[00:00:04]
1208, UM, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH.
[CALL TO ORDER]
UM, I AM, UH, OUR, OUR FEARLESS CHAIR IS NOT HERE.SO AS THE VICE CHAIR I'M SITTING IN CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
AND, UM, NEXT STEP WE HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
WE DO HAVE SOMEBODY HERE, UM, UM, FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS.YOU CAN JUST, YOU KNOW HOW IT WORKS.
YOU CAN JUST SIT OVER HERE, TURN ON THE MICROPHONE, AND GO.
UM, YEAH, THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE OFF THE CUFF, BUT
I'M JUST TO, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PRESENTATION.
CAN YOU HEAR ME BETTER NOW? OKAY.
SO, UM, BUT JUST WANTED TO SHARE A COUPLE THINGS.
UM, EMILY AND I ACTUALLY RECENTLY ATTENDED AN EVENT IN SAN ANTONIO THIS SUMMER, I THINK, FOR A LEADERSHIP SUMMIT.
UM, UM, HELD, HELD BY THE WATER ALLIANCE, AND THEY WERE FOCUSING ON SAN ANTONIO WATER SERVICE AND THE WHOLE ISSUE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE CEO OF SAS TALKED ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS FOR THEM.
THEY, THEY HAD TO LEARN A HARD LESSON ABOUT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THE VALUE OF IT, HAVING THAT FROM THE GET GO, AND NOT AT THE END OF A PROCESS, BUT JUST ALL ALONG THE WAY WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WATER AND, AND WATER UTILITY.
UM, BUT WHILE HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THAT, AND SAN ANTONIO HAS DONE AMAZING THINGS, AND I KNOW THAT AUSTIN WATER IS DOING SOME AS WELL, BUT, UM, I MEAN, THEY'VE REDUCED THEIR, THEIR RELIANCE ON THE WA EDWARDS AQUIFER, UH, OR LIKE MAINTAINED IT.
SO, UM, BUT I REMEMBER LISTENING TO THAT AND THINKING ABOUT AUSTIN WATER, AND I WAS LIKE, WELL, ACTUALLY, WE'RE GOOD BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS BODY AND WE HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND WE'RE GOOD ON THAT.
AND SO, UM, I'M HAPPY ABOUT THAT.
BUT AS FAR AS THE RECOMMENDATIONS, I KNOW THE COUNCIL DID, I THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE HIGH, HIGH IMPACT WATER USERS, BUT I KNOW THAT, UM, COUNCIL DID, WELL, THEY DID APPROVE MANY OF THOSE.
THEY DID NOT, UM, UM, COMMIT TO PUBLIC REVIEW OF THESE REQUESTS, UH, FOR LARGE VOLUME USERS.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS A REMEDY.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE REMEDY IS, BUT WE REALLY WANNA WORK WITH YOU GUYS AND, AND TRY TO SEE IF THERE'S A WAY THAT AUSTIN WATER COULD CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR THAT OR FIND A WAY THIS, IF THIS BODY CAN FIND A WAY TO, TO CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR THAT 'CAUSE.
AND WE'LL BE VERY SUPPORTIVE, BECAUSE AGAIN, WE REALLY DO NEED TO HAVE COMMUNITY INPUT IN EVERY ASPECT OF, UH, DECISIONS MADE REGARDING WATER.
DO PEOPLE HAVE TO OFFICIALLY SIGN UP OR DO PEOPLE HAVE TO OFFICIALLY SIGN UP? OR CAN I ASK FOR, UH, WE ASK FOLKS TO SIGN UP BEFORE THE MEETING, BUT DID WE HAVE ANOTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.
OR DID WE HAVE ANOTHER? OH, I DON'T KNOW.
DO WE HAVE ANYBODY ELSE WHO WANTS TO MAKE A COMMENT? I DIDN'T THINK SO.
UM, NEXT STEP ON THE AGENDA IS
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
APPROVAL OF MINUTES, WHICH ARE IN THE ATTACHED PACKETS.UM, SO WE HAVE A, A MOTION AND A SECOND.
UM, ANY DISCUSSION? SEEING NONE, ANYONE? UM, OPPOSED TO APPROVING THE MINUTES, NOT SEEING ANY OPPOSITION.
SO THE MINUTES PASS SHORT AGENDA TODAY.
UM, BUT A BUT A BIG ITEM FOR SURE.
[2. Staff briefing regarding the July 23, 2026, Council resolution on large volume water users. Presentation by Marisa Flores Gonzalez, Water Resources Team Supervisor, Austin Water.]
BRIEFING REGARDING THE JULY 23RD, 2026 COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON LARD VOLUME.WATER USERS PRESENTATION WILL BE BY MARISA FLORES, GONZALEZ FLORES, YOURS.
SO ROBERT, CAN I JUST MAKE A, A, A REQUEST, I WILL HAVE TO LEAVE AT 11 AT, UM, ONE 30.
UM, JUST IN CASE, WE, WE, UM, WE CONTINUE AFTER 1130.
I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT I HAVE TO LEAVE BY, BY BY ONE 30.
APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE, APPRECIATE THAT HEADS.
UM, SO WE'RE GONNA NEED EMILY, ROBERT, OH, WAIT A MINUTE.
UM, SARAH, ROBERT, UM, I HAVE TO LEAVE AT 1:00 PM OKAY.
WE WON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOR A QUORUM.
WE WILL HAVE, OH, I, I MADE THAT VERY CLEAR ORIGINALLY.
THE SVP, WE WILL HAVE A QUORUM UNTIL ONE 30.
WHAT'S THAT MANY, HOW MANY MEMBERS DO WE NEED? A QUORUM IS SIX
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MEMBERS, BUT WE'RE GONNA LOSE TWO MEMBERS AT 1230 IS WHAT I HEARD.SO WE WILL LOSE, SARAH COMMUNICATED THAT SHE, UM, NEEDED TO LEAVE AT 1:00 PM UH, SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'LL STILL HAVE A QUORUM AFTER 1:00 PM.
UM, WHEN WE LOSE TWO ADDITIONAL MEMBERS AT ONE 30, WE WILL LOSE OUR QUORUM.
FOR SOME REASON I HEARD 1230 WHEN YOU SAID ONE 30.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE HEADS UP.
TALK, TALK QUICKLY, 25% FASTER THAN YOU WERE PLANNING
WELL, UM, I, I WANNA JUST SAY A COUPLE OF WORDS AS WE KICK THIS OFF.
AND, AND FIRST OF ALL, TO SAY THAT WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE THIS DIALOGUE.
THIS IS, UH, REALLY IMPORTANT WORK FOR OUR COMMUNITY AND AS OUR, UM, AS OUR TASK FORCE, UH, REPRESENTING OUR COMMUNITY, UM, YOUR VOICES AND PERSPECTIVES AND FEEDBACK IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO THAT PROCESS.
UM, WE, I DO WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR TIME, UH, FROM THE TIME THIS RESOLUTION WAS PUBLISHED UNTIL WE REPORT OUT TO THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON DECEMBER 9TH.
THERE IS A LOT OF WORK HAPPENING, UM, AT THIS TIME.
AND SO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UM, WE LOOK FORWARD TO ENGAGING IN A REALLY MEANINGFUL WAY TODAY, BUT WE, UH, ASK FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK STILL TO BE DONE.
SARAH, DID YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? OH, I JUST WAS GONNA, UM, TRY TO HELP WHEN, I DON'T KNOW WHO'S GIVING THE PRESENTATION, BUT SINCE SOME OF THESE, I THINK THERE WAS A, THERE'S A COUPLE SLIDES THAT I THINK WE COULD LIKE SKIP THROUGH.
'CAUSE THEY WERE, AND THEY WERE IN RESPONSE TO MY QUESTIONS, AND I DON'T, SO I WAS, WHENEVER THE PRESENTER IS SPEAKING, I CAN TRY TO HELP WITH THAT TO MAKE IT SPEED UP.
I'M GONNA BE TRYING TO LEAD US THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
UM, SO IN THE PRESENTATION SLIDES, WHAT WE HAVE ATTEMPTED TO DO IS TO IDENTIFY AND, UH, THEMES IN THE QUESTIONS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM TASKFORCE MEMBERS AND GROUP THOSE, UM, QUESTIONS TOGETHER.
AND, UM, WE HAVE PROVIDED EXHIBITS OR, OR DATA WHERE WE THINK IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR THE DISCUSSION.
AND WE HAVE SOME, UH, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO SHARE ON IN RESPONSE TO THOSE QUESTIONS.
UM, WE DID WANT TO THOUGH SAVE PLENTY OF TIME FOR TASK FORCE MEMBER DISCUSSION, UM, AT, WE KNOW THAT WAS KIND OF A PRIMARY INTENTION OF HAVING THIS MEETING TO HAVE THE, THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE MORE DISCUSSION AND FOR THE TASK FORCE TO SHARE THEIR FEEDBACK ON THIS TOPIC.
UM, SO I GUESS LET'S MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND WE CAN LAUNCH INTO THE FIRST QUESTION, UM, WHICH WAS A REQUEST FOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION WITH OVERALL CONTEXT REGARDING THE JULY 23RD, 2026 COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO YEAH, LIKE, THIS IS ONE WHERE I FEEL LIKE WE PROBABLY ARE OKAY.
I DON'T THINK IT'S REALLY, I MEAN, UNLESS THERE'S, UNLESS THERE'S LIKE CONTENT YOU'RE GONNA ADD HERE, I DON'T THINK WE NEED THE TIMELINE, BUT THANK YOU FOR PREPARING IT.
