[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER]
ALL RIGHT.WE HAVE 1, 2, 3 MEMBERS, THREE MEMBERS HERE, SO WE HAVE A QUORUM.
AND MARISSA, THE BABY'S BEEN BORN.
MARISSA, MOTHER OF TWO IS ON THE PHONE, I MEAN, ON THE THING.
SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES ]
HAVE THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE MEETING MINUTES FROM THE SPECIALLY CALLED TASK FORCE MEETING THAT WE HAD A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? ALL RIGHT, SECOND.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT.
THOSE ARE THE MINUTES ARE PROOFED OFFICIALLY MAKE IT, MAKE IT.
SO, UM, OKAY, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO
[2. Update on Lower Colorado River and Highland Lakes water supply conditions]
OUR DISCUSSION ITEMS. SORRY, TALKING REALLY LOUD ON THIS MICROPHONE.UM, WE HAVE A UPDATE ON THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER IN HIGHLAND LAKES WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS, WHICH FOR ONCE WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A POSITIVE DIRECTION.
UM, AND THEN, UH, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO THAT.
WHO'S ARE YOU DOING THAT, THERESA? YOU DOING THAT, EMILY? I'LL BE DOING THAT TODAY.
ALRIGHT, WELL THE MICS ARE VERY ITEM TWO.
YEAH, THE MICS ARE VERY STRONG TODAY.
SO LET ME KNOW IF I NEED TO SHUSH.
WE ALREADY WENT THROUGH THIS, SO JUST GO TO NUMBER TWO.
OKAY, SO HERE WE SEE HIGHLAND LAKES INFLOWS.
UM, IF WE LOOK AT THE PURPLE BAR, THAT'S THE INFLOWS FOR 2024.
AND FROM JANUARY THROUGH APRIL, WE'VE HAD PRETTY LOW INFLOWS.
THEY'VE TRACKED A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN 2023, BUT AS WE SEE IN MAY, WE HAVE A HUGE SPIKE COMPARATIVELY.
UM, SO THIS GRAPH IS AS OF MAY 8TH, 2024, AND IT SHOWS IT LIKE A LITTLE BIT BELOW 125,000, BUT AS OF YESTERDAY, UM, WE'VE GONE UP FOR INFLOWS TO 127,000.
SO IT'LL BE ABOVE THAT, UM, 125,000 BAR.
UM, AND SO FAR THROUGH MAY 12TH, THE MAY INFLOWS ARE 65% OF THE LONG-TERM AVERAGE.
SO OF THAT BLUE BAR THAT REPRESENTS, UM, THE AVERAGE BETWEEN 1942 AND PRESENT DAY.
OKAY, SO THIS IS LAKES, BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS COMBINED STORAGE.
UM, SO COMBINED STORAGE HAD BEEN PRETTY STEADY AT ABOUT 42% FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS, AND NOW IT'S BUMPED UP TO 50%.
SO IF YOU SEE TOWARDS THE BOTTOM RIGHT, IT'S NOW OVER 0.9 MILLION ACRE FEET.
UM, STORAGE HAS RISEN ABOUT 137,000 ACRE FEET.
AND JUST FOR SOME CONTEXT, IN MAY OF 2023, WE ENDED A LITTLE OVER A MILLION ACRE FEET IN STORAGE.
AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN, WE'RE AT 990, SO WE'RE PRETTY CLOSE TO WHERE WE WERE.
UM, LAST MAY AND LAST YEAR AFTER WE HAD THAT REALLY HOT SUMMER, WE GOT DOWN TO 770,000.
SO IT'S LOOKING PRETTY SIMILAR SO FAR AS LAST MAY AND LAKES BUCHANAN OR LAKE BUCHANAN HAS GONE UP 118,000 ACRE FEET SINCE MAY 1ST, AND THEN LAKE TRAVIS HAS GONE UP 19,000 ACRE FEET SINCE MAY 1ST.
SO THIS IS THE US DROUGHT MONITOR.
UM, LAKE, OR NO, SORRY, NOT LAKE.
UM, TRAVIS COUNTY RANGES IN CONDITIONS OF DROUGHT FROM NONE TO SEVERE DROUGHT.
UM, THIS WAS PUBLISHED ON MAY 9TH THOUGH, AND IT USUALLY LAGS BEHIND ABOUT A WEEK WITH RAINFALL
[00:05:01]
CONDITIONS.SO WE SHOULD SEE SOME OF THAT ORANGE AND YELLOW THAT'S IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, LIGHTEN UP IN PROBABLY FADE OFF.
SO THIS IS NOAH'S THREE MONTH OUTLOOK FROM JUNE TO AUGUST.
UM, AND WE'RE SEEING HIGHER CHANCES OF SEEING ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS.
AND WE'RE SEEING ABOUT EQUAL CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION TO EITHER BE BELOW NORMAL OR ABOVE NORMAL.
SO THIS IS, UM, THE EL NINO FORECAST.
SO THIS WAS UPDATED APRIL 11TH, AND THERE'S ABOUT 85% CHANCE OF A TRANSITION FROM EL NINO TO NEUTRAL BY APRIL THROUGH JUNE OF 2024.
AND THEN A 60% CHANCE OF LA NINA DEVELOPING BY JUNE THROUGH AUGUST.
SO EXPECTING A DRIER FALL IN WINTER.
SO THIS IS THE COMBINED STORAGE PROJECTIONS OUT INTO NOVEMBER 20, 24.
AND AS YOU SEE ON THE RIGHT, WE'VE GOT THE UPDATED CITY OF AUSTIN DCP STAGES.
AND, UM, I ADDED IN THERE YOUR PACKET WON'T HAVE IT, BUT IT'S ON THIS SLIDE SO FAR, WE'VE BEEN TRACKING BETWEEN THE BLUE AND THE ORANGE LINE, WHICH IS, UM, DRIED TO MEDIAN LEVELS.
BUT THE COMBINED STORAGE RIGHT NOW IS THAT LITTLE DOT THAT'S ON THE SCREEN.
SO IT'S, UM, AT ABOUT A MILLION ACRE FEET.
SO ONCE THIS GETS UPDATED, THERE WILL BE, UM, FINALLY A BUMP UP OUT OF THAT STRAIGHT LINE THAT WE'VE BEEN TRACKING AT.
ANY QUESTIONS? ANY QUESTIONS, FOLKS? UM, TODD AND VANESSA ARE IN THE ATTENDEE.
THEY'RE GONNA GONNA BE SWITCHED OVER TO, THERE WE GO.
THEY HAD TO WAIT UNTIL THE PRESENTATION WAS OVER.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THE, UM, WATER OUTLOOK? ALL RIGHT.
OKAY, WE COVERED MY AGENDA UP.
OKAY, SO WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE UPDATE.
SO REALLY GREAT NEWS ON WATER SUPPLY.
UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE CONTEXT YOU GAVE FROM LAST YEAR, THE COMPARISON.
UM, LET'S HOPE WE GET MORE RAIN.
I SAW SOME IN THE FORECAST THEN.
IT LOOKS LIKE NINETIES FOREVER, SO, BUT, UM, OKAY.
[3. Update on Single Family Residential Landscape Transformation Ordinances]
MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS THE UPDATE ON THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ORDINANCES.AND JUST TO NOTE, I TALKED TO, UM, TO EMILY AND MARISA, UM, ROBERT AND I DID ABOUT THE AGENDA LAST WEEK AND THE AGENDAS GOING FORWARD.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL AGENDA ITEMS COMING FORTH ON, ON SUBSEQUENT TASK FORCE MEETINGS FOCUSED AND ON WATER CONSERVATION.
UM, JUST SO, SO WE'LL BE TALKING A LOT ABOUT IT, UM, AND GETTING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, ABOUT THE PROGRAMS AND STRATEGIES AND PROJECTIONS AND STUFF LIKE THAT IN ADDITION TO ALL THE, ALL THE OTHER STUFF WE'RE DOING.
UM, AND IT'S JUST A KIND OF A BUSY PACKED, UM, SUMMER AND GOING INTO FALL BECAUSE WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATED WATER FORWARD PLAN LATER THIS YEAR, BUT ALSO POTENTIAL UPDATES TO THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN AS WELL, AND DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN OR JUST CONSERV TO BOTH OF 'EM.
SO WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS ALL THREE OF THOSE UPDATES, UM, ALL SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS, ALL GETTING READY FOR NOVEMBER.
SO, UM, PUT ON YOUR SEAT BELTS, EVERYONE.
OKAY, SO WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU.
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON TASK FORCE MEMBERS.
MY NAME'S KEVIN KLUGE, WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER, AND THIS ITEM IS THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITIES.
AND IT IS A REAL SENSE, IT'S A RECAP FOR SOME OF YOU.
SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD THIS, UM, UH, DESCRIPTION OF OUR LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITIES BEFORE, AND SOME OF YOU ACTUALLY MAY HEAR IT AGAIN.
UM, AS OVER THE NEXT MONTH OR SO, WE WILL BE, UH, TAKING THIS BRIEFING OUT TO OTHER, UH, COMMISSIONS SUCH AS RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, AS WELL AS WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION.
THIS LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITY WAS ACTUALLY ONE OF THE, UH, ACTIVITIES THAT WE DISCUSSED LAST MONTH.
UH, WHEN WE WERE HAVING A DISCUSSION REGARDING HOW WE CAME UP WITH OUR GOALS AND SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE ANTICIPATED PRODUCING ADDITIONAL SAVINGS, THESE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITIES WERE ONE OF THOSE THAT WE
[00:10:01]
EXPECT TO PRODUCE REAL ADDITIONAL SAVINGS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.NONE OF THIS IS, IS IS NEW OR SURPRISING TO ANY OF YOU WHY WE NEED THE NEW WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF OUR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT GOALS, HOW WE NEED TO ESTABLISH NEW WAYS TO SAVE WATER, TO SAVE ADDITIONAL WATER.
UM, I THINK EMILY DID A GOOD JOB TALKING ABOUT THE LAKES AND THE HIGHLAND LAKES INFLOW AND THE SHIFTING TO LA NINA.
ALRIGHT, JUST AS, UH, A REMINDER, UH, THERE WAS A STRATEGY IN THE 2018 WATER FORWARD PLAN ENTITLED LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ORDINANCE, AND THIS STRATEGY AND VISION TRANSFORMING NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOME LANDSCAPES FROM LANDSCAPES THAT UTILIZE AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, UH, TO ONES THAT DID NOT USE, UH, AS MUCH POTABLE WATER FOR IRRIGATION.
UM, IN THE PLAN, IT MENTIONED LIMITS ON PO, POSSIBLE LIMITS ON TURF AND IRRIGATION, AND IT SET OUT A SAVINGS GOAL OF ALMOST 2,500 ACRE FEET BY 2040, UH, JUST AS A SPOILER.
UM, THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER AND ARE PURSUING, UH, WILL MEET THAT, THAT GOAL.
SO THAT IS A, A GOOD THING GOING FORWARD.
JUST A CONTEXT QUESTION REAL QUICK.
UM, YES, THE, THE AMOUNT OF SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL, SO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL IS A BIG PORTION OF THE TOTAL WATER USE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION IS, OF COURSE, COMMERCIAL AND OTHER PLACES HAVE IT.
SO LET'S NOT JUST PICK ON SINGLE FAMILY, BUT, UM, A PERCENTAGE OF WATER USE THAT'S, THAT IS USED ON OUTDOOR LANDSCAPING.
DO Y'ALL HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF THAT? I THINK AUSTIN ESTIMATES IT QUITE A BIT LOWER THAN LIKE WHAT YOU READ IN THE LITERATURE IN OTHER PLACES ALREADY.
AND THERESA, DO YOU RECALL OFFHAND? YEAH, IF YOU LOOK AT IT AS A PERCENT OF OUR DIVERSIONS FROM THE RIVER, WE'VE LOOKED AT IT DIFFERENT WAYS, WHETHER IT'S A PERCENTAGE OF OUR DIVERSIONS FROM THE RIVER OR, UH, DEMAND, IT'S IN THE RANGE OF 20 TO 25% DEPENDING ON WHAT, AS WHAT PERCENTAGE OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT THERE.
SO IT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU HEAR MUCH HIGHER NUMBERS, UH, QUOTED, AND THOSE MAY BE, SOME OF THOSE HIGHER NUMBERS MAY BE QUOTED, UM, LOOKING MAYBE AT A SPECIFIC CUSTOMER OR A DAY, UH, LOOKING AT WATER USE AS A PROPORTION OF A, A MORE FINE GRAINED, UM, UM, INCREMENT OF TIME.
BUT IF YOU LOOK AT OUR OVERALL WATER SUPPLY OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR MM-HMM,
I MEAN, NOT TO GET US OFF ON A TANGENT, BUT, BUT I'M GOING TO NO, UM, JUST, JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT TOTAL.
SO THAT'S DEFINITELY ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
BUT AS FAR AS LIKE, AND WE'LL GET INTO IT, BUT JUST AS FAR AS TARGETING OUTDOOR WATER YEAST TOO, IT IS VERY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SEGMENT AND WHERE IT'S BEING USED RATHER THAN LIKE THE WHOLE, LIKE WHAT WE WITHDRAW FROM THE LAKES AND STUFF.
LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF SINGLE FAMILY IS IT IN, IN OH, YEAH.
SO, AND WE, WE DO HAVE THAT, UM, THAT DETAIL, THAT DESEGREGATED DEMAND MODEL INFORMATION THAT SHOWS US HOW MUCH, UH, BISECTOR WE HAVE AND, AND SO YEAH, WE CAN PROVIDE THAT, UM, OR WE'LL HAVE ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THE ESTIMATES OF SAVINGS.
AND ESPECIALLY AS A MI CONTINUES TO ROLL OUT.
[00:15:24]
OH, OKAY.CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? NOW IT'S GOT A GREEN LIGHT IN HERE.
HOW ABOUT NOW? BETTER? ANYONE ONLINE HERE? HELLO? HELLO? I SEE THAT I DON'T HEAR ANYTHING.
ANYBODY? ANYBODY? HEY, NOW WE HEAR YOU.
FOR THE FIRST TIME WE'RE BACK UP.
WE JUST HAD TO TURN THE, TURN THE VOLUME UP.
HEY, KEVIN, WE, WE LOST YOU ABOUT THREE SLIDES AGO.
UM, CAN WE GO BACK? THOSE ARE THE BEST ONES.
UM, LET'S SEE, BACK TO PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.
LET'S SEE, WE'RE STILL SEEING STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS.
HAVE YOU CHANGED SLIDES, KEVIN? UM, I DO NOT HAVE THE POWER
SHE TRIED TO GIVE ME THE CLICKER LAST TIME AND THAT DIDN'T WORK NEARLY SO WELL, SO SHE JUST TOOK IT OVER.
SO IS THAT GOOD, ROBERT, DO WE NEED TO GO BACK FURTHER? I THINK THAT'S GOOD.
