TO PROVIDE THAT KINDA INFORMATION TO, TO ALL OF OUR CUSTOMER CLASSES OVER TIME. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE, UM, EVALUATING IN TERMS OF WHEN WE'LL HAVE SUFFICIENT DATA. AND THAT ALSO HINGES OFF OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE COMPLETION OF OUR A MI PROJECT AND BEING ABLE TO UTILIZE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO GATHER WITH OUR ADVANCED METERING PROJECT. SO, SO THOSE ARE, I THINK THE, THE DIRECT ANSWERS THAT WE'LL BE SORT OF, UM, TALKING ABOUT WHAT THE RANGE OF POTENTIAL SAVINGS COULD BE, DEPENDING ON HOW AGGRESSIVELY WE CAN LIKE ADDRESS THAT, THAT DATA MANAGEMENT QUESTION AND, UM, CHALLENGE AND THEN HOW WE CAN SORT OF MOBILIZE THAT AND TURN IT INTO WATER SAVINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, POLICIES AND RATE STRUCTURES. AND JUST AS A NOTE, THE LAST WATER FOUR PLAN 2018, WATER BUDGETING AS A COMPONENT OF WATER BENCHMARKING WAS A RECOMMENDED STRATEGY. THE WATER BUDGETING COMPONENT WAS RECOMMENDED FOR IMPLEMENTATION IN THE 2030S. AND JUST, GIL, TELL ME IF I'M WRONG, 'CAUSE I DON'T WORK FOR AUSTIN WATER, BUT I PRETEND TO ON OCCASION OR A BIT MISTAKEN FOR IT. SO, SO PAUL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, IN MY MIND ABOUT, ABOUT THIS PROGRAM IS WE DO HAVE AN EXPECTATION IN THE FUTURE THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE WATER SUPPLIES AND WATER SAVINGS FROM THIS. BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RELYING ON THE INDIVIDUALS SPREAD ACROSS AUSTIN AND THE BUILDINGS TO BRING THAT SUPPLY. SO BASED ON THE BENCHMARKING, UM, YOU HAVE A KIND OF REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF THE NON POTABLE AND POTABLE WATER USE. SO LIKE WE'VE GOT THIS INFORMATION, UM, BUT I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT FACILITIES AROUND TOWN THAT HAVE BIG RAINWATER TANKS ON 'EM, THAT THEY DON'T ACTUALLY USE 'EM, THEY'RE NOT IN OPERATION, THINGS LIKE THAT. LIKE, SO I THINK IT'S AN INCENTIVE TO, TO MAINTAIN THOSE SYSTEMS, KEEP RUNNING THEM, UM, GET, GENERATE THAT WATER ON SITE THAT THE CITY IS EXPECTING AND THEN, YOU KNOW, GETTING CHARGED THE INCREASED FEE IF YOU GO OVER OR IF YOU AREN'T FULLY UTILIZING THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM AS PLANNED OR DESIGNED, THAT THAT'S AN INCENTIVE TO GO AHEAD AND DO IT. AND, AND, UM, AND I BELIEVE MAYBE, UM, THAT SAN FRANCISCO HAS EITHER STARTED DOING THIS OR IS GOING TO DO TO DO THIS WITH, WITH THEIR KIND OF ONSITE REUSE REQUIREMENT IS THAT THERE'S THIS, YOU KNOW, BUDGET AND IF YOU GO OVER, IF YOU STOP USING THE SYSTEM. SO IT'S LIKE KINDA THOSE CHECKS AND BALANCES THAT, THAT THAT'S ALL THERE. BUT I THINK THAT, AND OVERALL IT'S REALLY A, WE WANT EVERYBODY TO UTILIZE THIS SYSTEM AND TO REAP THE BENEFITS OF IT, BUT ALSO WE HAVE TO COUNT ON THESE SYSTEMS BEING USED IN ORDER TO GET THE SAVINGS WE'RE LOOKING FOR. Y'ALL CAN FIRE ME IF I GOT THAT WRONG, BUT THAT'S MY TAKE ON IT. I THINK THAT'S TOTALLY FAIR AND YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT. I THINK I JUST, UH, I WOULD, I WOULD PREFER IF WE WERE AGGRESSIVE ABOUT IT, LIKE YOU, YOU KNOW, LIKE I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO TIPTOE AROUND IT. THIS IS, THIS IS A GOOD POLICY OPTION THAT I WOULD, I DON'T WANT IT TO JUST GET LIKE SORT OF LOST LIKE IT'S SORT OF LATER, LIKE KIND OF SHOULD START GETTING IT GOING, I THINK . UM, SO ANYWAY, MY 2 CENTS AND, AND THAT'S THE INTENT. JUST, JUST A QUICK QUESTION ON THE, UH, PROPOSED ORDINANCE. WHEN IT, WHEN IT SAYS, UH, ON SITE REUSE, THAT THAT, UH, GENERALLY IT'S PROBABLY GONNA MEAN RAINWATER HARVESTING AND CONDENSATE HARVESTING, BUT IT COULD BE LIKE, WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS HERE WITH BLACKWATER HARVESTING OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? IT'S, IT'S INTENDED FOR THE, UH, COMMERCIAL MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT TO BE PRIMARILY RAINWATER AND CONDENSATE. WE WE'RE NOT ANTICIPATING BLACKWATER AT THIS TIME, AND THAT'S CERTAINLY NOT A REQUIREMENT, THE CONSTANT STRUGGLE WITH THE MIC. [00:40:01] UM, ANY MORE QUESTIONS? SARAH, DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? YES. YEAH, THAT LAST COMMENT JUST MADE ME REALIZE I, THIS IS JUST KIND OF CLARIFICATION ON HOW THIS ALL WORKS. UM, SO FORGIVE ME IF THIS IS NOT A GOOD QUESTION. IF YOU ARE DOING AC CONDENSATE AND RAINWATER HARVESTING, UM, YOU'RE USING THAT WATER ON THE ONSITE REUSE, YOU'RE USING THAT WATER, UM, IN THE BUILDING OR FOR IRRIGATION, WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS, DO YOU GET MORE BENEFIT IF SOMEONE'S HOOKED UP TO THE PURPLE PIPE BECAUSE THEY CAN USE THAT IN THE BUILDING FOR NON-POTABLE USES AND FOR IRRIGATION. BUT IF THEY'RE DOING ONSITE REUSE, REUSING THE WATER FROM THEIR BUILDING FOR NON-POTABLE USES, IS IT, DOES IT CREATE ENOUGH TO ALSO DO IRRIGATION? CATHERINE ZINSKI'S COMING UP? I BELIEVE IF WE ASK ENOUGH QUESTIONS, WE CAN HAVE EVERY STAFF PERSON HERE TO HELP ANSWER A QUESTION. WE'VE GOT LIKE TWO MORE TO THREE MORE TO GO. SO THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RECLAIMED CONNECTIONS AND ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME. UM, SO IF YOU HAVE THOSE NON-POTABLE USES WITHIN YOUR BUILDING, UH, TOILET AND URINAL FLUSHING, IRRIGATION OR COOLING, UM, IF YOU HAVE AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM, YOU'D BE USING THE, THE RAINWATER AND CONDENSATE FOR THOSE SAME USES. UM, AND IF YOU HAVE RECLAIMED WATER, YOU WOULD ALSO BE USING 'EM FOR THOSE SAME USES. DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? WELL, I WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE, WHICH, WHICH OPTION IS MORE OF LIKE A NET BENEFIT TO OUR WATER SYSTEM AS A WHOLE. SO IF YOU HAVE RECLAIMED, YOU CAN USE IT FOR NON-POTABLE USES, BUT THEN YOU MIGHT ALSO USE IT FOR LIKE YOUR LANDSCAPING IRRIGATION. YEAH. AND SO I WAS JUST WONDERING LIKE IF YOU'RE DOING THE ONSITE WATER REUSE, ARE YOU GENERATING ENOUGH WATER TO DO YOUR NON-POTABLE AND OFFSET LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION IN LIKE, THE TYPICAL TYPE OF BUILDING THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED UNDER ORDINANCES? YEAH, SO I, I WOULD SAY THAT GENERALLY RECLAIMED WATER IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO OFFSET MORE, UM, A NON-POTABLE DEMAND THAN A RAINWATER AC CONDENSATE CAPTURE SYSTEM. UH, BECAUSE IT'S A FIRM SUPPLY, IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S BACK, IT'S ALL COMING FROM THE, THE CENTRALIZED SYSTEM, WHEREAS THE RAINWATER CONDENSATE SYSTEMS ARE BASED ON HOW MUCH YOU CAN GENERATE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR DEVELOPMENT. UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME DEVELOPMENTS WITH REALLY LARGE ROOFS THAT ARE ABLE TO MEET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEIR DEMAND. IT JUST IS KIND OF, UM, BASED ON THE PROJECT SPECIFICS. OKAY. AM I LOOKING OKAY, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOLKS? JUST, JUST THE, OH, I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. UM, SORRY. UM, FOR THE, IN LIEU OF FEES, HAVE WE DETERMINED WHAT THEY WOULD BE, WOULD IT BE DETERMINED SPECIFIC ON THE, THE SIZE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OR IS THAT STILL IN THE WORKS? UM, THE CONCEPT IN THE IS THAT A DEVELOPMENT THAT IS TWO MORE THAN 500 FEET FROM THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, UM, WOULD DUAL PLUM THEIR BUILDING. AND THEN IF THEY, UH, OPTED TO, RATHER THAN CONSTRUCTING AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM, COULD PAY THE FEE IN LIEU AND THAT FEE WOULD BE BASED ON ESSENTIALLY WHAT THEY WOULD HAVE SPENT TO CONNECT THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM. SO 500 FEET OF WHATEVER DIAMETER PIPE THEY REQUIRE. AND WE ESTABLISH THAT, UM, THAT DOLLAR VALUE ON THE BASIS OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT AND PREPARE EVERY YEAR RELATED TO WHAT OUR COSTS ARE FOR PIPELINE INSTALLATION. OKAY. I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING THE COST SAVINGS AS WELL AS ADDRESSING THE AFFORDABILITY ISSUES IN THE PRESENTATION. IT'S VERY HELPFUL. UM, OKAY. JUST ONE THING I WANTED TO SAY IS, FIRST OFF, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS AND UM, I KNOW IT'S BEEN A REAL, AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF WORK TO GET TO THIS, TO GET TO THIS PLACE. UM, ESPECIALLY, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW, BUT I FEEL LIKE CATHERINE AND YOUR, YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE CREATED THIS FROM THE GROUND UP FROM THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, AND DONE LOTS OF QUIET WORK. I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY MOUNTAINS OF IT BACK THERE, UM, THAT, THAT Y'ALL [00:45:01] ARE TAKING CARE OF TO REALLY ROLL THIS OUT. SO, UM, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. THIS IS A, A BIG DEAL. UM, AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DIRECTOR ROLSON SAID AT CITY COUNCIL, AND IT'S REFLECTED IN THIS LETTER THAT WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT IN A MINUTE, BUT IT WAS NOT YOUR PRESENTATION TODAY WAS, YOU KNOW, IN 2040, UM, BY YEAR 2040, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, GENERATING FROM THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIM LINE AND THE ONSITE WATER SYSTEMS THAT ARE PUT IN PLACE, 16 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY. UM, WHICH WAS, I BELIEVE SOMEBODY DID LIKE 10% OF OUR SUMMER PROJECTED SUMMER USAGE OR OUR CURRENT, I DON'T KNOW IF, BUT IT'S A LOT. IT'S A NOT AN INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF WATER. SO, UM, THIS IS, UM, A, A SMALL BUT MIGHTY AND NOT INSIGNIFICANT WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND REALLY WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF THOSE TYPES OF STRATEGIES REALLY STACKED UP. 