May 18, 2026 Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee

CLERK CAN PLEASE CALL THE SPEAKERS.

WE ARE GONNA GET THINGS STARTED TODAY.

I, UH, WILL CALL THIS MEETING OF THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT PARKS COMMITTEE TO ORDER.

IT IS NINE 30 ON MAY THE 18TH.

WE ARE IN CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS LOCATED AT CITY HALL, AND WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT.

UM, I GUESS WE'LL START WITH SOME PUBLIC TESTIMONY.

I UNDERSTAND WE HAVE FOUR SPEAKERS PRESENT, SO IF THE

[Public Communication: General]

YES, SIR.

UH, FIRST WE HAVE PAUL DERE, KATIE GAY, SARAH FAUS, AND LASTLY, CHIOMA KORO.

YOU MAY BEGIN.

UH, MY NAME IS PAUL DE FRE.

I'M A LOCAL ATTORNEY, UH, SPEAKING TODAY IN MY INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE AS A CURRENT MEMBER OF THE CITY'S WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE APPOINTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES IN 2023.

AS YOU KNOW, THE TASK FORCE ADVISES AUSTIN WATER STAFF IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR CITY'S LONG RANGE WATER PLAN.

WE HAVE A VERY COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP AND I COMMEND THE STAFF FOR ALL THAT THEY DO.

WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE SUCH DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVANTS IN OUR CITY THAT SAID WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE, AND SOMETIMES WE ARE FORCED INTO A SITUATION WHERE WE MUST IMPROVE.

OUR CURRENT WATER FORWARD PLAN WAS CRAFTED BEFORE THE ONSET OF WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN EXPONENTIAL RISE IN AI DATA CENTERS COMING TO OUR REGION.

THE MAYOR AND THOSE OF YOU WHO SIGNED ONTO HIS MESSAGE BOARD POSTS FROM LAST FRIDAY, THANKFULLY, ARE BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND THAT OUR POLICIES MUST BE ADJUSTED AND THAT WE SHOULD BE QUOTE UNQUOTE EVALUATING UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES, IF ANY AT ALL NEW LARGE LOAD DATA CENTERS SHOULD BE IN AUSTIN.

THAT'S A GOOD START, BUT MANY NOT.

BUT I AND MANY OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY WOULD ARGUE WE NEED TO BROADEN THE SCOPE OF THAT EVALUATION TO INCLUDE CHIP MANUFACTURERS AND ANY OTHER LARGE VOLUME INDUSTRIAL USERS, BECAUSE THE REALITY IS THAT IF WE CHOOSE TO ATTRACT THOSE INDUSTRIES AND THE RESOLUTION PASSED EARLIER THIS MONTH WOULD INDICATE THAT THE CITY WANTS TO ATTRACT THEM.

WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO PUT MORE GUARDRAILS AROUND THEIR WATER USE THAN WE CURRENTLY HAVE.

WE HAVE A SIMPLE SUPPLY AND DEMAND PROBLEM.

WE LIVE IN A DROUGHT PRONE REGION, BUT HAVE NO WAY OF DENYING WATER SERVICE TO WATER GUZZLING FACILITIES OR LIMITING THEIR USE AT ALL.

IT DOESN'T ADD UP AND IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO TELL REGULAR AUSTINITES THAT THEY NEED TO CONSERVE WATER, THAT THEY SHOULD TAKE SHORTER SHOWERS.

WHILE WE HAVE NO GUARDRAILS ON WATER USE FROM A FACILITY LIKE TESLA, WHICH INCREASED ITS USAGE BY MORE THAN 200 MILLION GALLONS ANNUALLY IN JUST THE PAST TWO YEARS, DURING WHICH TIME THE CITY WAS IN STAGE TWO DROUGHT.

ALSO, UNDER OUR CURRENT SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST POLICY, WE NEVER SAY NO TO PROJECTS IF THEY HAPPEN TO ARBITRARILY BE LOCATED IN A CERTAIN GEOGRAPHICAL AREA, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WATER THEY EXPECT TO USE.

I CAN APPRECIATE THE STAFF HAS A ROBUST INTERNAL REVIEW PROCESS FOR THESE REQUESTS.

BUT ULTIMATELY, THERE IS NO EXTERNAL REVIEW, NO PUBLIC SCRUTINY OR TRANSPARENCY WHATSOEVER, AND NO APPROVAL REQUIRED BY THIS COUNCIL AS THERE SHOULD BE, BECAUSE IF THERE ISN'T, THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY NEVER HAVE A CHANCE TO WEIGH IN ON WHETHER WE WANT TO EXTEND WATER SERVICE TO THE NEXT GIGAFACTORY THAT COMES TO TOWN.

OUR HANDS ARE TIED.

THAT'S NOT GOOD PLANNING AND IT'S NOT GOOD POLICY.

WE NEED A THRESHOLD AMOUNT OF WATER USE ABOVE WHICH MAJOR, AND I ONLY MEAN REALLY MAJOR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS MUST GO THROUGH BOARD AND COMMISSION REVIEW AND RECEIVE COUNCIL APPROVAL.

I'VE LOOKED AT STAFF'S PRESENTATION FOR TODAY, AND I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE A GOOD START.

WATER BUDGETING WITH ENFORCEABLE LIMITS AND A NEW LAND USE CATEGORY FOR DATA CENTERS.

THOSE ARE GREAT, BUT THEY DON'T GO FAR ENOUGH, AND EVEN STAFF WOULD LIKELY ADMIT TO YOU THAT THEIR CURRENT REQUIREMENTS ON WATER REUSE COULD BE STRENGTHENED AND THAT THE LOW UPTAKE ON INCENTIVES TO CONNECT TO OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIM SYSTEM IS NOT REALLY MOVING THE NEEDLE.

AUSTIN SHOULD BE LEADING THE NATION IN WATER EFFICIENCY AND WATER CONSERVATION, AND WE CAN, BUT WE MUST HAVE THE RIGHT POLICY TOOLS IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT WE ACHIEVE THAT.

THINK THIS IS AN ISSUE TO BE SOLVED.

GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.

MY NAME IS KATIE GAY DISTRICT FIVE, AND I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF EVERGREEN AUSTIN.

AS WE GET CLOSER TO A DECISION ON THE 2026 BOND, I'M HERE TODAY TO SPEAK ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LAND ACQUISITION FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

FIRST, I JUST WANNA GIVE YOU A LITTLE CONTEXT INSIDE OUR NEIGHBORS, THE CITY OF FORT WORTH AND DALLAS, THE GOOD NATURED INITIATIVE, HEADED BY MAYOR MADDIE PARKER IN FORT WORTH.

PLANS FOR GROWTH WITH GREEN AS FORT WORTH JUST BECAME THE 10TH LARGEST CITY IN AMERICA, PRESERVING 10,000 ACRES OF NATURAL OPEN SPACE.

THE DALLAS GREENING INITIATIVE CONVERTS PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAYS INTO POCKET PARKS OR BIODIVERSE AREAS FOR PUBLIC USAGE, HELPING CONNECT PEOPLE TO PARKS IN OUR CITY.

LAND ACQUISITION HAS NOT BEEN FUNDED IN A VERY LONG TIME YET.

AUSTIN HAS EXPLODED IN GROWTH HOUSE BILL 1526.

IN 2023, STRIPPED THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND AUSTIN PARKS AND REC OF THEIR RECURRING REVENUE SOURCE OF PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES TOTALING AROUND $20 MILLION ANNUALLY.

OUR OWN POLL AND APRS POLL PRESENTED AT THE LAST PARKS BOARD MEETING REVEAL THAT THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN ABSOLUTELY

[00:05:01]

LAND IS THE BASIS FOR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TO MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE AND PROMOTE A RESILIENCE CITY.

IN THE EVENT THAT COUNCIL DOES NOT CHOOSE TO HAVE A BOND THIS YEAR AND DECIDES TO ELIMINATE MUCH OF CAP AND STITCH, EVERGREEN IS REQUESTING THAT ANY SAVINGS AROUND THE AMOUNT OF $50 MILLION BE SET ASIDE FOR LAND ACQUISITION.

SPECIFICALLY, LAND BANKING IS ALSO A GREAT TOOL AS OUR CITY CONTINUES TO GROW WHILE FENDING RESTRICTIONS FROM THE LEGISLATURE AND DEVELOPER PRESSURE.

IN THE EVENT YOU DO CHOOSE TO DO A BOND THIS YEAR, EVERGREEN ASKS THAT YOU PRIORITIZE THE $250 MILLION SCENARIO THAT THE PARKS BOARD JUST APPROVED, WHICH HAS THAT SAME $50 MILLION DEDICATED FOR LAND ACQUISITION.

SO I CAN PERSONALLY ATTEST THAT THE FREEDOM TO ROAM THE NATURAL SPACES IN AUSTIN.

SO IT HAS MADE ME STAY AND FALL IN LOVE WITH THE CITY, AND EVERGREEN IS COMMITTED TO WORKING THROUGH FUNDING OPTIONS WITH YOU.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.

TO ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

HI, MY NAME IS SARAH BAKER FAUST.

I'M AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND WATER LAW ATTORNEY.

I'M SPEAKING ON MY OWN BEHALF, BUT BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE ON THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, I WAS PREVIOUSLY ON THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION AND THE PARKS BOARD IN 2012 THROUGH 2013.

A LOT OF WORK WAS DONE IN COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS, STAFF, AND COUNCIL TO UPDATE AUSTIN WATER'S FINANCIAL PLAN.

THOSE POLICIES AND AUSTIN WATER'S DILIGENCE IN THE INTERVENING YEARS HAVE ALLOWED THE COUNCIL TO ENJOY A RELATIVELY STABLE SMALL RATE INCREASES, AND WE HAVEN'T REALLY FACED DIFFICULT HARD DECISIONS ABOUT BIG RATE INCREASES THAT AFFECT A FAMILY BUDGET.

SO I CAME TODAY TO TALK ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE COMING UP TO MAKE SURE WE MAINTAIN THAT STABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY FOR OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS AND BOLSTER INNOVATION FROM OUR POTENTIAL NEW CORPORATE CUSTOMERS.

SO ON MAY 7TH, COUNCIL INITIATED A NEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK THAT IS NOT YET, BUT HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A WATER FORWARD FRAMEWORK.

IF AUSTIN IS GOING AFTER BIG BUSINESS, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THE WATER PIECES ARE IN PLACE.

THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY TO THREAD A NEEDLE THAT WILL CATALYZE WATER EFFICIENCY IN AUSTIN, BUT IT WILL REQUIRE CREATING A REGULATORY AND INCENTIVE FRAMEWORK THAT WORK TOGETHER.

THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO TWEAK OUR SYSTEMS TO MEET THIS MOMENT, UH, BUT WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW COMPANIES IN TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT CAN JUSTIFY INVESTING IN NON-POTABLE WATER USE AND WATER RECYCLING FOR SEMICONDUCTORS, MANUFACTURING COOLING, AND EVERY POSSIBLE RECYCLED WATER USE THERE IS IF WE GIVE APPROPRIATE VALUE TO THE ABILITY TO ACCESS LARGE VOLUMES OF DRINKING WATER, THEY WILL FIND A WAY TO USE MORE RECYCLED WATER.

THEY WILL DEVELOP NEW TECHNOLOGIES, AND WE CAN HAVE A WATER EFFICIENT ECONOMY IF WE VALUE OUR DRINKING WATER CORRECTLY.

SO ONE OPPORTUNITY IS TO USE THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST PROCESS IN A WAY THAT ENSURES LARGE VOLUME WATER USE WATER SERVICE IS ONLY EXTENDED AFTER A THOROUGH PUBLIC REVIEW.

THIS WILL MAKE USING OUR INEXPENSIVE CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED OR DEVELOPING THEIR OWN WATER RECYCLING SYSTEMS FASTER, CHEAPER, AND MORE PALATABLE, AND WILL ENSURE WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OUR WATER SUPPLIES AS WE HAVE METICULOUSLY PLANNED FOR IN OUR OWN TIMEFRAME AND AT A FINANCIAL COST SUSTAINABLE FOR RATE PAYERS.

I'D LOVE TO COME IN AND TALK TO EACH OF YOU MORE IN DETAIL ABOUT THIS IDEA AND OTHERS WE ARE DEVELOPING.

UM, WE'VE GOT SOME EXAMPLES OF GOOD CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS IN OUR CORPORATE WATER USE PROFILE, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT WE'RE IN A POST-NOVEMBER 2024 TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY ENVIRONMENT THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT.

A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE THOUGHT WERE GONNA HAPPEN WITH CORPORATIONS IN WATER JUST ARE NOT NECESSARY FOR THEM TO DO ANYMORE.

I'VE EXPERIENCED WORKING WITH LARGE TECH COMPANIES ON THEIR WATER FOOTPRINT REPORTING, AND I HAVE, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE HAVE SOME GOOD DATA TO WORK FROM IN WHAT DIRECTIONS THEY'RE HEADING.

SO PLEASE CONSIDER CHAMPIONING OUR WATER SUPPLY PLANNING AND EMPHASIZING MUCH MORE, UH, WATER RECYCLING IN THE DEVELOPING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK.

THANKS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND WE'LL CERTAINLY BE IN TOUCH.

UM, OH, OH YEAH, SORRY.

OUR LAST SPEAKER.

CHIOMA KORO.

CHIAMA KORO.

ALRIGHT, WELL, WITH THAT, UH, WE'LL MOVE ON

[1. Approve the minutes for the April 22, 2026 meeting of the Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee.]

UH, FROM THE APRIL 22ND, 2026 MEETING, I HAVE A MOTION BY COUNCILMAN UCHIN, SECOND BY VICE CHAIR ELLIS.

UH, WITHOUT OPPOSITION, THAT ITEM IS APPROVED.

WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER

[2. Discussion and possible action to amend the Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee calendar to remove the July 8, 2026, meeting and add a July 15, 2026, meeting.]

TWO.

THIS IS, UH, CHANGING OUR NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING FROM JULY 8TH TO JULY 15TH.

UH, WE WILL BE IN THE THROES OF BUDGETING, BUT THIS WILL ALLOW FOR US TO BETTER MEET.

SO, UH, IT'S THEIR MOTION TO DO SO.

IT AGAIN, UH, BY COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN SENT

[00:10:01]

BY VICE CHAIR ELLIS WITH THAT OBJECTION, THAT CHANGE IS APPROVED.

ALL RIGHT, WE ARE NOW GONNA MOVE ON AND JUST, UH, FOR EVERYBODY'S PLANNING HERE, WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM NUMBER THREE, WHICH IS THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.

THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE AND THEN TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR TO FINISH THIS OFF.

SO, UH, JUST SO EVERYONE CAN PLAN ACCORDINGLY, LET'S LEAD

[3. Briefing on aquifer storage and recovery and brackish groundwater desalination [Shay Ralls Roalson, Director - Austin Water, Marisa Flores-Gonzalez, Program Manager - Austin Water].]

OFF WITH THAT BRIEFING ON AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IN BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION.

UH, WE HAVE DIRECTOR ROLSON HERE FROM AUSTIN WATER.

GOOD MORNING CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, THANK YOU FOR INVITING US HERE TODAY.

UH, TO BRIEF YOU ON THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT, AS WELL AS, UH, BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION.

UM, AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE, THESE ARE, EXCUSE ME, KEY STRATEGIES IN THE WATER FORWARD 2024, UM, UH, LONG RANGE WATER SUPPLY PLAN.

UM, AND IF I DIDN'T SAY IT ALREADY, MY NAME IS SHAY RAWLS ROLSON, AND I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER.

UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THIS, UH, ON THIS IMPORTANT PROJECT, UH, AND OUR REQUEST TO COUNSEL THAT IS COMING AT THE END OF MAY TO PROCEED WITH FIELD TESTING FOR THESE TWO IMPORTANT WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES.

SO, WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO, UH, MARISA FLORES GONZALEZ.

AQUIFER, WHICH WOULD HAVE YIELDED A LARGER AMOUNT OF WATER AROUND 44,000 ACRE FEED IS, WAS OUR INITIAL ESTIMATE.

MY NAME IS MARISA FLORES GONZALEZ, AND I'M THE SUPERVISOR OF THE WATER RESOURCES TEAM AT AUSTIN WATER.

I'M GONNA PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR A SR AND BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION PROJECTS.

WITHIN THIS UPDATE, WE'LL SHARE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION RELATING TO OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN.

WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE FIELD TESTING THAT'S PLANNED TO INFORM THE NEXT STEPS OF THESE PROJECTS AND OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2026.

WE'LL ALSO SHARE NEXT STEPS ON THIS PROJECT.

AS YOU KNOW, WATER FORWARD IS AUSTIN'S 100 YEAR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLAN THAT WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN NOVEMBER OF 2024.

THE PLAN WAS DEVELOPED WITH COMMUNITY INPUT AS WELL AS WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE.

THE PLAN IDENTIFIES WATER CONSERVATION, WATER REUSE, AND WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES TO HELP US ADAPT TO GROWTH, DROUGHT AND CLIMATE CHANGE, AND HELP, UH, ENSURE A SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE AND AFFORDABLE WATER FUTURE FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

THE WATER FORWARD 2024 PORTFOLIO, AS YOU SEE HERE, IS MADE UP OF CONSERVATION STRATEGIES SHOWN IN THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED HEADERS, REUSE STRATEGIES AS SHOWN IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER AS A PART OF OUR GO PURPLE PROGRAM WITH A RANGE OF REUSE STRATEGIES FROM ONSITE REUSE TO CENTRALIZE, RECLAIMED, AND ALSO WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES SHOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN.

IN BLUE HEADERS, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY WAS INCLUDED IN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AS A 2040 STRATEGY.

AND BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION WAS ORIGINALLY INCLUDED IN THE PLAN AS A STRATEGY FOR 2070, BOTH INTENDED TO HELP US NAVIGATE DROUGHTS AS WELL AS FUTURE GROWTH.

WE UPDATE THE WATER FORWARD PLAN EVERY FIVE YEARS BETWEEN THOSE FIVE YEAR UPDATES, THOUGH WE'RE ALWAYS IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES FROM THE PLAN, EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE STRATEGIES, AND MAKING ADJUSTMENTS TO REFLECT THE LESSONS THAT WE'RE LEARNING AS WE GO.

UM, AND BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THINGS DON'T ALWAYS PLAN PAN OUT THE WAY THAT WE PLAN, WE'RE ALWAYS PLANNING ALTERNATIVE PATHWAYS TO RESPOND TO THOSE LESSONS LEARNED, AS WELL AS TO CHANGING CONDITIONS.

AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS A PROVEN METHOD OF SAFELY STORING WATER IN AN AQUIFER TO USE LATER.

THE WATER FROM THIS FOR THIS STRATEGY WOULD COME FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S EXISTING COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKE SUPPLIES, AND WILL BE TREATED TO POTABLE DRINKING WATER STANDARDS BEFORE IT WOULD BE CONVEYED TO A WELL FIELD AND PUMPED UNDERGROUND WHERE IT COULD BE RECOVERED LATER.

UM, DURING DROUGHT PERIODS, MORE WATER IS ALWAYS ADDED THAN USED BEFORE.

THE WATER WOULD BE PUMPED UNDERGROUND.

IT WOULD ALSO UNDERGO SOME ADDITIONAL LEVEL OF TREATMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WATER TO BE STORED IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE NATIVE GROUNDWATER AS WELL AS THE AQUIFER WITHIN THIS STRATEGY.

AS I MENTIONED, WE HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED FOR A 2040 STRATEGY IN THE CARRIZO WILCOX

[00:15:01]

WE ARE NOW PIVOTING TO THE, UH, ANOTHER STRATEGY, UM, THAT WOULD LOOK AT A TRINITY BASED, UH, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.

THE TRINITY AQUIFER WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE THIRD HIGHEST RANKING OPTION AND AN INITIAL DESKTOP EVALUATION THAT WE PERFORMED LOOKING AT, UM, AQUIFERS WITHIN AN EIGHT COUNTY AREA SURROUNDING AUSTIN.

SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF A TRINITY AQUIFER A SR INCLUDE LOWER COST FOR PIPELINES, PUMPING STATIONS, AND LAND, A BETTER ALIGNMENT WITH AUSTIN'S PLANNED INFRASTRUCTURE FOR OUR WATER SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS EASIER ACCESS TO AUSTIN WATER SERVICE CENTERS AND OUR WORKFORCE.

WE'D ALSO BE WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY'S SERVICE AREA AND WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO RELIABLE POWER FROM THE GRID.

THERE'S THE POTENTIAL TO CONSERVE LAND ON THE SURFACE OF THE A SR PROJECT, AND WE COULD ALSO ENHANCE RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS WHO, UM, MAY BE VISITING THAT SITE.

AND BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION, THERE'S A GREATER ABILITY FOR US TO PARTNER WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS WITHIN AUSTIN AS WELL AS TRAVIS COUNTY.

UH, THESE ARE SOME SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS AND WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE AN A SR PROJECT WITHIN THE TRINITY AQUIFER.

FROM OUR INITIAL ESTIMATES, WE THINK THAT A TRINITY AQUIFER A SR WOULD LIKELY YIELD ABOUT 15 TO 20,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, WHICH IS ABOUT A, A THIRD OF THE YIELD THAT WAS INITIALLY ANTICIPATED FOR AN AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.

AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE WANT TO EXPLORE, UM, ANOTHER STRATEGY THAT I'VE ALREADY OUTLINED, BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED FOR LATER IMPLEMENTATION.

THE FIELD TESTING DATA THAT WE'RE PLANNING TO COLLECT IN THE NEXT STEPS OF THIS PROJECT COULD INFORM PLANNING FOR BRACKISH DESAL AS WELL.

BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION IS A STRATEGY THAT WOULD INVOLVE WITHDRAWING BRACKISH OR SALTY GROUNDWATER FROM DEEP UNDERGROUND.

AND THE WATER FROM THE STRATEGY WOULD BE TREATED BY AN ADVANCED TREATMENT PROCESS, SUCH AS A REVERSE OSMOSIS TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH OUR DRINKING WATER.

THE BYPRODUCT THAT'S CREATED FROM THIS TREATMENT PROCESS IS A, A VERY SALTY WATER THAT'S CALLED BRINE, AND THAT WOULD BE DISPOSED IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE REGULATIONS.

WITHIN THE NEXT STEP OF THIS PROJECT.

WE PLAN TO CONDUCT FIELD TESTING ON LAND THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN ALREADY OWNS IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY TO INFORM PLANNING FOR BOTH POTENTIAL AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY AND BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION PROJECTS.

THIS FIELD TESTING WOULD INCLUDE DESIGNING AND DRILLING TEST WELLS THAT WOULD GO DOWN TO THE HOSTIN LEVEL OF THE LOWER TRINITY AQUIFER TO COLLECT GROUNDWATER AND CORE SAMPLES FROM THOSE WELL, AS THEY'RE BEING DRILLED, THE SAMPLES WOULD BE TAKEN TO A LABORATORY WHERE THEY WOULD BE TESTED, UM, TO IDENTIFY AND UNDERSTAND THEIR GEOCHEMISTRY AS WELL AS ANY POTENTIAL INTERACTIONS WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DRINKING WATER.

THIS TESTING WOULD HELP US TO DEVELOP APPROPRIATE TREATMENT PROCESSES FOR OUR DRINKING WATER BEFORE IT WOULD BE STORED UNDERGROUND IN AN A SR PROJECT PLAN TO FORM A TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP AND ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS.

UM, THIS DATA, AS I MENTIONED, WOULD BE USED TO HELP PLAN PROJECTS THAT COULD MEET WATERFORD GOALS, AND THESE PROJECTS COULD BE CO-LOCATED ON THE SAME SITE, UM, THAT WILL BE EVALUATED AS A RESULT OF THE DATA THAT WE'RE ABLE TO COLLECT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE FIELD TESTING.

WE'LL BE REQUESTING AN AMENDMENT TO OUR CURRENT CONTRACT WITH OUR CONSULTANT HDR, UM, TO, UH, PROVIDE ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION FOR THE FIELD TESTING WORK.

THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING THAT WE'LL BE REQUESTING WILL COVER TEST WHILE DRILLING SAMPLE COLLECTION, UM, AS WELL AS THE LABORATORY ANALYSIS AND ADDITIONAL PLANNING FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.

UH, WE WILL BE GOING TO WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION ON MAY 20TH FOR THEIR REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION.

AND ON MAY 28TH, UM, THE ITEM WILL BE GOING FORWARD BEFORE COUNSEL FOR COUNSEL'S CONSIDERATION.

THE AMENDMENT WILL REQUEST AN ADDITIONAL $15 MILLION ON TOP OF THE EXISTING $6 MILLION, UM, AUTHORIZATION FOR

[00:20:01]

A CONTRACT TOTAL OF ABOUT $21 MILLION.

OUR FIELD TESTING TIMELINE, UM, WILL LOOKS LIKE THIS, UM, WILL BE WORKING THROUGH SITE SELECTION THROUGH FALL OF 2026, AS WELL AS, UM, WELL-DESIGNED ENVIRONMENTAL AND PERMITTING TASKS FOLLOWING THE SELECTION OF SITES WILL WORK TOWARDS DRILLING THE TEST WELLS IN SPRING OF 2027 AND BEGINNING TO COLLECT SAMPLES AND AS WELL AS ANALYZING THOSE IN A LABORATORY.

AND BY SPRING OF 2028, WE ANTICIPATE COMPLETING A PLAN REPORT TO DOCUMENT THE WORK THAT'S BEEN PERFORMED AS WELL AS BEGIN DESIGN FOR PHASE TWO A SR PILOT TEST WELLS WITHIN THE BIGGER PICTURE OF THE A SR PROJECT TIMELINE, AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE FIELD TESTING PHASE, IF THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD, WE WOULD BEGIN PILOT TESTING.

THAT PHASE WOULD INCLUDE, UH, SEEKING AUTHORIZATION FROM TCAQ FOR PILOT A SR TEST WELLS, AS WELL AS BEGINNING THE, UM, TREATMENT OF AUSTIN'S DRINKING WATER TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE UNDERGROUND AQUIFER AND BEGINNING TO STORE SOME OF THAT WATER UNDERGROUND IN SMALL AMOUNTS TO BE ABLE TO TEST WATER QUALITY INTERACTIONS AS WELL AS THE OPERATIONS OF A SMALL SCALE A SR PILOT.

WE ANTICIPATE THAT THAT PHASE COULD TAKE AN ESTIMATED 36 MONTHS, AND BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THAT PHASE, WE WOULD MAKE DECISIONS ON HOW OR WHETHER TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FULL SCALE A SR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, A PHASE, WHICH WOULD TAKE A FURTHER EIGHT TO 10 YEARS IN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLANS.

AUSTIN WATER HAS IDENTIFIED THREE KEY ACTIVITIES.

WE KNOW THAT IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE NEED FOR THESE PROJECTS AND HOW THEY HELP TO SECURE AUSTIN'S WATER FUTURE.

WE WANT TO BE PROACTIVE IN OUR ENGAGEMENT AND EDUCATION TO HELP BUILD COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND UNDERSTANDING OF THESE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO US TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS OF PARTNERSHIP AND TRUST WITH STAKEHOLDERS WHO WILL SUPPORT AUSTIN WATER AND ADVOCATE WITH US.

UM, AS WE WORK THROUGH THESE PROJECTS.

THE THREE KEY PHASES OF OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY INCLUDE INTERNAL AND EARLY STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN, UM, BY INTRODUCING THIS PROJECT TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, WITH PARTNER DEPARTMENTS, ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS.

WITHIN OUR SECOND PHASE, WHICH WE PLAN TO BEGIN THIS SUMMER, WE'LL BE DOING BROADER COMMUNITY OUTREACH TO BUILD COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR AUSTIN'S WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS AND TO SHARE UPDATES ON OUR ANALYSES AND OTHER INITIAL WORK.

AND IN FALL OF 2026, WE BEGAN, WE PLAN TO BEGIN COMMUNICATING INFORMATION ABOUT THE UPCOMING FIELD TESTING MILESTONES, UM, TO OUR BROADER COMMUNITY.

OUR NEXT STEPS WILL INCLUDE ESTABLISHING AN A SR AND BRACKISH TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MADE UP OF, UM, INDIVIDUALS WITH EXPERTISE AND HYDROGEOLOGY, UM, AND RELATED, UM, UH, EXPERTISE AREAS TO REVIEW OUR TESTING PLANS AS WELL AS RESULTS, UM, AND TO BEGIN THE WORK OF FIELD TESTING AND SHARING THOSE FINDINGS WITH THE ADVISORS, COMMUNITY PARTNERS AND, UH, PUBLIC, UH, STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH PLANNING PROCESSES.

I, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT FOLKS HAVE ABOUT THESE PROJECTS.

WE ARE STILL IN EARLY STAGES.

UM, THE FIELD TESTING WORK THAT WE'RE PLANNING TO DO WILL HELP US TO ANSWER MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LARGER PROJECT AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

UM, BUT WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT THIS IS A STRONG APPROACH TO BE ABLE TO ADVANCE OUR A SR AND BRACKISH D CELL STRATEGIES.

WELL, VERY, VERY GOOD.

UM, ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I, WELL, I, I'LL LEAD US OFF.

NO ONE'S JUMPING IN.

UM, CAN YOU PUT IN CONTEXT, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE ACRE FEET THAT THIS WOULD STORE.

WHAT IS OUR ANNUAL LIKE ACRE FEET USAGE? WHAT KIND OF PERCENT OF OUR TOTAL CONSUMPTION ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, WE'VE USED ABOUT 170 TO 175,000

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ACRE FEET PER YEAR.

UM, SO ORIGINALLY THE A SR PROJECT WAS EXPECTED TO YIELD AROUND 44,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, BUT THESE ARE WITHDRAWALS FROM ESSENTIALLY A SAVINGS ACCOUNT THAT THAT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, EVERY YEAR.

UM, WE ANTICIPATE THAT THIS A SR PROJECT AND THE TRINITY AQUIFER WOULD, UH, USE WOULD YIELD ABOUT A THIRD OF THAT, SO 15,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR.

BUT NOW THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AN UPDATED APPROACH FOR THE STRATEGY, WHICH COULD POTENTIALLY ADD ON BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESAL, THAT COULD DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT OF YIELD AND GET US MUCH CLOSER TO THE ORIGINAL TARGET VOLUME.

AND WE TREAT THE WATER GOING IN AND THEN WE PULL IT OUT AND I ASSUME WE TREAT IT COMING OUT.

YES, OF COURSE.

UH, ALRIGHT, THAT, UH, ANSWER MY QUESTION.

COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS.

FIRST OF ALL, THANKS FOR THE BRIEFING AND I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS IN SOME WAYS TO BUILD ON, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTERS.

I'M CURIOUS, WAS THERE EVER, UH, AND I MAY HAVE MISSED THIS, BUT WAS THERE A SORT OF POSTMORTEM OR MEMO FROM WHAT WE LEARNED FROM OUR BASTROP EXPERIENCE THAT'S INFORMING, I'M ASSUMING SOME OF THE STEPS THAT WERE LISTED IN HERE, OR ESPECIALLY AROUND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WERE, AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT WERE PART OF THAT PROCESS? SO THE, UH, LAST COMMUNICATION THAT WE ALL, THAT WE, UM, HAD TO YOU ALL WAS, WAS CONCLUDING OUR WORK AND BASTROP AND TURNING OUR FOCUS TO EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, AS WE, UM, COMMUNICATED.

THEN WHEN WE DID THE DESKTOP ANALYSIS, WE IDENTIFIED THREE POTENTIAL AREAS.

BASTROP WAS ONE, EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY WAS ANOTHER.

SO THIS WAS ALWAYS PART OF OUR, UM, KIND OF TOP THREE, IF YOU WILL, OF LOCATIONS WHERE WE COULD DO AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.

UM, WE CERTAINLY HAVE, UM, LEARNED A LOT OF LESSONS ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THAT WE WILL BE INCORPORATING HERE.

UM, AND THIS, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN IS VERY CONSISTENT WITH, UH, WHAT WE HAVE DONE FOR OUR OTHER, UM, LARGE EFFORTS LIKE OUR COST OF SERVICE STUDY, DEVELOPING THE WATER FORWARD PLAN TO BEGIN WITH, UM, AND OTHER, OTHER ENDEAVORS.

UM, SO THE, UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE'VE COMMUNICATED AN ACTUAL POSTMORTEM TO YOU ALL, BUT WE CERTAINLY HAVE INCORPORATED, UH, WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THAT EXPERIENCE INTO OUR PLAN FOR THIS.

PROJECT, THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, IN TERMS OF THE $15 MILLION, IS THAT JUST COMING OUT OF THE AUSTIN WATER CAPITAL BUDGET? WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM? IT DOES COME FROM AUSTIN WATER'S CAPITAL, UH, BUDGET.

AND MOST OF THAT COST IS THE DRILLING.

I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS PREVIOUSLY.

RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.

UM, AND THEN I THINK YOU TOUCHED ON THE LAST THING THAT I HAD, WHICH WAS JUST UNDERSTANDING THE, THE SCOPE OF THE OPPORTUNITY OF THE BRACKISH DESALINATION, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE IS SOMEWHERE IN THE SAME AS AQUA A SR, UM, IN TERMS OF COMING BACK TO THE ORIGINAL 44,000, EXCEPT I THINK YOU POINTED OUT THE BRACKISH DESALINATION WOULD BE EVERY YEAR AS OPPOSED TO, UH, A ONE TIME WITHDRAWAL.

THAT THAT'S CORRECT.

SO THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS TAKING OUR TREATED DRINKING WATER AND STOR IT WHEN THERE'S PLENTY AND STORING IT UNDERGROUND TO BRING IT BACK AS A SAVINGS ACCOUNT, IF YOU WILL, WHEREAS BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION IS, UM, DEVELOPING THAT SUPPLY.

UM, THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE YEAR OVER YEAR.

WITHIN THE FIELD TESTING PHASE A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, UM, THAN THAT 36 TO 42 MONTH TIMELINE.

AND THE LAST QUESTION IS, HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO FILL THAT SAVINGS ACCOUNT BASED ON THE SCOPE THAT YOU'VE CREATED AND THE SORT OF REDUCED CAPACITY OF THE COUNT COMPARED TO THE BA APPLICATION? YEAH, THE, UM, THAT ANSWER IS REALLY DEPENDENT ON THE FIELD TESTING.

ALRIGHT, VICE CHAIR ELLIS.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

I HAVE A QUESTION JUST BETWEEN SLIDES 11 AND 12, I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND THE TIMELINES BETTER.

SO ON SLIDE 11, IT STARTS WITH FALL 26 AND TAKES US THROUGH SPRING OF 2028.

UM, BUT ON THE NEXT SLIDE IT TALKS ABOUT THE EXPLORATORY DRILLING AND FIELD TESTING BEING AN ESTIMATED 36 TO 42 MONTHS.

MM-HMM .

ARE THERE SOME NUANCES IN THERE THAT COULD, COULD HELP ME UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT THOSE TIMELINES LOOK LIKE? THE FIELD TESTING TIMELINE THAT'S SHOWN ON SLIDE 11 IS OUR ANTICIPATED TIMELINE FOR COMPLETING THE, THE DRILLING AND HAVING A REPORT FROM THAT DRILLING.

THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF BUFFER IN IN THERE, UM, ON SLIDE 12, I GUESS IT IS FOR THE 36 TO 42 MONTH TIMELINE.

UM, BECAUSE WE WILL NEED TO SEEK AN A SR UM, UH, PILOT AUTHORIZATION FROM TCEQ, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PILOTING.

UM, AND THERE'S LIKELY SOME ADDITIONAL PLANNING, UM, WORK THAT WILL NEED TO HAPPEN IN ADVANCE OF THE A SR PILOT PHASE REALLY KICKING OFF.

SO THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF BUFFER.

WE MAY COMPLETE THE WORK, UM, IN THE FIELD TESTING PHASE THAT'S INCLUDED

[00:30:01]

UH, BUT WE HAVE LUMPED IN SOME OF THE PREPARATORY WORK BEFORE THE PILOT PHASE REALLY BEGINS INTO THAT 36 TO 42 MONTH TIMEFRAME.

THAT'S HELPFUL.

NO PROBLEM.

ALRIGHT, WELL LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING THE UPDATES AS THIS PROJECT MOVES ALONG AND, UM, SEE WHAT, WHAT COMES.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK.

ON TO ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS THE BRIEFING ON LARGE INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER WATER USAGE AND CONSERVATION TRENDS.

WITH THAT THANK YOU.

WE WILL MOVE

[5. Briefing on large industrial and commercial customer water usage and conservation trends [Shay Ralls Roalson, Director; Christina Romero, Interim Assistant Director; Colleen Kirk, Division Manager; Katherine Jashinski, Supervising Engineer - Austin Water].]

UM, DIRECTOR ROLSON DOESN'T HAVE TO GO FAR.

AND I WILL NOTE, UH, THIS WAS AN ITEM REQUESTED BY VICE CHAIR ELLIS.

I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU WANNA ADD BEFORE WE GET GOING OR IF YOU WANNA WAIT FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THEN I'M HAPPY TO DO A VERY BRIEF LAYOUT.

UM, AS SOMEONE WHO IS BORN AND RAISED IN SAN ANTONIO, UM, OBVIOUSLY WE SHARE THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO UPSTREAM IMPACT THE DRINKING WATER THAT HAPPENS IN COMMUNITIES, UH, SOUTH OF HERE LIKE SAN MARCO AND SAN ANTONIO.

AND I KNOW IN SAN ANTONIO WHEN THEY WERE IN TIMES OF DROUGHT, THEY WOULD GO SO FAR AS TO PRINT PEOPLE'S NAMES IN THE NEWSPAPER IF THEY WERE USING TOO MUCH WATER DURING RESTRICTIONS.

UM, AND ALTHOUGH WE DON'T NECESSARILY DO THAT ANYMORE, I WAS JUST VERY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT IS THE SCOPE AND THE SCALE OF OUR LARGE INDUSTRIAL USERS, WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AND WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL USER VERSUS, UM, YOU KNOW, BUSINESSES WITH MUCH LARGER FOOTPRINTS.

AND JUST VERY CURIOUS ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP MAKE SURE THAT AS WE IMPLEMENT WATER FORWARD AND THE, AND THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM, HOW CAN WE BE BETTER STEWARDS OF OUR WATER? VERY GOOD.

WELL, WITH THAT GREAT INTRODUCTION, PLEASE TAKE IT AWAY.

WONDERFUL.

GOOD MORNING AGAIN, MY NAME IS SHAY RAWLS ROLSON, I'M THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER THANK YOU CHAIR, UM, AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR ASKING US TO BE HERE TODAY.

THANK YOU VICE-CHAIR FOR YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR LARGE WATER USERS.

SO, UM, I HAVE A, UM, A TERRIFIC COHORT HERE TODAY TO MAKE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THIS PRESENTATION.

I'M GONNA LET THEM INTRODUCE THEMSELVES TO YOU AS AS WE GO ALONG.

UM, AND WE WILL, UH, WE'LL KICK IT OFF.

I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR CURRENT WATER SUPPLIES, UH, AND THEN WE WILL TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR SERVICE AREA BECAUSE THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, UH, WHERE AUSTIN WATER SERVICE AREA EXTENDS TO, UH, WHAT OUR OBLIGATIONS TO SERVE ARE WITHIN THAT SERVICE AREA.

AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT HOW NEW USERS COME IN TO REQUEST, UH, WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICE AND HOW WE EVALUATE THOSE REQUESTS.

UM, AND THEN, UM, HOW WE, UH, BOTH REQUIRE AND INCENTIVIZE CONSERVATION AND RECLAIMED WATER USE IN NEW DEVELOPMENTS.

AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR EXISTING, UH, LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS, UM, AND SOME RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GOING FORWARD.

SO, UH, AT A HIGH LEVEL, UM, UH, YOU ALL ARE WELL AWARE OF THIS, BUT SOME OF OUR VIEWERS MAY NOT BE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE GET ALL OF OUR WATER FROM THE TEXAS, COLORADO RIVER THAT FLOWS FROM WEST TEXAS DOWN TO THE MATAGORDA BAY RIGHT THROUGH THE HEART OF AUSTIN.