UM, 2022 WAS REALLY THE YEAR OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT FOR THESE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITIES.
WE HAD A NUMBER OF PUBLIC MEETINGS, MET WITH STAKEHOLDERS INDIVIDUALLY IN INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS, ESTABLISHED A SPEAK UP AUSTIN PAGE, AND HAD SEVERAL OF, UH, UH, TWO SURVEYS, UM, THROUGHOUT 2022, UH, TO COLLECT THOUGHTS ON, UH, UH, LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITIES.
SO 2022 IS REALLY KIND OF THE BIG YEAR TO BRING IDEAS TOGETHER.
2023 WAS MORE OF A YEAR OF PUTTING THESE IDEAS AND TRYING TO DETERMINE WHICH ONES WOULD BE, UH, COULD BE IMPLEMENTED, WHICH ONES WOULD BE EFFECTIVE, AND, UH, AND THEN TRYING TO WORK THROUGH THE DETAILS OF THAT IMPLEMENTATION BEFORE BRINGING IT BACK OUT TO EVERYONE IN AUGUST OF 2023.
UH, THROUGHOUT THAT TIME PERIOD, WE MET A NUMBER OF TIMES, UH, WITH EACH OF THESE INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE NOT GETTING CROSSWISE WITH THEIR EFFORTS.
UM, AND IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTATION, TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM TO IMPLEMENT ANY ACTIVITIES THAT WE RECOMMENDED GOING FORWARD.
UH, WE HAD A NUMBER OF EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE MET, UH, NUMEROUS TIMES.
WE REACHED OUT TO A BROAD, A BROAD RANGE OF STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE CITY.
UH, THESE WERE ONES THAT RESPONDED TO US AND WERE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN TALKING TO US AS YOU SEE IF THEY'RE THE HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION.
UH, THEIR GREATEST CONCERN WAS DELAYS IN, IN THE BUILDING AND PERMITTING PROCESS.
UM, CENTRAL TEXAS IRRIGATORS, UH, CERTAINLY ENFORCE SOME OF THE, OR ENCOURAGE SOME OF THE ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES.
UH, ALTHOUGH THERE WERE CONCERNS ABOUT THE LIMITATION OF, OF IRRIGATION.
UM, AND WE SPOKE TO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND NURSERY AND LANDSCAPE ASSOCIATION PRIMARILY, THEY WERE JUST CONCERNED ABOUT, UH, THE CITY OUTLAWING, FOR INSTANCE, DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF PLANTS.
THAT WAS THEIR, THEIR CONCERN.
I ALSO WANNA MENTION AS, AS JENNIFER, UM, UH, NOTED EARLIER, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO STOP AND GO BACK A SLIDE, UM, AT ANY POINT.
DID THE AUSTIN CHAPTER OF THE NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY HAVE ANY DISCUSSIONS WITH Y'ALL AT ALL, OR? I DON'T RECALL US
[00:20:01]
TALKING TO THEM SPECIFICALLY.I HAVE A QUESTION AS WELL, UM, WHILE WE'RE STOPPING FOR QUESTIONS.
UH, SO IF WE INCLUDED THIS IN THE 2018 PLAN, AND THE IDEA WAS TO PASS A LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ORDINANCE AT SOME POINT.
WAS THERE, MAYBE THAT WAS LIKE A FARTHER OUT GOAL, BUT IS THERE A REASON WHY, LIKE, WE'RE KIND OF JUST NOW GETTING AROUND TO IT, IF, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S BEEN QUITE A LONG TIME.
UH, AS I RECALL, I BELIEVE IT WAS IMP SCHEDULED TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN 2025, IS THE IMPLEMENTATION DATE.
SO IT DOES TAKE A LITTLE WHILE TO GET THERE, RIGHT? YEAH, I I JUST CAN RE RE UH, REINFORCE THAT, THAT IT WAS ONE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WAS PACED OUT A LITTLE FURTHER IN TIME.
WE HAD SOME OTHER ITEMS THAT HAD, UM, THAT WERE PRIORITIZED AND EARLIER ON IN THE IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE.
IN ADDITION TO CITY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, WE ALSO REACHED OUT TO A NUMBER OF OTHER UTILITIES ACROSS TEXAS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING SIMILAR WORK, UH, WHETHER IT'S NEW BRAUNFELS, UH, FRISCO, UH, FRISCO HAS BEEN QUITE THE LEADER IN TERMS OF IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS AND IRRIGATION CHECKUPS FOR THEIR NEW HOMES.
UH, AS WELL AS, AS GEORGETOWN WHO HAD A, UH, LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE THAT DEALT WITH, UH, THE AMOUNT OF IRRIGATION THAT COULD BE PUT INTO NEW HOMES.
UM, SO WE REALLY WANTED TO BUILD ON WHAT THEY LEARNED.
SO STEPS TO TRANSFORMING THE LANDSCAPE.
AFTER THAT WHOLE YEAR OF DISCUSSING WITH STAKEHOLDERS AT HOW YOU MIGHT TRANSFORM NEW LANDSCAPES, WE CAME UP WITH NOT JUST ONE ORDINANCE, NOT JUST ONE ACTION OR IDEA, UM, BUT A, A BASKET OF IDEAS THAT WE FELT WOULD TRANSFORM THESE NEW LANDSCAPES AND REALLY BROKEN DOWN INTO THREE SUB-BASS, I GUESS YOU MIGHT SAY.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, BUILDING WITH SAVINGS, UM, THEN SETTING CUSTOMERS UP FOR SUCCESS, PARTICULARLY WITH IRRIGATION, BUT THEN ALSO ENCOURAGING ALTERNATIVE WATER ON YOUR LANDSCAPES.
WITHIN THAT FIRST BUCKET OF ACTIVITIES, BUILDING WITH SAVINGS, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION OF THE CITY TO REALLY ENHANCE THE SOIL INSPECTIONS.
THEY'VE BEEN ON THE, THE BOOKS FOR A WHILE, BUT WE WORKED WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL INSPECTORS OVER DSD TO RETRAIN AND, UH, PUT GREATER EMPHASIS ON LOOKING AT THE SOIL, UH, NEW HOMES BECAUSE GOOD SOIL CAN HOLD MORE MOISTURE, UH, WHICH WILL REDUCE WATER USE.
UH, SO THERE IS REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEPTH OF SOIL AND COMPOST, UH, THAT ARE NOW BEING EXP ARE BEING INSPECTED.
WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH DSD TO EDIT THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL TO RE HAVE A REQUIRED LIST OF PLANTS FOR NEW HOMES.
UH, CURRENTLY THERE IS A, FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENTS, THERE IS A REQUIRED LIST OF PLANTS, UH, LOW WATER USE PLANTS, NATIVE AND ADAPTIVE.
BUT THIS WILL BE FOR, UH, THE NEW HOMES.
UM, THEY'LL PROBABLY, I'M NOT SURE WHEN THAT START DATE FOR THAT REQUIREMENT WILL BE, BUT PROBABLY IN 2025 FOR THE PLANT LIST.
ARE Y'ALL, UM, LOOKING AT ROOT DEPTH AT ALL? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN PRAIRIE SPECIES THAT ARE NATIVE TO HERE MIGHT ALLOW MORE WATER PERCOLATION THROUGH THE SOIL, OR YOU JUST CREATING A, A MASTER LIST AND NOT REALLY GOING IN DEPTH.
IT, IT IS MORE OF THAT LADDER, THE MASTER LIST.
WE'RE UTILIZING THE EXISTING GROW GREEN LIST AS WELL AS THE EXISTING COMMERCIAL LIST.
UM, PERHAPS YOU SAID THERE'S ALREADY AN EXISTING LIST FOR, UM, FOR THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.
IT SEEMS LIKE MADELINE HAS AN INTEREST IN THAT.
MAYBE WE CAN SHARE THAT, UM, WITH THEM.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE'S LIKE THE GROW GREEN LIST AND, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE PLANT LISTS LIKE THIS AND, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE'S, THERE'S LIKE A LOT OF GOOD PLANT MATERIAL TO CHOOSE FROM.
AND, AND AUSTIN HAS DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, WEST AUSTIN VERSUS EAST AUSTIN WILL, WILL TOLERATE DIFFERENT KIND OF PLANT MATERIAL, BUT, UM, DEFINITELY A GOOD THING TO DO AS A PERSON THAT USED TO WORK AT A PLANT NURSERY ALSO AND AT THE WILDFLOWER CENTER THAT THE, UM, PEOPLE REALLY WANT HELP WITH THAT KIND OF STUFF.
UM, AUSTIN AT ONE POINT HAD THESE
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REALLY NICE, UM, I ACTUALLY SAW 'EM ON THAT LITTLE, UM, SHELF LIKE MAGAZINE RACK KIND OF THING THAT'S OUTSIDE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OFFICES UP THERE ON THE SECOND FLOOR.IT'S THE ONLY PLACE I'VE EVER SEEN IT, WHICH WAS KIND OF A RANDOM SPOT.
BUT, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAD DEVELOPED, UM, LIKE GARDEN DESIGNS, YOU KNOW, WITH THE LITTLE CIRCLES WITH THE PLANTS AND EVERYTHING FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF AREAS LIKE SHADY PARTS, SUN, ET CETERA.
UM, AND SO THINGS LIKE THAT IN ADDITION TO A PLANT LIST, UM, WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
I'M SURE THOSE EXIST SOMEWHERE.
THEY'RE REALLY NICE, NICELY GRAPHICALLY DONE.
AND, AND AS A PERSON THAT'S SEEN A LOT OF THOSE DESIGNS AND STUFF, UM, UM, I WAS VERY IMPRESSED WITH THAT AND THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE I EVER SAW THEM.
BUT THEN WHEN I WORKED IN A NURSERY, I SAW THE GROW GREEN STUFF EVERYWHERE, YOU KNOW, BUT PEOPLE REALLY WANT THAT KIND OF INFORMATION, UM, AS A, AS THEY EXPLORE, YOU KNOW, HOW TO, YOU KNOW, DO THEIR GARDENING AND EVERYTHING AND MAKE THEIR YARDS BEAUTIFUL.
AND, AND WE'VE RECENTLY BEEN IN LOOKING, I THINK WE'VE BEEN LOOKING THROUGH THOSE SAME DESIGNS MM-HMM.
UH, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT FOR NEW HOMEOWNERS.
UM, WE WORKING JUST AS MUCH PROBABLY WITH THE BUILDER AS WITH THE HOMEOWNER.
BUT, AND IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE I THINK EVEN LIKE THE NOMENCLATURE OF LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION MAKES YOU THINK ABOUT EXISTING HOMES AND HOW THEY MIGHT TRANSFORM THEIR LANDSCAPE INTO MORE WATER CONSERVING OR ZURICH OR MORE LIKE, LIKE, UM, APPROPRIATE FOR OUR CLIMATE TYPE, UM, TYPE, UM, LANDSCAPES AND PLANTS.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, COULD ALSO NOT JUST BE FOR NEW HOMES, BUT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, THE REQUIREMENTS MAYBE, BUT COULD ALSO PERTAIN TO, UM, EXISTING HOMES AND PEOPLE THAT WANT TO DO THAT.
I KNOW THERE'S LOTS OF OTHER PROGRAMS, UM, FOR THAT TOO, BUT THAT'S A GOOD POINT ABOUT THE WORD TRANSFORMATION, UM, FOR EXISTING AS WELL AS NEW.
UH, THE, THE THIRD, UH, ACTIVITY WE'RE LOOKING AT IN TERMS OF THAT SAME BUILD WITH SAVINGS IS FOR NEW HOMES.
AND THESE ARE HOMES THAT, UH, WILL BE BUILT OR PERMITTED RATHER AFTER JANUARY, 2025, THERE WILL LI BE A LIMITATION ON THE AREA OF THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM THAT CAN BE INSTALLED IN THE HOME, UH, UP TO 50% OF THE LANDSCAPE AREA, UH, FRONT YARD OR BACKYARD.
UM, AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THIS I'LL, I'LL MENTION IN LATER IN THE PRESENTATION, THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING TO PUSH THROUGH WITH THE, UH, LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO THE UPDATED UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE.
SO THIS WOULD CREATE SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS LIMITING THE IRRIGATION AREA OF THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
THIS NEXT, UH, GROUP OF ACTIVITIES REALLY AS IT MENTIONS IS TRYING TO SET CUSTOMERS UP FOR SUCCESS IF THEY HAVE AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
UM, SO EVEN IF THEY DO PUT AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM, WE WANT IT TO BE THE BEST IRRIGATION SYSTEM THAT THEY COULD POSSIBLY HAVE.
UH, SO AS PART OF THAT UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE UPDATE, WE ARE PROPOSING A LOCAL AMENDMENT TO REQUIRE PRESSURE REDUCTION DEVICES IN THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
UH, HIGH PRESSURE THROUGH AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM CAN WASTE A LOT OF WATER SIMPLY THROUGH MISTING AND VAPORIZING THE WATER BEFORE IT EVER HITS THE GROUND.
UM, SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE SYSTEMS HAVE, UH, GOOD PRESSURE GOING THROUGH THEM.
UM, SECONDLY, WE ARE GOING TO REQUIRE POST INSTALLATION INSPECTIONS OF ALL NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. UM, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE AS A UTILITY ARE TAKING ON.
IT DOESN'T REQUIRE ANY CHANGING IN CODE.
UM, BUT WE ARE BRINGING ON SEVERAL STAFF MEMBERS IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO, AND WE'LL BE WORKING TO START MOVING TOWARDS THOSE IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS AT THE BEGINNING SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE MOVE INTO THE OFF HOUSE, UM, THERE'S A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ASSURANCE THAT THEIR SYSTEM IS IN GOOD WORKING ORDER, THEY HAVE A PLAN AND IT'S SET TO THE CORRECT SCHEDULE FROM THE START.
THESE ARE ONLY FOR NEW HOUSES THOUGH.
THERE'S LIKE, IF SOMEONE WERE TO GO BACK AND REDO ALL THEIR IRRIGATION, THERE'S NOTHING IN ORDINANCE OR THE IRRIGATION INSPECTION WILL BE FOR ALL NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. ITS OKAY.
SO THE SYSTEM, A NEW HOUSE OR A, A NEW SYSTEM.
UM, WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH PSD ON HOW TO IMPLEMENT THE DETAILS OF, OF THAT, BUT YES, THE INTENT IS FOR ALL NEW IRRIGATION SYSTEMS TO HAVE THAT INSPECTION.
[00:30:02]
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, WE'D OFFER UP A NEW HOME CHECKUP, FOR INSTANCE, 90 DAYS AFTER THEY MOVE IN JUST AS A COURTESY VISIT TO MAKE ANSWER ANYONE'S QUESTIONS IF THEY DESIRE, UH, FOR US TO COME OUT, UM, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S SET CORRECTLY.SO BOTH THE INSTALLATION TO BEGIN WITH AND THEN A CHECKUP AFTERWARDS, BOTH OF THOSE WE BELIEVE CAN RESULT IN, IN SUBSTANTIAL SAVINGS FROM IRRIGATION BY HAVING A BETTER SYSTEM.
