* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:04] SO [CALL TO ORDER] I'M GONNA CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT AND, UM, IT'S 1205. AND, UM, [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL] OUR FIRST ITEM IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS, AND WE HAVE FIVE PEOPLE HERE TODAY FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS. UM, SO FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS, JUST YOU COME UP TO THIS MICROPHONE OVER HERE BY PAUL AND TURN ON. AND TURN ON THE MIC. AND, AND OUR FIRST, I'M GONNA, THIS IS THE ORDER. WE HAVE VALERIE, THEN CARLOS, THEN MARIANNE, SUSANNA, AND THEN PEDRO. IS THAT FINE? IS THAT THE ORDER Y'ALL WANNA GO IN? OKAY. AND THEN WE HAVE ONE AT A TIME. THREE MINUTES. YEAH. THREE, THREE MINUTES. YEAH. ONE AT A, ONE AT A TIME. YEAH. ALRIGHT. WELCOME. HI, VALERIE. HI EVERYONE. WELCOME, WELCOME. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AFTERNOON. GOOD AFTERNOON. TASK FORCE MEMBERS. UM, MY NAME IS VALERIE MENARD AND I'M THE PROJECT DIRECTOR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER CONSERVANCY, WHICH IS A PROJECT OF POED PEOPLE ORGANIZED IN DEFENSE OF EARTH AND HER RESOURCES. UM, SO WE'RE HERE TODAY BECAUSE EARLIER THIS YEAR, UM, ALL THEIR STAFF REVIEWED, UM, ALL THE CHAPTERS OF THE WATER FORWARD PLAN. AND SO WE'RE HERE NOW TO PROVIDE SOME FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS, UM, THAT WE HAVE, HAVE FOR Y'ALL. AND IT'S UP TO YOU IF YOU WANT TO ANSWER THEM IN THE MOMENT, OR WE CAN JUST AT SEND THEM TO YOU AND THEN MAYBE AT A LATER DAY GET THE, GET SOME RESPONSES FROM Y'ALL. OKAY. AND SO, UM, I REVIEWED, UM, CHAPTER TWO, WHICH WAS, UH, AND ALSO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK AND YOUR COMMITMENT TO, UM, SECURING AUSTIN'S WATER SUPPLY FOR THE FUTURE, UM, AND FOR CONTINUING TO, TO DO THE WORK. UM, SO AGAIN, I WAS, I FOCUSED ON CHAPTER TWO, WHICH WAS FOCUSED ON THE PLANNING PROCESS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN. AND SO I HAVE JUST A FEW QUESTIONS. UM, WE'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW WILL THE REPORT BE COMMUNICATED BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW WHY DIVERSITY SCORED SO LOW AMONG YOUR FIVE OBJECTIVES AND WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS WERE INCLUDED IN THE SURVEYS AND WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? AND THAT'S ALL FOR ME. THANK YOU. OKAY. HOLD ON. SECOND, WHAT WAS YOUR THIRD QUESTION? WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS WERE INCLUDED IN THE SURVEYS THAT Y'ALL CONDUCTED? THIS? OKAY. OKAY. THOSE ARE ALL GREAT. THERE'S FOUR. YEAH. YOU GOT ALL FOUR. OH, WHAT, YEAH, WHAT'S THE FOURTH ONE? , WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? YEAH. YEAH. AND I WILL GIVE THESE QUESTIONS TO MARISA, BUT WE'LL ALSO SEND YOU ALL OF THEM. OKAY. DID Y'ALL WANT TO ANSWER NOW OR SHOULD WE? YEAH, HOLD ON. SORRY, I'M WRITING. UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTIONS. UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY HAS ANY RESPONSE THAT THEY WANNA GIVE RIGHT NOW, UM, TO THAT. I BET. UM, MARISA, HOW DO YOU WANT TO, UH, AND THERE'S GONNA BE MORE QUESTIONS, I PRESUME, RIGHT? EACH TOOK CHAPTERS. YES. NICE. OKAY. UM, BE, WE CAN PROVIDE, I COULD PROVIDE LIKE A HIGH LEVEL RESPONSE AND THEN WE COULD PROBABLY FOLLOW UP IN MORE DETAIL TO ALL FOUR OF THE QUESTIONS, IF THAT SOUNDS GOOD. AND MAYBE THAT'S KIND OF THE APPROACH FOR EVERYBODY'S QUESTIONS, IF THAT SOUNDS OKAY. YES. OKAY. YEAH. AND I WOULD SAY TOO, LIKE, THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE, I MEAN, CLEARLY THERE WILL BE A FORMAL RESPONSE. MARISSA CAN PROVIDE IT IN WRITING, BUT, UM, WE CAN ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT IT TOO. AND IT'S NOT LIKE, UM, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT. SO I APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING IT IN FOR SURE. YEAH. AND THEN I THINK WE'RE ALSO HAVING A MEETING WITH BO ON JUNE 27TH, UM, THAT WE HAVE SCHEDULED WITH STAFF. AND SO WE CAN MAYBE LIKE TALK IN MORE DETAIL ABOUT SOME OF OUR RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS, UM, AS WELL AT THAT TIME. SO YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THIS IS REALLY THE START OF A CONVERSATION THAT WE WANNA CONTINUE TO HAVE. AWESOME. THAT IS GREAT. UM, SO, OKAY, THE, UM, LET'S SEE, WHAT NEIGHBORHOODS WERE INCLUDED IN THE SURVEY? THE SURVEY WAS SENT OUT, UM, TO ALL AUSTIN WATER CUSTOMERS, UM, IS MY UNDERSTANDING. AND SO I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE THROUGHOUT THE, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN. AND THEN THERE ARE SOME PARTS OF OUR SERVICE AREA THAT EXTEND BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN, LIKE FULL PURPOSE AND LIMITED PURPOSE JURISDICTION. WE CAN FOLLOW UP ON THAT MORE THOUGH. UM, HOW WILL THE REPORT BE COMMUNICATED BACK TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS? UM, WE USE THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE AS A, AS ONE OF THE FORUMS TO SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR WATER FOUR PLAN AND OUR STEPS TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN. AND ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE GOT ON OUR AGENDA TODAY IS OUR, UM, FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT, UM, THAT'S, UH, REPORTING OUT ON PROGRESS TO IMPLEMENT ALL OF THESE [00:05:01] STRATEGIES. UM, AND OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE THESE REPORTS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, ULTIMATELY CREATE A DASHBOARD, AND THEN TO CONTINUE OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. SO NEXT STEPS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO CONTINUE OUR, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON THE WATER FLOOR PLAN AS A WHOLE. AND THEN ALSO EACH OF THE STRATEGIES WITHIN THE PLAN KIND OF HAVE THEIR OWN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PATHWAYS BECAUSE THEY'LL ALL, UM, MANY TIMES BE ADDRESSING LIKE SPECIFIC ISSUES OR CONCERNS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO DIFFERENT GROUPS, NEIGHBORHOODS, ENTITIES, UM, THAT WE WOULD WANNA ENGAGE MORE DEEPLY. AND THEN THE EQUITY SCORE. UM, SO THE MATRIX THAT WE USED, UM, TO EVALUATE THE PORTFOLIOS WAS, UM, UH, LET'S SEE, I'M PULLING IT UP RIGHT HERE. WE HAD AN 8% OBJECTIVE WEIGHT ACROSS, UM, THE, UH, ACROSS THE PORTFOLIO VALUATION THAT, UM, WAS SOMETHING THAT WE GATHERED INPUT ON FROM THE TASK FORCE AS WELL AS OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS. AND, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID BEYOND JUST INCLUDING EQUITY BENEFITS AS LIKE A HOLISTIC SCORE WITHIN, UM, UH, THE EVALUATION OF PORTFOLIOS IS ALSO TRYING TO, THROUGH THIS PROCESS OF, UM, UH, UNDERSTANDING THE DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS AND BURDENS ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES FROM THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE STRATEGIES, IDENTIFY WAYS TO MITIGATE THOSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN OUR IMPLEMENTATION. SO TRY TO MAKE THE STRATEGIES BETTER THEMSELVES. SO THAT WAS KIND OF IN ADDITION TO HAVING THAT SCORE. SO I GUESS THAT'S MAYBE A HIGH LEVEL RESPONSE THAT WE COULD FOLLOW UP ON IN MORE DETAIL. I HOPE THAT WAS HELPFUL. YEAH, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE, UM, GOOD. I MEAN, I THINK THAT THIS REQUIRES LIKE MORE DISCUSS SITTING DOWN LIKE, YOU KNOW, SHARING SOME DOCUMENTS AND KIND OF WALKING THROUGH IT, BUT THE, UM, THE, OH, I CANNOT, MY WORDS ARE FAILING ME. I CAN'T THINK OF WHAT IT'S CALLED. BUT, UH, BASED ON THE, THE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUPS THAT WE DEVELOPED, A SET OF SCORING CRITERIA AND QUESTIONS TO ASK THAT REALLY GOT AT THE QUESTION MM-HMM . THAT MARISA WAS JUST ARTICULATING. UM, AND, UH, AND SO SHARING THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS THAT WERE AS, AS THEY'RE EVALUATING DIFFERENT WATER SUPPLIES SCENARIO PORTFOLIOS, UM, THE TYPES OF QUESTIONS THAT WERE ASKED, I THINK IS REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE. 'CAUSE IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT WAY TO DO DECISION MAKING AROUND WATER SUPPLY PLANNING. AND IT MAY NOT BE, I FEEL LIKE WE'RE SOME OF THE FIRST PEOPLE TO KIND OF TRY THAT. SO, SO THERE'S PROBABLY ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT I AM, I, I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S REALLY INSTRUCTIVE AND INTERESTING TO SEE THAT, THAT PIECE OF IT, BUT THIS WILL BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK ON THAT PROCESS. WE ARE BE, UM, TARGETING, UPDATING THIS PLAN EVERY FIVE YEARS AND SO, UM, WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INTEGRATE ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK FROM YOURSELVES AND FROM OTHERS INTO THE NEXT UPDATE PROCESS. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANKS, VALERIE. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, CARLOS PINON WELCOME. HI EVERYONE. UM, GOOD AFTERNOON TASK FORCE MEMBERS. MY NAME IS CARLOS PINON AND I'M THE RESILIENCE PROGRAM COORDINATOR AT PODER. UM, LIKE VALERIE SAID, UH, EACH OF PO'S STAFF MEMBERS REVIEWED A CHAPTER OF THE, UH, WATER FORWARD PLAN AND REPORTED BACK TO ONE ANOTHER SO THAT WE ALL HAD A SENSE OF THE CITY'S VISION IN ENSURING A STABLE FUTURE FOR AUSTIN'S WATER SUPPLY. UM, I READ CHAPTER THREE CURRENT WATER RESOURCES AND CAME AWAY WITH THE FOLLOWING SETS OF QUESTIONS. UM, THE FIRST SET, HOW EFFECTIVE ARE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH, UM, ON EXISTING WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS? UH, ACCORDING TO THE PLAN, THESE INCLUDE COMMUNITY EVENTS AND SCHOOL PROGRAMS LIKE THE DOWSER DAN SCHOOL ASSEMBLY AND MOBILE RIVER EXHIBIT, UH, MARKETING CAMPAIGNS AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS LIKE MY ETX WATER AND WORKSHOPS. UM, I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW HOW THE, THEIR EFFICACY IS BEING MEASURED AND HOW CAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS LIKE WILL THAT I GUESS, CONTRIBUTE TO THOSE EDUCATION OUTREACH PROGRAMS? UM, I'D ALSO LIKE TO KNOW HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THE EXISTING RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER PROGRAMS? THE PLAN DETAILS, BENEFITS SUCH AS DIGITAL GARDEN HOSE METERS AND SUNLIGHT CALCULATORS AVAILABLE TO US AT ANY AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY. UM, SHOWER HEADS AND SOIL MOISTURE METERS MAILED DIRECTLY TO US, AND REBATES FOR IRRIGATION UPGRADES, LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS IN GRAY WATER SYSTEMS ARE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS BUYING INTO THESE PROGRAMS, UH, AND IS THEIR DATA TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR BUY-IN. UM, LASTLY, IT WAS REPORTED THAT AUSTIN WATER RECEIVED 439 WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATIONS, UM, FROM, I GUESS THAT PROGRAM START IN 2021 TO THE END OF 2023. UM, HAVE THERE BEEN, UH, I GUESS HOW MANY HAVE THERE BEEN [00:10:01] SINCE THEN, SINCE THE END OF 2023? UM, I'M WONDERING PARTICULAR IF THE WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATION PROCESS HAS SUCCESSFULLY HELPED INCENTIVIZE COMMERCIAL PROJECTS TO CONSERVE AND REUSE WATER, AND IF AUSTIN WATER HAS HAD TO INSTITUTE EXCESS USAGE CHARGES FOR COMMERCIAL PROJECTS, UH, EXCEEDING AN ANNUAL WATER BUDGET SINCE THEY BEGAN REQUIRE OR REQUESTING THE WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATIONS. UM, AND THEN I GUESS LIKE OVERALL, LIKE DO YOU BELIEVE THE GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ARE ADEQUATE, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF INCOMING DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTIN? UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU ALL. DEFINITELY NO PRESSURE TO ANSWER ALL OF THESE. LIKE I KNOW IT'S A LOT, UM, AND WE WILL DEFINITELY HAVE CONVERSATIONS IN THE FUTURE. SO, UM, FOR NOW, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND UH, FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON THIS PLAN. THOSE ARE GREAT QUESTIONS. GOOD QUESTIONS. YEAH, I LOVE THOSE QUESTIONS. YEAH, I WANNA KNOW THAT YOU'RE YEAH, SERIOUSLY . YEAH. SO, UM, ALRIGHT. ARE WE GONNA TALK ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW OR DO YOU WANT TO I GUESS FLESH IT OUT LATER? I THINK SO BECAUSE YOU'RE, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE SO GOOD AND BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY WANNA FOLLOW UP WITH SOME DATA AND SOME INFORMATION WE, WE WILL PROBABLY ASK THAT WE CAN FOLLOW UP IN MORE DETAIL A LITTLE BIT LATER. UM, WE DO HAVE ON OUR CALEN ON OUR SCHEDULE FOR TODAY THIS UPDATE ON KIND OF IMPLEMENTATION THAT MAY TOUCH ON SOME OF YOUR, UM MM-HMM . QUESTIONS. KEVIN KLUGE IS ON THE LINE. HE'S, HE'S ACTUALLY UNDER THE WEATHER, BUT HE'S STILL, YOU KNOW, HEROICALLY JOINING US REMOTELY AND IS GONNA GIVE, SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO SOME OF THOSE, BUT THEN WE'LL FOLLOW UP, UM, MORE FULLY IN, UH, UH, UH, LATER. MM-HMM . OKAY. PERFECT. THANK YOU ALL. AND CARLOS, I JUST, I WANNA SAY THAT, UM, IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN, AUSTIN HAS TO SUBMIT A WATER CONSERVATION PLAN TO THE STATE EVERY FIVE YEARS AND WAS UPDATED LAST YEAR AND, AND, UM, IT CAME IN, YOU KNOW, AROUND THE APRIL TIMEFRAME TO THE TASK FORCE, UM, WITH SOME BASELINE NUMBERS AND GOALS. AND, AND WE, WE DID NOT THINK, WELL, WE WERE UNDERWHELMED BY THE NUMBERS AND SO WE ACTUALLY WORKED WITH AUSTIN WATER THROUGHOUT THE END OF THE YEAR AND, AND THE NEW PLAN WAS APPROVED IN NOVEMBER ALONG WITH THE WATERFORD TASK FORCE PLAN. BUT THAT PLAN HAS SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS THAT YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT, LIKE WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE PRO, WHAT'S THE KIND OF USER UPTAKE FOR SOME OF THE PROGRAMS? AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DUG INTO. AND HONESTLY, SOME OF THE PROGRAMS HAD VERY LOW KIND OF USER, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF PARTICIPATION. AND SO THAT WAS PART OF LIKE THE KIND OF EVALUATING THE PROCESS AND CITY COUNCIL AND APPROVING THE PLAN AND THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN ASKED FOR, FOR THIS QUARTERLY UPDATE. AND I THINK IT'S REALLY GOOD AND MM-HMM . IT'LL BE GOOD. THIS IS OUR FIRST TIME TO SEE IT, BUT IT'LL BE REALLY GOOD TO KIND OF KEEP TRACK OF THOSE AND TO KIND OF ALWAYS LIKE ASK, YOU KNOW, IS WHAT WE'RE DOING SUCCESSFUL AND ARE WE SEEING THE BENEFITS? AND ON A BIGGER SCALE, I THINK THAT THAT IS JUST HAVING, YOU KNOW, COME OUT THE OTHER END OF THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION AS WELL. THESE ARE THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS THAT THE LEGISLATURES ASKING OVERALL IN THE STATE. MM-HMM . UM, JUST BECAUSE OUR WATER SUPPLY CHALLENGES ARE, ARE BECOMING, BECOMING MORE AND MORE, WE REALLY NEED TO MOVE INTO THIS ERA OF NOT JUST LIKE TURNING ON OUR FAUCETS AND FLUSHING OUR TOILETS AND COLLECTING EVERYTHING, YOU KNOW, THAT WE ALL NEED TO HAVE BIGGER AND BETTER LITERACY AROUND THIS. SO I THINK IT'S JUST LIKE DAYLIGHTING, THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION IS, IS A REALLY POSITIVE THING. SO THERE'S SOME STUFF OUT THERE, AND I KNOW AUSTIN WILL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AS WELL, RIGHT? BUT THEN YOU ALSO ASKED A QUESTION ABOUT HOW CAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS CONTRIBUTE? AND I LOVE THAT QUESTION AND I LOVE THINKING ABOUT THIS AS LIKE THE BEGINNING OF A CONVERSATION, UM, BETWEEN US AND HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO GET THESE MESSAGES OUT AND TO INCREASE CONSERVATION AND THROUGHOUT OUR, OUR COMMUNITY. I LOVE THAT. COOL. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. THANK YOU CARLOS. UM, UM, MARIANNE SANCHEZ IS NEXT? YES. DID I GET IT? DID I GET YOUR NAME RIGHT? CLOSE ENOUGH. OH, MARIA. MARIA, OKAY. YES. OKAY. UM, WELL GOOD AFTERNOON OR YEAH, WE'RE AFTERNOON NOW. UM, MY NAME IS MARIA SANCHEZ. I WORK FOR DEAD AS WELL. UM, I'LL KEEP MINE PRETTY SHORT AND SWEET. I'LL GET TO THE POINT. UM, SO I REVIEWED CHAPTER FOUR, WHICH WAS PLANNING FOR UNCERTAINTY. AND MY FIRST QUESTION WAS, WHAT STOCK HAS BEEN TAKEN OF THE SOCIAL IMPACTS THAT WILL BE FELT AS OUR WATER SUPPLY NEEDS ARISE IF OR WHEN WE SURPASS, SURPASS THE WATER SUPPLY CONTRACT WITH THE LCRA? UM, AND AS WELL, WHAT ARE THE NEW WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS IN THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER THAT ARE MENTIONED? UM, MY NEXT QUESTION SET OF QUESTIONS WAS, HOW ARE THE BENEFITS OUTLINED IN THE PREFERRED PO PORTFOLIO? SIX, DETERMINED OR DEFINED EQUITY IS NOTICEABLY LOW ACROSS THE BOARD. AND WHY IS THIS? AND LASTLY, WILL DEEP EAST AUSTIN BE INCLUDED IN EFFORTS TO ACQUIRE LAND AND RESTRICT DEVELOPMENT FOR THE SAKE OF WATER QUALITY PROTECTION? UM, EAST OF I 35 [00:15:01] DEMONSTRATES SOME OF THE HIGHEST PRIORITY IN TERMS OF NOTABLE CONSERVATION AREAS. THE MAP USED TO DEPICT THIS AS HELPFUL, BUT WE FIND IT DIFFICULT TO VISUALIZE THE EASTERN PORTION SPECIFICALLY. AND THAT WAS ALL. UM, I THINK I'LL GO AHEAD AND MAKE A STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF OUR DIRECTOR, JUST THAT LIKE, YEAH, PLEASE FEEL NO PRESSURE TO ANSWER ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS IMMEDIATELY RIGHT HERE, JUST FOR TIME'S SAKE AS WELL. 'CAUSE WE KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE AN AGENDA. SO YEAH. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. AWESOME. YEAH, I THINK THOSE ARE GREAT QUESTIONS. UM, AND , YEAH, THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF WATER SUPPLY NEEDS AS THOSE ARISE, UM, IS A, IS A, IS A REALLY GOOD AND, UH, QUESTION, AND I THINK KIND OF SPEAKS TO THE INTENT OF DOING ALL OF THIS PLANNING BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IF WE DID EXPERIENCE WATER SUPPLY SHORTAGES IN THE FUTURE, THE GREATEST IMPACT WOULD BE FELT ON LOW, LOW INCOME PEOPLE AND PEOPLE OF COLOR. UM, AND SO THAT IS A KEY DRIVER IS TO AVOID ANY SITUATION WHERE WE DO HAVE A WATER SUPPLY SHORTAGE AND INTO THE FUTURE, BUT KIND OF CHARACTERIZING THAT, UM, MORE DEEPLY SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY WORK ON. UM, WE CAN FOLLOW UP ON LIKE THE WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS THAT ARE MENTIONED IN THE CHAPTER. UM, WELL EAST OF I 35 BE INCLUDED IN LAND CONSERVATION EFFORTS. I THINK THAT THERE ARE MORE, MORE BROAD KIND OF CITY, UH, PLANS THAT ARE IN THE WORKS TO LOOK AT LAND CONSERVATION, UH, IN A ACROSS THE CITY, UM, INCLUDING IN EAST AUSTIN. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING TO, UM, PARTICIPATE IN AS WE TALK ABOUT KIND OF THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN WATER QUALITY WATER SUPPLY, WHICH YOU'LL HAVE TO FORGIVE US, BUT IN OUR MINDS ARE, UH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE TIGHTLY LINKED, BUT THEY ARE ALSO SOMETIMES DISCREET LIKE WATER QUALITY PRESERVATION AS WELL AS WATER SUPPLY PROVISION. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OTHER BENEFITS, UM, RELATED TO RECREATIONAL ACCESS, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, HEALTH, UM, OUTCOMES OR OTHER OUTCOMES FOR COMMUNITIES. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON, UM, AND WANNA BE INVOLVED IN AS WE MOVE FORWARD. AND THEN I THINK THERE WAS ANOTHER QUESTION THAT I DON'T THINK I CAPTURED, UM, EXACTLY YET, BUT WE'LL FOLLOW UP ON THOSE AS WELL. I'M, I'M SORRY, BUT I'M SO TICKLED THAT Y'ALL READ THE WHOLE PLAN. , I CAN'T GET OVER IT. , FIGHT AND CONQUER . YEAH. OKAY. WELL, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. YEAH. NEXT IS SUSANNA, AND NOT ONLY DID Y'ALL READ THE PLAN, BUT YOU CAME BACK WITH SOME REALLY GREAT QUESTIONS. I KNOW. SO SORRY, REAL QUICK. UH, BILL AND SARAH, COULD Y'ALL TURN YOUR CAMERAS ON OR AT LEAST ONE OF Y'ALL FOR QUORUM PURPOSES? OH, THANK YOU. YES, THANK YOU. EXCUSE ME. I WAS RIVETED BY THIS BY THE, UM, PUBLIC COMMENTS AND DIDN'T NOTICE THAT. OKAY. SUSANNA, YOU'RE ON. WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON. I'M SUSANNA ALMAN. I'M THE DIRECTOR FOR THE, AND I DO WANNA THANK Y'ALL FOR UPDATING THE 2018, UH, WATER PLAN. UH, I HAD SOME FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS. OH, ACTUALLY I MADE COPIES, SO, OKAY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE WRITING IT DOWN. OKAY, THANKS. BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I SAW THAT IT WAS LIKE, WHAT DID YOU MAKE THE LAST POINT? AND SO, SORRY, BUT WE, WE WILL SEND ALL THE LISTS OF QUESTIONS WE'LL HAVE, WE'LL EMAIL THEM TO Y'ALL. UM, BUT, UM, WHAT I WANTED TO LOOK AT, I LOOKED AT CHAPTER FIVE, WE READ THE WHOLE THING, BUT MY SECTION WAS CHAPTER FIVE, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR THE FOLLOWING. MM-HMM . REQUIRING ALL SITE PLANS FOR A NEW DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE WATER BENCHMARK APPLICATIONS, REPLACING ALL METERS IN THE CITY WITH NEW SMART METERS, ROLLING OUT THE MY A TX WATER CUSTOMER PORTAL AND MANY AND MANY CONSERVATIONS AND REUSE REBATES AND INCENTIVES. AND I PUT THERE, IT'S ON PAGE 34, THE OTHER ONE TIMELINE ON NEW LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION ORDINANCES AND INCENTIVES, IRRIGATION EFFICIENCY INCENTIVES AND OTHER APPROACHES TO PROMOTE CONVERSION TO NATIVE AND EFFICIENT LANDSCAPES, UH, TIMELINE ON REUSE OF RAINWATER AND AIR CONDITIONING, CONDENSATE FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS OVER 250,000 SQUARE FEET. ORDINANCE, UH, TIMELINE ON USE, LAKE WA WALTER ELONG, FORMED BY DECKER DAM AS A WATER SUPPLIER RESERVOIR TO MEET CUSTOMER DEMANDS LAKE WALTER ELONG SUPPLIED BY WATER DIVERTED FROM THE COLORADO RIVER. AND THIS STRATEGY INCLUDES A NEW INTAKE