UM, THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY MANAGES THE COLORADO, UH, LOWER COLORADO RIVER.

UM, AND WE AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAVE, UH, STATE GRANTED WATER RIGHTS, UM, FOR RUN WHAT'S CALLED RUN OF RIVER PLUS A CONTRACT WITH LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY FOR STORED WATER.

UM, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STORED WATER, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE VOLUME STORED IN LAKE BUCHANAN AND TRAVIS.

WE HAVE THREE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS THAT TAKE WATER FROM LAKE TRAVIS AND LAKE AUSTIN AND DELIVER IT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

AND WE HAVE TOTAL SUPPLIES OF UP TO 325,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR.

IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE AVERAGED ABOUT 170,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR.

HELLO, MY NAME IS COLLEEN KIRK.

I'M THE DIVISION MANAGER FOR OUR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION, AND I'M GOING TO GO OVER OUR SERVICE AREA AND SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS WE HAVE TO PROVIDE SERVICE WITHIN IT.

UH, SO ON THIS EXHIBIT YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR SERVICE AREA IS IDENTIFIED IN THE RED BOUNDARY THAT IS THE SAME AS THE, UH, COUNCIL ADOPTED WATER AND WASTEWATER IMPACT FEE BOUNDARY.

THAT BOUNDARY IS REVIEWED AND AMENDED ON A FIVE-YEAR CADENCE.

SO WE ARE ALLOWED TO PROVIDE SERVICE WITHIN THAT SERVICE AREA, BUT WE ARE PROHIBITED FROM PROVIDING SERVICE OUTSIDE THAT AREA UNLESS AUTHORIZED BY COUNCIL.

BY ORDINANCE, WE ALSO ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UH, TO CHARGE WATER AND WASTEWATER IMPACT FEES WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA.

[00:35:02]

SO WE HAVE VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS AND REGULATORY BOUNDARIES THAT EXIST WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA.

THE, YOU KNOW, A LARGE PART OF THE SERVICE AREA IS DEFINED OR FOLLOWS OUR PLANNING JURISDICTION, WHICH INCLUDES THE CITY'S FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION SHOWN IN YELLOW ON THE MAP.

THE CITY'S LIMITED PURPOSE JURISDICTION SHOWN IN GREEN, THE EXTRATERRITORIAL TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION OR ETJ SHOWN IN BEIGE.

AND THEN YOU'LL SEE SOME AREAS THAT ARE NOT SHADED.

THOSE ARE PARTS OF THE COUNTY.

SO WE HAVE OUR SERVICE AREA SPANS TRAVIS WILLIAMSON AND PARTS OF HAYES AND BASTROP COUNTY.

AUSTIN WATER ALSO PROVIDES WHOLESALE, UH, UTILITY SERVICE TO SEVERAL OTHER WATER PROVIDERS.

UH, THIS IS WHERE WE ARE CONTRACTED WITH THEM TO DELIVER WATER WASTEWATER SERVICE TO THEIR SERVICE AREA, AND THEN THEY DISTRIBUTE THAT SERVICE WITHIN IT AND PROVIDE RETAIL WATER SERVICE OR WASTEWATER SERVICE.

YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THESE ARE WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA, BUT SOME ARE JUST BEYOND THE SERVICE AREA AS ALLOWED BY CONTRACT.

ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE CERTIFICATES OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY OR CCN THAT OVERLAY WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA.

THESE ARE ADMINISTERED BY THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS.

IT IS A EXCLUSIVE RIGHT FOR THE PROVIDER TO SERVE AND IT ALSO IS A LEGAL OBLIGATION FOR US TO SERVE WITHIN THAT GEOGRAPHIC AREA.

SO THE MAP ON THE LEFT IN BLUE WOULD BE OUR WATER CCNS.

WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED THE CITY'S FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION IN THE LIGHTER BLUE, THE DARKER BLUE INDICATING WHERE WE HAVE A WATER CCN AND THE GRAY AREAS ARE WHERE ANOTHER PROVIDER HOLDS THE WATER CC N.

SO AUSTIN WATER IS REQUIRED TO PRO PROVIDE SERVICE WITHIN OUR CCN.

HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PROVIDE SERVICE IN ANOTHER CCN UM, AREA UNLESS THE LANDOWNER RELEASES FROM THAT CCN.

SO THE NEXT I'M GONNA GO INTO SOME OF OUR, UH, UTILITY PLANNING EFFORTS AND HOW WE INTERACT WITH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FROM A UTILITY PLANNING OVERVIEW.

OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, WHICH IS LOOKING AT THE WATER SUPPLY FOR THE NEXT A HUNDRED YEARS.

WE ALSO HAVE OUR LONG RANGE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANS, WHICH IS LOOKING AT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS IN THE NEXT 50 YEARS, KIND OF GIVING US AN IDEA OF HOW WE ARE GOING TO EXPAND INTO THAT SERVICE AREA.

AND THEN WE HAVE OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING PRO PROJECTS WHERE WE ARE LOOKING, YOU KNOW, MORE NEAR TERM AT THE NEXT FIVE AND 10 YEARS.

AND THOSE PLANS ARE UPDATED ON A YEARLY CYCLE WITH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

UH, AT THE VERY UPSTREAM END, WE HAVE OUR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST PROGRAM WHERE WE ARE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, AT A SITE BY SITE SCALE, UH, LOOKING AT TO CONFIRM IF WE HAVE SUITABLE AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE FOR NEW CUSTOMERS REQUESTING SERVICE.

AS THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD, IT GOES INTO THE SITE DEVELOPMENT PHASE WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT THE DESIGN, AND THIS IS WHERE WE REALLY GET ENGAGED ON WATER CONSERVATION AND REUSE REQUIREMENTS AND INCENTIVES AND OTHER APPLICABLE CODE PROVISIONS FOR THAT, THOSE UH, SITES.

AND THEN AS IT MOVES FORWARD INTO THE BUILDING PLAN REVIEW, WE'RE REALLY DRILLING IN AND LOOKING AT THE BUILDING SCALE AND THE ONSITE WATER REUSE, THE ADULT PLUMBING AND CROSS CONNECTION PROTECTIONS A LITTLE MORE ON OUR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST.

SO AGAIN, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT A POTENTIAL DEVELOPER IS LOOKING TO DEVELOP ON A SITE, AND WE'RE CONFIRMING THAT WE HAVE SUITABLE INSUFFICIENT WATER WASTEWATER AND RECLAIMED WATER SERVICE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT.

ANY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE IDENTIFY ON THE SERVICE EX EXTENDER REQUEST IS THE RE UM, THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEVELOPER TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT, AND THEN ULTIMATELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE CITY FOR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.

UH, WE ALWAYS LOOK AT THESE IN, IN LIGHT OF OUR LONG RANGE PLANNING GOALS AS WELL TO MAKE SURE WE'RE EFFECTIVELY PLANNING AND EXTENDING OUR SYSTEM.

SO WHAT COMES OUT OF THE SCR IS THAT A ENGINEER ON AUSTIN WATER STAFF WILL DEVELOP A UTILITY SERVICE PLAN THAT IDENTIFIES EXACTLY WHAT IS NEEDED BY THE DEVELOPMENT TO MEET THE UTILITY DEMANDS OF WHAT THEY'RE PROPOSING ON THE SITE.

IT IS VERY SPECIFIC TO THAT SITE AND TO THAT PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.

SO THIS HELPS THE APPLICANT GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT WILL COST TO DO THAT PROPOSED PROJECT.

OFTENTIMES THEY MIGHT DECIDE THAT IT WAS NOT FEASIBLE FOR THEIR PROJECT AND MOVE ON IN A DIFFERENT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT MIGHT COME IN ITS PLACE THAT COULD SUPPORT THE UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE.

UH, THIS ALLOWS US TO ORDERLY, EXPAND, AND PLAN OUR OUR SYSTEM.

AND THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT OPPORTUNITIES TO OVERSIZE INFRASTRUCTURE TO PLAN FOR FUTURE GROWTH IN THE SERVICE AREA AND PARTNER WITH THAT DEVELOPER.

IN THOSE CASES WHERE THERE'S COST PARTICIPATION INVOLVED, WE'D BE COMING BACK TO COUNCIL TO REQUEST THAT PARTICIPATION.

AND THEN IF THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD BEYOND THE SERVICE

[00:40:01]

EXTENSION REQUEST AND GOES INTO SITE DEVELOPMENT, ONE OF OUR OTHER TOUCH POINTS IS THE WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATIONS.

SO THIS IS REQUIRED FOR ALL COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY SITE PLANS, UH, AT THE INITIAL SITE PLAN STAGE WHERE WE'RE REALLY LOOKING IN EXACTLY HOW THEY'RE USING WATER WITHIN THAT DEVELOPMENT AND WHERE WE SEE ANY POTENTIAL OFFSETS TO USE, UH, REUSE OR UH, CONSERVATION STRATEGIES.

THIS ALSO IDENTIFIES ANY INCENTIVES WE HAVE.

UH, WE ALSO PROVIDE THIS, UM, PROVIDES A DASHBOARD THAT SHOWS THEM LIKE WHERE THEY CAN POTENTIALLY SAVE WATER OR OFFSET WATER.

TYPE OF, UH, INCENTIVE THAT, UH, YOU IDENTIFY, UH, A WATER EFFICIENCY MEASURE WITHIN YOUR, IN YOUR PROPERTY.

MY NAME IS CATHERINE JASINSKI.

I'M A SUPERVISING ENGINEER IN, UH, FOR OUR WATER REUSE PROGRAMS WITHIN OUR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION.

I'M GONNA GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CONSERVATION AND REUSE REQUIREMENTS AND INCENTIVES FOR COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT HELP THEM MANAGE WATER MORE EFFICIENTLY ONCE THEY BECOME OUR CUSTOMERS.

STARTING WITH WATER CONSERVATION, THESE ARE FOR OUR EXISTING, UM, CUSTOMERS.

AND THESE PROGRAMS REALLY, UH, HONE IN ON TYPES OF WATER USE THAT ARE COMMON WITHIN OUR COMMERCIAL, UH, CUSTOMER CLASSES THAT IF YOU'RE NOT MANAGING THE WATER, WATER PROPERTY PROPERLY CAN BECOME, UM, WASTEFUL.

AND SO THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS, STARTING WITH THE COMMERCIAL IRRIGATION FACILITY ASSESSMENT, THIS IS REQUIRED, UH, BI-ANNUALLY.

SO EVERY TWO YEARS, PROPERTIES THAT HAVE AN ACRE OR MORE, UM, NEED TO HAVE AN IRRIGATION ASSESSMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM IS WORKING PROPERLY, NOT LEAKING, NOT OVER SPRAYING.

WE HAVE ABOUT 3000, UH, FACILITIES THAT ARE REGULATED UNDER THAT PROGRAM.

THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE WASH FACILITY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM IS REQUIRED FOR FACILITIES THAT WASH VEHICLES.

WE HAVE STANDARDS WITHIN CODE ON HOW MUCH WATER EACH, UM, CAN BE USED FOR EACH VEHICLE.

AND SO WHEN THOSE ASSESSMENTS ARE DONE, THE UM, AUDITOR IS LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT NO MORE WATER THAN WHAT IS REQUIRED BY CODE IS BEING USED, THAT THERE ARE NO LEAKS, AND THAT THE EQUIPMENT IS WORKING EFFICIENTLY.

AND THERE ARE ABOUT 160 FACILITIES THAT ARE REGULATED UNDER THAT PROGRAM.

OUR COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY PROGRAM, IT'S REQUIRED FOR ALL FACILITIES WITH EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWERS.

THEY HAVE TO REGISTER WITH AUSTIN WATER AND SUBMIT ANNUAL INSPECTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR EFFICIENCY AND CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR COOLING TOWERS ARE BEING MET.

WE HAVE MINIMUM CYCLES OF CONCENTRATION, HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO RECIRCULATE THE WATER BEFORE YOU CAN BASICALLY WASH IT DOWN INTO THE SEWER, UM, DRIFT, ELIMINATORS, BIOS, SIZE, THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND FOR NEWER FACILITIES, YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE 10% OF YOUR MAKEUP WATER IN YOUR COOLING TOWER HAS TO BE FROM AN ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCE LIKE RAINWATER OR CONDENSATE.

AND SO WE HAVE JUST OVER 250 OF THOSE FACILITIES THAT ARE REGULATED IN TERMS OF WATER REUSE REQUIREMENTS.

THIS IS, UH, UH, STEMS FROM THE GO PURPLE PROGRAM THAT WAS MENTIONED.

THIS IS FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

WE HAVE TWO TIERS OF CODE REQUIREMENTS, THOSE THAT ARE FOR SMALL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

IF YOUR PROJECT HAS 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR LESS GROSS FLOOR AREA, AND THEN LARGE DEVELOPMENTS HAVE MORE THAN THAT.

SO IF YOU'RE A SMALL DEVELOPMENT AND YOU HAVE, UM, UH, ACCESS TO OUR RECLAIMED WATER, A MUNICIPAL PURPLE PIPE SYSTEM, IF YOU'RE WITHIN 250 FEET, YOU HAVE TO CONNECT TO THE RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM, DUAL PLUM YOUR BUILDING AND USE THAT WATER FOR NON-POTABLE USES LIKE IRRIGATION, TOILET FLUSHING AND COOLING.

IF YOU'RE FURTHER FROM THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM AND YOU HAVE AN EVAPORATIVE EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWER, YOU HAVE TO COLLECT CONDENSATE AND USE IT AS MAKEUP WATER FOR THE LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, IF YOU'RE WITHIN 500 FEET, YOU HAVE TO CONNECT DUAL PLUM AND, AND USE THE WATER FOR THE NON-POTABLE USES THAT I MENTIONED.

IF YOU'RE FURTHER THAN 500 FEET, YOU HAVE TO INSTALL AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM SO YOU'RE CAPTURING RAINWATER AND CONDENSATE, UM, AND TREATING IT FOR REUSE FOR THE SAME TYPES OF USES.

ONE CAVEAT THERE IS THAT IF YOU ARE A MULTIFAMILY PROJECT, YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PAY A FEE IN LIEU OF INSTALLING AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM.

SO YOU PAY A FEE, UH, TO THE UTILITY AND WE USE THAT MONEY TO BUILD MORE RECLAIMED MAINS.

AND THEN YOU MAKE YOUR PROJECT RECLAIMED READY.

IT'S DUAL PLUMBED.

IT'S READY TO BE CONNECTED WHEN THE RECLAIMED WATER NETWORK COMES TO YOUR PROPERTY.

IN TERMS OF INCENTIVES ON THE LEFT, WE HAVE OUR WATER CONSERVATION INCENTIVES.

THE FIRST IS THE BUCKS FOR BUSINESS PROGRAM.

IT'S A PERFORMANCE BASED REBATE.

WE PAY A DOLLAR PER THOUSAND GALLONS OF WATER SAVED OVER 10 YEARS.

AND IT'S KIND OF A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

[00:45:01]

IF YOU'RE AN INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMER, FOR EXAMPLE, AND YOU FIND A WAY TO RECYCLE WATER FOR, FROM YOUR INDUSTRIAL PROCESS FOR ANOTHER USE, YOU CAN QUALIFY FOR THIS INCENTIVE UP TO $100,000.

WE HAVE A COOLING TOWER AND ALTERNATIVE COOLING SYSTEM REBATE UP TO $100,000.

THESE ARE FOR OUR OLDER COOLING TOWER SYSTEMS THAT DON'T HAVE, UH, WERE INSTALLED BEFORE OUR EFFICIENCY CODES WENT INTO EFFECT.

THIS IS OFFERED TO HELP BRING THOSE, UM, UH, THOSE COOLING TOWERS UP TO CURRENT STANDARDS.

WE PAY $5,000 TOWARDS THE WATER EFFICIENCY AUDITS, WHERE YOU GET A PROFESSIONAL TO COME ASSESS HOW WATER IS BEING USED WITHIN YOUR DEVELOPMENT.

AND THEN THEY GIVE YOU RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HOW TO INCREASE A WATER EFFICIENCY IN YOUR DEVELOPMENT.

AND THEN THEY PROVIDE, UH, LET YOU KNOW WHAT OTHER AVAILABLE REBATES AUSTIN WATER HAS FOR LANDSCAPING IMPROVEMENTS, IRRIGATION AND EQUIPMENT REBATES LIKE, UH, COMMON, UH, USE OF THAT IS FOR COMMERCIAL, UH, EQUIPMENT, UM, BEING REPLACED AND UPDATED.

AND THEN WE HAVE RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION REBATES FOR EXISTING CUSTOMERS WHERE WE'RE INSTALLING A NEW MAIN AND A NEW LOCATION OF THE CITY.

WE ENCOURAGE, UH, THOSE EXISTING CUSTOMERS TO CONVERT THEIR SITES OVER TO USE RECLAIMED WATER WHERE THEY CAN.

ON THE RIGHT WE HAVE OUR GO PURPLE, OUR RECLAIMED AND REUSE INCENTIVES.

FIRST IS THE ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM PILOT INCENTIVE.

IT COVERS THE COST TO DUAL PLUM BUILDING TO INSTALL ONSITE WATER REUSE AND TREATMENT EQUIPMENT UP TO $1.5 MILLION.

WE HAVE A RECLAIMED WATER MAIN, UH, PILOT INCENTIVE, ALSO UP TO 1.5 MILLION.

THAT'S TO, UH, EXTEND A MAIN BEYOND 250 FEET TO YOUR PROPERTY.

WE ALSO FUND EXPEDITED BUILDING PERMIT PLAN REVIEW FOR THESE PROJECTS SO THAT THEY CAN GET THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UH, QUICKER.

WE PAY $36,000 PER PROJECT, AND THEN WE HAVE A SPECIAL DUAL PLUMBING, UH, INCENTIVE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS, UP TO $1 MILLION TO, IF YOU'RE EXTENDING THE MAIN, YOU ALSO NEED SOME FUNDING TO HELP INSTALL DUAL PLUMBING.

IMPLEMENT THAT, UH, SAME PHILOSOPHY FOR OUR OTHER CUSTOMER CLASSES.

I'M CHRISTINA ROMERO, INTERIM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND I'LL BE GOING OVER LARGE CUSTOMERS AND WATER USAGE.

IN 2024, AUSTIN WATER CONDUCTED A DETAILED COST OF SERVICE STUDY TO DEVELOP RATES THAT EQUITABLY RECOVER COSTS FROM DIFFERENT CUSTOMER GROUPS, RESIDENTIAL, MULTI-FAMILY, COMMERCIAL AND LARGE VOLUME, UH, RETAIL CUSTOMERS.

WE ESTABLISHED A PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE WITH REPRESENTATIVES FOR EACH RETAIL CLASS TO PROVIDE INPUT ON AUSTIN WATER'S COST ALLOCATION AND RATE SETTING.

AUSTIN WATER ALSO GATHERED COMMUNITY INPUT THROUGH 10 OPEN HOUSES AND ONE VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE AS WELL AS FOCUS GROUPS.

WE SHARED, UH, ALL MEETING MATERIALS, UH, ON SPEAK UP AUSTIN.

ADDITIONALLY, AUSTIN WATER WORKED WITH RATE CONSULTANTS TO CREATE A RATE MODEL FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES.

THESE MODELS HELP DETERMINE THE COST AND SET RATES THAT RECOVER OPERATIONAL MAINTENANCE AND CAPITAL EXPENSES FOR EACH OF OUR CUSTOMER CLASSES.

COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER IS A PLACE OF BUSINESS SUCH AS A RETAIL SALES ESTABLISHMENT, HOTEL, RESTAURANT, OR OFFICE BUILDING THAT USES WATER FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

AND LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS ARE HAVE A SPECIAL CRITERIA.

THEY HAVE TO BE AN EXISTING COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER WITH AUSTIN WATER AND PURCHASE MORE THAN 85 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER DURING A FISCAL YEAR.

SO 12 MONTHS OF A SINGLE SERVICE ADDRESS OR CAMPUS AND AUSTIN WATER.