AND THEN THE THIRD BASKET OF ACTIVITIES.
THE LAST TWO ACTIVITIES RATHER, IS ENCOURAGING ALTERNATIVE WATER.
THESE ACTIVITIES ARE NOT NECESSARILY WATER SAVINGS, UM, BUT THEY ARE PROVIDING NON-POTABLE SUPPLY TO THE LANDSCAPE.
YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE REDUCING POTABLE SUPPLY TO THE LANDSCAPE, THESE ARE OPTIONS TO, TO PROVIDE THAT NON-POTABLE SUPPLY TO THE LANDSCAPES AND, AND PLANTS.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, AS PART OF THAT UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE AMENDMENT, UM, WE ARE LOOKING TO REQUIRE NEW HOMES PERMITTED AFTER JANUARY PER 25, WHO HAVE A LAUNDRY ROOM ON AN EXTERIOR WALL, UH, TO HAVE LAUNDRY TO LANDSCAPE READY PLUMBING IN IT.
UM, ONE OF THE GREAT CHALLENGES FOR A LAUNDRY LANDSCAPE, UH, FOR EXISTING HOMES IS PUTTING THE PLUMBING INTO EXISTING WALLS.
UM, BUT IN THIS CASE, THOSE NEW HOMES, WHEN THE CLOTHES WASHERS RIGHT NEXT TO THE WALL, THEY WILL HAVE THAT PLUMBING IN.
THEY WON'T HAVE THE EXTERIOR BUILT OUT THE EXTERIOR PIPING TO, UH, WATER, UM, THE LANDSCAPE, BUT THEY WILL HAVE THAT INTERIOR PLUMBING AVAILABLE.
UM, SO I'D PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL SUPPLY FOR HOMES AND HOMEOWNERS THAT WANTED TO UTILIZE THAT.
ARE THERE ANY SETBACKS FOR STORM WATER DRAINS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT FOR THE, THE LAUNDRY LANDSCAPE? SO, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE IS A SETBACK, UM, FROM PROPERTY LINES, UM, BEYOND WHICH THE LAUNDRY AND LANDSCAPE SYSTEM, UM, MUST BE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO DO, IT'S NOT A BULLET ON THAT SLIDE NECESSARILY, BUT TO ASSIST HOMEOWNERS WHO WANNA PURSUE THAT IS TO, UH, PROVIDE A, A INCENTIVE.
UH, WE CURRENTLY PROVIDE INCENTIVE FOR THE MATERIALS FOR LAUNDRY TO LANDSCAPE, BUT OUR INTENT IS TO MAKE THAT EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CONTACT US AND THEN WE CAN BE AWARE OF WHAT SYSTEMS ARE GOING IN AND, AND DO REVIEWS OF THOSE SYSTEMS AFTERWARDS.
KEVIN? YES, KEVIN, JUST QUICK QUESTION ON THAT, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND.
SO, IS THIS GOING TO BE A CHANGE IN THE CODE THAT ACTUALLY WOULD REQUIRE NEW HOMES THAT HAVE LAUNDRY ROOMS ON THE EXTERIOR WALL TO PLUM, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN USE THAT WATER FOR IRRIGATION OUTSIDE? YES.
SO THEN HOW DOES THE INCENTIVE PIECE OF THAT WORK? IS THAT FOR PEOPLE WHO WOULD, WOULDN'T BE REQUIRED TO DO THAT TO, UH, GO AHEAD AND DESIGN? NO, GOOD CLARIFYING QUESTION.
THE REQUIREMENT IS JUST FOR THE INSIDE, KIND OF WHAT YOU SEE ON THAT, THAT, UH, IMAGE THERE.
JUST THE, THE PIPING FROM THE CLOTHES WASHER TO A STUB OUT ON THE EXTERIOR WALL, THAT'S WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED.
UM, OUTSIDE IT IS NOT REQUIRED FOR THEM TO DO ANYTHING OUTSIDE.
SO OUR INCENTIVE WOULD BE, UH, TO PAY FOR MATERIALS, UH, OF GETTING THE, DISTRIBUTING THE WATER OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE.
SO WHAT'S, I GUESS I'M CONFUSED ABOUT WHAT THE REASON FOR STOPPING AT THAT INTERIOR WALLET WITH THE REQUIREMENT BECAUSE IT, IT SORT OF SEEMS LIKE IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT, THEN YOU MIGHT AS WELL ACTUALLY USE IT.
OTHERWISE, IF PEOPLE DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT INCENTIVE, THEY'VE, THEY'VE PLUMBED IT FOR NO REASON THAT WAY IT MAY FEEL LIKE SORT OF A WASTE OF TIME, EFFORT OR, UH, IF, IF THE HOMEOWNER DOES NOT WANT TO UTILIZE LAUNDRY TO LANDSCAPE, UM, AND THERE MAY BE VARIOUS REASONS WHY THEY DON'T WANNA DO IT, YOU'RE RIGHT THAT OKAY, THE PIPING THAT WAS PUT IN BY THE BUILDER, UH, WILL GO UNUSED.
UM, HOWEVER, IT COULD BE USED BY THE NEXT OWNER PERHAPS OR AT A FUTURE DATE.
SO YOU'RE, I GUESS THIS, Y'ALL ARE NOT WANTING TO REQUIRE A HOMEOWNER TO USE THE WATER, THE GRAY WATER TO IRRIGATE, YOU'RE
[00:35:01]
JUST REQUIRING THEM TO HAVE THE OPTION TO USE IT.CAN YOU LIKE, EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT WHY, WHY THAT IS, LIKE, WHY YOU'RE KIND OF LEAVING THAT MORE AS AN OPTION? THE REASON WHY WE'RE NOT REQUIRING IT, UM, IS PROBABLY THE REASON WHY WE'RE, WE DON'T REQUIRE ANY IRRIGATION SYSTEMS. UM, ONE, IT'S UP TO THE HOMEOWNER AND DEPENDING ON WHAT THEY WANT TO DO, UH, WITH THEIR LANDSCAPE.
UM, BUT I WOULD ALSO SAY, YOU KNOW, PERSONALLY, BECAUSE IT TAKES SOME INTEREST IN SOME WORK TO UTILIZE TO FIRST INSTALL THAT INTO YOUR YARD.
AND THAT'S NOT LIKE TODAY YOU MIGHT BUY A HOME AND YOU MIGHT HAVE THE AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM COMPLETELY INSTALLED WHEN YOU BUY IT.
UM, THAT IS NOT THE CASE IN LAUNDRY TO LANDSCAPE IN THIS DAY AND AGE, UH, OR YET.
UM, SO IT, IT DEFINITELY TAKES SOME INTEREST AND SOME WORK BY THE HOMEOWNER AS WELL AS TURNING THE KNOB, WHETHER YOU'RE SENDING IT TO THE SEWER OR TO LANDSCAPE.
YOU HAVE TO HAVE UHHUH A GOOD AMOUNT OF INTEREST BY THE HOMEOWNER TO DO THAT.
SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE NOT REQUIRING THAT EXTERIOR.
ARE THERE LIKE RESIDENTIAL EXAMPLES OF WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING? WHERE THE, THE REQUIREMENT IS HAP HAPPENING OR WHERE WELL, LIKE, I MEAN, I KNOW IT'S ALLOWED UNDER STATE LAW.
I'M JUST WONDERING AND IT'S, I THINK IT'S PERMITTED RIGHT TO, TO DO THIS NOW.
BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS IF IT'S HAPPENING ANYWHERE.
I, I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT BEING DONE.
I WAS CURIOUS IF THERE'S LIKE AN EXAMPLE THAT WE COULD GO LOOK AT THAT.
THERE'S, UH, THERE'S ONE, THERE WAS LIKE AN ENGINEER, I CAN'T REMEMBER HER NAME.
I THINK SHE'S SINCE LEFT AUSTIN THAT HAD THE FIRST PERMITTED SYSTEM.
UM, AND GIVEN SHE WAS AN ENGINEER, IT WAS PRETTY HIGHLY ENGINEERED.
UM, AND SHE WAS WORKING UNDER THE OLD RULES, WHICH WERE A BIT ONEROUS.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF UN PERMITTED, OR I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NEED A PERMIT ANYMORE, BUT, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST PEOPLE THAT, THAT DO IT.
UM, BUT THE, THE ENGINEER, AND I'M FORGETTING HER NAME, BUT YOU KNOW, SHE WAS NOTING THAT THERE WERE, YOU KNOW, WERE SOME ISSUES.
THERE'S SALINITY ISSUES YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT 'CAUSE SOAP HAS SALT IN IT.
UM, THERE'S ALSO, UM, POTENTIAL BIOHAZARD THINGS WITH IT AS WELL, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON, YOU KNOW, THE QUALITY OF THAT WATER THAT'S COMING, COMING OUT.
UM, AND SO, UM, SO THOSE ARE, THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT YOU HAVE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT.
AND THEN, AND THEN WHERE, WHERE YOUR WATER MIGHT GO OUT ISN'T, ISN'T NECESSARILY THE IDEAL PLACE FOR, FOR PLANTS.
BUT SHE HAD, YOU KNOW, SHE PLANTED SALT TOLERANT PLANTS, UM, AND HAD A, HAD LIKE A ENGINEERED WETLAND TO HELP TREAT THE WATER BEFORE IT, LIKE, KIND OF WENT OUT INTO HER GENERAL YARD.
SO YES, THERE ARE INSTANCES OUT THERE, IT'S MORE ANECDOTAL OR, UM, KNOWLEDGE OF THAT RATHER THAN, UH, EXAMPLES THAT WE CAN EASILY POINT TO.
UM, I KNOW I DID IT IN MY YARD.
UH, SO I, I KNOW THE CHALLENGES OF THIS AS A HOMEOWNER TO PUT IN A LAUNDRY LANDSCAPE SYSTEM.
AND, AND THAT'S WHY Y'ALL ARE DEVELOPING THIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM TO, TO TRY TO, I GUESS, OVERCOME SOME OF THOSE CHALLENGES, GET SOME MORE EXAMPLES WHILE AT THE SAME TIME ENSURING THAT WE'RE BUILDING NEW HOMES WHERE THERE'S AN OPTION FOR THIS IN THE FUTURE.
EDUCATION WILL BE A BIG AND IMPORTANT PART OF THIS GOING FORWARD.
IT'LL BE A, A PLACARD AS PART OF THE PROPOSED RULES ON THE INSIDE SO THAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY HAVE A LAUNDRY LANDSCAPE, UH, READY SYSTEM WITH A QR CODE TO OUR WEBSITE, IN WHICH WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATED RESIDENTIAL GRAY WATER GUIDE.
BUT WE'RE GONNA, UH, REFRESH THAT AND GIVE THEM INFORMATION ABOUT REBATES, UH, WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY HELP LEAD THEM DOWN THE PATH OF, OF DEVELOPING A, A GOOD USABLE, UM, LAUNDRY TO LANDSCAPE SYSTEM.
AND THEN PROVIDE INFORMATION ON WHAT TYPE OF, OF DETERGENTS, UH, THEY SHOULD LOOK OUT FOR.
'CAUSE THAT'S ALSO A BIG THING TO CONSIDER.
THAT'S GONNA BE IN THE, IN THE HOME LIKE BY THE HOOKUPS OR SOMETHING.
THERE'LL BE A THREE-WAY VALVE AND, UH, THERE'LL BE A MM-HMM,
UM, I THINK THIS IS A REALLY GREAT PROGRAM AND, AND LIKE YOU JUST SAID, I THINK IT'S INCUMBENT UPON EDUCATION.
UM, FOLKS ARE GONNA BE WAY LESS LIKELY TO DO IT IF THE EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE ISN'T ALREADY BUILT INTO THE HOME.
AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHILE THE HOME IS BEING BUILT.
[00:40:01]
A, IT'S A MINOR COST TO DO IT.AND HAVING THE AVAILABILITY THERE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, EASILY ACCESSIBLE INFORMATION ON HOW TO PROPERLY DO IT.
I MEAN, CLEARLY SOME PEOPLE AREN'T GONNA WANNA MESS WITH IT AND THEY DON'T GET IT AND THEY'RE JUST LIKE, NO, I'M WORRIED ABOUT MOSQUITOES OR WHATEVER, YOU KNOW.
UM, BUT, BUT SOME PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE REALLY INTERESTED IN DOING THIS, ESPECIALLY AS, AS A PERSON WHO JUST GOT MY ELECTRIC AND WATER BILL TODAY, I AM LIKE, MAN, I WOULD LIKE TO WATER SOME TREES WITH THIS.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THAT THIS IS A GREAT PROGRAM AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT AUSTIN WATER CAN DO IS, IS UM, HAVE EXAMPLES, YOU KNOW, HELP TAKE SOME OF THE UNKNOWNS OUT OF IT AND HAVE REALLY CLEAR GUIDANCE AND HELP ON HOW TO DO IT.
UM, AND VANESSA, TO YOUR POINT, YOU KNOW, LOTS OF HOMES HAVE THIS, WHETHER LEGAL OR ILLEGAL, THE HOUSE MY MOTHER LIVED IN OVER ON WILLOW STREET FOR YEARS AND YEARS, THE WASHING MACHINE JUST WENT OUT AND THERE'S BIG, YOU KNOW, FOR HOWEVER LONG IT'S BEEN THERE, BUT ONE OF THE MOST MAGNIFICENT PECAN TREES.
AND I'M SURE THAT, THAT THOSE ARE, ARE CONNECTED.
BUT, UM, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY, I MEAN, IT'S NOT LIKE SUPER COMMON.
CLEARLY YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, BUT IT'S ALSO LIKE, I'VE SEEN IT IN, YOU KNOW, OLDER HOMES, REALLY OLDER HOMES THAT HAVE, UM, THE WASHING MACHINES LIKE, YOU KNOW, OUT OR LIKE, YOU KNOW, IN OTHER PLACES OR IN THE BACK.
BUT I THINK IT'S A COOL PROGRAM.
UM, FOR THE GRAY WATER GUIDE, WILL THAT, THAT INCLUDE THE, THE INCREASED SALINITY AND LIKE BIOHAZARDS AND, YOU KNOW, MICROPLASTICS AND STUFF.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT WOULD BE VALUABLE INFORMATION FOR PEOPLE JUST TO PLAN ACCORDINGLY.
I DON'T REMEMBER IF THE 2015 HAS IT OFF HAND, BUT INCLUDE THAT.
YEAH, THERE'S A GUIDE WITH RESIDENTIAL AND I THINK IN COMMERCIAL THAT THEY PUT THAT, UM, I THINK CATHERINE JASINSKI WORKED ON BACK IN, BUT IT'S POSTED ON THE AUSTIN WATER WEBSITE.