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE JUST ONE STRATEGY THAT SOLVES EVERYTHING FOR US. AND THIS IS ONE THAT REALLY IS IN OUR CONTROL AND WE HAVE TO INVEST IN IT AND MANAGE IT IN A REALLY DIFFERENT WAY THAN WATER UTILITIES ARE USED TO DOING AND MAY BE COMFORTABLE. SO THANK YOU AUSTIN WATER FOR LEANING IN AS A PERSON THAT LIVES IN AUSTIN. I'M, I AM. UM, I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE DOING THAT. UM, AND I FEEL LIKE OUR WATER FUTURE IS MORE SECURE THAN IT WOULD BE OTHERWISE. UM, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER ON THIS AGENDA ITEM? I'M GONNA MOVE IN. I'M GONNA SKIP FORWARD TO ACT TO NUMBER SIX, WHICH IS AN ACTION ITEM IF WE DON'T, OKAY. UM, [6. Approve a letter from the Water Forward Task Force to the Austin City Council regarding voting items on the March 7, 2024, Austin City Council agenda related to implementing Water Forward reuse and reclaimed strategies ] SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO AGENDA ITEM SIX, UM, FOR THE FOLKS HERE. THE SECOND TO THE LAST PAGE IN YOUR PACKET IS A, OH, THERE'S SOMETHING PRINTED ON THE BACK. IT'S A, IS A DRAFT LETTER FROM THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE TO CITY COUNCIL. MY UNDERSTANDING IS IF WE APPROVE THIS, THAT IT WILL BE ADDED TO THE LATE BACKUP FOR CITY COUNCIL. UM, AND, AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL'S MEETING ON THURSDAY. UM, THE SEVENTH FOLKS, UM, CAN ATTEND IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY IF YOU WANNA ATTEND VIRTUALLY AND MAKE COMMENTS. I THINK YOU HAVE TO SIGN UP BY NOON TOMORROW TO DO SO. IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY. SO, UM, BUT I WANTED TO GIVE EVERYONE, IF YOU HAVEN'T LOOKED AT IT YET, LET'S JUST TAKE A MINUTE TO READ THIS LETTER AND THEN IF WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION WE CAN HAVE IT OR IF WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE IT. PAUL, I JUST HAVE A QUESTION. YEAH. ON, I MEAN, 'CAUSE IT'S RELATED TO THE REUSE AND THE LETTER BECAUSE WE TALKED SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM IN HERE AND SUPPORTING IT. UM, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY. SO WITH THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM, IT'S ONLY APPLICABLE TO DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT ARE NOT OTHERWISE COVERED BY THE ORDINANCE CHANGE, RIGHT? LIKE IT'S VOLUNTARY FOR SOMEONE WHO OTHERWISE WOULD YEAH. NOT HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE CODE CHANGES THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING BE IMPLEMENTED. IS THAT CORRECT? SO, UM, THERE ARE, SO FOR EXAMPLE, FOR SMALL DEVELOPMENTS, UM, THE DEVELOPER WOULD PAY, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO CONNECT WITHIN 250 FEET, SO THEY PAY FOR THAT. UM, BUT THERE'S AN INCENTIVE WHERE AUSTIN WATER WOULD PAY FOR THEM TO CONNECT BETWEEN 251 AND 500 FEET FOR SMALL DEVELOPMENTS. UM, THEN ON LARGE DEVELOPMENTS THEY PAY FOR THE FIRST 250 FEET. WE WOULD COST PARTICIPATE WITH THEM UP TO 50% TO GO FROM TWO 50 TO 500. SO THERE THE REQUIREMENT IS FOR THEM TO GO TO 500, BUT WE'RE STILL OFFERING AN INCENTIVE TO HELP GET THESE PROJECTS BUILT AND IMPLEMENTED. UM, AND THEN IF THEY'RE FARTHER THAN 500 FEET AND THEY WANT TO CONNECT, WE CAN LOOK AT THAT ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. UM, AND THOSE CUSTOMER SPECIFIC AGREEMENTS WOULD GO TO CITY COUNCIL. SO THAT'S GENERALLY, THAT'S THERE'S, I COULD GO THROUGH ALL THE INS AND OUTS, BUT THAT KIND OF GIVES YOU A FLAVOR OF WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO SORT OF, UM, USE THESE TOOLS IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. NO, THAT'S PERFECT. THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT. UM, ANY OTHER, DO WE HAVE TO DO A MOTION FIRST AND THEN DISCUSSION? HOW DOES THAT WORK? WE NEVER DO. THAT'S VOTING WORK. I'LL MAKE A, I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LETTER. I'LL SECOND. OKAY. WHO IS THAT? SARAH. OKAY. THANK YOU. ASK, I WASN'T LOOKING UP THAT HE CAN ASK. ALL RIGHT. ANY DISCUSSION ON THE LETTER? THANK YOU ALL MY PARLIAMENTARIAN PHONE OF FRIENDS. ROBERT'S RULES. ROBERT'S RULES. THANK YOU ROBERT MACE. . ANY DISCUSSION? OKAY, UM, [00:50:01] I GUESS LET'S HAVE A VOTE. ALL IN FAVOR OF, UM, OF APPROVING THIS LETTER FROM THE TASK FORCE AND CONVEYING IT TO CITY COUNCIL. LOOKS UNANIMOUS. LOOKS, IS THAT HANEY IS YOUR HAND UP? I CAN'T TELL . OKAY. UM, YEAH. ALRIGHT. UM, ANY OPPOSED? THERE'S NOBODY LEFT TO OPPOSE IT, BUT, OKAY. SO, UM, WE WILL GET THIS LETTER FINALIZED AND APPLY THE PROPER THINGS AND GET IT CONVEYED. ONE THING I DO WANNA SAY, SINCE WE'VE ALL AP APPROVED, THIS IS, UM, OUR FEARLESS, UH, VICE LEADER HERE. ROBERT MACE HAS, UM, AGREED TO ATTEND CITY COUNCIL ON THURSDAY. AGREED HE HAS TIME AND HIS SCHEDULE TWO AND IS DELIGHTED TO ATTEND CITY COUNCIL ON THURSDAY AND WILL, UM, CONVEY THE TASK FORCE TASK FORCE'S SUPPORT FOR THIS. VANESSA. JENNIFER, I JUST WASN'T SURE. I COULDN'T HEAR HH WERE YOU ABSTAINING OR WERE YOU VOTING IN FAVOR OF THE LETTER? I STILL, I YOU'RE MUTED IF YOU'RE TALKING HANEY. I THOUGHT I SAW HIS HAND GO UP, BUT I MIGHT HAVE. YEAH. OKAY. CAN, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEP. YES. YES. I, I, I, I THINK THIS IS A, THIS IS GOOD, BUT I AM RECUSING MYSELF FOR THE REASONS. OH, OKAY. OKAY. OKAY. PERFECT. THANK YOU. VANESSA. I CAN SEE YOUR HAND GO UP. SO I WANTED TO JUST CLARIFY THAT, JENNIFER. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. OKAY, NO PROBLEM. ALRIGHT, GOT IT. SO ABSTAIN FROM HANEY. OKAY. ALRIGHT. JUST ONE WANTED TO CLARIFY ONE THING. YEAH. UH, IN TERMS OF PUBLIC COMMENT, UM, UH, THE WATER FOUR TASK FORCE MEMBERS CAN SIGN UP TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF THESE ITEMS. UM, IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK REMOTELY, THEY NEED TO REGISTER, UM, ONLINE BY NOON TOMORROW. IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK IN PERSON AT THE COUNCIL MEETING, YOU CAN SIGN UP TO SPEAK UNTIL THE MEETING STARTS AT 10:00 AM MM-HMM. ON MARCH 7TH. SO JUST, YOU HAVE TWO DEADLINES BASED ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANNA SPEAK REMOTELY OR IN PERSON REMOTELY TOMORROW AT NOON IN PERSON UP UNTIL THE MEETING STARTS, UM, AT 10:00 AM ON MARCH 7TH. YEAH. AND YOU CAN ALSO DON'T HAVE TO SPEAK AND SIGN UP IN FAVOR OR AGAINST, YOU KNOW, UM, AN ITEM. SO, SO YOU CAN, AND I DON'T KNOW, I'LL FIGURE OUT BEFORE THE END OF THIS WHAT THE, WHAT THE ITEM NUMBERS ARE BECAUSE SOMETIMES THERE'S A LOT TO SCROLL THROUGH. ARE THESE IT? YES. OH, OKAY. THERE'S A BACKUP SHEET THAT LISTS TO THE ITEM NUMBERS AND THOSE RELATE TO THE ITEM ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA. YEAH. SO THAT HELPS. 'CAUSE SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO SCROLL THROUGH A LOT. SO IF YOU DO WANNA SIGN UP IN FAVOR OF OR GIVE COMMENTS ON OR WHATEVER, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO, SOMETIMES THE PROCESS IS A LITTLE HARD TO FIGURE OUT. BUT THESE ARE THE AGENDA, THE ITEM NUMBERS, UM, THE LAST PAGE IN OUR PACKET. OKAY. ALRIGHT. MOVING RIGHT ALONG. UM, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE [4. Update on Indirect Potable Reuse Emergency Implementation Project ] ON TO AGENDA ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS UPDATE ON THE INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT. THANK YOU YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR, AND FOR ALL THE SUPPORT STAFF THAT HELPED WITH THAT. THANK YOU. OKAY. AND THAT PRESENTATION WILL BE PROVIDED BY, UM, SARAH, UH, EMAN ON OUR TEAM. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. I AM GOING TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING TOWARD INDIRECT EQUITABLE REUSE. UM, WOW. EVERYBODY LEFT . OKAY. SO NOW'S WHEN I'M GONNA TELL YOU ALL THE INTERESTING STUFF. . UM, YEAH, I'LL TRY NOT TO . ALL RIGHT. WE'LL START OUT WITH A PROJECT UPDATE OF THE WORK WE'VE BEEN DOING AND WHAT WE HAVE COMING UP. UM, AND THEN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THE EMERGENCY SUPPLY ALTERNATIVES EVALUATION THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, AS WELL AS SOME NEXT STEPS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. NEXT SLIDE. THANK YOU. UM, QUICK REFRESHER. I KNOW THAT I THINK EVERYONE HERE HAS SEEN THESE A NUMBER OF TIMES, BUT OUR INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE STRATEGY WAS THE RECOMMENDED EMERGENCY STRATEGY FROM THIS GROUP'S INITIAL WATER FORWARD PLAN. UM, THE CONFIGURATION IS DELIVERING HIGHLY TREATED EFFLUENT FROM ONE OF THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS INTO THE EAST END OF LADY BIRD LAKE. IT WOULD THEN BE PICKED UP, OR WATER WOULD THEN BE PICKED UP AT THE WEST END OF LADY BIRD LAKE AND DELIVERED TO ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT AUGMENTING THE EXISTING SUPPLY FROM LAKE [00:55:01] AUSTIN. NEXT SLIDE. SO THE, THE IMPETUS FOR THIS AND ITS SORT OF ROLE AS AN EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY ARE PRETTY WELL DOCUMENTED IN THESE LAST FEW SLIDES ABOUT THE CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN OUR AREA. UM, THE IPR STRATEGY WAS PLANNED TO COME ONLINE WHEN WE HIT 400,000 ACRE FEET. SO 0.4 MILLION ACRE FEET IN THAT, UM, GUIDE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE FIGURE, WHICH IS LAID UP AGAINST OUR FEBRUARY, UH, SIX MONTH PROJECTION FROM LCRA. SO AT THIS POINT WE WOULD BE, UM, IN THE STAGE FOUR DROUGHT HAVE GONE PAST THE IC CURTAILMENT PHASE. YEAH, OF COURSE. THERE WE GO. UM, JUST THIS IS ABOUT THIS TABLE IN PARTICULAR, BUT, UM, AND LCRA HAS NOT ADOPTED THIS YET, BUT DROP CONTINGENCY PLANS ARE IN DEVELOPMENT AND DUE RIGHT MAY 1ST OR, YOU KNOW MM-HMM. AROUND THAT TIME. UM, AND L-C-R-A-I UNDERSTAND IS CONTEMPLATING CHANGING SOME OF ITS TRIGGERS? MM-HMM. . SO WILL ANY OF, I THINK, I THINK THE STAGE TWO OR SOME OF THESE TRIGGERS ARE GONNA CHANGE, RIGHT? BUT DOES IT IMPACT THIS? SO RIGHT NOW WITH IPR, WE SORT OF HAVE THE TWO PARALLEL PATHS, ONE OF WHICH IS WORKING ON THE EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH IS OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER FORWARD 18 STRATEGY. SO IN THAT CASE, WE'LL BE WORKING OFF OF THE 400,000 ACRE FOOT TRIGGER. UM, THE PARALLEL PATH IS OUR UPDATE TO THE WATER FORWARD PLAN WHERE WE CAN BE REEVALUATING WHAT AN APPROPRIATE TRIGGER IS IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT THEIR DROUGHT STAGES ARE GONNA BE AND OUR UPDATED, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGY AND POPULATION AND DEMAND PROJECTIONS. SO WITH ALL OF THAT INFORMATION, WE CAN TEST A COUPLE OF OTHER TRIGGER LEVELS AND I THINK WE DO HAVE DRAFTED A COUPLE THAT AS ONE OF THE, THE KNOBS THAT WE CAN TURN IN OUR WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY EVALUATION. UM, BUT AS A PART OF THE EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION, WE'RE SORT OF MOVING FORWARD WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT 400,000 ACRE FEET WOULD STILL BE THE TRIGGER. OKAY. SO WE ARE, WE'RE USING THAT, THAT NUMERICAL STORAGE FIGURE RATHER THAN THE ACTUAL STAGE FOUR TRIGGER. YEAH. SO, OKAY. YEAH. GREAT. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS GUY? OKAY, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, AS I MENTIONED, THE PROJECT LAYOUT IS DELIVERING TREATED EFFLUENT FROM A WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT TO THE EAST END OF LADY BIRD LAKE. AND PICKING THAT UP AS A SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPLY FOR ULRICH WATER TREATMENT PLANT AT THE EAST END, IT'S USEFUL TO SEE THE MAP BECAUSE IT IS KIND OF A, AN ODD STRATEGY. UM, AS A PART OF OUR EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION EVALUATION, WE STEPPED BACK A LITTLE BIT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ASSUMPTION THAT SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL WAS THE APPROPRIATE, UM, WAS THE BEST SOURCE FOR A SORT OF FAST TRACKED EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION. AND WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE EFFLUENT CHARACTERISTICS AND THE, THE PLANT AND, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL PIPELINE ALIGNMENTS FROM WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS. SO WE HAVE, UM, HAVE LOOKED AT BOTH OF THOSE AND AT THIS TIME I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE ARE, WE ARE STARTING WITH A, A SLIGHT PREFERENCE FOR SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL AS THE SOURCE, AS IT WAS THE PREFERRED LAYOUT THAT WAS SELECTED IN THE WATER FOUR 18 PLAN. UM, BUT THERE'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS STRATEGY. SO OUR PLANNING IS IN, FOR THE SAKE OF THE EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION, WE ARE LOOKING AT A FEW PARALLEL PLANNING PROCESSES JUST TO ENSURE THAT IF WE DO ENCOUNTER ANY OF THOSE ISSUES WITH ONE STRATEGY, WE HAVE UM, A COUPLE OF OTHER BACKUP APPROACHES SHOULD WE HAVE TO BE MOVING INTO THE LIKE EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION MODE. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. OH, WERE THERE QUESTIONS? I I HAVE A QUESTION. OKAY. HAS THERE BEEN ANY, UH, FEASIBILITY STUDY DONE? UH, TO COMPARE THE TWO OPTIONS? THERE WERE INITIAL STUDIES DONE, UM, PRIOR TO THE WATER FOUR 18 PLAN THAT EVALUATED, UM, THEY DIDN'T EVALUATE THESE TWO OPTIONS. THEY WERE EVALUATING WALNUT CREEK LINKED TOGETHER WITH A DECKER LAKE STRATEGY AND SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL LINKED WITH THE LADY BIRD LAKE STRATEGY. SO AT THIS POINT THERE HASN'T BEEN, UM, AN EVALUATION, UH, A FULL FEASIBILITY EVALUATION OF SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL VERSUS WALNUT CREEK IN TERMS OF PROVIDING EFFLUENT FOR THE LADY BIRD LAKE IPR STRATEGY. SO IS THE, UH, DECKARD LAKE, UH, OUT OF THE PICTURE, UM, NOT IN TERMS OF THE PARALLEL PLANNING APPROACH THAT WE WERE DISCUSSING. [01:00:01] UM, I THINK THE DECKER LAKE CONFIGURATION THAT WAS EVALUATED IN THE PREVIOUS WATER FORWARD PLAN IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT, UM, HAS BEEN SORT OF CONSIDERED. BUT I THINK THERE ARE, UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF SORT OF BACKUP CONCEPTUAL IDEAS THAT ARE BEING CONSIDERED. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. ALRIGHT. UM, IN OUR EFFORTS TO MOVE THE IPR EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION FORWARD, WE'VE HAD A FEW DISCUSSIONS WITH TCQ, THE FIRST OF WHICH WAS IN NOVEMBER OF 2022, WHICH WAS JUST INTRODUCING THEM TO THE PROJECT CONCEPTUALLY. UM, THEY'VE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE SO FAR. UH, WE THEN WORKED TOWARD, UM, PROCURING CONSULTING ASSISTANCE AND GOT A PLUMBER ON BOARD IN SEPTEMBER OF 2023 AT WHICH TIME THEY WERE ABLE TO START UPDATING A WATER QUALITY MODEL THAT THEY HAD INITIALLY CONSTRUCTED. AS A PART OF THOSE INITIAL, UH, FEASIBILITY STUDIES FROM 20 SORT OF 15 TO 17 RANGE AND DECEMBER, WE FORMED AN INTERNAL IPR WORKING GROUP, WHICH IS COMPOSED OF A COUPLE OF, UM, EXECUTIVES AND ASSISTANT DIRECTORS WHO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HELP AT A HIGH LEVEL GUIDE AND COORDINATE THE EFFORTS ACROSS THE UTILITY BECAUSE THE IPR PROJECT DOES TOUCH ON A LOT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS AND IS HELPING TO SORT OF BREAK DOWN SOME OF THE BARRIERS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS GROUPS OF THE UTILITY. UM, WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE WINTER CONTINUED TO UPDATE THE, THE WATER QUALITY MODELING, WHICH IS ACTUALLY CONSISTS OF TWO SEPARATE COMPONENTS. ONE OF THEM IS SORT OF THE, THE FLOW DYNAMICS AND THE OTHER COMPONENT IS WATER QUALITY SAMPLING. SO THEY UPDATED THAT TO REFLECT A MORE RECENT HISTORICAL PERIOD IN EFFORT TO, TO BETTER CAPTURE THE, YOU KNOW, CONDITIONS OF LADY BIRD LAKE THESE DAYS, WHICH ARE EVER CHANGING. WE'VE HAD ZEBRA MUSCLES AND HARMFUL ALGAE AND ALL KINDS OF ISSUES. SO I THINK IT'S BEEN A, A REAL CHALLENGE, BUT REALLY HELPFUL FOR THEM TO, UM, CAPTURE SOME OF THAT MORE RECENT INFORMATION. UM, THEY GOT A GOOD DROUGHT PERIOD OVER WHICH WE'VE BEEN DOING THE MODELING, UM, WHICH HAS HELPED US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS TO LAKE COULD BE. UM, IN ADDITION, IN MID-JANUARY WE HAD AN INTERNAL EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION WORKSHOP. UM, SO THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT TH 50 PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE UTILITY, UM, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GATHER RIGHT NEXT DOOR AND TALK THROUGH A HYPOTHETICAL TWO YEAR EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION PATHWAY. AND THIS WAS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR FOLKS WHO ARE IN THE TRENCHES IN TERMS OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT TO TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TALKING ABOUT THE PIPELINE MODELING AND FOR EVERYONE TO REALLY GET ON THE SAME PAGE IN TERMS OF WHAT SOME OF OUR MAJOR TRADE-OFFS AND KEY DECISIONS ARE BEFORE WE WOULD NEED TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD AND SOME OF THE CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE REALLY NEED TO BE KEEPING IN MIND AS WE WOULD PROCEED WITH AN EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION. SO THAT WAS A REALLY, UM, REALLY HELPFUL. WE GOT A LOT OF INFORMATION AND A LOT OF REALLY GOOD PARTICIPATION FROM ACROSS THE UTILITY. UH, WE HAD ANOTHER INFORMAL MEETING WITH TCQ AT THE END OF FEBRUARY, WHICH WAS SHARING THE RESULTS OF OUR PRELIMINARY WATER QUALITY MODELING. UM, THIS, AS I MENTIONED, THE MODELING IS FAIRLY COMPLEX AND SO THIS WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR TCQ TO GIVE US FEEDBACK ON SOME OF THE PERMITTING, UM, THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE CONDITIONS OF LADY BIRD LAKE AS WE UNDERSTAND THEM BEING AT THE TIME ANYWAY OR CURRENTLY, UM, IMPAIRED DUE TO THE EXCESSIVE ALGAE GROWTH. NEXT SLIDE. THANK YOU. I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION WHILE WE'RE WAITING. OH YEAH, OF COURSE. BECAUSE YOU MENTIONED THE, UM, WATER QUALITY MM-HMM. MODELING. THIS IS SORT OF A LAY PERSON'S QUESTION, BUT I GUESS I WOULD KIND OF ASSUME MAYBE THAT OUR TREATMENT PROCESS CURRENTLY AT ULRICH WOULD BE ABLE TO KIND OF LIKE HANDLE THE MM-HMM. TREATED EFFLUENT AND IT WOULDN'T, YOU WOULDN'T NEED, I SAW LIKE ADVANCED TREATMENT ON ONE OF THE EARLIER SLIDES. LIKE, IS THAT, IS THAT TRUE? DO WE REALLY NEED MUCH MORE ADVANCED TREATMENT FOR THIS? THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION. SO INDIRECT PORTABLE REUSE DOESN'T HAVE A DISTINCT PERMITTING PATHWAY AT TCQ. SO THE PERMITTING DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE HAD UP TILL NOW ARE JUST THE DISCHARGE PERMIT COMPONENT. I MEAN, WE'VE BEEN TALKING TO TCQ ABOUT THE STRATEGY AS A WHOLE, BUT SORT OF THE FIRST STEP, THEY KIND OF LET THE, THE WASTEWATER SIDE OF THEIR ORGANIZATION DRIVE THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS. AND SO THIS WOULD REALLY JUST BE GETTING A DISCHARGE PERMIT. SO IT WOULD BE AMENDING AN EXISTING WASTEWATER PLANT PERMIT TO HAVE A NEW OUTFALL IN LADY BIRD LAKE. SO WHEREAS WE'RE CURRENTLY JUST DISCHARGING INTO THE [01:05:01] COLORADO, SO THE, THE ADDITIONAL TREATMENT THERE IS REQUIRED BECAUSE THE EFFLUENT HAS MORE, UM, NUTRIENT AND IT'S MORE NUTRIENT DENSE THAN, UM, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ALWAYS MORE NUTRIENTS THAN THE BACKGROUND WATER IN LADY BIRD LAKE, BUT BECAUSE LADY BIRD LAKE IS IMPAIRED FOR