[00:00:05]
[CALL TO ORDER]
ORDER.[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
OUR FIRST, UH, ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS, UH, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.AND I'VE GOT A COUPLE PEOPLE HERE ON THE LIST.
I'VE GOT THREE PEOPLE, UM, SUSAN, FRANK, AND TANIA.
SO, UM, SUSAN, YOU'RE FIRST ON MY LIST.
IF YOU WANNA COME UP, SUSAN HOOVER, AND YOU JUST COME UP TO THIS MICROPHONE RIGHT HERE AND PUSH THE BUTTON.
AND WE'LL, I KNOW YOU'RE ONLINE, BUT WE'LL, WE'LL GET YOU NEXT.
AND I WANNA TELL YOU, I CAME, UM, TWO WEEKS AGO AND I REALLY APPRECIATED YOUR THOUGHTFUL DISCUSSION ON DRIP IRRIGATION AND WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, TODAY I'M GONNA READ SO I CAN GET THROUGH IT IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME.
THE, THE POINT OF OUTDOOR IRRIGATION AT ALL IS TO SUPPLY THE INSTALLED LANDSCAPE WITH THE WATER TO SUSTAIN IT.
GIVEN OUR WATER CIRCUMSTANCES, WATER CONSERVATION HAS TO BE THE VERY FIRST CONCERN.
I HAVE A DONE A LOT OF CONSULTATION WITH HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS, RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS, COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES, AND BUILDERS ON HOW TO TRANSITION FROM WATER.
HEAVY, HEAVY LANDSCAPES TOO MINIMAL, BUT SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES.
A KEY TO THE SUCCESS IS THE UTILIZATION OF DRIP IRRIGATION.
UP TO THIS POINT, THE CITY HAS HAD NO RESTRICTIONS ON DRIP, AND THAT STRATEGY CANNOT REMAIN.
AND JENNIFER POINTED THAT OUT VERY ELOQUENTLY AT THE FIRST MEETING.
I'M HERE TO ENCOURAGE, THOUGH A BROADER VIEW ON THE FREQUENCY OF DRIP IRRIGATION WATERING THAN IS CURRENTLY BEING PRESENTED BY AUSTIN WATER.
AND THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN DRIP IRRIGATION IS VASTLY SUPERIOR IN WATER SAVINGS.
THERE IS SIGNIFICANT RESEARCH ON IT AND DOCUMENTATION OF IT, AND ALL THE PROFESSIONALS IN THE COMMUNITY CAN VERIFY THAT IT WORKS REALLY WELL.
THE PLAN TO MAKE DRIP IRRIGATION EQUIVALENT TO ABOVE GROUND IS BY ONLY ALLOWING WATER ONE TIME PER WEEK IS SHORTSIGHTED AND INEFFECTIVE.
LONG-TERM POLICY, IF WE HAVE TO GO TO ONE TIME PER WEEK WATERING DURING EXTREME DROUGHT, THAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
BUT PLEASE PROVIDE A PATHWAY FOR EFFICIENT DRIP WHEN THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
BY LIMITING DRIP TO ONE TIME A WEEK PERMANENTLY, YOU ELIMINATE THE INCENTIVE TO INSTALL DRIP IRRIGATION AND DIRECT PEOPLE TOWARDS YOUR LESS EFFICIENT, ABOVE GROUND WATERING, BECAUSE YOU CAN PUT DOWN A WHOLE LOT MORE WATER IN A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME.
OUR RECOMMENDATION ON WATERWISE LANDSCAPES IS WATERING 30 MINUTES TWO TIMES A WEEK WITH DRIP IRRIGATION.
THIS IS CRITICAL IN KEEPING THE PLANTS ALIVE AND IN GOOD SHAPE AND HAS A VERIFIABLE RESULT.
THERE'S VERY LITTLE PLANT LOSS IN THIS SCENARIO, AND SO WE'RE NOT ALWAYS REPLACING AND USING MORE WATER TO ESTABLISH THE WATERING EFFICIENCY STAYS AT A MINIMUM 50% BETTER THAN ABOVE.
GROUND RUNNING ONE TIME PER WEEK, WATERING TWICE PER WEEK WITH DRIP, DOESN'T USE ADDITIONAL WATER.
IT DISTRIBUTES IT IN A WAY TO ENSURE PLANTS SUSTAINABILITY.
THE PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPE AND IRRIGATION COMMUNITY ARE YOUR BEST AMBASSADORS FOR EDUCATING CLIENTS ON THE BENEFITS OF WATER CONSERVATION, DRIP IRRIGATION, HOW MUCH TO RUN A SYSTEM, ET CETERA.
WE'RE THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND, AND WE NEED THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE THE BEST WATER CONSERVATION SOLUTION TO CONTROL THE OVERUSE ON THE UNREPAIRED DRIP, WHICH SEEMS TO BE ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES, IS I'M GONNA PROPOSE SOMETHING, WHICH IS TO ALLOW DRIP TO BE RUN TWO TIMES PER WEEK, CHANGE YOUR WATERING SCHEDULE, SO IT'S RUN ON MONDAY AND THURSDAYS.
USE YOUR SMART METERS TO IDENTIFY REAL ABUSERS AND HAVE A PROCEDURE FOR DEALING WITH THEM, AN INSPECTION, A WHATEVER.
UM, WITH YOU, YOU COULD IDENTIFY THEM AND IT, IT WOULD WORK.
BY UTILIZING THIS MESSAGE, YOU COULD CONTINUE TO SUPPORT YOUR VERY BEST OPTION FOR WATER CONSERVATION WHEN IT COMES TO OUTDOOR WATERING.
THOSE ARE SOME REALLY GOOD IDEAS.
UM, AND, UH, ARE YOU A LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL? I AM A EXCUSE LICENSED IRRIGATOR AND A, A PROFESSIONAL LANDSCAPER.
AND I'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK OVER THE YEARS AND I DO A LOT OF CONSULTATION WITH HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS WHO WANNA TAKE, YOU HAVE A LOT OF SUBURBAN LANDSCAPES.
THEY'RE ALL JUST ONE KIND OF TURF AND A LOT OF WATER.
AND WE WORK WITH THEM ON IMPLEMENTING THINGS THAT HAVE COME FROM YOUR WATER CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT USING LESS TURF, USING MORE ROCK, GETTING THE RIGHT KINDS OF PLANTS.
BUT THE DRIP IRRIGATION, WHICH IS SO TARGETED, IS REAL CRITICAL TO MAKING IT SO PEOPLE WILL BUY THE SYSTEMS AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THE PLANTS.
AND AS A MATTER OF FACT, WITH JUST THAT WATER SCHEDULE THAT I GAVE YOU 30 MINUTES TWICE A WEEK, WE HAVE ALL OF OUR CLIENTS TURN THEIR WATER OFF ON NOVEMBER 1ST AND DON'T ADVISE THEM TO TURN IT BACK ON UNTIL MAY OR JUNE, WHICH IS A BIG LONG TIME.
AND IT'S MUCH BETTER TO HAVE A ROBUST PLANT THAT WILL BE ABLE TO SURVIVE THAT WITH JUST SOME ADDITIONAL RAIN AND WHAT WE NORMALLY GET A COOLER TEMPERATURES, ALL THAT KIND OF THING.
UM, AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE THEM TURN THE
[00:05:01]
WATER OFF AT THE DOUBLE CHECK, WHICH ALLOWS NO WATER TO GO THROUGH.SO THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WORK THIS WAY.
WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH WATER CONSERVATION ON DEVELOPING THESE KINDS OF PROCEDURES.
WE UNDERSTAND WE'RE IN A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, BUT WE'RE NOT TO WHERE IT'S JUST GONNA BE GRANTED IN THE FRONT YARDS YET.
AND SO I'M REALLY ENCOURAGING YOU TO HAVE A PATHWAY TO MAKE THE DRIP STILL APPEALING TO PEOPLE.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE WE'VE GOT MORE TOOLS FOR SOME SOLUTIONS LIKE THAT, UM, TO EXPLORE SOME OPTIONS THROUGH AUTOMATIC METERS AND WATER BUDGETS AND SOME OF THE PROGRAMS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE.
SO I THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY.
UM, ANY, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE REST OF THE TASK FORCE? ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S MOVE ON TO FRANK DAVIS, WHO IS GONNA MAKE SIGN UP TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
HE'S REMOTE, SO, UM, SOMETHING WILL NEED TO HAPPEN MAGICALLY FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.
CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME OKAY? WE CAN HEAR YOU, FRANK.
I AM THE CHIEF CONSERVATION OFFICER AT HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY, AND I'M HERE TO OFFER REMARKS ON THE CURRENT WATER FORWARD PLAN.