I COULD SHARE IT WITH YOU IF YOU REMIND ME.
SO THIS IS THE FINAL ACTIVITY.
UH, AGAIN, THIS IS ALL ENCOURAGING ALTERNATIVE WATER, UM, BY WORKING WITH BUILDERS.
'CAUSE THESE ARE ALL NEW HOMES WE'RE FOCUSING ON.
UM, AND A LOT OF THOSE NEW HOMES WILL BE BUILT BY PRODUCTION BUILDERS.
UH, THIS IS AN INCENTIVE PROGRAM THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DEVELOP FOR THE PRODUCTION BUILDERS.
SO THEY CAN EASILY MAKE IT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS INCENTIVES WHERE IF THEY ARE PUTTING IN 50 HOMES IN A SHOT AT A SHOT, AND IF THEY WANT TO INCLUDE RAINWATER HARVESTING BARRELS ON THAT, THEY CAN, THEY COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
THIS ONE MAY BE A MORE, UH, A MORE CHALLENGING ONE AND ONE THAT TAKES LONGER TO DEVELOP.
UM, BUILDERS, UH, SO FAR THAT WE'VE TALKED TO AREN'T JUMPING RIGHT INTO THE IDEA.
UM, PART OF IT IS JUST NOT ONLY THAT IT'S SOMETHING NEW, BUT IT ALSO REQUIRES GUTTERS, UM, AND SOME GUTTERS WITH LEAF GUARDS.
AND JUST THAT ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS SOMETIMES CHALLENGING FOR BUILDERS.
SO THIS MAY TAKE, UH, A LITTLE LONGER TO DEVELOP AS WE GO ALONG.
AND THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY OF, OF ALL THOSE THINGS WE DISCUSSED BEFORE, UM, IN THAT, IN THE MIDDLE COLUMN THERE, YOU HAVE OUR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS FROM THAT.
UM, THE ITALICIZED ONES ARE NOT SAVINGS, BUT THEY'RE POTENTIAL SUPPLY.
UM, ONE THING TO NOTE, UH, THAT THE SUM OF ALL THE SAVINGS COMES UP TO ABOUT 14,600 GALLONS A YEAR.
IS THAT WHAT WE EXPECT THOSE TO SAVE? AND WHEN YOU COMPARE THAT TO THE AVERAGE, UM, MONTHLY WATER USE OF, OF AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMERS, ABOUT 5,800, UM, THE, THESE SAVINGS PROVIDE TWO AND A HALF MONTHS OF, OF NEW WATER IN A SENSE, UH, TO, UH, AUSTIN HOUSEHOLDS.
UH, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE THE ANTICIPATED IMPLEMENTATION DATE.
UH, CERTAINLY SOME HAVE ALREADY BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
UH, THE INSPECTIONS ARE COMING UP THIS SUMMER.
UM, AND THEN THE THREE ONES IN THE MIDDLE ARE ACTIVITIES FOR THE LOCAL AMENDMENTS TO THE UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE, WHICH IS BEING ADVANCED BY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION AND EXPECTED TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 12TH.
UM, THEY'LL BECOME EFFECTIVE JANUARY, 2025.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME THAT ARE, ARE BEING DELAYED.
UM, THE PLANT LIST ARE BEING DELAYED JUST BASED ON, UH, DSDS PRIORITIES AND, AND WHAT THEY'RE TAKING, UH, FOR UPDATES.
WE'RE GONNA GET IRRIGATIONS DONE FIRST AND THEN COME BACK FOR CHECKUPS.
AND THEN THE RAINWATER HARVESTING WE'LL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH BUILDERS ON.
AND WITH THAT IS INSTALL THE UPDATE OF ALL THE
[00:45:01]
LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ACTIVITIES WE'RE UNDERTAKING FOR THE RAINWATER HARVESTING.IS THERE ANY KIND OF, UM, PROGRAMS FOR CHECKUPS ON THAT? 'CAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, WITH GUTTERS AND THINGS, THERE CAN BE A LOT OF MALFUNCTIONS AND THEN PEOPLE HAVE THESE SYSTEMS INSTALLED BUT NEVER ACTUALLY UTILIZE THEM.
AND THAT COULD BE A HELPFUL WAY FOR LIKE A PERSON MOVING INTO A NEW HOME OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT MIGHT HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE.
BUT WE, WE DON'T HAVE CHECKUP AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE A LOT OF, UH, USE FOR OUR RAINWATER HARVESTING REBATES.
SO PEOPLE CERTAINLY ARE PUTTING RAINWATER HARVESTING IN.
UH, WE, WE HAVE OVER THE PHONE CHECKUPS OR DISCUSSIONS.
I KNOW STAFF DO ABOUT THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY AT THIS POINT IN THE FIELD CHECKUPS FOR RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS. MM-HMM.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS FOR FOLKS THAT ARE JOINING ONLINE? LOOKS LIKE ROBERT'S TALKING, BUT I DON'T
HE MIGHT BE TALKING TO SOMEBODY ELSE.
I WAS GONNA SAY MAYBE HE'S CHEWING GUM.
UM, SO YOU MENTIONED THAT, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT FOR THE IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS THAT AUSTIN WATER IS HIRING FOLKS IS GONNA DO THAT IN HOUSE.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT AND KEEPS THAT CONTINUITY OF TRAINING IN PLACE, WHICH I THINK THE PLUMBING INSPECTORS USED TO DO IT BEFORE AS LIKE AN ADD-ON TO ALL THE THINGS THEY WERE CHECKING.
AND IT'LL BE REALLY POSITIVE THING TO HAVE FOLKS THAT ARE VERY FOCUSED ON THAT AND, AND ALSO FOCUSED IN ON THIS QUICK TURNAROUND TIME SO THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T COME AT YOU ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S A SOUND STRATEGY.
THERE'S SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'RE STILL GONNA HAVE THE FOLKS THAT ARE DOING INSPECTIONS, I CAN'T THINK OF WHO IT IS, LIKE THE SOIL AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
YOU SAID THERE'S BEEN TRAININGS HAPPENING.
WHAT'S YOUR STRATEGY TO, UM, TO KEEP UP WITH KEEPING THOSE STAFF TRAINED ON A REGULAR BASIS 'CAUSE OF TURNOVER AND THINGS LIKE THAT? WE, WE GENERALLY CHECK IN WITH AMANDA WYRICK OVER AT DSD, WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THAT TRAINING.
AND SO I THINK JUST THAT, CHECKING UP ON THAT, THEY DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, POINTS IN THEIR ELECTRONIC DATA DATA SET THAT THEY CAN SHOW US.
UHHUH,
UM, AND THEN ON THE PRESSURE REDUCTION DEVICES, UM, NOW DOES EVERY IRRIGATION SYSTEM REQUIRE THAT OR DOES IT NEED TO GET TESTED TO SEE WHAT PRESSURE IT'S RUNNING OUT? I KNOW IT'S SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE DIFFERENT PRESSURES AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
OR IS THIS SOMETHING THAT'S ON EVERY IRRIGATION SYSTEM? UM, THE THEORETICALLY, UH, WHEN THEY'RE INSTALLED, THE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS SHOULD HAVE WHATEVER THEY NEED TO HAVE TO MEET MANUFACTURED YEAH.
UM, THAT'S THEORETICALLY, BUT WE KNOW THAT SYSTEMS ARE BEING INSTALLED IN AREAS THAT HAVE HIGH PRESSURE AT THE TIME.
UM, WHICH JUST WASTES WATER AND COSTS A HOMEOWNER MORE MONEY AND ALSO MAKES THEIR, THE LIFETIME OF THEIR SYSTEM, UNIT SHORTENS IT.
UM, AND THEN ON THE, UM, POST INSTALLATION INSPECTION AND THE OFFERING A HOME IRRIGATION CHECKUP WITHIN 90 DAYS, I THINK THAT'S A GOOD THING TO OFFER THAT HOME IRRIGATION CHECKUP.
UM, AND I THINK YOU COULD OPERATIONALIZE THE A MI HERE AND KIND OF SHOW PEOPLE LIKE, HEY, THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN USING BASED ON READINGS THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIG BROTHER, BUT STILL, YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE LETTING YOU COME IN.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT I'VE HEARD IN TALKING TO OTHER CITIES LIKE SAN ANTONIO I BELIEVE AND SOME OTHER CITIES, IS THAT THE, UM, THE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS ARE SET.
LIKE ARE THEY SET THEIR, THE FACTORY SETTINGS? DO THEY MOVE THEM FROM FACTORY SETTINGS? DO THEY SET IT TO FOLLOW THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES WATERING DAYS? DO THEY SET THE SENSORS AND STUFF TO, UM, FOR OUR CLIMATE OR FOR THE, WHERE YOU, YOU KNOW, WHEREVER THIS IS DEVELOPED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIKE A MIDWEST OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT JUST THAT THERE'S A LOT OF PIECES WHEN THOSE SYSTEMS GO IN THAT NEED TO BE TWEAKED IN ORDER FOR OUR REGION.
AND, AND SO THAT I PRESUME WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BE FOLLOWED UP ON UNTIL YOU DID A POST INSPECTION AND LET'S SAY ACCEPTED THAT POST POST INSPECTION 90
[00:50:01]
DAYS LATER.I THINK WE TRIED TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE THINGS EARLY IN THAT, THAT INITIAL INSPECTION MM-HMM.
UM, BUT SOMETIMES YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE INSPECTION.
AND THAT'S I THINK WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO COME BACK AROUND ON THAT CHECKUP.
AND WE'LL, IT MAY BE REMOTE CHECKUPS WE END UP DOING MM-HMM.
I THINK THAT UTILIZING A MI WITH, YOU KNOW, TACKLING OUTDOOR WATER USE AND ALL OF ITS FORMS, WHETHER IT'S NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION OR EXISTING IS, AND YOU KNOW, YOU MAY BE THINKING ABOUT THIS AND MOST LIKELY ARE, AND IT'S NOT PART OF THIS PER SE, BUT UM, IS A REAL PLACE TO FOCUS IN.
UM, I KNOW THAT SAN ANTONIO IN TALKING WITH KAREN GUS THERE, THAT THEY'RE REALLY FOCUSING IN ON SOME OF THE HIGH WATER USERS AND REALLY TRYING TO TARGET THAT.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST GONNA GIVE US DATA AND GEOGRAPHY ABOUT THAT, THAT WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, THAT WE PROBABLY KNOW, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, PROOF AND YOU KNOW, THAT LONG TO GO WITH IT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, SO I THINK LIKE ALL THESE THINGS COMBINED CAN BE REALLY POSITIVE.
I HAD ONE MORE QUESTION, BUT I FORGOT IT.
SO I'LL SEED, UM, FOR THE WATER BILLS THAT PEOPLE GET MONTHLY, DO THEY HAVE A ABILITY TO COMPARE THEMSELVES TO HOUSES OF A SIMILAR SIZE WHERE IT'S LIKE EASILY SHOWN SO YOU COULD BE LIKE, OH, I'M USING X AMOUNT MORE THAN MY NEIGHBOR AND THIS IS COSTING ME THIS MUCH MORE TO KIND OF INCENTIVIZE MORE SO FOR FOLKS WHO SIGN UP FOR THE A MI PORTAL, UH, UH, FOR THE MY A TX WATER PORTAL, UM, IF YOU, WHEN YOU FILL IN YOUR PROFILE, YOU TELL IT SOME DETAILS ABOUT YOUR HOUSEHOLD AND THEN IT CAN COMPARE YOU TO SIMILAR HOUSEHOLDS AND SHOW YOU YOUR WATER USE COMPARED TO SIMILAR HOUSEHOLDS AND THEN COMPARED TO THE MOST EFFICIENT HOUSEHOLDS.
I'M ALREADY, SOMEBODY CAME IN THE OTHER DAY WITH ONE OF THOSE POWER WASHERS AND WAS SPRAYING IT IN MY METER BOX, TOOK MY FLUME OFF, AND THEN I WALKED OUT THERE AND I WAS LIKE, WHAT IS GOING ON? AND THEY JUST LEFT.
BUT, UH, I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A STEP IN THE PROCESS
I LIVE IN AN OLD HOUSE, SO IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF A LOT OF STUFF IN THERE.
I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THEY SEE REPLACING ALL OF THOSE.
ANY MORE QUESTIONS VANESSA? UM, WELL THIS IS MORE JUST A THOUGHT KEVIN THAT I HAD.
I'M WONDERING WITH LIKE THE INCENTIVE PROGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR THE GRAYWATER, UH, LIKE INSTALLATION FOR IRRIGATION OR THE BUILDERS, YOU KNOW, UTILIZING RAINWATER TANKS.
IS THERE A WAY TO THINK ABOUT, UM, HOW TO ALMOST LIKE STEP UP THOSE INCENTIVES DURING OUR DROUGHT TRIGGERS STAGES SO THAT LIKE WHEN WE'RE IN STAGE THREE OR FOUR DROUGHT, THEN THERE'S LIKE BIGGER INCENTIVES TO ACTUALLY, UM, ENCOURAGE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME OF THESE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES? IS THAT A BAD IDEA? YES.
THAT SOMETHING WORTH LOOKING INTO AND, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAD IN THIS MOST RECENT, UH, DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN IS THE, UH, POTENTIAL ACTIVITY OF INCREASING THE INCENTIVE AMOUNTS.
UH, I THINK A YEAR OR TWO AGO, AUSTIN ENERGY FOR A SINGLE YEAR, THEY ADDED, FOR INSTANCE, INCREASE BY 30% OF, OF THEIR INCENTIVES, UM, TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO UTILIZE THEIR INCENTIVE PROGRAMS. SO THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT WE COULD UTILIZE AS THE DROUGHT STAGES DEEPEN.
UM, SO IT WAS IN THE LAST PLAN, BUT I HAVE TO ADMIT, WE'VE JUST NOT HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH OR, OR WHAT MIGHT BE AN APPROPRIATE AMOUNT TO INCREASE THAT.
[00:55:03]
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I CAN'T SEE ALL THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS BECAUSE I THINK HANEY AND TODD ARE HERE TOO.I DON'T KNOW IF THEY'VE, IF THEY HAVE THEIR HANDS UP, BUT FEEL FREE TO PIPE UP IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
THE REQUIRED PLANT LIST IN NEW HOMES THAT'S DELAYED.
UM, CAN YOU TALK MORE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT? IT, IT, THE WORK IS ONGOING THAT THE FINAL, UH, PUSH TO, UM, AMEND THE, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL, UM, HAS BEEN DELAYED A BIT AS BSD HAD OTHER, UM, MM-HMM.
PRIORITIES KIND OF TO FOCUS ON FOR THAT FINAL PUSH.
BUT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IT, SO.