I THINK IT'S A HELPFUL RECORD TO HAVE.
WE DON'T HAVE TO TALK THROUGH THIS TIMELINE IN DETAIL.
UM, WE, UH, APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, YOU'RE HELPING US WORK THROUGH THIS QUICKLY.
UM, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT ITEMS ON THIS TIMELINE, UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM OR WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH, UH, TRIES TO SUMMARIZE THE CONTENTS OF, UH, THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION DIRECTED STAFF, UH, TO RECOMMEND A LARGE VOLUME WATER CUSTOMER APPLICATION PROCESS, INCLUDING DEFINING, UM, THE CUSTOMER CRITERIA THAT WOULD BE USED TO IDENTIFY A CUSTOMER AS A LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER, UM, WOULD REQUIRE WATER USE ESTIMATES, UM, AND CONSERVATION PLANS WITHIN THAT PROCESS, UM, AS WELL AS ACCOUNTING OF WASTEWATER AND WOULD ASSESS THE NEEDS FOR BOTH NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS AND A COUNCIL ESCALATION PROCESS IN THE SUBMISSION OF WATER CONSERVATION PLANS FOR NEW CUSTOMERS.
THE, UH, THE RESOLUTION ALSO RECOMMENDED, UM, THAT WE ESTABLISH WATER CONSERVATION PLAN REQUIREMENTS, NOT ONLY FOR NEW CUSTOMERS, BUT ALSO FOR EXISTING LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS, AND RECOMMENDED, UM, AND DIRECTED STAFF TO RECOMMEND UPDATES TO THE DROUGHT CONTINGENCY PLAN RELATED TO LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS.
UM, WE RECEIVE DIRECTION TO RECOMMEND HOW LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER POLICY SHOULD INFORM THE CITY'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY AND INCENTIVE PROCESS
[00:10:01]
AND ADDRESS PROJECTS EXCEEDING ONSITE REUSE REQUIREMENTS, UM, AND DIRECTION TO REPORT TO COUNCIL ANNUALLY ON LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER USAGE WITH THE FIRST REPORT DUE TO THE CLIMATE, WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL, NO LATER THAN MAY OF 2027.THE RESOLUTION ALSO DIRECTED US TO PROPOSE A STAKEHOLDER INPUT PROCESS TO INFORM THE DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS FOR LARGE VOLUME USER CON WATER CONSERVATION PLANS, AND HOW TO PROVIDE BRIEFINGS TO COUNCIL ON UPCOMING APPLICATIONS AND TO PRESENT HOW UPDATES TO THE LARGE VOLUME WATER USE POLICY WILL SUPPORT AUSTIN WATER'S COST OF SERVICE STUDIES AND FINANCIAL POLICIES, AND TO BE USED AS A REFERENCE IN DEVELOPING AUSTIN WATER'S 2029 RATE CASE.
UM, MUCH OF THIS, UH, THESE DIRECTED ITEMS, UM, ARE GOING TO BE INCLUDED AND WERE DIRECTED TO BE INCLUDED IN A PRESENTATION TO THE CLIMATE, WATER AND ENVIRONMENT, UH, CLIMATE, WATER ENVIRONMENT AND PARKS COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON DECEMBER 9TH, 2026, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS RIGHT NOW.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS SLIDE? UH, QUICK QUESTION, BECAUSE THIS IS MENTIONED HERE IN THE RESOLUTION, AND I HAVEN'T HEARD MUCH ABOUT IT.
I GUESS MAYBE IN THE, THE, MAYBE IT WAS IN THE SLIDES FROM LAST MEETING OR THE, UH, OPEN HOUSE, BUT I DON'T THINK SO.
THIS ISSUE ABOUT NDAS, THE NEED FOR NDAS, IS THAT BEING ADDRESSED BY AUSTIN WATER OR BEING DISCUSSED? I ASSUME IT IS.
YOU'RE PREPARING SOME RECOMMENDATION FOR THE DECEMBER 9TH MEETING, BUT THAT AT YES.
THAT'S BEING DISCUSSED, UM, UH, WITHIN AUSTIN WATER, AND WE WILL BE PREPARING A RECOMMENDATION TO PRESENT, UH, TO THE CWP COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL ON DECEMBER 9TH.
WHAT CONTEXT IS, IN WHAT CONTEXT DID THAT COME UP, THE NEED FOR MBAS AND, AND HOW ARE MBAS CURRENTLY USED IN THIS PROCESS? COLLEEN, DO YOU WANNA RESPOND TO THAT? HELLO, I'M COLLEEN KIRK.
I'M MANAGING ENGINEER FOR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES IN AUSTIN WATER.
UM, IN MY EXPERIENCE, NDAS WILL COME IN FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
SOMETIMES IT'S WHEN, UM, THERE'S A SHORT LIST OF CITIES THAT A COMPANY IS TRYING TO LOCATE AND THEY DON'T WANNA DISCLOSE WHO THEY ARE YET, UH, WHERE IT'S KIND OF STILL IN A PRELIMINARY PHASE.
OTHER TIMES THERE COULD BE PROPRIETARY INFORMATION ON THE INDUSTRY THAT'S LOCATING THAT THEY DON'T WANT THOSE TYPE OF, UM, PROCESS INFORMATION TO BE DISCLOSED PUBLICLY.
BUT CAN I ASK ABOUT THAT? BECAUSE IF IT'S PROPRIETARY TRADE SECRET INFORMATION, IT'LL BE PROTECTED BY THE PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT.
SO THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY NEED FOR AN NDAI.
MAYBE WE CAN EXPLORE THAT, UM, AT A FUTURE TIME OR IN ANOTHER CONVERSATION.
I'M NOT SURE THAT WE HAVE THE, WE DON'T HAVE OUR ATTORNEYS PRESENT HERE TODAY TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK MORE THOROUGHLY ABOUT WHY IT'S REQUIRED.
UM, BUT I THINK COLLEEN'S JUST GIVEN US A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF CASES WHERE WE'VE SEEN APPLICANTS REQUEST NDAS, DA'S RIGHT.
THEY CAN REQUEST 'EM, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO ENGAGE IN IT.
THAT WOULD BE MY INPUT ON THIS ISSUE.
AND, AND WE CERTAINLY ENGAGE WITH, WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ON THOSE MATTERS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING CONSISTENT AND COMPLIANT WITH, WITH THE LAW AND ALSO WITH CITY PRACTICES AND RULES.
DO THE NDAS GENERALLY APPLY IN THAT EARLY PHASE PLANNING, OR ARE THEY, DOES THAT ALSO MEAN THAT SOME DOWN, SOMETIME DOWN THE ROAD WHEN THEY BUILD AND ARE USING WATER, THEY'RE, THEY, IT WON'T BE, YOU WON'T BE ALLOWED TO SHARE HOW MUCH WATER THEY'RE USING.
I THINK THAT THAT CAN DEPEND UPON THE SPECIFIC NDA.
'CAUSE THAT MAKES IT HARD TO PLAN FOR WATER
I THINK THING THAT WE THAT'S FINE.
I, I'M FINE WITH LIKE TABLING THIS, I GUESS, BUT I JUST WANNA CALL IT OUT THAT LIKE, UM, AGAIN, WE'RE GONNA MAKE RECOMMENDATION, Y'ALL ARE GONNA MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE C WEP ON THE NINTH, AND IF THAT'S THE FIRST TIME WE'RE GONNA SEE ANYTHING RELATED TO THE NDA ISSUE, THEN THERE WON'T HAVE BEEN ANY STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK OR, OR ENGAGEMENT ON THE ISSUE.
BUT, UM, AND IT SEEMS LIKE KIND OF IMPORTANT THING, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S NOT PREPARED FOR TODAY, BUT, UM, MAYBE WE CAN DISCUSS IT AT THE NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING.
AND WHAT I CAN OFFER NOW IS THAT WE HAVE HAD SOME INITIAL DISCUSSIONS, UH, ABOUT THE USE OF NDAS.
[00:15:01]
UM, INITIALLY OUR THINKING IS THAT IT WOULD BE BEST TO LIMIT THE USE OF NDAS AND FOR THERE TO BE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CITYWIDE POLICY ON THE POTENTIAL USE OF NDAS.ALRIGHT, LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO WE RECEIVED, UH, QUESTIONS TO, UM, UH, REQUEST, UH, CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, UH, REQUEST THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE 2 0 200 1000 ACRE FOOT LCRA TRIGGER AND, UH, THE DISCUSSION ABOUT LARGE VOLUME WATER USERS.
AND A QUESTION ASKING, IS IT CORRECT THAT AUSTIN WATER'S CURRENTLY PUMPING 175,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, AND, UM, UH, WITH THE IMPLICATION THAT WE ARE APPROXIMATELY 26,000 ACRE FEET, UH, OR 8.4 BILLION GALLONS AWAY FROM THAT TRIGGER? AND SO WE'VE INCLUDED IN THE SLIDES, IF WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, A, UH, AN EXHIBIT THAT IS PULLED FROM THE 1999 AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND LCRA FOR WATER.
AND THIS EXHIBIT, UM, SHOWS KIND OF THE, THE KEY COMPONENTS OF THAT AGREEMENT AS RELATES TO THE TRIGGER.
SO ON, UM, ON THIS EXHIBIT, IF YOU, YOU'LL SEE THERE'S A LINE THAT KIND OF SWOOPS UPWARDS FROM STARTING AT 150,000 ACRE FEET ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE GRAPH TO A VERY HIGH AMOUNT ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE GRAPH.
