* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [CALL TO ORDER]
          [00:00:06]
          EVERYBODY, I'D LIKE TO CALL OUR WATER WASTEWATER COMMISSION MEETING TO ORDER FOR MAY 20TH TONIGHT AT FIVE 30. 
          IT IS ACTUALLY 5 33. 
          UM, I DO WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE DO HAVE A QUORUM SO WE CAN GET STARTED. 
          UH, BUT BEFORE I DO, AND I AM SITTING IN FOR COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES AS THE CHAIR TONIGHT, BUT BEFORE I DO, I WANTED TO SAY A COUPLE WORDS ABOUT COMMISSIONER BILL MORIARTY, WHO RECENTLY PASSED AWAY ON APRIL 26TH. 
          AND, UH, HE SERVED ON THE WATER WASTEWATER COMMISSION FROM, UH, 2011, UH, TO 20, UH, 2026, AND WAS THE CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION FROM 2015 TO 2019. 
          AND I SAT NEXT TO HIM FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, AND I WITNESSED HIS BRILLIANCE AND, AND EVERYTHING THAT HE CONTRIBUTED TO THE WATER WASTEWATER COMMISSION. 
          UM, SO JUST A COUPLE MORE THINGS I WANTED TO SHARE ABOUT BILL. 
          UM, HE WAS BORN IN CHICAGO, AND IF YOU EVER WATCHED HIS, UH, REMOTE, YOU ALWAYS SAW HIS CHICAGO SPORTS TEAMS IN THE BACKGROUND. 
          UM, HE GRADUATED FROM MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY IN 1974 WITH A DEGREE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING. 
          UM, EARNED AN MBA IN 85 FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, AND, UH, EVENTUALLY MOVED TO AUSTIN IN 1999. 
          UH, HE, HE OVERSAW INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS IN CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, AND OF COURSE, TEXAS. 
          HE WAS THE, UH, MANAGER OF THE AUSTIN CLEAN WATER PROGRAM, UH, BACK IN THE DAY, WHICH EARNED A NUMBER OF, A NUMBER OF AWARDS. 
          AND, UH, AND OF COURSE, BILL WAS A TIRELESS ADVOCATE FOR, UH, UH, SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT. 
          AND THAT WAS EVIDENT DURING HIS TENURE ON THE COMMISSION. 
          UM, AND THEN SOMETHING I KNOW THAT HE WAS EXTREMELY PASSIONATE ABOUT ALL THE WAY UP UNTIL THE LAST MEETINGS WHEN, WHEN WE HAD BILL WITH US. 
          UM, HE SERVED AS I LOST HIM. 
          DID YOU GUYS? I DID TOO. 
          I WAS JUST GONNA JUMP IN AND SAY I CANNOT, I WAS LIKE, ALEX, WHAT'S THAT? YEAH, I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT IT WAS, UH, MY, I THOUGHT IT WAS ME. 
          ME TOO. 
          I, I CAN, UM, HOW DO IS GONNA TEXT, CAN ANYBODY HEAR USF? SHE'S IN THERE AND I CAN MESSAGE VICKY AND LET HER KNOW WE LOST. 
          WE LOST. 
          OKAY. 
          WE'LL CHECK WITH OUR AV STAFF WHO ARE ON SITE HERE. 
          OH, THEY CAN HEAR US? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU. 
          OH, WE MIGHT HEAR YOU. 
          UM, WE CAN'T HEAR. 
          WE CAN'T SEE. 
          YEAH, WE CAN'T SEE OR HEAR ANYTHING. 
          OKAY. 
          WE HEARD YOU SAY YOU CAN'T, HE'S SAYING THAT THEY'RE CHECKING ON THE FEED. 
          OH, THEY CAN'T HEAR. 
          SO WE'LL JUST WAIT AND WATCH. 
          COMMISSIONER WILSON CR SAYS THAT THEY GOT TECH CHECKING ON IT. 
          CAN YOU SEE THEM NOW? YEP. 
          WE'RE BACK, BUT WE DON'T HEAR THEM. 
          TESTING. 
          TESTING. 
          CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? YES, WE CAN. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT THE TECHNICAL ISSUE RESOLVED. 
          GIVE US JUST A MOMENT AND THEN WE'LL GET BACK TO COMMISSIONER PENN. 
          FELLOW COMMISSIONERS TESTING REMOTELY. 
          DO YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE HEAR YOU. 
          CAN YOU SEE INTO THE ROOM? YES, WE CAN SEE YOU ALL. 
          GREAT. 
          WELL, WE THINK WE LOST COMMISSIONER TRU. 
          NO, SHE'S BACK. 
          I THOUGHT WE'D LOST HER. 
          OKAY. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          I THINK WE'RE GOOD TO RESUME. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UH, WE'RE GOOD TO RESUME. 
          WE HAD, JUST FOR THE RECORD, WE HAD CALLED THE MEETING TO ORDER. 
          UH, WE HAVE QUORUM. 
          I WAS, UH, MENTIONING A FEW WORDS ABOUT OUR COLLEAGUE, UH, COMMISSIONER BILL MORIARTY. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, JUST TO CLOSE UP ON, ON, UH, THE WORDS, UH, REMARKS FOR BILL WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, HE WAS A MAJOR ADVOCATE FOR THE INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLANNING COMMUNITY TASK FORCE AND, AND WATER FORWARD. 
          AND HE TOOK A STRONG INTEREST IN THAT. 
          HE GAVE REGULAR UPDATES. 
          I KNOW HE WORKED CLOSELY WITH THAT TASK FORCE, AND, UH, HE DID GREAT WORK WITH THAT. 
          AND SO, UM, I KNOW THAT THE FUNERAL MASS WILL BE IN CHICAGO ON JUNE 13TH, AND I KNOW HIS FAMILY LOCALLY IS HAVING A CELEBR, HAS HAD CELEBRATIONS OF LIFE AND WILL CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE BILL AND, AND ALL OF HIS, HIS, UH, CONTRIBUTIONS TO WATER, UM, IN AUSTIN AND, AND OTHER PLACES. 
          SO THANKS FOR INDULGING 
          [00:05:01]
THAT. 
          UM, SO, UM, NEXT ITEM, OR THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE'LL GO TO IS JUST RECOGNIZING IF THERE'S ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, UM, ANY PUBLIC SPEAKERS TONIGHT. 
          NO. 
          AND, AND WE DO NOT HAVE ANY. 
          [1. Approve the minutes of the Water and Wastewater Commission regular meeting held April15,2026.]
SO, MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER ONE ON THE AGENDA, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES. 
          COMMISSIONERS HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW, REVIEW THE MINUTES, AND AT THIS TIME WE'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. 
          SO MOVED. 
          COMMISSIONER MARLO, UH, MOVES FOR APPROVAL. 
          AND SECOND, I SECOND, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER WOLSTONCROFT. 
          HE JUST GOT YOU THERE. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          UM, RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO WITH THAT, ALL COMMISSIONERS IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL, PLEASE, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND. 
          AND THE ITEM PASS PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. 
          MM-HMM . 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          SO MOVING 
          [DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS]
ON TO ITEM NUMBER TWO, A DISCUSSION OF, UH, ACTION ITEMS. AND WE'LL GO THROUGH AND SEE IF, UH, COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS AT THIS TIME. 
          I WILL SAY THAT ITEM NUMBER 11, WE'RE GONNA PULL THAT FOR A SEPARATE VOTE. 
          UM, 'CAUSE THERE'S GONNA BE A PRESENTATION ON THAT. 
          SO THAT WON'T BE PART OF OUR, UH, CONSENT OR POTENTIAL CONSENT AGENDA. 
          BUT WE'LL GO AROUND TO COMMISSIONERS FOR, UH, QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS. 
          AND I'LL START WITH COMMISSIONER MARLO. 
          NO QUESTIONS. 
          NO RECUSALS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COMMISSIONER WOOLSTENCROFT, UH, QUESTIONS ON ITEMS TWO AND THREE? NO RECUSALS AND THANK YOU. 
          UM, COMMISSIONER REYES. 
          UH, NO QUESTIONS. 
          NO RECUSALS, THANK YOU. 
          AND GOING REMOTELY TO COMMISSIONER PANDER, NO QUESTIONS. 
          RECUSAL ON NUMBER THREE. 
          MY FIRM IS THE DESIGN ENGINEER FOR THE PROJECT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND WE'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER. 
          TRULY NO QUESTIONS. 
          NO RECUSALS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND THANK YOU. 
          AND COMMISSIONER NAVARRO. 
          NO QUESTIONS. 
          NO RECUSALS. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE CONSENT AGENDA IS ITEMS 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, AND 12. 
          YEP. 
          ALRIGHT, SO I'LL ENTERTAIN A, A MO A MOTION FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA. 
          I MOVE TO APPROVE COMMISSIONER SEN CROFT MOVES TO APPROVE. 
          SECOND I SECOND . 
          COMMISSIONER MARZULLO SECONDS. 
          ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. 
          ALRIGHT, THE ITEM PA THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. 
          MM-HMM . 
          [2. Recommend approval to authorize change order five to the construction contract for the Hyde Park Water and Wastewater Pipeline Renewal Project for Austin Water with Santa Clara Construction Ltd.,in the amount of $831,153 for a total contract amount not to exceed $9,392,249.Funding:$831,153 is available in the Capital Budget of the Austin Water.]
OKAY. 
          SO, UM, MOVING ON TO ITEMS WHERE WE HAD QUESTIONS OR RECUSALS, WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER TWO WITH REGARD TO THE HYDE PARK, UH, WATER AND WASTEWATER PIPELINE RENEWAL PROJECT. 
          I BELIEVE WE HAVE A QUESTION MAR MR. CROFT, UH, FROM COMMISSIONER WOLFSTEN CROFT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, I'M JUST GONNA REFERENCE MY NOTES SO I REMEMBER WHAT I WANTED TO ASK. 
          UM, SO THINK, SO, UH, ITEM TWO, RELATING TO THE AUTHORIZATION OF CHANGE ORDER FIVE FOR THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT. 
          UM, THE BRIEFING MATERIALS THAT WE RECEIVED CITED, UM, UH, UH, ISSUES AROUND, UM, RECORDS REGARDING INFRASTRUCTURE'S AGE, UM, AND SOME UNFORESEEN CONDITIONS THAT RESULTED IN, UH, MORE SERVICE RELOCATIONS AND ANTICIPATED AND A LONGER LINE OF TEMPORARY WATER SERVICE THAN PLANNED. 
          AND SO THIS IS WHAT'S, UM, PRIMARILY DRIVING, UH, SOME OF THE COST OVERRUNS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT, UM, EX AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 
          AND SO I'D REALLY LIKE TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THE NATURE OF THE UNFORESEEN CONDITIONS REFERENCED IN THE BRIEFING MATERIALS. 
          IT WAS A LITTLE, UM, SHORT ON, UH, FURTHER EXPLANATION. 
          SO I JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND, ARE WE RUNNING INTO, UM, CONDITIONS IN THE SITE ENVIRONMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION? ARE WE SORT OF ENCOUNTERING ENGINEERING OR MATERIALS CHALLENGES? I JUST LOVE TO HAVE A, A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT THE UNFORESEEN CONDITIONS WERE SPECIFICALLY. 
          SO KEVIN KOHLER, DIVISION MANAGER FOR PIPELINE CIP DELIVERY. 
          SO MY TEAM DELIVERS, 
          [00:10:01]
UH, PIPELINE PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          SO THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN COMPLETED IN CONSTRUCTION. 
          SO THIS IS A CHANGE ORDER TO CLOSE OUT ALL THE WORK. 
          SO THERE'S NOT GONNA BE ANY ADDITIONAL, UM, CHANGE ORDERS ON THIS PROJECT. 
          UM, THIS WAS IN THE HYDE PARK NEIGHBORHOOD, AND SO I WENT BACK AND LOOKED AT THE RECORDS. 
          THIS IS FROM THE 1920S AND 1930S. 
          AND WHEN WE GO BACK, UH, TO THAT TIME PERIOD, OUR RECORDS ARE NOT AS ACCURATE AS OUR MORE CURRENT RECORDS. 
          SO WE HAD A COUPLE THINGS THAT HAPPENED THERE. 
          ONE OF THE BIG THINGS THAT WE HAD WAS THAT WE HAD A LOT OF, UM, THIS NEIGHBORHOOD HAS GOT A LOT OF INFILL AND DEVELOPMENT AND SO WE HAD MULTIPLE TAPS THAT WE WEREN'T AWARE OF WITH ADDITIONAL DWELLING UNITS AND DUPLEXES AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS. 
          SO THAT WAS PART OF IT. 
          WE ALSO, UM, INCREASED, UM, SOME EIGHT INCH WASTEWATER LINE ON THERE. 
          I THINK WE WENT, UM, ABOUT 800 FEET OF ADDITIONAL WATER LINE THAT WE PUT IN. 
          AND THAT WAS BECAUSE, UH, WE NEEDED TO MAKE SOME CONNECTIONS ON THAT. 
          LET ME THINK. 
          WE DID HAVE A LOT OF PRIVATE LATERAL RELOCATIONS DUE TO LANDSCAPING AND DEVELOPMENT. 
          AND SO THAT WAS ALSO PART OF IT. 
          UM, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION. 
          SO WE DO OUR BEST TO GET OUR RECORDS. 
          WE ALSO DO A LOT OF SUBSURFACE UTILITY WORK DURING DESIGN, BUT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE UNDERGROUND THAT WE CAN'T FORESEE. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I MEAN, I CAN IMAGINE THAT OUR RECORD KEEPING HAS IMPROVED IN THE PAST CENTURY, SO IT HAS. 
          APPRECIATE THAT. 
          THANK YOU KEVIN. 
          THAT'S IT FOR ME. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS WHILE THE ITEM IS STILL OPEN? IF NOT, I'LL TAKE A MOTION. 
          I MOVE TO APPROVE. 
          COMMISSIONER WILSON, CRO MOVES APPROVAL. 
          SECOND. 
          SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MARZULLO. 
          UH, ALL IN FAVOR FOR THE ITEM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND THE ITEM PASSES UNANIMOUSLY. 
          ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. 
          [3. Recommend approval to authorize additional contingency for the construction contract for the North West Lift Station Improvements: Rock Harbour Force Main and Four Points #2 with Santa Clara Construction LTD to increase the authorized contract amount by $537,225 for a total amount not to exceed 5,280,171. Funding: Capital Budget of Austin Water.]
WITH THAT, WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE WITH REGARDS TO THE NORTHWEST LIFT STATION IMPROVEMENTS, ROCK HARBOR FORCE MAIN AND FOUR POINTS. 
          NUMBER TWO, BELIEVE ON THIS ONE WE HAVE A RECUSAL FROM COMMISSIONER PANI. 
          AND WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER WOOLSTENCROFT. 
          THANK YOU, ME AGAIN. 
          UM, SO LOOKING AT THIS ITEM, UM, AUTHORIZING APPROVAL OR, UH, RECOMMENDING APPROVAL TO AUTHORIZE THE ADDITIONAL CONTINGENCY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT, UM, THE BRIEFING MATERIALS MENTIONED THAT, UH, THE RIGHT OF WAY TEAM, UM, IDENTIFIED SOME SAFETY GAPS IN THE TRAFFIC CONTROL PLAN THAT LED TO, UM, SOME PLAN REDESIGN ADDITIONALLY, UM, DURING CONSTRUCTION DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE AS-BUILT DRAWINGS AND THE ACTUAL BELOW GROUND FIELD CONDITIONS WERE DISCOVERED, WHICH RESULTED IN ADDITIONAL REDESIGN. 