THE ALGAE, UM, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, SEEKING TO ONLY APPROVE A DISCHARGE PERMIT THAT WOULD, WOULD NOT EXACERBATE THE ALGAE SITUATION. GO AHEAD. DO YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP? YEAH, I JUST MEANT MORE ON THE INTAKE SIDE, LIKE YEAH, SO THE TREATMENT ON THE RIGHT, SO THE, THE ADDITIONAL TREATMENT THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW IS, IS REALLY DIRECTED MOSTLY AT THE WASTEWATER PLANT SIDE. UM, THE INTAKE, I THINK THAT'S, THERE'S STILL SOME WORK TO BE DONE UNDERSTANDING WHAT ELSE WE WOULD NEED. THE WATER QUALITY IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN LADYBIRD LAKE COMPARED TO LAKE AUSTIN. IT'S A LOT MORE SHALLOW, AND WE DO HAVE SOME MORE ALGAE. UM, SO THE, THE PLANT HAS, ORIC HAS ALREADY GONE THROUGH, UH, LIKE HARMFUL ALGAE OR LIKE A ANO TOXIN RESPONSE PLAN, AND THEY HAVE, UH, ADDITIONAL MONITORING, SAMPLING TREATMENT PROGRAM ALREADY SET UP AROUND, UM, WATER THAT MAY HAVE, YOU KNOW, A HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF ALGAE IN IT. SO, UM, AS FAR AS WE'VE UNDERSTOOD, THEY'RE PRETTY WELL EQUIPPED FOR HANDLING THAT WATER. AND IN THE INITIAL FLOW MODELING, YOU ACTUALLY SEE VERY LITTLE OF THE EFFLUENT GOING ALL THE WAY UP TO THE INTAKE. SO THE INTAKE IS MINIMALLY IMPACTED BY THE EFFLUENT THAT'S COMING INTO THE WATER, BUT IT IS A NEW WATER QUALITY. SO WE WILL BE GOING THROUGH AND DOING ADDITIONAL SAMPLING AND DEVELOPING ANY ADDITIONAL TREATMENT THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED ON THE DRINKING WATER SIDE AS WELL. THANKS. NO PROBLEM. DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? DO YOU YEAH, I HAD A FOLLOW UP QUESTION OF COURSE RELATED OF TO THE P FOAS. MM-HMM. AND IF YOU GUYS ARE KIND OF LOOKING TO THE FUTURE SINCE THAT'S A NEWLY REGULATED THING BY THE EPA AND OF COURSE. YEAH. AND THE UTILITY HAS BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE TO DEAL WITH. AND I THINK THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF IPR CERTAINLY PRESENTS A, A NEW CHALLENGE. AND I THINK THAT'LL BE, UM, THAT WILL REALLY COME UNDER THAT, THAT SORT OF DRINKING WATER EVALUATION COMPONENT, WHICH WOULD COME FROM SAMPLING, YOU KNOW, BOTH OUR, OUR EFFLUENT AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT TREATMENT PROCESS IS GONNA BE IN PLACE FOR THAT, WHAT ADDITIONAL TREATMENT WOULD BE IN PLACE FOR THAT EFFLUENT BEFORE IT COMES INTO LADYBIRD LAKE. AND THEN ALSO DOING LIKE A FULL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE WATER COMING INTO ULRICH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO, TO TREAT IT PROPERLY. I THINK I SAW, I, I'M NOT SURE, BUT HAD, DID HANEY, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION OR WERE YOU TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING? YEAH, GO AHEAD. SAID, YOU SAID NO. OH NO. OKAY, THEN, THEN DON'T ASK A QUESTION, . OKAY. THERE'S JUST THIS LIKE LITTLE TINY BOX AND YOUR NAME POPPED UP IN IT A COUPLE TIMES, SO I WAS JUST CHECKING. I OKAY. I'M GOOD. ALL RIGHT. CARRY ON, SARAH. OKAY. SO THE UPCOMING ACTIVITIES RELATED TO IPR, WE ARE WORKING THROUGH, UM, DEVELOPING A SCOPE AND THE PROCUREMENT OF A DESIGN ENGINEER TO SORT OF TAKE THE NEXT STEP FORWARD. UM, AS WELL AS WORKING WITH PLUMBER TO CONTINUE TO REFINE THE EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. THAT IS A PART OF THEIR SCOPE, WHICH IS HOPEFULLY WALKING US THROUGH WHAT STEPS MIGHT HAVE, LIKE THE MOST LAG TIME AND CRITICAL COMPONENTS IN ORDER TO SORT OF EXPEDITE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROJECT. UM, WE ARE ALSO, UM, COORDINATING THROUGH WATER FORWARD WITH ADDITIONAL EMERGENCY STRATEGIES AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE SORT OF BALANCE OF THAT IN A MOMENT IN OUR NEXT ITEM. AND THEN WORKING WITH OUR PERMITTING GROUPS BECAUSE, UM, BOTH, BOTH OF THOSE WASTEWATER PLANTS, UM, REQUIRE PRETTY SIGNIFICANT PERMITTING LIFT JUST TO, TO RENEW AND MAINTAIN THEIR DISCHARGE PERMITS. AND ANYTHING THAT WE DO WOULD FALL UNDER, UM, THEIR, THEIR SORT OF REGULATORY PURVIEW. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. ALRIGHT. I'D MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WATER QUALITY MODELING AND MAYBE JUMPED THE GUN A LITTLE BIT. UM, BUT WE HAD A PREVIOUS, UM, MODEL CONSTRUCTED FROM THE 2012 TO 2013 PERIOD. PLUMBER HAS DONE SOME WORK TO UPDATE THAT FOR REFLECTING 2018 THROUGH 2022. SO THAT INCLUDES THE FLOWS FROM THAT PERIOD MEASURED FLOWS OVER THAT 2018 TO 2022 PERIOD, AS WELL AS WATER QUALITY DATA THAT WERE GATHERED. UM, SOMETIMES THERE ISN'T ENOUGH SAMPLING DATA. THEY DO HAVE TO USE SOME MEASURED OR REFERENCE VALUES. UM, THE PURPOSE OF ALL THIS MODELING, YOU KNOW, MODELING IS ALWAYS CHALLENGING. THERE'S NEVER ENOUGH DATA TO FULLY CALIBRATE IT AS MUCH AS YOU'D LIKE TO, BUT, UM, THE INTENT IS TO GET OUR BEST [01:10:01] UNDERSTANDING OF THE BASELINE CONDITIONS IN TCQ OR AND LADY BIRD LAKE AND TCQ. UM, THEY DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE DETAILED UPDATED CONDITIONS OF THE LAKE. SO OUR SORT OF FIRST RESPONSIBILITY IS TO, TO MODEL THE BASELINE AND THEN TO MODEL THE INTRODUCTION OF IPR, UM, STRATEGY INTO THE LAKE AND SEE WHERE THE DIFFERENCES LIE AND SEE HOW WE CAN MITIGATE THOSE. SO, UM, AS I MENTIONED, THE PRIMARY CONCERN IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE GROWTH OF ALGAE BECAUSE THE LAKE IS ON THE 3 0 3 D LIST OF IMPAIRED WATER WASTE. ANY QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, AND DOES OUR NEXT, SO, AND THAT'S THE LAST ON THE MODELING. I WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, UH, GETTING US TO A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT THE IMPACTS MIGHT BE FOR, UM, IPR AND WE'RE STARTING TO, TO MOVE THAT CONVERSATION FORWARD WITH TCQ. SO, UM, THAT'S BEEN VERY PRODUCTIVE RECENTLY. ALRIGHT. EMERGENCY SUPPLY STRATEGY ALTERNATIVES. UM, AS I MENTIONED, IT'S BEEN VERY PRODUCTIVE TO DO ALL OF THIS, UH, WATER QUALITY MODELING. WE HAVE THE TECHNICAL, WE HAVE THE REGULATORY, WE HAVE THE CONSTRUCTION PIECES, ALL OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE PERMITTING AND ALL OF THE TIMELINES, ALL OF WHICH ARE SORT OF WHAT WE HAVE TO THE PUZZLE PIECES WE HAVE TO PUT TOGETHER TO HAVE AN EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION. UM, EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION BEING LIKE A TWO TO THREE YEAR TIMEFRAME FOR GETTING IT IMPLEMENTED, WHICH IS A REALLY, REALLY RAPID IMPLEMENTATION OF A BIG PROJECT. UM, SO AS WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THAT, WE'VE CERTAINLY IDENTIFIED THERE ARE PLENTY OF PLACE PLACES WHERE THERE'S RISK, SOME OF THAT COMING FROM THE REGULATORY PROCESS, SOME OF THAT COMING FROM, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION OR PROCUREMENT. THERE ARE CERTAIN ITEMS THAT ARE ON A TWO YEAR BACKLOG. SO, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH AN EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION. AND I THINK OFTEN WHEN WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT, THE, THE OPTION TO EVALUATE DIRECT POTABLE REUSE OR ANOTHER EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY HAS COME UP. SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF AN EVALUATION, UH, COMPARING IPR AND DPR AND EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THIS IS JUST ANOTHER, THIS IS A NICE LITTLE GRAPHIC. ALL RIGHT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. . YEAH, RIGHT. IT'S NOT, I WANNA MOVE THERE. YEAH, . SO THE FIRST COMPONENT, THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IPR AND DPR ARE ONE OF THE BIG DIFFERENCES. UM, SOME OF THE REGULATIONS THAT WE'D BE WORKING WITHIN, UM, IPR RELATES TO A CLEAN WATER ACT AND YOU WORK THROUGH A-T-P-D-E-S PERMIT. UM, YOU ALSO COMPLY WITH SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT, AND THEN YOU REQUIRE THE WATER RIGHTS TO ACCESS THE WATER DIRECT POTABLE REUSE. UM, TCQ HAS GUIDANCE, IF NOT EXPLICIT RULES ON DPR AT THIS POINT. UM, SO WE WOULD BE REQUIRED TO DO A SOURCE WATER CHARACTERIZATION AND THEN APPROVAL VIA AN EXCEPTION PROCESS. SO BASICALLY YOU BUILD WHAT YOUR PROPOSED TREATMENT TRAIN IS AND GET CREDITS FOR EACH OF THOSE COMPONENTS, AND THAT GETS APPROVED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS AT TCQ. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WE'RE GONNA WALK THROUGH A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL COMPARING IPR AND DPR FROM A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE. SO, UM, WE'VE ALREADY SORT OF WORKED THROUGH SOME OF THIS ON OUR END FOR OUR IPR PROJECT, UM, DEVELOPING THE WATER QUALITY MODEL, EVALUATING WHAT THE POTENTIAL PERMIT LIMITS WOULD BE FOR THE DISCHARGE PERMIT, UM, SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION FOR A MAJOR AMENDMENT OF OUR DISCHARGE PERMIT TO TCEQ, UH, WITH THE REVIEW AND PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS. AND THEN AT THE END OF THAT, SO THIS PERMITTING TIMELINE TAKES ONE TO TWO YEARS. THE TCEQ REVIEW AND PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS ALONE, THAT BOTTOM LEFT BLOCK IS PROJECTED TO BE A 330 DAY TURNAROUND. SO ALMOST A YEAR FOR TCQ TO EVALUATE YOUR PERMIT APPLICATION. AND THAT IS IF YOU HAVE NO CONTESTED CASE ISSUES. SO IF YOU HAVE, IF THE PERMIT IS CONTESTED AT ALL, THAT 330 DAY EXPECTATION IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE. AND THIS ONE TO TWO YEAR TIMELINE IS JUST FOR THE PERMITTING. AND THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION, UM, DESIGN [01:15:01] OR CONSTRUCTION. ANY DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION WORK DONE PRIOR TO THE PERMIT BEING GRANTED WOULD BE ENTIRELY AT RISK SHOULD THE PERMIT THEN NOT BE GRANTED. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO, DIRECT QUOTABLE REUSE. NOW THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF DIFFERENCE. THESE AREN'T QUITE APPLES TO APPLES BECAUSE THIS PROCESS, YOU'LL SEE WHY INCLUDES THE CONSTRUCTION AS WELL AS SOME PILOTING PROCESSES. BUT THE DPR APPROVAL PROCESS IS ESTIMATED TO TAKE FOUR TO FIVE YEARS MINIMUM. UM, I WON'T NECESSARILY READ THROUGH ALL OF THESE, BUT THERE IS, UM, EXTENSIVE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE EFFLUENT THAT'S BEING USED. UM, PILOT STUDIES, A SMALL SCALE PILOT STUDY. AND THEN, UM, THERE'S INITIAL LIKE, YEAH, PILOT SCALE STUDY REPORTING THAT BEING EVALUATED, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION DISINFECTION PROTOCOL, FULL SCALE VERIFICATION TEST PRIOR TO, UM, SUBMITTING A FULL SCALE VERIFICATION TEST REPORT TO TCQ FOR APPROVAL. SO THAT, UM, IT'S A PRETTY EXTENSIVE PROCESS TO GET A DIRECT POTABLE REUSE FACILITY APPROVED. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SOME OF THE REASONS FOR BEING SO EXTENSIVE, OF COURSE, PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH AND BECAUSE IT REQUIRES MUCH MORE ADVANCED, UM, TREATMENT AND SOME OF THE TREATMENT COMPONENTS ARE A LOT MORE COMPLEX. IPR, UM, FOR OUR PURPOSES, I THINK THE, THE PRIMARY RECOMMENDATION HAS BEEN CHEMICAL ADDITION AND FOR PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL WITH SOME ADDITIONAL EFFLUENT FILTRATION AND THEN DECHLORINATION AT THE OUTFALL. AND THEN, AS WE SORT OF NOTED EARLIER, ANY ADDITIONAL TREATMENT THAT MAY BE REQUIRED AFTER A LITTLE BIT OF THE, UM, SOURCE WATER CHARACTERIZATION, UH, AT THE DRINKING WATER PLANT. DPRI THINK THERE ARE, AS I MENTIONED, THEY DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC RULE, SO IT'S JUST GUIDANCE ABOUT WHICH SORT OF TREATMENT PROCESSES ARE THE MOST APPROPRIATE. UM, LOW PRESSURE MEMBRANES OR HIGH PRESSURE LIKE OVER OSMOSIS DISINFECTION AND POSSIBLY OTHER PROCESSES LIKE GRANULATED ACTIVATED CARBON, LIKE THE, FOR THE PFOS REMOVAL, UM, UV, THERE'S A NUMBER OF OTHER SORT OF ADVANCED TREATMENT COMPONENTS THAT TEND TO BE USED IN THOSE TRAINS. AND THE OTHER CHALLENGE THERE, IF YOU HAVE REVERSE OSMOSIS, IS DISPOSING OF THE RO CONCENTRATE, WHICH IS, CAN BE COSTLY AND, UM, A BIG, A BIG CONSIDERATION. NEXT SLIDE. SO OFTENTIMES THOSE OF US WHO WERE IN TEXAS ABOUT A DECADE AGO, UM, WHEN THINKING OF EMERGENCY REUSE STRATEGIES, THINK OF WICHITA FALLS, WHICH WAS ABLE TO IMPLEMENT AN EMERGENCY DIRECT POTABLE REUSE SYSTEM THAT THEY THEN TRANSITIONED OVER TO AN INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE SYSTEM. AND THE, THE WONDERFUL THING FOR WICHITA FALLS IS THAT THEY HAD USED A RO PLANT TO TREAT FROM A WATER SUPPLIES FROM A LAKE THAT HAD REALLY HIGH TDS PRIOR TO THE DROUGHT. IN THIS DROUGHT THAT LAKE HAD NOT HAD ENOUGH WATER FOR THEM TO CONTINUE USING IT AS A SUPPLY. SO THEY EFFECTIVELY HAD A FULLY DESIGNED, CONSTRUCTED AND INTEGRATED INTO THEIR SYSTEM, REVERSE OSMOSIS PLANT THAT WAS NOT BEING USED, LYING AROUND. SO THEN THEY WERE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT THE STRATEGY WITHIN TWO YEARS. BUT THAT IS NOT A TYPICAL SETUP AND NOT A TYPICAL SITUATION. AND UNFORTUNATELY FOR US IN WATER, OR MAYBE FORTUNATELY IN TERMS OF OUR OVERALL PLANNING, WE DON'T HAVE ANY UNUSED RO PLANTS LYING AROUND. SO IT WOULD NOT BE IN THAT POSITION. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. UH, LET ME ALSO ADD THAT THERE'S ANOTHER PROJECT IN TEXAS PRIOR TO THE WISH, THE FALLS, WHICH IS THE BIG SPRING MM-HMM. , UH, PROJECT, AND IT IS ACTUALLY OPERATING AS WE SPEAK. MM-HMM, , A DIRECT BOAT, VERY USE. YES, YES. IT WAS NOT, IT, IT WAS AN EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION, BUT I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THE TIMELINE FOR BIG SPRING. YEAH. IT WASN'T, IT WAS AN EMERGENCY. IT WASN'T AN EMERGENCY. IT WAS OVER A LONGER TIME PERIOD. YEAH, WE, YEAH, I CAN'T REMEMBER HOW LONG IT WAS, BUT ABILENE ALSO HAD AN EMERGENCY, UM, DPR, BUT, UM, BUT I THINK WE PULLED THAT INFORMATION OUT, SO I DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. UM, WELL, AND THE LARGEST ONE IS IN [01:20:01] DESIGN RIGHT NOW FOR EL PASO. MM-HMM. . MM-HMM. HUGE. YEAH. ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT'S 15 MGD. AND I THINK THAT THOSE, UM, DPR PLANTS AND SUPPLIES IN A NON-EMERGENCY CONTEXT ARE BECOMING A LOT MORE COMMON. AND I THINK AS THE TCEQ AND THE FIELD IN GENERAL GETS EXPERIENCE PERMITTING THEM, IT'LL, YOU KNOW, THE PATHWAY WILL BECOME EASIER. I THINK THE CHALLENGE THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT IS REALLY WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO TRY TO DO THAT ON AN EMERGENCY TIMELINE AS OPPOSED TO, UM, ON A SORT OF A TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION AND IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE, WHICH ESPECIALLY FOR SOMETHING THAT'S, YOU KNOW, KIND OF PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT OUR REGULATORY STRUCTURES AND, YOU KNOW, ENGINEERING INDUSTRY ARE, ARE COMFORTABLE IMPLEMENTING, I THINK IT, IT, IT PRESENTS SOME REAL CHALLENGES AND SOME RISKS TO, TO TRY TO DO THAT ON AN EMERGENCY TIMELINE. AND, AND THEN, UH, ANOTHER INTERESTING THING ABOUT WICHITA FALLS, YOU KNOW, ONCE THE EMERGENCY WAS OVER AND THEY CONVERTED FROM DPR TO IPR, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR EVERY THREE PARTS OF WATER THAT THEY WERE DOING, DPR ON ONE PART WAS THE WASTE STREAM, WHICH WAS DISCHARGED LOCALLY TO THE WICHITA RIVER THAT FLOWED OUT OF THE AREA WITH IPR. ALL OF THAT WATER IS NOW GOING INTO ONE OF THEIR RESERVOIRS. MM-HMM. . AND SO THEY ACTUALLY INCREASED THE YIELD OF THE REUSE PROJECT BY 50%. MM-HMM. BY GOING TO IPR, UM, FROM, FROM DPR. NOT AN ARGUMENT AGAINST DPR, BUT JUST THIS, JUST THE CONSIDERATION THERE. ABSOLUTELY. I THINK, YEAH, THE, THE SORT OF REJECT WATER DOES REDUCE YOUR OVERALL YIELD AND IT'S ALSO IF YOU DON'T HAVE, 'CAUSE THEY HAVE HIGH TDS NATURALLY OCCURRING STREAMS THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO DISCHARGE THAT TO, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD ALSO HAVE. AND THEN JUST THE RANDOM FACTOID IS, UH, BUTA, I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE WATER PLAN. THAT'S THEIR MAJOR STRATEGY GOING FORWARD IS DIRECT POTABLE REUSE. OH, REALLY? YEAH. WOW. WE'RE GONNA BE LIVING IN A WORLD WITH A LOT OF THAT IN THIS AREA. WE KEEP SEEING THIS KIND OF GROWTH. UM, YEAH, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT WAS INTERESTING TALKING TO ONE OF THE OPERATORS FROM WICHITA FALLS. THEY SAID THEY ACTUALLY REALLY PREFERRED THE PERIOD THAT IT WAS OPERATING UNDER DPR BECAUSE THEY COULD JUST, THEY COULD TURN A KNOB AND CONTROL EVERYTHING, WHEREAS ONCE IT'S IPR, YOU HAVE THIS ENVIRONMENTAL BUFFER THAT YOU CAN'T CONTROL AND LAKES CHANGE SEASONALLY. AND SO THEY HAD TO DO A LOT MORE ADJUSTMENT WITHIN THEIR WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES TO ACCOMMODATE THAT. UM, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THEY WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO DO BOTH OF THOSE STRATEGIES. SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A USEFUL TEMPLATE AND I'M GLAD THEY'RE ABLE TO DO THAT. IT IS NOT NECESSARILY A TEMPLATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO REPLICATE. SARAH HAS A HAND UP. OH YEAH. UH, VANESSA, SORRY. UM, VANESSA, I'M SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. NO WORRIES. I'M CURIOUS WHY WE ARE ONLY THINKING OF DPR AS AN EMERGENCY STRATEGY. WHY WOULD IT NOT ALSO BE JUST A CONTINUAL SOURCE OF SUPPLY FOR THE CITY? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND I WOULD AGREE. QUESTION. YEAH. I WOULD SAY THAT WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT IT ONLY AS AN EMERGENCY STRATEGY. UM, THIS PARTICULAR CONTEXT, I WANTED TO PRESENT THE OPTIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR EMERGENCY STRATEGIES, BUT DPR, UM, AND POTENTIALLY IPR STRATEGIES, NOT POTENTIALLY IPR AND DPR STRATEGIES ARE BOTH BEING CONSIDERED AS WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN THE UPDATE THAT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED, YOU KNOW, COULD BE IMPLEMENTED YEAR ROUND. AND THOSE EVALUATIONS ARE TAKING PLACE THROUGH THE WATER FORWARD UPDATE PROCESS. MM-HMM. , I THINK THIS EMERGENT, YOU KNOW, AS WE ARE APPROACHING THE LOW COMBINED STORAGE LEVELS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION PATHWAY, WE'RE TRYING TO REFER BACK TO THE DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE IN WATER FORWARD 18 AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO JUST SORT OF EXPEDITE AND, AND CLARIFY WHAT AN EMERGENCY IMPLEMENTATION PATHWAY WOULD LOOK LIKE. UM, AT THE SAME TIME AS, AS REGULAR STRATEGIES BEING CONSIDERED IN WATERFORD 24 UPDATE, BOTH DPR AND IPR ARE THERE. RIGHT. AND WE'RE ALSO BEING RESPONSIVE TO QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM TASK FORCE MEMBERS ABOUT WHY WHETHER DPR WOULD BE FEASIBLE AS AN EMERGENCY, UH, SUPPLY STRATEGY. MM-HMM. IN THE CURRENT DROUGHT. AND AS WE NOTED, I THINK, YOU KNOW, BOTH DPR AND IPR PRESENT REAL PERMITTING CHALLENGES AND IPR AS OUR RECOMMENDED STRATEGY IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA MOVE THE BALL FORWARD AS MUCH AS WE CAN, AND AS WE'RE DOING THAT, WE'RE WORKING AMONG STAFF AND ANYBODY ELSE WHO'S CREATIVELY THINKING OUTTA THE BOX OF WAYS THAT WE MIGHT ACHIEVE AN EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY, SHOULD WE NEED THAT WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE [01:25:01] YEARS. AND SO WE ARE ADDING ON AS MUCH SORT OF PARALLEL PREPARATION FOR A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO DELIVERING AN EMERGENCY SUPPLY STRATEGY SO THAT IF ANY ONE OF THESE IS SORT OF DEEMED NOT FEASIBLE OR THERE'S A REAL HURDLE THAT WE CAN'T GET OVER, WE HAVE SOME BACKUP. UM, AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, QUIETLY