UM, THE, UH, START DATE FOR THIS GRAPH IS 1999 WHEN THAT AGREEMENT WAS SIGNED.
THAT SWOOPING LINE IS INTENDED TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PROJECTED DEMAND.
UM, AT 1999, UM, WE STARTED THAT 150,000 ACRE FOOT LEVEL.
AND AT THAT TIME, IT WAS EXPECTED THAT, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN WOULD HIT THE CONTRACTUAL PAYMENT, UH, THE 201,000 ACRE FOOT TRIGGER, UM, IN ABOUT THE 2020, UH, 2025 TIMEFRAME.
AND THAT WE WOULD HIT, UM, THE TOTAL KIND OF LIMIT OF OUR EXISTING SUPPLIES OF 325,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR IN 2050.
UM, OUR AGREEMENT WITH LCRA PROVIDES SUPPLY BACKUP SUPPLIES TO OUR EXISTING STATE, GRANTED WATER RIGHTS UP TO AN AMOUNT OF 325,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR.
UM, OUR, THE VALUE OF OUR WATER RIGHTS AT THE TIME WAS ASSESSED AT ABOUT 150,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR.
AND, UM, IN THIS AGREEMENT, IT WAS, UM, STIPULATED THAT ONCE THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DEMANDS FOR WATER EXCEEDED 201,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, UM, FOR, UH, TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS, THEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN WOULD NEED TO PROVIDE PAYMENT TO LCRA FOR AMOUNTS OF WATER USED ABOVE 150,000 ACRE FEET.
WHEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S USE REMAINED BELOW THE 201,000 ACRE FOOT TRIGGER, THEN WE WOULD NOT NEED TO PAY LCRA FOR WATER BECAUSE WE PREPAID, AS A PART OF THIS 1999 AGREEMENT, $100 MILLION.
WE HAVE BEEN PAYING OFF THE DEBT ON THAT A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS FOR SEVERAL DECADES NOW, AND WE'RE VERY CLOSE, UM, TO, TO HAVING PAID THAT OFF.
UM, ULTIMATELY IT WAS A VERY GOOD DEAL FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, KEEP OUR DEMANDS DOWN BELOW THESE, UH, PROJECTIONS.
THESE INITIAL PROJECTIONS FROM 1999 AND, UM, HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STAY UNDERNEATH THAT 201,000 ACRE FEET.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, IN 2025, THE CITY OF AUSTIN USED 170,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, WHERE IT WAS PREVIOUSLY PROJECTED THAT WE WOULD HAVE HIT THAT 2 0 1 TRIGGER, UM, BY ABOUT THIS TIMEFRAME.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT INITIAL EXPLANATION? SO, WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE WATER RATE PRESENTLY? UM, THE CURRENT WATER RATE IS A HUNDRED THAT, UM, FIRM CUSTOMERS PAY TO LCRA IS $165 PER ACRE FOOT.
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THAT IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO, I BELIEVE, $175 PER ACRE FOOT.UM, IF, WHEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES HIT THAT 2 0 1 TRIGGER AND HAS TO PAY FOR AMOUNTS OF WATER USED ABOVE 150,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, UM, WE ESTIMATE AT THE CURRENT WATER RATES THAT WE WOULD BE PAYING ANYWHERE FROM 10 TO $12 MILLION PER YEAR.
UM, HOWEVER, AGAIN, THESE WATER RATES CAN CHANGE.
THEY ARE CHANGING AND THEY CAN CHANGE IN THE FUTURE.
AND SO THAT COST MAY INCREASE OVER TIME.
SO, SO WAS THE DEAL ENGINEERED IN SUCH A WAY THAT, THAT YOU WOULD PAY OFF? WE WOULD PAY OFF THE NOTE FOR THE A HUNDRED MILLION, ABOUT THE SAME TIME WE'D BE SWITCHING OVER TO 2 0 1.
SO THAT, LIKE, MAYBE THAT EVENS OUT THE COST.
LIKE, I'M WONDERING IS THERE A, A BIG COST BUMP THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ONCE WE CROSS 2 0 1? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, AND IT HAS WORKED OUT THEN
IT SEEMS TO BE DOWN, WELL, THIS WAS THE INITIAL PLAN.
IT, IT'S WORKED OUT THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE MORE LEAD TIME BEFORE HITTING THAT TRIGGER.
WE'VE GOT ABOUT 30,000 ADDITIONAL ACRE FEET TO GO BEFORE WE HIT THAT TRIGGER, BUT IT, IT, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THAT WAS THE THINKING AT THE TIME.
SO NOT ON THE, UM, THE PAYMENT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, POINT OUT, AND EVERYBODY HERE KNOWS THIS, THAT IT'S NOT THAT IT JUST WORKED OUT THAT WE HAVEN'T HIT THE TRIGGER WHEN THEY THOUGHT WE WOULD.
IT'S BECAUSE STARTING IN 2009 WE GOT RELEASED SERIOUS ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION, CONSERVATION, IMPLEMENTATION, TASK FORCE, ALL THE PRECURSOR BODIES TO THIS, INCLUDING THOSE CONSERVATION GOALS THAT WE DIDN'T QUITE MEET IN 2024.
BUT LIKE THE, ALL OF THAT WAS DESIGNED AROUND THIS EXACT ISSUE.
SO JUST LIKE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT THAT WAS INTENTIONAL TO AVOID IT.
THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK, UM, ON THE PART OF OUR, OUR STAFF AND ON THE PART OF OUR COMMUNITY TO COLLECTIVELY REDUCE OUR DEMANDS FOR WATER, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, AVOID HITTING THE TRIGGER AND ALSO JUST TO STRETCH OUR WATER SUPPLIES DURING DROUGHT.
ARE THERE ANY, ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS SLIDE? IS IT A ONE TIME TRIGGER? SO WHEN WE CROSS, LET'S SAY WE CROSSED 2 0 1 1 YEAR, AND THEN WE'RE 1 99.
BUT IT, BUT IT, BUT YOU CAN'T GO BACK.
SO IF WE GO 2 0 1 2 YEARS IN A ROW AND THEN WE'RE BACK DOWN AT 1 99, WE'RE, WE'VE, WE'VE CROSSED THE TRIGGER.
AND IT'S, UH, TWO CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR YEARS, AVERAGED THE AVERAGE OVER TWO CONSECUTIVE CALENDAR YEARS AND, AND OF DIVERSIONS, OH, I WAS GONNA SAY JENNIFER'S NOT HERE, BUT SARAH ASKED THIS QUESTION.
I GUESS SARAH'S PROBABLY NOT TO PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH, SARAH, SO FORGIVE ME.
UM, JUMPING INCORRECT, BUT I THINK THE, PROBABLY THE CONCERN IS THAT, UM, AS WE INCREASE USE, THEN WE TRIGGER THAT, I GUESS INCREASE IN COST SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
WELL, AND IT, YOU KNOW, SARAH MENTIONED THE, UM, AND MARISA TALKED ABOUT THE INCREDIBLE EFFORTS THAT WE IN OUR COMMUNITY HAVE MADE IN WATER CONSERVATION.
IT ALSO SPEAKS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE OTHER, UM, STRATEGIES IN THAT FORM, THE FOUNDATION OF WATER FORWARD, YOU KNOW, REDUCING WATER LOSS, INCREASING RECLAIMED USE, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.
I MEAN, THESE ARE ALL STRATEGIES THAT, THAT HELP US STRETCH OUR COLORADO RIVER SUPPLIES AND HAVE THE ADDITIONAL BENEFIT OF PUSHING OUT THE TRIGGER.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SET OF QUESTIONS.
SO WE GOT QUESTIONS, UM, ABOUT, UH, THE FUTURE USE PROJECTIONS FOR POTABLE WATER BY SECTOR OVER THE APPLICABLE TIME PERIOD UNTIL THE 2 0 1, UH, THOUSAND ACRE FOOT THRESHOLD IS PROJECTED TO BE MET.
AND WHAT DOES AUSTIN WATER EXPECT WATER USE TO LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE? AND SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE A, UM, DEVELOPED A, A GRAPH HERE TO SHOW PROJECTED DIVERSIONS FROM WATER FORWARD 2024 AFTER CONSERVATION AND REUSE STRATEGIES THAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN ARE IMPLEMENTED.
THERE ARE THREE LINES HERE, BECAUSE IF YOU'LL REMEMBER, WE HAD THREE SCENARIOS OF DEMAND, UM, THAT WERE INCLUDED WITHIN OUR, OUR PLAN, A LOW, A MEDIUM, AND A HIGH.
[00:25:01]
AT THESE THREE SCENARIOS OF DEMAND, WE SEE THAT, UM, THESE PROJECTIONS SHOW US GOING ABOVE THAT TWO OH 1000 ACRE FOOT, UH, THRESHOLD, UH, ANYWHERE FROM THE LATE 2030S TO THE EARLY 2040S.UM, I'LL JUST LET THAT SINK IN FOR A MINUTE.
JUST A POINT OF CLARIFICATION.
SO YOU'RE SAYING LIKE IN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN WHEN THERE'S A LIST OF STRATEGIES, LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW THERE'S LIKE A TOTAL NUMBER FOR CONSERVATION.
UM, YOU'RE, THIS IS PROJECTING IF THAT NUMBER WAS REACHED, RIGHT, THAT CONSERVATION NUMBER, AND WE CURRENTLY DON'T, DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHERE WE ARE ON A LOT OF THOSE TOTALS.