          UM, AND SO I'D, I'D REALLY LIKE TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW GAPS AND DISCREPANCIES EMERGE AS WE MOVE THROUGH DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE PROJECT TIMELINE, UM, AND HOW AUSTIN WATER TEAMS WORK, YOU KNOW, INTERNALLY WITH THE CITY, UM, ACROSS TEAMS TO HELP FILL THESE GAPS, UM, AND MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS TIED UP. 
          CHARLES LARO IS THE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING TECHNICAL SERVICES. 
          MY GROUP DOES A LOT OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, UH, FOR THIS PROJECT. 
          UM, WE, THE NORMAL PROCESSES, WE GO THROUGH THE DESIGN PROCESS, WE TRY TO LOCATE THE UTILITIES AS BEST WE CAN. 
          WE GO THROUGH ALL THE PERMITTING PROCESSES, INCLUDING TRAFFIC CONTROL. 
          UM, FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, WHEN WE WENT, GOT OUT TO THE FIELD AND STARTED DOING THE CONSTRUCTION, WE DID NOTICE THE UTILITIES WERE NOT IN THE PLACE WHERE WE THOUGHT THEY WERE. 
          AND IT GETS DOWN TO A LITTLE BIT OF PAST RECORD KEEPING AS WAS MENTIONED IN THE LAST ITEM. 
          BUT THIS ONE IS, WAS, UM, AN OLD MUD THAT WE ACQUIRED. 
          UH, AND SO WE HAD SOME, SOME, MAYBE SOME, UH, UH, RECORD DRAWINGS THAT MAYBE NOT HAVE COME THROUGH WITH THOSE, UM, WITH THOSE, UH, DOCUMENTS WHEN WE ACQUIRED THE MUD, THE OLD MUD. 
          AND SO WE FELT, WE KNEW WHERE THE UTILITIES WERE, BUT THEY WEREN'T, UH, SPECIFICALLY FOR, UH, PEC AND TEXAS GAS WERE IN THE WAY. 
          IT RESULTED IN US HAVING TO MOVE THE FORCE MAIN, WHICH RESULTED IN MOVING THE, THE WIDTH OF THE CONSTRUCTION AREA, WHICH THEN DOMINO THE EFFECT FOR THE WIDTH. 
          WE HAD TO MOVE UP THE TRAFFIC CONTROL PLAN. 
          AND THEREFORE ACTUALLY IF YOU GO OUT THERE TODAY, YOU SEE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY TAKING OUT A WHOLE LANE OF THE TWO LANES BEFORE WE WEREN'T, BUT NOW WE'RE HAVING TO DO THAT. 
          SO THOSE WERE JUST KIND OF THE DOMINO EFFECTS THAT OCCURRED FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, FOR THIS WAR LINER WERE, UH, EXCUSE 
          [00:15:01]
ME, FOR THIS FORCE MAIN AS WE WERE TRYING TO CONSTRUCT THIS FORCE MAIN AND SEEING THAT THE FIELD CONDITIONS WEREN'T THE SAME AS WE HAD WHEN WE HAD THE DESIGN DRAWINGS. 
          AND THEN, SO JUST TO, UH, MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING, WE MOVE FROM THE DESIGN PHASE, UM, THE TEAM GOES OUT ON SITE, ASSESSES AND VALIDATES THAT DESIGN, YOU KNOW, OR WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE FIELD, REFLECTIVE OF WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS IN, UM, THE SCOPE OF THE PLAN OR, WELL, ACTUALLY THE CONTRACTOR STARTS CONSTRUCTING AND PART OF THEIR, UM, SERVICES, THEY'RE JUST SUPPOSED TO FIND THE EXISTING UTILITIES BEFORE THEY START TEARING THINGS UP SO THEY DON'T HAVE RUN INTO MORE UTILITIES OR TEAR UP EXISTING UTILITIES. 
          AS A CONTRACTOR WAS GOING INTO THAT STAGE, WE STARTED TO REALIZE THAT WE HAD SOME CONFLICTS WITH UTILITIES AS WELL AS WE HAD SIX CAST FEATURES, UH, THAT WE WERE TRYING TO AVOID AS WELL. 
          SO AS WE FIND THOSE, THEN WE DO SOME FIELD CORRECTIONS IN THE FIELD. 
          AND SO, UM, WE, THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE ENGINEERS ON BOARD DURING CONSTRUCTION PHASE, SO THEY CAN HELP US WITH THAT, MITIGATE THOSE FOR THE PLANS. 
          UH, WE HAVE CITY INSPECTORS THAT GO THROUGH THAT AS WELL AS THEN WE CALL THE TRAFFIC CONTROL RIGHT AWAY, INSPECTORS OUT AND THEY COME OUT AND SAY, OKAY, HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO DO. 
          NOW WE NEED TO WIDEN THE TRAFFIC CONTROL PLANS. 
          WELL HERE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THAT WE MEET THE RULES AND REGULATION OF A TRAFFIC CONTROL. 
          SO IT'S KIND OF A FLUID SITUATION WHEN YOU'RE IN THAT ROOM. 
          SO, BUT WHEN WE SEE IT, WE STOP, WE MAKE SURE WE GET THE PLANS CORRECTLY. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WE REALIZE WE CAN'T BUILD IT SAFELY THE WAY IT IS. 
          WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO MOVE THE TRAFFIC CONTROL, WE MOVE THE BARRIERS, MAKE SURE IT'S SAFE, AND THEN START CONSTRUCTION AGAIN. 
          AND ROUGHLY HOW LONG WOULD YOU SAY THAT THIS MIGHT DELAY THE PROJECT? I, I DON'T KNOW THAT OFFHAND. 
          OKAY. 
          AND I HAVE NOT SEEN, AND I, AND I DON'T KNOW IF I HAVE SO FAR TO DATE. 
          I THINK ALL THE CONS CHANGE ORDERS HAVE BEEN FOR MONEY AND NOT FOR TIME. 
          SO IT COULD BE A POTENTIAL, THE CONTRACTOR COULD MAKE THAT UP DURING THE, DURING THE OVERALL LENGTH OF THE TIME OF THE CONTRACT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WE'RE GOT 50% COMPLETE RIGHT NOW. 
          OKAY? MM-HMM . 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE HOW THE PROCESS WORKS AND THEN HOW WE'RE BUILDING IN, YOU KNOW, SAFETY CHECKS AND REDUNDANCIES JUST TO MAKE SURE TO YOUR POINT, UM, MEETING OUR GOALS AND SAFELY DOING SO. 
          SO THANK YOU CHARLES. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALRIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS ON THE ITEM? IF NOT, I'LL TAKE A MOTION. 
          MOVE TO APPROVE, UH, MOVE TO APPROVE COMMISSIONER WILSON CROFT SECOND AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER MARLO. 
          UM, ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. 
          AND SO WE HAVE THE ITEM PASSES WITH SIX VOTES FOR THOSE PRESENT MINUS COMMISSIONER PANI WHO RECUSED HERSELF ON THIS ITEM. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          UM, WE'RE THROUGH ITEMS ONE THROUGH 12 NOW MINUS 11, BUT WE'RE MOVING INTO STAFF BRIEFINGS, WHICH THE FIRST ITEM IS THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY ITEM. 
          SO WE'LL MOVE TO THAT AND THAT WILL FOLLOW A, UH, WE'LL GO BACK TO ITEM NUMBER 11, AND AT WHICH TIME COMMISSIONER MARLO WILL TAKE THE CHAIR AS I'M RECUSING MYSELF ON THAT ITEM. 
          MY COMPANY IS A PART OF THAT PROJECT TEAM AND I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT EARLIER. 
          MY APOLOGIES. 
          UM, SO 
          [13. Staff briefing on Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) and Brackish Groundwater Desalination.]
WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THE STAFF BRIEFING. 
          HELLO. 
          HELLO. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON. 
          EVENING. 
          UM, I'M MARISA FLORES GONZALEZ. 
          I AM THE SUPERVISOR OF THE WATER RESOURCES TEAM HERE AT AUSTIN WATER. 
          AND I'LL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW, UM, TODAY ABOUT AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY AND BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION, SOME UPDATES ON WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE WE'RE GOING NEXT WITH THIS PROJECT. 
          YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, I, I'LL PROVIDE SOME INTRODUCTION ABOUT WATER FORWARD OVERALL TO GET SOME CONTEXT FOR THE NEXT STEPS RELATED TO A SR AND BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION FIELD TESTING. 
          WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR 2026 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY AND THEN FURTHER NEXT STEPS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WATERFORD, AS YOU ARE AWARE, IS THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S 100 YEAR INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLAN. 
          IT WAS ADOPTED BY CITY COUNCIL IN NOVEMBER OF 2024, AND IDENTIFIES CONSERVATION, REUSE, AND SUPPLY STRATEGIES TO ENSURE A SUSTAINABLE AND EQUITABLE WATER FUTURE FOR COMMUNITY. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THE WATER FORWARD 2024 PORTFOLIO IS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE. 
          THE CONSERVATION ITEMS ARE SHOWN IN THE YELLOW HEADERS. 
          [00:20:01]
WE HAVE MULTIPLE REUSE ITEMS SHOWN IN THE PURPLE HEADERS. 
          UM, EVERYTHING FROM ONSITE WATER REUSE TO DECENTRALIZED RECLAIMED, AND OUR CENTRALIZED RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM. 
          AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SLIDE ARE SHOWN OUR POTABLE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES, UM, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY AND BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION ARE TWO KEY STRATEGIES WITHIN THIS PORTFOLIO TO HELP US RESPOND TO DROUGHT AND CLIMATE CHANGE AS WELL AS TO MANAGE GROWING DEMAND. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WATER FORWARD IS A PLAN THAT'S UPDATED EVERY FIVE YEARS AS A PART OF OUR ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT APPROACH. 
          UM, BUT BETWEEN OUR FIVE YEAR UPDATES, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING, EVALUATING, AND ADJUSTING STRATEGIES AS NEEDED. 
          UM, THIS HELPS US TO RESPOND TO CHANGING CONDITIONS. 
          AND BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT OUR PLANS MAY NOT PAN OUT THE WAY THAT WE THINK THEY WILL FROM THE BEGINNING, WE'RE ALWAYS PLANNING ALTERNATE PATHWAYS TO RESPOND TO LESSONS LEARNED AS WE WORK THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IS A PROVEN METHOD FOR SAFELY STORING WATER IN AN UNDERGROUND AQUIFER, UM, UNTIL IT'S NEEDED FOR LATER USE THE WATER FROM FOR THIS STRATEGY WOULD COME FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S EXISTING COLORADO RIVER AND HIGHLAND LAKES WATER SUPPLIES. 
          THE WATER WOULD BE TREATED TO POTABLE DRINKING WATER STANDARDS AT OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND CONVEYED TO A WELL FIELD WHERE IT WOULD UNDERGO SOME LEVEL OF ADDITIONAL CONDITIONING, UH, OR TREATMENT TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE UNDERGROUND AQUIFER AND NATIVE GROUNDWATER. 
          UM, WATER THAT IS TREATED WOULD BE PUMPED UNDERGROUND AND STORED, AND MORE WATER WOULD ALWAYS BE ADDED TO THE AQUIFER THEN IS USED AS PER OUR AUTHORIZATION FROM TCAQ WOULD REQUIRE. 
          AND NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE HAD INITIALLY EXPLORED AN A SR PROJECT IN THE CARRIZO WILCOX AQUIFER. 
          AND, UM, THE, UH, WORK THAT WE DID THERE, UM, LAID SOME OF THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE NEXT STEPS IN THIS PROJECT. 
          UM, HOWEVER, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO ACHIEVE THE LEVEL OF COLLABORATION THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, UM, THIS TYPE OF PROJECT. 
          AND SO WE HAVE, UM, PIVOTED OUR STRATEGY TO LOOK AT THE THIRD TOP RANKING OPTION THAT EMERGED FROM THE INITIAL DESKTOP STUDY EVALUATION THAT WE PERFORMED. 
          AND THAT IS TO EXPLORE AN, UH, A SR PROJECT WITHIN THE TRINITY AQUIFER IN TRAVIS COUNTY. 
          THERE ARE SEVERAL BENEFITS TO LOCATING AN A SR PROJECT IN THE TRINITY AQUIFER WITHIN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY, AND THAT INCLUDES A LOWER COST FOR PIPELINES, PUMPING STATIONS, AS WELL AS LAND ACQUISITION. 
          UM, SINCE WE WOULD BE CITING THIS, UH, PROJECT ON LAND THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN ALREADY OWNS OR MANAGES, UM, THERE COULD BE BETTER ALIGNMENT WITH PLANNED AUSTIN WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AS WELL AS EASIER ACCESS TO AUSTIN WATERS SERVICE CENTERS AS WELL AS WORKFORCE. 
          UM, THE POTENTIAL LOCATIONS THAT WE'LL BE EVALUATING ARE WITHIN AUSTIN ENERGY'S SERVICE AREA, AND SO WE'D BE ABLE TO ACCESS RELIABLE POWER. 
          UM, AND THEN THERE IS ALSO THE POTENTIAL TO CONSERVE LAND ON THE SURFACE OF THE A SR PROJECT, UM, TO, AND ALSO TO ENHANCE RECREATION AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR RESIDENTS. 
          UH, WITH A TRINITY AQUIFER, A SR PROJECT IN TRAVIS COUNTY, WE HAVE GREATER ABILITY TO PARTNER WITH STAKEHOLDERS IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO MAXIMIZE THE BENEFITS OF THIS PROJECT CLOSER TO HOME. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THERE IS, UH, THE, UM, KIND OF REALITY THAT A TRINITY AQUIFER A SR PROJECT WOULD LIKELY YIELD LESS WATER THAN A CARRIZO WILCOX A SR PROJECT WITHIN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN. 
          AND, UH, A SR PROJECT WAS ANTICIPATED TO YIELD ABOUT 44,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR. 
          UM, AND THAT WOULD BE UP TO THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT WOULD BE STORED WITHIN THAT PROJECT. 
          UM, A TRINITY A SR PROJECT. 
          OUR INITIAL ESTIMATES HAVE SHOWN MAY YIELD ABOUT A THIRD OF THAT AMOUNT, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE'RE WANTING TO USE THE DATA THAT WE PLAN TO COLLECT IN THE NEXT PHASE OF FIELD TESTING TO INFORM PLANNING FOR ANOTHER STRATEGY 
          [00:25:01]
IN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN CALLED BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION. 
          UM, AND THIS STRATEGY INVOLVES THE WITHDRAWAL OF BRACKISH OR SALTY GROUNDWATER FROM DEEP UNDERGROUND. 
          UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT LAYERS OF THE AQUIFER THAT WOULD BE ANYWHERE FROM 2,500 TO, UM, 3,500 FEET DEEP. 
          UH, THE WATER WOULD BE TREATED BY ADVANCED TREATMENT PROCESSES, UM, SUCH AS REVERSE OSMOSIS TO BE COMPATIBLE WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S POTABLE DRINKING WATER. 