WORKING ON IN THE BACKGROUND AND GETTING AS PREPARED AS WE POSSIBLY CAN TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE SOMETHING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH IF WE START TO APPROACH THAT 400,000 ACRE FOOT LEVEL. NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS, UM, THE LAST SLIDE. WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH THE WATER QUALITY MODELING AND WORKING WITH, UM, TCQ TO UNDERSTAND ANY ADDITIONAL DATA THAT THEY MIGHT NEED OR DOCUMENTATION THAT THEY MIGHT NEED. UM, PULLING TOGETHER THAT EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, WHICH IS JUST SORT OF IDENTIFYING, YOU KNOW, THE LOGISTICS OF HAVING AN EMERGENCY STRATEGY PUT IN PLACE. AND THEN OUR AUSTIN WATER INTERNAL WORKING GROUP IS, UH, COORDINATING AND HELPING US WITH SOME OF THE KEY PERMITTING ACTIVITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS, UH, WORKING ON THAT PROCUREMENT OF AN ADDITIONAL, UM, DESIGN ENGINEER AND LOOKING AT OTHER EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLIES AS THOSE ARE IDENTIFIED. AND ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, I HAVE A QUESTION. YEAH. SO AS FAR AS OUR TIMELINE GOES, MM-HMM. , ARE WE STILL ON THE ONE TO TWO YEARS OUT BECAUSE WE'RE STILL LIKE THE PRELIMINARY TALKS WITH TCEQ AND EVERYTHING ELSE? YEAH. FROM THE PERMITTING PERSPECTIVE, I THINK, UM, FOR THE I PS AS IT'S CONCEIVED OF AND WATER FORWARD 18, SO WHERE IT COMES FROM SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL, THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL PERMIT, UM, RENEWAL PROCESS WOULD BE THIS SUMMER. AND WE'D TRY TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF THEIR CURRENT SCHEDULED RENEWAL, WHICH WOULD ALLOW US TO BEGIN CONSTRUCTION MAY OF 2025 AT THE EARLIEST IF THERE, IF THERE WAS NO CONTESTING. THAT'S WHAT I, I WAS GONNA JUST COMMENT THAT. YEAH. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD ANTICIPATE A CONTESTED CASE HEARING. MAYBE VANESSA AND SARAH HAVE THOUGHTS ON THAT, BUT I MEAN, I JUST FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE, LIKE SO MANY PEOPLE COULD BE AFFECTED PERSONS THAT I FEEL LIKE ODDS ARE THAT SOMEONE WOULD TRY TO TAKE YOU INTO A CONTESTED CASE HEARING FOR THIS DISCHARGE PERMIT. YEAH. I THINK THE BEST THAT WE CAN DO IS WORK TO MAKE IT AS TECHNICALLY ROBUST A STRATEGY AS WE CAN POSSIBLY DO THAT AND ALSO TRY TO BE PROACTIVE AND SHARE INFORMATION WHEN WE HAVE IT. UM, BUT THAT'S CERTAINLY, THAT IS THE PERMITTING RISK THAT'S DRIVING US TO LOOKING AT OTHER STRATEGIES BECAUSE IF A CONTESTED CASE HEARING TOOK US FOR AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS, THEN WE DON'T HAVE AN EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY. RIGHT. SO LOOKING AT THAT THERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT WAYS THAT WE CAN SEQUENCE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THESE PROJECTS TOO. A BIG PART OF WHAT, UM, SARAH HAS BEEN DOING WITH OTHER PARTS OF THE UTILITY IS IDENTIFYING MULTI BENEFICIAL COMPONENTS OF THE IPR STRATEGY AS WELL. THERE ARE THINGS LIKE THE RECLAIM TRANSMISSION MAIN, THERE ARE OTHER, UM, UH, DRIVERS POTENTIALLY FOR, UM, AN INTAKE ON LADY BIRD LAKE, UM, THAT WOULD PULL WATER UP TO ULRICH. UM, THERE, UH, MAYBE ADVANCES THAT WE COULD TAKE ON THOSE COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT THAT COULD PUT US IN A BETTER POSITION SHOULD THE PERMITTING PATHWAY BE CLEAR FOR US TO TAKE KIND OF FINAL STEPS TO PULL ALL THE PIECES TOGETHER. AT THE SAME TIME, BECAUSE OF, OF THE UNCERTAINTY RELATED TO THE DROUGHT, WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO WORK THROUGH OUR PARALLEL PLANNING PROCESSES FOR OTHER EMERGENCY SUPPLY STRATEGIES AS WELL. AND TRYING TO TAKE A SIMILAR TYPE OF APPROACH WHERE WE IDENTIFY ARE THERE MULTI BENEFICIAL ASPECTS TO THOSE STRATEGIES AS WELL THAT WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH. ARE THERE PRELIMINARY PERMITTING ACTIVITIES AS WELL THAT WE COULD MOVE FORWARD WITH FOR, FOR THOSE STRATEGIES, UM, SO THAT WE COULD KIND OF KEEP OUR PATHWAY OPEN TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON THE STRATEGY THAT HAS THE GREATEST LIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESS GIVEN WHERE WE MAY FIND OURSELVES, UH, IN THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. I HAVE ONE [01:30:01] MORE QUESTION, AND I DON'T KNOW IT, IT MAY BE A DUMB QUESTION, BUT I'M JUST GONNA ASK IT . UM, IS THERE LIKE A WAY TO FIGURE OUT, IS THIS EVEN A POSSIBILITY WHERE OTHER THAN UTILIZING IPR, WE AGGRESSIVELY BUILD OUT OUR, UM, WATER LINES SO THAT THE, UM, YOU KNOW, INCREASED USE RECLAIMED FOR NON-POTABLE PURPOSES KIND OF OFFSETS THE NEED FOR DOING IPR? I MEAN, I I, AND IN ASKING THAT QUESTION, SOME OF THE THINGS I'M THINKING ABOUT ARE LIKE, MAYBE IT WOULDN'T, YOU REALLY COULDN'T OFFSET IT TO THE DEGREE THAT YOU NEED TO BECAUSE OF RESIDENTIAL DEMAND, AND WE'RE NOT REALLY AT THAT POINT WHERE WE ARE PROVIDING RECLAIMED WATER TO, UM, NEW SUBDIVISIONS. UH, BUT I JUST WONDER IF THAT IS AN OPTION, UM, THAT WOULD REDUCE THE NEED TO, UH, HAVE TO LEAN ON THIS, THIS STRATEGY, WHICH I THINK IS GONNA BE PROBLEMATIC . UM, BUT, AND THEN BILL HAS HIS HAND UP. YEAH. I THINK, UM, BILL, DO YOU WANNA LIKE ASK A FOLLOW UP QUESTION OR DO YOU WANNA WAIT FOR THEM TO ANSWER AND THEN ASK YOUR QUESTION? I'LL WAIT FOR THEM TO ANSWER YOUR VERY, OKAY. OKAY. LET'S LET, LET'S LET SARAH ANSWER THE QUESTION AND GO ONE AT A TIME. OKAY. GET THE, THE SHOTGUN APPROACH. YEAH. , IT'S COMPLICATED. SO JUST FOR, FOR A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, THE CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED STRATEGY IN WATER FOUR AT 18 WAS PLANNED TO BE ABOUT 16,000 ACRE FEET IN 2040, AND IPR WAS PLANNED TO BE ABOUT 20,000 OR 22,000 ACRE FEET. SO I THINK I, I TOTALLY APPRECIATE, AND I LIKE THE IDEA OF SORT OF OPENING UP ANY, YOU KNOW, ANY CUTTING, ANY RED TAPE THAT WE CAN TO FACILITATE ADDITIONAL RECLAIMED WATER USE. I THINK THAT KIND OF FALLS PROBABLY INTO THE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE ABOVE STRATEGIES AS WE START TO APPROACH THOSE CRITICAL DROUGHT LEVELS. UM, BUT I THINK JUST LIKE ON A, A VOLUMETRIC SCALE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT STAGE FOUR WHERE YOU WOULD HAVE LITTLE TO NO OUTDOOR IRRIGATION ALLOWED, THERE'S JUST REALLY A LOT LESS WATER THAT WE COULD PROBABLY GET, UM, FROM, FROM RECLAIMED IN THAT SORT OF, IN THAT DROUGHT STAGE. THAT SAID, UH, SARAH'S, I THINK SARAH'S CORRECT AND THAT SAID, CONSERVATION AND REUSE ARE GOING TO BE KEY STRATEGIES MOVING FORWARD IN THIS DROUGHT TO STRETCH OUR CURRENT WATER SUPPLIES. SO IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLANS, STAGES, AND ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE WITH THOSE STAGES AND INCREASING REUSE TO OFFSET POTABLE WATER USE WILL CONTINUE TO BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. BILL, YOU HAD A QUESTION? I'VE GOT A COUPLE QUESTIONS. IS THAT OKAY? YEAH. CAN I, LET ME JUST DO A PROGRAM NOTE REAL QUICK. SO WE HAVE A FOURTH OR I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT, WHAT, WHAT NUMBER ARE WE ON? WE HAVE A FIFTH, THIS, THIS WAVE, WATERFORD WAVE EVALUATION. WE WEREN'T SURE IF WE WERE GONNA BE ABLE TO GET TO THIS OR NOT TODAY. UM, IT SEEMS TO BE PRETTY HEFTY PRESENTATION. UM, DO WE THINK WE NEED TO MAYBE PUSH THIS AND CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION? YOU MEAN PUSH THE WAVE, THE WAVE PRESENTATION? YEAH, SORRY. LET ME BE SPECIFIC. PUSH THE WAVE PRESENTATION. UM, I THINK WE CAN DO THAT IF WE, IF WE FEEL THE NEED TO. I RECOGNIZE THERE'S ABOUT 20 MINUTES LEFT. WE DO HAVE MICHELLE, ME AND ROBERT LUNDBERG FROM RAND ON THE LINE. OH, OKAY. OKAY. UM, WELL, YEAH, IF IT'S POSSIBLE FOR US TO AT LEAST START THAT PRESENTATION, I THINK IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO HAVE THAT INTRODUCTION OF OUR CONSULTANT TEAM. ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. SO WE NEED TO, WE NEED TO, UM, BILL ASK YOU A QUESTION. I THINK SARAH HAS ONE TOO, BUT LET'S, UH, WE DO HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION. WE HAVE GUESTS ONLINE TO DO IT. SO WE STAND OUTTA TIME FOR ME AGAIN. I'LL PULL BACK. WHAT DO YOU SAY WE RAN OUT OF TIME FOR HIM AGAIN. WE'LL PULL BACK. OH, OKAY. . SORRY BILL. WE SHOULD JUST HAVE THREE HOUR MEETINGS, SARAH. OKAY. SORRY, I'VE, I'VE DISCOURAGED ANYONE [01:35:01] FROM ASKING QUESTIONS NOW, BUT YOU ARE ON MUTE IF YOU'RE SAYING SOMETHING. YEAH, ACTUALLY I WAS INTERESTED IN BILL'S QUESTIONS AND WE JUST WENT THROUGH THE WHOLE IPR PRESENTATION, SO, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD BE NICE TO FINISH THE DISCUSSION AND LEARN THE REST ABOUT IT, BUT HERE COMES BILL, ARE YOU DEMANDING ME THAT, DID I ASK THE QUESTION? NOW. OKAY. YOU SAID SO, UH, I THINK WE DIDN'T WE START THIS WHOLE IPR THING A LOT SOONER. I THOUGHT WE WERE WORKING ON THIS BACK IN 2018. I REMEMBER GOING TO SOME MEETING WITH THE, UH, NICE LADY ENGINEER WHO'S BEEN MAKING THE PRESENTATION, AND I THOUGHT THIS THING WAS GOING TO THE POINT WHERE WE WERE GONNA FLESH OUT THE PERMITS, GET THE PERMITS IN OUR POCKET WORK, FIGURE OUT THAT THIS THING WASN'T FEASIBLE. AND I WAS VERY SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT WE'RE NOW IN HAIR ON FIRE MODE ON THIS THING. AND I KNOW MARISSA HAS IN THE PAST SAID SOMETHING, THERE WAS SOME KIND OF TRIGGER THAT WE COULDN'T WORK ON IT OR SOMETHING, BUT IT SEEMED TO ME THAT THIS PERMITTING AND FEASIBILITY ISSUE COULD HAVE BEEN FLESHED OUT FIVE YEARS AGO. AM I WRONG? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? MM-HMM, . OKAY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND START SINCE YOU MENTIONED MY NAME, BILL. UM, SO I DON'T THINK THERE WAS EVER A REASON WHY WE COULDN'T START. HOWEVER, BECAUSE IPR WAS IDENTIFIED WITHIN THE WATER FORWARD 2018 PLAN AS AN EMERGENCY STRATEGY TO BE ONLY USED ON THE MOST INFREQUENT BASIS, WE IDENTIFIED TRIGGERS THAT WOULD PROMPT US TO START MORE, UM, AGGRESSIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF IPR INCLUDING PURSUING THE PERMITTING THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED FOR IPR ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, AS SARAH HAS MENTIONED, THAT INCLUDES, UM, MAKING A MAJOR AMENDMENT TO EXISTING WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PERMITS AND OR, YOU KNOW, MAKING MID-CYCLE AMENDMENTS, UM, TO THOSE PERMITS. SO WE HAVE, UH, SINCE, UH, 2021 NOW, I BELIEVE, BEEN WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS TO DO PRE-PLANNING, BRINGING ON A CONSULTANT TO UPDATE THE WATER QUALITY MODELING AND HAVING DISCUSSIONS WITH TCQ ABOUT THE PERMITTING PROCESS AS WELL AS FINING. I THINK ALL THAT STUFF COULD HAVE BEEN STARTED IN 2018, AND WE'VE BEEN IN A POSITION NOW TO KNOW IF WE COULD DO THIS OR NOT. I THINK THAT WAS A MISTAKE. AND, UH, I, I'M GONNA ACCEPT YOUR, YOUR, UH, BUT I, I KNOW I HAVE LIMITED TIME AND I NEED TO ASK MORE QUESTIONS. THE IMPLEMENTATION IN TWO YEAR, UH, THEORY IS THE TWO YEAR STARTS WHEN YOU GOT THE PERMITS FROM TCQ, I PRESUME YOU'RE NOT GONNA BUILD ANY PIPELINE OR PUT PUMP STATIONS IN ON THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE TOLL COULD NOT GET PERMITTED AND THEY SIT THERE AND RUST. RIGHT. THE RECLAIM PIPELINE WOULD BE A MULTI BENEFICIAL USE. SO WE COULD GO AHEAD AND, UH, BEGIN DESIGN, UH, PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FOR THAT RECLAIMING AS A PART OF OUR LARGER CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM. LIKEWISE, THE INTAKE FOR ULRICH WHILE CHALLENGING IS ALSO A PART OF ANOTHER STRATEGY TO CAPTURE LOCAL INFLOWS TO LADY BIRD LAKE. SO, AS I WAS MENTIONING EARLIER, THOSE MULTI BENEFICIAL COMPONENTS OF THE STRATEGY, WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT WAYS TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT THOSE SOONER BECAUSE THEY COULD PROVIDE OTHER BENEFITS AND BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH OTHER WATER FORWARD STRATEGIES. THERE ARE KEY COMPONENTS OF THE IPR PROJECT THAT WOULD BE DEPENDENT ON THE DISCHARGE PERMIT LIMITS, UM, AND, UH, KIND OF THE FEASIBILITY OF OVERALL IPR PERMITTING. AND SO THOSE COMPONENTS WOULD OF COURSE, EITHER NEED TO WAIT OR WOULD BE, WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD WITH THOSE AND CONSTRUCT THOSE AT RISK. SO, UH, YOU COULD GET SOME OF THE PIPING GOING, UH, IN, IN ADVANCE OF THE PERMITS. AND, UH, AND THEN IF IT, THE PERMITS FAIL, YOU WOULD JUST CALL AN EXTENSION OF THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM AND NOT DROP THE WATER IN THE LAKE AND DO ANY OF THIS. CORRECT. UM, WHAT KIND OF NEIGHBORHOOD RESISTANCE DO YOU, OKAY, I COULD SEE WHERE PEOPLE IN THAT ZILKER AREA WOULDN'T LIKE THEIR LAKE TURNED INTO A STINK BOMB. I MEAN, THEY'VE ALREADY GOT POISON ALGAE AND I, I MEAN THROWING, THROWING THIS APPETIZER INTO THE APP. UH, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE THERE WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT THERE WILL BE CONCERN ABOUT IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS STRATEGY? THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEGUN, [01:40:01] UH, OUR WORKING WITH OUR INTERNAL WORKING GROUP TO DEVELOP COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES, OUTREACH STRATEGIES, AND EDUCATION STRATEGIES. UM, I DO, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE TIME PERIOD IN WHICH THIS WOULD BE USED, THAT'S AT 400,000 ACRE FEET OF COMBINED STORAGE. THE LOWEST LAKES HAVE EVER GOTTEN DOWN TO IS ABOUT 635,000 ACRE FEET OF COMBINED STORAGE. SO THIS PERIOD OF TIME IS SEVERE DROUGHT THAT WE'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE. THERE IS LIKELY VERY LITTLE WATER FLOWING THROUGH THE COLORADO RIVER AT THIS TIME. THERE'S LIKELY VERY LITTLE WATER COMING INTO LADY BIRD LAKE AND GOING OUT OF LADY BIRD LAKE. SO ALREADY YOU'VE GOT STAGNANT WATER. UM, YOU'VE PROBABLY GOT, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL ISSUES PRESENTING THEMSELVES JUST BECAUSE OF THE DROUGHT. SO WHEN WE ARE ADDING WATER TO LADY BIRD LAKE, THERE MAY ACTUALLY, THERE MAY BE THE BENEFIT OF SOME MIXING. WE MAY BE AUGMENTING THE LEVEL OF THE LAKE. WE MAY BE ACTUALLY OFFSETTING SOME OF THE IMPACTS THAT THE LAKE IS ALREADY EXPERIENCING BECAUSE OF THE SEVERITY OF THE DROUGHT. LAST QUESTION. WHEN YOU SIT DOWN WITH TC, WHAT DO THEY SAY? UH, OR ARE THEY COMPLETELY NOT COMMITTAL ON THIS PERMIT THAT, ARE THEY SAYING THINGS LIKE, YEAH, WE, WE'VE DONE THIS BEFORE, WE DON'T SEE A PROBLEM? OR ARE THEY JUST SHAKING THEIR HEAD AND SAYING, GOOD LUCK, WE'LL PROBABLY NEVER APPROVE THIS. WHAT ARE THEY SAYING? THEY'RE NOT SAYING GOOD LUCK. WE'LL PROBABLY NEVER APPROVE THIS. THEY ARE VERY HELPFUL. UM, THEY ARE, ARE VERY WILLING TO MEET WITH US AND TALK WITH US AND WORK WITH US ON, ON THE APPROACHES THAT WE WOULD USE, UM, WITH THIS STRATEGY. UH, THAT SAID, THIS IS A NEW TYPE OF PERMIT, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR THIS, UM, LAKE AND FOR THE CURRENT IMPAIRMENT, UM, THAT, UH, THIS LAKE IS LISTED FOR. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY ACKNOWLEDGE THERE'S GONNA BE UNCERTAINTY ON THEIR SIDE. UM, THAT SAID, THEY ARE WILLING TO WORK WITH US. UM, WE'VE HAD SOME PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM SO FAR. GO AHEAD, SARAH. AND I WOULD SAY THEY'RE ALSO VERY MUCH AWARE THAT THIS IS AN EMERGENCY WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY. YES. THAT WE'RE NOT IMPLEMENTING PRIOR TO A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE FACING A REAL, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. AND I THINK IT'S REALLY USEFUL TO LOOK AT THIS STRATEGY AS COMPARED WITH TRUCKING AND WATER. LIKE WHAT ARE THE OTHER ALTERNATIVES ONCE WE'RE AT THIS POINT I THINK IT'S, IT'S BEEN VERY, THEY'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR IN UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING OUR DESIRE TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT SITUATION. UM, ANYWAY THAT THEY CAN. YEP, I'M DONE. THANKS. THANK YOU. THANKS BILL. AND THEN HANEY HAD A QUESTION. I THINK WHAT HANEY HAD A QUESTION, I THINK. OKAY. SORRY, MY MIC WAS NOT ON. HANEY, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEP. HAS TCQ PUSHED FOR A PILOT PLANT? NOT AT THIS POINT, NO. OKAY. OKAY. AND THEN JUST A QUICK COMMENT, I MEAN, THE CHALLENGE OF THE PERMIT MIGHT COME FROM DOWNSTREAM. YEP. MM-HMM. BECAUSE THEY WANT THAT WATER. I KNOW. SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING WE DO . OKAY. UM, ANY OTHER, UH, OH, FEEDBACKING, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY, WELL, SORRY. OH YEAH, SORRY. ONE LAST QUESTION. THAT WAS A LOT OF PLACES TO SEE EVERYWHERE, UM, WITH THE LA NINA PROJECTED FOR THE SUMMER, IS THE 400 ACRE FEET PROJECTED ANY TIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE IN YOUR PROJECTION MAPPING THAT YOU HAVE? WHAT WE HAVE, UM, WE HAD SEEN, AND I THINK RICHARD COULD, COULD KINDA GIVE ME A UP OR DOWN, BUT I THINK UNDER, UNDER THE PRETTY SEVERE THE UNPRECEDENTEDLY LOW INFLOWS OF THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, UM, WE ARE LOOKING AT ABOUT A 200,000 ACRE FOOT PER YEAR DROP POTENTIAL. SO THOSE, THOSE LCRA FORECASTS STARTED TO NUDGE UP AGAINST 600,000 TOWARD THE END OF THIS NEXT SUMMER. SO THEN I GUESS IT WOULD MAYBE BE ABOUT A YEAR FROM THAT. BUT THAT'S LIKE TOTAL, YOU KNOW, THROWING A DART AT THIS POINT. AND YEAH, IF ANYTHING OF THE LAST TWO YEARS HAS TOLD US THAT THROWING A DART IS PROBABLY VERY UNWISE, BUT , HOPEFULLY WE DON'T SEE ANOTHER UNPRECEDENTED YEAR OF LOW INFLOWS, BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING TO BE PREPARED FOR. ALRIGHT. THANK YOU SARAH. THANK YOU. THANKS [01:45:01] FOR ALL THE GOOD QUESTIONS, FOLKS, AND THE INTEREST IN THIS TOPIC. OKAY. [5. Water Forward 2024 plan update methodology overview ] LET'S MOVE INTO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION. UM, THE WATER 4 20 24 PLAN UPDATE, METHODOLOGY REVIEW. UM, GIVEN THAT WE HAVE ABOUT 10 MINUTES AND FOLKS ARE LIKELY GONNA HAVE TO DROP OFF, UM, WHAT DO WE THINK ABOUT MAYBE JUST HAVING OUR CONSULTANTS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES? AND HELEN, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE KIND OF A, A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE PLANNED PRESENTATION CONTENT, UM, IS. WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO FOLLOW UP IN A SUBSEQUENT MEETING WITH THE DETAILED PRESENTATION. I DON'T WANNA GIVE IT SHORT SHRIFT. UM, YEAH, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, TO KIND OF PULL EVERYTHING TOGETHER. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE THINKING IS IF WE DIDN'T MAKE IT TO THIS PRESENTATION TODAY, 'CAUSE OF TIME, UM, THAT WE COULD DO THIS IN OUR SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS, WHICH WE WOULD NEED TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE FOLKS ARE PART OF THOSE OR ELSE, OR ELSE LOOK AT THE FUTURE AGENDAS. BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DIG INTO. UM, DO WE WANNA PULL UP ANY OF THE SLIDES OR JUST HAVE IT BE, UM, DISCUSSION BASED OR, LET'S SEE. YEAH, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND PULL UP YOUR INTRODUCTORY SLIDES. LET'S SEE. THERE'S ONE THAT SPELLS OUT THE ACRONYM THAT WOULD BE MORE HELPFUL THAN ME SAYING IT. OKAY. , WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO, IF YOU COULD JUMP TO SLIDE FIVE, MR. THIS ACRONYM. AND THEN COULD YOU JUST PROGRESS, UH, ALL THE WAY TO SLIDE FIVE PLEASE. WATER ANALYSIS VERIFICATION? YEAH. SO, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE WAVE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ASSESSMENT AND VULNERABILITY EVALUATION. SO THAT'S THE TASK THAT OUR RAND CONSULTANTS WILL BE HELPING US WITH. AND SO IT'S TWOFOLD. UM, THE CONTENT OF THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS PLANNED FOR TODAY WAS FOCUSING MOSTLY ON THAT WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY ASSESSMENT. SO THAT'S AFTER WE DO ALL THE COSTING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DIFFERENT, UM, STRATEGY OPTIONS, WE PLUGGED THEM INTO THIS ASSESSMENT. AND, UH, RAND IS HELPING US BUILD A MODEL THAT CAN BASICALLY TEST ALL DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF THOSE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AGAINST ALL THE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, UM, OF FUTURE WATER AVAILABILITY THAT WE DEVELOPED. AND THAT WILL INFORM THE CREATION OF OUR, UH, NEAR TERM 50 YEAR PORTFOLIOS, AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT PLAN THAT TAKES US TO THE END OF THE A HUNDRED YEAR PLANNING HORIZON. UM, AND SO I THINK WITH THAT, UH, MAYBE WE CAN GET THE RAND TEAM, WE CAN PROGRESS TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND I'LL HAND IT OVER TO ROB, UM, WITH THE RAND TEAM AND THEY CAN INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND MAYBE WE COULD GET THROUGH THE DEEP UNCERTAINTY, MAY SEEM DAUNTING SLIDES IF WE THINK WE HAVE TIME AND, AND, UM, THAT, THAT COULD BE ENOUGH FOR TODAY. OKAY, GREAT. YEAH, NO, THANKS HELEN. AND, AND HELLO EVERYBODY. UH, GOOD, GOOD TO JOIN YOU TODAY. UM, I'M ROB LEMPERT. I'M A PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER AT RAND. UM, RAND IS A NONPROFIT NON, UH, PARTISAN, UH, PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH ORGANIZATION. AND, UM, MY WORK IS IN THESE, UM, UH, ROBUST DECISION MAKING METHODS. WE'RE, UH, WE'RE GONNA BE, WE'RE WORKING WITH YOU ALL ON AND, UH, I'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK IN, IN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION. UM, MICHELLE, DO YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF? SURE. GOOD, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE. MICHELLE MYRO. I'M A SENIOR INFORMATION SCIENTIST AT RAND, UH, IN A WATER RESOURCES ENGINEER BY TRAINING. UM, AND MY WORK REALLY SPANS ACROSS, UM, THE CLIMATE, A CLIMATE ADAPTATION SPACE IN THE WATER SECTOR. AND I'VE, YOU KNOW, SIMILAR TO ROB, BEEN WORKING ON THESE METHODS AND, AND REALLY LOOKING FORWARD AND BEEN ENJOYING WORKING ON THE AUSTIN WATER CONTEXT. YEAH. AND THEN, UM, THE THIRD MEMBER HERE IS . UH, CHARTER IS, UM, A, UH, GRADUATE STUDENT IN THE, UH, PARTY RAND GRADUATE SCHOOL. AND, UH, HE'S BEEN, I DON'T THINK HE'S ONLINE TODAY, BUT, BUT HE'S BEEN HELPING US OUT WITH THE ANALYSIS WE'RE GONNA TELL YOU ABOUT. SO, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. YEAH, SO WHY, WHY DON'T, WE'LL JUST GIVE YOU A TASTE, UM, AND THEN WE CAN RESCHEDULE FOR, UH, THE, THE MORE DETAILED, UH, UH, SLIDES. BUT, UM, OUR, OUR ROLE IN THIS PROJECT IS TO SUPPORT, UH, THE WAVE WITH THIS, UM, SET OF APPROACHES CALLED MULTI OBJECTIVE, ROBUST DECISION MAKING OR MORTEM. SO THAT'S A FANCY NAME. BUT, UM, THE, THE CONCEPT DISCUSSIONS WE'VE BEEN HAVING. SO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD DISCUSSION, UH, TODAY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PLANS THAT PERFORM WELL OVER A BROAD RANGE OF SCENARIOS, THE NEED FOR ADAPTIVE PLANS, UM, NOT WANTING TO THROW A DART, BUT BEING HIT BY SURPRISES. UM, AND, AND SO HOW, HOW DOES ONE PLAN IN IN THOSE SITUATIONS, YOU KNOW, WHERE THE WORLD IS FAST CHANGING, HARD TO PREDICT, UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, AND WE KNOW THAT WE CAN SHAPE THE FUTURE, [01:50:01] WE CAN STEER IN DIRECTIONS, UH, WE LIKE EVEN WHEN WE CAN'T PREDICT IT WITH CONFIDENCE. AND, YOU KNOW, WE DO THAT EVERY DAY IN OUR, OUR EVERYDAY LIVES. WE SEND OUR KIDS TO SCHOOL, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, WE DON'T KNOW HOW THAT EXACTLY IS GONNA TURN OUT, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN PLAN. UM, UH, BUT A LOT OF THE ANALYSIS THAT WE'VE TRADITIONALLY DONE IN, IN THE WATER AND OTHER SECTORS DON'T REALLY RELY ON THIS WISDOM AND THEY TRY TO PREDICT THEIR WAY OUTTA THE PLANNING PROBLEM. AND SO THIS MORTEM IDEA, UH, IS A MULTI OBJECTIVE, MULTI SCENARIO THAT IS, WE LOOK AT LOTS OF DIFFERENT GOALS. 'CAUSE YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT GOALS, MULTI SCENARIO, WE LOOK AT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT POSSIBLE WORLDS. UM, SO IT DEALS WITH BOTH THOSE THINGS AND IT IMPROVES DECISIONS UNDER THESE CONDITIONS WE CALL DEEP UNCERTAINTY. THERE'S A LITTLE DEFINITION, UH, DOWN THERE IN THE BLUE TEXT, BUT ESSENTIALLY IT'S WHEN THE WORLD WE'RE, WE'RE PRE, THE ONE THING THAT WE'RE REALLY SURE OF IS THAT THE WORLD'S GONNA GONNA SURPRISE US. UM, NEXT SLIDE. YEAH. AND SO THE BASIC IDEA, AND WHAT WE'RE GONNA SHOW YOU IN, IN, IN DETAIL, UM, WHEN WE NEXT TALK WITH YOU IS THAT THIS APPROACH IDENTIFIES ROBUST PORTFOLIOS OF ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE. AND ROBUST MEANS WORKS WELL ACROSS A VERY WIDE RANGE OF SCENARIOS THROUGH ITERATIVE OPTIMIZATION, STRESS TESTING. SO THE IDEA IS GIVEN A SET OF ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE, WE CAN FIND THE BEST PORTFOLIO OR REALLY GOOD PORTFOLIOS FOR THOSE SET OF ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE STRESS TEST. WE SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, IF THE WORLD TURNS OUT DIFFERENTLY THAN WAS ASSUMED IN THAT CALCULATION, HOW BADLY WOULD WHAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO PERFORM? AND THEN WE ITERATE ON IT AND COME UP WITH A, A STRATEGY WHICH PERFORMS BETTER AGAINST THOSE STRESS TESTS. AND WE ITERATE UNTIL WE CAN COME UP WITH A, UH, SOME RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH MEET MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES OVER MULTIPLE SCENARIOS. UM, SHOULD, SHOULD WE KEEP GOING OR, UM, SHOULD WE SAVE IT FOR NEXT TIME? WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? WE'VE GOT, UH, O ONE OTHER SLIDE THAT'S GOT A FEW ANIMATIONS ON IT. YOU WANNA TRY TO GET THROUGH THAT? YEAH, YEAH. WHY DON'T WE GO THROUGH THAT? YEAH. OKAY. SO YEAH, SO THIS, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. YEAH, SO THIS IDEA OF DEEP UNCERTAINTY, YOU KNOW, SCARY TERM, I MEAN, MAY SEEM DAUNTING, BUT, BUT REALLY IT, IT'S THE OTHER WAY AROUND. CONSIDERING DEEP UNCERTAINTY ACTUALLY IN MANY WAYS CAN MAKE, YOU KNOW, THE PLANNING SITUATION A LOT MORE EMPOWERING. YOU KNOW, ALLOW YOU TO KIND OF BE A LOT, GO IN WITH A LOT MORE CONFIDENCE. SO, UH, CLICK AGAIN, PLEASE. IT'S LIKE, YEAH, SO MANY TOOLS ARE BASED ON THIS IDEA OF PREDICT AND ACT. WE'RE GONNA GET A GOOD PREDICTION. EVERYBODY CAN AGREE TO IT. AND BASED ON THE PREDICTION OF WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN, WE CAN COME UP WITH A PLAN. AND THAT IS GOOD IN MANY SITUATIONS, BUT IT CAN BREAK DOWN WHEN YOU HAVE THIS DEEP UNCERTAINTY. WE CAN BE OVERCONFIDENT, WE CAN, YOU KNOW, PLAN FOR A FUTURE AND BE MORE SURE THAT, UH, WE'RE GONNA GET THAT FUTURE THAN WE SHOULD BE. WE CAN MISS OPPORTUNITIES BY NOT SEEING THINGS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT WE CONSIDER THEY MIGHT HAPPEN. AND WE CAN BE BRITTLE AGAINST SURPRISE 'CAUSE WE HAVEN'T, YOU KNOW, STRESS TEST OUR STRATEGY. SO THIS IDEA OF, YOU KNOW, PREDICTING THIS LITTLE CRYSTAL BALL THERE CAN BECOME, CLICK PLEASE. UM, NEXT SLIDE CAN BECOME, YOU KNOW, TUNNEL VISION. AND WHAT THIS MULTI OBJECTIVE, ROBUST DECISION MAKING HELPS US DO IS IDENTIFY THINGS WE CAN DO, WHICH ARE LOW REGRETS. MEANING, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY, THEY WORK WELL OVER A WIDE RANGE OF STRATEGIES. IT HELPS US THINK ABOUT HOW TO BE ADAPTIVE AND FLEXIBLE BECAUSE THE REASON, A REASON WE'RE ADAPTIVE AND FLEXIBLE IS 'CAUSE WE START OUT ON ONE SCENARIO, BUT WE GET ANOTHER. AND IT HELPS US KEEP OPTIONS OPEN. SO KIND OF SHAPE THE FUTURE IN WAYS THAT MAKE IT BETTER TO DEAL WITH. SO, UM, NEXT SLIDE. SO INSTEAD OF THIS, UH, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL FOR TUNNEL VISION, WHAT WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT AND, AND IMPLEMENT WITH YOU ALL IS THESE SET OF ANALYTIC METHODS, WHICH DESIGN HELP YOU PLAN OVER MULTIPLE FUTURES AND THEN FIND STRATEGIES ROBUST AGAINST IT. SO THAT'S THE PICTORIAL SUMMARY AND NEXT TIME WE GET TOGETHER, UM, UH, MICHELLE WILL DIVE IN AND WE'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THIS ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE AS WE START MODELING IT. UM, ANY, ANY QUICK QUESTIONS OR SHOULD WE JUST WAIT FOR NEXT TIME? NO, I, I THINK, I THINK, UM, 'CAUSE WE'RE, OH, WE'RE RIGHT. EXACTLY AT TIME. THANK YOU FOR THAT INTRODUCTION TO DEEP UNCERTAINTY. UM, AND, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE THE FULL PRESENTATION, UM, EITHER AT A FUTURE TASK FORCE MEETING AND OR IN SUBCOMMITTEE MEETINGS [01:55:02] OR WORK GROUPS. I CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO CALL 'EM WORK GROUPS. OKAY. BUT, UM, OKAY. SO, UM, I THINK THAT, SO THANK YOU ROBERT. UM, AND MICHELLE, NICE TO MEET Y'ALL. AND, UH, I THINK THAT'S, OH WAIT, [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ] WE HAVE ONE MORE THING IN THIS PACKET, RIGHT? OH, THE, THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL BACKUP ITEM THAT SHOWS FUTURE TASK FORCE MEETING DATES AND SOME PLANNED AGENDA TOPICS. UM, THE AGENDA TOPICS THAT ARE ON THERE PRIMARILY RELATED TO THE 2024 PLANNED DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. AND I AM SURE THAT THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL TOPICS ADDED TO THOSE YEAH. MEETINGS. OKAY. AND I BELIEVE THAT IS IT. UM, THANK YOU ALL AND WE ARE ADJOURNED. OKAY. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.