WHEN YOU SAY ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL, I UNDERSTAND IT A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GETTING THE ACTUAL AN INFORMATION INTO THE HANDS OF HOMEOWNERS? 'CAUSE WE'RE DOING ALL THIS OTHER STUFF, IT SEEMS LIKE A MISMATCH TO NOT HAVE PLANT LISTS TO GO WITH IT
I, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE, I DON'T EXPECT IT TO BE A LARGE SURPRISE TO ANY OF THE BUILDERS ON THE PLANT LIST.
UM, TYPICALLY PRODUCTION BUILDERS HAVE THEIR SET PLANTS.
UM, BUT WHAT IF THEY'RE NOT ON THE PLANT LIST? THERE IS A OPPORTUNITY FOR A VARIANCE OF, I I THINK THE GOING IS A GOING THOUGHT IS, UH, 90% OF THE PLANTS HAVE TO BE FROM THE PLANT LIST.
SO, SO, UM, IF THIS IS GOING TO INTO EFFECT THROUGH THE SUMMER THROUGH JANUARY, WELL I GUESS SOME OF THE STUFF THE PLANTS AREN'T REQUIRED FOR IT, I GUESS I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE THE TIMING OF THE I'D.
LIKE, CAN I CLARIFY YOUR QUESTION? I THINK WHAT YOU'RE ASKING IS, ARE WE, HOW DO WE GET THIS PLANT LIST INTO THE HANDS OF BUILDERS, EVEN IF IT'S NOT REQUIRED YET, SO THAT THEY CAN THANK YOU.
GO AHEAD AND START ADOPTING THESE PLANTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE GOING INTO EFFECT.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER, BUT THANK YOU FOR HELP WITH MY QUESTION.
I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER EITHER, BUT YEAH, I JUST, IT'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE INFORMATION, WE, WE ACTUALLY KNOW, I THINK ALL OF US COULD PROBABLY MAKE A LIST OF, WELL, ANYBODY THAT KNOWS THE NAMES OF PLANTS, UM, CAN MAKE A LIST OF PLANTS THAT ARE, THAT ARE NATIVE, WHICH IS PREFERABLE OR CLIMATE APPROPRIATE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT CAN'T ALWAYS, IT'S NOT ALWAYS GONNA BE A NATIVE PLANT.
WE, WE CAN'T AS MUCH AS, UH, WOULD LOVE IF EVERYBODY JUST HAD NATIVE PLANT YARDS.
THERE'S SOME THAT ARE CLIMATE ADAPTED AND, AND GOOD FOR THIS AREA.
UM, I THINK WE CAN ALL KNOW THAT.
SO WHILE I UNDERSTAND IT NEEDS TO BE IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUAL TO LIKE, YOU KNOW, HAVE IT BE A CRITERIA OR REQUIREMENT, BUT THERE'S INFORMATION THAT CAN BE GIVEN OUT AND IT EXISTS ALREADY.
I MEAN, THERE'S A GROW GREEN GUY, THERE'S ALL THIS STUFF OUT THERE.
I WAS JUST, YOU KNOW, WONDERING, I JUST SAW THAT IT'S DELAYED.
AND SO, I MEAN, HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD SORT OF INFORMAL? MM-HMM.
I MEAN, THOSE, THAT INFORMATION IS OUT THERE AND THOSE RESOURCES I THINK ARE WIDELY KNOWN.
I THINK WE'LL CONTINUE TO, AND I THINK WE PROBABLY DO ON A REGULAR BASIS, ADVISE PEOPLE ON THAT RESOURCE AND THAT AVAILABILITY, THAT, THAT THE DETAIL REALLY IS SORT OF MAKING IT A REQUIREMENT AND THAT THAT INVOLVES GETTING INTO THE ENVIRONMENTAL CODE AND CHANGING LANGUAGE AND, UM, KIND OF WORKING THROUGH THAT PROCESS.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO REINFORCE THAT WITH CUSTOMERS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, INTERESTED AND CERTAINLY IN OUR OUTREACH, MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S AWARE THAT THAT RESOURCE IS OUT THERE.
AND THIS IS ALL LIKE MAINLY VOLUME HOME BUILDERS, YOU MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES, LIKE SUBDIVISIONS, ET CETERA.
THE, THE MAJORITY OF THE NEW HOMES WILL BE, UM, OKAY.
PRODUCTION SUBDIVISIONS, AND THEY'LL BE PUTTING IN LANDSCAPES AND THEY'LL HAVE LIKE THREE OPTIONS AND THEN THEY'LL PUT 'EM IN AND THEY'LL HAVE THESE PLANTS.
AND THEN, SO IT'S NOT A MATTER OF, AND THEY'LL PROBABLY BUY THEM FROM A PLANT WHOLESALER.
UM, AND I'M NOT BUYING 'EM LIKE AT LOCAL NURSERIES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE CAN TALK ABOUT LANDSCAPES ALL DAY AND BORE EVERYBODY.
[4. Update on Water Forward 2024 Demand Management Strategies]
MOVE ON TO THE UPDATE ON THE WATERFORD 2024 DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.[01:00:01]
WHO'S DOING THIS ONE? I AM ALL RIGHT, THERESA.HI, UH, THERESA LUTZ WITH, UH, AUSTIN WATER.
I'M GONNA PRESENT OUR, UM, UPDATE ON WATER 4 24 DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
UM, LET'S GET BACK TO THE START THERE.
I WANNA BEGIN WITH A, AN OVERVIEW OF THE UPCOMING PROCESS, UH, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON OVER THE COURSE OF THIS, UH, NEXT PERIOD OF TIME.
JENNIFER, YOU MENTIONED, UH, SOME ABOUT THIS EARLIER.
WE HAVE MAPPED OUT HOW WE WILL BE UP, UH, UPDATING OUR WATER CONSERVATION PLAN AND IF NEEDED, THE, OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN OVER THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR.
SO WE WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF WORK ON THIS, UH, DURING THE SUMMER.
BUT AS YOU MAY BE AWARE, UM, ON MAY 2ND, JUST RECENTLY, UH, COUNCIL PASSED THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN AND DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN.
AND OVER THE COURSE OF THE SUMMER, WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING WITH THE TASK FORCE WITH THE COMMUNITY, UH, ALSO INCLUDING MORE FREQUENT MEETINGS WITH THE, UH, WORKING GROUP OF THE TASK FORCE THAT'S FOCUSED ON THE, UH, WATER 4 24 UPDATE TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES TO ACHIEVE FIVE AND 10 YEAR WATER CONSERVATION GOALS.
SO THAT CORE DETAILED WORK IS GONNA BE HAPPENING THIS SUMMER.
THEN IN THE EARLY FALL, WE'RE GONNA BE USING ANY RESULTING UPDATES TO OUR CONSERVATION GOALS AND MEASURES THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN.
THE 24 UPDATE, THAT WOULD ALSO, UM, BE POTENTIALLY INCLUDED IN AN UPDATE TO THE WATER CONSERVATION AND DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN AS APPROPRIATE.
SO, UM, THEN BY NOVEMBER OF 2024, THIS COMING NOVEMBER, AUSTIN WATER WILL BRING THOSE, UH, WILL BE BRINGING WATER FOR 24 PLAN UPDATED, AND THEN THE WATER CONSERVATION AND DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN TO COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
THEN, UM, WE WOULD BE IN, IN DECEMBER OF 24, PROVIDING THOSE, UM, UPDATED DCP AND WATER CONSERVATION PLANS TO TCQ AND TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD, UH, UPON COUNCIL ADOPTION OF THOSE UPDATED PLANS.
SO, JUST WANTED TO MAP OUT AND, AND, UM, GONNA GO OVER, UM, A SUMMARY OF HOW WE SEE THAT PLAN UPDATE PROCESS WORKING ACROSS THE SUMMER AND IN COORDINATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE WATER 20 WATER 4 24 UPDATE.
AS A REMINDER, UH, WE HAVE OUR, UM, LET'S SEE, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE OUR DEMAND PROJECTIONS AND WE HAVE THOSE, UM, TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT THAT, UH, IS RELEVANT TO THE DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
LOOKING AT THE DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, WE HAVE THE PROJECTED WATER USE BY SECTOR AND ALSO WE HAVE ESTIMATES OF INDOOR AND OUTDOOR USE.
JENNIFER, YOU WERE ASKING ABOUT THAT EARLIER.
WE DEFINITELY, UM, HAVE THAT ON OUR RADAR THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND IN A PARTICULAR, UM, SECTOR, HOW MUCH, WHAT'S THE PROPORTION OF WATER USE, UM, BEING USED OUTDOOR IN A PARTICULAR SECTOR THAT WILL HELP US, UH, IDENTIFY THE POTENTIAL SAVINGS FROM THE CONSERVATION MEASURES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND GO THROUGH THE DETAIL OF ESTIMATING THOSE AMOUNTS.
AND, UH, AND, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING THE PLAN, HOW MUCH SAVINGS WE CAN GET FROM THE DIFFERENT ACTUAL TACTICAL MEASURES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN THE CONSERVATION ARENA.
I WANNA GO OVER THE MAIN STRATEGIES WE HAVE FOR WATER, UH, FOR THE, UM, WATER 4 24, UH, DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.
THESE WOULD BE STRATEGIES THAT, UM, ARE, UM, OF A NATURE OF BEING, YOU CAN CONSIDER THEM AS LIKE BUCKETS OF DIFFERENT, UM, DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES THAT WE ARE GONNA BE DOING.
AND EACH OF THOSE BUCKETS CONTAIN, UH, TACTICAL MEASURES.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, ONE OF THE, UH, KEY, UH, STRATEGIES IS WATER EFFICIENT AND NATIVE LANDSCAPES.
AND WE JUST HEARD ABOUT OUR LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION COMPONENTS.
[01:05:01]
SOME OF THE KEY COMPONENTS IN THIS CATEGORY WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT WAYS TO, UM, REDUCE OUTDOOR WATER USE, PARTICULARLY IN THE, IN FOR NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.SO THE TACTICAL MEASURES THAT WE JUST WENT OVER IN, UM, IN THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION PRESENTATION THAT KEVIN DID ARE EXAMPLES OF THOSE KINDS OF TACTICAL MEASURES WITHIN THIS OVERALL STRATEGY.
AS PART OF OUR, UM, DEMAND MANAGEMENT, UM, COMPONENTS FOR THE PLAN, WE ALSO HAVE UTILITY SIDE WATER LOSS CONTROL THAT'S REDUCING LEAKS ON THE, IN THE AUSTIN WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
ON THE, ON THE, UH, THE AUSTIN WATER SYSTEM SIDE OF THE CUSTOMER METERS, WE HAVE DE UH, CUSTOMER SIDE DATA-DRIVEN WATER USE MANAGEMENT U USING ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATER USE BENCHMARKING DATA TO HELP REDUCE INDOOR WATER USE.
AS I MENTIONED, JUST GAVE THAT EXAMPLE OF OUR OUTDOOR WATER USE, UM, STRATEGY.
AND THEN WE HAVE OUR REUSE STRATEGIES ONSITE, UH, WATER CAPTURE AND REUSE, CENTRALIZED RECLAIM WATER, AND DECENTRALIZED RECLAIM WATER.
SO, JUST WANTED TO SET THAT CONTEXT.
'CAUSE AS WE DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES OVER THE, THE SUMMER AND WE DEVELOP OUR PLAN, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, UH, LOOKING AT STRATEGIES THAT ESSENTIALLY KIND OF, UH, OR LOOKING AT, UH, MORE DETAILED TACTICAL MEASURES THAT WE CAN DO THAT FIT WITHIN THESE, UM, STRATEGY BUCKETS.
SO NOW WE WANNA MOVE TO GIVING AN OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF THE TASK FORCE FEEDBACK WE'VE RECEIVED.
THE FIRST CATEGORY WE HAVE IS IN, WE GROUP THESE TOGETHER.
THIS, UH, THESE RELATED TO THE DROP CONTINGENCY PLAN.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE FEEDBACK ELEMENTS WE RECEIVED.
I WANNA, UM, MAYBE AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THESE SUMMARIES OF, UH, FEEDBACK WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE TASK FORCE.
JUST WANNA ALSO ENCOURAGE ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK AND INPUT DURING THIS MEETING.
AND THEN ADDITIONALLY, YOU CAN, UM, PROVIDE FOLLOW UP IN, UH, ADDITIONAL INPUT FEEDBACK BY NICK.
WE'RE ASKING FOR THAT TO BE RECEIVED.
IF YOU COULD, UH, IF YOU WOULD WANT US, UH, FOLLOW UP WITH AN EMAIL, IF YOU COULD SEND THAT TO EMILY RAFFERTY, UH, ON THE WATER RESOURCES TEAM BY NEXT TUESDAY, THE 21ST, MAY 21ST, IF Y'ALL CAN OVER THE NEXT WEEK, UM, PROVIDE ANY FOLLOW UP FEEDBACK THAT YOU'D LIKE VIA EMAIL, WE'D ASK FOR IT IN THAT TIMEFRAME.
THE, THE KEY THERE IS WE WANNA, UH, BE ABLE TO, UH, LOOK AT IF THERE ARE TACTICAL MEASURES THAT ARE PART OF THAT FEEDBACK, THAT GIVES US TIME TO START WORKING ON GETTING OUR CONSULTANT TO, UM, TO LOOK AT THOSE, UM, AND PROVIDE US INFORMATION ON, UM, AND DO, DO SOME ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION ON ESTIMATED SAVINGS AND OTHER DETAILS THAT WE'D NEED IN THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.
UH, SO FOR THE DRY CONTINGENCY PLAN, UH, I WANNA JUST KIND OF BRIEFLY GO OVER THE SUMMARY OF FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED.
UH, ONE OF THE POINTS WAS THAT OUTDOOR IRRIGATION RESTRICTIONS SHOULD BE MORE RESTRICTIVE THROUGHOUT THE PLAN.
UM, INCREASE COMMUNITY OUTREACH, UH, FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS AND REQUIREMENTS DURING DROUGHTS, UTILIZING PARTNERSHIPS FOR PROMOTION.
UH, NEXT WE HAD ENFORCEMENT SHOULD BE MORE VISIBLE AND ROBUST.
EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES FOR WATER BUDGETING TO BE IMPLEMENTED AND INCENTIVIZED SOONER, INCLUDING OVERCOMING LOGISTICAL BARRIER BARRIERS TO ADOPTION MENTIONED IN THE PLAN.
CONSIDER INSTITUTING NEW POOL PERMIT MORATORIUMS IN AN EARLIER DROUGHT STAGE AND CUT OFF ALL WATER, OUTDOOR WATER USAGE AT SOME POINT IN EXTREME DROUGHT.
SO WE RECEIVED THIS, UH, FEEDBACK AND THESE MAY BE AS WE WORK ON, UM, DEVELOPING OUR PLAN ACROSS THE SUMMER.
UM, THESE MAY BE THE TYPES OF, UH, INPUTS THAT, UH, LEAD TO REFINEMENTS TO OUR DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN THAT WE WOULD BRING, UH, FORWARD BACK TO COUNCIL IN, IN, UH, IN THE NOVEMBER TIMEFRAME.