WE WILL MONITOR, UH, WATER CONSUMPTION ANNUALLY TO DETERMINE IF ANY EXISTING CUSTOMERS HAVE EXCEEDED THIS THRESHOLD AND MEET THE LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER CRITERIA.

THIS SLIDE GIVES A CLEAR OVERVIEW OF THE HIGHEST WATER USERS IN THOUSANDS OF GALLONS FROM 2021 TO 2025 A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.

THIS INCLUDES FOUR CLASSES OF CUSTOMERS, MULTIFAMILY, COMMERCIAL, LARGE VOLUME, AND WHOLESALE.

AND DURING THIS FIVE YEAR PERIOD, WE SEE THAT SAMSUNG HAS BEEN THE LARGEST WATER CONSUMER EACH YEAR, FOLLOWED BY TRAVIS COUNTY WATER IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT 10 AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, WHICH ROUND OUT THE TOP THREE WATER USERS.

THIS PIE CHART ILLUSTRATES THE BREAKDOWN OF 2025 WATER USE WITH SINGLE FAMILY HOMES THAT ARE ACCOUNTING FOR THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF WATER USAGE AT 27%, FOLLOWED BY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTS AT 25%.

COMMERCIAL USAGE FOLLOWS AT 17% NON-REVENUE.

WATER MAKES UP 16% WHILE LARGE VOLUME ACCOUNTS FOR 6%.

WHOLESALE USAGE IS AT 5%.

INDUSTRIAL USE IS AT 2%, AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN

[00:50:01]

REPRESENTS 1%.

SO WE HAVE TWO CHARTS DEMONSTRATING WATER USE TRENDS FOR CUSTOMER CLASSES.

THIS CHART IS MEASURED AS GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY KNOWN AS GPCD.

THIS BAR CHART SHOWS THAT ANNUAL GPCD HAS STAYED RELATIVELY STABLE SINCE 2018.

YOU SEE THOSE TOTALS ACROSS THE TOP.

I WILL ALSO HIGHLIGHT THE HIGHER USE IN QUARTER THREE EACH YEAR THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH OUTDOOR WATERING DURING THESE SUMMER MONTHS.

SO THIS LIGHT IS THE SAME INFORMATION SHOWN, BUT AS A LINE CHART DEMONSTRATES THE SEASONAL SPIKES IN SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL WATER USE, WHICH IS A TOP LINE IN BLUE.

YOU CAN REALLY SEE THE IMPACT IN OUTDOOR WATER USE ON THIS CHART.

YOU CAN SEE THE PEAKS FOR OUTDOOR WATERING LISTED ON THIS CHART.

AND YOU CAN SEE INDUSTRIAL, WHICH IS THE AQUA COLORED LINE, DOES NOT HAVE SEASONAL SPIKES AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL USED IN DARK GREEN HAS SOME SEASONAL SPIKES.

OKAY, THANKS.

WE JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF OUR, UM, CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND CODE TO INSTALL WATER REUSE WITHIN THEIR PROJECTS, EVEN THOUGH CODE DIDN'T REQUIRE THEM TO.

UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE USED OUR INCENTIVES TO DO SO, AND IT'S MAINLY BECAUSE THEY HAVE THEIR OWN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS, UM, THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO MEET.

BUT THE FIRST EXAMPLE IS OUR CITY OF AUSTIN PILOT PROJECT AT THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER.

THIS IS OUR DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

NO ONE IS REQUIRED BY CODE TO CAPTURE AND TREAT BLACKWATER WITHIN THEIR BUILDING, BUT WE WANTED TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT IS POSSIBLE FOR OUR OTHER COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.

SO THAT BUILDING, UH, CAPTURES AND TREATS ALL THE BLACK WATER IN THE BUILDING, TREATS IT FOR REUSE BACK SO THAT YOU CAN FLUSH THE TOILETS.

AND WE GIVE A LOT OF TOURS OF THIS FACILITY AND HAVE EVEN INSPIRED OTHER CUSTOMERS TO INSTALL SIMILAR SYSTEMS SUCH AS THE NEW APPLE CAMPUS UP ON PALMER LANE.

IT'S A PRETTY LARGE OVER 3 MILLION SQUARE, UH, FEET OF BUILDINGS.

THEY GOT AN INCENTIVE FROM US OF $500,000 FROM THAT ONSITE WATER REUSE PILOT INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

UM, THEY'RE ABLE TO OFFSET 60 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR THROUGH A WASTEWATER MINING PROJECT.

THEY'RE TREATING NOT ONLY THEIR, UH, THE WASTEWATER FROM THEIR CAMPUS, BUT THEY'RE MINING IT FROM THE ADJACENT CITY SEWER AND TREATING IT FOR REUSE IN THEIR TOILETS AND COOLING SYSTEMS. UT AUSTIN IS, UH, ONE OF OUR RECLAIMED, UH, LARGEST RECLAIMED WATER USERS.

THEY'VE BEEN BLENDING RECLAIMED WATER WITH POTABLE WATER IN THEIR COOLING TOWERS SINCE 2013.

THEY ALSO COLLECT CONDENSATE AND FOUND FOUNDATION DRAIN WATER TO SUPPLEMENT THOSE SYSTEMS. AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY DESIGNING A 1 MILLION GALLON PER DAY RECLAIMED WATER TREATMENT PLANT, UH, SIMILAR TO THE APPLE, UM, CONCEPT SO THAT THEY WON'T HAVE TO USE ANY POTABLE WATER IN THEIR COOLING FACILITIES ON THEIR MAIN CAMPUS.

AND THEN, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY, THEY, UH, HAVE A LOT OF EXISTING COOLING TOWERS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA FOR THEIR CRIMINAL JUSTICE FACILITIES.

AND IN 2019, THEY DECIDED TO CONVERT THOSE ALL OVER TO RECLAIMED WATER USE.

UH, THAT'S THE WATER THAT'S EVAPORATED IT IN THEIR COOLING TOWERS.

IN 2024, THEY REPORTED THAT THEY SAVED MORE THAN 13 MILLION GALLONS OF DRINKING WATER, UH, AND THEY SAVED $166,000 ON THEIR UTILITY BILL BECAUSE OUR RECLAIMED WATER RATE IS ABOUT 40% OF OUR DRINKING WATER RATE.

UH, AND THEY CONTINUE TO PLAN FOR, UH, EXPANSION AND GROWTH WITHIN THEIR FACILITIES.

SO THAT IS A A, A PRETTY QUICK HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW AND WE ARE HAPPY TO, TO, UH, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AND GET INTO MORE OF THE DETAILS.

UM, BUT I HOPE YOU CAN SEE THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO RESPOND TO NEW WATER USE REQUESTS WITH INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES.

THE WATER BENCHMARKING IN PARTICULAR CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR WATER SAVING FEATURES EARLY IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.

UM, OUR REUSE REQUIREMENTS AND, AND GO PURPLE INCENTIVES, UH, GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, BOTH REQUIRE AND HELP MAKE POSSIBLE THESE INVESTMENTS IN IN WATER CONSERVATION, UH, AND RECLAIMED WATER EXPANSION.

WE DO HAVE FUTURE INCENTIVE INITIATIVES.

WE ARE, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT CONTENT TO REST ON THE, ON THE PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE NOW.

UH, WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD INTO SOME, UH, ADDITIONAL AREAS, ONE OF WHICH IS WATER BUDGETING.

UH, WHERE WE WOULD SET A, A WATER BUDGET BASED ON WATER USE DATA FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS AND THEN, OR INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS, AND THEN CHARGE HIGHER RATES FOR WATER USE ABOVE THEIR BASELINE.

UH, SO THIS WOULD, UH, RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS ARE ALREADY ON AN INCLINING BLOCK RATE STRUCTURE THAT CHARGES MORE WHEN THEY USE MORE.

THIS WOULD ALLOW US TO

[00:55:01]

UH, AND THEN, UM, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE FIELDED A LOT OF, UH, QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS ABOUT DATA CENTERS.

AND AS WE'VE REPORTED PREVIOUSLY, UM, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE A ZONING OR, AND LAND USE CATEGORY, UH, FOR DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENTS TO HELP US BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO THOSE QUESTIONS FROM, UH, FROM COUNCIL AND OTHERS, UH, AS WE BEGIN TO EXPLORE WHAT THEIR WATER NEEDS ARE.

SO WITH THAT, UH, WE ARE HAPPY TO, UH, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

VERY GOOD.

UH, VICE CHARLES, DO YOU WANNA LEAD OFF? I DO.

I HAVE ONE.

AND IT GOES BACK TO THE SLIDES AROUND THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS.

I KNOW THAT OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING, UM, HOW WE APPROACH THIS AS POLICY DECISION MAKERS.

UM, ACROSS THE TWO PARTS OF TOWN THERE IS THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE, WHICH IS UPSTREAM, TYPICALLY ON THE WEST SIDE OF AUSTIN.

AND THEN YOU HAVE WHAT WAS NAMED MANY YEARS AGO, THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE, WHICH WE'RE NOW SEEING IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF HAVING TO TAKE AN UNFAIR BURDEN OF NEW GROWTH IN AUSTIN THROUGH THE CENTRAL AND EAST PORTIONS OF THE CITY.

AND THOSE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS ARE APPROVED ADMINISTRATIVELY IF THEY'RE OUTSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.

CAN YOU TALK ME THROUGH WHERE AUSTIN WATER IS RIGHT NOW AROUND, YOU KNOW, ON ONE SIDE OF TOWN IT COMES TO COUNCIL AND, UM, PEOPLE COME AND SPEAK TO US AND THEY SAY EITHER I NEED THIS EXTENSION REQUEST OR DON'T APPROVE THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST WHILE ON THE OTHER PART OF TOWN, UM, THAT'S ALL HANDLED ADMINISTRATIVELY.

CAN YOU TALK US THROUGH KIND OF OVER THE PAST, YOU KNOW, 20 YEARS, WHICH I KNOW PREDATES YOUR TIME AS DIRECTOR, WHAT THOSE CONVERSATIONS LOOK LIKE CURRENTLY? SURE.

WE CAN, UM, IF YOU WOULD, UH, PUT SLIDE EIGHT UP FOR US.

OF THE WAY THAT SOME THINGS CAN BE APPROVED OR, OR DISAPPROVED AND IT'S MUCH HARDER AND MORE COSTLY ON THE WEST SIDE, EVEN JUST TO BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT, LET ALONE COMING TO COUNCIL FOR AN SER CASE OR, OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.

SO, UM, THE, I DO NOT HAVE THE DIVIDING LINE SHOWN HERE BETWEEN DRINK DRINKING, WATER PROTECTION ZONE AND DE DI, EXCUSE ME, DESIRE DEVELOPMENT ZONE.

UM, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT, UM, THESE TWO, UH, EXHIBITS, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, THERE ARE POCKETS THAT ARE NOT COVERED EITHER BY A CCN, UH, EITHER OURS OR SOMEONE ELSE'S OR THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION.

UM, SO THAT'S, I JUST WANTED TO DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT.

OTHERWISE, WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE IN OUR FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION AND IN OUR CCNS.

UM, SO THE, UM, AND I COLLEEN CAN JUMP IN AND CORRECT ME, HELP ME GET THIS EXACTLY RIGHT.

UH, BUT THE WAY CODE IS WRITTEN SAYS THAT SCRS WILL COME TO CITY COUNCIL UNLESS THEY ARE IN, UH, THE DESIRE, THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION OR THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE.

AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT COUNCIL HAS RESERVED FOR ITSELF THE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE CCN, UH, SORRY, APPROVE SCRS IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE.

AND, UH, AND SO THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE BRING TO CITY COUNCIL.

THOSE ARE A VERY SMALL NUMBER COMPARED TO THE, UM, UH, I THINK HUNDREDS OF SCRS THAT WE RECEIVE EVERY YEAR.

UH, AND SO THAT, THAT'S THE HISTORY OF THAT.

WE DID, UM, AT COUNCIL'S REQUEST A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WE DID AN EVALUATION OF OUR PROCESS FOR THOSE, UH, SCRS THAT ARE IN THE DRINKING WATER PROTECTION ZONE WHERE WE COLLABORATED WITH WATERSHED PROTECTION.

WE ISSUED A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, WHICH I'M HAPPY TO RECIRCULATE, UM, THAT TALKED ABOUT WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE.

UM, THE POLICY DECISION ABOUT WHICH SCRS COME TO COUNCIL IS REALLY A COUNCIL DECISION DECISION AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ENGAGE IN THAT DISCUSSION FURTHER.

I THINK THAT'S HELPFUL.

AND I THINK SOME OF THOSE DECISIONS HAVE BEEN FURTHER COMPLICATED BY NEW LEGISLATIVE UPDATES AROUND AT THE STATE LEVEL AROUND RELEASING FROM THE ETJ AND DIS ANNEXATIONS AND PART OF THAT CONVERSATION.

SO NOW WE'RE SEEING PROPERTIES THAT MAYBE USED TO BE IN THE CITY OR AT ONE POINT WE'RE THINKING OF OPTING INTO BEING IN THE CITY THAT, UM, ARE KIND OF STUCK IN LIMBO.

AND I'M SEEING A LOT MORE OF THOSE.

I KNOW THEY'RE HAPPENING SOUTHWEST OF DISTRICT EIGHT.

I KNOW THEY'RE PROBABLY HAPPENING IN DISTRICT 10 AS WELL.

UM, BUT I KNOW THAT THOSE CAN BE DIFFICULT FOR US AS DECISION MAKERS BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY AND THE RESOURCES.

AND AT THE SAME TIME, IT'S KIND OF A ONE OFF EVERY TIME IT COMES TO US, THE CASE IS DIFFERENT, RIGHT? NO TWO CASES ARE THE SAME.

THERE'S DIFFERENT SIZE, SCOPE, LOCATION, UM, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.

AND SO I, I'M STILL INTERESTED IN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION 'CAUSE I THINK, UM, THE LACK OF CONSISTENCY FROM EAST TO WEST IS CREATING, UM, YOU KNOW, FURTHER EXACERBATING THE DESIRED DEVELOPMENT ZONE AND HAVING MORE PRESSURES ON EAST AUSTIN IN WAYS THAT, UM, I THINK THIS COUNCIL HAS BEEN VERY DELIBERATIVE TO TRY, TRY TO RIGHT THE WRONGS OF THE PAST.

AND SO I'M, I'M SEEING, YOU KNOW, LARGE SCALE USERS GOING IN ON THE EAST SIDE BECAUSE

[01:00:01]

I WILL MM-HMM .

GO AHEAD.

APOLOGIZE.

I, I WILL POINT OUT THAT YOU CAN, YOU CAN SORT OF MAKE IT OUT ON THESE, ON THESE MAPS THAT ON THE WATER SIDE, UM, IT'S ABOUT 5% OF OUR SERVICE AREA THAT'S NOT EITHER IN THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION OR IN SOMEONE'S CCN OURS OR ANOTHER PROVIDER.

ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, IT'S ABOUT 10%.

SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE AREA WHERE IT'S OPTIONAL ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT TO SERVE, UM, THAT THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE AREA THAT, THAT, UM, WHERE THAT EXISTS.

OKAY, THANK YOU.

UM, AND I WANTED TO THEN PIVOT IF NO ONE ELSE HAD QUESTIONS ON THAT TOPIC.

I DIDN'T WANNA PLAY PLAY POPCORN WITH TOO MANY TOPICS, BUT IF YOU WANNA TALK SCRS, I THINK WE SHOULD JUST TALK ABOUT THEM ALL AT ONCE.

UM, FOR DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE LESS THAN THE 250,000 SQUARE FEET, UM, HOW MANY OF THOSE TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION ARE, ARE WILLINGLY PARTICIPATING? I KNOW THAT YOU DID HIGHLIGHT A NUMBER OF, UH, FOLKS THAT HAVE DECIDED TO DO THIS VOLUNTARILY, WHICH IS GREAT TO SEE.

I THINK THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE EITHER ALREADY HERE OR MOVING HERE ARE DEFINITELY OF THE CONSERVATION MINDSET AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT MORE INTEREST IN BEING GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR WATER SUPPLY.

UM, WHAT IS THE SCOPE AND SCALE OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE UNDER THAT 250,000 THRESHOLD THAT ARE STILL OPTING TO DO THIS? LIKE, HOW OFTEN DO THOSE GET BUILT? YEAH, THAT'S, UH, WE PULLED SOME DATA RECENTLY ON, UM, DOING TO KIND OF A TWO YEAR LOOK BACK AT, SINCE GO PURPLE HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED AND WE'VE HAD ABOUT, UM, 20 PROJECTS PER YEAR.

AND I THINK A QUARTER OF THEM, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WERE LARGE OR NOT, WERE VOLUNTARY, UM, CHOOSING TO INSTALL RAINWATER CAPTURE FOR LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION.

UM, THEY DON'T SEEM TO BE USING THE INCENTIVES THOUGH.

THEY'RE JUST DOING IT BECAUSE THEY WANT TO.

UM, AND SO YEAH, WE ARE, WE ARE GETTING VOLUNTARY PROJECTS COMING THROUGH.

AND DO YOU FEEL THAT THAT 250,000 SQUARE FOOT THRESHOLD IS STILL AN APPROPRIATE NUMBER? IT'S A NICE ROUND ONE, YEAH.

YES.

UH, I DO THINK WITHIN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN THERE IS A FUTURE PHASE OF GO PURPLE WHERE WE MIGHT START TARGETING, UH, MORE SPECIFICALLY MEDIUM SIZED DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE A HUNDRED THOUSAND SQUARE FEET OR MORE.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE NEXT PHASE THAT WE WILL BE LOOKING AT.

AND WOULD THOSE BE THAT SIZE BUILDING HAVING TO ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THE REGULATIONS FOR THE 250,000 SQUARE FEET, OR WOULD IT BE LIKE A, LIKE A MISSING MIDDLE FOR WATER REUSE? YEAH.

THAT IS YET TO BE DETERMINED.

AND, YOU KNOW, COST IS ALWAYS A, A FACTOR.

AND SO WE'LL HAVE TO DO SOME STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND SORT OF, I, I DON'T THINK IT'LL BE EXACTLY THE SAME AS, AS FOR THE LARGE ONES.

I THINK IT SHOULD BE, UM, MORE APPROPRIATE TO THE SCALE OF THAT DEVELOPMENT.

PROCESS? BECAUSE DON'T ALL COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS COME TALK ABOUT WATER BENCHMARKING? YEAH.

THANK YOU COUNCILOR SEAL.

THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANKS ALL FOR THIS PRESENTATION, OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC.

UM, AND I'M LEARNING A LOT, YOU KNOW, UH, IT'S A LITTLE SCARY TO THINK ABOUT THAT THE HIGH, THE GROWING WATER USAGE OF, OF TESLA AND THESE OTHER LARGE LOAD CUSTOMERS.

ALSO JUST TO LOOK AT 2023 AND THAT SUMMER, UH, AND HOW MUCH WATER USAGE SPIKED.

SO UNFORTUNATELY, THERE'S SOME FACTORS BEYOND OUR CONTROLS OF CITY IN TERMS OF MANAGING OUR WATER SUPPLY.

UM, I THOUGHT THE PRESENTATION WAS REALLY THOROUGH.

I JUST HAD A FEW FOLLOW UP.

I GUESS I WANNA START WITH WATER BENCHMARKING.

UH, AND SLIDE 14 THAT, UH, PROJECTS WITH 250,000 SQUARE FEET OR MORE OF GROSS FLOOR AREA ARE REQUIRED TO MEET WITH AUSTIN WATER TO DISCUSS WATER USAGE AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES.

UH, AND THEN ON SLIDE 17, LARGE WITHOUT MULTIFAMILY ARE REQUIRED TO EITHER CONNECT TO RECLAIM WATER WITHIN 500 FEET OR INSTALL AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM.

SO WHEN WE ARE CONSIDERING WATER QUALITY FOR DATA CENTERS, THE SQUARE FOOTAGE REQUIREMENT MIGHT NOT INCLUDE ALL DATA CENTERS WITH A HIGH LEVEL OF WATER USAGE BECAUSE THEY CAN HAVE PARTICULARLY HIGH VOLUME PER SQUARE FOOT.