LIKE FOR 2030, WE'RE NOT SURE IF WE'RE GONNA BE AT THE SIX, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S LIKE 6,200 ACRE FEET FOR CONSERVATION OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
THERE'S A, I I COULD LOOK BACK IN THE PLAN TO SEE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF, OF SAVINGS, UM, ACROSS ALL OF OUR STRATEGIES IN 2040.
UM, BUT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SAVINGS.
UM, WE ARE TRACKING PROGRESS AND, UM, WORKING TO, UH, WITH OUR STAFF TO, UM, TRACK SAVINGS IN TERMS OF ANNUAL YIELDS.
SO I THINK THAT'LL HELP US, UH, TO UNDERSTAND OUR, HOW WE'RE DOING IN RELATION TO THE GOALS THAT WE'VE MET FOR THE INDIVIDUAL STRATEGIES.
BUT YES, THESE PROJECTIONS ARE, UM, INCLUDING THE SAVINGS FROM THOSE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AS WELL AS REUSE STRATEGIES, WHICH ARE EASIER TO TRACK BECAUSE, UM, WHERE CUSTOMERS HAVE METERS FOR RECLAIMED WATER USE AND, UM, WE'RE ABLE TO DEVELOP MORE SPECIFIC ESTIMATES OF USAGE FOR ONSITE WATER REUSE SYSTEMS OR OTHER ONSITE, UM, ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLIES THAT CUSTOMERS MAY BE USING.
SO, SO WHAT DOES OUR PLAN PROJECT FOR LARGE WATER USERS? OKAY.
DO I HAVE, AM I GETTING AHEAD OF YOU? SORRY, IS THE NEXT SLIDE? THERE'S A, UH, IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I'VE BROKEN DOWN OR WE HAVE BROKEN DOWN THE, UM, THE BASELINE WATER CONSUMPTION FOR 2040 IN THE MEDIUM PROJECTION SCENARIO INTO SECTORS.
UM, CURRENTLY OUR CUS COMMERCIAL SECTOR USES ABOUT 33% OF TOTAL, UM, CUSTOMER WATER USE.
UM, AND IN THIS, IN THIS 2040 SCENARIO, COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS USE ABOUT 31%.
AND THEN, UM, COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS DO INCLUDE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS.
AND, UM, I DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT THE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMER COMPONENT OF COMMERCIAL IS A, IS OBVIOUSLY A SMALLER NUMBER THAN THE, THAT 33%.
UM, AND IF YOU GIVE ME JUST A MOMENT, I CAN LOOK UP HOW MUCH WE HAD INCLUDED IN THE, UM, IN THE WATER FORWARD PLAN, IF THAT'S OKAY.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I JUST DID THE QUICK CALCULATION THAT 1 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY IS A, IS A EQUAL TO ABOUT 1000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR IF ANYBODY'S KEEPING TRACK OF THE, I GUESS THE 201,000 ACRE FOOT TRIGGER WHERE WE HAVE TO SUDDENLY PAY MORE.
UM, HOW MANY, SO ON THIS ISSUE ABOUT COMMERCIAL, I WAS JUST, AND THE PROJECTIONS THAT I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I MEAN, ONE OF THE THINGS WE TRIED TO THINK ABOUT IN THE WORKING GROUP AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE RESEARCH IS THAT WHAT WE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT AUSTIN WATER PROVIDED WAS LIKE, WELL, HOW DID YOU DEVELOP THE COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL PROJECTIONS? AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, THE, IT'S BASED ON THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO, WHICH IS HISTORICAL USE, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC AND, YOU KNOW, DEMOGRAPHIC DATA AND LIKE TRADITIONAL KIND OF BUILD OUT OF, UM, COMMERCIAL FACILITIES.
SO THAT INCLUDES A LOT OF LIKE MORE SHOPPING CENTER TYPE DEVELOPMENTS OR LIKE A MIXED USE OFFICE KINDA SHOPPING CENTER THING.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN WATER FOLKS CAN CORRECT IT.
AND SO I THINK THE KIND OF THE UNKNOWN IS THESE NEWER CUSTOMERS THAT WE MAY BE GETTING WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, TESLA HERE AND CIRAN AND LIKE ALL THESE OTHER AMAZON ROBOTICS, HIGH TECH, LIKE WHAT DATA CENTERS THAT HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A HIGHER WATER USE FOOTPRINT PER SQUARE FOOT THAN THAT TRADITIONAL OFFICE COMMERCIAL
[00:30:01]
DEVELOPMENT.WE BASED OUR HISTORICAL WATER USE PROJECTIONS ON.
AND SO THAT, YOU KNOW, AND WE, WE MAY JUST NOT KNOW, BUT THAT WAS KIND OF JUST PART OF THE RESEARCH THAT WE DID IN THAT PAPER WAS LOOKING AT HOW ARE HOUSTON ADVANCED RESEARCH CENTER, OTHER PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT THIS.
I THINK THAT'S THE QUESTION I HAVE.
IT'S LIKE, THEY CALL IT LIKE A HIGHER THERMAL FOOTPRINT INDUSTRY 'CAUSE IT'S, THEY NEED THE WATER FOR COOLING.
AND I, YES, I, I THINK THOSE ARE REALLY GOOD POINTS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE STATE OF TEXAS AS A WHOLE IS GRAPPLING WITH AND ALL WATER PROVIDERS ARE GRAPPLING WITH.
AND HOW DO WE, UM, PLAN ADEQUATELY FOR THESE POTENTIAL FUTURE CUSTOMERS.
I KNOW TWDB, TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD IS GRAPPLING WITH THIS AND HOW IT COULD BE INCLUDED IN THE REGIONAL PLANNING PROCESS.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT ALONE IN TRYING TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS AND FIGURING OUT HOW THAT CAN BE INCORPORATED INTO OUR PROJECTIONS.
I THINK THAT WE ARE A STEP AHEAD IN THAT, UM, WE DO OUR PLANNING IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY THAN OTHER PEOPLE DO.
UM, OTHER WATER PROVIDERS WITHIN TEXAS, FIRST OF ALL, WE USE AN A A A SCENARIO PLANNING APPROACH, WHICH MEANS THAT WE DON'T JUST HAVE ONE SINGLE FUTURE PROJECTION LINE FOR DEMANDS.
RATHER, LIKE YOU SEE HERE ON THE SCREEN, WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT PROJECTIONS OF POTENTIAL FUTURE DEMANDS BECAUSE THAT HELPS US TO STRESS TEST OUR PORTFOLIO OF CONSERVATION, REUSE AND SUPPLY STRATEGIES AND SEE HOW THEY HELP US TO MEET OUR NEEDS THROUGH DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF DEMAND, AS WELL AS DIFFERENT SCENARIOS OF FUTURE DROUGHT AND CLIMATE CHANGE.
AND THEN IF WE GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDES, I THINK THIS QUESTION, UM, THIS LEADS IN EXACTLY TO THE, YOUR NEXT QUESTION, SARAH, UM, WAS THINKING ABOUT THOSE TYPES OF INDUSTRIES WE HAVEN'T PREVIOUSLY SEEN.
SO IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AS WELL, UM, WE ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON THE NEXT UPDATE TO OUR WATER FORWARD PLAN.
AND, UM, ONE OF THE, I KNOW IT SEEMS LIKE WE JUST FINISHED A PLAN, BUT WE ARE, UM, WANTING TO GO AHEAD AND, AND BEGIN THAT WORK TO UPDATE THE PLAN.
ONE OF THE PRELIMINARY TASKS, UM, IN THE PLAN UPDATE PROCESS IS TO UPDATE OUR WATER DEMAND PROJECTIONS.
UM, THOSE WATER DEMAND PROJECTIONS AS WELL AS PROJECTIONS OF FUTURE HYDROLOGY HELP US TO ASSESS FUTURE NEEDS.
AND THAT HELP US TO, UM, YOU KNOW, IDENTIFY HOW MUCH OF A GAP WE'RE TRYING TO FILL WITH CONSERVATION, REUSE, AND SUPPLY STRATEGIES.
UM, WE HAVE ALREADY BEGUN PRELIMINARY WORK TO UPDATE OUR DISAGGREGATED DEMAND MODEL CODE, UM, AS WELL AS TO DEVELOP INPUTS INTO THAT MODEL, INCLUDING THE QAQC OF BILLING DATA AND OTHER HISTORICAL DATA THAT WE'LL NEED FOR THE DEMAND PROJECTIONS.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ADDRESSING, UM, THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT POTENTIAL FUTURE INDUSTRIES, UM, IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, SORRY, ON THIS INFORMATION IS A LITTLE DETAILED ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT HOPEFULLY IT'LL, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE SOME OF IT.
UM, PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS UPDATE HOW WE INCLUDE DEMANDS ACROSS OUR SECTORS, UM, WHICH ARE SINGLE FAMILY, MULTIFAMILY, WHOLESALE, COMMERCIAL, AND CITY OF AUSTIN, AS WELL AS OUR SUB-SECTORS.
UM, WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR OF DEMAND, WE HAVE MANY DIFFERENT SUB-SECTORS THAT YOU SEE LISTED IN GRAY BOXES IN THE MIDDLE OF THOSE, UH, IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT SLIDE, ONE OF THE SUB-SECTORS IS LARGE VOLUME, AND THAT RELATES TO THOSE CUSTOMERS USING ABOVE 85 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR.
WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER SUB-SECTOR THAT CALLS OUT INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS, SO THOSE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS WHO MAY BE USING LESS THAN 85 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR.
AND THIS IS THE TIME FOR US TO BE THINKING ABOUT HOW WE INCORPORATE ADDITIONAL SUB-SECTORS AND HOW WE INCLUDE ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS OF POTENTIAL FUTURE DEMAND ASSOCIATED WITH THOSE SUB-SECTORS INTO OUR PROJECTIONS, UM, OF EMPLOYEES POPULATION AND FUTURE DEMAND.