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, THE DCP
[01:10:01]
FEEDBACK BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT OR ANY ADDITIONAL, UH, FEEDBACK BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT CATEGORY? OKAY, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.UM, THIS IS SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, FEEDBACK WE RECEIVED ON THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.
UM, BE, THIS IS HELPFUL FEEDBACK LEADING INTO THIS, UM, PROCESS THAT WE'RE UNDERTAKING NOW WHERE WE, UH, WILL BE LOOKING TO MAKE UPDATES, HIGHLIGHT, UH, WATER USE REDUCTION GOALS PROMINENTLY IN THE 2020, UH, NINE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN, ADD DEFINITION OF NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF, LOOK AT SAVINGS FROM LIMITED HOURS AT SPLASH PADS, AND CONSIDER REMOVING RESTRICTIONS IF SAVINGS ARE NOT SUBSTANTIAL, AND ADDITIONAL WORDING AND EDITORIAL FEEDBACK ON PLAN PAGE.
SO WE APPRECIATE THIS, UM, FEEDBACK AND WE WILL BE LOOKING AT MAKING THESE TYPES OF CHANGES, BUT ALSO WELCOME, UM, ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK.
UM, I WAS SPEAKING TO MY NIECE OVER THE WEEKEND AND SHE LIVES IN SAN ANTONIO.
SHE'S ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD AND SHE WAS WORRYING ABOUT HER OWN WATER USE AND EVERYTHING.
AND IT REMINDED ME, I WENT TO A BOARDING SCHOOL AND HAD AN ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM WHERE IT WOULD DO A, A DORM CHALLENGE AND EVERYBODY WOULD HAVE STOP WATCHES THAT WERE WATERPROOF FOR THEIR SHOWERS.
AND YOU WOULD TRY TO TAKE THE, LIKE LEAST AMOUNT OF SHOWER AND YOU COULD COME IN AND SAY, LOOK, AFTER THIS MONTH OF US DOING THIS CHALLENGE, WE'VE REDUCED OUR WATER BY THIS MUCH.
AND THEN WHICHEVER DORM ONE WON A PIZZA PARTY, AND IT COULD BE A, A COOL SCHOOL PROGRAM WHERE KIDS COULD TAKE HOME LITTLE, YOU KNOW, SHOWER STOPWATCHES TO REDUCE THEIR SHOWERING TIME AND JUST MAKE 'EM THINK MORE ABOUT THE WATER THEY'RE USING AND STUFF.
'CAUSE SHE WAS REALLY THINKING ABOUT IT AND BEING LIKE, OH, I WANT TO CUT BACK AND STUFF.
AND THEN NICE THINK SOMETHING LIKE THAT COULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
ANY MM-HMM,
SO, SO, UM, DEFINITELY GOOD FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, SHAY? I WAS JUST GONNA SAY THAT, UH, KIDS ARE WHY NONE OF US RUN THE WATER WHILE WE BRUSH OUR TEETH NOW
SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT, LIKE NEXT STEP, RIGHT? IS IF KIDS ARE TIMING THEIR SHOWERS, PARENTS ARE PAYING ATTENTION.
AND, UH, WELCOME, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS, BUT WE'LL JUST KEEP, UM, MOVING THROUGH THE, THE WAY WE HAVE THEM SUMMARIZED HERE.
NEXT IS, UM, SUMMARY ON SOME OF THE INPUT WE RECEIVED ON WATER CONSERVATION PLAN IMPLEMENTATION FEEDBACK.
LET'S SEE, WE HAD, UM, CREATE AN SOP FOR INCENTIVE PROGRAM APPLICATIONS FOR STREAMLINING THE PROCESS.
CONTINUE TO DISCUSS HOW GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY IS CALCULATED AND EVALUATE GP CD'S EFFECTIVENESS AS A MEASURE MOVING FORWARD.
AS SUPPLIES BECOME MORE DIVERSE AND CENTRALIZED.
DEVELOP ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING INCENTIVE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION RESEARCH, HISTORICAL INDUSTRIAL WATER USE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND PATTERNS AND, AND CONSIDER ENACTING STRICTER MEASURES ON INDUSTRIAL WATER USERS.
INCREASE PUBLIC OVERSIGHT INTO SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS, CONDUCT ANNUAL ASSESSMENTS OF WATER CONSERVATION PLAN GOALS, EXAMINE VOLUNTARY WATER BUDGET PROGRAM, AND DETERMINE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE PROGRAM MORE ROBUST.
ENHANCE OUTREACH ON IN, UH, RESIDENTIAL IRRIGATION PRACTICES, INCLUDING PROMOTION AND TRAINING ON NATIVE PLANT MAINTENANCE, INCREASE EDUCATION TO CUSTOMERS ON WATERING SCHEDULES AND MY A TX WATER OPPORTUNITIES CONTINUE TO EXAMINE HOW WATER CONSERVATION PLAN ALIGNS WITH THE WATER FORWARD PLAN.
WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT A NUMBER OF THOSE, UM, ALREADY, BUT WE WILL BE TAKING THOSE INTO, UM, CONSIDERATION AS WELL.
ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK IN THIS ARENA OR QUESTIONS.
[01:15:02]
I'LL JUST CLARIFY ONE OF THE ITEMS HERE AND I'LL, I'LL MAKE SURE TO SEND AN EMAIL ABOUT THIS TOO.I THINK, UH, THAT'S A GOOD RECOMMENDATION.
BUT, UM, TO TALK ABOUT THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST ITEM, JUST BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S BEEN A HOBBY HORSE OF MINE, SO I'LL JUST KIND OF, UH, CLARIFY IT HERE.
BUT ALSO, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR THIS LIST OF ALL THIS, THIS IS REALLY GOOD AND WE APPRECIATE IT.
AND, UM, THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY GOOD.
SO, BUT ON THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY, UM, AND MAYBE THIS IS A SHEA QUESTION, AM I CORRECT ABOUT THE DISCREPANCY IN OUR CURRENT POLICY, LIKE BETWEEN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE AND THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE? BECAUSE IF NOT, I NEED TO BE CORRECTED ON THAT BEFORE I SUBMIT ANY FEEDBACK ON THIS.
BUT IS THAT OUR CURRENT POLICY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, ON, IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, THESE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE COMMISSION AND COUNCIL PROCESS, WHEREAS THEY DO NOT IN THE DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE.
IS THAT RIGHT? SO IN SHORT, YES.
UM, VERY SPECIFICALLY CODE REQUIRES THAT ANY SERVICE EXTINCTION REQUEST THAT'S WITHIN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.
UM, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE OUTSIDE OF THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION, SO IN THE ETJ.
SO IT'S THOSE TWO COMPONENTS BECAUSE I'M SURE MORE WEEDY THAN YOU WANT TO KNOW, BUT THAT'S THE BASICS OF THAT EXISTING POLICY.
SO THEN WHEN WE, SO OUTSIDE OF THAT SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, ETJ IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, UM, THAT SEEMS LIKE MORE, MAYBE MORE THE EXCEPTION THAN THE RULE FOR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS.
SO HOW DO WE NORMALLY OUTSIDE OF THAT EVALUATE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS AND PROCESS THEM? SO GENERALLY THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS PROCESSES REALLY A FEATURE TO PROVIDE A FUNDING, EXCUSE ME, A PLANNING MECHANISM TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE A SITE SPECIFIC UTILITY SERVICE PLAN FOR THE REQUESTED DEVELOPMENT.
IN ESSENCE, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE ALL LEGAL SERVICE WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA.
AND SO OUR CHALLENGE IN THE SCR PROCESS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SITE DEVELOPMENT PLANS ARE AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE IS ADEQUATE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS AND OR IDENTIFY WHAT EXTENSIONS THE DEVELOPER MAY NEED TO DO TO, UM, MAKE THAT SERVICE AVAILABLE.
SO JUST SO I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY THEN, BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT THE, THE WHOLE BACKGROUND OF THIS WE TALKED ABOUT LAST TIME IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE INTERESTED IN SOME RESPECT IN PROTECTING OUR SUPPLY, AND MAYBE THAT'S NOT REALLY FEASIBLE, BUT WHEN WE TALK ALL ABOUT CONSERVATION, WHICH IS AMAZING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FLIP SIDE OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY PROVIDING ADDITIONAL WATER TO NEW USERS THAT ARE COMING INTO OUR AREA.
SO THE 810 MILLION GALLONS OF SAVINGS THAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EARLIER TODAY, I MEAN THAT'S, YEAH, IT'S NOT EVEN HALF OF WHAT A SAMSUNG USES, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT'S KEEPING ME UP AT NIGHT AND THAT'S WHAT'S BRINGING ME TO THIS CONVERSATION WE TALKED ABOUT LAST MEETING.
ARE THERE, ARE THERE AVENUES FOR US TO SAY, TO SAY NO TO, UM, SURFACE EXTENSION REQUESTS? AND WHAT I'M HEARING IS NOT REALLY, UNLESS MAYBE THE APPLICATION DOESN'T, ISN'T FEASIBLE IN SOME WAY TECHNICALLY, LIKE WE, IT'S, THERE'S NO WAY FOR US TO EXTEND THE PIPES OR, AND THE DEVELOPER CAN'T PAY FOR IT.
OR IS THAT AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE THAT WOULDN'T YOU, WOULD YOU WOULD DENY A SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST? YEAH, I MEAN, I WOULD, I WOULD SAY THAT IT'S NOT REALLY AN EXERCISE OF DE DENYING THE SERVICE REQUEST AND MORE ON EVALUATION OF IDENTIFYING THE UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO MEET THAT REQUEST.
AND THERE ARE TIMES WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE REQUESTS ARE SO LARGE THAT THE DEVELOPERS WILL STEP AWAY FROM THAT PARTICULAR DEVELOPMENT AND IT'LL GO QUIET FOR A WHILE AND WE'LL PICK IT UP AGAIN LATER WHEN A NEW DEVELOPER COMES IN.
BUT I MEAN, I THINK THE CHALLENGE BECOMES TRYING TO REGULATE LAND USE THROUGH THE PROHIBITION OF UTILITY SERVICE.
AND THAT'S A VERY, UH, COMPLICATED AND STICKY WORLD THAT AS UTILITY PLANNERS WE TYPICALLY TRY TO AVOID.
UM, CERTAINLY THE CITY CAN AND HAS, UM, PASSED AND NUMBER OF LAND USE REGULATIONS THAT CAN EITHER, UM, UM, DICTATE WHAT TYPES OF DEVELOPMENT GOES WHERE ALLOW THE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SOS ORDINANCE TYPE REQUIREMENTS.
UM, BUT AGAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, ANY LEGAL DEVELOPMENT THAT HAPPENS WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA, IT'S THE UTILITIES OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
[01:20:01]
CONTINUE TO BE TRYING TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCES THAT CAN OFFSET, YOU KNOW, WATER NEEDS THAT WOULD TRADITIONALLY HAVE BEEN MET THROUGH POTABLE USES.AND SO THAT'S WHY EXPANDING OUR RECLAIM CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SERVICE PROGRAM WILL BE ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO OUR A HUNDRED YEAR SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY.
UM, CONTINUING TO PROMOTE ONSITE REUSE, UH, CONTINUING TO DO THINGS LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, REQUEST AND EXPECT DUAL PLUMBING AND LARGE DEVELOPMENTS.
THAT'S WHY THOSE ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL REFERENCE TO, UH, THERESA'S SLIDE EARLIER THIS SHORT THAT SHOWS THAT A HUNDRED YEAR FUTURE OF WATER DEMAND, UM, OUR REAL OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR REALLY IMPACTING LARGE VOLUMES IS BY TRYING TO ADOPT A FIT FOR USE PURPOSE SO THAT PEOPLE ARE USING THE RIGHT TYPES OF WATER SUPPLY FOR APPROPRIATE WATER NEEDS.
AND THEN JUST IN A THEORETICAL EXERCISE HERE, IS THERE A REASON WHY WE COULD NOT HAVE THE SAME PROCESS FOR SCRS THAT WE HAVE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE IN THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE? COULD WE JUST MIRROR THAT PROCESS ON THE OTHER SIDE? I MEAN, WE CAN OBVIOUSLY DO ANYTHING THAT'S COUNSEL'S WILL.
UM, I, I WOULD SAY ADMINISTRATIVELY IT BECOMES VERY CHALLENGING.
WE TRANSACT SOMEWHERE IN THE ORDER OF FOUR TO 600 SCRS IN ANY GIVEN YEAR.
UM, AND THOSE, YOU KNOW, LARGELY GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR, UM, UM, STAFF LEVEL EVALUATION, WE TAKE, UM, PROBABLY AGAIN, AND IT VARIES YEAR BY YEAR, THREE TO SIX, DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE SCRS TO COUNCIL.
UM, ADDITIONALLY WE HAVE TO GO TO COUNCIL FOR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS WHEREIN THE UTILITY IS COST PARTICIPATING TO OVERSIZE.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER ELEMENT THAT WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY THROUGH SCRS TO HAVE SORT OF DEVELOPMENT GO FIRST PAY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED FOR THEM, BUT THEN WE MATCH THAT AGAINST OUR LONG RANGE PLAN NEEDS AND WE CAN OVERSIZE, WHICH IS A TREMENDOUS COST BENEFIT FOR THE UTILITY.
SO THERE'S PROBABLY, I'D BE GUESSING, YOU KNOW, 20 TO 30 OF THOSE THAT GO TO COUNCIL.
UM, I WOULD SAY THAT THAT GENERALLY SPEAKING, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, THE, THE WAY OUR PROCESS WORKS, UM, I THINK IT'S, IT'S, IT'S TRANSPARENT, IT'S CLEAR WE FOLLOW, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE, UM, VARIOUS CITY POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS AS, AS IT RELATES TO DEVELOPMENT.
UM, I THINK THE CHALLENGE OF BEING SOMEHOW PREJUDICIAL AGAINST CERTAIN USES OF WATER OVER OTHERS BECOMES A VERY COMPLICATED, UM, UM, LEGISLATIVE MATTER.
I MEAN, I GET THAT, BUT I MEAN, I THINK YOUR AVERAGE PERSON, IT'S NOT AS COMPLICATED WHEN IT'S LIKE WATER THAT YOU USE FOR HOUSEHOLD USES AND GOING ABOUT YOUR DAILY LIFE VERSUS WATER FOR IN INDUSTRIAL USERS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A DISTINCTION QUALITATIVELY, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU MAY NOT WANNA DRAW THOSE LINES IN THE SEARCH EXTENSION REQUEST PROCESS.
AGAIN, OUR COMMUNITY'S WATER DEMANDS ARE LARGE AND VARIED AND YOU KNOW, I MEAN, EVERY, YOU KNOW, EVERY, UM, YOU KNOW, EVERY ONE OF US AS CITIZENS RELY ON, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE TO PAY OUR, OUR BILLS.