          UM, THAT THAT TREATMENT PROCESS, UH, PUSHES THE BRACKISH WATER AT HIGH PRESSURE THROUGH A SEMI-PERMEABLE MEMBRANE TO SEPARATE OUT SALTS AND MINERALS AND PRODUCE FRESH WATER. 
          AND, UM, THERE IS A BYPRODUCT THAT'S CREATED THAT'S VERY SALTY AND IS CALLED BRINE, UH, THAT WOULD REQUIRE DISPOSAL, UM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE STANDARDS. 
          UM, NEXT SLIDE I MENTIONED. 
          THE FIELD TESTING THAT WE ARE PLANNING TO PERFORM THIS, UH, WOULD, UH, PROVIDE US WITH DATA AND INFORMATION TO INFORM BOTH AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY AND AS WELL AS POTENTIAL BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION PROJECTS. 
          UH, THIS FIELD TESTING, UH, WOULD BE PERFORMED IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY ON LAND THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN ALREADY OWNS OR MANAGES, UH, TO EVALUATE THE, THE FEASIBILITY OF THOSE LOCATIONS. 
          UM, IN THE FIELD TESTING, WE WOULD BE DESIGNING AND DRILLING SEVERAL TEST WELLS, UM, DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF THE TRINITY HOSTIN AQUIFER, UM, AND COLLECTING GROUNDWATER AND CORE SAMPLES THAT WE WOULD THEN SEND TO A LABORATORY FOR ANALYSIS, UM, UH, IN TERMS OF THEIR GEOCHEMISTRY AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS. 
          UM, AND WE WOULD ALSO BE TESTING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THOSE SAMPLES AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DRINKING WATER TO HELP US DESIGN, UM, FUTURE TREATMENT, UH, PROCESSES. 
          WE ARE PLANNING TO FORM A TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP TO SUPPORT THIS TESTING THAT WOULD BE MADE UP OF EXPERTS, INCLUDING HYDROGEOLOGISTS AND OTHERS WITH EXPERIENCE IN THESE TYPES OF PROJECTS. 
          WE'LL BE ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS AND THEN DEVELOPING FUTURE PLANS, UH, FOR PROJECTS BASED ON THE RESULTS AND FINDINGS FROM THIS WORK. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE, UM, AS YOU HAVE SEEN BEFORE, YOU, UH, WILL REQUIRE A CONTRACT AMENDMENT IN ORDER TO PERFORM THE FIELD TESTING WORK. 
          UH, WE HAVE A CURRENT CONTRACT WITH HDR. 
          UM, THAT HIT WAS AUTHORIZED BY CITY COUNCIL UP TO AN AMOUNT OF $6 MILLION, UM, THAT WAS AUTHORIZED BACK, UH, IN 2020. 
          UM, AND SINCE THEN WE'VE LEARNED A LOT, UM, AND WE HAVE DEVELOPED UPDATED SCOPES OF WORK AS WELL AS COST ESTIMATES WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTING TEAM, UM, AND, UM, HAVE IDENTIFIED THE COST TO PERFORM, UH, THE TEST, WELL DRILLING SAMPLE COLLECTION LABORATORY TESTING A SR PILOT PLANNING, AS WELL AS AN EVALUATION OF, OF BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION. 
          AND SO WE ARE REQUESTING AN ADDITIONAL, UH, $15 MILLION TO HELP COVER THE COST OF ALL OF THAT WORK. 
          UM, Y'ALL WILL BE CONSIDERING, OR Y'ALL ARE CONSIDERING THAT ITEM THIS EVENING. 
          AND THEN THAT WILL GO BEFORE COUNSEL FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION ON MAY 28TH. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OUR, UH, TIMELINE FOR FIELD TESTING IS SHOWN ON THE SCREEN. 
          WE, UH, PLAN TO WORK THROUGH FALL OF 2026 TO IDENTIFY TEST WELL SITES. 
          WE'LL BE WORKING WITH PARTNER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS PERFORMING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          DURING THAT PROCESS. 
          UH, WE'LL BE WORKING WITH OUR CONSULTANTS. 
          UM, THEN ON WELL DESIGN ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER PERMITTING TASKS. 
          UM, IN SPRING OF 2027, WE PLAN TO BEGIN DRILLING THOSE TEST WELLS, UM, COLLECTING SAMPLES AND PERFORMING THE LABORATORY ANALYSIS. 
          UM, AND HOPEFULLY BY SPRING OF 2028, WE'LL BE COMPLETING OUR PHASE ONE B PLAN REPORT. 
          UM, WILL BE BEGINNING, UH, PILOT, WELL DESIGNED FOR PHASE TWO OF THE A SR PROJECT. 
          AND THEN, UM, PREPARING FOR PILOT AUTHORIZATION, UM, FROM TCEQ, NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND, AND THOSE ACTIVITIES. 
          THE FIELD TESTING ACTIVITIES ARE COVERED IN THE SECOND BULLET THAT'S SHOWN ON THIS TIMELINE UNDER EXPLORATORY DRILLING AND FIELD TESTING. 
          UM, YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A TIME DIFFERENTIAL HERE ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE WE SHOWED ABOUT, UM, UH, UH, 24 MONTHS ON THIS SLIDE. 
          THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL TIME THAT'S BAKED IN THERE. 
          UM, THERE MAY BE SOME ADDITIONAL PLANNING WORK AS WELL AS SOME AUTHOR ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION TASKS THAT WE NEED TO COMPLETE, UH, BEFORE WE'LL LAUNCH 
          [00:30:01]
INTO THE PILOT A SR TESTING PHASE. 
          UM, WHICH WE WOULD HAVE, UM, WHICH WE'VE ESTIMATED COULD LAST FOR ABOUT 36 MONTHS. 
          UM, AND IF WE DECIDE TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PHASE OF FULL SCALE A SR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, UM, THEN THAT PHASE WOULD TAKE A FURTHER EIGHT TO 10 YEARS. 
          UM, AND JUST TO NOTE, THERE WILL BE, UH, POINTS TO CHECK IN, UH, BEFORE MOVING ON TO EACH, UH, SUBSEQUENT PHASE OF THE PROJECT, UH, TO EVALUATE WHETHER AND HOW WE WILL MOVE FORWARD. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, I'LL SHARE JUST SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF, OF WHAT WE PLAN TO ACHIEVE WITH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT RELATED TO THIS PROJECT. 
          AND, UM, EMILY CHANCELLOR IS HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE ON, ON SOME OF THE DETAILS. 
          UM, WE PLAN TO, UM, ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT, UM, THESE PROJECTS AND, UM, OVERALL THEIR, UH, NEED TO SECURE AUSTIN'S WATER FUTURE. 
          UM, WE PLAN TO HAVE PROACTIVE ENGAGEMENT AND PROVIDE EDUCATION THAT CAN HELP BUILD COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THESE WATER SUPPLY STRATEGIES. 
          AND THROUGH OUR ENGAGEMENT, WE HOPE TO FORM STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH STAKEHOLDERS WHO WILL SUPPORT AUSTIN WATER AND ADVOCATE WITH US FOR THESE PROJECTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, THIS SLIDE DOES SHOW MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE, UH, THREE DIFFERENT PHASES WE'VE OUTLINED FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITHIN CALENDAR YEAR 2026. 
          WE'VE ALREADY BEGUN PHASE ONE, UM, INTERNAL AND EARLY STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT INCLUDING, UM, PARTNER DEPARTMENTS, UM, ENGAGEMENT AND, UH, EARLY COMMUNICATIONS WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS AND, UM, KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN PHASE TWO. 
          UM, THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THE SUMMER AND INTO EARLY FALL, WE'LL BEGIN BROADER COMMUNITY OUTREACH, UM, TO BROADEN COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR THESE, UH, PROJECTS AND PROVIDE MORE UPDATES ON ANALYSES AND OTHER INITIAL WORK THAT WE'LL BE PERFORMING. 
          AND THEN WITHIN PHASE THREE, UM, IN THE FALL OF 2026, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT KEY PROJECT MILESTONES RELATED, UH, TO THE FIELD TESTING WORK THAT WILL BE PERFORMED. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO THIS JUST OUTLINES SOME OF OUR KEY NEXT STEPS IS ESTABLISHING THAT TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP WHO WILL HELP TO ADVISE US THROUGHOUT, UM, THE NEXT PHASE OF FIELD TESTING AND THEN ACTUALLY PERFORMING THE FIELD TESTING, UM, AND USING THOSE TEST RESULTS TO PLAN SAFE TREATMENT STEPS THAT, UM, PROTECT, UM, THE AQUIFER AND, UM, CONTINUING TO, UM, UH, ALIGN WITH OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN AND SHARE FINDINGS WITH OUR ADVISORS, COMMUNITY PARTNERS, AND THE BROADER PUBLIC. 
          AND, UM, I THINK THAT'S THE END OF THIS PRESENTATION. 
          WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. 
          COMMISSIONERS ANY QUESTION MAR UH, COMMISSIONER MARLO? SURE. 
          UM, WITH THE DESALINATION PROCESS IS, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF THE SCOPE OF WHAT THAT PROJECT WOULD LOOK LIKE OR IS THAT REALLY WHAT THE TESTING IS GOING INTO THE TEST? WE'LL USE THE RESULTS OF THE TESTING TO BETTER OUTLINE, UH, FUTURE PLANS FOR POTENTIAL BRACKISH, UM, GROUNDWATER PROJECTS THAT'LL HELP US TO OUTLINE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL YIELDS, UM, FROM THAT PROJECT, UM, YOU KNOW, PROJECT CONFIGURATION, UM, INCLUDING MORE DETAILS ABOUT WELLS, UM, AND THEN TREATMENT STEPS THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED. 
          YEAH. 
          GIVEN HOW SORT OF EVERYBODY IN CENTRAL TEXAS IS DEALING WITH A SIMILAR PROBLEM WHERE WE'RE ALL SORT OF DEPENDENT ON SURFACE WATER, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION OF PARTNERING WITH OTHER MUNICIPALITIES TO, TO HANDLE THE COST OF A DESALINATION PLAN? IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED? UM, I THINK THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY PURSUING THIS PROJECT TO, UM, BE ABLE TO MEET CITY OF AUSTIN NEEDS AND DEMANDS AS OUTLINED WITHIN OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN. 
          UM, AND THE, THE FUTURE WORK THAT WE'LL DO, UM, BASED ON THE FIELD TESTING RESULTS WILL HELP US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE COSTS MAY BE. 
          AND THEN WE'LL BE EVALUATING, UM, THE APPROACHES THAT WE'LL TAKE TO BE ABLE TO, UM, FINANCE THESE POTENTIAL FUTURE PROJECTS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          ON THIS LINE OF QUESTION AROUND THE BRACKISH DEWA, UH, THE BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION. 
          UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, MARISA, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT, UM, THE GROUNDWATER DESALINATION EVALUATION PORTION OF, UM, THIS PART OF 
          [00:35:01]
THE PROJECT WOULD BE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, DO WE MOVE IT UP SINCE THE YIELD FROM A SR WOULD BE MM-HMM . 
          LESS THAN IF WE HAD CHOSEN, IF WE HAD BEEN ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD ON A SITE IN, UM, CARA WILCOX AQUIFER IN BASTROP COUNTY. 
          UM, IS THAT, IS MY UNDERSTANDING CORRECT ON THAT? THAT'S, THAT'S CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THEN PART TWO OF MY QUESTION, YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST IN THE PROCESS OF, UM, GROUNDWATER DESALINATION, THERE'S GOING DEBRIS OF VOLUME OF BRINE THAT NEEDS TO BE DISCHARGED. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WE'LL DISCHARGE IT OF COURSE TO TCEQ STANDARDS. 
          CAN YOU TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KNOWING THAT WE'RE SORT OF STILL IN THE, UM, SCOPE AND EVALUATION PROCESS OF WHERE WOULD WE PUT THESE FACILITIES, UM, WHEN THEY COME TO FRUITION, UM, WHERE EXACTLY WOULD THAT NECESSARILY BE DISCHARGED? UM, IS THAT COLLECTED IN A FACILITY? IS THAT DISCHARGED DOWNSTREAM, UM, THAT OTHER COMMUNITIES MAY NEED TO DEAL WITH IN FUTURE YEARS? COULD YOU JUST COMMENT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT EVALUATION THAT THAT EVALUATION MAY LOOK LIKE? SURE. 
          SO, UH, THE FIELD TESTING THAT WE'LL BE PERFORMING WILL HELP US TO CHARACTERIZE HOW SALINE THE BRACKISH GROUNDWATER IS AND, UM, OTHER CHARACTERISTICS ABOUT THAT BRACKISH, UM, WATER. 
          THEN UNDERSTANDING, UM, THAT HAVING THAT UNDERSTANDING OF THE WATER QUALITY WILL HELP US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE TREATMENT APPROACHES AND WHAT WILL BE THE CONCENTRATION OF BRINE THAT WOULD BE PRODUCED, UM, FROM THAT TREATMENT PROCESS. 
          ALL OF THAT INFORMATION WILL THEN HELP US TO EVALUATE WHAT ARE THE, UH, BEST DISPOSAL METHODS, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR GOALS AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, COMPLIANCE WITH STATE REGULATIONS, UH, COST, UH, AND AFFORDABILITY AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. 
          UM, SO THOSE, UH, PIECES ALL WE'LL NEED TO LINE UP AND WE'LL NEED TO HAVE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IN PLACE TO THEN MAKE DETERMINATIONS ABOUT DISPOSAL METHODS AND THEN TO ULTIMATELY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ABOUT WHERE OR HOW, UM, THAT, THAT BRINE WOULD BE, UM, WOULD BE LOCATED. 
          UM, THANK YOU, THAT'S VERY HELPFUL. 
          MM-HMM . 
          A QUICK FOLLOW UP QUESTION ON THAT. 
          DO WE HAVE A SENSE LOOKING AT PURE, UH, MUNICIPALITIES, PURE UTILITIES AROUND HOW, UM, UH, BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION, UM, HOW THAT DISCHARGE IS GENERALLY HANDLED BY OTHER AREAS AROUND THE STATE? SURE. 
          SOME UTILITIES, UH, AND WE'D BE DOING OUR OWN, YOU KNOW, UNIQUE, UH, EVALUATION FOR OUR SITUATION. 
          SOME UTILITIES, UH, USE SOMETHING LIKE DEEP WELL DIS UH, DEEP WELL, UH, INJECTION TO DISPOSE OF THE BRINE. 
          AND SO THEY'LL DRILL WELLS THAT ARE VERY, VERY DEEP AND THEN INJECT THE BRINE INTO THOSE VERY DEEP. 
          WELL OTHER, UM, WELL OTHER UTILITIES WILL, UM, UH, WILL SPREAD THAT BRINE OUT IN EVAPORATION PONDS WHERE THEN THE WATER'S ABLE TO WATER THAT'S REMAINING WITHIN THAT BRINE IS ABLE TO EVAPORATE OUT AND THEN THEY'LL SCOOP UP WHAT REMAINS. 
          UM, THERE MAY BE SOME PROCESSING THAT HAPPENS, UM, AND, UH, SOMETIMES THAT WHAT REMAINS THAT BYPRODUCT SOLD AND OTHER MINERALS CAN BE EVEN SOLD TO, UM, INDUSTRIAL USERS. 