UM, ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE AND IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF THIS PLAN IS ITS FOCUS ON PRESERVING AREAS UPSTREAM OF LAKE TRAVIS AND LAKE AUSTIN FOR THE BENEFIT OF DRINKING WATER PROTECTION.
NOW WE DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF CHOOSING WHICH CRITICAL WATER RESOURCES NEED TO BE PROTECTED FOR AUSTIN'S FUTURE.
THANKFULLY, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN PURSUING PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE WATER RESOURCES IN THE BARTON SPRING ZONE THROUGH THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS PROGRAM.
AND OF COURSE, MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE THERE THROUGH FUTURE CONSERVATION BOND MEASURES AND OTHER INCENTIVES.
STILL, THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING OUR DRINKING WATER SUPPLY CAN BE OVERSTATED AS OF NOW.
ALL OF THIS WATER COMES FROM THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN UPSTREAM OF THE CITY'S WATER INTAKES, WHICH ARE ON LAKE TRAVIS AND LAKE AUSTIN.
TO DATE, BALCONES CANYON LANDS PRESERVE.
IN ADDITION TO PROTECTING VAST AREAS OF ENDANGERED SPECIES, HABITAT HAS HAD THE ADDED BENEFIT OF PRESERVING UPSTREAM AND UPGRADIENT AREAS, WHICH ARE SO CRITICAL TO PROTECTING AIR WATER SUPPLY.
WATER FORWARD AIMS TO BUILD ON THE SUCCESS BY RESERVING AND OTHERWISE PROMOTING WATERSHED HEALTH AND SOURCE WATER AREAS DRAINING INTO THOSE RESERVOIRS.
THE PLANTS ALSO INDICATES THAT WALL TREE, LONG LAKE AND EAST AUSTIN'S BEING EXPLORED FOR FUTURE USE AS AN ADDITIONAL DRINKING WATER RESERVOIR.
THIS STRATEGY WOULD REQUIRE PRESERVATION OF ALL UPSTREAM AREAS IN THE COLORADO, INCLUDING LANDS WITHIN THE BARTON SPRING ZONE.
THIS IS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY IS NEEDED FOR ENSURING THAT AUSTIN'S DRINKING WATER SUPPLY IS SECURED FOR THE FUTURE.
NOW, ALL OF THIS WILL BE COSTLY, BUT THERE IS NO GREATER NEED FOR HUMAN FLOURISHING AND WATER.
AND THERE ARE WAYS TO MAKE LIMITED FUNDS GO FURTHER.
AS NOTED IN THE PLAN, NUMEROUS STRATEGIES WILL NEED TO BE EMPLOYED.
I'D LIKE TO EMPHASIZE THE MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIPS AND LEVERAGING OF OTHER FUNDING SOURCES, MANY OF WHICH WILL GREATLY ENHANCE THE CITY'S CAPACITY TO ACCOMPLISH THE OBJECTIVES OF BOTH THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AND THE WATER QUALITY PROTECTION LANDS PROGRAM.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST SOURCES OF MONEY IS THROUGH THE NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE THROUGH SEVERAL PROGRAMS. THE NRCF PROVIDES HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR FOR CONSERVATION EASEMENTS THROUGH VARIOUS PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THE REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.
AND IT RECENTLY HAS RECEIVED A LOT OF ADDITIONAL MONEY COMING IN BY WAY OF THE INFLATION REDUCTION MATCH.
SO NOW IT'S A GOOD TIME TO ACT WITH THAT PROGRAM.
TRAVIS COUNTY AND HAYES COUNTY BONDS HAVE BEEN ESPECIALLY HELPFUL.
WE BELIEVE THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FUTURE TO PARTNER WITH OTHER CITIES AND COUNTIES ON BOND MEASURES.
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PROGRAMS, SUCH AS THOSE BEING USED IN LITTLE ROCK AND RALLY FOR A SMALL FEE, TYPICALLY LESS THAN A DOLLAR PER MONTH IS PAID AS PART OF THE WATER BILL IN ORDER TO FUND WATERSHED PROTECTION.
PRESENT ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER MUNICIPALITIES, AS WELL AS WATER PROVIDERS AND FEDERAL HAZARD MITIGATION FUNDS PROVIDE FUNDS TO MITIGATE IMPACTS FROM FLOODING AND CLIMATE CHANGE AND TO PLAN FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF FUTURE IMPACTS.
FINALLY, THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR VERY LOW INTEREST RATE LOANS.
I BELIEVE THE CITY HAS USED SOME OF THESE, BUT EVEN LOAN FORGIVENESS THROUGH THE CLEAN WATER AND DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUNDS, WHICH HELP MAKE THOSE LIMITED FUNDS GO FURTHER IN PROTECTING AIR PRECIOUS DRINKING WATER.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO NOTE THE OTHER WAYS IN WHICH NONPROFITS AND OTHER CONSERVATION PARTNERS CAN HELP AUSTIN ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS OF WATER.
NONPROFITS CAN SECURE FUNDS FOR SOURCE WATER PROTECTION AND CAN ADVOCATE FOR NEW CONSERVATION BONDS.
EXCUSE ME, FOR INSTANCE, THE COALITION OF NONPROFITS WAS CRITICAL IN GETTING THE 2020 HAYES COUNTY PARKS AND OPEN SPACE BOND, $75 MILLION ON THE BALLOT AND WHOLE COUNTRY CONSERVANCY AND 26 OTHER PARTNERS RECENTLY SECURED $21.8 MILLION FOR CONSERVATION EASEMENTS.
THAT'S THREE MINUTES FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.
[00:10:01]
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS.UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THOSE IN WRITING OR NOT AND WANTED SHARE THEM WITH, UH, WITH THE, THE AUSTIN WATER STAFF AND THEY CAN SHARE 'EM OUT TO THE TASK FORCE, OR IF YOU WERE JUST YEAH, WE HAVE TO DO THAT.
YEAH, THAT WOULD BE WONDERFUL.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD, UH, GOOD, UH, THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE PROGRAMS AND DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE TASK FORCE? OKAY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US, FRANK.
OUR NEXT PUBLIC COMMENT IS FROM, UH, FROM TANIA KAREEM.
UM, I'D LIKE TO FIRST THANK MARISSA AND THE AUSTIN WATER TEAM FOR MEETING WITH ME AND BOBBY EARLIER THIS WEEK, UM, AND CLEARING SOME OF OUR CONCERNS UP.
UM, BUT IN LIGHT OF THE AUSTIN MONITOR ARTICLE THAT WAS PUBLISHED THIS MORNING, I'D LIKE TO SPEAK ON AUSTIN'S WATERS.
UM, CONSISTENT LACK OF TRANSPARENCY ON A LOT OF LEVELS.
UM, MAINLY THE FACT THAT THE WATER LOSS REPORT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE PROVIDED TO THE TASK FORCE BACK IN JUNE HAS BEEN WITHHELD.
AND REGARDLESS OF THE EXCUSE FOR NOT PUBLISHING THE REPORT, UH, I THINK IT'S BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICE TO DELAY THE OCTOBER 8TH VOTE AND NOVEMBER CITY COUNCIL ADOPTION TO ALLOW THE TASK FORCE APPROPRIATE TIME TO REVIEW KEY DATA THAT INFORMED THE DECISIONS LAID OUT IN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AND WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.
THIS WHOLE PROCESS, IN MY OPINION, HAS LACKED TRANSPARENCY FROM THE VERY START.
UM, AND I'VE HAD, I'VE BEEN HAVING TO PRESS THAT INFORMATION, UM, IN ORDER TO ACCESS, UH, MORE, UH, CLARIFICATION THROUGH EACH OF THESE PLANS.
UM, HOW CAN THIS DATA ACTUALLY BE LEFT OUT IF IT'S VITAL TO MAKING THESE LONG-TERM DECISIONS LIKE FAST TRACKING AND PRIORITIZING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND LIGHTING WATER DEMAND STRATEGIES? TAKE A BACK SEAT.
THIS LACK OF TRANSPARENCY IS WHY OUR ORGANIZATION SOS KEEPS PRESSING FOR MORE AND MORE INFORMATION BECAUSE THESE WATER LEAKS NOT ONLY UNDERMINE OUR CONSERVATION GOALS, BUT ALSO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT THE POLITICAL AGENDA DRIVING THESE DECISIONS AND THE DEADLINE, UM, TO HAVE SUCH AN AGGRESSIVE TIMELINE TO ADOPT THESE PLANS.
YOU CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER IF IT FAVORS PROF PROFITABLE CONTRACTS FOR MEGA CONSTRUCTION FIRMS. AND LAST WEEK, SHEA CLAIMED LAST, UH, THAT AUSTIN IS THE LEADING, UH, CITY NATIONALLY WHEN IT COMES TO WATER CONSERVATION.
