* 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. [00:00:03] GOOD MORNING [Austin Imagine A Day Without Water National Day of Action Conference on November 12, 2025.] EVERYONE. MY NAME IS VANESSA FUENTES. I'M PROUD TO SERVE AS AUSTIN'S MAYOR PRO TEM, AND TO REPRESENT DISTRICT TWO ON AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL. WATER IMPACTS EVERYTHING. IT AFFECTS OUR HEALTH, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, AND OUR ENVIRONMENT. WE CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT IT YET. FAR TOO OFTEN WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, WHICH IS WHY IMAGINE A DAY WITHOUT WATER IS A POWERFUL REMINDER OF WHAT WE RISK WHEN WE DON'T SUPPORT ROBUST EQUITABLE WATER ACCESS ACROSS THE BOARD. SO TODAY, I'M HONORED TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER AND SUPPORT THE PEOPLE WORKING EVERY DAY TO PROTECT IT FROM OUR PUBLIC SERVANTS AT AUSTIN WATER AND WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENTS TO OUR COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS AT GAVA. YOUR WORK ENSURES THAT WATER REMAINS A RIGHT AND NOT A PRIVILEGE. IT'S NOW MY HONOR TO PRESENT THE FOLLOWING PROCLAMATION, BE IT KNOWN THAT WHEREAS IMAGINE A DAY WITHOUT WATER IS A NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION ON OCTOBER 16TH, 2025. THAT INVITES PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO RECOGNIZE THE ESSENTIAL ROLE THAT WATER HAS IN OUR LIVES AND IN OUR COMMUNITIES. AND WHEREAS THE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS DELIVERS CLEAN DRINKING WATER TO OVER A MILLION RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES EVERY DAY, AND THEN SAFELY RETURNS WASTEWATER TO THE ENVIRONMENT. AND WHEREAS WATER IS ESSENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH, LOCAL ECONOMIES, PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT AND A DAY WITHOUT WATER WOULD BRING LIFE TO A HALT DISRUPTING PUBLIC SERVICES, EMERGENCY RESPONSE LOCAL BUSINESSES IN THE FOUNDATIONAL FUNCTIONS OF OUR SOCIETY. AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN AFFIRMS THAT WATER IS ESSENTIAL TO OUR COMMUNITY'S QUALITY OF LIFE, OUR ECONOMIC STRENGTH, HEALTH, AND SUPPORTS EFFORTS TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE VALUE OF WATER THROUGH THE PARTICIPATION OF IMAGINE A DAY WITHOUT WATER, DAY OF ACTION, AND WHEREAS THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING INVESTMENT IN SUSTAINABLE, EQUITABLE, AND RELIABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE. NOW, THEREFORE, I VANESSA FUENTES ON BEHALF OF THE MAYOR OF AUSTIN, KIRK WATSON, TO HEREBY PROCLAIM OCTOBER 16TH, 2025, AS IMAGINE A DAY WITHOUT WATER NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. ACCEPTING THIS PROCLAMATION IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GO AUSTIN BAS AUSTIN. CARMEN GIANNIS. THANK YOU MAYOR. PRETEND, UH, ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT GO, AUSTIN VMO AUSTIN REPRESENTS ORGANIZING IN NORTH AUSTIN, SOUTHEAST AUSTIN, AND ACROSS THE EASTERN CRESCENT. AND, UH, ON BEHALF OF ALL AUSTINITES, I WANNA EXPRESS GRATITUDE FOR THIS PROCLAMATION AND TO OUR COMMUNITY'S ATTENTION TO THIS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT SET OF ISSUES AROUND WATER EQUITY. THAT'S WATER ACCESS, WATER QUALITY, WATER AFFORDABILITY, AND THE STEWARDSHIP OF OUR LAND AND WATERWAYS THROUGH OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, AND IN ESPECIALLY IN MORE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE THAT HELPS US TO FACE THE INCREASING CHALLENGES WE FACE TODAY. AS AUSTIN CONTINUES TO GROW AND DEVELOP AS WE SEE MORE IMPERVIOUS COVER AND MORE USE OF WATER, UH, NOT ONLY BY AUSTIN RESIDENTS AND TEXAS RESIDENTS, BUT BY CORPORATIONS AND COMPANIES THAT EXTRACT WATER, UH, FOR PROFIT, IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT WE ALL LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE DOING TO CONSERVE, TO CAPTURE, AND TO ENSURE ACCESS. THAT APPLIES TO FOLKS WHO RELY ON GROUNDWATER AS WELL AS THOSE WHO RELY ON WATER FROM AUSTIN WATER. WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO OWN OUR UTILITY WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND THAT IS A GREAT, UH, PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY THAT WE CONTINUE TO HOLD NOT ONLY OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS ACCOUNTABLE, BUT