I MEAN, BASICALLY WE, WE WORK AT THESE PLACES.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE THOSE DISTINCTIONS BECOME VERY CHALLENGING.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE STATE OF TEXAS IS A LARGE WATER USER, UM, BUT THEY'RE ALSO A LARGE POPULATION CENTER AND A LARGE EMPLOYER IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S KIND OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT BALANCE IS.
UM, TYPICALLY LEFT TO SPECIFIC PLANNING POLICIES AND SPECIFIC LAND USE POLICIES.
AND I GUESS IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BALANCING PRIORITIES THOUGH, THEN THAT DOES SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO THE BENEFIT OF HAVING MORE PUBLIC OVERSIGHT.
AND THAT'S WHERE THE COUNCIL COULD WEIGH IN ON, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE GONNA ALLOCATE OUR WATER SUPPLIES AND, YOU KNOW, ON, ON CERTAIN DECISION, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GONNA BE POSSIBLE FOR 4,000 APPLICATIONS, LIKE YOU'VE SAID, THAT'S NOT ADMINISTRATIVELY FEASIBLE, BUT THERE ARE PROBABLY CERTAIN ONES WHERE YOU COULD BRING IT UP TO THE LEVEL OF COUNSEL.
SO MAYBE WE JUST NEED TO READJUST OUR CRITERIA.
I JUST WANNA LOOK AT THE POLICY AND SEE ARE THERE APPLICATIONS THAT WOULD BE BETTER SERVED BY, UM, NOT SKIPPING ANY PUBLIC PROCESS.
AND THAT WOULD WHERE THEY MIGHT, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT, IT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR THEM TO GO BEFORE OUR PUBLIC BODIES AND COMMISSIONS AND THEN GO TO BEFORE COUNCIL SO THAT
[01:25:01]
THEN WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT BALANCING, UM, IN A PUBLIC FORUM.SO THAT'S WHERE I'M COMING FROM ON THIS.
JUST ONE LAST POINT ON THAT, I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, FOR INSTANCE, PROVISION OF UTILITY SERVICE OUTSIDE OF OUR SERVICE AREA DOES REQUIRE COUNCIL SCRUTINY.
SO, I MEAN, THERE'S AN EXAMPLE WHERE, UM, COUNCIL WOULD HAVE TO GIVE US AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE SERVICE OUTSIDE OF OUR, OUR SERVICE AREA.
SO I MEAN THAT'S, THAT'S A NUANCE.
THERE'S ALSO BEEN SOME IN THE LATE MOST RECENT LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UM, SENATE BILL 2038, AND BASICALLY THE STATE HAS GIVEN DEVELOPMENT IN THE ETJA UNILATERAL RIGHT TO WITHDRAW FROM THE ETJ.
SO THAT'S CAUSED SOME COMPLICATIONS.
SO IT'S AN EVOLVING WORLD AROUND SORT OF REGULATION OUTSIDE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION, THE LIMITED PURPOSE JURISDICTION, AND THEN INTO THE ETJ.
WHAT, UH, JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY THEN, WHAT COMPLICATIONS HAS IT CAUSED THAT, THAT SENATE BILL 2038 ETJ? UM, I, I THINK THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS THAT ONCE YOU'RE REMOVED FROM THE ETJ, IT REMOVES THE APPLICANT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO FOLLOW CERTAIN LAND USE CODES.
AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE COMPLICATION.
THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO INFORM ALL THE FEEDBACK THAT I'M GONNA PROVIDE.
I DO APPRECIATE YOU DI DIGGING IN ON THAT.
I HAVE A, I HAVE A QUESTION RELATED TO THAT.
UM, DO WE HAVE, AND I'M JUST, I'M THINKING ABOUT EXPERIENCE WITH NEW BRAUNFELS UTILITIES AND THEY, IT'S DIFFERENT OF COURSE.
UM, AND THEY HAVE A LARGE ETJ AND PROVIDE SERVICE OUT INTO IT AND THEY'RE DOING SOME, SOME INNOVATIVE THINGS LIKE AUSTIN IS.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY SAY IS BECAUSE THEY ARE THE PROVIDER OUT THERE THAT THEY CAN PUT CONDITIONS ON SUPPLYING WATER TO SUBDIVISIONS AND STUFF OUT AND TO THE ETJ, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN ASK THEM TO DO MORE IN ORDER TO DO THAT.
AND, AND I MIGHT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S NOT THE ETJ 'CAUSE I GUESS THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE WATER IF IT'S IN THE ETJ, BUT ANYWAY, DO WE HAVE THE ABILITY IF WE'RE PROVIDING SERVICE IN SOME OF THESE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS TO PUT SPECIAL CONDITIONS ON THAT OR MAKE KEVIN'S LIKE, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GUYS ARE ASKING ALL THESE QUESTIONS, SO I'LL GIVE YOU A QUALIFIED ANSWER.
FIRST OF ALL, I'M NOT AN ATTORNEY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S IN SIMPLE TERMS, IT HAS OFTEN BEEN DEBATED, BUT I THINK THE GENERAL LAY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT, UM, YOU CAN'T CONDITION SCRS, YOU CAN'T CONDITION SERVICE FOR NON-UTILITY MATTERS.
OBVIOUSLY WE DO CONDITION SERVICE IN THAT IF WE'RE GONNA PROVIDE SERVICE, YOU HAVE TO MEET OUR DESIGN CRITERIA.
SO YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW OUR SPECIFIC PIPE REQUIREMENTS AND THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
UM, EXTENDING OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR LEGAL ADVICE RECEIVED IS GENERALLY WE CAN'T DO THAT.
LIKE EXTENDING, EXTENDING CONDITIONS THAT MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN YOUR CUSTOMERS.
LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WE HAVE, UH, ONE MORE GROUPING, UH, FOR THE, UH, TASK FORCE FEEDBACK.
THIS IS IN THE ARENA OF DEMAND SIDE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY FEEDBACK.
UH, CONSIDER A HARP, A FOG HARP AS A WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY TO, UH, SUPPLEMENT SUPPLY IN AREAS WITH HIGH EVAPORATIVE LOSS AND DENSE FOG.
DEVELOP AN ORDINANCE REQUIRING NEW MANUFACTURING FACILITIES TO USE RECLAIMED WATER.
THE WATER LOSS STRATEGY TIMELINE SHOULD BE MORE AGGRESSIVE AND ACHIEVE GREATER SAVINGS IN THE NEAR TERM.
AND DOCUMENT HOW PASSIVE CONSERVATION SAVINGS ARE INCLUDED IN THE BASELINE DEMAND PROJECTIONS.
SO ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL DEMAND SIDE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, FEEDBACK, OR QUESTIONS.
[01:30:01]
WAS THERE ONE? WAS IT THE SECOND? VANESSA, CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME OKAY? VERY QUIET, WHOEVER.I, I WAS SORRY, I WASN'T SURE MY BIKE WASN'T ON.
SORRY, YOU CAN'T HEAR ME TALKING.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT, VANESSA? YEAH, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT THE SECOND, UH, BULLET THERE, OR WATER DROPLET DEVELOP AN ORDINANCE REQUIR NEW MANUFACTURING FACILITIES TO USE RECLAIMED.
SO OBVIOUSLY I'VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION TO, YOU KNOW, OUR, THE WHOLE ORDINANCE PROCESS THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH WITH THE RECLAIMED AND THE ONSITE REUSE.
BUT, UM, REMIND ME WHAT APPLIES TO INDUSTRIAL, UH, INDUSTRIAL USERS WITH RESPECT TO RECLAIMED OR WATER REUSE? ARE THERE, ARE THERE, UH, REQUIREMENTS THAT THEY HAVE TO USE RECLAIMED WATER OR IS IT JUST VOLUNTARY RIGHT NOW? I'LL, I'LL GENERALLY TAKE THAT.
UM, UH, WITH RESPECT TO OUR RECENT, UM, GO PURPLE INITIATIVE THAT WAS PASSED BY COUNSEL ON MARCH 7TH, UM, ALL LARGE DEVELOPMENTS OVER 250,000 SQUARE FEET ARE REQUIRED TO DUAL PLUM.
THOSE THAT ARE WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE RECLAIM CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM ARE REQUIRED TO CONNECT.
THOSE ARE BEYOND 500 FEET ARE REQUIRED TO DO ONSITE REUSE, UM, WITH THE OPTION TO PAY A FEE IN LIEU.
SO THAT WAS A, A NEW ELEMENT THAT WAS ADDED INTO THAT.
UM, OTHERWISE IF YOU ARE LOCATED WITHIN 250 FEET OF THE, UM, CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED SYSTEM, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO USE IT.
UM, AND AGAIN, UH, IF YOU ARE, UM, AND THAT'S OF ANY SIZE, IF YOU ARE A COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, IN THAT CASE, YOU WOULD BE REQUIRED TO DO A PLUM, UM, UH, TO OFFSET LIKE TOILET AND URINAL FLUSHING.
OTHERWISE, IF YOU ARE INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL, YOU WOULD BE REQUIRED TO USE RECLAIMED WATER IN THOSE INSTANCES AT THAT PROXIMITY TO OFFSET OTHER NON-POTABLE NEEDS.
SO WHETHER IT'S, UM, UM, EVAPORATIVE COOLING NEEDS OR TOILET AND URINAL FLUSHING OR AGAIN, KIND OF OTHER, UH, IRRIGATION NEEDS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE GENERAL OVERVIEW.
AND SO THAT WOULD, THAT APPLIES TO ANY, WHETHER YOU'RE IT'S A INDUSTRIAL OR, UM, KIND OF DRINKING WATER NEEDS FOR, YOU KNOW, AN OFFICE BUILDING, IT, IT'S JUST BASED ON THE SIZE? THAT'S CORRECT.
I'M ASKING THAT QUESTION BECAUSE I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE SLIDE THAT THERESA HAD EARLIER THAT SHOWED SORT OF THE BREAKDOWN AND IN WATER USAGE FROM THE DIFFERENT USER GROUPS.
AND IT IS PRETTY OUTSTANDING, LIKE HOW BIG OF A PERCENTAGE THE, UH, COMMERCIAL WATER USE COMPRISES OF OUR OVERALL, UH, WATER DEMANDS.
AND SO I HEARD YOU SAY THEREA, THAT, THAT YOU CAN SORT OF DISAGGREGATE THAT AND, AND TELL OKAY, WITHIN THAT COMMERCIAL USE, HOW MUCH OF THAT IS FOR IRRIGATION VERSUS HOW MUCH IS FOR LIKE, I GUESS USE FOR, UM, THE INDUSTRIAL PURPOSE? ARE YOU, DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THOSE FACTS LIKE ACCESSIBLE RIGHT NOW TO SHARE? OR IS THAT SOMETHING YOU COULD SHARE WITH US UM, LATER? YEAH, I DON'T HAVE THAT AT MY FINGERTIPS RIGHT NOW, BUT I DO THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY SHARE THAT LATER.
AND, AND I DO WANNA CLARIFY, OH, SORRY.
AND CORRECT ME THERESA, BUT I MEAN THAT, THAT BOTTOM CATEGORY IS, I MEAN, IT'S NOT JUST INDUSTRIAL, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S LIKE RIGHT.
AND SO THAT INCLUDES INDUSTRIAL, YES.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, STATE OFFICE BUILDING CAMPUS, UH, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS CAMPUS, SO THOSE, THAT'S ALL IN THAT CATEGORY.
I THOUGHT THAT UT WAS A WHOLESALE THOUGH.
UT'S BUT WE WOULD DESCRIBE AS A LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER.
[01:35:01]
TO NOTE, THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR, IT'S NOT JUST BIG CUSTOMERS EITHER.UM, THAT SUB-SECTOR INCLUDES RESTAURANTS, OFFICES, SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, ALL SORTS OF COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES.
IT'S, IT'S ESSENTIALLY, UH, THE MAJORITY OF NON-RESIDENTIAL CONSUMPTION.
AND ISN'T IT MULTIFAMILY TOO? OKAY.
MULTIFAMILY IS SEPARATE RESIDENTIAL IN, IN THIS PARTICULAR, AND I GUESS THAT'S ANOTHER POINT, RIGHT? I MEAN, DEPENDING ON THE SLIDE THAT IS PREPARED AND HOW WE SORT AND STACK USES, IT'S JUST IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DETAILS OF THAT CAN BE PORTRAYED IN DIFFERENT WAYS.
SORT OF LIKE OUR CONVERSATION EARLIER ABOUT OUTDOOR WATER USE, RIGHT? YEAH.
MM-HMM,
IN THE SUMMER MONTHS IT'S HIGHER BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THE ACTUAL IRRIGATION HAPPENS.
SO, UH, AGAIN, SORT OF THE, THE TIME STEP MATTERS AND THE DETAILS OF THE PARTICULAR CATEGORIES THAT ARE DISPLAYED.
AND ONE LAST QUESTION, AND I APOLOGIZE IF THE OTHER, KEVIN ALREADY SAID THIS DURING HIS, UM, LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE PRESENTATION, BUT ARE THERE ANY PIECES OF THAT THAT APPLY TO COMMERCIAL USE? LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS, UM, SOMETHING ABOUT HOW NEW HOMES THAT THE TURF HAS TO THE IRRIGATED TURF AREA, I THINK HAS TO BE LIMITED.
UM, ARE THERE SIMILAR LANDSCAPE ORDINANCES FOR OUTDOOR IRRIGATION FOR COMMERCIAL USERS AT, AT THIS POINT? THERE ARE NOT, WE ARE NOT WORKING ON SIMILAR RESTRICTIONS ON IRRIGATION SYSTEMS FOR COMMERCIAL, UH, CUSTOMERS, NEW COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
BUT IF I CAN I GET YOU TO RESTATE YOUR QUESTION? I MEAN, LET, LET ME SAY THAT OUTDOOR IRRIGATION USE RESTRICTIONS RELATED TO DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN TRIGGERS DO APPLY TO COMMERCIAL USERS.
AND SO CORRECT THE, THE NUANCE OF, YOU KNOW, NON-FUNCTIONAL TURF WOULD APPLY, FOR INSTANCE, IN A COMMERCIAL APPLICATION.
SO THOSE WOULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, PROHIBITED ONCE WE GET DOWN TO STAGE FOUR FOR WATERING.
BUT LIKE WITH THE LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE, IT'S MORE ABOUT LIKE THE INSTALLATION OF TURF AND HOW LIKE MUCH YOU'RE, OR MAURICE IS MAYBE GONNA CLARIFY.
NO, IT'S, IT'S, NO, YOU'RE CORRECT.
BUT THERE, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION, AND OTHERS IN THE ROOM MAY, UM, BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THIS MORE, BUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES HAVE AN EXISTING LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE WITHIN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE THAT APPLIES TO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
THAT'S, UH, UNDERGONE FAIRLY RECENT, UM, UPDATES AND REVISIONS AND ALSO ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS TO ALLOW FOR ALTERNATIVE COMPLIANCE, UM, UH, APPROACHES THROUGH FUNCTIONAL GREEN.