BUT WITH THESE NUMBERS LAID OUT IN THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN, WITH THE COMMITMENT TO GO BACKWARDS IN OUR CONSERVATION GOALS, I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT CLAIM IS EVEN CLOSE TO THE TRUTH.
AND WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING THIS NEGLIGENCE AND MAKING GENUINE ATTEMPTS TO EDUCATE OUR CUSTOMERS ON WATER CONSERVATION PRACTICES, I'M LOSING CONFIDENCE IN THIS DEPARTMENT'S ABILITY TO ACT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE NEED THIS REPORT, UH, PRIOR TO ANY KIND OF VOTE OR APPROVAL FROM THE COUNCIL OR THE TASK FORCE.
UM, AND AUSTIN WATER DESERVES, OR AUSTIN DESERVES A WATER UTIL UTILITY THAT VALUES TRANSPARENCY AND PUTS CONSERVATION FIRST, NOT JUST COSTLY INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE FOREFRONT.
ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU, TANIA.
UM, SO WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE WATER LOSS REPORT? THE WATER, THE WATER LOSS RECOMMENDATIONS FROM BLACK AND VEATCH.
SO, UM, WE HAVE MATT CULLEN HERE.
HE IS DIVISION MANAGER OF OUR PIPELINE ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS SUPPORT, AND HE HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR, UH, THE, UM, WORKING WITH BLACK AND VEATCH ON THIS REPORT AND FINALIZING IT, AND HE CAN PROVIDE US AN UPDATE ON THE REPORT.
ARE WE GOING OUT OF ORDER OF ANY, IS IT LIKE A PLANNED AGENDA ITEM FOR HIM TO DO THIS OR CAN HE GIVE US UPDATE NOW? YEAH, IF IT'S IN RESPONSE TO, OKAY, PERFECT.
MATT AND SARAH HAS HER HAND UP.
CAN WE DO IT ON THE AGENDA SO THAT WE CAN ALL ASK QUESTIONS AND DISCUSS? OH, ARE WE, YEAH, LET'S WE YES, I THINK WE CAN.
WE'RE IN THAT PART OF THE MEETING NOW.
UM, LET ME, UH, LET ME DO THE HOLD TIGHT.
AND IF THERE'S ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT, COULD WE JUST FINISH THAT, I GUESS? YEAH, YEAH, THERE IS.
NOT THAT I AM AWARE OF ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT THAT CONCLUDES THE PUBLIC COMMENTS.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
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ITEM IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 10TH MEETING.UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? I'LL MOTION TO APPROVE THEM.
UM, ANY DISCUSSION? CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? WE, I CAN HEAR YOU, YEP.
ANY, UH, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? AYE.
UM, SO WHICH ONE SHOULD WE, IF WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT WATER LOSS, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO TAKE THESE A LITTLE BIT OUT OF ORDER.
I'M LOOKING OVER AT MARISA FOR A LITTLE AGENDA GUIDANCE HERE.
YEAH, WE HAVE, SO THE NEXT ITEM WOULD BE, OH, LET'S SEE THE PRELIMINARY WATER FORWARD 2024 WITH THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS.
I MEAN, IT IS PART OF WATER 4 20 24 LOSS IS INCLUDED AS A PART OF WATER 4 24.
[2. Presentation on revisions to the draft Water Forward 2024 plan report, including preliminary Colorado River Land Analysis recommendations]
MOVE TO THOSE SLIDES.UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND MAKE IT THROUGH THE PRESENTATION, IF THAT'S OKAY.
OR DO, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE THE WATER LOSS ITEM OF DISCUSSION COME FIRST AND THEN PRESENTATION SLIDES? LET'S, LET'S GO AHEAD AND CHAT ABOUT WATER LOSS.
YEAH, I THINK IT'S TOP OF MIND FOR FOLKS.
SO COULD WE ACTUALLY THEN TAKE DOWN THE SIDE SO WE CAN SEE FOLKS IN CASE THERE'S HANDS UP? OKAY.
MY NAME'S MATT COLEN, AS SHE SAID.
I'M THE DIVISION MANAGER OF PIPELINE ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS SUPPORT AT THE UTILITY.
UM, AND, AND JUST TO KIND OF LAY OUT WHERE THIS REPORT CAME FROM AND EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, THE UTILITIES VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WATER LOSS AND WE WANNA BE, UH, RESILIENT, UH, AND SUSTAINABLE IN HOW WE MANAGE OUR RESOURCE.
AND THAT'S KIND OF LED US TO BRINGING ON BLACK AND VEATCH LOOKING FOR AN EXPERT TO REVIEW, UH, WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, 'CAUSE WHILE WE WERE DOING THE THINGS TO, TO MINIMIZE WATER LOSS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE METRICS WEREN'T WHERE WE WANTED THEM TO BE.
AND SO, UH, WE BROUGHT BLACK AND VEATCH IN, UH, AND THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH US AND WE'VE BEEN, UH, WORKING ON THEIR, THEIR FINAL REPORT, WHICH WILL BE OUT VERY SHORTLY.
UM, I KNOW ANTICIPATED BACK IN JUNE, BUT, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, BACK AND FORTH TO MAKE SURE WE ENDED UP WITH A REALLY GOOD REPORT WITH, UM, THINGS THAT WE COULD REALLY ACT ON AND, AND IMPLEMENT.
AND SO WE'RE VERY NEAR, UH, THE END AND WE'LL HAVE THAT REPORT HERE, UM, VERY SHORTLY.
I DUNNO IF YOU WANT ME TO GO INTO ANY MORE DETAIL, I THINK WE CAN ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT REPORT.
AND, AND I'LL JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE HAVE SAID ABOUT ISSUING THE FINAL REPORT IS THAT WE WOULD, UM, WHAT WE WANT, WHAT OUR ORIGINAL PLAN WAS, IS TO ISSUE THE REPORT AND OUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN SO THAT EVERYBODY COULD BE VERY CLEAR ON HOW WE INTEND TO IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE REPORT.
UM, AND, AND SO THAT, UM, I THINK WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING AT OCTOBER, UH, FOR, FOR GETTING THAT ALL WRAPPED UP.
UM, BUT WE ARE WORKING ON IT VERY DILIGENTLY.
MATT AND TEAM HAD KIND OF A FINAL WRAP UP MEETING WITH BLACK AND VEATCH YESTERDAY.
AND SO EVERYTHING IS, IS, UH, IS COMING TO, UM, UH, TO IT, IT'S CONCLUSION IN TERMS OF WRAPPING UP THE REPORT AND BEING ABLE TO MAKE THAT PUBLIC AND SHARING OUR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
I'LL JUST KICK IT OFF WITH A QUESTION.
I KNOW OTHER FOLKS HAVE, HAVE 'EM TOO, BUT MAYBE JUST A LITTLE KIND OF CONTEXT SETTING HERE FOR, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT THE WHOLE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR DRAFT WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.
WE KNOW THAT WATER LOSS IS A BIG DRIVER FOR POSSIBLY NOT MEETING THE GOALS THAT WE SET OUT, BUT ALSO IT'S A HUGE THAT WE'RE LOSING, UM, 21 GALLONS PER PERSON IN AUSTIN PER DAY.
UM, IT, IT WORKS AGAINST ALL OF OUR POSITIVE EFFORTS THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE WANNA ADDRESS.
AND I KNOW AUSTIN WATER WANTS TO DO THAT AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T DOUBT THAT AT ALL.
UM, I'M, I'M WONDERING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE REPORT FROM BLACK AND VEATCH, I THINK IT IS A GOOD IDEA.
I'M GLAD THAT YOU ALL AUSTIN WATER IS LIKE, OKAY, WE'VE GOT THIS PROGRAM.
WE NEED TO, UM, EITHER VALIDATE WHAT WE'RE DOING OR FIGURE OUT WHAT, GET SOME IDEAS FROM PROFESSIONALS THAT, YOU KNOW, DO THIS ON A WIDER SCALE ABOUT WHAT WE COULD BE DOING DIFFERENTLY.
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NOT SEEING THE RESULTS WE WANNA SEE.UM, IS THIS REPORT GOING TO SIMPLY RECOMMEND THE STRATEGIES THAT YOU NEED TO DO TO GET TO THESE GOALS? OR IS THE REPORT GOING TO SAY, IF YOU IMPLEMENT THIS SUITE OF STRATEGIES, WE THINK THAT YOU CAN REDUCE WATER LOSS BY X, THEREFORE IT WOULD IMPACT WHAT WE SEE IN THE PLAN.
UM, SO WHAT, WHAT KIND OF DATA ARE WE LOOKING FOR FROM THIS, FROM THIS REPORT, FROM BLACK AND BEACH? SO THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED STRATEGIES AND, UH, TARGET SAVINGS THAT CAN COME FROM THOSE.