SO WE ARE WORKING ON THAT RIGHT NOW IN THE BACKGROUND.
UM, AND WE'LL BE READY TO PRESENT ON, UM, BASELINE DEMAND PROJECTIONS IN SPRING OF 2027, AND WE CAN PROVIDE, UM, FURTHER UPDATES AS WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT FOLKS MIGHT HAVE ON THIS OR, OR FEEDBACK, UM, TO SHARE THOUGHTS.
SO THE, THE, THE WATER WE HAVE IN THE DEAL WITH LOWER COLORADO RIVER AUTHORITY IS RAW UNTREATED WATER.
UM, I'M IMAGINING THAT THESE BIG USERS ARE LOOKING FOR TREATED
[00:35:01]
WATER AND, AND, AND SO THE CITY HAS FACILITIES THAT TREAT A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WATER, WHICH IS, I'M IMAGINING, I HAVE NO IDEA THIS IS YOUR BUSINESS, BUTSO YOU TELL ME WHETHER I'M WRONG, BUT, BUT, UH, IMAGINE YOU'RE LOOKING AT PEAK USAGE AND THEN YOU'VE GOT SOME HEADROOM ABOVE THAT, THAT BECOMES SOMETHING THE CITY CAN GROW INTO FOR WHATEVER PURPOSE.
UM, IS, IS THERE LIKE SOME TARGET YOU HAVE THERE OR IS THERE A WAY THAT YOU PRIORITIZE, LIKE LET'S SAY YOU HAVE THROWING, JUST THROWING NUMBERS OUT, YOU'VE GOT FIVE MGD OF SPACE ABOVE PEAK USAGE AND, AND IF SOMEONE SHOWS UP AND WANTS FIVE MGD FOR LET'S SAY A DATA CENTER OR SOMETHING LIKE, DOES THAT GO OUT OR IS, OR DOES AUSTIN WATER GO, HMM.
UM, THAT MEANS WE CAN'T ADD ANY MORE CONNECTIONS TO THE CITY FOR OR OTHER BUSINESSES? SO IS THERE ANY, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE, SO I'D LOVE, LOVE TO HEAR HOW, HOW Y'ALL MANAGE THAT.
UM, SO, UH, AND THERESA CAN FILL IN SOME, SOME COLOR COMMENTARY HERE TOO, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO, WE DO LONG RANGE PLANNING IN, IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, MARISA IS DESCRIBING OUR WATER SUPPLY LONG RANGE PLANNING.
WE ALSO DO INFRASTRUCTURE LONG RANGE PLANNING THAT, UH, THERESA'S OTHER SYSTEMS PLANNING TEAMS DO.
UH, AND THAT INCLUDES TREATMENT CAPACITY IN ADDITION TO CONVEYANCE CAPACITY AND PUMPING CAPACITY AND STORAGE THROUGHOUT OUR SYSTEM.
AND SO THEY IDENTIFY THOSE LONG RANGE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED TO THE SYSTEM, UM, THE, UH, BASED ON THE GROWTH PROJECTIONS.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DO NEARER TERM, THAT'S PART OF OUR CIP PLANNING.
SO WHEN WE ACTUALLY GET A PROJECT IDENTIFIED AND PROGRAMMED INTO THE FIVE YEAR CIP AND WE HAVE ABOUT A 2010 TO 20 YEAR CIP PLAN AND WHAT'S THE CIP SORRY, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PLAN.
SO THAT IS OUR, THAT'S OUR ACTUAL CAPITAL SPENDING AND THE, AND WHAT WE INTEND TO BUILD, UH, WITH AUSTIN WATER REVENUE, UM, UH, AND OUR REVENUE BONDS.
UM, I, ON THE, I WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT SPENDING A LITTLE BIT IN TERMS OF HOW NEW DEVELOPMENT CONTRIBUTES TO WHAT, UH, WHAT AUSTIN WATER SPENDS TO BUILD FOR THE FUTURE.
SO, AND THIS IS ANOTHER, UH, AREA THAT, THAT THERESA'S TEAM TAKES THE LEAD, UM, IS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES OR IMPACT FEES.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO EVERY FIVE YEARS BY STATE LAW WHERE WE IDENTIFY THE EXCESS CAPACITY AVAILABLE IN OUR SYSTEM, AND WE THEN WE ALLOCATE THAT TO NEW DEVELOPMENT.
SO EVERY NEW CONNECTION TO OUR SYSTEM PAYS A CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE TO PAY BACK OUR, ESSENTIALLY TO BUY INTO THE EXISTING CAPACITY OF OUR SYSTEM.
SO THAT'S HOW THE PIECES ALL FIT TOGETHER IN TERMS OF WATER SUPPLY DEMAND PLANNING, WATER SUPPLY PLANNING, INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING, INFRASTRUCTURE CONSTRUCTION, AND THEN THE ECONOMICS OF RECOVERING THAT, UM, EXCESS CAPACITY, UH, WITH, FROM NEW DEVELOPMENT.
SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT OUR EXCESS CAPACITY IS RIGHT NOW? I, I DON'T, IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE AS LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE COMPARISON OF WE HAVE THIS MUCH MORE EXCESS CAPACITY.
ANOTHER ELEMENT OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, AFTER WINTER STORM URI, WE SET SOME TARGETS OF WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE AVAILABLE TREATMENT CAPACITY ONLINE AND READY TO GO TO MEET OUR PEAK DAY OR PEAK HOUR DEMANDS, PEAK DAY, PEAK DAY DEMANDS.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A DYNAMIC COMPONENT TO AVAILABLE CAPACITY AS WELL.
I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION ON THE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, WHEN YOU'RE SETTING THOSE, ARE THOSE BASED PURELY ON THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT'S BEING REQUESTED, UM, OR GOING TO BE USED BY THAT USER? IS IT BY USER CLASS? LIKE, AND LIKE WHAT LEEWAY IS THERE IN TERMS OF, I IMAGINE STATE LAW FOR HOW YOU GUYS GO ABOUT SETTING THOSE? YEAH.
UH, THERESA LUTZ, AUSTIN WATER, UM, YEAH, WE, UH, SET THOSE BASED ON METER SIZE.
SO WHEN A DEVELOPMENT COMES IN AS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, THERE'S A DETERMINATION IS MADE ON WHAT METER IS REQUIRED, CERTAIN METERS ARE, UH, ARE ABLE TO, UH, FLOW A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF WATER.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT, UM, WHAT THE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON AS TO WHAT THEY PAY THERE.
IT'S ALL KIND OF BACK TO A BASIC UNIT THAT'S CALLED A SERVICE UNIT THAT REPRESENTS ONE SINGLE FAMILY FIVE EIGHTS INCH METER, AND THEN THE LARGER METERS ARE MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE, UH, TIMES THAT
[00:40:01]
IN TERMS OF THE, THE FEE DETERMINATION.SO EXAMPLE FOR WATER, THE, THE BASIC FEE FOR ONE SERVICE UNIT FOR A FIVE EIGHT INCH METER IS JUST UNDER $5,000.
AND THEN, UH, THE LARGER METERS ARE, YOU KNOW, MANY TIMES MORE THAN THAT.
SO IT'S BASED ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT METER THE DEVELOPMENT, WHAT METER SIZE THE DEVELOPMENT NEEDS BASED ON THEIR PROJECTED OR ESTIMATED WATER USE.
AND IS THAT THE INDUSTRY STANDARD OR IS THAT REQUIRED BY STATE LAW? LIKE ARE THERE OTHER APPROACHES OR IS THAT PRETTY MUCH HOW EVERYONE DOES IT? I THINK THAT'S PRETTY MUCH HOW EVERYONE DOES IT.
SARAH, I DON'T THINK WE'RE GONNA GET THROUGH ALL YOUR QUESTIONS FOR, YOU HAVE TO GO
YEAH, I, I KNOW I REALLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE 85 MILLION GALLONS AND I'M, WELL, LET'S, LET'S JUMP I GET TO SO'S JUMP.
YEAH, LET'S, YEAH, LET'S
LET'S JUMP TO, IT'S, IT'S OKAY.
LET'S, UM, I, WE WILL HAVE TO GO PAST THIS ONE AND, UM, TO THE NEXT ONE.
SO QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 85 MILLION GALLONS.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO JUST LIKE, THE QUESTION'S ACTUALLY LIKE PRETTY SIMPLE.
IT'S JUST LIKE, THAT'S THE AUSTIN WATER THRESHOLD UHHUH AND IT WITH THE OPEN HOUSE AND WITH THESE SLIDES, I JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE I UNDERSTAND, LIKE, WHY IS THAT THE RECOMMENDATION? LIKE WHAT ARE YOU THINKING THAT THAT RECOMMENDATION ACHIEVES? SURE.
LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? I'M JUST TRYING TO JUST, JUST LAY IT OUT FOR ME.
LIKE WHAT, WHY IS THAT YOUR RECOMMENDATION? YEAH.
LET'S, WHAT IS, LET'S KEEP GOING THEN PAST THIS ONE AS IT'S PRETTY WELL LINED OUT THE HISTORY AND THE NEXT SLIDE THAT FOLKS CAN READ THROUGH.
SO LET'S KEEP ROLLING THROUGH TO, UM, SIDE 20, SIDE 20 YEAH.
I KNOW THERE'S A DELAY, I THINK.