          UH, SO THERE'LL BE A A A RANGE OF, UH, OPTIONS THAT WILL BE LOOKING AT THAT MAY NOT ALL INCLUDE LIKE, DISCHARGE INTO A WATER BODY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS? COMMISSIONER REYES? YES, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. 
          ONE, JUST IN GENERAL, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION MM-HMM . 
          BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF INTEREST IN THIS. 
          UM, I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT JUST THE PROJECT AS A WHOLE, AND THEN I DUNNO IF THIS IS ALSO THE TIME TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT ITEM NUMBER 11. 
          IS IT ALSO IS THAT, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I CAN POTENTIALLY ASK ABOUT BOTH AT THE SAME TIME. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, WELL, I WOULD SAY KEEP THE QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE PRESENTATION AT THIS TIME BECAUSE I'M GOING TO CHAIR TURN OVER THE MEETING TO COMMISSIONER MARLO WHEN WE GET TO THE VOTING ITEM, UH, FOR COMMISSIONER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S, I LOOK AT BOTH, BUT WE'LL GO STRAIGHT TO THAT AFTER WE, UH, END QUESTIONS ON THE THANK YOU. 
          APPRECIATE IT. 
          UM, SO, UH, WHAT YOU JUST DESCRIBED, UM, WAS VERY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND HOW, UH, THE TESTING OCCURS AND MAYBE FUTURE PILOT TESTING WHEN WE GET TO THIS ENTIRE PROJECT TIMELINE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THE TESTING LOCATION AND ACCESS IS ON CITY OWNED PROPERTIES. 
          MM-HMM . 
          IS MY UNDERSTANDING, BUT WHEN WE GET PAST THE TESTING AND WE GET TO MM-HMM . 
          THE EXPLORATORY TESTING OF, OF ANYTHING THAT WE EXTRACT FROM THE GROUND, FUTURE TESTING THAT MAY OCCUR IF WE NOW INJECT ANYTHING INTO THE GROUND MM-HMM . 
          WOULD THEN, WOULD THAT STAY CONTAINED UNDERGROUND WITHIN CITY OWNED LAND OR WOULD THAT DISPERSE THROUGHOUT THE AQUIFER ON NON-CITY OWNED LAND? SO OUR, 
          [00:40:01]
AND OUR CONCEPT NOW WITH THESE PROJECTS, UM, AND WITH A SR PROJECT AS WELL, IS THAT THEY WOULD BE, UH, CONTAINED ON CITY ON LAND, UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL CONTINUE TO EVALUATE THAT. 
          WE'LL ALSO BE EVALUATING THROUGH FUTURE STEPS THE POTENTIAL EXTENTS OF, UM, WATER THAT WOULD BE STORED IN THE A SR PROJECT. 
          UM, IT WILL BE REQUIRED OF US BY TCQ THAT WE HAVE CONTROL OF THE STORED WATER UNDERGROUND. 
          AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE PRIMARY WAYS TO DO THAT IS TO HAVE CONTROL OF THE SURFACE. 
          SO, WE'LL, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE MAINTAINING THIS CONCEPT OF USING CITY OWNED LAND, UM, THEN THAT A SR PROJECT MAY BE BOUNDED BY THE CURRENT EXTENT OF, UM, THE PROPERTIES THAT WE'LL BE EVALUATING FOR, UM, POTENTIALLY SITING AN A SR PROJECT. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL. 
          'CAUSE I, I NOTICED POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER, UH, AREAS WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY, SO I THINK THAT WAS HELPFUL TO EXPLAIN THAT PORTION OF IT. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MM-HMM . 
          PIGGYBACKING OFF OF COMMISSIONER REYES'S QUESTION. 
          UM, SO THIS WOULD BE ON CITY, ON LAND. 
          WE ARE REQUIRED BY TCQ TO HAVE CONTROL OF WHAT WE PUT DOWN INTO THE GROUND. 
          MM-HMM . 
          UM, DOES BEING ON CITY OWNED LAND NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THIS IS WITHIN CITY JURISDICTION OR WITHIN AUSTIN WATER SERVICE AREA? ARE WE CROSSING OVER INTO OTHER MUNICIPAL JURISDICTIONS THAT WOULD, UH, MAYBE INFORM A FUTURE INTERLOCAL STAKEHOLDER AGREEMENT? CURRENTLY WE'RE EVALUATING CITY OWNED OR MANAGED PROPERTIES THAT ARE WITHIN THE AUSTIN WATER SERVICE AREA AS DEFINED BY OUR IMPACT FEE BOUNDARY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMISSIONERS, UM, TUNING IN REMOTELY. 
          ALSO GET A CHANCE TO CHIME IN ANY QUE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE REMOTE COMMISSIONERS AT THIS TIME? I DEFINITELY DO. 
          YES, PLEASE. 
          COMMISSIONER CHILE, THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          UM, AND MARISA, THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. 
          AND, UM, BEFORE I JUMP INTO MY QUESTIONS AND JUST WANNA CONNECT IT TO OUR RECOGNITION OF COMMISSIONER MORIARTY EARLIER, HE HONORED BOARDED ME TO THIS COMMISSION LIKE SO MANY OF US, BUT MARISA, HE SPOKE VERY HIGHLY OF YOU AND ENCOURAGED ME TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND WORK WITH YOU. 
          SO I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF NAME THAT WHILE YOU WERE KIND OF UP HERE ON THE DAY WITH US, SO TO SPEAK. 
          SO, UH, I HOPE TO GET TO DO THAT IN PERSON IN THE FUTURE. 
          UM, OKAY, SO I HAVE, UH, FOUR QUESTIONS. 
          WHY DON'T I LAY THEM OUT AND THEN YOU GUYS, WE CAN TAKE THEM, UM, AS YOU'D LIKE. 
          SO ONE KIND OF IN GENERAL IS WITH THIS SITE, WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE OR AUSTIN WATER ANTICIPATE WITH KIND OF MOVING FORWARD, UM, WITH THE PROJECT PARTICULARLY? AND THIS KIND OF GOES INTO QUESTION TWO, KIND OF GIVEN THE EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS LEARNED, LIKE WHAT WOULD BE THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM LAST TIME THAT WE'RE ACTIVELY APPLYING? AND I SAW SOME OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, BUT SO WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE ANTICIPATE, WHETHER IT'S WITH THE COMMUNITY, WHETHER IT'S TECHNICALLY JUST AT HIGH LEVEL, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED, UM, THAT WE'RE APPLYING HERE? WHAT IS OUR LEGISLATIVE ENGAGEMENT PLAN? BECAUSE WE HAD THE STATE COME IN AND STATE REPRESENTATIVES COME IN, UH, KIND OF THE LAST GO ROUND, UM, THAT JUST WE'RE VERY LOUD AND I THINK TOOK AWAY FROM WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO. 
          AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS REALLY ON, UM, LIKE HDR AS OUR PARTNER. 
          I MEAN, DO WE KIND OF UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP, DO WE THINK THAT WE ARE GONNA KIND OF TAKE, IF WE MAKE IT THROUGH ALL THE PHASES, ARE WE GONNA WORK WITH THEM BECAUSE WE'RE TAKING, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WERE A COUPLE OF CONTRACTS IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THIS THAT WERE ABOUT FIVE, $5 MILLION ISH AND EXPANDING THAT RIGHT. 
          AMENDING THE CONTRACT BY 15. 
          AND SO UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH HDR, WHY, I MEAN, WHY IS THERE A PLACE WHERE WE WOULD PUT DIFFERENT PIECES OF THIS OUT TO BID AGAIN? OR DO WE REALLY PLAN TO WORK WITH THIS PARTNER KIND OF THROUGH THE PHASES? SO JUST UNDERSTANDING THAT RELATIONSHIP BETTER, YOU KNOW, KNOW, GIVEN THAT WE'RE AMENDING AND KIND OF QUADRUPLING  WHAT WE'VE ALREADY SPENT WITH THEM THROUGH AN AMENDMENT VERSUS KIND OF A BROADER KIND OF BIDDING PROCESS. 
          SO THOSE ARE MY INQUIRIES, PLEASE, AND THANK YOU. 
          MAYBE I'LL START FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE TECHNICAL ITEMS ON THE SITE CHALLENGES AND THE CONSULTANT TEAM, AND THEN MAYBE EMILY COULD PICK UP ON THE OTHER ITEMS. . 
          OKAY. 
          SO, UM, UH, TECHNICAL CHALLENGES WITH THE SITE. 
          [00:45:01]
UM, I THINK JUST WE'RE DEALING WITH A DIFFERENT AQUIFER HERE THAT'S, UM, LESS WELL STUDIED, UH, THAT IS, UM, NOT AS EXTENSIVELY MODELED. 
          AND, UM, SO WE'LL BE GATHERING A LOT OF REALLY GOOD DATA AND INFORMATION TO HELP INFORM OUR EVALUATION OF THE, THE FEASIBILITY OF EITHER ONE OF THESE PROJECTS IN, IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. 
          UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THAT WILL REQUIRE SOME, YOU KNOW, A ADDITIONAL WORK ON OUR, OUR PART TO APPLY THE DATA THAT, UM, WE'RE COLLECTING IN, IN THAT EVALUATION AND IN, UM, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS. 
          UM, SO JUST LESS WELL-STUDIED AREA, DIFFERENT AQUIFER, DIFFERENT AQUIFER, UM, CHARACTERISTICS. 
          AND THEN IN TERMS OF, UM, HDR AS OUR PARTNER, I WILL JUST MENTION THAT THIS $15 MILLION, UH, UH, THAT WE ARE ASKING TO ADD TO THIS CONTRACT, UM, IS PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY THE COST OF THE TEST WELL DRILLING. 
          UM, WE ARE HAVE SCOPED, UM, FOUR WELLS, UM, THAT ARE VERY DEEP. 
          UM, AND UM, THAT EACH ONE OF THOSE WELLS IS, COMES AT, UH, A FAIRLY SIGNIFICANT COST. 
          UM, THE $15 MILLION IS ALSO ONLY FOR THE FIELD TESTING PHASE. 
          AND, UM, SO THE, THE MONEY THAT WE WILL HAVE AUTHORIZED UNDERNEATH THIS CONTRACT WILL ONLY TAKE US THROUGH THE END OF THE FIELD TESTING PHASE AND, UM, WE'LL NEED TO DEVELOP FUTURE SCOPES OF WORK AS WELL AS FUTURE COST ESTIMATES AND SCHEDULES, UM, FOR ANY NEXT PHASE, UH, INCLUDING PILOTING. 
          UM, AND THEN IF WE MOVE BEYOND PILOTING, UH, FULL SCALE, UM, CONSTRUCTION, SO THOSE NEXT PHASES, UM, WILL NEED TO COME BACK TO COMMISSION AND COUNSEL FOR ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION, UM, AND DECISION MAKING. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          I'M EMILY CHANCELLOR, CHIEF OF STAFF AT AUSTIN WATER. 
          I CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THINGS WE'VE LEARNED. 
          UM, ONE THING, UM, I'LL MENTION IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A VERY TECHNICAL PROJECT AND SO OUR COMMUNICATIONS TEAM HERE AT AUSTIN WATER HAS BEEN PARTNERING WITH, UH, MARISA AND HER TEAM THROUGHOUT. 
          AND WE HAVE CERTAINLY LEARNED SORT OF WAYS, UM, THAT ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL AT EXPLAINING AND DEMONSTRATING THE PROJECT AND WILL BE USING THOSE LESSONS LEARNED IN OUR OUTREACH. 
          UM, WE DO SEE THAT WORKING WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WE SERVE WILL BE A DIFFERENT DYNAMIC. 
          UM, AND SO WE BELIEVE THAT WILL BE, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S HELPING US. 
          WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO START EARLY AND REALLY BE PROACTIVE IN ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITIES NEAR THESE AREAS WHERE WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO FIELD TESTING. 
          AND REALLY EVERYONE IN AUSTIN WHO SERVED BY AUSTIN WATER IS A STAKEHOLDER FOR THIS PROJECT. 
          SO AS YOU'VE SEEN IN OUR PLAN, UH, WE'VE STARTED WITH, UM, MEETING WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS, WITH YOU ALL, BRIEFING YOU ALL. 
          WE'VE BRIEFED THE WATER FORWARD TASK FORCE, AND, UM, OVER THE SUMMER WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING TO MEET AND PRESENT TO AS MANY GROUPS AS WE CAN. 
          IF YOU ALL ARE INVOLVED IN ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THIS, WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. 
          UM, INVITE US TO COME SPEAK. 
          UH, WE, WE PLAN TO BE OUT AND TALKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND, AND HEARING THEIR FEEDBACK AND THEIR PRIORITIES AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS TESTING PHASE. 
          YOU ASKED ABOUT OUR LEGISLATIVE ENGAGEMENT PLAN ALSO, AND WE HAVE A MEET WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE AUSTIN GOVERNMENT RELATIONS TEAM, UH, AT CITY HALL WHO, UM, WHO REPRESENTS THE CITY OVERALL. 
          THEY'RE VERY INFORMED ABOUT THIS PROJECT. 
          THEY'VE JOINED US ON A NUMBER OF BRIEFINGS AND WE'VE STARTED THIS WEEK BRIEFING STATE OFFICIALS ABOUT, UM, OUR PLANS IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY. 
          SO WE JUST TODAY, UM, WE WERE MEETING WITH STAFF AT THE CAPITOL TO GIVE THEM A BRIEFING, ANSWER THEIR QUESTIONS, SO WE'RE BEING VERY PROACTIVE, UM, IN THAT AREA. 
          ALSO, I THINK WE'VE COVERED ALL OF THE QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER, AND LET US KNOW IF WE MISSED ANYTHING. 
          I THINK YOU DID AS WELL. 
          UH, I'LL LEAVE IT FOR NOW MY NOTES, SIR, KINDA ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT THANK YOU. 
          UM, THANK YOU. 
          GREAT JOB. 
          MM-HMM . 
          OKAY. 
          COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER CROT, UM, GREAT TRANSITION WITH COMMISSIONER TRULIA'S QUESTIONS BECAUSE MY LAST SORT OF TRANCHE OF TWO TO THREE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY, WHICH IS WHAT I THINK, UM, CAPTURED A LOT OF MY ATTENTION IN 
          [00:50:01]
THE LAST BRIEFING WE HAD ON A SR, UM, I BELIEVE IN NOVEMBER WHEN WE WERE ABLE TO REVIEW SOME OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS WE GOT FROM THE OPEN HOUSES IN BASTROP COUNTY. 
          UM, EMILY, AS YOU REFERENCED, I MEAN, WE'RE DEALING WITH A DIFFERENT SET OF COMMUNITIES. 
          THEY'RE CLOSER TO AUSTIN WITHIN, THEY'RE WITHIN OUR IMPACT FEE BOUNDARY. 
          AND SO I THINK THE, THE CHALLENGE OF COMMUNICATING THE BENEFITS OF THE PROJECT, UM, I THINK ARE MUCH MORE DIRECT. 
          THESE ARE FOLKS THAT WOULD BENEFIT FROM, UH, A MORE RELIABLE AND SECURE WATER SUPPLY THAT WOULD BE DELIVERED THROUGH A SR, UM, THAN MAYBE, UH, FOLKS LIVING IN BASTROP COUNTY OUTSIDE OUR SERVICE AREA, WHERE WE WOULD NEED TO MAYBE NEGOTIATE WHAT THOSE BENEFITS COULD BE AT A FUTURE POINT. 