ADJACENT TO THE CURRENT INTAKE LOCATION. LAKE WALTER ELONG IS CURRENTLY USED FOR RECREATION MANAGED BY CITY PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, AND FOR THE OPERATION OF THE DECKER POWER PLANT MANAGED BY THE CITY'S ELECTRIC UTILITY AND AUSTIN ENERGY. UH, AND THE LAST POINT I'D LIKE TO MAKE IS HOW WILL YOU INCLUDE GRASSROOTS AND LOCAL ORGANIZATION IN THE BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES? AWESOME. AND THOSE WERE, UM, MY COMMENTS, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. YEAH, THANK YOU [00:20:01] SUSANNA. YEAH, THANK YOU. UM, YEAH, THE TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION ON THESE IS A, WE USED TO HAVE A, A TABLE WITH THE TIMELINE, UM, THAT I USED TO LOOK AT ALL THE TIME. I MEAN, IT WAS OVER DECADES, BUT MM-HMM . YEAH. AND WE HAVE SOME LIKE HIGH LEVEL YEARS WITHIN THE PLAN RIGHT NOW. UM, BUT A COUPLE OF THESE THINGS WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED ALREADY. SO REQUIRING ALL, UH, ALL SITE PLANS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT AND, UH, SUBMIT WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATIONS THAT'S CURRENTLY IN PLACE. SO ALL NEW SITE PLANS THAT ARE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY HAVE TO, UM, THEY HAVE TO SUBMIT A WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATION, AND IF THEY'RE GREATER THAN 250,000 SQUARE FEET, THEY ALSO HAVE TO MEET WITH OUR CONSERVATION AND, AND REUSE STAFF AND TALK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO CONSERVE OR, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE USE OF REUSE WATER. THOSE LARGE DEVELOPMENTS ARE ALSO SUBJECT TO A REQUIREMENT TO, UM, EITHER CONNECT TO OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIM WATER SYSTEM, UM, IF THEY'RE WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE SYSTEM, OR THEY HAVE TO INSTALL AN ONSITE REUSE SYSTEM TO, UH, REUSE RAINWATER AND A AC CONDENSATE. SO THAT IS CURRENTLY A REQUIREMENT THAT'S IN PLACE TODAY, AND IT WAS PASSED IN APRIL OF 2025 MAYBE, IS WHEN THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM WAS. I THINK IT WAS MAYBE APRIL, 2025 IS WHEN THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM, UM, WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL, UH, THE ROLLING OUT OF THE MY E TX WATER CUSTOMER PORTAL AND REPLACING ALL OF THE CITY SMART METERS. I'M ACTUALLY PRESENTING THE Q1 REPORT RIGHT NOW AS I'M ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, SO I FEEL LIKE I SHOULD STOP AND LET KEVIN KLUGE PRESENT THAT, BUT, UM, HE'LL, HE'LL GIVE A, SOME UPDATES ON WHERE THOSE ARE AT TOO. AND THEN I'LL JUST SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO YUSEF LAKE LONG AS A WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIR. RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A, A CONSULTANT WHO'S WORKING WITH US OFF OF A ROTATION, THEIR CONSULTANT WHO'S HELPING US TO DO LIKE A BIGGER PICTURE EVALUATION OF THAT STRATEGY AS WELL AS OTHER STRATEGIES. AND WE'RE ASKING THEM TO DELIVER A, A REPORT, A TECHNICAL REPORT TO US, UM, ON LIKE THE FEASIBILITY OF THAT STRATEGY AND WHAT KIND OF, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD BE NECESSARY IN THE FALL, UH, 2026 HERE. AND, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM THAT WE'LL HAVE MORE TECHNICAL INFORMATION TO THEN INFORM LIKE NEXT STEPS ON THAT STRATEGY INCLUDING, UM, YOU KNOW, FURTHER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, UM, ON THAT STRATEGY. AND I'LL MENTION TOO, YOU PROBABLY SAW IT WHEN YOU READ THE PLAN, BUT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT STRATEGY ABOUT USE OF THAT LAKE AS A WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIR, BUT WITHIN ABOUT A FIVE FOOT OPERATING RANGE. SO THE LAKE LEVEL WOULDN'T BE DRAWN DOWN BEYOND THAT LIKE FIVE FOOT FROM, ITS LIKE TARGET, YOU KNOW, FULL, UH, LEVEL. AND THEN, UM, I MEAN, LET'S, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE LAST QUESTION. I, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW TO BEST INCLUDE GRASSROOTS AND LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THESE STRATEGIES AND AS WELL AS IN OUR BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. YEAH, I'D LOVE IT. GREAT. PEDRO HERNANDEZ IS NEXT. HELLO EVERYONE, MY NAME IS PEDRO HERNANDEZ AND I'M THE TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR WITH PO AND I HAD CHAPTER SIX, WHICH IS, UH, PLAN, PLAN IMPLEMENTATION. AND, UM, MY QUESTIONS ARE, WATER FORWARD IS FUNDED BY WATER WASTEWATER AND RECLAIMED WATER RATES AND FEES. ARE THESE FEES FOR BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL OR JUST RESIDENTIAL? AND THE NEXT QUESTION, HOW WERE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES CALCULATED FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS? AND CAN YOU PROVIDE A BREAKDOWN OF WHAT THESE FEES COVER? YEAH, THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS. YEAH. GREAT. UM, THOSE FEES, UH, THE RATES AND FEES, UM, THAT WE ARE COLLECTING TO FUND ALL OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS AS WELL AS THE ONGOING OPERATIONS OF THE UTILITY ARE COLLECTED FROM ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL, UM, SINGLE FAMILY, RESIDENTIAL, MULTI-FAMILY, RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS THAT THE CITY PROVIDES SERVICE TO. UM, UH, THEN, UH, THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL, LIKE WHAT WE CALL LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS, UM, BUT THEY COULD BE KIND OF GENERALLY LUMPED INTO COMMERCIAL. AND THEN HOW ARE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES CALCULATED? WE HAVE A, A WHOLE KIND OF A SEPARATE PROCESS, UM, TO ESTABLISH CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, AND I THINK WE PROBABLY HAVE SOME LIKE GOOD INFORMATION, UM, UM, THAT WE CAN PACKAGE UP TO SHARE WITH HOW THOSE ARE CALCULATED, UM, IN SOME MORE DETAIL, IF THAT SOUNDS OKAY. YEAH. JUST 'CAUSE IF WE START, IF WE START DOWN THAT PATH HERE, I'M AFRAID WE'LL BE HERE FOR A WHILE, ? YES. UM, WE HAVE OUR, WE DO AN UPDATE PROCESS [00:25:01] FOR THAT EVERY FIVE YEARS, AND IT WAS COMPLETED IN 28 OR 2023, I THINK. RIGHT? AND THERE, THERE'S A REPORT ONLINE, BUT YEAH, I AGREE WITH MUDDY. SO IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BEST TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU ON THAT AND PROVIDE YOU MORE INFORMATION. AND THERE IS A PUBLIC PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH, BUT WE CAN PROVIDE MORE INFO ABOUT THAT. RIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR, UM, OH, DO, DO WE HAVE ANOTHER PERSON? YEAH, COME ON. DON'T ON, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE YOU ON MY LIST HERE, BUT OKAY. YEAH. YEAH, THAT'S FINE. I NOTICED THAT ALL THAT THERE WERE SIX OF Y'ALL SITTING HERE, BUT I HAD FIVE PEOPLE ON MY LIST. YEAH. OKAY. , WHAT'S YOUR NAME? HI, I AM NO ELIA. I AM HOUSING JUSTICE DIRECTOR WITH BULLET. GREAT. WELCOME. YEAH, AND, UH, THESE QUESTIONS ALSO COME FROM CHAPTER SIX. OKAY. UH, SO IN THIS IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS, UM, WHAT DOES COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION LOOK LIKE? UM, AND ESPECIALLY LIKE WITH THESE MEETINGS, HOW ARE THESE MEETINGS ANNOUNCED TO COMMUNITY? AND MAKE SURE THAT COMMUNITY COMES TO PARTICIPATE, UM, AND ALSO WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION AND, YOU KNOW, YOUR WORK INCLUDE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, TO STAVE OFF THE WORST CASE SCENARIO, UM, AND MITIGATE ALL THE HARMFUL IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. AND FINALLY, UH, WITH THE TASK FORCE, CONSIDER THE DEVELOPMENT AND RAPID URBANIZATION OF OUR CITY AND THE GREAT IMPACT THAT HAS ON WATER USAGE, UH, WATER QUALITY AND WATER ACCESS, UH, WHEN YOU'RE EVALUATING AND UPDATING THE PLAN. THANK YOU. THOSE ARE, UM, ALL GREAT QUESTIONS AND THE WHOLE PACKAGE AND THE WAY THAT Y'ALL, I LIKE, I LIKE HOW Y'ALL REVIEWED THE PLAN MM-HMM . AND CAME WITH QUESTIONS. IT'S, IT'S A, A GOOD PROCESS. I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE, SEEMS LIKE MAYBE YOU HAVE. SO, UM, BUT, BUT DEFINITELY LOTS OF, UM, REALLY CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS. SO, UM, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL OF THOSE. SO LET'S MAKE SURE THAT, THAT EMILY OR MARISA HAS 'EM IN WRITING WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL IF WE CAN GET ALL THOSE TOGETHER FOR THEM. AND, UM, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL ARE MEETING, BUT I WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO HAVE IF Y'ALL, IF Y'ALL WANT, IF IT'S, IF IT'S, IF IT'S ACCEPTABLE TO HAVE A MEMBER OR TWO OF THE TASK FORCE IF THEY WANNA PARTICIPATE IN THAT MEETING AS WELL. UM, THE TASK FORCE REALLY IS VERY HANDS-ON OR WORKS REALLY COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE, WITH THE AUSTIN WATER STAFF. UM, SO, SO I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO HAVE US BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION TOO, IF, IF THAT'S ACCEPTABLE TO EVERYBODY AND NOT TRY TO INSERT US IN THERE. AND I DON'T KNOW WHO WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO DO IT, BUT, UM, BUT YEAH. UM, AND THEN I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY ON ELSE ON THE TASK FORCE HAS A QUESTION THAT THEY WANNA ASK OR ANY RESPONSE OR MARISA HAS ANY FOLLOW UP. AND I WANNA SAY THAT WE, WE DO HAVE A DOCUMENT WE CAN SEND WITH ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT WE PUT TOGETHER. PERFECT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. GREAT. SARAH FAUST. HI, GO AHEAD. HI, THANKS. I WAS GONNA SAY, UM, IT'S KIND OF, UM, HARD TO CONTACT US DIRECTLY BECAUSE OUR, WE DON'T HAVE EMAILS ON THE WEBSITE OR LIKE THE BOARDING COMMISSION EMAILS, BUT IF, UM, THE STAFF COULD PLEASE FORWARD US THE QUESTIONS. ALSO, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BE ABLE TO READ ALL OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WERE JUST ASKED. YEAH, A HUNDRED PERCENT FOR SURE. THANK YOU. SO, UM, EMILY RAFFERTY, WHO'S OVER HERE, UH, ACTUALLY RUNNING THE SHOW IS, UM, THE TASK FORCE IS LIAISON. AND SO SHE'LL, UH, TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL ARE PROVIDING AND SHE'LL FORWARD THOSE TO OUR WATER FOUR TASK FORCE MEMBERS. YEAH. I JUST WANNA SAY, OH, GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. SORRY. WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR COMING. IT WAS GREAT. THIS IS REALLY STIMULATING QUESTIONS AND I'M SO GLAD Y'ALL TOOK THE TIME TO READ THROUGH THE PLAN AND THAT'S JUST, THAT'S FANTASTIC. UM, I'M GONNA BE THINKING ABOUT THAT, THAT SECOND TO LAST QUESTION FROM NOE THERE ABOUT POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, BECAUSE THAT'S AN INTERESTING, UM, THOUGHT EXPERIMENT THAT WE HAVE NOT REALLY ENGAGED IN IS WHERE, WHERE DOES WATER POLICY FIT IN THIS CITY? AND IT DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T REALLY SEEM TO FIT IN THIS TASK FORCE OR IN THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION. UM, AND SO, I DON'T KNOW, I THINK MAYBE LIKE, 'CAUSE THIS IS MORE OF A PLAN AND NOT A, NOT A SERIES OF LIKE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS OR GUIDELINES OR ANYTHING. SO POLICY SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT HIGHER LEVEL. I DUNNO, WHAT DO YOU THINK, KEVIN? YOU DISAGREE WITH THAT? NO. OKAY. YOU'RE THINKING OUT LOUD TOO. OKAY. YEAH, SO I, BUT IT'S A GOOD, IT'S A GOOD POINT. I MEAN, WE HAD THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN THAT FELT LIKE MAYBE THAT WAS MORE THE RESULT OF LIKE A POLICYMAKING PROCESS AT THE COUNCIL LEVEL MM-HMM . BUT, UM, I DON'T KNOW. AND WE'RE IN DIALOGUE WITH THAT AS I'VE BEEN TOLD. BUT, UH, STILL I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE FOR [00:30:02] HIGHER LEVEL THINKING AROUND WATER POLICY IN AUSTIN. AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT FORUM IS FOR IT, BUT I'M GLAD THAT YOU ARE SPOTLIGHTING IT AND I WOULD LIKE US TO CONTINUE THINKING ABOUT IT, THAT'S ALL. YEAH, GOOD POINT. UM, UH, , I'M NOT GONNA SAY ANYTHING . I WAS ABOUT TO SAY, THINGS ARE GONNA GET ME IN TROUBLE. UM, SO WATER POLICY IS 1000% PART OF THE CONVERSATION. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT FORUM IS, BUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS THAT CAN DO THINGS. I SPEND HAVE JUST SPENT ALMOST ALL MY DAYLIGHT HOURS WORKING ON WATER POLICY FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. SO, SO, UH, YEAH. SO THAT'S, THAT'S REAL AS FAR AS, BUT IT, IT IS LIKE THERE'S STATE LEVEL POLICY, THERE'S OUR LOCAL POLICY MM-HMM . THERE'S HOW AUSTIN AND, AND HOW OUR PLANS AND OUR ASPIRATIONS ABOUT HOW WE WANNA MANAGE OUR WATER SUPPLIES, YOU KNOW, HOW IT LANDS IN THOSE POLICY FORUMS. SO THERE'S JUST A LOT THERE. YEAH. THAT'S REALLY, REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT. AND YEAH, I GUESS IT, I GUESS IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO HEAR KIND OF WHAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT IN TERMS OF LIKE WATER POLICY, LIKE SPECIFIC WATER POLICIES. 'CAUSE THERE'S, I MEAN, I THINK THAT MAYBE STAFF THINK THAT AT SOME LEVEL WE ARE PROPOSING LIKE, CERTAIN WATER POLICIES AND MAYBE IT'S LIKE SMALLER, MAYBE. MAYBE YOU'RE THINKING, WELL THAT'S SMALL POTATOES AND THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE THAT'S OUT THERE THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET AT. AND THAT WILL BE MM-HMM . I THINK GOOD TO UNDERSTAND. YEAH. I'LL SLEEP ON IT. OKAY. YEAH. LET'S, LET'S, I'LL THINK ABOUT IT, RIGHT. I, I I THINK I WILL ADD THIS. I MEAN, I, I DO THINK THAT WATER FORWARD AS A PLANNING DOCUMENT DOES PROVIDE SOME FAIRLY HIGH LEVEL WATER POLICY AMBITION, PARTICULARLY, UM, I THINK AS A CITY, YOU KNOW, MANY OF OUR POLICIES ARE THEN EMBEDDED IN ORDINANCE AND CODE. AND SO THERE'S, I THINK FROM THIS PROCESS AND WE SORT OF, AS WE LOOK THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION, THEN WE MOVE THROUGH THOSE, UM, VARIOUS ORDINANCE AND CODE MAKING PROCESSES TO TRY TO INCLUDE THOSE, BRING THOSE TO CITY COUNCIL'S ATTENTION. UM, I THINK PROBABLY THE BIGGER CHALLENGE IS WATER POLICY THAT MAY SPAN ACROSS A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. THAT BECOMES PERHAPS THE MORE CHALLENGING CONVERSATION. OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE WATER FORWARD AS ONE PLAN. WE ALSO HAVE OUR LONG RANGE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS. UM, THERE ARE OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY THAT DEAL IN WATER AND WATER RELATED ACTIVITIES. WATERSHED PROTECTION WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE. THEY HAVE THEIR POLICY RUBRICS, ET CETERA. SO I, I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. PROBABLY PULLING ALL THAT TOGETHER BECOMES PROBABLY THE MORE COMPLEX CONVERSATION AS IT RELATES TO KIND OF POLICY FORMULATION ACROSS THE CITY. SO I DON'T HAVE A GREAT ANSWER FOR YOU, . I THINK IT, I THINK IT WOULD BE JUST HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT. 'CAUSE I MEAN, WE CAN DO, I MEAN, WE WORK ACROSS DEPARTMENTS A LOT, AND NOT TO SAY IT'S NOT HARD IT IS, BUT, UM, I GUESS IF, IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT, YEAH, I MEAN THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO LIKE BORDER COMMISSION THAT REALLY DOES LOOK AT AND DO A FULL REVIEW OF THE CITY'S WATER POLICIES AND SAY LIKE OUR, ALL OF OUR CODES AND ORDINANCES RELATED TO WATER, NOBODY HAS THAT 30,000 FOOT VIEW. I MEAN, THE COUNCIL DOES AND COUNCIL STAFF DO TECHNICALLY, BUT IT IS SORT OF LIKE ONE-OFFS AND I GUESS, AND THEY HAVE A SUBCOMMITTEE AT THE COUNCIL THAT DEALS WITH WATER MM-HMM . UM, BUT YEAH, TAKING THAT, THAT HIGHER LEVEL VIEW DOESN'T MM-HMM . FIT WITHIN THE WATER OR WASTEWATER OR, UH, WATER FORWARDS, LIKE DAY-TO-DAY MISSION. MM-HMM . I MEAN, AND I THINK YOU COULD ARGUE AT THE END OF THE DAY THAT EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING IS POLICY. 'CAUSE IT ALL IS LIKE HOW THE CITY OPERATES AND HOW WE PROVIDE WATER SERVICES AND HOW WE MANAGE IT. AND THEN, OR YOU CAN HAVE A VERY, YOU KNOW, AT EVERYBODY'S DEFINITION OF POLICY AT DIFFERENT LEVELS. LIKE, I MEAN, A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT IT'S LIKE, WHERE DO WE, WHERE DO WE, IS THERE AN OPPORTUNITY MM-HMM . TO DIG IN DEEPER OR TO, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT THAT IN A DIFFERENT WAY. MM-HMM . TOTALLY AGREE. YEAH. OKAY. UM, THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH. THIS WAS AWESOME. UM, AND, AND A LOT OF EFFORT ON Y'ALL'S PART, AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. APPRECIATE, UM, AND, UH, SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE AN AGGREGATE OF ALL THE QUESTIONS SENT AROUND AND GET THAT, MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT FROM YOU ALL. AND THEN THERE WILL BE A RESPONSE FROM STAFF. WE WILL ALL GET THAT AS WELL, SO WE CAN LOOK AT IT AND HAVE THE SAME INFORMATION THAT, THAT YOU ALL HAVE MM-HMM . TO WORK WITH. AND THEN, UM, THERE'S, SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S A MEETING LATER THIS MONTH, WHICH [00:35:01] IS GREAT. AND THEN, UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO DIALOGUE MORE WITH Y'ALL. YEAH. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE. WE APPRECIATE Y'ALL. THANK YOU. AND APPRECIATE ALL THE GOOD WORK THAT YOU DO IN OUR COMMUNITY ALSO. YEAH. OKAY. [APPROVAL OF MINUTES] LET'S KEEP ON MOVING. OUR NEXT ITEM IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 8TH TASK FORCE MEETING. UM, MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM LAST MEETING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. DO I HAVE A SECOND? LOOKING AT YOU IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD HERE TOO. ALL TODD. THANK YOU. UM, ANY DISCUSSION? WHAT, OH, WE DO? YEAH, WE NEED, UM, 1, 2, 3, 4. YEAH. WE GOTTA HAVE PEOPLE ON SCREEN. WE HAVE, WE NEED TO HAVE SIX MEMBERS ON SCREEN. PREFERABLY ALL WE'RE MISSING. UM, BILL AND HANEY, ALTHOUGH PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO GO GET A GLASS OF WATER OR WHATEVER. . UM, . YEAH. SO IN ORDER TO VOTE, WE'LL HAVE TO HAVE A QUORUM HERE. UM, A VISUAL QUORUM. YES. YEAH. OKAY. SO WE'LL HOLD OFF ON THAT FOR A MINUTE. UM, AND THEN MOVE INTO OUR NEXT TO AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS THE UPDATE ON THE HIGHLAND LAKES WATER SUPPLY. OH, OOPS. HERE COMES BILL. THERE GO. ALL RIGHT. ALL RIGHT. WE GOT IT FIRST FROM, FROM, UH, SECOND. MY MOTION. YEAH. , YOU CAN TELL US WHO DO IT. TODD. TODD SECOND. OH, I CAN, YEAH, OF COURSE. I DIDN'T THINK I COULD. WHY COULDN'T YOU? I'M JUST, I'M DIRECTING THIS OPERATION. GOOD. I THINK YOU CAN, I THINK YOU CAN SECOND IT. OKAY. WELL, ANYWAY. TODD DID, TODD RAISED HIS HANDS. OKAY, GOOD. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. TODD SECONDED IT VERY, I'M NOT GONNA TAKE THAT AWAY FROM HIM. OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION IN A SECOND. AND WE DID NOT HAVE ANY DISCUSSION. ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? ALL RIGHT. AWESOME. NOBODY, ANYONE OPPOSED? ALRIGHT, THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED. OKAY. CAN I ASK A QUESTION? YES. YES, YOU MAY. I'M NOT FEELING GREAT. AND, UH, SO I'D STILL LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING, BUT WOULD IT BE OKAY IF I SHUT OFF MY CAMERA NOW? I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST LISTENING TO PRESENTATIONS, RIGHT? I, I DON'T WANNA DO ANYTHING WRONG, BUT IS THAT OKAY? YEAH. IF ON HANEY, WE, ARE YOU ABLE TO TURN YOUR CAMERA ON? HE MIGHT HAVE HAD TO STEP AWAY FOR A SECOND 'CAUSE HE'S AT HIS OFFICE. UM, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE SIX, SIX PEOPLE EVEN TO LISTEN TO A PRESENTATION. YES. YEAH, WE HAVE TO HAVE SIX PEOPLE WITH CAMERAS ON. OKAY. I'LL, I'LL STAND. OKAY. I'LL DO IT. THANKS BILL. THANK YOU. I'M SORRY YOU'RE NOT FEELING WELL. IT SEEMS TO BE GOING AROUND A LITTLE BIT. I HOPE EVERYBODY HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER SOON. UM, MAYBE THE, UH, WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS WILL HELP YOU FEEL BETTER, ALTHOUGH I KIND OF DOUBT IT. OKAY. SO MOVING ON TO OUR [2. Update on Lower Colorado River and Highland Lakes water supply conditions] AGENDA ITEMS. UM, UPDATE ON THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKES WATER SUPPLY CONDITIONS. YES. OKAY. WE'LL KEEP THIS SHORT SO WE CAN GET TO THE Q1 REPORT. UM, WE HAVE GOTTEN, YOU CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. UM, WE HAVE GOTTEN A LITTLE BIT OF INFLOW INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES. UM, VERY EXCITING. UH, WE'VE GOT, HAD A LITTLE BIT MORE RAIN TODAY AND, UM, WE'RE EXPECTED TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE RAIN, UH, THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THIS WEEK. SO CURRENTLY WE'RE AT, I'M JUST GIVEN THE GOOD NEWS. UM, WE ARE AT OVER A MILLION ACRE FEET OF COMBINED STORAGE. UM, WE ARE AT 51% FULL, SO, HOORAY, HOORAY. UM, EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS, AND I KNOW THAT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE EVERYBODY STOP USING WATER, SO WE STAY THERE. YES. SO, UM, YES, CONTINUE TO HOPE FOR MORE RAIN, UM, THROUGHOUT THE, THE NEXT WEEK AND, AND POTENTIALLY A COUPLE OF WEEKS. UM, THIS CHART IS SHOWING INFLOWS INTO THE HIGHLAND LAKES. SO THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT'S FLOWING IN, UH, TO LAKES, TRAVIS AND BUCHANAN, UH, FROM, UH, CONTRIBUTING, UH, SUB-BASS. UH, THE, UH, PURPLE BARS ARE SHOWING JANUARY TO MAY, 2025 INFLOWS. UM, OUR MAY INFLOWS ARE STILL WELL BELOW HISTORICAL AVERAGES, UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, AT LEAST IT'S, YOU KNOW, ABOVE 50,000 ACRE FEET WITHIN THE MONTH. UM, THAT'S GREAT. IT DOES OFFSET SOME OF THE LOSSES IN APRIL AND, AND THE PREVIOUS MONTH. UM, WE'RE HOPING THAT