AND CERTAINLY AWARE OF, UH, WHAT THE GOALS ARE IN WATERFORD AND, AND WHAT WE, WHAT'S IN THE REPORT WILL HELP US IN THAT DIRECTION.
THERE'S STILL, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PLAN WAS, OR, OR THE REPORT WAS A WHAT CAN WE DO TO DO BETTER? WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE OUR WATER LOSSES AND EXACTLY HOW THAT'S GONNA FEED INTO WATER FORWARD IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THAT, THAT'S A CONSTANT, UH, THING THAT, UH, THAT WE'LL BE, UH, WORKING ON ON EXACTLY HOW THOSE CAN AFFECT, UH, WHAT THOSE GOALS ARE.
SO, SO THIS REPORT ACTUALLY DOES HAVE PROJECTED SAVINGS, UM, WATER LOSS REJECT REDUCTION VALUES ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THE STRATEGIES.
SO THEREFORE HAVING A COMPLETED REPORT WITH THOSE MIGHT CHANGE WHAT'S IN TABLE 23 IN THIS REPORT.
COULD CONCEIVABLY, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE IT YET, AND THIS DATA, YOU KNOW, ASSUMING THAT YOU GET THE REPORT AND ACCEPT IT AND ARE LIKE, WE AGREE THAT WE WOULD IMPLEMENT THESE THINGS AND THESE ARE THE SAVINGS YOU PROJECT AND WE AGREE WITH THOSE, IT COULD CHANGE THE VALUES IN THIS TABLE IN THE DRAFT REPORT.
AM I CONNECTING DOTS IN AN APPROPRIATE WAY? SO AS WE'VE BEEN UPDATING THE WATER FORWARD REPORT, WE HAVE BEEN COORDINATING WITH DAN STRUB AND MATT CULLEN ON THE NEAR TERM GOALS FOR WATER LOSS WITHIN BOTH THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN AND THE WATER FORWARD PLAN.
UM, ESPECIALLY FOCUSING ON THE GOALS RELATED TO 2029 AND 2034.
UM, I THINK THAT WE MAY BE IN FAIRLY CLOSE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN, WATER FORWARD PLAN, AS WELL AS THE BLACK AND REACH REPORT, UM, UH, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY ADDITIONAL CHANGES THAT MAY BE, UH, HAVE BEEN MADE TO THE REPORT, UH, MORE RECENTLY.
UM, SO I WOULD, I WOULD THINK THAT THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES THOUGH THAT, UH, COULD BE INCORPORATED INTO THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN OR WATER FORWARD PLAN BASED ON THE, UM, UH, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT.
AND I'VE SEEN DIFFERENT KINDS OF WATER CONSERVATION PLANS WHERE IT'S MORE LIKE, WE'RE GONNA DO THESE THINGS OR MORE, OR WHERE IT'S LIKE, THIS IS OUR ACTUAL WORK PLAN AND THESE ARE ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE IMPLEMENTING, WHICH SEEMS THAT WE'RE LEANING TOWARDS THAT VERSUS A MORE KIND OF QUALITATIVE, LIKE, WE'RE GONNA UNDERTAKE PROGRAMS TO REDUCE WATER LOSS.
AND THEY COULD BE THESE THINGS, BUT AUSTIN TRYING TO BE FAIRLY SPECIFIC IN THEIR APPROACH HERE.
THAT IS OUR INTENTION WITH INCLUDING A MORE SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION ACTIONS IN BOTH THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AND THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN IS SETTING, WHAT ARE THOSE ACTIVITIES GOING TO BE AND SETTING SOME ACCOUNTABILITY AS WELL.
WELL I'LL, I'LL, I'M GONNA LET OTHER PEOPLE ASK QUESTIONS 'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA MONOPOLIZE THE CONVERSATION AND I THINK SARAH AND PERRY HAD QUESTIONS OR SARAH, SO SARAH, THEN, PERRY, CAN WE SWITCH THIS A LITTLE BIT? THERE'S A GLARE ON IT AND I CAN'T SEE, JUST IF WE CAN SCOOCH IT THIS WAY A LITTLE BIT, THIS LITTLE SCREEN.
FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANTED TO GET SOME CLARIFICATION ON OUR CURRENT WATER LOSS.
JENNIFER, YOU, UM, STARTED OUT BY SAYING 21 GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY IS OUR WATER LOSS AMOUNT.
AND I WANTED TO GET SOME VERIFICATION OF THAT BECAUSE IN THE PRESENTATION THAT WE RECEIVED ON AUGUST 13TH ON SLIDE EIGHT, THAT ONE HAD AN 18 GPCD WATER LOSS.
AND THAT WAS THE NUMBER I'VE BEEN OPERATING FROM.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME EXPLANATION OF THE 21 NUMBER THAT'S IN THE WATER CONSERVATION REPORT THAT WE GOT ON SEPTEMBER 10TH.
AND I JUST WOULD NOTE, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY, THAT'S A, THAT'S 3G PCD DIFFERENCE, BUT THAT'S ALSO MORE THAN OUR ENTIRE PROJECTED
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WATER LOSS SAVINGS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS AND NEARLY OVER THE 10 YEARS.SO WHAT IS OUR BASELINE? HOW DID IT CHANGE BETWEEN THE LAST MONTH? IS THAT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING THAT'S FROM THE REPORT? AN EXPLANATION OF THAT TO START WITH WOULD BE GREAT.
I HAVE MY PACKET FROM THE 13TH IF ANYBODY NEEDS TO LOOK AT IT.
YEAH, I MEAN, I WAS JUST GOING OFF OF THAT INFORMATION.
UM, WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT SO THAT WE CAN, THE PRESENTATION SLIDE EIGHT, THIS KEVIN CLUE YASSEN WATER CONSERVATION IN THE MOST RECENT, UH, DRAFT OF THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN, UM, THAT WENT OUT, UM, ON PAGE 37, IT DOES IS MENTIONS A FIVE YEAR HISTORIC AVERAGE OF 21.
UM, BUT THEN ON PAGE 22 EARLIER IT TALKS ABOUT HISTORICAL WATER LOSS VOLUMES AND IT, FOR 2019 IT WAS 18.
SO I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S WHERE IT WAS CONFUSION WAS, AND I'M LOOKING BACK, JENNIFER, WHAT SLIDE DID YOU SAY? IT'S OUR, IT'S THE AUGUST 13TH PRESENTATION.
AND I'M JUST, IT'S NOT A VERY DETAILED SLIDE, BUT IT IS WHERE ALSO YOU GUYS GAVE LIKE SOME POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO, THIS IS ALSO DIFFERENT.
UM, GET STRAIGHT ON ON ON WHERE WE ARE.
THE, THE AVERAGES I BELIEVE ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
UM, BECAUSE THAT DATA WAS FROM, UH, THE TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD WAS PULLED FOR THE, FROM THE TWD UM, WEBSITE, AND THEY ONLY HAD 2019 THROUGH 2022.
UM, SO IT DOESN'T INCLUDE 2023 IN THE AVERAGE.
SO THE AVERAGES ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THERE.
UH, I CAN LOOK FURTHER INTO THAT, BUT, BUT THAT'S OFFHAND WHERE THE APPARENT DIFFERENCES IS.
DIFFERENCES ARE, WOULDN'T THAT MEAN THAT OUR 2023, IF YOU ADD IT, WOULD HAVE TO BE REALLY HIGH? YEAH, I MEAN MAYBE IT IS.
SO, I MEAN, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE A PAIN, BUT MAYBE IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE A NUMBER LABELED WATER LOSS, GPCD IN ONE PRESENTATION AND THEN USE A NUMBER LABELED WATER LOSS GPCD IN ANOTHER PRESENTATION, BUT THEY'RE CALCULATED DIFFERENTLY AND ARE A DIFFERENT NUMBER, YOU COULD USE AN ASTERISK OR SOMETHING TO EXPLAIN IT.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, THE, ONE OF THE ISSUES WITH, WITH WATER LOSS CALCULATIONS IS THAT IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT GOES INTO, UM, INTO HOW YOU CALCULATE WHAT YOU QUANTIFY AS WATER LOSS.
AND SO THERE, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS THAT WE'RE COLLECTING THAT DATA OVER AND THERE'S DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE ARE REPORTING THAT DATA.
AND, AND I AGREE THAT THE LACK OF, OF CONSISTENCY IN THAT IS FRUSTRATING.
SO LET US TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AND AND, AND CLARIFY FOR YOU WHERE THOSE NUMBERS COME FROM.