          BUT, UM, THINKING OF WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT COMMUNITIES IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY, THE STAKEHOLDERS YOU'RE ENGAGING, UM, WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE NECESSARILY TALKING ABOUT? ARE THESE, UM, AREAS PRIMARILY WITHIN THE ETJ, ARE THESE UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITIES? ARE WE THINKING MAINLY OF, UM, THE FOLKS SURROUNDING THE CITY OWNED LAND? ARE THESE, UM, AGRI AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES? ARE THESE FARMERS? WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT ENGAGING EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY? YES, THIS AREA IS IN THE ETJ, CORRECT? RIGHT. 
          OKAY. 
          I'M JUST CHECKING MYSELF. 
          AND, UM, SO WE WILL BE LOOKING FOR ANY, UM, ANY AREAS WHERE THERE IS, UM, SORT OF AN ORGANIZED NEIGHBORHOOD GROUP OR, UM, COMMUNITY, UH, SO THAT, THAT IS ONE OF OUR NEXT STEPS. 
          AND THEN WE WILL BE LOOKING AT ANY JUST COMMUNITY GROUPS WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN WATER SUPPLY AND FUTURE FOR, FOR AUSTIN. 
          SO WE PLAN TO HAVE A PRETTY BROAD OUTREACH THIS SUMMER WITH, WITH GROUPS AND THEN HAVE PUBLIC OPEN HOUSES PROBABLY AROUND THE SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME. 
          SO WE'LL WIDELY PUBLICIZE THOSE AND ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO ENGAGE THERE. 
          AND I'LL JUST REITERATE ON THE TIMING MM-HMM . 
          UM, THAT KIND OF APPROACH OF STARTING BROADER AND THEN PROBABLY REFINING IN ON, UH, SPECIFIC LOCATIONS FOR OPEN HOUSES OR, UM, COMMUNITY, UM, STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE'RE WANTING TO ENGAGE WITH ALIGNS WITH OUR TECHNICAL SCHEDULE TO IDENTIFY SITES FOR THE TEST WELLS BY FALL OF 2026. 
          SO DURING THE SUMMER WE'LL BE STILL DOING THAT EVALUATION AND PROBABLY NEED TO START A LITTLE BIT BROADER UNTIL WE HAVE MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS ON THE AREAS THAT WE'RE WANTING TO PERFORM THAT FIELD TESTING AGAIN. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S AN HELPFUL AND INFORMATIVE. 
          UM, I THINK THE, THE SECOND I THINK LARGER QUESTION I HAVE IS AROUND, UM, WHAT WE'VE LEARNED FROM THE ENGAGEMENT THAT WE'VE CONDUCTED TO DATE. 
          AND SO, UM, WHEN I THINK OF, UH, SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEMS APPROACH TO THEIR A SR PROJECT IN RURAL BAYER COUNTY 20 YEARS AGO, IT WAS A, A, A MULTI-YEAR ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY WITH, UM, SOME STARTS AND STOPS AND SPEED BUMPS AND THEY GOT THERE EVENTUALLY, BUT, UM, DEFINITELY SEVERAL YEARS. 
          I KNOW THAT THE PLAN THAT WE'VE REVIEWED AND BEEN BRIEFED ON, THANK YOU SO MUCH TODAY IS LOOKING AT THE 12 MONTH PERIOD OVER CALENDAR YEAR 2026, UM, WHICH TO ME, COMING FROM, UM, NONPROFITS AND PHILANTHROPY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FUELS, UM, IT, IT MIGHT BE QUITE FAST. 
          UH, AND SO KNOWING THAT SHE ALL HAVE ALREADY SPENT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, UM, I'M LOOKING AT SLIDE 14, UM, ENGAGING ACTIVITIES WHERE WE'RE IN EARLY COMMUNICATION WITH, UH, LOCAL ELECTED SERVING THIS PART OF THE COUNTY, UM, WHERE WE HAVE CONDUCTED OUTREACH TO, UM, EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY STAKEHOLDERS. 
          WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED SO FAR FROM THAT EARLY ENGAGEMENT THAT COULD INFORM SOME OF THESE OPEN HOUSES WE'LL HAVE TOWARD THE END OF THE YEAR? UM, I THINK OF A LOT OF THE INTERESTING, UM, AND LIVELY FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM THE PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM LASKO AROUND IN BASTROP COUNTY ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF SHOWING UP IN BOOTS AND JEANS. 
          UM, WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY COMMENTS ABOUT WARDROBE. 
          UM, I WILL SAY, UM, SO, UM, WE'RE, WE ARE EARLY AND SO I WOULDN'T SAY THAT WE HAVE LIKE A BIG LIST OF, OF INPUT AT THIS POINT. 
          UH, WE ARE HEARING FROM FOLKS THEY'RE REALLY GLAD THAT WE'RE CONTINUING AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE LOOKING HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY, UM, WHAT WE'RE HEARING. 
          UM, AND LIKE I SAID, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE HONED OUR ABILITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS VERY TECHNICAL PROJECTS AND SO WE SEE THAT FOLKS ARE UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AND, AND WE'LL KEEP LISTENING AND KEEP, UM, KEEP IMPROVING IS OUR PLAN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          UM, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, I THINK COMMISSIONER REYES AND I HAVE BOTH ASKED THIS BEFORE, BUT UM, AS WE GET TO OPEN HOUSES, GETTING THEM SCHEDULED, I KNOW, I, I WOULD DEFINITELY APPRECIATE, I THINK THE COMMISSION MAY APPRECIATE JUST, UM, KNOWING, HAVING ADVANCED NOTICE OF WHEN THOSE MIGHT BE, WHERE THOSE MIGHT BE SO THAT IF WE'RE AVAILABLE WE CAN SIT IN AND JUST LISTEN AND LEARN WHAT Y'ALL ARE LEARNING AS IT HAPPENS. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          WE'LL SHARE THAT SCHEDULE WITH THE FULL COMMISSION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          THANK YOU COMM COMMISSIONER MARILLO. 
          OKAY, THIS IS JUST A QUICK QUESTION. 
          YOU SAID THAT, 
          [00:55:01]
OR I THINK YOU SAID THAT THE WELLS WILL BE WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA, SO THAT MEANS WE'RE EXCLUDING THE AREAS LIKE AROUND HORNSBY BEND, WHERE THEY ARE NOT ON, WHERE, WHERE RESIDENTS ARE GETTING WATER FROM A PRIVATE VENDOR. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? THE AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREAS DEFINED BY OUR IMPACT FEE BOUNDARY, BUT THERE ARE OTHER WATER PROVIDERS THAT HAVE CCN WITHIN OUR IMPACT FEE BOUNDARY IN EASTERN TRAVIS COUNTY. 
          AND, UH, SO AT LEAST ONE OF THE LOCATIONS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, DOES OVERLAP WITH THE CCN OF ANOTHER WATER PROVIDER. 
          UM, SO THE, THAT SITE, THAT PIECE OF LAND IN PARTICULAR MAY FALL INTO THE WATER THAT WATER PROVIDER'S SERVICE AREA OR WILL FALL INTO THAT WATER PROVIDER SERVICE AREA. 
          CAN I JUST REQUEST THAT YOU MAKE SURE TO HAVE COMMUNITY OUTREACH IN THAT AREA? MM-HMM . 
          UM, I'VE DEFINITELY HEARD A LOT OF COMPLAINTS FROM FOLKS WHO LIVE OUT, AT LEAST AROUND THE HORNS BE BEND AREA THAT, UM, THEY'RE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THEIR WATER AND THE COSTS. 
          OBVIOUSLY WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A BUNCH OF ISSUES THERE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          COMMISSIONERS, ANY FINAL QUESTIONS BEFORE WE CLOSE ITEM 13 AND TRANSITION TO ITEM 11 WHERE WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO, WITH FINAL QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM, THIS TOPIC I SHOULD SAY. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WITH THAT, WE'LL 
          [11. Recommend approval to authorize an amendment to the contract for engineering services for the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Pilot and Program Management project with HDR Engineering, Inc., in the amount of $15,726,269 for a revised total contract amount not to exceed $21,726,269. Funding is available in the Capital Budget of Austin Water.]
CLOSE THE DISCUSSION ON ITEM 13 FOR THE STAFF BRIEFING. 
          I'LL TRANSITION THE MEETING OVER TO COMMISSIONER MARLO AND TO TAKE UP THAT ITEM, BUT EVERYBODY ELSE DON'T GO ANYWHERE. 
          WE'LL STILL HAVE QUESTIONS. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIRMAN. 
          UM, THE ISSUE IS ITEM NUMBER 11. 
          COMMISSIONERS, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, I, I HAVE A COMMENT. 
          UM, I SHOULD HAVE MENTIONED EARLIER, I NEED TO RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS ITEM, MY FIRM AS A SUB-CONSULTANT TO HDR DULY NOTED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COMMISSIONER REYES, I BELIEVE YOU HAD SOME QUESTIONS. 
          I GUESS THE QUESTION THAT I HAD WAS RELATING THE ITEM TO ESSENTIALLY WHAT PORTIONS OF THESE. 
          I JUST WANTED JUST CLARITY, UH, BECAUSE I SEE ON SLIDE NINE IT SAYS THE FIELD TESTING IS MY UNDERSTANDING AS PART OF THIS ITEM NUMBER 11. 
          AND SO THEN THE SLIDE 10 SAYS CONTRACT AMENDMENT, THAT'S KIND OF COVERS THAT. 
          WHEN WE GET TO THE FIELD TESTING TIMELINE, IT'S, IT REFERS TO ON ON SLIDE 11, UM, COMPLETE PHASE ONE B AND THEN START PHASE TWO. 
          MM-HMM . 
          A SR PILOT WELL DESIGN. 
          MM-HMM . 
          DOES THIS, WOULD THIS GO THROUGH ONE B ONLY WILL IT GET THROUGH PHASE TWO? I JUST WANTED TO JUST CLARITY, MAKING SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING WHAT THIS AMOUNT IS FOR. 
          YEAH, SO THIS WOULD COVER PHASE ONE B. 
          THERE ARE SOME PRELIMINARY PLANNING TASKS WITHIN PHASE ONE B THAT WILL SET US UP FOR PHASE TWO THAT ARE INCLUDED WITHIN THE, THE SCOPE OF PHASE ONE B AND INCLUDED WITHIN THIS F THIS ITEM, ITEM 11. 
          OKAY. 
          SO, SO THIS MAY NOT GET ALL THE WAY THROUGH PHASE TWO ON? NO, THIS WILL, THE MAJORITY OF PHASE TWO, ALMOST ALL OF PHASE TWO WILL BE INCLUDED IN A SUBSEQUENT SCOPE. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          THAT WE WOULD NEED TO COME BACK TO COMMISSION AND COUNSEL FOR, UM, AUTHORIZATION FOR. 
          OKAY. 
          YES, I THINK THAT THAT ANSWERS THE QUESTION. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          YES, THANK YOU. 
          ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. 
          I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT WITH THE TWO ABSTENTIONS, WE LACK A, WE LACK A QUORUM FOR A VOTE ON THIS. 
          SO WE WILL 
          [14. Staff briefing regarding highlights of Austin Water's 2026 Q1 Report on Water Management Strategy Implementation.]
GO BACK TO ITEM NUMBER 14 ON OUR AGENDA. 
          AND I TURN THE CHAIR OVER TO COMMISSIONER PENN. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND JUST IN GENERAL, ITEMS THAT MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT A QUORUM JUST DO NOT HAVE, UH, THEY GO FORWARD WITHOUT A RECOMMENDATION. 
          SO MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER 14, A STAFF BRIEFING REGARDING HIGHLIGHTS OF AUSTIN WATERS 2026 Q1 REPORT ON WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION. 
          WELCOME. 
          GOOD, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. 
          MY NAME IS KEVIN KLUGE. 
          I'M THE WATER CONSERVATION DIVISION MANAGER, AND THIS IS A SHORT BRIEFING ON THE Q1 OR JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH 
          [01:00:01]
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FROM THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AS WAS DONE IN THE LAST QUARTER. 
          THIS IS A SHORT FOUR SLIDE HIGHLIGHT OF THE LARGER IMPLEMENTATION REPORT THAT YOU HAVE AS A BACKUP. 
          WE'RE JUST GONNA HIT THE HIGHLIGHTS HERE, BUT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING IN THAT FULL REPORT, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AT THIS MEETING. 
          OR IF YOU COME UP WITH QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS, FEEL FREE TO SEND THEM ON AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ADDRESS THOSE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          ALRIGHT, SO Q1 HIGHLIGHTS, AS I MENTIONED, IS JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH. 
          GENERALLY A LOW WATER USE MONTH. 
          PEOPLE ARE FOCUSING ON WASTEWATER AVERAGING AND, AND FREEZES. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, WE DIDN'T HAVE MANY OF THOSE, UH, THIS FIRST QUARTER, BUT THE HIGHLIGHTS, UH, WE HAD FIVE NEW COMMUNITY GRANTS THAT WERE AWARDED. 
          THESE WERE NEW GRANTS THAT CAME OUT OF THE WATER FORWARD PLAN AND THE WATER CONSERVATION PLAN REALLY FOCUSING ON HELPING SMALL NONPROFITS IN THE COMMUNITY SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF WATER CONSERVATION RATHER THAN JUST COMING THROUGH TRADITIONAL MEDIA. 
          THESE ARE SMALL GRANTS TO FIVE NONPROFITS WHO WILL PROVIDE CONSERVATION INFORMATION IN THEIR MESSAGING. 
          ALSO, WE'VE RESUMED, UH, LEAK DETECTION ACTIVITIES FOR LARGE DIAMETER PIPES. 
          IN JANUARY WE HAD, UH, OR FIRST QUARTER RATHER, WE HAD 17,000 FEET OF DETECTION BEING DONE ON LARGE DIAMETER PIPES. 
          AND WE'LL CONTINUE THAT ON INTO Q2. 
          AND FINALLY, EVEN THOUGH JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AREN'T MUCH OF A LANDSCAPING, UH, TIME PERIOD BY MARCH, PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO THINK ABOUT THEIR LANDSCAPES FOR THE SUMMER. 
          UH, SO WE STARTED OUR KNOW YOUR WATERING DAY EARLY. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THESE ARE THE PER PERSON WATER USE FIGURES THAT YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE. 
          ON THE FAR RIGHT THERE, YOU SEE A SINGLE BAR. 
          THAT'S THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2026. 
          UM, IT, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, Q1 IS ALWAYS A LOW WATER USE QUARTER. 
          UM, THE PER PERSON WATER USE TOTAL WAS 113 GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY. 
          THAT WAS THE SAME AS IT WAS BACK IN 2025. 
          ONE THING YOU MIGHT NOTE IT AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT, THAT VERTICAL BAR THERE, UM, WE HAD MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL AT 29 GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY. 
          AND, UM, SINGLE FAMILY AT 27, UH, THAT, THAT 27 IS, IS THE LOWEST SINGLE FAMILY WATER USE THAT YOU SEE IN THIS SET OF DATA. 
          AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT MULTIFAMILY EXCEEDED SINGLE FAMILY IN TERMS OF THAT PER PERSON WATER USE. 
          UH, WE DON'T EXPECT THAT TO CONTINUE. 