UM, SO WE HAVE SHOWN HERE AND UM, WAS A CUR WHAT IS BASICALLY A CURVE SHOWING CUSTOMER WATER USE ON AN ANNUAL, UM, UH, AGGREGATED.
BASICALLY WHAT WE DID, WE TOOK, UM, ANNUAL CUSTOMER, COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER WATER USE, AND WE LINED UP, UM, THE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS BY THEIR ANNUAL WATER USE FROM LARGEST TO TO SMALLEST, ESSENTIALLY.
AND YOU'RE SEEING HERE ON THIS GRAPH THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS ON THE FAR LEFT SIDE OF THE GRAPH.
AND THEN YOU SEE, UM, A SMALLER, PROGRESSIVELY SMALLER COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, UM, BY THEIR USE AS YOU MOVE THROUGH.
SO YOU'VE SEEN THE USAGE OF ESSENTIALLY 59 COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS ON THIS GRAPH.
UM, THE BLUE LINE MOVES FROM THE USAGE OF THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER, UM, AT, YOU KNOW, AROUND 2.2, 2.3 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR, UM, DOWN TO THE, YOU KNOW, IN A, IN A PRETTY STEEP, UH, AT A PRETTY STEEP SLOPE DOWN TO THE USAGE OF THE NEXT LARGEST, UH, COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER AT AROUND 500 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR.
AND THEN YOU START TO SEE KIND OF A, A MORE INCLINED SLOPE, UM, AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE ANNUAL COMMERCIAL USAGE OF OTHER COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
THAT DOT THAT YOU SEE ON ON THE LINE IS 85 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR.
UM, OR THAT IS ALSO THE THRESHOLD OR THE THRESHOLD THAT WE HAVE CURRENTLY SET FOR LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER WATER USAGE.
IS THERE SOMETHING THAT YOU WANTED TO ADD? YEAH, I JUST WANNA MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT, SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATION, THIS 85 MILLION, BUT WE'RE GONNA YEAH, IF YOU COULD CONTINUE WITH YOUR OKAY.
YEAH, JUST, I WAS JUST TRYING TO DESCRIBE WHAT WAS ON THE GRAPH, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UM, ALSO, I SHOULDN'T MENTION THAT THIS IS SHOWING AN AVERAGE OF WATER USE FOR THESE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS FROM 2023 TO 2025.
SO IT'S NOT WATER USAGE FOR ANY ONE PARTICULAR YEAR, IT'S SHOWING THAT AVERAGE.
UM, TYPICALLY WHEN YOU'RE DOING THIS TYPE OF ANALYSIS, YOU'RE LOOKING FOR LIKE A NATURAL BREAK OR YOU'RE LOOKING FOR LIKE, UM, THE KNEE OF THE CURVE, ESSENTIALLY WHERE THE CURVE STARTS TO, UM, TO STARTS TO CHANGE SLOPE TO UNDERSTAND KIND OF WHAT THAT NATURAL BREAK POINT IS.
UM, 85 MILLION GALLONS IS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN THAT NATURAL BREAK OR THE KNEE OF THE CURVE.
UM, IT CAPTURES THE LARGEST 11
[00:45:01]
CUSTOMERS, AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT THE, THE SUBSEQUENT CUSTOMERS, THEY HAVE A, A MUCH MORE KIND OF FLATLINED USAGE, A MUCH MORE SIMILAR TYPE OF USAGE, UM, ACROSS THOSE SET OF CUSTOMERS.SO PART OF THE RATIONALE FOR, FOR SETTING IT AT THAT 85 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR IS WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS AND ARE TRYING TO LOOK FOR LIKE THAT NATURAL BREAK THAT SEPARATES, UM, LARGE WATER USING CUSTOMERS.
AND THAT THE DATA SHOWS THAT THIS IDENTIFIES, UM, A, A BREAK IN THAT CUSTOMER WATER USAGE PATTERN, UM, WHILE PROVIDING EVEN A LITTLE BIT OF CUSHION TO CAPTURE SOME OF THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO ARE ON THE LOWER END OF THAT LARGE WATER USER CLUSTER, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, MAY INCREASE USAGE OVER TIME.
SO, MADELINE, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? YEAH.
UM, I WAS JUST COMPARING IT TO PAGE 14.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE, THE TOP THREE OR LIKE AROUND 800,000, NOT 500.
AND SO I WAS JUST WONDERING WHY THERE WAS THAT KIND OF DISCREPANCY BETWEEN THE 500 AS THE, THE SECOND ONE ON HERE ON THE GRAPH AND THEN THE, THE USAGE IN GALLONS OF TRAVIS COUNTY AND UT.
UM, SO TRAVIS COUNTY, WCID IS A WHOLESALE CUSTOMER, UM, WHICH IS A DIFFERENT CLOT, A DIFFERENT TYPE OF CUSTOMER.
WHAT WE'VE INCLUDED ON THIS GRAPH ARE RETAIL COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.
SO THEY'RE NOT INCLUDED ON THIS GRAPH.
UM, THE WATER USAGE FOR UT, I THINK THAT THAT MAY FALL IT'S NUMBER TWO.
UM, AND IT KIND OF FALLS ON THE, UH, ON THE LINE.
I THINK I WAS READING THIS AND ASSUME, UH, SAID THAT NUMBER TWO 500 MILLION GALLONS WAS THE SECOND LARGEST WATER USING CUSTOMER, BUT I THINK I INACCURATELY READ THAT GRAPH.
AND, AND ON THE TABLE ON 14, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IS A FOOTNOTE THERE.
UM, ITEM NUMBER ONE, THAT'S THE TOTAL FOR ALL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS ACCOUNTS ACROSS THE WHOLE CITY.
BUT, UM, ON THIS OTHER ARE HOSPITALS ARE LIKE THE, THE DELL UT TEACHING HOSPITAL HOSPITAL IS THAT COUNTED IN THAT, UM, AMOUNT? IT WOULD BE, IF, IF IT HAD A HIGH ENOUGH USE TO MM-HMM
YOU KNOW, BE IN THAT 11 OR TO BE ON THIS TABLE HERE, BUT IT'S USE AT THAT LOCATION IS LOWER, YOU KNOW, SO IT'S ONE OF THESE OTHERS, UM, OUT HERE, YOU KNOW, TO THE RIGHT OF THE, THE 85 MILLION GALLON MARK.
BUT, UH, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION ON THE, ON THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, THIS, ON THE TABLE, IT'S SUMMED UP ALL IN, IN ONE LUMP NUMBER.
AND ON THIS GRAPH, IT, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE LARGEST, THERE'S TWO LARGE MM-HMM
IF YOU'LL, UH, YOU KNOW, ABOVE 85,000,001 AT THE PICKLE CAMPUS AND ONE AT THE MAIN CAMPUS.
SO THOSE ARE LISTED, ARE SHOWN SEPARATELY HERE ON THIS GRAPH BECAUSE PART OF OUR THINKING ON THE DEFINITION OF A HIGH IMPACT, UH, USER HAS TO DO WITH LOCATING IT, BEING LOCATED IN A GENERAL CAMPUS AREA, NOT NECESSARILY, UM, YOU KNOW, SUMMED FROM MANY DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ACROSS THE CITY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
SARAH, WAS THERE SOMETHING YOU WERE GONNA SAY? UM, WELL, MY QUESTION WOULD BE, I MEAN, I GUESS ONE QUE ONE QUESTION IS I, UM, IS THIS, WOULD IT BE FAIR TO SAY, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE THE SLIDE 14 IS LARGE WATER CUSTOMERS UNDER THE EXISTING FRAMEWORK.
SO IF THIS 85 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR WAS THE THRESHOLD, WOULD THAT KIND OF JUST APPLY ALL OF THESE NEW WATER CONSERVATION PLANS AND STUFF TO THIS SET OF 11 CUSTOMERS? I THINK IT WOULD APPLY TO OTHER CUSTOMERS, UM, THAT ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS LIST.
UM, AND IT MAY NOT, IT WOULDN'T APPLY TO SOME OF THE CUSTOMERS WHO ARE IN THIS LIST.
UM, WE'RE THINKING THAT THESE, UH, REQUIREMENTS WOULD APPLY TO RETAIL CUSTOMERS, SO WHOLESALE ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN THE SYSTEM WOULD BE EXCLUDED.
UM, AND THEN I THINK THAT, THAT THERE MAY BE ADDITIONAL CUSTOMERS WHO AREN'T IN THIS LIST WHO WOULD, WOULD, UM, HAVE THESE REQUIREMENTS APPLIED TO THEM.
[00:50:01]
GO AHEAD.I GET, WELL, AND THEN I, BECAUSE I'M, I MEAN, MY APOLOGIES, I HAVE A, A MEETING THAT'S BEEN SET FOR MONTHS ON THIS DATE AT 1:00 PM SO I REALLY AM SORRY I HAVE TO LEAVE, BUT IT WAS WAY TOO MANY, UH, PEOPLE TO TRY TO MOVE IT AGAIN.
UM, SO LET ME JUST, I JUST WILL QUICKLY SAY, I GUESS I'M STILL, AND, AND I'M SORRY TO, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE DIFFICULT.
I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, LIKE I STILL DON'T, I, I SEE THE KINDA LIKE THIS IS THE, HOW, LIKE YOU'RE SAYING, THIS IS THE BREAK WE FOUND MM-HMM
BUT I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND LIKE, LIKE WHAT IT ACCOMPLISHES TO SET IT HERE AND LIKE WHAT COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED AT A DIFFERENT SPOT.