AND, AND, UM, BECAUSE I DO RECOGNIZE THAT I, THE WAY I WOULD QUANTIFY THE WATER LOSS IS IT'S TOO HIGH AND WE ARE, UM, WHETHER IT'S 21 OR 18, AND WE ARE DOING A, A WIDE VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE WATER LOSS.
AND WE ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO DO THOSE ACTIVITIES BETTER.
UM, AND THAT IS, THAT IS MATT'S, UM, FOCUS.
AND SO YOU KNOW WHAT, ULTIMATELY, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE NUMBER IS 21 OR 18, THERE'S MORE THAT WE NEED TO BE DOING AND WE WILL BE QUANTIFYING WHAT THOSE ACTIVITIES ARE.
UM, I DO RECOGNIZE HOWEVER, THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR GPCD, UM, WATER CONSERVATION GOALS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THOSE SMALL INCREMENTS.
AND SO THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SO THAT EVERYONE IS CLEAR ON, ON WHAT WE'RE RELY WHAT STRATEGIES WE'RE RELYING ON TO ACHIEVE WHAT LEVEL OF WATER CONSERVATION.
AND SO ESPECIALLY THE LAST PART, I MEAN, WHETHER
[00:30:01]
THE NUMBER IS 21 OR 18 IS ALSO THE DIFFERENCE IN EVERYTHING WE'RE GONNA DO AND SPEND OVER 10 YEARS IS THAT SAME AMOUNT.SO, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS IT? UM, I MEAN ALSO I WOULD JUST SAY, JUST TO EMPHASIZE THIS POINT AND WHY I THINK THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE, AND WE SHOULD DEFINITELY CONSIDER WAITING TO ADOPT THIS WATER CONSERVATION PLAN AND TAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS IS, YOU KNOW, IN THIS SAME PRESENTATION FROM AUGUST 13TH THAT THERE'S A PIE CHART THAT SHOWS WHERE A LOT OF THE WATER SAVINGS WERE PROJECTED TO COME FROM BETWEEN 2019 AND 2024 AND 44% OF IT WAS UTILITY SIDE WATER LOSS CONTROL.
SO AT THIS POINT, WE DON'T HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW MUCH OF THAT 44% WAS ACHIEVED, HOW MUCH WAS NOT ACHIEVED, AND WHAT THE PLANS ARE GOING IN THE FUTURE.
THERE'S THIS ONE LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND ACTIONS, UM, BUT WE DON'T HAVE ANY VALUES FOR IT.
AND THE DISCUSSION PREVIOUSLY ABOUT THIS REPORT, I DON'T THINK IT HAS ALL THE ANSWERS, BUT I THINK IT WOULD HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION TO HELP US GET OUR ARMS AROUND THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
'CAUSE IT WAS A BIG MISS ON THE PREVIOUS WATER CONSERVATION GOALS.
AND I, IF WE OURSELVES CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED, THEN WE NEED TO WAIT UNTIL WE HAVE MORE INFORMATION.
AND THOSE COMMENTS ARE REALLY FOR MY OTHER TASK FORCE MEMBERS.
UM, YEAH, I MEAN THE WATER LOSS IS A HUGE PORTION OF THIS, SO WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT ALSO WITH RECOMMENDING THIS PLAN TO CITY COUNCIL, WE'RE RECOMMENDING THAT FROM A TASK FORCE PERSPECTIVE, THAT WE HAVE FAITH IN THE PLAN AND THE STRATEGIES AND THE PLAN AND THAT WE SHOULD MAKE THOSE INVESTMENTS TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS.
SO LIKE IT SHOULD ALL LINE UP PRETTY, PRETTY NICELY.
UM, PERRY, YOU HAD A, YOUR HAND UP NEXT? YEAH, I, MOST OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED, BUT I, I JUST WORRY THAT IN THE END, IN THE END IT'S GOING TO, IT'S GOING TO BE, UM, UH, YOU'VE GOT LEAKY PIPES GO FIX THEM KIND OF RESPONSE.
AND SO IT KIND OF REMINDS ME OF THESE NON-PROFITS PAY CONSULTANTS TO COME TELL THEM, PAY 'EM $50,000 TO TELL 'EM HOW TO RAISE MONEY.
AND THEY COME BACK AND SAY, ALL YOU PEOPLE NEED TO WORK.
YOUR ROLODEX IS REAL HARD AND GO ASK FOR MORE MONEY
SO I DON'T KNOW, UH, IT'S JUST, I GUESS I SHOULD WAIT TO SEE IT BEFORE I'M SO CYNICAL.
BUT THE REST OF MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.
UH, YOUR EXAMPLE REALLY RANG TRUE TO ME.
SO, UH,
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR HOW DO WE OPTIMIZE WHAT WE'RE DOING? AND WE DO THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE, UM, GOOD OUTCOMES FROM THIS STUDY.
UH, AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, I'LL JUST GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, A PREVIEW IS THAT, YOU KNOW, 10 OR 12 YEARS AGO, WE STARTED A PROGRAM CALLED RENEWING AUSTIN, WHERE WE USE OUR ASSET MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TO IDENTIFY A POOR PERFORMING PIPE.
THIS IS PIPE THAT'S JUST BREAKING OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
AND WE, THAT'S, THIS IS NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL AND WE HAVE GONE IN AND REPLACED MILES AND MILES OF PIPE AND WE REDUCED OUR BREAK RATES IN OUR WATER MAINS FROM WELL ABOVE THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE TO TO UNDER THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE.
SO THAT PROGRAM HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL.
UH, WHAT WE REALIZE NOW IS THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF SERVICE LINE BREAKS.
SO THIS IS FROM THE MAIN TO PEOPLE'S HOMES.
AND SO WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED SOME PROGRAMS, MANY, SEVERAL PROGRAMS TO REPLACE SERVICE LINES.
WE'VE CHANGED OUR OPERATIONAL PRACTICES FOR WHEN WE REPLACE SERVICE LINES.
UM, BUT THIS REPORT IS, AND SOME OF THESE STRATEGIES ARE GONNA HELP US, UM, OPTIMIZE THAT PROGRAM SO THAT WE CAN, UH, GET MORE WATER LOSS REDUCTION FROM THE WORK WE'RE ALREADY DOING BY TARGETING IT TO WHERE IT'LL MAKE THE MOST DIFFERENCE.
UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS? PAUL HANEY? BILL MADELINE, OR CONVERSATION,
[00:35:01]
NOT JUST COMMENTS, DISCUSSION, CONVERSATION, PAUL? YEAH, I MEAN, I, I, UH, I HEAR PERRY'S COMMENT AND I, I'M TEMPTED TO, TO FEEL THE SAME WAY, BUT I, I ALSO HEAR JENNIFER AND SARAH TOO.AND I, UM, YEAH, THERE'S THE QUESTION ABOUT WHAT THE REPORT CONTAINS AND HOW IT CAN INFORM OUR ADVISORY PROCESS HERE, WHICH I THINK IS IMPORTANT AND WE'VE KIND OF ALREADY TOUCHED ON IT.
I THINK WE DO ULTIMATELY WANNA SEE IT, EVEN IF IT JUST SAYS FIX THE LEAKY PIPES.
AND THEN THERE'S THE OTHER CONCERN, WHICH IS ABOUT WHY DOES IT TAKE US SO LONG? AND IF IT WAS DUE IN JUNE, LIKE WHAT'S GOING ON BETWEEN JUNE AND NOW? AND IF THERE WAS A DRAFT REPORT POTENTIALLY AVAILABLE IN JUNE, CAN WE JUST SEE IT? I MEAN, THERE'S NO, I, WHAT'S THE HARM IN JUST PUBLISHING IT NOW BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE ASKING FOR IT.
I UNDERSTAND THERE'S THE, THE REPORT AND THEN THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT YOU MENTIONED, SHEA.
SO THOSE SEEM LIKE TWO DISTINCT PRODUCTS.
AND IF I HAD TO GUESS, MAYBE THE REPORT IS DONE AND Y'ALL ARE JUST KIND OF POLISHING UP THE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND YOU WANNA PUBLISH THEM TOGETHER.
BUT, UM, IS THERE ANY REASON WE CAN'T JUST GET THE REPORT NOW? SO THE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GET DRAFT REPORTS, THERE IS A LOT OF WORK THAT HAPPENS AFTER THE DRAFT REPORT IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT IT ACCURATELY REFLECTS, UM, WHAT WE ARE ALREADY DOING.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THAT IS A WHILE WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANT ALL ALONG THE WAY.
ONCE THEY COMMIT ALL OF THEIR WORK TO PAPER, WE CAN SEE THE GAPS.
UM, AND WE CAN MAKE, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CLOSING THAT GAPS.