AND SO, IS SQUARE FOOTAGE THE ONLY REQUIREMENT, UH, FOR WHEN A DEVELOPMENT HAS TO MEET WITH AUSTIN WATER? OR COULD, UH, THERE BE ANOTHER METRIC IN THE PROCESS THAT WOULD TRIGGER A REQUIRED MEETING? YEAH, CURRENTLY IT'S, IT'S THE SQUARE FOOTAGE, UH, THRESHOLD.

UM, AND THEN ALSO WE HAVE FOR THOSE EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWERS THAT THAT'S A COMMON THING THAT A, A DATA CENTER MAY HAVE, UM, TO KEEP THEIR SERVERS COOL.

AND SO THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THE TWO, UM, TWO KIND OF WAYS WE GET THEM TO ENGAGE WITH, WITH THESE REQUIREMENTS.

AND IS THAT THE, SORRY, GO AHEAD.

OH, I APOLOGIZE.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE WATER BENCHMARKING

[01:05:01]

THEY, IT'S NOT AN IN-PERSON MEETING FOR THOSE WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS, BUT THEY DO GET A TAILORED ASSESSMENT FOR THEIR, THEIR, UM, DEVELOPMENT.

SO THEY GET THE SAME INFORMATION.

IT'S JUST IN A, YOU KNOW, WORD FORMAT VERSUS MEETING IN PERSON TO DISCUSS SPECIFICALLY.

IT IS THE SAME ANSWER FOR THE REQUIREMENTS FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE.

THAT, UM, BASICALLY YOU HAVE TO BE 250 K SQUARE FEET OR HIGHER BEFORE THEY'RE REQUIRED TO MEET THOSE CRITERIA.

THAT'S RIGHT.

OR THE EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWER.

AND I GUESS THIS IS, UM, A QUESTION OR POTENTIALLY A SUGGESTION, IT, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO ADD LARGE VOLUME USERS AS A CLASS, UM, TO THOSE THAT ARE REQUIRED TO BOTH MEET WITH A AUSTIN WATER TO DISCUSS STRATEGIES AS WELL AS EITHER CONNECT TO PURPLE PIPE OR INSTALL ONSITE REUSE? YEAH, SO MAYBE POTENTIALLY IF YOUR WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATION, UH, HAD A CERTAIN VOLUME MM-HMM .

ABOVE, ABOVE A CERTAIN VOLUME, UM, THAT, THAT COULD BE A FUTURE CODE, UH, AMENDMENT THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED, UH, ESPECIALLY LOOKING AT, UM, DIFFERENT FUTURE PHASES OF, OF THIS PROGRAM TO POTENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, CAPTURE THESE MORE DENSE WATER USERS MM-HMM .

UM, NOT JUST SQUARE FOOTAGE.

RIGHT.

AND THEN, WOULD AUSTIN WATER BE ABLE TO REQUIRE THAT WATER FROM REUSE SYSTEMS BE USED IN MANUFACTURING TYPE PROCESSES? UM, AND THIS IS KIND OF GETTING AT THE, THE HIGH QUALITY OF WATER THAT SOME OF THESE MANUFACTURING PROCESSES REQUIRE, RIGHT? OR WOULD THAT REQUIRE ADDITIONAL ONSITE TREATMENT TO GET TO THE LEVEL OF CLEANLINESS NECESSARY, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR CHIP MANUFACTURING OR DATA CENTER USE USAGE? I THINK THAT WOULD REALLY BE A CASE BY CASE ANALYSIS OF WHAT ARE THE USES ON SITE THAT ARE, UM, APPROPRIATE FOR USING RECLAIMED WATER VERSUS POTABLE WATER IN TERMS OF THE WATER QUALITY.

AND SO RIGHT NOW THERE ARE INCENTIVES FOR THAT KIND OF ONSITE WATER TREATMENT, BUT THERE'S NO REQUIREMENTS FROM AUSTIN WATER.

IS THAT CORRECT? CAN YOU BE MORE SPECIFIC IN YOUR QUESTION? LIKE ONSITE WATER TREATMENT? UM, OH, UH, SHOULD THEY REQUIRE ADDITIONAL TREATMENT FOR THEIR OWN PURPOSES OR JUST IN GENERAL? FOR, FOR THE ON ONSITE WATER TREATMENT? IT'S, IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S INCENTIVIZED, NOT REQUIRED.

YEAH.

FOR THOSE SPECIFIC INDUSTRIAL USES THAT AREN'T IRRIGATION, TOILET FLUSHING, COOLING, IT'S ALL, IT'S JUST INCENTIVIZED, NOT REQUIRED.

UNDERSTAND.

UH, TO DIAL INTO WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES FOR WATER USE AT THOSE DATA CENTERS.

AND THEN, UH, LAST COUPLE ONES ON THE RECOMMENDATION SLIDE.

UH, SLIDE 30, UM, WHERE AUSTIN WATER RECOMMENDS SETTING A BUDGET BASED ON WATER USE DATA FROM MYX WATER AND CHARGE HIGHER RATES FOR WATER USE ABOVE BASELINE FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL USE AND CONSIDER ZONING AND LAND USE CATEGORY FOR DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENTS.

UM, COULD YOU SHARE, WHEN WOULD BUDGETING BE REQUIRED? UM, WOULD THAT BE FOR LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS? CAN YOU SHARE HOW MUCH HIGHER THESE RATES GO WHEN WATER USE IS ABOVE BASELINE? SO THE, UM, RIGHT NOW FOR OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER CLASS, WE HAVE AN INCLINING BLOCK RATE STRUCTURE.

SO YOU HAVE TIERS ONE THROUGH FIVE, WHERE TIER ONE IS REALLY BASIC WATER USE.

WE WANT TO MAKE THAT AFFORDABLE FOR, UM, FOR OUR FAMILIES AND, AND, AND OUR, UM, OUR CUSTOMERS.

UH, WE, BECAUSE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL USES ARE SO SITE SPECIFIC, IT'S DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH WHAT THOSE INCLINING RATES WOULD BE ON A CLASS BASIS.

AND SO THE IDEA BEHIND WATER BUDGETING IS THAT WE WOULD USE AN INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER'S WATER USE DATA, UH, IN ORDER TO SET THEIR BUDGET.

UM, AND THE REASON WE CAN DO THAT NOW IS BECAUSE WE HAVE OUR AUTOMATED METERS, WE'VE ROLLED OUT OUR, OUR MY A TX WATER METERS WHERE INSTEAD OF GETTING A SNAPSHOT ONCE A MONTH, WE'RE GETTING NEAR REAL-TIME DATA.

AND THAT HELPS US AND OUR CUSTOMERS SEE WHEN THEY'RE USING WATER AND HOW MUCH, AND THAT WILL ALLOW US TO HAVE THE GRANULARITY TO HELP THEM SET A BUDGET, UH, AND THEN WE WOULD, UH, CHARGE THEM MORE IF THEY EXCEED THAT BUDGET.

UM, THE, UM, I, I'M NOT SURE THAT I HAVE ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION.

DO YOU MIND REPEATING IT? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ITERATIVE FOR ME TOO, SO, UH, YOU THINK YOU GAVE ME A NICE ANSWER.

UM, JUST WANNA DO ONE LAST ONE ABOUT THE ZONING AND LAND USE PIECE.

UM, TO THE EXTENT YOU FIGURED THIS OUT, COULD YOU WALK US THROUGH HOW CHANGING ZONING AND LAND USE CATEGORIES FOR DATA DEVELOPMENTS COULD IMPACT WATER USAGE OR CONSERVATION? WELL, I THINK THE, UM, THE REAL ADVANTAGE TO HAVING ZONING AND LAND USE CATEGORIES IS HAVING AN ABILITY TO, UM, TO HAVE MORE UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAND USES ON THAT PARTICULAR SITE, AND THEN BE ABLE TO DIAL IN, UH, WHICH, WHICH OF OUR CUSTOMERS ARE DATA CENTERS.

WE DON'T NECESSARILY KNOW THAT TODAY.

UH, AND SO THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO HAVE, UM, MORE DATA IN ORDER TO,

[01:10:01]

THAT BEING SAID, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF TOOLS AS IT RELATES TO THE SER PROCESS AND, AND WATER BENCHMARKING, UM, THAT ALLOW US TO REALLY HELP THESE CUSTOMERS, UM, BE GOOD STEWARDS OF THEIR WATER RESOURCES.

GREAT.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR NALL.

THANKS, CHAIR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

COUNCILMAN UCHIN.

THANK YOU, CHAIR, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION.

I'VE GOT, UH, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS HERE.

I'M CURIOUS IF, AND AS YOU'VE EXPLORED EITHER THE COMMERCIAL OR LARGE CUSTOMERS, IS THERE ANY BREAKDOWN BY INDUSTRY THAT Y'ALL HAVE PUT TOGETHER OR ANALYZED? I, I THINK THAT WHAT WE SEE IS, YOU KNOW, AS, AS YOU SAW ON THE, THE PIE CHART, UH, INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL ARE, UM, INDUSTRIAL CERTAINLY IS A SMALLER SECTOR OF OUR WATER USE.

AND SO WE SEE THAT IT'S REALLY SPECIFIC TO THE KINDS OF INDUSTRIES THAT WE HAVE HERE IN AUSTIN.

AND THAT, AGAIN, COMING BACK TO THIS CONCEPT OF WATER BUDGETING BEING A VERY SPECIFIC, UM, GOAL FOR AN INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER, UM, I THINK WE SEE THAT MORE THAN WE SEE OVERALL TRENDS IN OUR SERVICE AREA.

I WOULD BE CURIOUS GOING FORWARD, ESPECIALLY I THINK WITH THE LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS, IF THERE'S ANY KIND OF BREAKDOWN THAT YOU GUYS CAN UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD SOME QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS ABOUT DATA CENTERS.

THERE'S THE, UM, LARGE SCALE MANUFACTURING.

I'D BE CURIOUS IF THAT KIND OF DATA IS AVAILABLE AT SOME POINT SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHO MAKES UP THAT UNIVERSE AND THEN WHAT THEIR PARTICULAR, UM, USAGE IS BASED ON ANY KIND OF WAY THAT YOU CAN GET MORE GRANULAR THAN WHAT'S CURRENTLY ON, I THINK SLIDE 22, WHICH IS THE WATER USE BREAKDOWN.

UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS, IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT IS CURRENTLY THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO EXPAND, EXPANDING, UH, GO PURPLE OR THE PURPLE PIPING? UH, I WOULD SAY THAT THE, WE HAVE A ROBUST, UH, LONG RANGE PLAN FOR RECLAIMED WATER.

WE ARE ACTIVELY IMPLEMENTING THAT PLAN.

WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH INCOMING CUSTOMERS TO EXPAND, UM, THE REACH OF THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM AS WELL AS OUR OWN CIP PROJECTS.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ABOUT 75 TO 80 MILES OF RECLAIMED WATER PIPELINE, UM, COMPARED WITH 4,000 MILES OF WATER, UH, POTABLE WATER PIPELINES.

AND SO I THINK THE LARGEST BARRIER TO, UH, EXPANDING THAT SYSTEM IS THE TIME THAT IT TAKES TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE.

UH, AND SO WE ARE, UM, ACTIVELY WORKING TO, UM, TO, TO DO THAT.

AND WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A, THIS IS A LONG RANGE GOAL, UH, TO EXPAND THESE SYSTEMS, AND THAT'S WHERE THE ONSITE WATER REUSE, UM, THE COOLING TOWER.

I WANNA COME BACK TO THE COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY PROGRAM AND HOW IMPORTANT THAT IS.

UM, AND, UH, AND ROBUST OUR PROGRAM IS FOR THAT.

UM, AND SO WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE ALL OF THE STRATEGIES, UH, IN PARALLEL.

UM, ON SLIDE 23, YOU'VE GOT WHAT I THINK IS THE PER CAPITA USAGE GOING UP AND DOWN YEAR TO YEAR.

IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR, UM, EITHER BY YEAR, BY QUARTER, OR BY CATEGORY, IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR, UM, FORCE THAT'S DRIVING THE INCREASE THAT'S, SAY HAPPENING FROM 2018 TO 2022 AND THEN THE VERY MODEST DECREASE WE'VE HAD IN THE LAST YEAR? ANYTHING YOU CAN POINT TO THAT IS THAT WE CAN ATTRIBUTE TO THOSE INCREASES AND DECREASES ON A PER CAPITA BASIS? UH, THE BIGGEST DRIVER THAT WE SEE IS THE WEATHER, UH, WHICH THEN DRIVES OUTDOOR WATERING USE.

UM, SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IF YOU, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, TINA TALKED ABOUT THIS, BUT YOU CAN REALLY SEE THOSE PEAKS IN THE SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL WHERE WE'RE SEEING THE OUTDOOR WATERING USE.

UM, YOU CAN SEE, UH, SMALLER BUT ALSO NOTICEABLE PEAKS IN THE, UM, MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL LINE, WHICH IS THE, THE ORANGE LINE.

UM, AND THEN THE OTHER USERS ARE BOTH LOWER OVERALL AND MORE STEADY.

REBATE THINGS THAT WOULD, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE'S A ENOUGH OF AN ROI TO THAT REBATE THAT MAKES ECONOMIC SENSE FOR THE CITY TO SUBSIDIZE.

UH, SPEAKING OF SINGLE FAMILY MULTIFAMILY, GIVEN THAT THEY'RE OVER HALF OF OUR WATER CONSUMPTION, UH, I'M ASSUMING THAT'S A SEPARATE DISCUSSION, A SEPARATE DAY OR SEPARATE BRIEFING THAT WE CAN GO OVER, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS AS YOU GET INTO THAT, AND YOU THINK ABOUT ALL THESE DIFFERENT INCENTIVE PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE GOT, I KNOW THAT WE USED TO HAVE THINGS FOR LOW FLOW, LOW FLOW TOILETS, AND, UM, I'M WONDERING WHETHER, UH, I'M WONDERING HOW AGGRESSIVE Y'ALL ARE INVESTIGATING THE SORT OF OPTIONS FOR ZERO ESCAPING OR, OR OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN OVER TIME POTENTIALLY

[01:15:01]

WE DO HAVE A FULL SUITE OF REBATES THAT ARE TARGETED FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO OKAY.

PRESENT THOSE AT ANOTHER TIME.

UM, AND, AND ALSO A REALLY ROBUST COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM, UM, BECAUSE THAT IS THE REAL, UM, CHALLENGE FOR US IS GETTING INTO GETTING OUR SIGNAL THROUGH THE NOISE, IF YOU WILL, UM, SO THAT WE CAN HELP OUR, OUR SINGLE FAMILY AND MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS BE AWARE OF THE, UH, IMPORTANCE OF THIS AND THE OUR NEED FOR THEIR PARTNERSHIP AND MANAGING OUR WATER SUPPLIES.

NO, THAT'D BE GREAT TO GET THAT INFORMATION, IF NOT HERE, UH, AT LEAST INDIVIDUALLY.

I KNOW THAT WE DID A TOUR OF SOME HOMES AS PART OF A, UH, I THINK HISTORIC PRESERVATION OR OTHER TOUR.

I THINK WE LOOKED AT SOME HOMES IN DISTRICT SEVEN ACTUALLY THAT HAD TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF SOME OF THOSE PROGRAMS AND THEY SAID THE SAME THING, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GREAT WHEN YOU KNOW ABOUT IT, BUT IT'S, UH, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT IF YOU DON'T.

AND TRYING TO PENETRATE THROUGH ALL THAT NOISE AND GETTING THAT INFORMATION TO TRY AND ADDRESS THAT LARGE SWATH OF CUSTOMERS, THAT REALLY MAKES UP THE BULK OF OUR, UM, OUR WATER USAGE.

SEEMS LIKE IT'S A PRIORITY'S ALL IVE GOT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I WANNA ASK KIND OF TWO TRACKS HERE FIRST AROUND KIND OF WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL WAS TALKING ABOUT WITH THE ZONING QUESTION.

IT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE DATA CENTER, THE LIKELY DATA CENTER LOCATION IS GOING TO BE NOT WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.

AND SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHILE ZONING TOOL VERY POWERFUL, IT'S WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, GIVEN THAT IT'S LIKELY NOT THEN TO HIS SECOND QUESTION ABOUT HAVING THAT LARGE USER BE THE, THE TRIGGERING MECHANISM BY WHICH WE WOULD PUT IN CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS.

I JUST WONDER IF YOU COULD, IF IT, IF YOU KIND OF SEE IT THE SAME WAY.

HI, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, RANDY JENKINS, DEPUTY DIRECTOR TECHNICAL SERVICES AT AUSTIN WATER.

UM, SO TO YOUR POINT, WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT VERY THING.

YOU KNOW, WE THINK, UH, ZONING AND LAND USE WOULD, WOULD GIVE A TOOL WITHIN OUR CITY LIMITS.

UM, IT CERTAINLY WOULD ALLOW US TO, UM, DEFINE IT IN A WAY THAT ISN'T DEFINED TODAY.

UM, AND WOULD GIVE US, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME WAYS TO CATEGORIZE THOSE, THOSE CUSTOMERS, NOT ONLY JUST AS THEY COME IN THROUGH DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES, BUT, UH, SUBSEQUENTLY, UH, WOULD BE SET UP AS SUCH IN OUR BILLING SYSTEM.

UM, RIGHT NOW, TODAY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE KIND OF, UM, HAVING TO, UM, USE ONLINE RESEARCH AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT TO IDENTIFY THOSE THAT MAY BE EXISTING IN OUR SERVICE AREA.

UM, IN TERMS OF OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LEVERAGE OUR EXISTING TOOLS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THIS MORNING THROUGH OUR SERVICE EXTENSION PROCESS.

UM, BUT ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THAT'S CONCEPTUAL AND, YOU KNOW, WOULD, WOULD BE FOLLOWING ALONG WITH THE SITE PLANNING PROCESSES, UH, TO IDENTIFY AND DO MORE WATER BENCHMARKING AND CONSERVATION EFFORTS RELATED TO THAT.

OUR LONG RANGE PLAN, WE WANT IT TO BE LARGER.

AND JUST SO I CAN SET THE, UM, JUST UNDERSTAND BETTER FOR CLARITY, IF YOU ARE WITHIN THE SERVICE TERRITORY AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN, CCN, THERE IS NO SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST REQUIRED.

IT'S ONLY IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE OF THAT, OR, SORRY.

AND THAT'S WHERE I, SO, UH, ANY NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT COMES IN SUBMITS A SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST.

SOME OF THEM, IF THEY'RE LOCATED, IF IT'S INFILL DEVELOPMENT, THEY'LL GET A SUITABLE AND SUFFICIENT, UH, DESIGNATION FROM US THAT SAYS WE HAVE ADEQUATE SUPPLY, RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE, YOU JUST NEED TO CONNECT, UM, OTHERS, UH, THAT WE ONLY SERVE IN OUR SERVICE AREA, WHICH IS THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION OR OUR CCN, UM, AND, UH, AND THE, UH, UH, OUTSIDE OUR CCN THAT'S INSIDE THE SERVICE AREA BOUNDARY.

SO, BUT THEY MAY BE NOT CLOSE TO OUR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND SO THIS PROCESS, SCR PROCESS ALLOWS US TO CREATE A SERVICE PLAN THAT THE DEVELOPER THEN CONSTRUCTS.

AND ONCE IT IS CONSTRUCTED, THEY TURN IT OVER TO US TO OWN AND OPERATE.

UM, AND SO WHEN, UH, SOMETIMES THOSE, UH, DEVELOPMENTS, THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED, WE LOOK AT IT AND SAY, WELL, THIS DEVELOPMENT NEEDS A CERTAIN SIZE LINE TO SERVE THEIR NEEDS, BUT THIS LINE IS IN OUR LONG RANGE PLAN AND IN

[01:20:01]

AND SO THEN WE WILL COST PARTICIPATE WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF A LARGER LINE.

AND THOSE CONTRACTS COME TO COUNCIL FOR, FOR APPROVAL.

BUT IF, IF THEY'RE WITHIN THE CCN, WE'RE REQUIRED TO SERVE THEM, RIGHT? THAT'S RIGHT.