THAT RAIN AND THOSE INFLOWS CONTINUE, UH, SINCE WE HAVE SOME GOOD SOY MOISTURE IN THE BASIN, THAT THERE'S EVERY ADDITIONAL BIT OF RAIN THAT WE GET WITH WHEN WE HAVE LIKE THAT GOOD SOY MOISTURE, UM, HELPS TO CONTRIBUTE TO ADDITIONAL RUNOFF. AND THEN INFLOW. UH, NEXT SLIDE IS JUST SHOWING LAKE BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS. UM, COMBINED STORAGE. WE'VE GOT THIS LITTLE TICK UP, UM, IN THE, AT THE END OF THIS COMBINED STORAGE LINE. [00:40:01] UM, WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT, THAT THAT ADDITIONAL INFLOW WILL HELP US TO STAY OUT OF, UM, DCP STAGE THREE THROUGH THE END OF THE SUMMER. UM, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. UM, JUST SHOWING AN UPDATE ON THE US DROUGHT MONITOR. UM, STILL SEEING SOME, UH, PRETTY SEVERE DROUGHT CONDITIONS IN, UM, A GOOD AMOUNT OF THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN AND AS WELL AS IN TRAVIS COUNTY. UM, THIS WAS FROM THE END OF MAY, SO WE MAY SEE A LITTLE BIT OF IMPROVEMENT IN THE HIGHLAND LAKES BASIN, UM, FROM THESE RAINS THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING IN JUNE. AND THEN NEXT SLIDE, UH, IS SHOWING THE NOAHS, UM, UH, THREE MONTH OUTLOOK FROM JULY TO SEPTEMBER. ON THE LEFT SIDE SHOWS OUR SEASONAL TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK, UM, SHOWING, UH, A HIGHER PROBABILITY OR CHANCE OF, UM, EXPERIENCING HIGHER TEMPERATURES. AND THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, UM, IS SHOWING OUR SEASONAL PRE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK. SO ABOUT EQUAL CHANCES OF, UM, HAVING ABOUT NORMAL, UM, PRECIPITATION OR RECEIVING ABOUT NORMAL PRECIPITATION DURING THIS, UH, SUMMER TIMEFRAME. UM, WE ARE, WE GO INTO THE NEXT ONE. WE ARE IN AN ENZO NEUTRAL CONDITION. SO WHEN WE'RE IN LA NINA, THAT MEANS THAT IT'S TYPICALLY HOTTER AND DRIER WITHIN OUR REGION. WHEN WE'RE IN EL NINO, THAT MEAN DOES MEAN, UM, THAT WE COULD EXPERIENCE WETTER CONDITIONS. RIGHT NOW WE'RE ABOUT IN THE MIDDLE. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AVERAGE CONDITIONS FAVORED THROUGH THE END OF THE SUMMER 2025. WE'VE GOT A, A 74% CHANCE OF ENZO NEUTRAL CONTINUING, UH, JUNE TO AUGUST, UM, WITH CHANCES EXCEEDING 50%, UM, THROUGH AUGUST TO OCTOBER, 2025. UM, SO WE, UH, WE WILL SEE HOW THIS FORECAST EVOLVES. SO, UH, WE'RE NOT PROJECTED TO HAVE DRIER THAN NORMAL OR WHAT ARE THE NORMAL CONDITIONS, IS KIND OF THE HIGH LEVEL TAKEAWAY. UM, POTENTIALLY JUST NEUTRAL OR AVERAGE CONDITIONS. AND THEN, UM, WE COULD MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. THIS IS A, A STORAGE PROJECTION THAT'S PUT TOGETHER BY THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY. THEY'RE THE ENTITY, THE QUASI-GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY THAT, UM, OWNS AND OPERATES THE HIGHLAND LAKES. UM, THIS PROJECTION IS NOT A METEOROLOGICAL PROJECTION. UM, IT, UH, DOES INCORPORATE WHETHER OR NOT WE'RE IN AN ENZO, UM, UH, NEUTRAL OR LINING YOUR EL NINO CONDITION. UM, BUT IT'S MAINLY TAKING HISTORICAL YEARS OF HYDROLOGY AND RE-SEQUENCING THOSE YEARS TO SEE KIND OF WHAT WE COULD EXPERIENCE IN THE FUTURE IF WE WERE, UH, TO EXPERIENCE WET CONDITIONS TO EXTREME DRY CONDITIONS. UM, LIKE I MENTIONED, OUR CURRENT STORAGE IS, UH, OVER A MILLION ACRE FEET, UM, WHICH IS GREAT. UM, IF WE WERE TO CONTINUE ON KIND OF A, A MEDIAN CONDITIONS PATHWAY, UM, WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE COULD STAY ABOVE, UM, AT SEVEN 50 THROUGH THE END OF THE SUMMER, UM, POTENTIALLY SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE RECOVERY AND COMBINED STORAGE. UM, BUT WE ALWAYS HAVE TO PLAN FOR DROUGHT CONDITIONS CONTINUING TO, UM, TO GET MORE SEVERE THAT THAT'S KIND OF OUR, THAT'S OUR JOB . AND, UM, SO IF, IF WE DO SEE CONDITIONS, UM, CONTINUE TO, UM, GET MORE SEVERE, THEN THAT COULD PUT US ON A PATHWAY TO HIT DCP STAGE THREE, UM, OR 750,000 ACRE FEET. WHILE THIS SHOWS IN KIND OF THE LATE FALL TIMEFRAME, I THINK IT WILL PROBABLY BE MORE LIKELY TO HIT THAT IN, UM, EITHER LATE SPRING, UH, 2026 OR SUMMER OF 2026. UM, SO THAT IS THE WATER SUPPLY UPDATE. JUST A BRIEF, UM, PRESENTATION. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS OR, OR ANY OF OUR EXCEPT MEMBERS, DO, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN. OKAY. UM, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR [3. Presentation of Q1 Water Management Strategy Implementation Report] Q1 WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION REPORT. THAT IS, ROLLS OFF THE TONGUE. YES, THAT NAME. YEAH. SUPER. UM, YEAH, SO, UH, WE ARE JOINED BY KEVIN KLUGE, UM, OUR WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER. HE'S ALSO NOT FEELING WELL TODAY'S, BUT HE'S, UM, BEEN WILLING TO JOIN US REMOTELY TO PROVIDE THIS PRESENTATION. UM, KEVIN, WE CAN'T SEE YOU JUST YET, BUT, UM, MAYBE YOU COULD GIVE US A SHOUT. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN. THERE WE GO. OKAY. DID THE VIDEO COME THROUGH? YES. YEP, YOU'RE ALL GOOD. OKAY. VERY GOOD. ALRIGHT, WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON TASK FORCE MEMBERS. I WISH I COULD BE THERE WITH YOU TODAY. UM, BUT I'M EXCITED TO INTRODUCE, UH, [00:45:01] THIS FIRST QUARTERLY REPORT OF IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS FROM, OF THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FROM THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AND THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN. SO THE QUARTERS ARE GONNA BE ON THE CALENDAR YEAR. SO THIS REPRESENTS, UH, PROGRESS FROM JANUARY, FEBRUARY, AND MARCH. UH, THE, THIS REPORT WILL BE IN A SLIDE DECK AS WE GO FORWARD SLIDE DECK FORMAT, UM, WHETHER IT'S PRESENTED VERBALLY OR JUST, JUST SENT OR POSTED IN ORDER TO SUCCINCTLY REPORT OUR PROGRESS OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER. FOR THIS INTRODUCTION, I'LL GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE REPORT AND I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH IT AT A BRISK PACE BECAUSE IT, IT DID TAKE ABOUT 30 MINUTES LAST TIME I WENT THROUGH IT JUST AS AN INTRODUCTION. UH, BUT FOR FUTURE MEETINGS, UM, AND FUTURE REPORTS, WE CAN DISCUSS HOW THE TASK FORCE WANTS TO RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION. OKAY, NEXT SLIDE. QUARTERLY REPORTS WILL PROVIDE IMPLEMENTATION UPDATES FOR FIVE BROAD CATEGORIES, WATER CONSERVATION, WATER LOSS, RECLAIMED AND REUSE, CONSERVATION OUTREACH. AND THEN FINALLY, WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS. UM, IN ADDITION, WE'LL PROVIDE QUARTERLY REPORTING OF WATER USE, AND THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT THE COUNCIL EMPHASIZE THEIR INTEREST IN AT, UH, NOVEMBER COUNCIL MEETING, WATER USE BY CATEGORICAL AND PER PERSON. SO WE WILL GET THAT PER PERSON GPCD, UH, IN THESE REPORTS. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. AS MENTIONED, THIS IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF OUR COMMITMENT TO SHARE OUR PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGIES QUARTERLY REPORTING OF IMPLEMENTATION. THIS IS THE FIRST FOR AUSTIN WATER, AND I'D SAY IT'S PROBABLY THE FIRST FOR ANY, ANY UTILITY IN THE STATE OR EVEN THE NATION. SO THIS WILL BE A WORK IN PROGRESS. LET ME, LET ME NOTE THAT THIS WILL BE A WORK IN PROGRESS. WE ARE INTERESTED AS WE GO FORWARD IN RECEIVING FEEDBACK FROM STAKEHOLDERS, NOT ONLY THE, UM, TASK FORCE, BUT THE WATER AND WASTEWATER, THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION, THE PUBLIC, WHAT HAVE YOU, ABOUT HOW THIS REPORT CAN BE MORE USEFUL AND UNDERSTANDABLE TO YOU. UM, NOT ALL POTENTIAL METRICS OR INFORMATION HA THAT MAY BE OR MAYBE DESIRED OR MAY BE AVAILABLE HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT, BUT WE'RE COMMITTED TO TRYING TO IMPROVE THE PORT AS WE GO ALONG. NEXT SLIDE. JUST BEFORE WE GET INTO THE UPDATES, UH, THIS SLIDE JUST PROVIDES A FEW NOTES TO SET EXPECTATIONS FOR CONTENTS OF THE UPDATES. UH, FIRST OF ALL, ALL THE QUARTERLY DATA SHOULD BE CONSIDERED PRELIMINARY. UM, ONCE WE GET TO THE YEAR END REPORT, UM, THEY, THEY MAY BE CHANGED OR CORRECTED IF THERE'S, UM, NEED TO CHANGE THOSE. UH, WE ALSO ATTEMPT, ATTEMPT TO INCLUDE 2024 QUARTERLY METRICS TO GIVE A HISTORICAL CONTEXT, UH, OF WHERE WE ARE, UH, FOR Q1 OF 2025. NOT EVERY, EVERY METRIC HAS THOSE 2024 METRIC, 2024 QUARTERLY METRICS, UH, BUT WE TRY TO INCLUDE THEM WHEN WE HAVE 'EM. AND FINALLY, A NOTE ON YIELDS OF STRATEGIES AND IN BOTH THE WATER FLOOR PLAN AND THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN. THE, THOSE PLANS INCLUDED VOLUMETRIC YIELDS FROM STRATEGIES, WHAT WE ANTICIPATE IN GALLONS OR ACRE FEET, UH, WE ARE GONNA GET FROM THOSE STRATEGIES. WE'RE WORKING TO IDENTIFY THOSE VOLUMETRIC YIELDS AND HOPE TO INCLUDE SOME, UH, IF NOT ALL IN THE FUTURE REPORTING. NEXT SLIDE. SO FOR EACH OF THE, THE DIFFERENT STRATEGY GROUPS I MENTIONED WATER CONSERVATION, RECLAIMED WATER LOSS, UH, UH, CONSERVATION OUTREACH, WHAT HAVE YOU, EACH OF THOSE SETS OF STRATEGIES THAT EACH SECTION HAS A SLIDE THAT STARTS OUT WITH A NUMBER OF TEXTUAL UPDATES REGARDING PROGRESS OVER THE LAST QUARTER. UH, AND THEN WE WILL MOVE INTO METRICS AND THEN WE'LL MOVE INTO MILESTONES FOR THOSE PARTICULAR AREAS. SO FOR WATER CONSERVATION, IT IS JUST TO NOTE THAT WE'RE CONTINUING OUR NEW FAMILY RESIDENTIAL IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS. WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON COMMERCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL WATER USE AND WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES. UM, AND THEN AS YOU'LL SEE IN A FEW METRICS, WE'VE SEEN A BIG JUMP IN APPLICATIONS FOR Q1. NEXT SLIDE. THESE ARE THOSE WATER [00:50:01] CONSERVATION REBATE METRICS, UM, THAT I JUST MENTIONED. THE GOLD BAR IN THE RIGHT IS THE Q1 OF 2024, AND WE INCLUDE THE FOUR QUARTERS IN 2020. 