WE'RE CORRECTING ANYTHING THAT GOT MISINTERPRETED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY MAKING SURE THAT THAT REPORT IS ACCURATE.
SO, UM, SO I THINK THAT THE, I WE ARE SO CLOSE NOW.
LET US SEND YOU THE FINAL REPORT WHEN IT'S FINAL.
UM, AND THEN, AND THEN THAT WILL BE THE MOST ACCURATE REFLECTION OF, OF WHAT, UM, WHAT THE FINDINGS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
'CAUSE IT IS REDUCING WATER LOSS IS A WATER SUPPLY.
I MEAN, THIS IS WATER THAT WE ARE PULLING OUT OF THE HIGHLAND LAKES.
WE'RE TREATING AND USING ENERGY AND CHEMICALS AND PEOPLE POWER TO TREAT AND PUTTING THROUGH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IN AUSTIN.
AND WE'RE LOSING 20 GALLONS FOR EVERY PERSON IN THE ROOM EACH DAY, UM, AND IN THE CITY.
SO THIS IS ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING AND THAT WE NEED TO TACKLE.
UM, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, A REALLY WANTING TO UNDERSTAND, UM, HOW WE ARE, WHERE WE ARE AND HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE, MOVE FORWARD IN A POSITIVE WAY.
AND I DON'T THINK THIS REPORT IS GONNA ANSWER ALL THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE A REAL CRITICAL PIECE OF THAT.
SO I, MY SENSE IS THAT FOLKS ARE GONNA HAVE A HARD TIME, UM, EMBRACING THE, THE PLAN WITHOUT THAT PIECE OF THAT REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION.
SO, UM, AND, AND I WANNA SEE IT TOO.
AND I ALSO WANT TO, YOU KNOW, REDUCING WATER LOSS IS NOT JUST ABOUT REPLACING PIPES.
IT'S ABOUT LOOKING AT THE PRESSURE IN YOUR SYSTEM AND, AND MAKING SURE YOUR METERS WORK AND, AND, UM, AND MAKING SURE YOUR, YOUR BIG METERS WORK IN YOUR SMALL METERS WORK.
AND THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT PIECES AND SOME OF IT'S EXPENSIVE AND SOME OF IT'S ACTUALLY NOT THAT EXPENSIVE.
UM, THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO ADDRESS WATER LOSS AND IT'S VERY DYNAMIC.
IT'S A PROGRAM THAT THE CITY WILL ALWAYS PAY FOR.
BUT IF WATER LOSS CAN GET, GET REDUCED TO AN ACCEPTABLE KIND OF BASELINE LEVEL, THEN YOU KEEP INVESTING IN KEEPING THE SYSTEM GOING.
'CAUSE IT'S ALWAYS GONNA HAVE THINGS COMING AT IT.
I MEAN, EVEN THE HIGHER WATER USE MORE WATER GOING THROUGH OUR PIPES IN OUR CITIES LEADS TO MORE LEAKS BECAUSE OF MORE WATER IN THE PIPES AND MORE PRESSURE.
I MIGHT BE WRONG, I'M NOT AN ENGINEER, BUT I'VE LEARNED A LOT ABOUT WATER LOSS.
UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SO, SO THIS IS NOT ONLY, UM, AN ISSUE THAT WE HAVE TO SOLVE NOW.
IT'S AN ISSUE THAT AUSTIN NEEDS
[00:40:01]
TO TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY.I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE NOT VERY SERIOUSLY AND REALLY INVEST IN WITH PROFESSIONALS AND RESOURCES AND PEOPLE POWER, UM, NOT ONLY NOW, BUT FOR THE LONG HAUL.
'CAUSE IT'S GONNA, IT'S GONNA, UM, YIELD BENEFITS AND IT'S, IT'S ONE OF OUR MOST POWERFUL STRATEGIES THAT WE HAVE.
SO I DO THINK THAT THIS REALLY IS A, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE OUR COLORADO RIVER SUPPLY, UM, THIS IS ONE OF OUR, LIKE, REALLY, IT'S NOT AS MUCH YIELD, BUT IT IS ONE OF OUR BIG BASELINE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES.
AND I THINK THAT WHILE IT IS, THERE ARE LIKELY, THERE ARE INVE ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS THAT WE NEED TO MAKE BEYOND WHAT WE'RE MAKING NOW, WE ALSO NEED TO OPTIMIZE THE INVESTMENTS WE'RE ALREADY MAKING.
SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE WAYS IN WHICH WE ARE ALREADY DOING, OR WE ARE LOOKING THROUGH THIS REPORT AND THROUGH THIS IMPLEMENTATION PLAN THAT WE'LL BE, THAT WE'LL BE PROVIDING WAYS THAT WE CAN OPTIMIZE WHAT WE'RE DOING TO DO IT BETTER.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, THAT, I JUST WANNA AGREE WITH YOU AND ASSURE THE TASK FORCE THAT WE ARE ALREADY HEAVILY INVESTED IN WATER LOSS.
IT HAS NOT ACHIEVED THE SAVINGS THAT WE PROJECTED AND WE WILL NOT LET UP, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA DOUBLE DOWN ON THOSE STRATEGIES IN ORDER TO, TO GET WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
UM, MY MY SENSE IS THAT FOLKS ARE GOING TO, THAT, THAT THIS IS, THIS IS, UM, ONE OF THOSE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE THAT WE REALLY NEED IN ORDER FOR THE PICTURE TO COME TOGETHER.
UM, DO WE HAVE AN OPTION TO, TO SHIFT THAT TIMELINE? DO WE HAVE A PLAN B? YES, WE DO.
SO I'M GONNA WALK THROUGH SOME DATES FOR OUR POTENTIAL PLAN B.
UM, WE HAVE A MEETING SCHEDULED CURRENTLY FOR OCTOBER 8TH.
WE WOULD LIKE TO KEEP THAT MEETING IN PLACE AND HAVE THAT BE AN OPPORTUNITY TO FOLLOW UP ON DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'LL WE'RE HAVING TODAY AND WE'LL NEED TO CONTINUE.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, UH, HAD PLANNED FOR A COUNCIL WORK SESSION BRIEFING ON OCTOBER 8TH.
UM, WE MAY BE SHIFTING THAT TO PROVIDING A COUNCIL BRIEFING AT A, AT A COUNCIL MEETING ON OCTOBER 11TH, 10TH, 10TH.
UM, WE, UH, COULD POTENTIALLY ALSO SCHEDULE ANOTHER TASK FORCE MEETING IF DESIRED BY THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS, UM, IN LATE OCTOBER, AGAIN FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION AND HOPEFULLY TO, UM, FOLLOW UP ON, UH, THESE ITEMS RELATED TO THE WATER LOSS REPORT.
AND THEN, UH, WE COULD SCHEDULE AN ANOTHER TASK FORCE MEETING FOR EARLY NOVEMBER TO REQUEST THE TASK FORCE'S RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNCIL ACTION THAT WOULD PUT US ON TRACK TO GO TO NOVEMBER 13TH, WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION FOR THEIR RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNCIL ACTION, AND THEN TO COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 21ST.
JUST TO RECAP, IF EVERYBODY FOLLOWED THAT THEY HAVE A, THERE'S A PLAN BI KNOW THAT, THAT THE, WHAT THE TIMELINE THAT WE HAD HEARD WAS TO GO TO CITY COUNCIL ON NOVEMBER 7TH, IS THAT RIGHT? DATE? MM-HMM.
UM, THAT COULD BE PUSHED TO NOVEMBER 21ST, GIVING US MORE TIME AS THE, AS THE WATERFORD TASK FORCE TO DISCUSS THESE ISSUES, BUT ALSO TO RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION.
UM, AND THAT WOULD MEAN WE HAVE OUR OCTOBER 8TH MEETING COULD BE MORE OF LIKE A WORK SESSION TYPE MEETING.
IT MAY BE HOPEFULLY AT THAT TIME RECEIVE THE REPORT, UM YEP.
AND THEN HAVE A MEETING IN LATE OCTOBER AND OR EARLY NOVEMBER IN ORDER TO, I MEAN, IT'S AT ONE OF THESE MEETINGS.
THE, THE, UH, THE REQUEST WOULD BE THAT WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL AND ABOUT THESE PLANS, ALL THREE OF THEM.
MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE FOR US TO REACH OUT TO THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS TO IDENTIFY BOTH A LATE OCTOBER AND EARLY NOVEMBER DATE TO SEE WHAT'S GONNA WORK.
I WANNA HEAR FROM THE TASK FORCE
[00:45:01]
MEMBERS TO SEE HOW Y'ALL FEEL ABOUT THAT PLAN OR IF YOU'RE LIKE, LET'S JUST DO THIS THING.OR IF YOU'RE LIKE, WE ABSOLUTELY NEED SOME MORE TIME IN ORDER TO RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION SO WE CAN MAKE A DECISION.