          'CAUSE ONCE YOU GET INTO Q2 AND Q3, THE SPRING AND SUMMER, UH, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPING ALWAYS IN, UH, LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION ALWAYS INCREASES. 
          BUT, UH, THAT WAS AN INTERESTING NOTE IN THAT DATA. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THIS IS THE SAME GPCD DATA JUST SHOWN A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY AGAIN IN THAT FINAL QUARTER. 
          THERE YOU SEE THAT THE ORANGE LINE, UM, JUST EXCEEDS THE, UM, THAT SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL LINE, WHICH, WHICH IS SOMETHING UNUSUAL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          FINALLY, TAKEAWAYS AND NEXT STEPS. 
          AGAIN, UH, THE PER PERSON WATER USE WAS SIMILAR TO WAS, WAS WHAT IT WAS LAST YEAR IN Q1. 
          WE'RE GEARING UP FOR THE SPRING AND SUMMER WITH VARIOUS ACTIVITIES, COMMUNITY EVENTS, EARTH DAY EVENTS THAT HAVE BEEN TAKING PLACE. 
          AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO REFINE THE MY ETX WATER NOTIFICATIONS THAT WERE STARTED LAST YEAR, UH, REACHING OUT TO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL AT THIS POINT, UM, TO TRY TO ENGAGE THEM TO USE TO IRRIGATE LESS, UH, TO TURN OFF THE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS TEMPORARILY WHEN IT RAINS. 
          UH, SO WE'RE TRYING TO REFINE THOSE MESSAGES FROM THE MYX WATER SYSTEM. 
          AND FINALLY, THE INFRASTRUCTURE LEAKAGE INDEX, UM, WHICH IS AN INDEX OF REALLY HOW MUCH OUR LEAKAGE, OUR LOSS, REAL LOSSES COMPARED TO, UM, THE UNAVOIDABLE LOSS. 
          UM, IT, IT IMPROVED TO 5.16 DOWN FROM 5.44. 
          SO 
          [01:05:01]
THAT, THAT'S A GOOD THING, UM, A GOOD DIRECTION TO GO IN COMPARED TO 2024. 
          SO 2025 WAS AN IMPROVEMENT ON 2024. 
          AND THAT IS AT THE, THE END OF OUR, OUR BRIEF HIGHLIGHTS. 
          UM, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THIS OR THE FULL REPORT COMMISSIONERS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? UH, I JUST HAD ONE. 
          I WAS CURIOUS WITH THAT IMPROVEMENT IN THE ILI IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU KNEW WHAT, WHAT THAT MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTED TO AT THIS TIME? I WOULD SAY THAT THE, AS AN ANNUAL NUMBER, THAT'S REALLY HARD TO OKAY. 
          TO, YOU KNOW, WAS, WAS IT THE EMPHASIS ON REPLACING SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENTS OR THE DIFFERENT, UM, LEAK DETECTION ACTIVITIES BEING TRIALED IN THE, THE A MI SYSTEM? IT'S, THAT'S REALLY HARD TO PINPOINT. 
          VERY GOOD. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          JUST CURIOUS TO SEE WHAT, UH, WHAT'S, WHAT'S BEEN WORKING. 
          SO APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY, 
          [15. Staff briefing on large industrial and commercial customer water usage and  conservation trends. ]
MOVING ON TO OUR FINAL STAFF BRIEFING AND ITEM OF THE DAY, UH, THE STAFF BRIEFING ON LARGE INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER WATER USAGE AND CONSERVATION TRENDS. 
          I'LL JUST SAY THAT WE HAVE A, A PANEL OF FOLKS TO COME UP AND HELP PRESENT THIS. 
          AND WE DID MAKE THIS PRESENTATION TO THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE EARLIER THIS WEEK, THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS COMMITTEE. 
          AND SO WE'RE GLAD TO BE ABLE TO BRING IT TO YOU ALL TOO. 
          I'LL HAND IT OVER TO OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR, RANDY JENKINS. 
          THANK YOU EMILY, AND GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. 
          IT'S NICE TO BE BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING. 
          UM, AS, UH, EMILY MENTIONED, MY NAME IS RANDY JENKINS. 
          I'M THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SERVICES HERE AT AUSTIN WATER. 
          UM, AS SHE MENTIONED YET, UH, ON MONDAY MORNING, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THIS PRESENTATION TO OUR CLIMATE, WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARK SUBCOMMITTEE OF COUNCIL AND ARE HAPPY TO BE BEFORE YOU THIS EVENING TO TO SHARE THE SAME PRESENTATION. 
          UM, WE HAVE A COHORT OF EXPERTS HERE, UH, JOINING ME THIS EVENING THAT WILL INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AS WE GO ALONG THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. 
          AND I WILL START WITH AN OVERVIEW OF, UH, OUR WATER SOURCE AND WATER SUPPLY FOR AUSTIN. 
          AND THEN THE TEAM WILL SHARE, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT OUR SERVICE AREA, WHICH I KNOW WE'VE GOT A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT IN OUR PRIOR PRESENTATION THIS EVENING AND OUR RELATED OBLIGATIONS TO THAT SERVICE AREA. 
          AND THEN WE WILL TALK ABOUT OUR NEW USERS AND THEIR REQUESTS FOR SERVICE AND THE, THE WAY THAT WE EVALUATE THOSE REQUESTS. 
          AND THEN, UM, CERTAINLY OUR REQUIREMENTS FOR REUSE AND CONSERVATION THAT GO ALONG INSIDE WITH THAT, THAT EVALUATION FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS. 
          AND THEN WE WILL ROUND OUT WITH OUR CURRENT LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS AND THEN, UM, PROVIDE YOU WITH, UM, SOME OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS. 
          SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO COMMISSIONERS, I KNOW YOU'RE VERY WELL FAMILIAR WITH OUR WATER SOURCE AND WATER SUPPLY, BUT JUST TO MAKE SURE WE BRING ALONG ANY VIEWERS AND FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE HERE THIS EVENING. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN, UH, GETS ITS WATER SUPPLY FROM THE COLORADO RIVER, UM, WHICH IS MANAGED BY THE LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY. 
          AND, UM, WE DRAW OUR SUPPLY FROM, UM, THE HIGHLAND LAKE SYSTEM OF LAKE LAKES, AUSTIN, AND TRAVIS. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE, THE IMAGE THERE, UM, WE HAVE STATE GRANTED WATER RIGHTS THAT ARE, UM, CALLED RUN A RIVER RIGHTS. 
          UM, AND IN 1999, WE, UH, MADE A RESERVATION WITH LCRA AND A CONTRACT FOR ADDITIONAL WATER RIGHTS, UM, AND WATER SUPPLY, UM, FOR A TOTAL CONTRACTED AMOUNT, UH, OR EXCUSE ME, FOR A TOTAL WATER SUPPLY AMOUNT OF 325,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR. 
          AND SO, JUST TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT THERE, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, AUSTIN HAS USED APPROXIMATELY 170,000 ACRE FEET ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          HELLO, MY NAME IS COLLEEN KIRK. 
          I'M THE UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION MANAGER. 
          AND SO I'M GONNA GO OVER OUR SERVICE AREA AND SOME OF THE REQUIREMENTS WE HAVE TO PROVIDE SERVICE WITHIN THAT. 
          SO OUR SERVICE AREA ON THIS EXHIBIT, YOU CAN SEE IT'S OUTLINED IN THE RED LINE. 
          UH, IT GENERALLY FOLLOWS OUR PLANNING JURISDICTION. 
          SO THIS IS ALSO THE SAME AS THE IMPACT FEE BOUNDARY. 
          UH, IT IS AMENDED AND RE REVIEWED AND AMENDED ON A FIVE YEAR CADENCE ALONG WITH THE IMPACT FEES. 
          SO THIS BOUNDARY BASICALLY IDENTIFIES WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE SERVICE, WHERE WE CAN ASSESS IMPACT FEES, AND ANYTHING BEYOND THAT BOUNDARY WOULD BE PROHIBITED UNLESS IT'S APPROVED BY COUNSEL THROUGH AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE SERVICE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA, WE ALSO HAVE VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS AND REGULATORY BOUNDARIES. 
          SO, 
          [01:10:01]
UH, LIKE I MENTIONED, IT'S OUR SERVICE AREA IS LARGELY DEFINED BY OUR, UH, PLANNING JURISDICTION, WHICH INCLUDES OUR CITY'S FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION SHOWN IN YELLOW, THE LIMITED PURPOSE JURISDICTION SHOWN IN GREEN, THE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION SHOWN IN BEIGE. 
          ADDITIONALLY, THE SERVICE AREA SPANS ACROSS FOUR COUNTIES. 
          SO WITHIN THAT RED BOUNDARY, THE AREAS THAT ARE UNSHADED REPRESENT UNINCORPORATED PARTS OF THOSE COUNTIES OF TRAVIS WILLIAMSON, HAYES, AND BASTROP. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE ADDITIONALLY HAVE A WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS THAT WE PROVIDE SERVICE TO. 
          SO WHOLESALE CUSTOMER IS ESSENTIALLY ANOTHER UTILITY PROVIDER THAT WE SUPPLY WATER OR WASTEWATER SERVICE TO, AND THEN THEY DISTRIBUTE WITHIN THEIR SERVICE AREAS TO PROVIDE RETAIL SERVICE TO THEIR CUSTOMERS. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THOSE, UH, WHOLESALE CUSTOMERS ARE WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA AND SOME OF THEM ARE JUST BEYOND THE SERVICE AREA, BUT THEY'RE ALL AUTHORIZED BY CONTRACT. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE OUR CERTIFICATES OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY THAT, UM, ARE WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA. 
          SO A CCN IS, UH, SOMETHING ADMINISTERED BY THE STATE THROUGH THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION. 
          IT GRANTS THE, UM, EXCLUSIVE RIGHT FOR US TO PROVIDE UTILITY SERVICE AS WELL AS THE LEGAL OBLIGATION TO, SO THE MAP ON THE LEFT WOULD SHOW OUR THE WATER CN. 
          SO IN THE LIGHT SHADING OF BLUE IS THE CITY'S FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION WHERE WE MUST SERVE THE DARKER BLUE IS WHERE WE HOLD THE WATER, CCN, AND THE GRAY AREA WOULD BE WHERE ANOTHER PROVIDER HOLDS THE CCC N WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA. 
          ON THE RIGHT SIDE IS THE WASTEWATER MAP, SHOWING THE LIGHT GREEN IS OUR FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION, THE DARKER GREEN BEING WHERE WE HOLD THE WASTEWATER CC N, AGAIN, THE GRAY BEING ANOTHER PROVIDER, CCN. 
          SO WE ARE PROHIBITED FROM PROVIDING SERVICE IF THE PROPERTY IS WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA AND COVERED BY ANOTHER CCN UNLESS THAT CCN HOLDER RELEASES THAT PROPERTY SO THAT WE COULD SERVE. 
          NEXT SLIDE, UH, NEXT I'LL GO OVER SOME OF OUR UTILITY PLANNING PROCESSES, AS WELL AS HOW WE INTERACT AND MANAGE OUR SERVICE AREA WITH RELATION TO NEW DEVELOPMENT. 
          UM, FROM A UTILITY PLANNING PROCESS OVERVIEW, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN, WHICH IS PLANNING FOR THE, UH, WATER SUPPLY OVER THE NEXT A HUNDRED YEARS, AS WELL AS OUR LONG RANGE INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN, WHICH IS LOOKING AT THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS OF THE WATER WASTEWATER RECLAIMED SYSTEM, UH, FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS, KIND OF GIVING US AN IDEA OF HOW WE WOULD GROW AND EXPAND INTO OUR SERVICE AREA. 
          UH, WE ALSO HAVE OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT A FIVE AND 10 YEAR CIP PLAN THAT IS LOOKED AT AND REVISED EVERY YEAR. 
          NEXT SLIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UM, A VERY EARLY TOUCH POINT IS OUR SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST PROCESS. 
          UM, THAT IS WHERE WE ARE FIRST LOOKING AT A POTENTIAL PROJECT AND THEY'RE EVALUATING THEIR UTILITY DEMANDS TO SEE IF WE HAVE SUITABLE AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE AS IF A PROJECT MOVES FORWARD INTO THE LAND DEVELOPMENT PHASE, IT'S GOING TO, WE'RE GONNA GET MORE ENGAGED, AND THAT WOULD BEAR BE WHERE YOU HAVE SITE PLANS AND SUBDIVISION PLANS. 
          AND WE'RE LOOKING AT REALLY LOOKING INTO WHERE WE HAVE THE WATER CONSERVATION REQUIREMENTS, REUSE REQUIREMENTS, ANY INCENTIVES AND OTHER, UH, APPLICABLE CODE. 
          THEN AS THE PROJECT MOVES INTO A BUILDING PHASE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE LOOKING REALLY INTO THE DETAILS OF THE BUILDING SCALE REVIEWS, ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS, DUAL PLUMBING, UH, AND CROSS CONNECTION PROTECTIONS. 
          NEXT SLIDE FOR THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST. 
          SO AGAIN, THIS IS AN EARLY, UH, PROCESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT LIFE CYCLE. 
          WE'RE LOOKING TO ENSURE THAT THE PROJECT DEMANDS OR THE UTILITY NEEDS ARE THAT WE HAVE SUITABLE AND SUFFICIENT SERVICE TO MEET THOSE. 
          SO IT'S VERY SPECIFIC TO THE SITE LOCATION AS WELL AS THE PRO PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT TYPE AND THEIR UTILITY NEEDS. 
          UH, ANY INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE IDENTIFIED AS NEEDED TO MEET THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE ARE TO BE DESIGNED, CONSTRUCTED, AND THEN CONTRIBUTED OR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTED BY THE DEVELOPER AND PAID FOR BY THEM, AND THEN CONTRIBUTE TO, TO THE CITY TO AS PART OF OUR SYSTEM. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, SOME OUTCOMES OF OUR SER PROCESS IS THAT WE'RE, WE HAVE AN ENGINEER ON STAFF IN AUSTIN WATER WHO WOULD BE DEVELOPING A SERVICE PLAN. 
          SO YOU CAN SEE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THAT MIGHT LOOK LIKE THAT'S IDENTIFYING THOSE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO THE SITE AND SPECIFIC TO THE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS ON WHAT INFRASTRUCTURE THEY MUST CONSTRUCT IN ORDER TO MEET THEIR PROJECT DEMANDS. 
          THIS ALLOWS THEM TO SEE, YOU KNOW, EARLY ON IN THEIR PROJECT, WHAT IS THE COST OF THOSE IMPROVEMENTS AND HOW FEASIBLE THE PROJECT WOULD BE AND DECIDE IF THEY'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD. 
          UM, THIS ALLOWS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ORDERLY EXPANSION OF OUR SYSTEM AND PLAN ANY, UM, OVERSIZING AND WHERE WE CAN COST, PARTICIPATE WITH THE DEVELOPER TO BUILD IN LARGER INFRASTRUCTURE AT THE TIME THAT THEY'RE BUILDING IT SO WE CAN PLAN 
          [01:15:01]
FOR GROWTH WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO AS THE PROJECT MOVES FORWARD, IF IT, IT PROCEEDS PAST THE SER PHASE, ANOTHER TOUCH POINT WE HAVE IS WHEN IT COMES BACK INTO AS A SITE DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION. 