2024. THE BAR GOLD BAR IS 2025. LUBE BARS ARE 2024. UH, AS YOU'LL NOTE, IF YOU COMPARE Q1 OF 2024, WHICH IS GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE WINTER MONTHS, THAT'S GENERALLY A MORE QUIET TIME. UM, WE HAVE SEEN QUITE A FEW APPLICATIONS IN Q1 OF 2024. UH, SOME OF THAT MAY BE ATTRIBUTED TO A VERY WARM, UH, FOURTH QUARTER OF, OF 2024, BUT THE Q1 OF 2025 HAS HAD A LOT MORE APPLICATIONS IN IT. SO THAT, THAT'S GOOD. I MEAN, IT CONTINUES TO, CONTINUES TO BE ABOVE HISTORICAL AVERAGES. NEXT SLIDE. IN TERMS OF COMMERCIAL REBATES, YOU SEE IN THE GOLD BAR, Q1, 2025 ON THE LEFT THERE, THAT'S, UH, OUR BUCKS FOR BUSINESS PROGRAM, A PERFORMANCE BASED PROGRAM BACK IN 2024. THAT WAS A BIG YEAR, UH, A BANNER YEAR OF APPLICATIONS AND, AND, UH, ANTICIPATED SAVINGS. WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN AS MANY OF THOSE IN Q1 OR 20 20, 20 25. WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF 'EM THAT HAVE COME IN AND GONE THROUGH, BUT WE'RE STILL WORKING TO BRING OTHERS THROUGH THE PIPELINE, UH, TO GET MORE SAVINGS FROM COMMERCIAL. NEXT SLIDE. IN ADDITION TO INCENTIVES, AUSTIN REQUIRES WATER EFFICIENCY COMPONENTS, UH, FOR COOLING TOWERS, COMMERCIAL IRRIGATION, AND VEHICLE WASHES. UH, WATER SAVINGS FOR THESE COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS ARE SUBSTANTIAL. YOU DON'T SEE A LOT OF CHANGE IN OVER THE QUARTERS, UH, 'CAUSE THESE ARE ANNUAL OR BIANNUAL THINGS, UH, REPORTING, EXCUSE ME. UH, BUT THESE THREE PROGRAMS ACCOUNTED FOR 60% OF THE COUNTABLE CONSERVATION SAVINGS THAT WE HAD IN 2024. NEXT SLIDE. IN ADDITION TO REBATES AND COMMERCIAL COMPLIANCE PROGRAMS, AUSTINITES ARE SAVING WATER THROUGH THE NEW MY ETX WATER SYSTEM. UM, ONE OF THE WAYS WE CAN SHOW THAT IS THROUGH THE CONTINUOUS USE OR THE LEAK ALERTS SENT TO CUSTOMERS. ON THE LEFT THERE, YOU SEE THE NUMBER OF LEAK ALERTS SENT OUT. THOSE AREN'T TWO INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMERS, THEY'RE JUST TOTAL LEAK ALERTS SENT OUT. YOU SEE, THAT'S GROWN PARTICULARLY AS THE SYSTEM HAS BECOME, UM, MORE BUILT OUT OVER 2024. AND, AND FOR RESIDENTIAL IN PARTICULAR, IT'S ALMOST ALL BUILT OUT. UM, SO Q1, 2025 MORE LEAK ALERTS WERE SENT OUT, UH, Q1 OF 2025. ON THE RIGHT HAND THERE YOU SEE AN ESTIMATED SAVINGS, AND THAT'S FROM THE APPLICATION. THE APP, THE MITX WATER APPLICATION THAT WE CONTRACT FOR MAKES THOSE SAVINGS. YOU CAN SEE IT'S CERTAINLY MUCH HIGHER THAN Q1 OF 2024. NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN WE HAVE THE MILESTONES, UH, WITHIN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AND THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN. EACH OF THE STRATEGIES HAD A MILESTONES, UM, FOR WHAT WE ARE GONNA BE DOING. THESE ARE 2025 MILESTONES. SO WE DON'T SEE ANY FOR 2026 OR 27 IN THE 20 IN THIS QUARTERLY REPORT. ONLY THOSE FOR 2025. SO EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES LEVEL, A LOT OF THESE MILESTONES, A LOT OF TEXTS AND THINGS TO LOOK AT. UM, BUT JUST VERY BROADLY FOR WATER CONSERVATION. UH, THE U UNIFORM PLUMBING CODE AMENDMENTS THAT WERE PART OF LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMATION WERE APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL. UH, BACK IN APRIL, UH, WE CONTINUED THE IRRIGATION INSPECTIONS AND WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS A NEW HOMEOWNER, OUR FOLLOW-UP CHECKUPS IN JUNE. NEXT SLIDE. AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, MY TAKES WATER, UH, IS AUSTIN'S NEW SMART METER WATER SYSTEM ALLOWS THE UTILITY TO MEASURE WATER IN ONE HOUR INCREMENTS AND PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS TO SEE THEIR DETAILED WATER USE IN A DAY OR SO. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS ON THIS SLIDE, ACTIVITIES THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO BETTER BE ABLE TO USE THE MYX WATER, UH, PLATFORM APPLICATION RATHER. UH, NOW THAT WE HAVE ALL, ALMOST ALL OF THE METERS IN. SO WE ARE WORKING TO PILOT NOTIFICATIONS TO CUSTOMERS AND AS [00:55:01] THE COUNCIL INSTRUCTED US TO, DURING THE COUNCIL MEETING IN NOVEMBER, WE'RE WORKING AND WE HAVE BEEN PILOTING NOTIFICATIONS TO CUSTOMERS WHO ARE WATERING OFF OF THEIR IRRIGATION SCHEDULE. NEXT SLIDE. MOVING INTO WATER LOSS REDUCTION. UM, STAFF ARE WORKING ON TO IMPLEMENT A LOT OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE BLACK AND VEATCH WATER LOSS REPORT. UH, AND WE'RE ALSO INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF MONEY, UH, THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DEVOTING TO SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENTS. AND THESE ARE THINGS IDENTIFIED BY THE BLACK AND BEACH REPORT. NO ONE THING TO NOTE. OVER THE LAST SIX MONTHS, AUSTIN WATER HAS BEEN DOING MORE THAN EVER TO ADDRESS WATER LOSS. BUT, UH, FOR 2024, AS AS WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON OUR WATER LOSS AUDIT, THE NUMBERS HAVE SHOWN A HIGHER INFRASTRUCTURE LEAKAGE INDEX FOR ILI, UH, FOR 2024. HIGHER THAN 2023, DUE TO A COUPLE OF REASONS. UH, FIRST OF ALL, ONE OF THE, UNFORTUNATELY, WELL FORTUNATELY WAS BETTER DATA. UM, BLACK AND BEACH IDENTIFIED A NUMBER OF THINGS TO LOOK AT, UM, AND WITH BETTER DATA, AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN REAL LOSS DUE TO HIGH USE AND HIGH TEMPERATURES. RILI DID GO UP BETWEEN 2023 AND 2024. NEXT SLIDE. MOVING ON TO THE WATER LOSS REDUCTION METRICS. THE SLIDE SHOWS THE NUMBER OF WATER MAIN LEAKS. UM, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF WATER MAIN LEAKS WAS SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN Q1 OF 20 20 25. THEY'RE, I'M SORRY, THEY'RE HIGHER IN Q1 25 AND Q1 2024. YOU SEE A BIG DIP THERE IN THAT CHART IN Q2 AND Q3. UM, THERE'S THE NUMBER OF WATER. MAIN LEAKS IS A VERY WEATHER DEPENDENT, UM, METRIC. MILD WEATHER RESULTS IN LOWER BREAKS, BREAK RATES, AND WHILE FREEZING AND VERY DRY CONDITIONS RESULT, RESULT IN MORE PIPE BREAKS. SO ACTUALLY Q1, UH, WHICH IS THE WINTER MONTHS, JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, UM, OFTEN HAVE THE HIGHER BRAKE LEAKS DUE TO THAT. NEXT SLIDE. UH, THESE SHOW CHARTS SHOW THE LENGTH OF PIPE THAT HAS HAD LEAK DETECTION PERFORMED ON IT. A LARGE DI DIAMETER LEAK, LARGE DIAMETER PIPE, UH, ANALYSIS THAT YOU SEE ON THE LEFT THERE IS VERY CONTRACT DEPENDENT. IT, IT REALLY COMES IN, IS REPORTED IN CHUNKS BECAUSE IT COMES IN CONTRACTS AND CONTRACTS TAKE A WHILE. UM, SO YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING IN Q1. UH, THAT'S 'CAUSE THAT CONTRACT IS ONGOING TO GET THAT CONTRACT IN PLACE AND GET THOSE, UH, THAT ANALYSIS DONE ON A LARGE DIAMETER PIPE. THE SMALL DIAMETER LEAK DETECTION ON THE RIGHT, UH, IS, IS THE AMOUNT DONE, COMPLETED AND IS REPORTED MORE FREQUENTLY, SO YOU DON'T SEE QUITE, IT'S NOT QUITE AS CHUNKY AS THE LARGE DIAMETER. UM, SO WE HAVE HAD A BIT MORE LEAK DETECTION PERFORMED IN Q1 25 AND Q1 24. NEXT SLIDE. LIKE THE WATER CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES, THE WATER LOSS MILESTONES ARE, ARE SHOWN HERE. THESE ARE FROM THE TWO, THE TWO PLANS, CONSERVATION PLAN AND THE WATER FORWARD PLAN. A LOT TO LOOK AT HERE. UH, A LOT OF THESE MILESTONES ARE TAKEN PRETTY MUCH FROM THE BLACK AND, UH, EACH REPORT AND, AND MANY OF THEM ARE OPERATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS. AND, AND AS YOU SEE, MANY OF THEM ARE TO DEVELOP STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR VARIOUS TASKS AND ALL OF THEM ARE IN, IN PROGRESS THERE. NEXT SLIDE. I RECLAIMED WATER AND ONSITE WATER REUSE UPDATES. UH, DURING THE FIRST QUARTER, AUSTIN WATER COMPLETED A FEASIBILITY STUDY TO, UH, REGARDING, UH, FULL SUBSIDIZATION COSTS, UH, FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS. UM, THAT STUDY HAD BEEN DONE IN A NUTSHELL. UH, FULL SUBSIDIZATION IS FEASIBLE. UM, IF OFF AUSTIN WATER AMENDS THE EXISTING GO PURPLE PILOT PROGRAM RESOLUTION TO INCREASE THE PER PROJECT CAP TO 150 OR $1.5 MILLION TO COVER ADDITIONAL PLUMBING COSTS. UM, ALSO THE ORDINANCE [01:00:01] ADOPTED IN FEBRUARY ALLOWS ONSITE WATER REUSE TO CALCULATE NEW WASTEWATER VOLUMES FOR THEIR PURPOSES. NEXT SLIDE. THE METRICS FOR, UM, RECLAIMED WATER YOU SEE ON THE LEFT THERE IN THE NUMBER OF NEW METERS. UH, TWO NEW METERS CAME IN ON IN Q1 OF 2025. UM, ON THE RIGHT THERE'S THE ADDITIONAL LENGTH OF RECLAIMED WATER, MAINS AND WATER LINES. UM, ONE THING TO NOTE ON THAT ADDITIONAL LENGTH IS THAT THIS DATA IS REALLY, UH, CHUNKY AND IN A SENSE THAT WE'RE ONLY GONNA REPORT THAT THIS FALL. THE, THIS LENGTH OF LINE WAS PUT IN WHEN THE CONTRACT'S ALL DONE AND, UM, UH, AND SET TO USE. SO YOU WON'T SEE ANYTHING. LOTS OF WORK WILL BE DONE, UM, BUT YOU WON'T SEE UNTIL A CONTRACT'S DONE AND WE'RE RECORDED IN, IN OUR INFORMATION HERE. SO NOT NO ADDITIONAL LENGTH IN Q1, BUT WORK IS BEING DONE. NEXT SLIDE. UM, LEFT HAND SIDE THERE SHOWS THE NUMBER OF RECLAIMED METERS. UH, AS YOU SAW, WE INCREASE TWO. ON THE RIGHT THERE YOU SEE THE VOLUME OF RE CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER USE. Q1 OF 2025 ACTUALLY WENT DOWN FROM, UH, Q1 OF 24 AND, AND THE OTHER QUARTERS IN 24. AND THIS WAS DUE TO THE CITY'S JIMMY CLAY, UH, GOLF COURSE ENDING A REESTABLISHMENT OF TURF AREAS, UM, THAT THEY DID BACK IN 2024. THEY HAD TO REESTABLISH SOME AREAS THAT HAD DIED OFF. UM, SO THEY PULLED A LOT MORE WATER BACK IN 2024. UM, AND THEN THEY'RE, NOW THEY'RE DONE WITH THAT PROJECT SO THEY'RE NOT TAKING AS MUCH. UM, WATER. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. ONSITE WATER REUSE. NOW AS YOU RECALL, THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM WAS APPROVED LAST SPRING. UM, BECAUSE THESE ARE NEW INCENTIVES, UH, TO BE CONSIDERED IN DEVELOPMENT PLANS. NO INCENTIVES WERE FINALIZED IN Q1. UH, PROJECTS ARE IN THE WORKS. UM, BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN FINALIZED BETWEEN JANUARY, UM, AND AND APRIL 1ST. UH, WE ARE HOWEVER APPROVING ONSITE WATER REUSE CONSTRUCTION PERMITS. SO, UH, GO PURPLE IS PROGRESSING. SO WE HAVE THREE IN, IN Q1 OF 2025. NEXT SLIDE. ALRIGHT, 2025 MILESTONES FOR RECLAIMED ONSITE WATER REUSE. REALLY TO INCREASE THE SUPPLY AND EXTEND THE PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM, UM, THAT IS UNDERWAY, UM, AS IS BENCHMARKING FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT. AND WE HAVE FIVE RECLAIM PROJECTS THAT ARE IN PROJECT ARE IN PROCESS TO EXTEND OUR, UH, CENTRALIZED REC RECLAIM SYSTEM. UM, AND, AND COMPLETING THE CORE THERE. SO, UH, THINGS ARE BEING DONE THERE. NEXT SLIDE. ONSITE WATER REUSE MILESTONES. UM, AS MENTIONED EARLIER, A WATER, A WASTEWATER BILLING ORDINANCE HAD BEEN ADOPTED. UM, THREE MILESTONES IN PROGRESS, A TRAINING AMENDING GO PURPLE FOR DEEPLY AFFORDABLE HOUSING. UM, I THINK THAT ACTUALLY WAS APPROVED BY COUNCIL, SO THAT IS COMPLETED. UM, BUT AFTER THIS REPORT WAS CREATED AND UPDATE METHODOLOGIES, NEXT SLIDE. CONSERVATION OUTREACH APP UPDATES. UM, SO THIS IS THE, THE FINAL, UH, SECTION OF, OF STRATEGIES. UM, THIS DISCUSSES, UH, THE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE BEEN DONE IN THOSE FIRST THREE MONTHS, JANUARY AND FEBRUARY. OUR OUTREACH ACTIVITIES REALLY FOCUSED ON WINTER PREPARATION, UM, TO HELP PEOPLE PREVENT LEAKS, UM, IN FREEZING CONDITIONS, AS WELL AS WASTEWATER AVERAGING AVERAGE REDUCES, UH, OUTDOOR WATERING. WE WANT PEOPLE TO, TO SAVE MONEY ON THEIR WASTEWATER BILLS AND TO STOP WATERING. DURING THE WINTER. IN MARCH, WE SHIFTED TO PROMOTE THE WATER CONSERVATION REBATES AND GET PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT THE SUMMER. NEXT SLIDE, METRICS FOR THE WATER CONSERVATION OUTREACH. UH, THERE ARE JUST OVER 15 MILLION IMPRESSIONS GOING OUT, UH, AND IMPRESSIONS ARE THE NUMBERS OF, OF VIEWS THAT, THAT WHAT WE'VE PUT OUT HAS, HAS RECEIVED. UM, AND THIS MESSAGING IS 15 MILLION IMPRESSIONS FOCUSED, UH, SPECIFICALLY ON CONSERVATION INITIATIVES. UM, AT OVER 15 MILLION. THE [01:05:01] MAJORITY OF THE Q1 IMPRESSIONS CAME FROM ADVERTISING FROM TRADITIONAL MEDIA, UH, PRINT, RADIO, AND DIGITAL, UM, 200,000 FROM SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, AND THEN THE REMAINDER FROM, UH, VISITS TO CONSERVATION WEBPAGE AND COMMUNITY EVENTS. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY. SO THOSE ARE ALL THE UPDATES FOR THE DIFFERENT, UH, STRATEGY TYPES OF STRATEGIES IN THE WATER FLOOR PLAN AND THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN. UM, THIS SLIDE IN THE NEXT SLIDE SHOW THE WATER USE AND THE GALLONS PER CAPITA DAILY, UM, CHEAP PCD FOR THE, UH, FIRST QUARTER OF 2025. SO, UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE THIS CHART, AND YOU'LL SEE ANOTHER CHART, UH, AFTER THIS, JUST TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO SHOW IT IN THIS SLIDE. THE TIME RUNS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, 2018 TO 2025. EACH OF THOSE VERTICAL BARS AT A QUARTER, UH, Q1 IS WINTER, Q2 IS SPRING Q3, THE ONE THAT ALWAYS PEAKS UP THIS SUMMER. AND THEN, UM, Q4 IS, UH, ON THE FAR RIGHT THERE, THE GOLD HORIZONTAL BAR UP THERE, UH, SHOWS THE AVERAGE ANNUAL GPCD AND, AND THAT AVERAGE ANNUAL, AND THESE ARE CALENDAR YEAR. AVERAGE ANNUAL IS ALSO SHOWN ABOVE IN, IN NUMBERS THERE. SO, UM, LOTS OF THINGS THAT, UH, COULD BE DISCUSSED, UH, ON THIS, BUT I'LL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. AND THIS IS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT VERSION OF THE, UM, PREVIOUS SLIDE. UH, THE VOLUMES BY EACH CATEGORY ARE NOT STACKED. UM, SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE THEM ACROSS. SO YOU CAN SEE, FOR INSTANCE, SINGLE FAMILY ON THAT TOP, THAT DARK BLUE, THAT'S THE SINGLE FAMILY USE GOING ACROSS, UH, 2018 TO 2025. AND THEN THE OTHER CATEGORY USES BELOW THAT, THE GOLD BAR ABOVE THAT IS THE, UH, AVERAGE ANNUAL, UH, GPCV. ALL RIGHT. UM, NEXT SLIDE. AND THEN IN ADDITION TO ALL THE OTHER STRATEGIES THAT WE ARE PROVIDING UPDATES ON AND THE GPC, WE'RE ALSO PROVIDING WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES IN THESE REPORTS. UM, MANY OF YOU ARE, WELL, ALL OF YOU ARE VERY FAMILIAR, UH, WITH THESE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES. AND THIS IS THE PROGRESS THAT WAS MADE IN Q1 JANUARY THROUGH, UM, APRIL 1ST. UH, WE COMPLETED A DESKTOP ANALYSIS FOR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY. UM, PLANNING IS UNDERWAY TO MEET THE MILESTONES FOR A SR AND THE OFF CHANNEL RESERVOIR STRATEGY. AND THEN IN TERMS OF INDIRECT, INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE, UM, STAFF, WERE WORKING ON DESIGNS CRITERIA AND SPECIFICATIONS. KEVIN, SORRY. SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOUR FLOW. UM, I, I'M CURIOUS WHICH OF THESE PROJECTS, I DON'T THINK ANY OF THE ONES THAT YOU PREVIOUSLY WENT THROUGH, UM, FIT THIS, BUT I'M WONDERING IF ANY OF THESE PROJECTS REQUIRE THIRD PARTY SUPPORT OR SUPPORT FROM, UH, FOLKS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, UM, AUSTIN WATER, ET CETERA. COULD I MAURICEA, DO YOU WANNA? YEAH. UM, SO ON THE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES, WE HAVE CONSULTANT SUPPORT ON THE A SR PROJECT, UM, PROVIDED BY HDR AND A VARIETY OF SUBS, SUB CONSULTANTS. WE'RE ALSO WORKING WITH, UM, A PLUMBER, UH, TO DO A, A WATER SUPPLY PRIORITIZATION, UH, OF OTHER STRATEGIES, INCLUDING LIKE WALTER E, LONG AS A WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIR, IPR INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE TO LADY BIRD LAKE, UM, UH, BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESAL. AND, UM, DIRECT PORTABLE REUSE IS ALSO IN THE MIX THERE ON INDIRECT PORTABLE REUSE THROUGH LADYBIRD. LIKE, UM, BEYOND THAT, LIKE LONGER TERM STRATEGY PRIORITIZATION REPORT THAT PLUMBER IS PUTTING FORWARD, UH, OR WORKING ON WHERE MARISA UHHUH , I, I FEAR THAT I'VE POORLY WORDED MY QUESTION. OKAY, GO AHEAD. UM, I, I APPRECIATE THE INCREDIBLE DETAIL IN YOUR ANSWER. SORRY. UM, I, I WAS, UH, NO, NO, PLEASE. IT WAS INCREDIBLY BORING . UM, I, I AM, I GUESS I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT [01:10:01] IF, UM, THERE ARE ANY, UM, OUTSIDE PARTIES THAT WE HAVE TO, UM, GET APPROVAL FROM AH, IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT ANY OF THESE STRATEGIES. YES. UH, SO FROM A REGULATORY PERSPECTIVE, UM, IPR THROUGH LADYBIRD LAKE WILL REQUIRE APPROVAL OF A TIP'S PERMIT, ESSENTIALLY A PERMIT TO DISCHARGE WATER INTO LADYBIRD LAKE. UM, WE WILL NEED TO, UH, WORK WITH TCQ ALSO ON PLANS FOR A POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL, UH, WATER TREATMENT FACILITY TO SUPPORT THE LAKE WALLIE LONG WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIR STRATEGY. AND, UM, IN THE FUTURE, NOT ANYTIME SOON, BUT IN THE FUTURE, WE'LL NEED TO WORK WITH TCQ TO GET INITIALLY, UM, A AUTHORIZATION FOR A, AN EXPERIMENTAL, UH, OR AN EXPERIMENTAL AUTHORIZATION FOR A WELL TO DO PILOT TESTING FOR A SR, AND THEN LATER ON, UM, APPROVAL FOR A, A CLASS FIVE INJECTION. WELL, AND, AND NOT JUST FOR ONE, BUT FOR SEVERAL IN A, A WELL FIELD FOR THE A SR PROJECT. THANK YOU. I THINK, I THINK, UM, WHEN I'M TRYING TO THINK THROUGH THESE, THESE STRATEGIES, O OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF GREAT WORK THAT'S GOING ON IN EVERYTHING WITHIN OUR CONTROL WE SEEM TO BE EXECUTING ON. I'M JUST, UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T GET TRIPPED UP BY ANY KIND OF OUTSIDE OF THIS GROUP OR OUTSIDE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN APPROVALS OR PERMITTING OR ANY OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN. YEP. TODD, ARE YOU BY ANY CHANCE REFERRING TO THE, UM, THE, UH, CONCERN ABOUT THE A SR PROJECT DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION FROM, I MEAN, CL CLEARLY THAT HAS, THAT HAS INSPIRED MY QUESTION. MM-HMM . YES. UM, CL JUST WANTED TO NAME IT. YEAH. THERE'S A LOT OF WORK GOING ON WITH THAT. I JUST, THE QUESTION WHEN I, WHEN I HEARD THAT, I WAS LIKE, GOSH, I WONDER WHAT ELSE IS IN OUR PLAN THAT, THAT, YOU KNOW, COULD BE DERAILED BY FOLKS OUTSIDE OF, YOU KNOW, OUR INFLUENCE. YEAH. MM-HMM . YEAH, THAT'S, THAT WAS A, THAT'S A BIG DEAL AND A BIG SCARE THAT WAS NARROWLY AVOIDED AT THE LEGISLATURE, BUT NOT DONE WITH BY ANY, BY ANY MEANS. I DON'T THINK SO. GOOD TO BRING THAT UP AND, AND MY HUMBLE, MY HUMBLE OPINION MM-HMM . UM, AND SOMETHING TO TRY TO PROACTIVELY MANAGE AND PLAN FOR MM-HMM . YES. SARAH, I CAN'T TELL THERE'S A GLARE, BUT DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? OKAY. YEAH. UH, THANKS JENNIFER. I KIND OF JUST HAD A SIMILAR QUESTION. I MEAN IT LIKE, WHAT IS AUSTIN WATER'S PLANS TO, UM, WORK WITH OTHER COMMUNITIES IN PARTICULAR, GIVEN THE OPPOSITION TO THE A SR MM-HMM . PROJECT THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, WE SOUGHT THE LEGISLATURE AND TO NOT GO INTO THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST BE HOLDING OUR BREATH THAT WE'RE GONNA SCOOT THROUGH AGAIN, BUT LIKE, WHAT IS THE PLAN TO TALK TO PEOPLE? YEAH. UM, SO WE BEGAN DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION CONVERSATIONS WITH BASTROP COUNTY STAKEHOLDERS THAT INCLUDE, UH, REPRESENTATIVES OF, UM, THE BASTROP COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COURT, CITY OF BASTROP. UM, NOW INCLUDES, UH, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM AQUA WATER SUPPLY CORPORATION, CITY OF SMITHVILLE, UM, BASTROP, WCID, NUMBER TWO, UM, SIMSBORO AQUIFER WATER DEFENSE FUND AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION. AND, UM, UH, OTHERS. I WILL SAY THERE ARE POTENTIALLY OTHER STAKEHOLDERS THAT WILL BE INVOLVED IN THESE CONVERSATIONS MOVING FORWARD. UH, THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, WERE ESTABLISHED TO ADDRESS, UM, LOCAL COMMUNITY CONCERNS RELATED TO THE PROJECT, INCLUDING, UH, A DESIRE FOR ADDITIONAL COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY ON THE PROJECT, AS WELL AS, UM, CONCERNS, UH, RELATED TO POTENTIAL WATER QUALITY, UM, UH, UH, CHALLENGES, UM, OR, UM, IMPLICATIONS FOR NEARBY WELLS. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE RECOVERING WATER FROM THE A SR, WHAT IMPACT DOES THAT HAVE ON AQUIFER LEVELS OR WATER LEVELS WITHIN THE AQUIFER AND OTHERS' ABILITY TO ACCESS WATER? UM, SO WE ARE CONTINUING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. UH, WE HAVE BEEN MEETING WITH THEM, UH, REGULARLY SINCE APRIL OF THIS YEAR. OUR NEXT MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONDAY, UH, WHERE WE'LL BE, WHERE WE'LL BE CONTINUING DISCUSSION OF A, UM, MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING WITH THOSE STAKEHOLDERS TO OUTLINE, UH, KIND OF, UH, KEY A KEY FRAMEWORK FOR WORKING TOGETHER ON THIS PROJECT. UM, AND, UM, OUR, UH, AUSTIN WATERS KIND [01:15:01] OF COMMITMENTS TO THAT COMMUNITY. WE'VE ALREADY MADE SIGNIFICANT COMMITMENTS, UM, UH, RELATED TO, YOU KNOW, SHARING INFORMATION THAT, THAT WILL BE GATHERED DURING, UH, THE FIELD TESTING PHASE WITH, UH, LOST PINES GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS. WE'VE MADE COMMITMENTS ABOUT, UM, UH, PROVIDING COMMUNITY BENEFITS AND WORKING WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE COMMUNITY BENEFITS, UH, SHOULD BE FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE AND WHAT, UM, WE'LL BE TALKING WITH THEM ABOUT WHAT AUSTIN WATER CAN PROVIDE AS A PART OF THIS PROJECT. SOME OF THAT MAY INCLUDE THE PROVISION OF WATER SUPPLY, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, AS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, PROVIDING THAT WATER SUPPLY POTENTIALLY TO, UM, LOCAL STAKEHOLDERS AS YOU KNOW, WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS. UM, WE HAVE, UM, MADE A COMMITMENT TO NOT USE EMINENT DOMAIN WITHIN BASTROP COUNTY AS WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THIS PROJECT. UM, AND WE'VE MADE VARIOUS OTHER COMMITMENTS. WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE KIND OF DETAILS OF THAT MOU WITH THOSE STAKEHOLDERS. OUR, OUR HOPE IS THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UM, GET ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK TO HELP US FINALIZE THAT MOU AND THEN BRING THAT MOU TO OUR COUNCIL AND FOR THE OTHER STAKEHOLDERS TO TAKE THAT MOU TO THEIR VARIOUS GOVERNING BODIES, UM, WITHIN THIS KIND OF FALL TIMEFRAME, 2025. UM, SO THEN WE CAN BEGIN ON NEXT STEPS FOR THE, THE PROJECT, INCLUDING FIELD TESTING. QUICK FOLLOW UP TO THAT, UNLESS SARAH, YOU HAVE A FOLLOW UP AS WELL. OKAY. UM, JUST THIS IS A MINOR THING OR IT MAY SEEM LIKE A MINOR THING AND I THINK I KNOW THE ANSWER ANYWAY, BUT JUST TO CONFIRM, AUSTIN WATERS DOING THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT OURSELVES, RIGHT? WE ARE OUT THERE, YES. NOT HIRING LIKE A PR FIRM OR SOMETHING. WE HAVE CONSULTANT SUPPORT, BUT WE'RE OUT THERE, UM, DOING OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. WE'VE ALSO SHARED A COMM, UH, COMMUNICATIONS PLAN WITH THE BASTROP STAKEHOLDERS AS WELL. YEAH. I JUST FIND SOMETIMES IS YOU GOTTA BE A LITTLE WARY OF WORKING WITH THE PR FIRMS ON PROJECTS LIKE THIS. MM. BECAUSE IT DOES, SOMETIMES IT COMES ACROSS AS LIKE LESS GENUINE IF YOU'RE LIKE NOT ACTUALLY OUT THERE YOURSELF AS AUSTIN WATER. I HAVE FOUND IN CERTAIN COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT CAN BE A BIG TURNOFF IF LIKE THE HIRED GUN PR FIRM SHOWS UP AND IT'S LIKE, LOOK AT OUR TABLE FULL OF STUFF, RIGHT? UM, IT DOESN'T FLY. UH, SO YES, OF COURSE THEY CAN BE SUPPORTIVE AND HELP WITH MESSAGING AND WHATNOT, BUT I JUST FIND THAT YOU HAVE TO BE OUT THERE YOURSELVES YEAH. AS REAL AUSTIN WATER REPRESENTATIVES AND STAFF. JUST A MINOR THING. YES, I TOTALLY AGREE. AND WE ARE OUT THERE AND, UM, SEEKING TO BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS OURSELVES. SO IF I CAN JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING. THANKS FOR THAT, PAUL. I THINK ALSO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'VE DONE A LOT OF COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT, I THINK YOU SAID STARTING JANUARY OF THIS YEAR AND THEN, UM, GOT MORE IN DEPTH IN APRIL. AND JUST ALONG THOSE LINES, MOVING FORWARDS AND WITH FUTURE PROJECTS, I THINK THE EARLIER YOU START THE BETTER AND, YOU KNOW, THE, UM, SIMSBORO GUARDIANS, THEY CAME AND TALKED TO US MM-HMM . OVER A YEAR AGO. YOU KNOW, THEY CAME TO OUR MEETING, THEY'VE BEEN VERY UPFRONT, AND I WAS A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED BECAUSE IN LIKE REAL IN, IN EARLY 2025, I, UM, SAW SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE AT A WATER CONFERENCE AND, UM, HEARD ABOUT WHERE THEY WERE. AND SO I THINK, YEAH, GETTING, GETTING OUT AND DOING THAT ENGAGEMENT EVEN SOONER MIGHT GET MORE PAYBACK IN TERMS OF SAVED EFFORT AND TIME AND ENERGY. BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE DOING IT NOW, SO THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE. YEAH, FOR SURE. WE STARTED OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITHIN BASTROP LEE AND TRAVIS COUNTIES IN 2022. AND THEN, UM, IN LATE, OR I GUESS IT'S EARLY 2024, UM, SOME, YOU KNOW, CITY OF AUSTIN ELECTED OFFICIALS, UM, DECIDED TO PAUSE SOME OF THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SO THAT, UM, OUTREACH WITH, UM, LEADERSHIP IN BASTROP COUNTY COULD PROCEED IN APPROPRIATE STAKEHOLDER ORDER. SO, UM, NOW WE'RE HAPPY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO CONTINUE WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLANS AND APPROACH. YEAH. I THINK, UM, AS WE MOVE INTO ALL OF THESE PROJECTS THAT THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE A SR ARE REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S A DEFINITELY DIFFERENT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES AND THEN SOME OF THE PROJECTS, OTHER PROJECTS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ARE IN AUSTIN PROPER. BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I HEARD LIKE DURING TESTIMONY AT THE LEGISLATURE, THE CHARACTERIZATION THAT THAT AUSTIN HASN'T BEEN TRANSPARENT AND HASN'T BEEN WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY, AND, AND THAT WHEN THEY CAME TO THE TASK FORCE MEETING, THAT, THAT THEY DIDN'T GET ANSWERS. AND, YOU KNOW, AND WHETHER [01:20:01] I, I JUST, THAT IS THE EXPERIENCE THAT THEY'RE HAVING, WHETHER OR NOT, UM MM-HMM . YOU KNOW, WE MAY AGREE WITH IT OR NOT. UM, AND IT, SO IT'S REAL AND THERE'S LIKE THE, THE WATER SUPPLY SOLUTIONS THAT WE HAVE HAVE TO BE REALLY COLLABORATIVE AND REGIONAL, MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS AND, YOU KNOW, I DUNNO, WE CAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT MAYBE SOME THINGS THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY. UM, AND THE A SR PROJECT IS HUGELY IMPORTANT TO OUR FUTURE WATER SUPPLY. SO I'M GLAD THAT, THAT, THAT, UM, WE'RE WORKING TOGETHER. WHO FROM, SO WE'VE, YOU GAVE US A OUTLINE OF WHO'S PARTICIPATING FROM BASTROP COUNTY, WHO'S PARTICIPATING FROM AUSTIN. AUSTIN STAKEHOLDERS, OR ARE, IS IT AUSTIN WATER? JUST AUSTIN WATER. AUSTIN WATER IS LEADING THAT ENGAGEMENT. OKAY. MM-HMM. AND THERE'S NOBODY ELSE FROM THE CITY INVOLVED? NO, NOT RIGHT NOW. IT'S BEEN LED BY AUSTIN WATER. MM-HMM . MM-HMM . OKAY. UM, WELL I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION BEFORE WE CLOSE, BUT NOT ABOUT THIS. YEAH. SORRY. IF WE CAN SWITCH GEARS LOOK THAT WAY. IF SOMEBODY WANTS ANYTHING, FOLLOW UP ON THAT, THEN CHIME IN. BUT I WANTED TO COME BACK TO SOMETHING IN KEVIN'S PRESENTATION. YEAH, YEAH. BEFORE WE END. OKAY. SO I GUESS THIS IS ON PAGE 19. UM, AND I GUESS I JUST WASN'T AWARE AND ALL SO MANY THINGS HAVE HAPPENED AND I MUST HAVE MISSED THIS, THAT PART OF THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM THAT WAS APPROVED INCLUDES A FEE IN LIEU OPTION FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE. I NOTICED THAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT PAGE, AND I GUESS MAYBE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT BEFORE. I JUST, I MAYBE FLEW OVER MY HEAD, BUT I WANTED TO FLAG THAT AND I WANNA WATCH IT AS WE GO FORWARD. I LOVE THE QUARTERLY REPORT, BY THE WAY. THANK YOU KEVIN. UM, THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING AND GREAT. UH, BUT THESE FEE AND LII DON'T, SPEAKING OF WATER POLICY, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A GOOD POLICY. I, MAYBE SOMEBODY CAN DEFEND FEE IN LIEU, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE NOT, WE MAY NOT GET WHAT WE WANT AND INSTEAD WE JUST GET MONEY. AND THEN WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT? WE WANT, WE WANT THE REEVES, WE WANT THE SA THE WATER SAVINGS OUT OF THIS. UM, NOT JUST SOMEBODY TO BE ABLE TO PAY AND THEN AVOID DOING THE WATER SAVINGS. SO WHAT AM I MISSING? I MEAN, WE'VE SEEN THIS WITH THE, UM, IT'S BEEN IN THE NEWS A BUNCH RECENTLY ABOUT THE SORT OF LIKE MAYBE SHORTCOMINGS OF SOME OF THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY HAS DONE IN WHICH DE DEVELOPERS ARE ALLOWED TO USE FEE AND LIE INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING REQUIREMENTS. MM-HMM . AND THEN THE CITY IS EXPECTED TO TAKE THAT MONEY AND THEN GO LIKE, BUY AFFORDABLE HOUSING, CREATE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. AND THAT HAS JUST NOT PANNED OUT THE WAY THEY WANT IT TO BECAUSE IT'S HARD AND IT'S EXPENSIVE. IT'D BE NICER IF THE DEVELOPERS WOULD JUST DO IT AS PART OF THEIR PROJECTS INSTEAD OF BEING ABLE TO PAY FEE AND LOOP MM-HMM . SO IT WAS A, SOMETHING THAT CAUGHT MY EYE. YEAH. UM, SO I'LL JUST ADD, UM, NUMBER ONE THAT WE TOO WILL BE KEEPING OUR EYE ON FEE AND LOU, UM, THE FEE AND L PROGRAM WAS UM, UH, AN ADAPTATION THAT WE INCLUDED IN THE GO PURPLE, UM, PROCESS BACK IN THE APRIL, 2024 TIMEFRAME. I, WHEN WE WERE SEEKING COUNCIL APPROVAL. UM, AND I THINK AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL IT, THE INTENT IS TO GET THOSE DEVELOPMENTS THAT WOULD BE CANDIDATES FOR, UM, RECLAIMED ONSITE USE TO GO AHEAD AND DUAL PLUM, WHICH WE BELIEVE IS SORT OF THE BIGGEST IMPEDIMENT TO FUTURE, UM, ACCOMMODATIONS FOR USING RECLAIMED WATER. AND SO THEY WILL BE DOING THAT. WHAT THEY CAN BASICALLY DO IS PAY A FEE IN LIEU OF BRINGING RECLAIMED WATER TO THEM IF THEY'RE BEYOND THAT 500 FOOT, YOU KNOW. UM, SO IT WILL BE A BIT OF A BALANCE THAT WE'LL CONTINUE TO WATCH. I MEAN, I THINK WHERE WE CAN, WE WANNA INCENTIVIZE ACTUAL INSTALLATION OF, OF RECLAIMED MAINS AND DO THAT IN A WAY THAT HELPS EXPAND OUR SYSTEM SO THAT MORE PEOPLE CAN HAVE ACCESS AND PEOPLE WILL BE CLOSER TO RECLAIMED. BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS WHERE, UM, THEY'RE JUST SO FAR AWAY THAT, UM, PAYING THE FEE AND LOW IS PROBABLY THE, THE RIGHT ANSWER, BUT WE'LL HAVE TO WATCH IT AND I THINK CONTINUE TO TRY TO FINESSE THAT AND ADJUST THAT. UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY REPORT. SO AUTUM, YOU CANNOT SAY, I'M, I'M GONNA PAY THE FEE. I DON'T WANNA BOTHER WITH ALL THE PURPLE PIPE STUFF AND GET THAT APPROVED. YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE SOME SPECIFIC HARDSHIP WHERE IT MAKES SENSE TO PAY A FEE IN LIEU. IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH. THERE, THERE ARE PROGRAMMATIC REQUIREMENTS THAT WILL ALLOW YOU, OR, OR NOT ALLOW YOU. I MEAN IT, I, I [01:25:01] THINK FOR US, THE BIG, THE THE BIG HOOK IS THEY STILL HAVE TO DUAL PLUM. AND THAT THAT IS I THINK THE REAL, THE REAL KEY TO BEING ABLE TO FACILITATE FUTURE CONNECTIONS TO RECLAIM SYSTEMS WHEN THEY'RE AVAILABLE. I SEE. AND IS THERE PLENTY OF PURPLE PIPE WATER AVAILABLE, LET'S SAY EVERYBODY SUBSCRIBED? IS THAT EVER AN ISSUE? I THINK GENERALLY THERE IS. UM, I THINK AS WE GROW OUT THE DEMAND FOR RECLAIMED WATER ON OUR RECLAIMED SYSTEM, UM, IT WILL CONTINUE TO PUT PRESSURE ON THAT SYSTEM AND WE'LL HAVE TO BE MINDFUL, UM, OF THE WAY WE'RE CONTINUING TO INVEST IN THAT SYSTEM AND INVEST IN RESILIENCY AND REDUNDANCY, UM, CONSIDERATIONS. BUT I THINK AS A GENERAL STATEMENT TODAY, THERE'S PLENTY OF PURPLE WATER. THERE'S PLENTY OF WATER THAT WE COULD TREAT TO PROVIDE, BUT WE DO HAVE CAPACITY LIMITATIONS IN THE RECLAIM SYSTEM. THAT'S A REAL THING. AND SO SOME, SOME AREAS WE'RE HAVING TO SERVE WITH, UM, POTABLE FIRST UNTIL WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM WITH RECLAIM WATER. GOT IT. THANK YOU. MM-HMM . THANKS PERRY. UM, WE HAVE TO WRAP IT UP. I JUST HAD ONE, I, I MIGHT HAVE SOME MORE, BUT JUST ONE COMMENT. THANK YOU FOR THIS REPORT KEVIN. UM, ON SLIDE 12 ON THE WATER LOSS REDUCTION UPDATES, MAYBE TWO SUGGESTIONS 'CAUSE I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS INFORMATION. YOU MENTIONED IN THE SECOND BULLET THAT THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES 18 MILLION FOR SERVICE LINE, UM, REPLACEMENTS. YOU SAID THAT WAS A BIG INCREASE. IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT THE INCREASE WAS TO SHOW LIKE WE'VE, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE LAST LAST YEAR IT WAS 12 AND WE'RE INVESTING 18 NOW. I MEAN, IT JUST SHOWS, UM, PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR REPORT IS, I GUESS. AND THEN THE THIRD BULLET, I KNOW YOU'RE PROBABLY GONNA ANTICIPATE THIS, BUT UM, CAN YOU PLEASE INCLUDE THE GALLONS PER CONNECTION PER DAY OR PER CAPITA PER DAY? BECAUSE, UM, ILI, UM, IS USEFUL FOR PEOPLE THAT KNOW WHAT ILI IS, BUT THIS IS GOING TO CITY COUNCIL AND FOR PUBLIC AND ILI IS NOT A VERY USEFUL METRIC IN THAT, IN THAT SPACE. UM, SO WELL WE GOT, HE CAN, WE CAN, WE CAN ARGUE ABOUT ILI, WE GOT ILI REPRESENTATIVES HERE, . UM, AND I'M SORRY, WE HAVE TO, I HAVE A HARD STOP AT ONE 30 'CAUSE I HAVE TO GET TO ANOTHER MEETING. I APOLOGIZE. ROBERTSON, BANFF. SO HE COULDN'T SIT IN FOR ME. BUT, UM, THANK YOU ALL, EVERYONE. UM, THAT'S ALL AGENDA ITEMS. UM, WE HAVE [FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS] AN COMMITTEE MEETING, IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE MEETING ON, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT IT IS NEXT MONTH? 'CAUSE WE'RE MEETING EVERY OTHER MONTH, THE SECOND TUESDAY, SECOND TUESDAY OF THE MONTH. AND THEN OUR NEXT MEETING FOR THE TASK FORCE IS GONNA BE, IT'S AUGUST. AUGUST. IN AUGUST. OKAY. YES. SUPER. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANKS EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.