BECAUSE I THINK YOU COULD MAYBE LOOKING AT THIS GRAPH, SAY LIKE, THIS IS THE EXTRA LARGE USERS, USERS, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE ANOTHER SET THAT'S, THAT'S LARGE.
UH, IT'S, IT'S GOT, YOU KNOW, AND LIKE, IT'S HARD TO SEE JUST LOOKING AT THAT LINE, BUT, AND SO, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IN Y'ALL'S CONVERSATION IT CAN CONTINUE UNLESS OTHER PEOPLE ARE, ARE REALLY ARE GETTING THE WHY AND I'M NOT.
UM, BUT THAT'S JUST REALLY WHAT I'M GETTING AT IS LIKE, IT'S, THIS IS THE HOW, BUT YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT WILL BE DIFFERENT UNDER THIS NEW ITEM WITH THESE REQUIREMENTS GIVEN THIS SET OF CUSTOMERS? AND DO WE KNOW, LIKE IF WE PICKED A DIFFERENT NUMBER SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, BE A LITTLE BIT MORE OUTCOME ORIENTED, I THINK IS WHAT I'M SURE TRYING TO GET TO.
SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR LOOKING AT ALL OF THIS, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.
I WILL, YOU KNOW, LOOK THROUGH THE, UM, BE LOOKING AT THE SLIDES SOME MORE AND IF I CAN PROVIDE SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY JUST PROVIDE SOME WRITTEN FEEDBACK DIRECTLY TO AUSTIN WATER.
I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO RESPONDING TO THE QUESTIONS AND PROVIDING THE MEETING TODAY.
OH, BEFORE YOU LEAVE REAL QUICK, WE ARE CONSIDERING POTENTIALLY A TIERED APPROACH TO OUR THRESHOLDS, AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT BEFORE YOU LEFT, UM, AND ALSO WE'RE CONSIDERING HOW THAT COULD APPLY TO POTABLE AND NON-POTABLE.
SO JUST WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT THERE FOR YOUR AWARENESS.
YEAH, AND I, YOU KNOW, I HAVE THOUGHTS TOO ABOUT THAT WHOLE POTABLE, NON-POTABLE BEING IN THE THRESHOLD, AND I THINK IT'S LIKE A NUANCED ISSUE THAT COULD APPLY TO SOME THINGS AND NOT OTHERS AND MM-HMM
UM, I THINK SOME OF THE OTHER TASK FORCE MEMBERS LIKE HAVE THE SAME KIND OF UNDER, YOU KNOW, THINKING I DO.
SO MAYBE THEY CAN TALK ABOUT THAT.
I, I'LL COMMENT ON THE, UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE WHY AS IT RELATES TO, I THINK THIS GRAPH IS HELPFUL IN THINKING ABOUT IT.
YOU KNOW, WHAT WE, I THINK WE HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES COLLECTIVELY THE QUESTION OF WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH WITH BY IDENTIFYING A USER AS A HIGH IMPACT WATER USER? AND TO ME, I, THE OUTCOME THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS, IS, UM, INDUSTRY LEADING WATER CONSERVATION AND, UM, WATER STEWARDSHIP.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS CURVE AND WE SAY, WELL, WHO HAS THE ABILITY TO REALLY MOVE THE NEEDLE ON WHAT WE CAN ACCOMPLISH? IT'S THE FOLKS ABOVE THE KNEE OF THE CURVE, RIGHT? AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW THE 85 MGD AS, AS MARISA WAS DESCRIBING, IS SOMEWHAT BELOW THAT.
IT'S REALLY MORE ON THE, ON THE, ON THE FLATTER PART OF THE CURVE.
UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK, BUT WHERE IT'S SET, IT APPLIES TO THE TOP, YOU KNOW, 10 TO 11 USERS, AND THEN SHOULD WE IMPLEMENT SOME KIND OF, UM, TIERED SYSTEM WHERE WE ARE INCREMENTALLY MOVING THEM INTO THESE HIGHER LEVELS OF, OF, UM, REPORTING AND DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING FOR WATER STEWARDSHIP, THEN WE ARE REALLY SETTING THE STANDARD FOR WHAT WE EXPECT OUR LARGEST WATER USERS TO DO.
SO THAT, THAT TO ME IS THE, IS THE WHY AND THE WHY 85.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AS THERESA SAID, AND MARISA SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT THIS NUMBER AND WE, YOU KNOW, SEEK YOUR FEEDBACK ON, YOU KNOW, IF YOU THINK THERE'S A, UM, A DISCUSSION POINT HERE FOR A DIFFERENT NUMBER.
I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT INTERNALLY, BUT WE WOULD, WE WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK ON IT TOO, ALSO TO, TO KIND OF FACTOR INTO YOUR THINKING, YOU KNOW, THIS, UM, I THINK DOES A GOOD JOB OF, OF, UM, YOU KNOW, HELPING IDENTIFY LIKE WHERE, WHERE ARE WE ON THAT CONTINUUM? WHERE ARE OUR LARGEST USERS AND WHAT ARE THOSE AMOUNTS? THIS WOULD BE SOMETHING I THINK THAT WE WOULD BE THINKING OF IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT
[00:55:01]
IT ON A REGULAR BASIS IN THE FUTURE.AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS THINGS MAY CHANGE, TECHNOLOGIES MAY CHANGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, WATER SAVING EFFICIENCIES COULD CHANGE THAT MAY, YOU KNOW, MAY REQUIRE OR, UM, WARRANT MAKING A CHANGE TO THE LEVELS IN THE FUTURE.
I'LL JUST SAY, UM, AS FAR AS THE WHY OF THIS, AND, UM, IF THERE'S A WAY FOR US TO THINK ABOUT THE RIGHT QUOTE UNQUOTE RIGHT NUMBER HERE, OUR RIGHT SET OF NUMBERS, IF WE'RE GONNA DO A TIERED APPROACH, IT IN SOME SENSE TO ME TIES BACK TO WHAT ARE OUR GOALS FOR WATER USE AND WATER CONSERVATION.
UM, I KNOW WE'RE GONNA BE UPDATING THEM AND WATER FORWARD 2028, BUT IT'S NOT LIKE WE HAVE NOTHING TO GO OFF OF RIGHT NOW.
UM, WE DO HAVE GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY GOALS.
WE HAVE WATER USE PROJECTIONS THAT I ASSUME WE DON'T WANNA BUST.
UM, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL WORRIED ABOUT HERE, IS THAT THE SPEED OF OUR PLANNING, AND WE HAVE GREAT PLANNING, AND MARISA TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, EXCELLENT PLANNING.
THE SPEED OF THAT PLANNING STILL MAY NOT MATCH THE POLICIES WE HAVE IN PLACE TO HANDLE USERS THAT ARE COMING IN.
THAT'S THE WHOLE BALL GAME HERE IS CAN WE KEEP UP? AND THAT'S PART OF WHY I RECOMMEND, UH, IN INCLUDING PROCESS IN HERE, TRANSPARENCY THAT WOULD SLOW DOWN, UM, THAT WE'D HAVE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF TIME TO EVALUATE THESE BIG APPLICATIONS AND PUT THEM BEFORE THE PUBLIC.
UM, THAT WAY THE SPEED OF OUR PLANNING COULD MAYBE CATCH UP A LITTLE BIT TO THE SPEED WITH WHICH WE WOULD MAYBE RECEIVE THESE APPLICATIONS AND BE FACED WITH APPROVING THEM, UM, SO THAT THEY DON'T TOTALLY OUTPACE OUR WATER USE PROJECTIONS AND DEMAND PROJECTIONS ON THE SYSTEM.
UM, BUT I GUESS AS FAR AS GOING BACK TO 85 MILLION GALLONS, CAN WE THINK ABOUT A NUMBER THAT GETS US TO WHERE WE THINK WE SHOULD BE BY 2030 BY 2040, WHATEVER THAT IS.
I MEAN, I'LL, I'LL SAY FOR EXAMPLE, READING, REREADING THE RESOLUTION THAT WAS POSTED IN THIS PRESENTATION EARLIER FROM COUNCIL, I MEAN, THEY CITED THIS CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, WHICH I KNOW A LOT OF US HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT.
IT WAS A DIFFERENT COUNCIL, DIFFERENT TIME.
BUT THAT DID ESTABLISH A GOAL TO, UH, ACHIEVE A COMMUNITY WIDE WATER DEMAND OF APPROXIMATELY 152,000 ACRE FEET PER YEAR, UM, BY 2030.
AND I GUESS WE WE'RE NOWHERE NEAR THAT WE'RE, I DON'T, I DON'T SEE THAT IN ANY OF OUR GOALS, UM, AS SOMETHING THAT WE THINK WE CAN ACHIEVE BY 2030.
UM, BUT IT, AT 1.5 YEARS AGO, WHENEVER IT WAS, WE DID SET THAT AS A GOAL AND THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT SPEAKS TO THE WATER FORWARD PLAN, I DON'T KNOW, UM, THAT'S A BIT OF A CURIOSITY FOR ME.
BUT, UM, THAT'S THE KIND OF CONSERVATION GOAL WHERE WE MIGHT SAY, ALL RIGHT, WORKING BACKWARDS FROM THAT, IF WE'RE GONNA HAVE X NUMBER OF USERS PER YEAR COMING IN AT A CERTAIN VOLUME OF WATER, WE NEED TO BRING THAT DOWN THROUGH WATER CONSERVATION PLANS, THROUGH REQUIREMENTS FOR REUSE, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
SO THAT'S MY THOUGHT, AND I KNOW THAT'S A LOT IN THERE, BUT I HOPE THAT MADE SOME SENSE.