MADELINE, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME MORE TIME THAT SHE, THE REPORT AND EVERYTHING.
UM, HANEY? YEAH, I THINK THE TIMELINE THAT MARISSA CAME UP WITH IS GOOD.
AND, AND I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT EVERYBODY IS, EVERYBODY IS PUTTING A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY INTO THIS.
UM, I KNOW EVERYBODY HAS OTHER DAY JOBS.
I MEAN, EXCEPT FOR AUSTIN WATER, THIS IS YOUR DAY JOB.
BUT, UH, BUT, UM, I, I APPRECIATE THIS 'CAUSE MORE MEETINGS IS NOT, NOT AN EXCITING PROSPECT FOR FOLKS.
UM, PAUL, WHAT DO YOU THINK? UH, YEAH, I AGREE.
I THINK THERE'S NO REASON WE SHOULDN'T, UH, ADOPT THE LATER TIMEFRAME IF WE CAN.
AND WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE THE REPORT.
IT MAKES ALL SENSE IN THE WORLD.
BILL A THUMBS UP FROM PERRY MORE TIME.
AND SARAH? YEAH, I THINK THE LONGER TIMEFRAME WORKS BETTER AND UM, ALSO GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, WHAT KIND OF WORK WITH STAFF ON LIKE THE, THE GET SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED, BUT THE PRESENTATION OF HOW, OF THE REPORT AND HOW WE'RE GONNA ADOPT IT AND WHAT OUR PROCEDURE IS GONNA BE.
UM, LIKE WE TRIED SOMETHING THIS WEEK WITH THE ONE PAGE EXCERPT AND YOU KNOW, HOW DID THAT WORK? DO PEOPLE, THOSE KIND OF DISCUSSIONS.
AND HOW DO FOLKS FEEL ABOUT HAVING ONE OF THESE MEETINGS OCCUR IN THE EVENING? 'CAUSE I KNOW PEOPLE'S SCHEDULES ARE PRETTY BOOKED UP.
UM, DOES, DO WE NEED TO LOOK AT MAYBE HAVING, UM, AN OLD FASHIONED EVENING MEETING LIKE WE USED TO DO? UM, OR, OR IS EVERYBODY LIKE, YEAH, LET'S DO IT DURING THE DAY.
I WANT TO EAT DINNER WITH MY FAMILY AT NIGHT.
MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE, OH YEAH, IT'D BE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOR PAUL.
WOULD YOU BE FOR DAY HANEY? YEAH.
AND PAUL, YEAH, DURING THE DAY.
PAUL, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT A 2:00 AM MEETING FROM ITALY?
WE'RE GONNA STICK WITH DAYTIME MEETINGS.
BUT WOULD WE LIKE TO SCHEDULE THEM FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER? SO I'VE, I IT'S UP TO Y'ALL.
UM, YEAH, WE ADDED FOR THE OCTOBER 8TH MEETING, WE ADDED, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS ACTUALLY WORKS FOR PEOPLE, BUT PART OF THE THING WAS WE HAVE LOTS TO DISCUSS.
SO WE ADDED AN AN HOUR TO THAT MEETING ON THE EIGHTH.
UM, PEOPLE MAY BE LIKE, NO, I'M LEAVING AFTER TWO HOURS.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WILL, LET'S JUST HAVE THAT OPTION IN CASE WE NEED IT.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE, WE'LL HAVE THE ROOM JUST IN CASE, SO WE'LL, WE'LL BLOCK OFF A YEAH.
UM, SO LET'S MAKE SURE THAT FOR THE OCTOBER 8TH MEETING, IF LIKE, LET'S GET THE INFORMATION AS FAR IN ADVANCE AS WE CAN.
IF WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO HAVE THE WATER LOSS INFO BY THE EIGHTH, LET US KNOW.
AND IF WE DO HAVE IT, HOW CAN WE DIGEST IT? LIKE LET'S REALLY FOCUS IN ON THESE ARE THE PROGRAMS, THESE ARE THE SAVINGS.
HOW DOES THIS ALIGN WITH WHAT CHANGES ARE WE MAKING TO THE WA WATER CONSERVATION PLAN BECAUSE OF THIS? MM-HMM.
YEAH, SO PREVIOUSLY WE WERE AIMING FOR, UM, SOME DELIVERABLES ON OCTOBER 1ST, A WEEK IN ADVANCE OF THE OCTOBER 8TH MEETING.
UH, YOU KNOW, A FULLY REVISED WATER 4 24 PLAN, FULLY REVISED VERSIONS OF THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN, DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN, AS WELL AS ALL OF THE APPENDICES, UM, ASSOCIATED WITH THE PLAN, UH, WATER 4 24 PLAN.
SO I THINK WE CAN SHIFT OUR FOCUS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, GOOD MATERIALS READY IN ADVANCE OF THE OCTOBER 8TH MEETING.
THAT WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
AND TRACK CHANGES WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL.
BECAUSE I, UM, ALMOST MISSED THE START OF THIS MEETING 'CAUSE I WAS SITTING THERE AT MY DESK TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAD BEEN CHANGED AND SOME DOCUMENTS MM-HMM.
[00:50:01]
SO APOLOGIES ABOUT THAT.SO WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND MAKE SOME, UH, EDITS TO THE PREVIOUS DELIVERABLE THAT WAS SENT OUT THE EXCERPT OF THE CRLA, UM, AND LAND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES.
WE'LL ADD TRACK CHANGES TO THAT AND GET THAT OUT TO Y'ALL AS SOON AS YOU CAN.
UM, FOLKS ON THE TASK FORCE, IS THERE A WAY TO RECEIVE LIKE THE PIECES OF INFORMATION WE NEED, UM, WAYS FOR IT TO, TO BE PRESENTED, ET CETERA, THAT WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL TO US? UM, I MEAN, I'M COMING UP WITH IDEAS, BUT IT'S NOT JUST ME.
MADELA, I THINK, UM, LIKE A COMPARISON TO THE PAST WATER LOSS AND EVERYTHING AND SEEING LIKE THE STRATEGIES THAT WOULD BE DIFFERENT GOING FORWARD WOULD BE NICE.
LIKE IN A TABLE, LIKE A VISUAL KIND OF THING.
SARAH, DID YOU HAVE A CO? YES, SARAH.
A COUPLE THINGS ON THE LAND ANALYSIS.
UM, I KNOW WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT LATER IN A MINUTE, BUT JUST SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FORMAT, YES.
A RED LINE WOULD'VE BEEN MUCH MORE HELPFUL.
I DIDN'T THE WAY, AND I DON'T KNOW, BECAUSE LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT THIS WHERE YOU GUYS SAID, WE WANNA SEND YOU AN EXCERPT INSTEAD OF A FULL DOCUMENT YOU'D HAVE TO REVIEW.
AND I WANTED TO SEE HOW THAT WORKED OUT.
AND LIKE THIS TIME, AS NEAR AS I COULD TELL WHAT WE GOT, THE PAGE NUMBERS DIDN'T LINE UP WITH WHAT WE, WHAT WE RECEIVED COMPARED TO THE, UM, SEPTEMBER 3RD DRAFT WE HAVE.
SO, UM, YEAH, I DON'T THINK THAT REALLY WORKED TO TRY TO SEND US, UM, EXCERPTS THAT HAD DIFFERENT, DIDN'T LINE UP WITH WHAT WE HAD BEFORE.
SO I AM, YEAH, WE'RE GONNA NEED TO WORK ON THAT.
AND THEN I GUESS SORT OF LIKE SUBSTANTIVELY ALSO, I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS I SAW IS, UM, THE, IN THE WATER CONSERVATION, GOSH, OKAY.
IN THE PLAN REPORT YOU SENT US THIS UPDATED TABLE THAT HAS LIKE WATER YIELD MM-HMM.
AND THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE ALSO IN THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN.
BUT IN THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN, WE, IT'S IN A DIFFERENT, UH, METRIC.
YOU KNOW, IT'S A, A UNIT, UM, A DIFFERENT UNIT.
SO MAYBE THERE'S SOME WAY, I KNOW THAT IN THE OVERALL PLAN WE, WE, YOU TALK ABOUT, UM, ACRE FEET MM-HMM.
UM, AND I THINK, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN RIGHT NOW AS THE AGENDA ITEM? WE'RE ON RIGHT NOW? WE'RE ON WATER 4 24 PLAN.
BUT WE CAN SEND, UH, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD WITH AN APPROACH THAT RED LINES, THE FULL WATER 4 24 PLAN REPORT, UM, FOR THE SIERRA LAKE AND LINE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AND THEN ANY OTHER CHANGES THAT ARE MADE.