SO WE CAN'T SAY NO TO A SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST WITHIN THE CCN.

WE DO NOT SAY NO TO A SERVICE REQUEST INSIDE THE CCN.

AND THAT'S KINDA WHY I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE DISTINGUISH.

LIKE IF WE HAVE SOMEONE ETJ, LET'S JUST SAY IT'S, YOU KNOW, DATA CENTER THAT PLOPS DOWN WITHIN THE CCN AND SAYS, I'M GONNA USE I HUNDRED MILLION GALLONS A YEAR, WHAT ARE OUR TOOLS TO LIMIT THEIR ACCESS TO OUR POTABLE WATER SYSTEM? SO THE, THE PROCESS THAT WE DESCRIBED WHERE THEY DO WATER BENCHMARKING, AND THEN WE IDENTIFY THEIR REQUIREMENTS FOR, UH, CONSERVATION, FOR RECLAIMED WATER USE FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS, THOSE ARE OUR TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING THEIR WATER USE AND REQUIRING THEM TO IMPLEMENT, UH, THESE REQUIREMENTS THAT WE'VE, THAT THE CITY HAS ADOPTED.

AND IN TERMS OF HOW THOSE TOOLS MOTIVATE, THE WATER BENCHMARKING IS VERY MUCH JUST A PRICE LEVER.

LIKE, WE'RE GOING TO CHARGE YOU MORE IF YOU GO ABOVE, CAN WE SET THEIR BENCHMARK OURSELVES? LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEY COME TO US AND SAY, I WANNA MILL, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED MILLION GALLONS, BUT WE SAY WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A BENCHMARK OF 25 AND EVERYTHING ABOVE THAT YOU'RE PAYING EXTRA FOR, SO THAT WE DON'T DO THAT TODAY.

UM, I THINK WE, AS WE EXPLORE THE OPPORTUNITIES WITH WATER BENCHMARKING, UM, THEN THAT THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF QUESTIONS THAT WE'LL BE ASKING IS HOW DO WE INCENTIVIZE BETTER WATER USAGE THROUGH RATES? NOW, IF A CUSTOMER USES MORE THAN 85 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR, THEY ARE CATEGORIZED AS A LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER, AND WE DEVELOP A SPECIFIC RATE FOR THAT CUSTOMER THAT IS BASED ON THE COST OF SERVICE.

UH, AND SO THE FINANCIAL TOOLS THAT WE USE, UM, ARE OUR RATE SETTING STRATEGIES, UM, OUR SER PROCESS WHERE NEW DEVELOPMENT CONSTRUCTS THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT.

UM, OUR IMPACT FEES, WHICH IS WHERE, YOU KNOW, OUR IMPACT FEE, WE DO THIS EVERY FIVE YEARS BY STATE LAW, WE UPDATE OUR IMPACT FEE AND IT'S A CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE.

AND SO WHAT THAT DOES IS IT LOOKS AT, OVER THE COURSE OF TIME, AS WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM, WE HAVE CONSTRUCTED EXTRA CAPACITY BEYOND WHAT OUR CURRENT CUSTOMERS NEED, BUT OUR CURRENT CUSTOMERS PAID FOR THAT BECAUSE WE USED RATE REVENUE TO FUND THAT.

SO THE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE IDENTIFIES WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THAT EXTRA CAPACITY THAT OUR EXISTING RATE PAYERS FUNDED, AND THEN NEW DEVELOPMENT PAYS THAT CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE IN ORDER TO PAY OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS BACK FOR THE CAPACITY THAT THEY WILL NOW BE, THEY BUY INTO THE SYSTEM, IF YOU WILL.

SO ALL OF THOSE TOOLS COMBINED ARE HOW WE, UH, WORK WITH NEW CUSTOMERS TO, IN, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE PAYING THE, THEIR FAIR SHARE AND OUR EXISTING RATE, UH, PAYERS ARE NOT BURDENED BY, UM, THIS ADDITIONAL CAPACITY THAT'S REQUIRED TO SERVE NEW CUSTOMERS.

HAVE WE EVER DONE ANY KIND OF COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF LOOKING AT ONE OR TWO OF OUR VERY LARGE USERS AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST PROVIDING THEM WITH REUSED WATER FOR TOILET FLUSHING OR IRRIGATION, BUT FOR THEIR ACTUAL USE TO REALLY OFFSET, YOU KNOW, I'M THINK, LIKE LOOKING AT THAT SLIDE, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, RIGHT? 858 MILLION GALLONS .

NOW, OBVIOUSLY THEY DO USE SOME PURPLE PIPE AND THAT IS HELPING OFFSET SOME OF THEIR, UM, NON POTABLE USES.

DOES I, I SHOULD STOP BEFORE I ASK THIS QUESTION, IS, DOES, IS THE 8 58 INCLUSIVE OF THEIR REUSE WATER, OR IS THAT JUST THEIR POTABLE USE? THAT'S JUST THEIR POTABLE WATER USE.

IT IN NOT THROUGH PURPLE PIPE, BUT AS THEIR ACTUAL POTABLE WATER, THAT WOULD BE JUST FROM ONE USER, YOU KNOW, SUCH A HUGE SAVINGS TO THE SYSTEM, OBVIOUSLY WAY COMPLEX IN TERMS OF GETTING IT THERE AND TREATING IT AND ALL THAT.

SO, AND I DON'T KNOW FROM A SPACE CONSTRAINT, I ASSUME YOU COULDN'T PUT THIS ON CAMPUS, BUT IF WE WERE TO INVEST IN JUST ONE, UM, SYSTEM THAT, THAT BROUGHT THAT WATER UP TO FULL POTABLE QUALITY AND THEN PIPED

[01:25:01]

BUT I'M CURIOUS, HAVE WE EVER ANALYZED WHETHER IF WE TREATED FOR ONE LARGE CUSTOMER AND USED THAT TREATED WATER FOR THEIR POTABLE SOURCE, THAT COMPARED TO, I MEAN, THE CONVERSATION WE STARTED TODAY ABOUT A SR AND HOW MUCH THAT'S GONNA BE, AND YOU KNOW, THEIR COST THERE TOO.

SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT THE, WHAT IF AT ALL THE ANALYSIS HAS BEEN ON THAT.

SO SOME OF THE, SOME OF OUR CUSTOMERS AND UT IS ONE OF THEM, ARE LOOKING AT, UH, WHAT KIND OF TREATMENT SYSTEMS MIGHT THEY IMPLEMENT IN ORDER EX TO EXPLORE WHAT CAN THAT RESULTING WATER BE USED FOR? UM, AND UH, MY MY VIEW IS THAT IT'S, IT'S AN EVERY TOOL IN THE TOOLBOX KIND OF APPROACH.

UH, WE NEED, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, APPLE AND UT DOING THEIR, UM, THEIR TREATMENT SYSTEMS ON SITE, UM, TO, TO A HIGH QUALITY, UM, TO BE ABLE TO, TO USE THAT WATER ON SITE.

UM, WE NEED TO ALSO BE DELIVERING CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED.

UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THE, IN MY OPINION, IT'LL BE, IT'LL BE ALL OF THE ABOVE.

AND I I SEE THAT CATHERINE HAS SOME THOUGHTS TO ADD AS WELL.

YEAH, UH, I THINK I, THE NUMBER I USED WAS THEIR AVERAGE, UM, DESIGN FLOW FOR THE TREATMENT FACILITY THAT THEY'RE DESIGNING IS A 1 MILLION GALLON PER DAY, BUT IT WILL BE 280 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR.

SO A BIG CHUNK OF WHAT, UM, YOU SAID EIGHT 50 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SO THEY ARE, THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT OFFSET FOR THEM.

AND WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET WATER TO, FROM, LET'S JUST SAY, FROM THE LEVEL OF PURPLE PIPE QUALITY, REUSE QUALITY TO POTABLE QUALITY? HOW BIG OF A JUMP IS THAT? YEAH, FOR THIS PARTICULAR SYSTEM, THEY'RE ALREADY GONNA BE USING, UH, REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANES.

AND SO, UM, THE, THE TECHNOLOGY IS THERE TO, TO GET IT TO DRINKING WATER STANDARDS, BUT THERE ARE SOME REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS FOR, UM, MORE TESTING, MORE PILOTING AND THINGS THAT ARE REQUIRED AT THE STATE LEVEL BEFORE YOU COULD ACTUALLY USE IT FOR POTABLE, UM, USES.

BUT ESSENTIALLY THE TREATMENT THAT THEY ARE EMPLOYING FOR THIS IS CAPABLE OF, UH, POTABLE WATER QUALITY.

MOVE BACK TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, AND THIS IS OUR BRIEFING ON PERFORMANCE MEASURES FROM AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION.

WELL, I'M JUST, YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING WE DO IS INTERCONNECTED, AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THIS THURSDAY, WE HAVE A, UH, LARGE NEW POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT ON THE HORIZON FOR THE CITY AND IN THE DOG'S HEAD, AND THERE IS A PURPLE PIPE RUNNING.

WHAT WOULD BE THE COLLAR OF THE DOG'S HEAD? UM, AND IF WE COULD THINK FORWARD OR WATER FORWARD, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, IF, IF WE WERE TO BE ABLE TO TREAT THAT WATER AND THAT BE WHAT IS GIVEN TO THEM, RIGHT? IF WE HAD AN EXTRA TREAT LEVEL OF TREATMENT RIGHT THERE AND THEN FILTER THAT IN, THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S GONNA END UP BEING MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF GALLONS THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO TAKE FROM THE COLORADO RIVER RIGHT WHERE YOU STARTED.

THAT'S RIGHT.

SO, UM, JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN START PUTTING ALL THESE PIECES TOGETHER AND OFFSET THAT USE BOTH FOR THE EXISTING USERS, BUT FUTURE USERS AS WELL.

SO, UH, THIS HAS BEEN A GOOD CONVERSATION.

I APPRECIATE YOUR SUGGESTION HERE AND FOR Y'ALL'S WORK.

WE'LL CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION FOR SURE.

SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WITH THAT AT, WE WILL

[4. Briefing on performance measures from Austin Watershed Protection [Jorge Morales, Director - Austin Watershed Protection].]

COME ON DOWN.

GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

I'M SA NELLI, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF WATERSHED PROTECTION, FILLING IN FOR JORGE MORALES.

OUR DIRECTOR WITH ME IS KELLY GAGNAN, INTERIM CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER.

WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN UPDATE ON OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

WE WILL, UH, REVIEW SOME OF OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, MILESTONES AND DISCUSS SOME OF OUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO CLIMATE, WATER ENVIRONMENT AND THE PARKS.

OUR DEPARTMENT'S MISSION IS TO PROTECT LIVES, PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, UH, BY REDUCING IMPACTS FROM FLOOD EROSION AND WATER POLLUTION.

OUR GOALS ELABORATE ON THESE THREE

[01:30:01]

IMPACT AREAS, AND THAT FOURTH GOAL AT THE BOTTOM TARGETS MAINTAINING OUR ASSETS, OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT WE'LL BE DISCUSSING SERVE TO HELP TO TELL THE COMMUNITY ABOUT HOW WE'RE MAKING PROGRESS TOWARDS THOSE GOALS.

THE KPIS WILL DISCUSS ONLY REPRESENT A SUBSET OF HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS, BUT THESE ARE MOST CLOSELY TIED TO OUR DEPARTMENT MISSION AND GOALS.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO MEASURE PROGRESS, AND AS WE IMPLEMENT OUR NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, WE'LL BE CAREFULLY AND, UH, EVALUATING AND LIKELY UPDATING AND REVISING SOME OF THESE MEASURES.

I'LL, UH, TURN IT OVER NOW TO KELLY TO, UH, REVIEW OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

THANK YOU, SAUL.

AS SAUL MENTIONED, MY NAME IS KELLY GAGNAN.

I AM THE INTERIM CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER AT AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION.

AND, UM, I WILL DIVE INTO THE NUMBERS WITH Y'ALL.

SO THE, UH, AS SAUL MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE FOUR DEPARTMENT GOALS, AND FOR EACH OF THOSE DEPARTMENT GOALS, WE REPORT A KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR OR KPI.

SO THIS TABLE SUMMARIZES THOSE FOUR KPIS WITH THE PREVIOUS ACTUALS AND AN FY 26 UPDATE I'LL WALK THROUGH IN MORE DETAIL ON THE NEXT SLIDES.

ONE THING I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT, THAT SAUL MENTIONED IS MESSAGING THAT WHILE KPIS DO REPRESENT THESE CRITICAL MEASURES RELATED TO OUR SERVICES, THEY DO REPRESENT A SUBSET OF OUR WORK.

UM, BUT THEY DO HAVE, WE, WE CHOOSE THESE BECAUSE WE, UM, HAVE FOUND THEY, THEY HAVE MEASURABLE OUTPUTS LINKED TO MEANINGFUL OUTCOMES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE, LIKE SAL SAID, WE HAVE MANY WAYS, UH, THAT TO MEASURE THIS AS WE IMPLEMENT RAIN RIVER, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT NOT ONLY WHAT THEY, UH, WHAT THOSE ARE, BUT ALSO HOW WE REPORT THEM.

I THINK IN OUR, OUR LAST, UM, BRIEFING HERE WITH THE RAIN RIVER, UH, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN, WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE CAN, YOU KNOW, BETTER SHARE THAT INFORMATION AND THOSE DETAILS.

SO INCLUDING OUR KPIS OF COURSE, BUT THE OTHER WORK THAT WE DO, UH, IN FACT, IF YOU WANNA LOOK AT RAIN RIVER, IT'S STR STRATEGY 3.6 REPORTING OUR PERFORMANCE AND PROJECT AND PROGRESS.

UM, SO IN SUMMARY, UH, WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT ALL FOUR OF OUR, OUR KPIS ARE ON TRACK FOR FY 26.

UM, AND I ALSO WANNA SHOUT OUT OUR, OUR TEAM'S OFFICE OF, UH, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FOR THESE GRAPHICS AND, UH, AND REPORTING.

THEY'RE HOPEFULLY LISTENING AT HOME, OF COURSE, OR IN THE OFFICE.

OKAY, SO OUR FIRST, THE GOAL RELATED TO FLOOD RISK REDUCTION.

WE REPORT, UH, KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR QUANTIFYING THE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS, PROPERTIES, AND ROADWAYS THAT HAVE REDUCED FLOOD RISK AS A RESULT OF OUR IN-HOUSE OR, AND OR CAPITAL PROJECTS, THOSE THAT ARE COMPLETED WITH, UH, AND FUNCTIONING WITHIN THE YEAR.

SO, AS Y'ALL KNOW, PROJECTS CAN TAKE TIME.

SO THESE HAVE BEEN IN THE WORKS, BUT WE REPORT ON THAT KPI ONCE IT IS FUNCTIONING.

UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THESE PAST YEARS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S VARIATION.

WE ADJUST THE PERFORMANCE MEASURE ANNUALLY BASED ON OUR PROJECT QUEUE.

UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THOSE SCHEDULES.

SO FFY 26, WE ARE LOOKING TO REDUCE FLOOD RISK FOR 175 BUILDINGS, PROPERTIES, AND ROADWAYS IF ALL STAYS ON SCHEDULE, WHICH WE ARE SO FAR.

AND THAT'S A PRETTY BIG YEAR, AS YOU CAN SEE COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS YEARS BECAUSE THESE PROJECTS HAVE BEEN IN CONSTRUCTION.

BUT, SO THE PROJECTS TO FEATURE, YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF ME'S MEADOW UP IN LITTLE WALNUT CREEK.

THIS PICTURE SHOW, OH, I'M NOT SHOWING THE PICTURE, Y'ALL MY, EXCUSE ME.

UM, THE, SO WE HAVE IN THE PHOTO HERE, WE HAVE MES, UH, THE OLDLAND PASSES DAM MODERNIZATION, WHICH IS MODERNIZING A DAM THAT WAS DAMAGED, UH, IN TROPICAL STORM HERMINE.

SO THE MODERNIZATION WILL IMPROVE THE DAM AND UPGRADE IT TO PALEY TO SAFELY PASS THE DESIGN FLOOD.

UM, SO, UH, UH, OTHER PROJECTS MES MEADOW OLDLAND PASSES IN JANUARY DRIVE.

SO WE ARE ON TRACK FAR GOAL RELATED TO EROSION RISK.

WE REPORT A KPI THAT'S SIMILAR, WHERE WE QUANTIFY THE LENGTH OF ERODING STREAM CHANNELS RESTORED AND STABILIZED AS A RESULT OF OUR PROJECTS, BOTH IN-HOUSE AND CAPITAL.

UH, AGAIN, WHAT IS COMPLETED AND FUNCTIONING WITHIN THE YEAR.

SO IT REPRESENTS REPARATIVE PROJECT WORK RELATED TO THE GOAL, UH, REDUCING EXISTING RISK.

AND JUST TO, TO EMPHASIZE THAT THIS IS AGAIN, LOOKING AT REPAIRING WHAT IS ALREADY AT RISK VERSUS THE OTHER WORK WHERE WE PREVENT WITH OUR REGULATIONS AND OUR PROGRAMS. BUT THE, THE PERFORMANCE MANAGER MEASURE MEASURE FOR THIS YEAR IS 0.7 MILES, WHICH IS ABOUT 3,700 FEET.

UM, THIS PROJECT WORK CAN BE SLOWED, BUT BE, UH, UNIQUELY SLOWED BY RAINY REV WEATHER, UM, BUT CAN RESUME WHEN DRY SEASON RETURNS.

SO WHILE WE ARE AT 0.818 MILES, WE ARE ANTICIPATING THAT, UH, WITH THE SUMMER AND THE STATUS OF THE PROJECTS IN OUR QUEUE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO REACH THAT 0.7 MILES.

ONE OF THE PROJECTS THAT WE, UM, ARE CLOSE TO COMPLETING THIS YEAR IS THE, TO ME BANK, UM, EROSION RESTORATION PRO PROJECT.

UM, SO YOU CAN SEE IT HERE, FINISHED ALONG THE TRAIL, UH, UM, IN BARTON CREEK.

UM, LET'S SEE, YEAH, SO WE HAD THREE PROJECTS COMPLETED THIS FISCAL YEAR AND AR PLANNED.

ALL RIGHT, SO FOR, TO TRACK OUR PROGRESS ON WATER QUALITY, UM, WE QUANTIFY THE TONS OF POLLUTION REMOVED EACH YEAR BY NEW OR IMPROVED STORMWATER FACILITIES,

[01:35:01]

SO IT ALLOWS US TO REPORT THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF POLLUTION REMOVED BY ALL CITY MAINTAINED TREATMENT FACILITIES ANNUALLY COMBINED.

SO YOU SEE THIS BIG NUMBER, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR TARGET FOR THE YEAR IS 871 TONS OF POLLUTION REMOVED.

UM, SO THE, THE YEAR, UH, THIS KPI IS CUMULATIVE.

SO THE YEARLY OUTPUT IS DETERMINED BY SUBTRACTING THE ENDING, UM, RESULT FROM THE PREVIOUS.

SO WE'RE AIMING TO ADD 0.25 TONS OF REMOVAL CAPACITY TO REMOVE OVER 871 TONS, UM, A YEAR SIMILAR TO THE OTHER, THE PREVIOUS, UH, METRICS.

THIS MEASURE IS REVISED ANNUALLY BASED ON THE PROJECT QUEUE FOR OUR WATER QUALITY TREATMENT PROJECTS, UH, THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON AS PART OF OUR PORTFOLIO AND, UM, IN-HOUSE WORK.

CAN I PAUSE YOU ON THAT ONE REAL QUICK? OF COURSE.

WHEN YOU SAY TREATMENT FACILITY, YES.

YOU'RE NOT TALKING LIKE WATER'S TREATMENT FACILITY, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

GREAT CLARIFICATION QUESTION.

COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS A STORM WATER CONTROL OR POND.

UM, THEY ARE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ENGINEERED STRUCTURAL CONTROLS, UH, THEY CAN BE EITHER, UH, YOU KNOW, A SAND FILTRATION SYSTEM OR OUR BIOFILTRATION.

WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE MOST ARE, YOU KNOW, GRAY INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT SOME ARE GREEN IN NATURE BASED SOLUTIONS.