IT'S A WAY OF, UH, BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE, UM, THE KIND OF RE UH, REQUIREMENTS OF THE LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE FOR THOSE DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE A HIGH AMOUNT OF IMPERVIOUS COVER.
SO THERE'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF, OF OVERLAP WITH THE GOALS OF, YOU KNOW, OF WATER CONSERVATION, UM, ADAPTING, HAVING NATIVE UP AND ADAPTIVE LANDSCAPES, UM, BEING ABLE TO ACHIEVE WATER QUALITY GOALS AS WELL.
UM, SO OVERLAP WITH WATER FORWARD AND WITH THE EXISTING LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE THAT'S WITHIN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE.
AND WE CAN FOLLOW UP WITH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT TOO.
YEAH, I GUESS, AND I'M CURIOUS TO, TO SEE, TO LOOK AT THAT.
I'M TRYING TO JUST FIGURE OUT IF MAYBE NOW THAT YOU'VE SHARED THAT, LIKE, ARE, ARE THOSE EXISTING REQUIREMENTS SIMILAR TO WHAT WE'RE NOW GOING TO BE REQUIRING, ASSUMING COUNCIL APPROVES THIS NEW LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE FOR, UM, RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS? UH, ARE THEY GONNA BE SIMILAR? BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD BE ASKING HOMEOWNERS TO DO MORE THAN WE'RE ASKING, YOU KNOW, AN OFFICE BUILDING TO DO.
UM, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY FOLLOW UP WITH INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT'S CURRENTLY REQUIRED IN THE, UH, COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPE ORDINANCE.
UM, WANNA HIT, UH, TOUCH ON IN THE NEXT ONE? YEAH.
THIS, THIS ONE, UM, SOME OF THE PRELIMINARY ADDITIONAL MEASURES THAT WE'RE GONNA BE EVALUATING FROM, UM, AUSTIN WATER STAFF ITEMS, UH, EVALUATE EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY EDUCATION
[01:40:01]
RESOURCES, CONTINUE OUR, UH, WATER LOSS REDUCTION EFFORTS AND LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMS. UH, MY TX WATER IRRIGATION ENGAGEMENTS EXPAND USE OF AUSTIN WATER'S, USE OF THE MY TX CUSTOMER, UH, WATER CUSTOMER LEAK ALERTS, CONTINUE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL INCENTIVES AND RESIDENTIAL GRAYWATER IN NEW SINGLE FAMILY HOMES.SO WE'LL, UH, CONTINUE WORKING ON EVALUATING, UH, THOSE MEASURES.
DO YOU HAVE, I MEAN, YOU KIND OF JUST READ THIS LIST, BUT DO YOU HAVE LIKE ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON THESE OR WHAT THESE MIGHT LOOK LIKE? OR IS THAT YEAH, THAT'S WHAT NOT DEVELOPED YET, RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE DEVELOPING.
SO, UM, ON, YEAH, ON THE NEXT SLIDE WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, THE, UM, OUR NEXT STEPS AND THE TIMELINE OKAY.
AND THINGS WE'LL BE WORKING ON THIS SUMMER WE HAD, WE DO HAVE SOME ESTIMATES, UM, KEVIN, FOR EXAMPLE, PROVIDED SOME OF THE LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM, UM, ITEMS, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY THE ESTIMATES, BUT MORE LIKE WHAT IS THIS LIKE CONTINUE WATER LOSS REDUCTION EFFORTS, YOU KNOW? RIGHT.
LIKE, LIKE WHAT, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? BECAUSE SOME OF THESE IS JUST MM-HMM.
THEY'RE MORE GENERAL PROGRAMS LIKE YEAH.
LIKE WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT HERE? THAT'S WHAT I MEAN.
IT'S LIKE LESS ABOUT THE NUMBER, WHICH OF COURSE I'M, WE'RE INTERESTED IN, BUT MORE ABOUT LIKE, WHAT DOES THIS PROGRAM ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE AND WHAT IS OUR SUITE OF TOOLS THAT WE'RE USING IN OUR COMMUNITY? RIGHT.
IF YOU COULD GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THAT'S, UM, WHAT WILL BE, THOSE ARE OUR GOALS FOR THIS SUMMER.
THAT'S WHY WE NEED TO START REALLY GETTING INTO THE DETAILS.
UH, WE HAVE, UM, THE, UH, FIRST STEP REVIEW TOTAL WATER DEMAND AND DEMAND REDUCTION GOALS FOR THE NEAR TERM FOR THE FIVE AND 10 YEARS WITHIN WATER 4 24.
AND THEN IDENTIFY SPECIFIC TACTICAL MEASURES TO IMPLEMENT AND ACHIEVE THE GOALS, ASSIGN COSTS AND YIELDS TO THOSE MEASURES.
AND INCLUDE, UH, MEASURES, UH, FOR THE, UH, WATER 4 24 RECOMMENDATIONS AND IN A REVISED WATER CONSERVATION PLAN IN DCP.
THESE ARE THINGS WE'RE GONNA BE WORKING ON OVER THE SUMMER.
AND A KEY PART OF THIS THAT WE WANNA TALK ABOUT IS HOW WE ANTICIPATE HAVING MORE FREQUENT WORKING GROUP MEETINGS FOR THE, UH, THE WORKING GROUP THAT'S, UM, FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING THE WATER FORWARD 24 PLAN.
AND WE ANTICIPATE REALLY GETTING INTO THE DETAILS IN THOSE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS AND HAVING THEM MORE FREQUENTLY AND, UM, HAVING FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ON THIS FULL GROUP, THE TASK FORCE MEETINGS, UH, ON ABOUT DEMAND MANAGEMENT, THE DEMAND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES, BUT LIKELY GOING OVER THEM IN A MORE SUMMARY LEVEL AT THOSE MEETINGS AND, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO GETTING TO GET, UH, INPUT DURING THAT TIME.
BUT THE MAIN, UH, WORK OF THE DETAILS WOULD BE BEING DONE, UH, IN THOSE WORKING GROUP MEETINGS.
SO WE, SORRY, THIS IS LIKE, THE LIGHT IS EXACTLY WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE IT WHEN YOU TURN IT ON.
UM,
WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, WE USED TO HAVE KIND OF LIKE DETAILED NOTES FROM THOSE MEETINGS THAT WE WOULD SUPPLY TO THE REST OF THE TASK FORCE, UM, FROM THOSE.
AND I THINK IT WAS MAYBE WHEN JANELLE WAS HERE THAT WE DID THAT AND, AND AS WE'RE GETTING RAMPED UP AND TRANSITIONING, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
SO IF WE'RE GONNA DIG IN DEEP THERE, THAT'S GREAT AND HAVE A MORE SUMMARY DISCUSSION, BUT WE CAN HAVE THE BENEFIT OF PROVIDING SOME, YOU KNOW, LIKE WRITTEN REPORT OUT FROM THOSE MEETINGS AND THE AGENDA PACKET LIKE WE USED TO DO.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S, THAT WE, WE DISCUSSED THAT PLAN AND, AND WE'RE FINE WITH IT AT THE LAST MEETING.
I ALSO, UM, I ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE AND CLARIFY, 'CAUSE I HEARD A COUPLE SLIDES BACK THAT YOU SAID WRITTEN COMMENTS TO EMILY YES.
BY A DATE, BUT IT WAS ON THE SLIDE.
SO CAN YOU REMIND US ALL WHAT THAT IS? AND MAYBE EMILY, CAN YOU SEND OUT AN EMAIL TO EVERYONE TO LET 'EM KNOW JUST SO THEY HAVE YOUR EMAIL IN WRITING AND STUFF? GREAT.
YES, WE, UM, ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK, ANY IDEAS FOR TACTICAL MEASURE IDEAS? UM, IF YOU COULD SEND THOSE BY NEXT TUESDAY, END OF DAY, NEXT TUESDAY, THE 21ST, MAY 21ST, NEXT TUESDAY.
ANY ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK AND TACTICAL MEASURE IDEAS
[01:45:02]
AND IF, YEAH.AND WHAT IF PEOPLE DON'T, WHAT IF THEY'RE LEAVING TOWN EARLY TOMORROW MORNING TO GO ON VACATION AND AREN'T GONNA SEND ANYONE OH.
COMMENTS ON ANYTHING, BUT, UH, BUT UM, THERE'S OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE INPUT I PRESUME, SAYING THIS PROCESS.
WHAT? YEAH, I KNOW WHERE I'M OUT.
IT'S A PROCESS, BUT YOU KNOW, THE SOONER WE CAN GET THAT INFORMATION, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO HAVE OUR CONSULTANTS HELP US DEVELOP DETAIL AND WORK THROUGH THEM.
SO AS YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, WE WOULD
'CAUSE WE'RE ON A VERY, UH, YOU KNOW, EXPEDITED TIMEFRAME OVER THE COURSE OF THIS SUMMER.
SO A WEEK TRY TO GET WRITTEN COMMENTS INTO EMILY OVER THE NEXT WEEK ON WATER CONSERVATION, DROUGHT CONTINGENCY MEASURES.
BE SPECIFIC AS YOU CAN, BUT MM-HMM.
WAS THAT THE END OF YOUR PRESENTATION? YES, I THINK IT IS ADDITIONAL.
I'LL LOOK AT MY PAGES OUTTA ORDER.
ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, FOLKS? SUCH A FULL HOUSE TODAY.
UM, OKAY, SO JENNIFER, I HAVE ONE OFF THE WALL QUESTION RELATED TO SOMETHING I SAID AT OUR LAST MEETING.
AND IT HAS TO DO WITH THE LEVEL OF LAKE TRAVIS AS A PROXY FOR THE OVAL OVERALL STORAGE THAT WE'VE GOT.
AND I KNOW IT'S NOT ONE-TO-ONE OR I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S LINEAR OR WHAT, BUT IT'S A PRETTY GOOD PROXY NO, FOR THE OVERALL AMOUNT OF WATER WE'VE GOT.
I DUNNO IF THAT'S A STATE OR QUESTION.
I THINK THE THERE AND TEAM CAN SPEAK MORE TO THIS AS WELL, BUT THE, BECAUSE THE CANON AND TRAVIS DON'T OPERATE AT THE EXACT SAME PERCENT FULL, YOU CAN'T DO A ONE-TO-ONE RATIO OF LAKE LEVELS TO LAKE VOLUME.
UM, IT CAN BE A GOOD PROXY, BUT, UM, I THINK IN THE PAST, UH, IT WAS MORE COMMON THAT THEY WERE KEPT AT THE SAME LEVEL AND I, OR THE SAME VOLUME PERCENTAGE.
AND I DON'T REALLY THINK THAT'S TRUE ANYMORE.
SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO, TO CORRELATE THE LEVEL OF LAKE TRAVIS WITH THE OVERALL VOLUME OF STORAGE IN THE LAKES.
NOW FOR SOME WATER USERS OF THE LAKES, THE LEVEL OF LAKE TRAVIS IS REALLY THEIR MORE IMPORTANT FACTOR BECAUSE OF WHERE THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE IS, WHERE THEIR, THE ELEVATION OF THEIR INTAKES.
BUT SINCE OUR INTAKES ARE VERY LOW ON LAKE TRAVIS AND THEN, UH, OUR TWO MAJOR PLANTS COME FROM LAKE AUSTIN, WE ARE MUCH MORE KEYED INTO OVERALL LAKE VOLUME.
AND, AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE 130,000 ACRE FEET INCREASE IS IN LAKE BUCHANAN.
SO THERE HASN'T BEEN MUCH OF A CHANGE IN TRAVIS WITH THESE RAINFALLS 'CAUSE MOST OF THE RAIN HAPPENED, UM, ABOVE BUCHANAN.
AND LCRA HAS SAID THAT THEY, I MEAN THEY, MY IMPRESSION IS THAT THEY LIKE TO KEEP THE WATER HIGHER IN THE BASIN.
UM, THAT JUST GIVES THEM MORE FLEXIBILITY YES.
AND I'VE NOTICED OVER THIS LAST, YOU KNOW, THE LAST THREE WEEKS SAY, OR THE LAST BIT OF TIME THAT WE'VE HAD RAINFALL THAT TRAVIS IS UP TWO FEET, THAT'S A BUNCH OF WATER.
BUT, UH, PERHAPS, I DON'T KNOW, THEY'RE DIFFERENT SIZES, SO I GUESS IT'S HARD TO CORRELATE, BUT I THINK I UNDERSTAND THERE'S BEEN A LOT MORE WATER GOING TO BUCHANAN.
UM, AND LCRA LIKES TO HOLD IT UP THERE SO THAT IF THERE IS A BIG RAINFALL EVENT, THEN THEN TRAVIS IS READY TO RECEIVE IT, YOU KNOW? BUT, UH, IN THIS CASE I THINK, YOU KNOW, BUT LOOKING AT LAKE TRAVIS AS A CO COROLLARY, AS LIKE A SIGNAL OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH WATER SUPPLY, I MEAN, IT'S LOW AND WATER SUPPLIES ARE LOW.
UM, THEY'RE A LITTLE BETTER THAN THEY WERE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, BUT STILL, YOU KNOW, SO THAT THAT SIGNAL, THAT VISUAL SIGNAL AND THAT IS ACCURATE.
AND THAT IS THERE, UM, A LOT OF THAT RAINFALL THAT WE HAD WENT INTO LAKE BUCHANAN, SO THEY'VE PROBABLY SEEN A MUCH BIGGER RISE.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A GOOD SIGNAL.
IT MAY NOT BE EXACT ONE-TO-ONE FOR ALL THE MINUTE REASONS THAT WE'RE EXPLAINING.
VANESSA, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO, I WAS JUST HERE TO THANK STAFF FOR ALWAYS BEING PATIENT WITH ALL OF US AND FOR,
[01:50:01]
UH, JUST ALL Y'ALL'S HARD WORK.I, I FEEL LIKE I ALWAYS ASK KIND OF DUMB QUESTIONS AND, UM, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE THE ANSWERS.
SO I JUST WANTED TO, UH, TO THANK YOU.
WE DEFINITELY APPRECIATE Y'ALL, WE ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS.
Y'ALL BRING A LOT OF INFORMATION TO US AND, UM, SO, SO WE, WE DO.
'CAUSE YOU KNOW, I'VE SERVED ON OTHER COMMISSIONS BEFORE AND STUFF.
I MEAN, IT'S A BIG, IT'S A BIG LIFT FOR ALL OF Y'ALL.
UM, AND THANKS TO ALL THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS, 'CAUSE UH, EVERYONE'S, UH, SHOWING UP KIND OF IN ADDITIONAL DUTIES TO SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY.
I THINK FOR ONE OF THE FIRST TIMES EVER, WE'RE ENDING EARLY SEVEN MINUTES.
GO LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE IN SEVEN MINUTES BEFORE YOUR NEXT MEETING STARTS.