AND THEN WE'LL WORK ON LINING UP UNITS OR PROVIDING SOME SORT OF TRANSLATION BETWEEN UNITS.
SO, AND, AND LET ME JUST SAY, I WANNA HEAR WHAT OTHER TASK FORCE MEMBERS THINK BECAUSE WHAT WORKS FOR ME MAY NOT WORK FOR THEM.
BUT LIKE, MY THOUGHT WAS A, IF IT'S A, IT'S A BIG DOCUMENT AND YOU HAD SAID WE DON'T WANNA SEND YOU A BIG DOCUMENT, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU CAN BOOKMARK THINGS IN A PDF AND I CAN JUMP RIGHT TO WHERE YOUR SPOT IS.
OR EVEN THAT DOCUMENT YOU SENT WITH THIS LAND PLAN.
LIKE IF IT HAD SAID THIS IS INTENDED TO REPLACE PAGE 25 IN THE SEPTEMBER 3RD DRAFT, OR YOU KNOW, A LITTLE MORE EXPLANATION.
WE, WE, IT IT'S, YOU GUYS ARE MORE FAMILIAR WITH IT THAN US IS ALL THAT'S HAPPENING.
I GUESS WE'LL TO HEAR WHAT, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT WORKS FOR OTHER PEOPLE.
'CAUSE I MAY BE AN OUTLIER HERE.
I MEAN YOU COULD, ON THIS TABLE HERE, THE, THE ONE THAT I BELIEVE SARAH'S TALKING ABOUT, THE PROJECTED ANNUAL YIELDS, YOU COULD HAVE, UH, ANOTHER COLUMN FOR 2029 AND 2034 THAT, UM, I BELIEVE WHEN SARAH SAID THAT THIS IS DIFFERENT UNITS, THE OTHER UNITS ARE GPCD, UM, YOU COULD LIKE HAVE A, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, 2,240 ACRE FEET, WHICH IS HALF A-G-P-C-D OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW? OKAY.
MAYBE THAT'S TWO IN THE WEEDS, BUT, BUT THAT'S, IT DEPENDS ON KIND OF, IT IS HELPFUL TO SEE THE ACTUAL ACRE FEET 'CAUSE UM, HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, REDUCING.
I THINK I REMEMBER I WROTE DOWN TWO NUMBERS.
[00:55:01]
AND 700,000.BUT, BUT UH, SHAY WAS EXPLAINING LIKE HOW MANY GALLONS WE HAVE TO SAVE TO MAKE A ONE GPCD REDUCTION.
'CAUSE THE GPCD NUMBERS ARE ACTUALLY KIND OF SMALL NUMBERS AND THEN YOU'RE SEEING JUST LIKE A ONE REDUCTION OR SOMETHING, BUT YOU DON'T REALIZE LIKE, WHAT WAS THE NUMBER, I CAN'T REMEMBER RIGHT.
BUT SO TWO GPCD FOR THE 2029 TARGET WAS 2,919 ACRE FEET.
SO LIKE, JUST ANYWAY, SO, SO THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL.
UM, FOR THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS, I THINK IT ALSO WOULD BE HELPFUL SEEING, UM, FUNDING SOURCES FOR THAT.
ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, WITH THE HILL COUNTRY CONSERVANCY NAMING A, A BUNCH OF POSSIBLE GRANTS AND IDEAS AND BONDS SO THAT SEEING WHAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE AND WHAT COULD BE EXPANDED ON TO DO BETTER AT CON CONSERVING THE IMPORTANT LANDS AND UNDERSTANDING THE, THE BIG PICTURE OF IT ALL.
UM, WE, I THINK SHERRY AND JUSTIN ARE GONNA SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE WANTING TO DO WITH THE COLORADO RIVER LAND ANALYSIS AND MOVING FORWARD.
SO, UM, UH, MAYBE AFTER WE FINISH UP THIS DISCUSSION, WE CAN MOVE INTO THE, UH, NEXT PART OF THE SLIDES AND SPEAK TO THAT.
UM, ANY OTHER DISCUSSION TASK FORCE MEMBERS, SARAH, JUST GENERALLY ON THE WATER FORWARD REPORT AND THE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES.
I JUST WANTED TO FLAG FOR THE OTHER TASK FORCE MEMBERS.
I STILL HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WAL WALTER ELONG LAKE, UM, WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY AND A DRINKING WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
AND, UM, PAUL HAD BROUGHT UP QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PUTTING A, A DRINKING WATER PLANT IN THAT AREA AND I, I JUST WANTED TO LIKE BROADCAST THAT.
I'M NOT TOTALLY COMFORTABLE WITH THAT.
I NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT.
I DON'T HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
I CAN ASK THIS STUFF RIGHT NOW, BUT IF ANYBODY ELSE IS LOOKING INTO THAT, YOU KNOW, PLEASE SHARE YOUR QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS WITH ME.
ARE ONE OF THESE INFORMATION SHEETS FROM THE, THE, THE AUGUST THE EQUITY AND WHATEVER 13TH MEETING, IS THERE ONE ABOUT WALL TREE LONG ON HERE? YES.
THAT, THAT'S THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY, UM, ANALYSIS.
SO THERE IS A, AN ANALYSIS RELATED TO USE OF LAKE LONG AS A WATER, AS AN OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR.
SO THERE'S ALSO A, UH, MODELING CHARACTERIZATION SHEET THAT DESCRIBES THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENTS THAT WAS PROVIDED BACK, I THINK IN THE JULY 15TH BACKUP.
UM, AND THAT HAS MORE DETAIL ON KIND OF THE, THE DISCREET COMPONENTS OF THAT STRATEGY AND HOW IT WOULD BE, UH, USED.
THEN THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL EXPLANATION IN THE FUTURE WATER STRATEGIES CHAPTER OF THE DRAFT PLAN REPORT.
UM, THAT PAUL HAS HIS HAND UP.
UM, YEAH, WELL I GUESS MARISSA, IS THIS THE TIME THEN MAYBE TO TALK ABOUT THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS? 'CAUSE I SENT YOU A QUESTION VIA EMAIL AND UM, MAYBE WE CAN DISCUSS IT NOW IF THAT'S, THIS IS THE RELEVANT PART OF THE MEETING TO BRING THAT UP.
WELL, FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHER TASK FORCE MEMBERS, I SENT MARISA AN EMAIL.
UM, JUST TRYING TO DIG INTO THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS A LITTLE BIT AND UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT HOW IT PLAYED A ROLE IN THE PORTFOLIO SELECTION, UM, AND WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY SELECTION.
SO THE QUESTION WAS EFFECTIVELY, UM, BECAUSE THE DIFFERENCE IN SCORES, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SCORES, THE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES RECEIVED ON THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY FRAMEWORK, THEY, IT'S SOMETHING BETWEEN LIKE ONE AND FIVE.
AND THEY ALL SEEMED TO BE SORT OF LIKE AROUND THREE.
UH, SO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEM FELT SORT OF NEG NEGLIGIBLE IF YOU KIND OF JUST LOOK AT IT.
AND I DON'T KNOW, IT WASN'T CLEAR TO ME AT ALL TO WHAT EXTENT, LIKE DOING THAT, UH, EXERCISE IMPACTED THE SELECTION OF THE STRATEGIES, IF AT ALL.
AND WERE THERE ANY SITUATIONS IN WHICH, UH, A STRATEGY WAS BEING CONSIDERED BUT NOT SELECTED BECAUSE IT RECEIVED A POOR SCORE ON EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY? YOU KNOW, ARE, WERE THERE ANY SITUATIONS LIKE THAT? THAT WAS MY QUESTION.
SO IN, UM, THE SCORES THAT ARE INCLUDED ON THE BACKUP DOCUMENT, AND WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF, OF CHARACTERIZING
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THIS IN THE, UM, UH, RAW DATA, RAW SCORES FOR THAT PARTICULAR METRIC.UM, THE SCORES THAT ARE INCLUDED ON THE EQUITY AND AFFORDABILITY ROADMAP ARE WHAT I WOULD TERM RAW SCORES BEFORE WE, UM, KIND OF STRETCH THEM ACROSS A ONE TO FIVE RANGE.
AND SO EVEN IF IN THE RAW SCORE, THERE'S NOT A LOT OF DIFFERENTIATION BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO COMPARE THE STRATEGIES RELATIVE TO ANOTHER, WE IDENTIFY WHAT'S THE, THE MAX SCORE AND WHAT'S THE MIN SCORE? AND THEN WE STRETCH THOSE, THE SCORES FOR ALL OF THE STRATEGIES, UH, ALONG THAT RANGE FROM ONE TO FIVE.
UM, AND SO THAT PROVIDED A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THE SCORES.