PERFECT, THANK YOU.

AND THEN OUR FOURTH KPI, THIS IS TRACKING PROJECTS PROGRESS RELATED TO THAT FOURTH GOAL AND MAINTAINING AND ENHANCING OUR DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE REPORT A KPI SHARING THE PERCENTAGE OF THE HIGH PRIORITY WORK ORDERS THAT OUR OPERATIONS STAFF ARE ABLE TO COMPLETE IN THE YEAR.

SO HIGH PRIORITY WORK ORDERS INCLUDE BOTH CRITICAL AND URGENT ISSUES.

SO CRITICALS NEED CRITICAL ISSUES, NEED IMMEDIATE ACTION, THEY POSE IMMINENT DANGER TO PEOPLE OR INFRASTRUCTURE THINKING EMERGENCY, THEY NEED A QUICK TURNAROUND.

SO THIS COULD BE A FULLY BLOCKED CULVERT, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN HERE, A COLLAPSED PIPE THAT WOULD CAUSE ROAD ROADWAY FAILURE, FLOODING IN THE RIGHT OF WAY FROM A BLOCKED INLET, A TREE ON LAND THAT COLLAPSED ONTO A BUILDING, ET CETERA.

THOUGH URGENT ISSUES ARE THE HIGHEST PARTY FOR PLANNED WORK AND NEED QUICK ACTION TO KEEP THE SYSTEM WORKING.

SO THE INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN DANGER OF BECOMING NON-FUNCTIONAL.

UM, SO AGAIN, IT'S URGENT DUE TO SEVERE RISK, BUT CAN INCLUDE MORE GENERAL MAINTENANCE IN THE LONG TERM FIX.

SO, UM, THESE ARE CULVERTS THAT HAVE BEEN BLOCKED, SEPARATED PIPES UNDERGROUND THAT WOULD, UH, RISK THE, THE, THE ROADWAY COLLAPSING.

SO THE, WE AIM FOR 80% JUST AS A REALISTIC GOAL GIVEN RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS AND ANY UNCERTAINTY.

UH, BUT WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE ARE AT 98 COMPLETION.

THIS, UH, IS CALCULATED BASED ON THE TOTAL NUMBER OF WORK ORDERS CREATED IN THAT YEAR BY THE NUMBER COMPLETED.

SO THAT IS OUR UPDATE ON OUR KPIS.

THIS SLIDE SUMMARIZES THOSE, THE, THE KEY MILESTONES AND MILESTONES ARE DISTINCT FROM KPIS BECAUSE THEY REPRESENT THE MAJOR DELIVERABLES OR PHASES OF WORK, IMPROVING OUR PERFORMANCE, ADVANCING STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, OR IMPROVING EFFICIENCY OR EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR SERVICE, NOT ROUTINE OR ONGOING.

SO THIS SORT OF THE FEATURED HIGHLIGHTED WORK OF THE YEAR, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, TWO OF OUR MILESTONES HAVE BEEN, UH, SELECTED BY THE CITY MANAGER TO HIGHLIGHT IN, UH, HIS TOP 75 PRIORITIES.

SO I'LL WORK THROUGH THOSE FIVE.

I'LL, I'LL WALK THROUGH THOSE FIVE.

OF COURSE, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, LET ME KNOW.

UM, FOR THIS FIRST ONE, THIS IS FORMALIZING OUR STANDARD, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES OR SOPS FOR POST-STORM RECOVERY AND RESTORATION OF SERVICE.

SO THIS IS FORMALIZING EXISTING PROCESSES, UH, WHICH IS INTENDED TO REALLY ENHANCE COORDINATION WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS REGARDING DEBRIS MANAGEMENT AND RECOVERY AFTER FLOOD EVENTS SPECIFICALLY.

UM, IT'LL ALSO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY, ENABLING US TO EITHER PROJECT OR ESTIMATE WHEN, UH, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BE RESTORED.

IT'S REALLY, AGAIN, FOCUSED ON THAT TRANSPARENCY, EFFICIENCY, AND COLLABORATION PROJECT IS SCOPED IN PROGRESS, AND WE ARE ON TRACK FOR ON-TIME DELIVERY.

THE SECOND IS RELATED TO A PILOT STUDY, UH, ESTABLISHING PROCEDURES FOR OUR TD LOCALIZED FLOOD.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK AS MANY OF YOU ARE ARE FAMILIAR, WE HAVE MANY PARTS OF TOWN THAT FLOOD OUTSIDE OF OUR MAP FLOODPLAINS, BUT STILL HAVE FLOOD RISK DUE TO INADEQUATE LOCAL DRAINAGE.

AND SO WE'RE FOCUSED ON DEVELOPING IMPROVED MODELING THAT MORE ACCURATELY DEPICTS THIS RISK.

SO WE HAVE CONTINUED OVER THE YEARS TO INVEST IN UNDERSTANDING THIS RISK.

WE HAVE 1D MODELS, WE HAVE TOPOGRAPHY.

THERE ARE CITYWIDE STATEWIDE, UM, DATA, AND, BUT THERE'S ALSO A, UH, YOU KNOW, VERY ADVANCED 2D MODELING THAT ALLOWS MORE EFFICIENT DEVELOPMENT TO UNDERSTAND THAT RISK IN DETAIL THAT, UM, THAT MODELING IS VERY EXPENSIVE.

SO WHILE WE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT UNDERSTANDING RISK IS WORTHWHILE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE USI UTILIZING OUR CITY RESOURCES WELL EQUITABLY AND DETERMINING WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO INVEST IN THOSE TYPES OF MODELS.

SO THIS INITIAL PILOT STUDY IS PLANNED TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE WILL THEN, UH, IMPLEMENT THAT LOCALIZED FLOOD MODELING ACCORDINGLY.

SO WE HAD A NOTICE TO PROCEED IN JANUARY.

WE'VE COMPLETED A HIGH LEVEL MODELING, UM, LOOKING AT SEVERAL PILOT SITES, AND

[01:40:01]

WE'VE HELD A WORKSHOP IN APRIL.

SO WE ARE ON TRACK WITH THIS EXCITING WORK.

THE THIRD HERE IS, UH, SPENDING OUR 2018 BOND, UH, FUNDING.

UM, WE ARE EXCITED AND SAD AS WE SPEND ALL THAT MONEY.

UH, WE'RE PROUD OF THE WORK WE'VE DONE.

OF COURSE, THERE'S MORE TO DO.

WE HAVE AN EIGHT YEAR TIMEFRAME, OF COURSE, FOR DELIVERY.

WE ARE DELIVERING OUR PROJECTS, SEVERAL OF THOSE FEATURED IN TODAY'S PRESENTATION AND IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR COMMITMENT TO VOTERS.

WE ARE WORKING HARD TO MEET THAT TIMELINE.

WE HAVE EXPENSED 8.8 MILLION AND QUARTER TWO.

WE HAVE 9 MILLION REMAINING, AND WE'RE ON TRACK SEVERAL OF THOSE, INCLUDING THOSE I'VE SHOWN YOU THE TWO ME PROJECT.

THE OLD LIMB PASSES PROJECTS WILL BE SPENDING DOWN THOSE FUNDS AS SCHEDULED.

AND THESE NEXT TWO ARE THOSE IDENTIFIED BY THE CITY MANAGER FOR THOSE TOP 75 PRIORITIES.

THE FIRST IS ABOUT THE, THE MANAGING VEGETATION IN OUR LAKE RESERVOIRS, LAKE AUSTIN AND LADY BIRD.

UM, THIS IS A, YOU KNOW, A CHALLENGE BECAUSE MAINTAINING AND ENHANCING THE E ECOLOGICALLY, UM, INTEGRITY, WHILE WE ALSO HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE DIVERSE USES OF THAT RESERVOIR.

UM, AND SO THIS ACCUMULATED KNOWLEDGE THAT WE'VE ACQUIRED OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES, WE ARE DOCUMENTING GOALS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR MANAGING HYDRILLA IN THIS RESERVOIR.

UM, AND, AND HELP, UH, DEVELOP A FUTURE REPROACH FOR MANAGING, UM, THESE WATER RESOURCES.

AND SO, UH, THIS IS ON DRAFT ON TRACK FOR COMPLETION BY THE DEADLINE, AND THE FACILITATION OF OUR LAKE AUSTIN STAKEHOLDER GROUP IS ALSO ON TRACK.

FIRST MEETING OCCURRED IN EARLY MAY.

THAT'S A Q3, UM, HIGHLIGHT, BUT WE'RE EXCITED TO REPORT ON THAT.

AND THEN FINALLY, UH, FOR OUR FINAL, UH, MILESTONE, WE ARE LOOKING AT ENSURING OUR DEVELOPMENT REVIEWS FOR SITE PLANS ARE COMPLETED BY THE, DUE BY THE DUE DATE 90% OF THE TIME.

THIS IS A QUARTERLY UPDATE.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING THIS ONGOING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

UH, CITY COUNCIL PASSED SIGNIFICANT ORDINANCE CHANGES IN 2025 TO THE CODES FOR INFILL HOUSING, COLORADO RIVER.

UH, AND THOSE CHANGES CREATE A RIPPLE EFFECT IN OUR CRITERIA AND WORK PROCESSES THAT NEED TO ADJUST THOSE CODES.

UM, WATERSHED OVERSEES THE DRAINAGE ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA MANUALS, AND SO WE ARE LEADING UPDATED UPDATES TO THOSE, UM, MANUALS IN COORDINATION.

AND WE ARE ON TIME, UH, IN FACT, WE'RE ABOVE, WE'RE AT 96% QUARTER TWO.

SO THAT IS THE UPDATE ON OUR MILESTONES AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

I CAN EITHER PAUSE FOR QUESTIONS OR I'LL, I'LL PLAN TO KEEP GOING.

AND AS WE DIVE INTO, OH, NO, KELLY, HOW OUR WORK CONTRIBUTES TO THE PURVIEW OF Y'ALL AS A COMMITTEE, CLIMATE, WATER, ENVIRONMENT, AND PARKS.

SO I HAVE A SLIDE FOR EACH OF THOSE ITEMS THAT I'LL DIVE IN.

UM, ONE THING I WILL MENTION, YOU KNOW, AS Y'ALL KNOW, OUR WORK AT WATERSHED IS EXTREMELY INTERCONNECTED WITH ALL FOUR OF THOSE TOPICS.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS PRESENTATION, WE'RE WALKING THROUGH THE GENERAL CONNECTION, BUT I WANTED TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND MILESTONES AS THEY RELATE, UM, TO THAT WORK.

BUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE Y'ALL HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT, OF COURSE, WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO SPEAK TO IT TODAY.

SO, YOU KNOW, CLIMATE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN GENERAL, OUR, THE CLIMATE IMPACTS AND OUR PREPAREDNESS AS A COMMUNITY IS INTERTWINED WITH OUR MISSION AND PRIORITIES.

OUR NEW STRATEGIC, OUR UPDATED STRATEGIC PLAN, RAIN RIVER, IS FORMALIZING THOSE COMMITMENTS TO RESILIENCY AS WE WOULD DEFINE OUR ABILITY TO RECOVER TO THOSE EVENTS.

PROACTIVE MANAGEMENT LOOKING AHEAD IN OUR, IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, IN OUR PROGRAMMING AND PREPAREDNESS.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, THE DISPARATE IMPACTS THAT PEOPLE FEEL BASED ON THAT.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, OUR, THE BULLETS ON THIS PAGE SPEAK TO THAT GENERAL WORK, HOW WE IMPLEMENT PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS, UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THAT, THE, THE, UM, CONSTANT BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN INTENSE RAINFALL AND PROLONGED DROUGHT.

UH, WE, WE TALKED ABOUT, AND I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE SHARED THIS IN THE LAST PRESENTATION, BUT IF WE, IF WE DIDN'T CALL IT RAIN TO RIVER, SHOULD WE CALL IT DELUGE TO DROUGHT, UM, WE KNOW THAT IT'S, WE'RE IN A UNIQUE SITUATION WITH OUR, WITH OUR FLOOD MANAGEMENT HERE.

UH, WE ALSO LOOKING AT HOW WE ENHANCE WATER QUALITY AND, AND MANAGING RUNOFF.

THAT'S SOMETHING WE DO THROUGH BOTH BUILDING AND MAINTAINING OUR TRADITIONAL AND GREEN, UH, STORM WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, THAT BALANCE OF THE, THE NATURAL AND BUILT, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE ARE ALSO, YOU KNOW, UH, FORMALLY INCORPORATING CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND EQUITY INTO OUR LONG RANGE PLANNING, INCLUDING RAIN RIVER, AS I MENTIONED.

AND THAT'S REALLY LOOKING AT WHO IS THE MOST VULNERABLE AND HAS THE GREATEST NEEDS BASED ON, ON THESE CLIMATE CONSIDERATIONS.

AND WE ALSO ARE LOOKING AT STRENGTHENING RESILIENCE, AGAIN, THAT ABILITY AND CAPACITY TO RECOVER.

UM, AND I SAY THAT COMMUNITY HERE, WE ALSO SPEAK TO THAT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH PUBLIC EDUCATION TOOLS AND PARTNERSHIPS THAT HELP RESIDENTS PREPARE FOR AND RESPOND TO THOSE IMPACTS.

SO, UM, SOMETHING I WANNA HIGHLIGHT FOR 26, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL OF THOSE PROJECTS THAT I SHARED IN OUR PERFORMANCE MEASURES, WE HAVE ONGOING PROGRAMMATIC WORK TO REDUCE THOSE CLIMATE IMPACTS OR, YOU KNOW, REDUCE RISK WHERE IT EXISTS OR PREVENT IT WHERE WE CAN.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING AS PART OF, UH, AUSTIN CLIMATE ACTION AND RESILIENCES CLIMATE EQUITY

[01:45:01]

PLAN.

AND SO I INCLUDED A LINK HERE ON THIS SLIDE THAT SHOWS SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE DO RELATED TO SOME OF THE, UM, THE, SOME OF THE GREEN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, SOME OF OUR, UH, COLLABORATIVE LAND ACQUISITION WORK, UH, AND A LOT OF THE SHARED GOALS RELATED TO CARBON SEQUESTRATION, OF COURSE, SPENDING OUR BOND FUNDS TO, UH, PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE, THE WILD LANDS.

UM, AND THAT COLLABORATIVE WORK WATER, OF COURSE, UM, AT WATERSHED, OH, THANK YOU.

WATER IS AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO.

WE'RE STEWARDING THE CITY'S STORMWATER AND OUR DRAINAGE.

UM, AND SO A DEEP CONNECTION TO AND RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR GOALS.

AND OF COURSE, OUR PARTNERS AT AUSTIN WATER.

UH, SO THE, YOU KNOW, OUR BULLETS HERE SPEAK TO JUST THAT GENERALLY HOW WE ARE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S TOO MUCH WATER, UH, OR IN THE WATER, TOO MUCH IN THE WRONG PLACES.

THE, THE FLOOD RISK THROUGH OUR PLANNING INFRASTRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT.

MEANWHILE, PROTECTING THOSE, THE, OUR CREEKS AND LAKES AND GROUNDWATER, RESTORING AND MAINTAINING OUR NATURAL WATERWAYS, MONITORING WATER QUALITY, SUPPORTING LONG-TERM HEALTH, AND THEN PARTNERING, OF COURSE WITH AUSTIN WATER AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO PROMOTE WATER STEWARDSHIP.

UM, EARLIER THIS YEAR I FEATURED ON THE SCREEN WE ADOPTED DEPARTMENT GA VALUES THAT BUILD ON THE CITY'S FIVE EES, UM, THAT GUIDE HOW WE SERVE BOTH THE ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY AND OUR MISSION AND GOALS AND HOW WE STEWARD WATER AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER.

UM, YOU KNOW, OTHER FEATURES THIS YEAR ARE, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, THE 2018 BOND FUNDS, UM, TOWARDS OPEN SPACE, BUT PRESERVING AND, UM, PROTECTING THE WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY, UM, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE WESTERN WATERSHEDS.

BUT IN GETTING IT TO SOMETHING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS SPOKE TO, WE ARE ALSO EXPLORING WAYS TO EXPAND THAT INTO OUR EASTERN WATERSHEDS.

UM, WE HAVE ONGOING COLLABORATION, OF COURSE, WITH AUSTIN WATER, OUR UTILITY PLANNING AND SHARED OUTCOMES RELATED TO OUR, WE HAVE A WASTEWATER WORKING GROUP.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM ON THE, ON THE SER WORK, THE WATERWISE PROGRAMS. AND THEN OF COURSE, THE PROJECT WORKS, THOSE THAT I SHARED EARLIER, FEATURING, UM, YOU KNOW, COLLABORATION AND DIG ONE'S OPPORTUNITIES WITH INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, AND SO THE, THE LINKS HERE ON THE SLIDE ARE FEATURED PROJECTS INCLUDING, UM, THE HYDRILLA.

OH, IF YOU GO TO THE AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION DEPARTMENT WEBSITE, YOU CAN, UH, GET MORE INFORMATION ON THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT AND OUR REV RESERVOIRS AND THE FLOODPLAIN REMAPPING AND RANGE RIVER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.

UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT ARE OUR STAKEHOLDERS AS A DEPARTMENT, OF COURSE.

UM, ALL, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD SAY ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENT WORK IS RELATED, BUT THIS SLIDE SPEAKS TO HOW OUR WORK FITS INTO THAT BIGGER PICTURE OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

EVEN IF OUR FOCUS IS SPECIFICALLY IN OUR MISSION, THE FLOOD EROSION AND WATER QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, ALL LAND THAT DRAINS TO OUR WATERWAYS AFFECTS THEIR HEALTH.

SO PROTECTING THE BROADER WATERSHED SAFEGUARDS, OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, SUPPORTING BIODIVERSITY, REDUCING URBAN HEAT, SEQUESTERING CARBON, AND IMPROVING AIR QUALITY.

SO THAT INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF, OF, UH, THE DRAINAGE AND, AND STORM WATER TO THOSE, UM, THOSE HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM, UM, MEASURES PRESERVING OPEN SPACE AND OUR URBAN FOREST HELPS KEEP SCREENS CLEAN AND FLOWING AND INTEGRATING NATURE INTO THE CITY STRENGTHENS COMMUNITY HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESILIENCE.

UH, TO, TO HIGHLIGHT FOR THIS YEAR, THE STATE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT.

AGAIN, THIS IS A TECHNICALLY A QUARTER THREE HIGHLIGHT, BUT THIS IS THE, UH, THE PUBLICATION THAT OUR ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICER AND HER TEAM PUT TOGETHER THAT REPRESENTS THE STATE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR CITYWIDE METRICS.

AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE AN ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT, BUT YOU KNOW, WE ARE A BIG, UH, STAKEHOLDER IN THAT, THAT GROUP IN THIS WORK.

SO WE INVITE YOU, OF COURSE, TO LOOK AT THAT, UM, THAT PUBLICATION.

AND SO THE LINK IS HERE, YOU CAN SEE OUR ROY G. GUERRERO PROJECT, THE AN EROSION STABILIZATION PROJECT AND COLLABORATION WITH, UM, MAINTAINING AND, UH, FIXING AND REPAIRING SOME OF THOSE WITH THE PARK INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH LEADS ME TO PARKS.

UM, YOU KNOW, OH, THANK YOU.

YOU THINK I GET THE HANG OF IT BY NOW? UM, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, NOT ALL, WE DON'T MANAGE ALL PARKS, BUT ALL PARKS ARE IN WATERSHED.

THERE'S A, THERE'S A, UM, BIG NEXUS.

WHILE WE EACH HAVE UNIQUE WHILE, WHILE WE, AUSTIN WATERSHED PROTECTION AND AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION HAVE UNIQUE AND DISTINCT ROLES, WE OF COURSE OVERLAP.

UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY IS MANAGING AND RESTORING OUR CREEKS AND LAKES THAT FLOW THROUGH THOSE PARKS.

SO WE DO THAT THROUGH DESIGNING AND CONSTRUCTING FLOOD RISK REDUCTION PROJECTS THAT PROTECT PARKLAND AND THOSE AMENITIES SIMILAR TO THAT ROY G GUERRERA PROJECT OR EXACTLY LIKE, UM, UH, OR I'M SORRY, THAT'S FLOOD RISK REDUCTION, STABILIZING ERODING CREEK BANKS TO PRESERVE THOSE FEATURES, TRAILS AND VEGETATION.