          AND SO OUR WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATION IS TRIGGERED INITIALLY THERE FOR ALL COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY PROJECTS WHERE WE'RE IDENTIFYING EXACTLY HOW THEY'RE USING THE WATER WITHIN THEIR SITE, WHERE THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR WATER REUSE AND CONSERVATION, UH, WHAT INCENTIVES MIGHT BE AVAILABLE TO THEM AND WHAT COAT PROVISIONS ARE REQUIRED. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          HELLO EVERYONE. 
          MY NAME IS CATHERINE DESHIN GAME, A SUPERVISING ENGINEER AND OUR WATER FOR OUR WATER REUSE PROGRAMS WITHIN OUR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DIVISION. 
          RIGHT NOW, I KIND OF FEEL LIKE A MOVIE STAR WITH THESE BRIGHT LIGHTS. 
          ARE THEY ALWAYS THIS BRIGHT? I'LL JUST GO OVER IT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I'M GONNA GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF OUR WATER CONSERVATION AND REUSE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, UM, AND ALSO TALK ABOUT OUR, OUR INCENTIVES TO, TO HELP OUR CUSTOMERS INCREASE WATER EFFICIENCY WITHIN THEIR, WITHIN AND AROUND THEIR BUILDINGS. 
          SO OUR FIRST, UH, CONSERVATION CODE REQUIREMENTS ARE, UM, TARGETED AT OUR EXISTING CUSTOMERS AND SPECIFIC WATER USES WITHIN, UM, THESE, WITHIN THIS LIKE CUSTOMER CLASS. 
          AND SO THE COMMERCIAL IRRIGATION FACILITY ASSESSMENT, THAT IS A, UH, A BIANNUAL INSPECTION PROGRAM FOR PROPERTIES THAT HAVE ONE ACRE OR OR MORE, UH, WITHIN THEIR PROPERTY. 
          SO THEIR IRRIGATIONS SYSTEMS ARE ASSESSED BY, UH, LANDSCAPE IRRIGATOR TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE RUNNING EFFICIENCY EFFICIENTLY, THEY'RE NOT LEAKING, THEY'RE NOT OVER SPRAYING, UM, AND WASTING WATER WHEN, WHEN THEIR LANDSCAPE IS BEING IRRIGATED. 
          WE HAVE ABOUT 3000, UH, CUSTOMERS THAT ARE REGULATED UNDER THAT PROGRAM. 
          AND THE NEXT IS THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE WASH FACILITY ASSESSMENT. 
          THIS IS REQUIRED ANNUALLY FOR ALL FACILITIES THAT WASH VEHICLES. 
          WE HAVE, UH, EFFICIENCY STANDARDS IN CODE FOR HOW MUCH WATER CAN BE USED PER VEHICLE DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF WASH WASHING EQUIPMENT BEING USED. 
          UM, AND SO THAT ASSESSMENT MAKES SURE THAT THOSE EFFICIENCY STANDARDS ARE BEING MET. 
          AND AGAIN, NO WATER'S BEING WASTED. 
          AND SO WE HAVE 160 OR SO FACILITIES IN THAT PROGRAM. 
          AND THE LAST IS THE COOLING TOWER EFFICIENCY PROGRAM. 
          IT'S REQUIRED FOR FACILITIES WITH EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWERS. 
          AGAIN, WE HAVE EFFICIENCY STANDARDS WITHIN CODE MINIMUM CYCLES OF CONCENTRATION. 
          NEWER, UM, TOWERS HAVE TO HAVE MAKEUP WATER FROM AN ALTERNATIVE WATER SOURCE. 
          UM, AND THEN THESE FACILITIES ARE INSPECTED, UM, ANNUALLY TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE, THEY'RE MEETING THE EFFICIENCY STANDARDS. 
          AND WE HAVE ABOUT 250 OF THOSE. 
          NEXT SLIDE FOR WATER REUSE REQUIREMENTS. 
          UH, THESE ARE OUR, UH, KIND OF FALL UNDER OUR GO PURPLE PROGRAM, WHICH WAS ADOPTED, UH, JUST OVER TWO YEARS AGO. 
          THERE TWO TIERS. 
          UH, FOR REQUIREMENTS IN THIS PROGRAM. 
          IF YOU ARE A SMALL DEVELOPMENT, MEANING YOU HAVE 250,000 SQUARE FEET, OR NO MORE THAN 250,000 SQUARE FEET OF GROSS FLOOR AREA IN YOUR PROJECT, YOU'RE SMALL. 
          IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN THAT, YOU'RE A LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. 
          AND SO FOR THE SMALL PROJECTS, IF YOU'RE WITHIN PROXIMITY TO THE RECLAIMED WATER NETWORK WITHIN 250 FEET, YOU HAVE TO CONNECT TO THE RECLAIMED SYSTEM, USE THE WATER FOR TOILET FLUSHING, IRRIGATION AND COOLING. 
          IF YOU'RE FURTHER THAN 250 FEET AND YOU HAVE AN EVAPORATIVE COOLING TOWER, YOU HAVE TO COLLECT CONDENSATE AND REUSE IT FOR MAKEUP WATER. 
          FOR THE LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITHIN 500 FEET OF THE RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM, YOU HAVE TO CONNECT, USE THAT WATER FOR NON-POTABLE NEEDS THAT I'VE MENTIONED. 
          UM, BUT IF YOU'RE FURTHER THAN 500 FEET, YOU HAVE TO INSTEAD INSTALL AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM. 
          YOU'RE CAPTURING RAIN, WATER AND CONDENSATE TREATING IT FOR REUSE IN THE SAME NON-POTABLE APPLICATIONS. 
          THERE'S ONE CAVEAT THAT IF YOU ARE A MULTIFAMILY PROJECT, YOU CAN PAY A FEE IN LIEU OF INSTALLING THE ONSITE SYSTEM, BUT YOU HAVE TO MAKE YOUR PROJECT RECLAIMED READY. 
          YOU HAVE TO PUT IN THE PIPING SO THAT IF WE EXTEND A RECLAIM MAIN TO YOUR PROJECT IN THE FUTURE, YOU'RE READY TO CONNECT. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE OUR WATER CONSERVATION INCENTIVES. 
          THE FIRST IS THE BUCKS FOR BUSINESS, UH, REBATE. 
          IT'S A PERFORMANCE BASED REBATE. 
          AND SO BASICALLY IT'S A, A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE THAT YOU AS A CUSTOMER IDENTIFY YOUR WATER EFFICIENCY MEASURE, UH, AND THEN WE WILL PAY YOU A DOLLAR PER THOUSAND GALLONS THAT YOU SAVE OVER 10 YEARS. 
          UM, WE HAVE HAD INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS DO THIS FOR, UH, PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS AND RECYCLING WITHIN, WITHIN THEIR CAMPUSES, UH, AND I THINK SOME MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMERS AS WELL. 
          THE COOLING TOWER AND ALTERNATIVE COOLING, UM, SYSTEMS REBATE, THAT'S FOR IF YOU WANT, IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE OLDER COOLING 
          [01:20:01]
TOWERS AND YOU'RE NOT REQUIRED TO DO REUSE. 
          AND FOR MAKEUP WATER, THIS INCENTIVIZES YOU TO DO THAT. 
          WATER EFFICIENCY AUDITS, UH, PAY UP TO $5,000 TO HAVE A PROFESSIONAL COME OUT AND ASSESS HOW WATER IS BEING USED IN YOUR PARTICULAR, UM, BUILDING FOR YOUR PARTICULAR USES. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN TAKE, UH, THE RESULTS OF THOSE AUDITS AND APPLY FOR OUR OTHER REBATES THAT WE HAVE THAT ARE TARGETED FOR, UM, LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT, REBATES, COMMERCIAL KITCHEN REPLACEMENT, THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A RECLAIMED WATER CONNECTION REBATE FOR CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, EXISTED FOR A WHILE. 
          AND THEN WE PUT INSTALL A RECLAIMED MAIN, UH, INTO A NEW AREA OF THE CITY. 
          THEY GET MONEY TO HELP THEM CONVERT THEIR, UH, SITE OVER TO RECLAIM WATER. 
          ON THE RIGHT ARE OUR GO PURPLE INCENTIVES. 
          THESE PAY UP TO 1.5 MILLION PER PROJECT. 
          THEY CAN COVER THE COST OF INSTALLING AN ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEM AND DUAL PLUMBING YOUR BUILDING THAT CAN COVER THE COST OF EXTENDING A RECLAIM MAIN BEYOND 250 FEET. 
          UM, WE'VE HAD PEOPLE INSTALL THOUSANDS OF FEET. 
          UM, AND THEN WE ALSO FUND EXPEDITED BUILDING A PERMIT PLAN REVIEW TO GET THESE PROJECTS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FASTER. 
          WE PAY UP TO $36,000 PER PROJECT. 
          AND THEN IF YOU ARE, UM, WE HAVE A, A WITHIN OUR CODE, AN EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS THAT ARE PROVIDING 50% ONSITE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. 
          THEY'RE NOT REQUIRED TO DO ANY REUSE, BUT WE HAVE, UM, THIS DUAL PLUMBING INCENTIVE THAT WOULD COVER A MILLION DOLLARS FOR THE COST OF DUAL PLUMBING. 
          AND YOU CAN PAIR THAT WITH THE RECLAIMED MAIN INCENTIVE AND GET FULLY HOOKED UP. 
          I THINK THAT'S IT. 
          THANK YOU CATHERINE. 
          I'M CHRISTINA ROMERO. 
          I'M INTERIM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, AND SO I'LL BE GOING OVER THE LARGE CUSTOMERS AND WATER USAGE. 
          AND SO BACK IN 2024, AUSTIN WATER CONDUCTED A DETAILED COST OF SERVICE STUDY, WHICH WE DO EVERY FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS. 
          AND SO THAT HELPS US DEVELOP RATES EQUITABLY TO RECOVER COST FROM DIFFERENT CUSTOMER GROUPS LIKE RESIDENTIAL, MULTIFAMILY, LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS. 
          AND SO WITH THIS COST OF SERVICE STUDY, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE COST AND, UM, HOW TO RECOVER THE COST OF PROVIDING THE SERVICE. 
          AND SO WE ESTABLISHED A PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF EACH OF THE RETAIL CLASSES, UM, TO GO OVER A SEVEN MONTH PERIOD OF AUSTIN WATER'S COST ALLOCATION, OUR MODELS RATE SETTING. 
          AND SO AUSTIN WATER ALSO GATHERED COMMUNITY INPUT BY HAVING AN OPEN HOUSE IN EACH OF THE DISTRICTS, UH, AS WELL AS A VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE AND A COUPLE OF FOCUS GROUPS AND AN ONLINE SURVEYS. 
          SO WE DID ALL THAT WE COULD JUST TO GET THAT PUBLIC INPUT INTO OUR, UM, COST OF SERVICE STUDY. 
          AND SO WE SHARED ALL OF OUR MEETING MATERIALS AND VIDEOS ON SPEAK UP AUSTIN. 
          ADDITIONALLY, AUSTIN WATER WORKED WITH RATE CONSULTANTS TO CREATE A RATE MODEL, UM, SPECIFICALLY FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICES. 
          WE ALSO HIRED A, UH, RATE ADVOCATE, UH, AS WELL TO SIT ON OUR PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT COMMITTEE. 
          AND SO ADDITIONALLY, ALL THESE MODELS, UM, THAT WE CREATED HELPED DETERMINE COSTS AND SET THE RATES THAT, UH, COVER OPERATIONAL MAINTENANCE AND CAPITAL EXPENSES FOR EACH OF OUR RETAIL CUSTOMER CLASSES. 
          AND SO HERE YOU'LL SEE WE, UM, APPLIED THE DEFINITIONS FOR WHAT WE CONSIDER A COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER, WHICH IS A PLACE OF BUSINESS SUCH AS RETAIL SALES ESTABLISHMENT, HOTEL, RESTAURANT, OR BUILDING THAT USES WATER FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES. 
          NEXT, WE HAVE OUR LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER CRITERIA. 
          AND SO THAT WOULD BE AN EXISTING COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER OF AUSTIN WATER THAT PURCHASES MORE THAN 85 MILLION GALLONS OF WATER DURING A FISCAL YEAR, UH, AT A SINGLE SERVICE ADDRESS OR CAMPUS. 
          AND SO WE WILL MONITOR THAT CONSUMPTION ANNUALLY AND THEN DETERMINE IF ANY EXISTING CUSTOMERS HAVE EXCEEDED THE THRESHOLD AND THEN ALSO DETERMINE WHEN'S THE RIGHT TIME TO, UM, CONVERT THEM TO A LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          OKAY, SO THIS SLIDE IS OUR LARGE WATER CUSTOMER. 
          SO WE WANTED TO PROVIDE A FIVE YEAR COMPARATIVE DATA, AND THIS IS IN THOUSANDS OF GALLONS. 
          AND SO YOU'LL SEE THAT, UM, HISTORICALLY OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS YOU SEE SAMSUNG, UH, AS, UH, THE TOP USER. 
          AND SO THIS CHART ALSO INCLUDES, UM, NOT JUST LARGE VOLUME, BUT WHOLESALE, COMMERCIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND THERE'S ALSO A MULTIFAMILY ON THIS LIST. 
          UM, SO THE TOP THREE, UH, OF THOSE, UH, CUSTOMERS WOULD BE, ONE WAS SAMSUNG, THE SECOND FOLLOWED BY TRAVIS COUNTY WATER IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NUMBER 10, AND THEN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, WHICH INCLUDES ALL THEIR CAMPUSES. 
          UH, SO THAT ROUNDS OUT THE TOP THREE WATER USERS. 
          [01:25:02]
NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          THIS IS A PIE CHART OF THE WATER USE BREAKDOWN. 
          SO IN THIS CHART YOU CAN SEE THAT SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL MAKES UP A BULK OF AUSTIN WATERS, UH, USERS, WHICH, UH, IS ABOUT 27%. 
          NEXT WOULD BE OUR MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMERS AT 25% AND THEN, UH, FOLLOWED BY COMMERCIAL AT 17% AND THEN LARGE VOLUME AT 6%. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE OTHER SMALL PIECES OF THE PIE CHART. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THIS IS SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN FROM KEVIN'S PRESENTATION, BUT THIS IS THE HISTORIC WATER USE OF THE GPCD. 
          AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT UH, GPCD HAS STAYED RELATIVELY STABLE SINCE 2018, UM, WITH THOSE TOTALS ACROSS THE TOP. 
          AND I'LL ALSO HIGHLIGHT THE HIGHER USE IN QUARTER THREE OF EACH YEAR THAT IS ACTUALLY ASSOCIATED WITH OUTDOOR WATERING DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND SO THIS IS THE SAME INFORMATION JUST SHOWN IN A LINE CHART AND IT DEMONSTRATES SEASONAL SPIKES IN SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL WATER USE, WHICH IS THE TOP LINE IN BLUE. 
          YOU CAN REALLY SEE THE IMPACT OF THE OUTDOOR WATER USE IN THIS CHART. 
          YOU'LL SEE THE PEAKS FOR OUTDOOR WATERING. 
          UH, YOU'LL ALSO NOTE THAT INDUSTRIAL USE, WHICH IS THE AQUA COLORED LINE, DOES NOT HAVE SEASONAL SPIKES IN COMMERCIAL, UH, WITH THE DARK GREEN HAS SOME SEASONAL SPIKES. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          YEAH, WE JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE SOME EXAMPLES OF SOME OF OUR, UH, YOU KNOW, SHINING STAR CUSTOMERS, THOSE THAT WHO HAVE GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT CODE REQUIRES, UH, USUALLY FOR THEIR OWN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS AND REASONS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          THE FIRST IS THE, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          IT'S A PILOT PROJECT AT THE PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER. 