EVERYONE WHO PLAYS A PART IN THE STEWARDSHIP AND CONSERVATION OF WATER. AND THAT INCLUDES OUR OWN HOUSEHOLDS AND OUR NEIGHBORS AS WE WORK TO BE MORE WATER AWARE, UH, NOT ONLY THE WATER THAT WE USE AND CONSUME, BUT THE WATER THAT RUNS THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. UH, IT ALSO IMPACTS US WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ISSUE OF FLOODING, LOCALIZED FLOODING, FLOODING IN OUR CREEKS AND WATERWAYS, AND HOW WE'RE WORKING WITH THE LAND INSTEAD OF AGAINST IT TO FACE THE CHALLENGES AHEAD. UM, I WANT TO OFFER, UH, A, A FEW WORDS IF I CAN, UM, TO OUR LEAD CLIMATE RESILIENCE ORGANIZER, FRANCIS AIA, A LONG TIME RESIDENT OF THIS AREA WHO CONTINUES TO WORK, UH, TOWARD WATER EQUITY, NOT ONLY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT AROUND ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORS IN THIS REGION. HI, GOOD MORNING. UM, AND I JUST WANNA INVITE THE PUBLIC SO I, YOU KNOW, LET'S BE CONSCIOUS OF HOW WE'RE SPENDING THE WATER AT HOME, GET INVOLVED IN, IN PASSING THE WORD THAT, UH, WATER IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR FUTURE, FOR OUR GENERATIONS TO COME. AND IF [00:05:01] WE DON'T TAKE CARE OF IT, WE ARE GONNA, UM, THE PEOPLE THAT WILL BE MORE IMPACTED. WE'LL BE THE LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES AND, UM, IN AREAS WHERE, UM, THERE'S YEAH, WHERE THERE'S NO, UH, WATER, UH, AVAILABLE AS EASY AS IT IS FOR LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN CITY, YOU KNOW, THE MAIN CITIES. SO, UM, PLEASE, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKE CONSCIENCE AND, UM, AND TAKE ACTION. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THAT CONCLUDES TODAY'S OH, NO, NO. WE HAVE CLOSING REMARKS. HOW COULD I FORGET BY RANDY JENKINS, OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO FUENTES, AND THANK YOU TO GO AUSTIN VAMOS AUSTIN GAVA FOR BRINGING FORWARD THIS IMPORTANT PROCLAMATION TODAY REMINDS US THAT WATER IS NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE TAP, IT'S THE FOUNDATION OF OUR HEALTH, OUR HOMES, OUR SCHOOLS, OUR ECONOMY, AND OUR FUTURE. AND WHILE AUSTIN IS BLESSED WITH CLEAN WATER SUPPLY FROM THE HIGHLAND LAKE SYSTEM, WE KNOW THAT MANY COMMUNITIES IN TEXAS, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND AROUND THE WORLD, ARE FACING WATER SHORTAGES AND GROWING CHALLENGES. WE CANNOT TAKE OUR WATER FOR GRANTED. BECAUSE OF THAT, AUSTIN WATER HAS BEEN CLOSELY WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, INCLUDING GAVA, TO PLAN FOR GENERATIONS AHEAD. OUR LONG-TERM WATER FORWARD PLAN GUIDES US IN PLANNING FOR EVERY AUSTIN FAMILY, EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD, EVERY BUSINESS, TO HAVE RELIABLE WATER, NOT JUST TODAY, BUT FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS. IN ADDITION TO OUR WATER FORWARD PLANNING, WE ARE ALSO WORKING TOGETHER EVERY DAY TO FIX AND UPGRADE AGING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, HELP FAMILIES, BUSINESSES SAVE WATER WITH REBATES AND SMART WATERING TOOLS, EXPANDING OUR IMPORTANT RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM AND SUPPORTING ONSITE WATER REUSE. MM-HMM . WE ARE ALSO DEEPLY COMMITTED TO AFFORDABILITY AND EQUAL ACCESS. OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM HELPS HOUSEHOLDS WITH BILL SUPPORT AND PLUMBING REPAIRS, AND WE HAVE TAKEN MAJOR STEPS TO STRENGTHEN OUR SYSTEM AND IMPROVE COMMUNICATION. WE ENCOURAGE ALL CUSTOMERS TO SIGN UP FOR THE MY A TX WATER PORTAL SO WE CAN REACH YOU QUICKLY AND DIRECTLY WHEN IT MATTERS MOST. AT AUSTIN WATER, WE KNOW THAT WATER IS NOT JUST A SERVICE, IT'S A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY AND A SHARED RESOURCE. WE ARE PROUD TO WORK ALONGSIDE THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY TO PROTECT IT, TO PLAN FOR THE FUTURE, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY HOUSEHOLD AND EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD CAN COUNT ON WATER. TOGETHER, WE ARE COMMITTED TO SECURING WATER AND MANAGING THIS PRECI PRECIOUS RESOURCE FOR TODAY, TOMORROW, AND YEARS TO COME SO THAT NO ONE IN OUR COMMUNITY EVER EXPERIENCES A DAY WITHOUT WATER. THANK YOU. GOOD. THANK YOU. THANK YOU EVERYONE. THAT CONCLUDES OUR PROGRAM. SHOULD WE DO A LITTLE GROUP PHOTO? YEAH, LET'S DO IT. VERY GOOD. DO IT RIGHT HERE. * 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.