THAT WOULD BE ROY G IMPROVING STORMWATER QUALITY THROUGH, UH, THROUGH AND WITHIN THOSE PARKS, ENHANCING THE RIPARIAN AND WATERSHED HABITS WITHIN GREEN BELTS AND NATURE PRESERVES.

UM, OF COURSE, AGAIN, OUR DIRECTIVE IS THE WATERSHED HEALTH, BUT WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A MASSIVE COMMUNITY BENEFIT TO GETTING THAT SHADED, YOU KNOW, THE RECREATIONAL, UM, BENEFITS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, RELATED TO OUR WORK.

AND THEN WE PARTNER WITH AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION AND OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND THE COMMUNITY TO MEET THOSE SHARED GOALS.

SO, UH, HERE IS ANOTHER VIEW

[01:50:01]

OF THAT TOMI PROJECT ON BARTON CREEK.

AND, UH, SO WE'VE LINKED THAT, UH, PROJECT WEBSITES TO BARTON CREEK AND ROY G FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION.

AND THAT TAKES ME TO THE END OF OUR UPDATE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND PATIENCE WITH MY CLICKING.

NO, THAT WAS A VERY GOOD PRESENTATION.

UH, COUNCILOR DUCH, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, UH YES.

I'VE GOT JUST ONE QUESTION.

I WANTED JUST TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL KPIS AND JUST MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD.

I THINK THE FIRST KPI, UH, GO BACK TO MYSELF.

SO I THINK THE FIRST KPI IS ABOUT NUMBER OF BUILDINGS, PROPERTIES, AND ROADWAYS THAT HAVE REDUCED THE FLOOD RISK THAT'S ON A PER PROJECT BASIS.

IS THAT CORRECT? HI, KELLY GAGNAN, INTERIM CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER.

UM, THIS IS THE CUMULATIVE, CUMULATIVE NUMBER OF ALL PROJECTS WE COMPLETE IN THAT YEAR.

SO WE TOTAL THE NUMBER OF BUILDINGS, PROPERTIES, AND ROADWAYS PER PROJECT SEND THEM ALL TOGETHER FOR THE, THE FISCAL YEAR.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? GOT IT.

AND IS THERE CAN, IT SEEMS VERY ENCOURAGING.

ANY, ANY, UM, NARRATIVE AROUND THE SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY OF THE AMOUNT OF PROJECTS IT, THIS JUST HAPPENS TO BE WHEN THESE PROJECTS HAPPEN TO BE COMPLETED, THAT'S CAUSING US TO BE, UH, VERY ENCOURAGING WHAT'S GOING ON THERE? I CAN SPEAK GENERALLY, BUT THEN I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO ELLI WHO OVERSEES THE, YOU KNOW, UH, TWO OF THOSE BRANCHES, OUR PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY AND OUR OPERATIONS WHO ACTUALLY BUILD THE, THE PROJECTS.

ONE THING I WOULD SAY, JUST FROM A STRATEGIC SIDE OF THINGS IS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAD, I'VE HAD A LOT OF PROJECTS IN THE QUEUE.

A LOT OF THESE PROBLEMS WE'VE KNOWN ABOUT FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, BUT ACQUIRING THAT FUNDING AND, AND DELIVERING ON THESE PROJECTS CAN TAKE TIME.

UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THE 2018 BOND FUNDING, UH, WAS A, WAS A PART OF THIS WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO, TO SPEND ON DESIGNING CONSTRUCTION.

AND I CAN FEEL THAT I SHOULD STOP SPEAKING.

I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO SAUL WHO HAS BETTER INFORMATION.

YEAH, THAT'S FINE.

I, I THINK KELLY PRETTY MUCH ADDRESSED IT.

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, CIP MONEY THAT WE WORK THROUGH OUR DRAINAGE UTILITY FUND, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE IT SUPPLEMENTED MORE OR LESS DOUBLED ROUGHLY WITH BOND FUNDING.

AND WITH THAT BOND FUNDING, THAT EIGHT YEAR WINDOW, THERE'S GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT OF A LAG IN HOW WE GET THE, THE, THE PROJECTS BUILT OUT.

AND SO I THINK THIS, THESE LAST COUPLE YEARS, THERE'S GONNA BE JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPTAKE AS WE KIND OF FINISH THE, ON THE CONSTRUCTION END OF THE PROJECTS.

SO GOING FORWARD WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT THESE, THIS PARTICULAR, UH, KPI, WE'RE REALLY TYING AT LEAST PART OF IT TO THE BOND CYCLE.

AND SO YOU'RE GONNA SEE THIS PERIOD OF SORT OF SLOWER PROJECT COMPLETION AND THEN A BUMP AS YOU GET TO THE END OF THAT, THAT BOND CYCLE.

IS THAT A FAIR ASSESSMENT PERHAPS? UM, THE PAST EIGHT YEARS, WE'VE ALSO KIND OF BEEN ANTICIPATING A SIMILAR CYCLE FOR THE UPCOMING NEXT SIX, EIGHT YEARS.

AND SO WE DO HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF 60 90% DESIGN PROJECTS THAT ARE CLOSE TO GETTING READY TO GET STARTED.

SO I THINK THIS NEXT CYCLE, IF, IF WE HAVE SIMILAR AMOUNTS OF FUNDING, WE SHOULDN'T SEE AS MUCH OF A, A BUMP AND MORE OF A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A FLAT LINE OF PROGRESS.

'CAUSE I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.

IF, IF THAT'S SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO HOW IT WORKS, THEN IT'S MORE ABOUT PROJECTING WHEN CERTAIN PROJECTS COMPLETE AS OPPOSED TO A YEAR TO YEAR DELTA E.

EXACTLY.

AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD REGARDING THAT IS, I THINK ON THE THIRD ONE, THE TONS OF POLLUTION REMOVED ANNUALLY.

YOU JUST MENTIONED THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S SORT OF A STATIC NUMBER AND YOU'RE ONLY CALCULATING WITH DELTA ON YEAR TO YEAR FOR WHATEVER CHANGES YOU'RE MAKING.

IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, THE NUMBER, UH, INCREASES OR TICKS UP BASED ON THE ADDITION OF ADDITIONAL WATER QUALITY FEATURES THAT WE END UP INSTALLING ANY GIVEN YEAR.

BUT THERE'S, THERE'S SUCH A LARGE NUMBER THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE, THAT'S WHY THE NUMBER STAYS BIG.

YEAH, I MEAN, IT'S FAIRLY FLAT.

SO YOU'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THESE, THESE, UM, ADDITIONAL TONNAGE THAT GET WHAT ADDED OR REMOVED ANNUALLY, RIGHT.

THAT ARE CHANGING THIS METRIC.

UH, I GUESS MY CURIOSITY IS AROUND THERE'S NO WAY THAT ANY OF THE EXISTING STUFF THAT YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY MEASURING, THAT YOU'RE JUST SORT OF COUNTING TO BE STABILIZED HAS NO VARIANCE.

I'M SORRY, REPEAT THAT AGAIN.

I'M, SO IF YOU'RE ONLY MEASURING THE YEAR TO YEAR CHANGES YEAH.

THAT ARE HAPPENING AND NOT GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT THE EXISTING, UM, UH, THE EXISTING, WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE AND PROJECTS AND POLLUTION MEASURE, UH, I AM JUST CONFIRMING THAT THERE'S NO VARIANCE THAT'S HAPPENING THAT WOULD NEED TO BE MEASURED IN THOSE PLACES THAT WOULD THINK UNDERSTAND WOULD BE IMPACTING THIS KPI.

WE, WE HAVE, UM, IN ADDITION TO THE NEW WATER QUALITY TREATMENT FACILITIES THAT COME ONLINE, WE HAVE A FAIRLY ACTIVE KIND OF INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS FOR THE EXISTING WATER QUALITY FEATURES.

ACCEPT AND TREAT NEW STORMWATER, THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF HOW WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THAT METRIC'S BEING MAINTAINED.

AND SO KNOWING THAT THOSE FEATURES ARE STILL BEING ADEQUATELY MAINTAINED, CLEANED, RECYCLED, SO THAT THEY CAN STILL

[01:55:01]

I ONLY HAVE ONE QUESTION, AND THAT IS AROUND, UM, ANY KIND OF INTERNAL KPIS OR DATA Y'ALL COLLECT RELATED TO WATER QUALITY ITSELF.

SO I'M THINKING ABOUT WHETHER IT'S THE ALGAE BLOOMS, UH, THAT WE HEAR ABOUT SO OFTEN, OR JUST THE, THE QUALITY OF OUR CREEKS AND RIVERS.

IS THAT SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE ALSO WORTH MAKING ONE OF YOUR PUBLIC KPIS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN KIND OF UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE, THE WATER QUALITY IS AND WHAT OUR GOALS ARE AS A CITY? ABSOLUTELY.

UM, I LOVE THAT QUESTION BECAUSE WE ASK IT ALL THE TIME.

WE HAVE ROBUST, UH, WATER QUALITY DATA.

UH, AND ACTUALLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES, ACTUALLY EVERYONE IN FLOOD AND EROSION WOULD BE OFFENDED IF I DIDN'T SAY THE SAME ABOUT THEM.

WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA AROUND ALL OF OUR MISSIONS, WATER QUALITY, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE IT'S SO COMPLEX AND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT INDICATORS.

UH, SO WE HAVE THIS, THE, OUR EII, ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY INDEX IS A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA SET.

WE DO HAVE SOME MAPS THAT ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE, BUT I THINK GETTING AT WHAT YOU'VE SHARED, AND WE'VE HEARD FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS THROUGH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN OUTRA OUTREACH, THAT IT SOMETHING WE WANT TO DO THROUGH OUR RANGE RIVER IMPLEMENTATION IS, UH, REFINE THOSE TOOLS TO BETTER TELL THE STORY OF WHAT, WHAT THE INDICATORS ARE RELATED TO.

SO THE QUESTIONS PEOPLE HAVE ARE IS, IS IT SAFE FOR ME TO TAKE MY DOG OR MY KIDS INTO A CREEK? UM, WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF X, Y, Z? SO BEING ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO MEANINGFULLY ESTIMATE AND SHARE THE, THE DATA THAT WE HAVE, UM, I THINK IS, IS ONE OF THE PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS.

SO WE HAVE A LOT OF DATA.

I THINK, AGAIN, THIS WAS ONE THAT WE PICKED BECAUSE WE HAVE CONTROL OVER, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ABILITY TO BUILD A PROJECT AND MAINTAIN IT.

AND SO THAT WAS US REPORTING AND REALLY TELLING THE STORY OF HOW MUCH WORK THOSE, THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS DOING.

THE FACT, YOU KNOW, AS I LOOK AT THESE INDICATORS EACH QUARTER, SEEING, OH WOW, WE REMOVE OVER 870 TONS OF POLLUTION WITH JUST HAVING THESE FUNCTIONING, UM, ASSETS IN PLACE IS IMPRESSIVE.

BUT YOU KNOW HOW TO TELL THAT STORY EVEN MORE MEANINGFULLY AND WHAT IS THE OUTPUT AND HOW ARE PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE CREEKS AND WATERWAYS IS SOMETHING WE WANNA BE ABLE TO DO.

GREAT.

WELL, I JUST AS WE LOOK FORWARD, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK YOU'RE ALLOWED UP TO SIX, SO YOU'VE GOT ROOM FOR TWO MORE.

IF THERE WERE TWO THAT, UM, COULD HELP TELL THAT STORY AND, AND LET THE PUBLIC KIND OF SEE WHAT, WHAT ARE OUR GOALS FOR THIS DEPARTMENT AND, AND ARE WE GETTING THERE? UM, IT'LL BE INTERESTING.

SO APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR PRESENTATION AND ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE DOING IN WATERSHED PROTECTION.

SO THANK YOU.

WITH THAT,

[Briefings by Memorandum]

THE ONLY OTHER ITEM WE HAVE IS AROUND, UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE BRIEFING, THE MEMO BRIEFINGS.

AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU DO OR NOT DO.

YEAH.

WELL, I SEE IF YOU CAN MAKE, UH, TWO MINUTES OR LESS, I SEE SOMEONE FROM A RR WHO CAN ANSWER YOUR I I'VE GOT TWO MINUTES OR LESS, SO I WELL, ALL RIGHT.

WE MIGHT HAVE TO FOLLOW UP.

WELL, WHY DON'T YOU ASK YOUR QUESTIONS, LET 'EM KNOW WHAT'S COMING.

TO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE AND HOW ARE WE QUANTIFY IT? SO THOSE ARE THE NATURE OF THE QUESTIONS I WANTED TO GET TO Y'ALL AND SEE IF I COULD GET SOME HELP WITH, UM, YEAH, I THINK SO.

AND THEY CAN COME ON DOWN.

COME ON DOWN.

DON'T WANT ME.

YOU'VE SAT HERE FOR TWO HOURS.

LET'S NOT LET YOU GO WITHOUT BEING HEARD.

OF COURSE NOT.

I, UH, JASON MCCOMBS WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY DIVISION MANAGER.

ALL RIGHT.

WHAT YOU GOT? ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU CHAIR, AND THANK YOU, UH, JASON, MY QUESTIONS ARE MOSTLY AROUND, UM, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE DATA.

FOR INSTANCE, UM, DID YOU LOOK, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT 2100 PROPERTIES, DID YOU LOOK AT JUST MULTIFAMILY? DID YOU LOOK AT SF SIX THAT WERE CONDO OR CONDO REGIMES ALSO AS PART OF THAT? SO, AND IT'S COST, I MEAN, YOU HAD A, A LARGE SPECTRUM OF, UH, COST THAT YOU, I THINK YOU PUT A MEASURE IN MONTHLY.

AND I TRIED TO ANNUALIZE THOSE.

'CAUSE THAT'S PROBABLY HOW, THAT'S CERTAINLY HOW WE APPROACH OUR BUDGET.

AND I WOULD ASSUME THAT'S HOW MOST MULTI-FAMILY APPROACH THEIR BUDGETS ALSO.

BUT THERE WAS A REALLY LARGE VARIANCE THERE, UM, WHERE YOU HAD, I THINK, UM, LESS THAN A DOLLAR TO $3 PER UNIT.

AND, UH, AND SO MY CONCERNS THERE AROUND WHILE I, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT THIS PROJECT, WE COMPARED TO RECYCLING AND THE STATE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, DECADES AGO AND THE ADOPTION RATES, UH, MY CONCERNS ARE THAT FOR SOME MULTIFAMILY OR MAYBE EVEN CONDO PROPERTIES, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE MENTIONING, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE INCLUDING IN THE DATA, UH, WHAT THE FINANCIAL IMPACTS TO THEM.

AND THEN ALSO THERE'S THE FLIP SIDE, WHICH IS WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S SORT OF THE BENEFIT TO NOW THAT YOU'RE, NOW THAT WE'RE APPROPRIATING A COST OR, OR EVEN MANDATING A COST OVER TO MULTIFAMILY AND MAYBE BEYOND THAT, UM, ARE WE MEASURING THE BENEFIT

[02:00:01]

IT'S KIND OF A BROAD QUESTION, BUT YEAH, THERE WAS LIKE THREE OR FOUR QUESTIONS.

KNOW, WE'RE AT 1130.

UM, YEAH.

SO THE, THE DATA WE'VE INCLUDED AS FAR AS THE 2100 PROPERTIES THAT ARE PART OF THAT, THAT IS, IT'S ALL MULTIFAMILY.

SO WE, THAT DOES INCLUDE CONDOS AS PART OF WHAT WE'RE INCLUDING.

WHAT WAS IN THE MEMO DID OR DID NOT? THE IT DID.

DID.

UM, THAT DOES, WE INCLUDE THAT IN OUR, WHEN WE JUST SAY MULTIFAMILY, WE INCLUDE THAT AND THAT NUMBER.

UM, THAT BEING SAID, WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO BREAK THAT DOWN NORTH AND FURTHER, IT JUST WASN'T PART OF THAT MEMO ITSELF.

AS FAR AS COST ITSELF, UM, IT IS SOMETHING WE ARE KIND OF WATCHING CLOSELY.

WE DO, UM, ACTIVELY TALK TO, YOU KNOW, UM, RESIDENTS.

WE TALK TO PROPERTY OWNERS ACROSS THE CITY ON THAT.

UM, AND THE, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING A WIDE VARIATION IN COST EVEN FROM THE, YOU KNOW, THE PRIVATE ENTITIES PROVIDING IT.

AND SO WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME RESOURCES AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH, UM, WE'VE GOT A LIST OF LICENSE HAULERS.

WE DO ACTIVELY ENCOURAGE, UM, WHEN THEY ARE FACING, UM, YOU KNOW, CONCERNS WITH COST TO TO SHOP AROUND A LITTLE BIT.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH THE DIFFERENT HAULERS, THAT IS ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF HAVING, UM, WHAT WE WOULD CALL AN OPEN MARKET, UM, WITH THE PRIVATE HOLLER SYSTEM.

AND SO WE HAVE, UM, PRETTY CONSISTENTLY ONCE THEY DO STOP SHOPPING AROUND, START SEEING, UM, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL PRICE REDUCTIONS ITSELF.

UM, THAT BEING SAID, THERE IS A COST IMPACT I THINK ANY WAY YOU SHAKE IT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THIS.

BUT, UM, YEAH, I THINK THE SENSE OF OF SCALE DOES MATTER.

I THINK WITH, YOU KNOW, WITH CONDOS ITSELF, BUT, YOU KNOW, BEING TYPICALLY BEING KIND OF SMALLER NUMBER OF UNITS, UM, YOU COULD, COULD POTENTIALLY SEE SOME, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME PRICE IMPACTS THERE, BUT LIKE I SAID, WE DO HAVE, UM, STAFF ON HAND ABLE TO HELP WITH THAT TO HELP NAVIGATE, UH, PROPERTIES TO HELP UH, KIND OF NAVIGATE THOSE COST IMPACTS, UM, AND UM, KIND OF WORK THROUGH THAT.

AND SO WE'VE HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH THAT SO FAR.

UM, SO IT'S SOMETHING WE ARE KIND OF WATCHING AND TRACKING.

UM, WE'RE IN, I BELIEVE YEAR, I THINK TWO OF HAVING THIS FULLY IMPLEMENTED, SO IT IS KIND OF ACTIVELY EVOLVING AS WELL.

UM, SO I HOPE THAT SORT OF ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.

UM, THE ONLY OTHER ANSWER QUESTION WAS THE SORT OF HOW YOU'RE MEASURING THE BENEFIT OF THE PROGRAM, RIGHT? IF WE'RE ASKING THESE PEOPLE TO INCUR THE, THE COST OF IT, HOW DO, HOW IS THE DEPARTMENT CALCULATING WHAT THE BENEFIT IS? YEAH, I THINK WITH, AS FAR AS THE BENEFIT, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS OUR OVERALL ZERO WASTE GOAL.

UM, WE WOULD DO A PLAN, UM, NEXT YEAR WE START, WE'RE GONNA PLAN TO DO A, A BROADER, UH, PER CAPITAL DISPOSAL RATE AND SOME DIVERSION RATE STUDIES TO KIND OF MEASURE, UM, THE USE OF THEM.

RIGHT NOW THE ORDINANCE IS JUST ENSURING THAT WE'VE GOT ACCESS TO IT AND RESIDENTS, UM, HAVE ACCESS TO, TO THE, UM, ABILITY TO COMPOST OR DONATE FOOD.

AND SO WE DO HOPE TO GET SOME BETTER DA DATA HERE IN THE COMING YEAR.

THAT'LL TELL US, UM, A LOT MORE INFORMATION ON THE USE OF THAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, CLOSE TO 40% OF WHAT WE'RE THROWING AWAY IN OUR LANDFILL RIGHT NOW COULD BE COMPOSTABLE.

AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPACT, TO GET THAT NUMBER DOWN, UM, TO PUT THAT MATERIAL TO A HIGHER AND BETTER USE THAN GOING STRAIGHT TO THE LANDFILL.