          THERE'S AN ONSITE BLACKWATER REUSE SYSTEM THERE THAT, UH, TREATS ALL OF THE BUILDING'S WASTEWATER AND RECYCLES IT BACK THROUGH THE BUILDING, UM, FOR, FOR TOILET FLUSHING. 
          IT ALSO HAD CAPTURES RAINWATER AND CONDENSATE FOR LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION. 
          AND, UM, THE, WHEN, UH, THIS BUILDING WITH THOSE REUSE SYSTEMS, IT USES ABOUT 75% LESS DRINKING WATER THAN A, A SIMILAR BUILDING THAT, YOU KNOW, WAS WASN'T INCORPORATING REUSE. 
          UM, AND THIS PROJECT IS, UH, PRETTY UNIQUE. 
          IT WAS OUR DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 
          WE WANTED TO DEVELOP OUR, OUR KIND OF SHOWCASE WHAT WAS POSSIBLE, UH, TO THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY. 
          OUR CODES DON'T REQUIRE BLACKWATER CAPTURE AND REUSE. 
          IT REQUIRES A SPECIAL PERMIT FROM TCEQ. 
          UM, BUT WE HAVE, WE GIVE A LOT OF TOURS OF THIS BUILDING AND, UM, HAVE EVEN INSPIRED OTHER OF OUR CUSTOMERS TO IMPLEMENT SIMILAR PROJECTS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          OKAY. 
          ONE OF THEM BEING THE NEW APPLE CAMPUS UP ON PALMER LANE. 
          THEY ARE INCORPORATING WASTEWATER MINING. 
          SO THEY'RE TREATING NOT ONLY THEIR, UH, WASTEWATER FROM THEIR OWN BUILDINGS, BUT THEY'RE EXTRACTING WASTEWATER FROM THE ADJACENT SEWER, TREATING IT FOR REUSE IN THEIR, UH, COOLING APPLICATIONS AND TOILET FLUSHING. 
          THEY USED IT IN OUR INCENTIVE, UH, GOT $500,000 TOWARDS THE COST OF THEIR SYSTEM, AND THEY, UH, ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN OPERATION ANY DAY AND WE'LL BE SAVING 60 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR OF OUR DRINKING WATER. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UT AUSTIN, YOU SAW WAS ONE OF OUR, UH, BIGGEST WATER USERS. 
          UM, THEY HAVE, UH, USED RECLAIMED WATER BLENDED WITH POTABLE WATER IN THEIR UTILITY COOLING SYSTEMS SINCE 2013. 
          THEY'RE, THEY'RE ONE OF OUR BIGGEST RECLAIMED WATER USERS AS WELL. 
          UH, THEY ALSO COLLECT CONDENSATE AND FOUNDATION DRAIN WATER, UM, TO SUPPLEMENT, UH, THOSE SYSTEMS. AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY DESIGNING A 1 MILLION GALLON PER DAY, UH, WATER TREATMENT PLANT SIMILAR TO THE APPLE ONE WHERE THEY'RE MINING WASTEWATER AND TREATING IT FOR REUSE IN THEIR COOLING UH, SYSTEMS. AND WITH THE GOAL OF NOT HAVING TO USE ANY POTABLE WATER IN IN THOSE SYSTEMS MOVING FORWARD. 
          AND SO I THINK WE SAW IT WAS 858 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR THAT THEY'RE USING WITH THE SYSTEMS. IT'LL BE CLOSER TO 600, JUST UNDER 600 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR THAT THEY'LL USE OF OUR DRINKING WATER. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UH, ON THE TRAVIS COUNTY FACILITIES, UM, SINCE 2019, THEY MADE THE DECISION TO CONVERT. 
          UH, WE HAVE NEAR OUR DOWNTOWN RECLAIMED WATER MAINS AND ALSO EAST NEAR THE AIRPORT, THEY MADE THE DECISION TO CONVERT THEIR, UH, COOLING TOWER MAKEUP SUPPLIES TO RECLAIMED WATER, UH, WHEN THEY WEREN'T REQUIRED TO BY CODE. 
          AND IN 2024, THEY, UH, REPORTED SAVING $166,000 IN THEIR UTILITY BILLS BECAUSE OF OUR RECLAIMED WATER RATES ARE CHEAPER THAN, UH, POTABLE RATES. 
          AND THEN THEY'RE ALSO PLANNING FOR THE NEW TRAVIS COUNTY COURTHOUSE. 
          THEY'VE DUAL PLUM THAT WAITING 
          [01:30:01]
FOR ANOTHER, A MAIN TO COME. 
          I THINK THAT'S IT. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          AND SO, UM, GETTING TO OUR, UH, NEAR LAST SLIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THAT WE WOULD TALK ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN WATER IS UNIQUELY PREPARED TO RESPOND TO NEW WATER USE REQUESTS WITH INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU, UM, SAW THIS EVENING WATER BENCHMARKING OUR REUSE REQUIREMENTS, OUR GO PURPLE GO PURPLE PROGRAM, SAY THAT FIVE TIMES FAST. 
          AND THEN, UM, SOME FUTURE INITIATIVES THAT, UM, WE ARE CURRENTLY EVALUATING IS WATER BUDGETING. 
          THAT THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD SET BUDGET BASED, UM, UH, THRESHOLDS BASED ON OUR WATER USE, UH, DATA FROM THE MAY, MY ETX WATER SYSTEM AND CHARGE HIGHER RATES FOR WATER USED ABOVE BASELINE FOR ANY NON-RESIDENTIAL USES. 
          AND THEN, UM, AS WE SPOKE WITH OUR, OUR SUBCOMMITTEE OF COUNCIL AT THE CLIMATE WATER ENVIRONMENT PARKS COMMITTEE MEETING, UM, UH, RECOMMENDING THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO CONSIDER ZONING AND LAND USE CATEGORIES FOR DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENTS, WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, UH, BEEN IN THE NEWS AND ON A LOT OF FOLKS' MINDS AND, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD CERTAINLY HELP, UH, PROVIDE DEFINITION IN A, IN A LAND USE CATEGORY THAT THAT WOULD BE OF THEIR OWN. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          AND THAT WRAPS IT UP AND WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. 
          OKAY, COMMISSIONERS, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UH, LET'S, I THINK WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER WOOLSTENCROFT. 
          YES, THANK YOU. 
          EXCELLENT PRESENTATION. 
          DEEPLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          TINA, THIS QUESTION MAY BE FOR YOU 'CAUSE SINCE I THINK THIS COVERED YOUR SECTION OF THE SLIDES, BUT I OPENED IT UP TO OUR PANEL. 
          UM, SO WE HAD THE TABLE OF, UM, LARGE WATER USERS, LARGE WATER CUSTOMERS, UM, WE CAN LOOK AT THE CUSTOMER CLASS, WE CAN LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL DATA GOING BACK FIVE YEARS TO SEE WHO ARE SORT OF LIKE OUR TOP 10, TOP 12, TOP 15. 
          UM, DO Y'ALL HAVE A, UM, CAN Y'ALL GIVE US A SENSE OF WHAT THE PROCESS OR THE COLLABORATION MIGHT BE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT FORD PROJECTIONS MIGHT LOOK AT OF, WE KNOW THAT THESE, UM, LARGE WATER CUSTOMERS MAY BE COMING INTO THE CITY THE NEXT YEAR, TWO YEARS, THREE YEARS, FIVE YEARS. 
          IS THAT SOMETHING Y'ALL ARE COLLABORATING WITH AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AROUND, UM, AS THEY'RE WORKING ON, UM, BRINGING IN NEW PROJECTS INTO, UH, THE CITY? I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND A SENSE OF HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO FORWARD PLANNING IN TERMS OF PROJECTED WATER USE AND GROWTH OF THIS CLASS OF CUSTOMER? OKAY, GOOD QUESTION. 
          SO I THINK THERE, THAT'S KIND OF A TWO STEP APPROACH WHERE ONE IS MORE OF THE, UM, WATER SYSTEM PLANNING AND THEN ONCE, UM, THAT IS KNOWN, THEN THEY'LL GET WITH FINANCE TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, WHAT, WHAT DOES THE COST LOOK LIKE, UM, BASED ON THESE PROJECTIONS. 
          SO THAT'S KIND OF ONE OF THE LAST THINGS, UM, THAT ON THE FINANCE SIDE WE'LL FIND OUT. 
          BUT I'LL GO AHEAD AND DEFER TO, UM, ONE OF OUR PANEL MEMBERS  TO HELP WITH ANSWERING ON THE WATER SUPPLY QUESTION. 
          YEAH, I'LL TAKE A STAB. 
          UM, AND THEN OTHERS CAN, CAN, UH, CHIME IN AS WELL. 
          BUT YOU KNOW, Y'ALL ARE VERY FAMILIAR WITH OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF GROWTH AND DEMOGRAPHER PROJECTIONS THAT ARE, UM, UNCOVERED THROUGH THAT STUDY AND PUTTING THAT PLAN TOGETHER. 
          AND SO THAT'S ONE, ONE WAY IN WHICH WE DO. 
          AND THEN AS YOU SAW IT THIS EVENING FROM THE PRESENTATION, WHEN, UM, NEW DEVELOPMENT IS ANTICIPATED, YOU KNOW, THEIR FIRST STEP IN, IN THE CITY'S PROCESS IS TO, UM, SUBMIT A SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST APPLICATION. 
          AND SO THAT IS REALLY A CONCEPTUAL PLAN AT THAT POINT WHERE THEY ARE, UH, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SUBMITTING TO US WHAT THEY BELIEVE THEIR, THEIR WATER AND LAND USE NEEDS, UM, WOULD, WOULD BE REQUIRED. 
          AND THEN THAT'S SUBMITTED TO STAFF AND THEN STAFF EVALUATES THAT, UM, ON THAT SITE SPECIFICALLY AND HOW THAT IS INTEGRATED WITH OUR, THE ENTIRETY OF OUR SYSTEM. 
          SO ANYTHING. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO WITH, UM, LOOKING AT DATA CENTERS AND OTHER TYPES OF INDUSTRIAL USES, ARE YOU LOOKING AT DIFFERENT METRICS FOR FIGURING OUT WHEN, WHEN THE REQUIREMENT TO GO ON PURPLE PIPE SHOULD BE TRIGGERED? FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW THAT THE SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR OF 250,000 FEET SQUARE FEET IS KIND OF HIGH FOR A DATA CENTER, FOR EXAMPLE. 
          UM, I'M JUST WONDERING IF THAT'S ON YOUR RADAR. 
          IT'S DEFINITELY ON OUR MIND. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE REASON THAT WE WOULD, WE WOULD ASK, UM, THE CITY TO CONSIDER ADDING SOME CATEGORIES THAT WOULD HELP DEFINE DATA CENTERS INDEPENDENT OF, OF THE SIZE, BECAUSE WE AGREE WITH YOU THAT CERTAINLY THE SIZE CAN VARY. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT MOVE INTO A SMALLER, IT MIGHT BE A SMALLER DATA CENTER, BUT, 
          [01:35:01]
BUT STILL WE WOULD WANNA BE, UM, BROUGHT INTO THAT CONVERSATION EARLY TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND THOSE WATER NEEDS AND WHERE REUSE COULD BE APPLIED. 
          AND CERTAINLY REUSE OPPORTUNITIES IS A PART OF EVERY, UM, APPLICATION FOR ANY SITE. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW, CATHERINE, IF YOU WANNA KIND OF CHIME IN ON THAT ELEMENT. 
          YEAH. 
          SO YEAH, THAT, THAT SQUARE FOOTAGE THRESHOLD IS SOMEWHAT ARBITRARY. 
          UM, AND ESPECIALLY FOR DATA CENTERS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SIZE MAYBE ISN'T ALWAYS INDICATIVE OF HOW MUCH WATER THAT THEY'RE GONNA USE. 
          UM, AND THEY MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT, THEY MAY NOT HAVE AN EVAPORATIVE COOLING SYSTEM AND SO, UM, THAT WATER BENCHMARKING TOOL DOES GIVE THEM A BREAKDOWN. 
          LIKE THEY, IT'S ABLE TO KIND OF FLESH OUT WHAT IS, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT WATER DEMANDS. 
          UM, AND SO, UM, THAT DASHBOARD IS PROVIDED TO EVERY APPLICANT AND WHEN, WHEN THEY ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLY, IF THEY'RE WITHIN PROXIMITY TO RECLAIM WATER, WE MAKE THEM CONNECT. 
          UM, AND, BUT THEN WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, LET THEM KNOW ABOUT OUR INCENTIVES. 
          AND SO, UM, I THINK, UH, THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT MAYBE CONSIDERING, UM, FOR REUSE REQUIREMENTS MOVING FORWARD THAT INSTEAD OF USING A A SQUARE FOOTAGE THRESHOLD THAT MAYBE IT'S A VOLUMETRIC THRESHOLD INSTEAD, UM, FOR, FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF DEVELOPMENTS. 
          AND SO THAT WAS A SUGGESTION THAT WE HEARD MONDAY. 
          MM-HMM. 
          THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE PANEL? I HAD ONE QUICK QUESTION. 
          UM, I'M CURIOUS ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE FOR THE LARGE WATER CUSTOMERS, HOW IS THEIR SERVICE, THEIR WASTEWATER SERVICE NEED CALCULATED? IS IT BASED ON METERS OR IS IT BASED ON THE WATER THAT USAGE THAT THEY HAVE? IT'S, UM, IT, SO LONG AS THEY HAVE A, AN IRRIGATION METER, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SAY 9.9 TIMES OUTTA 10, THEY DO. 
          UM, AND AS PART OF A REQUIREMENT OF CODE, UM, THEN THEY WILL BE GALLON FOR GALLON. 
          SO EVERY WATER THAT THEY SEND, WE EXPECT THAT IT'S, IT'S COMING BACK. 
          ALTHOUGH THERE, IF THEY HAVE A COOLING TOWER, THERE'S UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF OUR COOLING TOWER PROGRAM ALSO EVALUATES THEIR BILLING AND WHAT MIGHT BE USED FOR THAT. 
          SO IT GETS A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT OUTSIDE OF THAT, I WOULD JUST SAY THEY SIMPLY, UM, THEIR BUILD GALLON FOR GALLON. 
          AND I'LL ADD TO THAT, AND AS CATHERINE MENTIONED, THE SEWER MINING. 
          AND SO, UM, THAT'S GONNA CHANGE, UH, WASTEWATER AS WELL, AND NOT JUST THE POTABLE SIDE. 
          MM-HMM . 
          EXCELLENT. 
          PERFECT. 
          THAT ANSWERED MY QUESTION. 
          UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE EXTENSIVE, UH, BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION. 
          OKAY, COMMISSIONERS, THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR AGENDA. 
          THE LAST THING TO ASK TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUE UH ITEMS, SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA AND SEEING NONE, WE CAN THEN MOVE ON TO ADJOURNMENT. 
          UH, WE'LL CALL THIS MEETING CLOSED AT SEVEN OH  12. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANKS EVERYBODY. 
          THANK YOU.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.