AND JUST SPEAKING TO GOALS, I THINK WE SHARE MANY GOALS, UM, THAT YOU MENTIONED MANAGING THE WATER USE OF THE, OF THOSE LARGEST CUSTOMERS AND THEIR IMPACT ON OUR WATER SUPPLIES AND OUR, UM, TRAJECTORY OF WATER DEMAND GROWTH, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR PROJECTIONS IN WATER 4 24 OR, OR FUTURE PLANS, UM, THAT WE ESTABLISH DRIVING EFFICIENT USE OF POTABLE WATER IS A, IS A REALLY BIG GOAL THAT WE'RE ALL TRYING TO ACHIEVE.
WE WANNA MAKE, YOU KNOW, SPEAKING TO SOME OF THE COMMENTS ABOUT POTABLE AND NON POTABLE, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO US TO DRIVE EFFICIENT USE OF NON POTABLE WATER, UH, BECAUSE THAT IS ALSO A RESOURCE FOR COMMUNITY.
AND WE THINK OF THIS IN MORE OF A ONE WATER APPROACH WHERE THAT IS A, A HIGHLY VALUABLE RESOURCE TO MEET OUR, OUR COMMUNITY'S WATER NEEDS.
UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT WE'RE THINKING ABOUT AS WE'RE SETTING THESE TIERS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR POTENTIALLY BOTH POTABLE AND NON POTABLE WATER USE BY THESE LARGEST CUSTOMERS.
UM, IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT FOR US TO BALANCE, UH, KIND OF ADMINISTRATIVE FEASIBILITY, UM, WITH KIND OF THE REGULATORY IMPACT OF THESE REQUIREMENTS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT RIGHT BALANCE, ESPECIALLY TO ADDRESS NEAR TERM NEEDS AND, UM, KIND OF MORE URGENT NEEDS WITH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THOUGHT THAT THERE COULD BE EVOLUTION OF THESE REQUIREMENTS
[01:00:01]
OVER TIME, AS THERESA MENTIONED, AS WE MAY RE REVISIT, UM, THRESHOLDS AND THE REQUIREMENTS AS A WHOLE TO KIND OF BETTER RESPOND TO CHANGING CONDITIONS.AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE OTHER, UH, COMPONENT TWO OF MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, ESTABLISHING THESE REQUIREMENTS TO ADDRESS THE, THE WATER NEEDS OF, OR THE WATER USE OF THOSE LARGEST CUSTOMERS, WHILE KIND OF BALANCING THE, THE KIND OF, UM, LEVEL OF IMPACT TO LARGER, UH, TO NOT AS LARGE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS, TO MODERATE, YOU KNOW, COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS WHO ARE NOT USING AS MUCH WATER AND MAY BE USING WATER VERY EFFICIENTLY.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WEIGHING IN IN ALL OF THIS AS WE TRY TO ESTABLISH THESE POLICIES OVERALL IN ALIGNMENT WITH OUR BROADER WATER FORWARD GOALS.
UM, YEAH, I GUESS I'M HEARING THERE'S LIKE PROBABLY SUPPORT FOR A TIERED APPROACH.
UM,
SO I GUESS WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING KIND OF THE TEARS AND SURE.
AND, AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CLEAR WE'RE MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO CWE ON DECEMBER 9TH, AND IN AS A PART OF THAT, WE'RE RECOMMENDING A STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND INPUT PROCESS INTO THE DEVELOPMENT OF REQUIREMENTS THAT WOULD THEN GO BEFORE COUNCIL AT A, AT A FUTURE POINT FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION.
UM, THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE A PROCESS FOR US TO, TO DO THE WORK, TO DEVELOP A REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, THE ACTUAL CODE LANGUAGE, TO DEVELOP OUR, OUR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE PROGRAMMATIC IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE REQUIREMENTS WOULD LOOK LIKE, ALL OF THOSE PIECES.
UM, AND WE NEED TO HAVE A, A ROBUST STAKEHOLDER INPUT PROCESS, UM, AS WE'RE DOING THAT WORK.
UH, OH, I HAD A QUESTION, SOMETHING THAT PAUL MENTIONED ABOUT, UM, KIND OF SLOWING THINGS DOWN AND PLANNING, YOU KNOW, JUST DOESN'T MOVE AS FAST AS, AS THE REALITY OF THE ECONOMY.
WHAT KIND OF, UM, CONSTRAINTS DO YOU ALL HAVE IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, STATE LAW REQUIRING DECISIONS IN CERTAIN AMOUNTS OF TIME, THAT KIND OF THING? LIKE, I JUST, I WOULD BE CURIOUS KIND OF WHAT THAT INTERPLAY IS AND HOW THAT, OR IF THAT CREATES SOME ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES WHEN YOU'RE FACED WITH THESE, YOU KNOW, BIG PROJECTS COMING IN WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE, UM, THE PIECES IN PLACE QUITE YET TO, TO DEAL WITH IT.
THE, WE DO HAVE, UM, COLLEEN CAN SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, BUT, UM, THE, WE DO HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE IN OUR SERVICE AREA.
SO WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THE, WE ARE THE MUNICIPAL WATER SUPPLIER INSIDE THE CITY'S FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION.
AND THEN WE HAVE WHAT ARE CALLED CERTIFICATES OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY, UM, THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UM, CERTIFICATED BY THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION AT TEXAS, AND WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS AND ADEQUATE, I THINK IS THE WORDING SERVICE IN OUR CCN.
UM, AND SO WHEN A NEW DEVELOPMENT COMES IN, IF THEY'RE IN OUR, IN THE FULL PURPOSE OR THEY'RE IN OUR CCN, UM, THEN WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO AN OBLIGATION TO SERVE.
UM, COUNCIL DOES HAVE SOME, UM, DISCRETION THAT THEY'VE SET ASIDE FOR THEMSELVES IN OTHER AREAS, UM, BUT, UH, IN THOSE AREAS, UM, SO WHEN WE HAVE A NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT COMES IN, WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN TIMEFRAMES THAT WE REVIEW AND RESPOND TO THOSE REQUESTS.
I WILL SAY THAT THE INITIAL INQUIRY IS THE SERVICE EXTENSION REQUEST, WHICH IS OFTEN VERY EARLY IN THE DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO WE DO SEE THAT THOSE, UH, YOU KNOW, NOT, NOT INFREQUENTLY THAT THOSE WILL PROVIDE A SERVICE PLAN FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL THEN SIT ON THE SHELF FOR SOME TIME WHILE THE PROPERTY OWNER AND DEVELOPER FIGURE OUT IF THAT'S WHAT THEY WANNA BUILD.
THEY MAY COME BACK TO US WITH DIFFERENT PROPERTY USES, DIFFERENT WATER AND WASTEWATER NEEDS THAT WE REVIEW AGAIN.
UM, SO THERE'S, THERE'S OFTEN SOME TIME PERIOD WHERE THEY'RE ASSESSING WHAT THEY'RE GONNA BUILD, UM, BEFORE THERE'S SOME CERTAINTY ON OUR PART ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S GONNA MOVE FORWARD.
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UM, THEY DO HAVE, ONCE THEY ACCEPT THE SERVICE PLAN, THEY HAVE SIX MONTHS TO FILE A DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION OR THAT SERVICE PLAN EXPIRES, WHICH JUST MEANS THAT SHOULD THEY COME BACK AFTER IT'S EXPIRED, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN.SO THAT'S, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE PIECES THAT GO INTO HOW A DEVELOPMENT PROGRESSES THROUGH THE PROCESS.
WE CAN GO BACK THROUGH THE QUESTIONS AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WALK THROUGH THOSE QUESTIONS.
UM, AND, UH, LET, I MEAN, LET'S SHOW, I THINK A LOT OF THESE QUESTIONS WE'RE REALLY KIND OF GETTING AT THE THRESHOLD
UM, I THINK MAYBE LET'S PAUSE HERE.
LET'S PAUSE HERE AND SEE IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER, LIKE MORE GENERAL THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS FROM THE TASK FORCE MEMBER.
I HAVE A, A QUESTION ABOUT THE LONG RANGE PLANNING.
UM, FOR THE LONG RANGE PLANNING, I KNOW OUR, LIKE EMERGENCY PLAN IS FOR INDIRECT PORTABLE REUSE.
BUT I HAVEN'T REALLY HEARD ANY UPDATES ON THAT.
AND HOW FAR ALONG, AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, OUR LAKES ARE FULL, SO IT'S NOT AS PRESSING AS IT WAS MM-HMM
BEFORE THEY WERE, AND I WAS JUST WONDERING WHERE THAT'S AT.
AND IF THERE'S ANY DIRECT POTABLE REUSED LONG RANGE PLANNING FOR DEVELOPMENT OR ANY KIND OF OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE.
I TURNED MY MIC ON SO I COULD SAY THAT IT'S STILL PRESSING.
AND WE HAVE, UM, THINKING THE SAME THING,
UM, AND REBECCA'S, UM, ROLE IS REALLY FOCUSED ON ADVANCING INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE, UM, AND THE, THE PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF INDIRECT POTABLE REUSE, AS WELL AS OTHER REUSE OPTIONS, UM, LIKE, UH, DOING ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND STUDY TO INFORM OUR PLANNING AROUND, UM, POSSIBLE FUTURE DIRECT POTABLE REUSE.
SO WE'VE GOT A WHOLE POSITION NOW, UM, FOCUSED ON THAT.
AND I, I DO FEEL LIKE IT'S, IT'S ADVANCING IN A, IN A PRETTY STEADY, UM, MANNER WHEN WE'LL HAVE MORE UPDATES TO SHARE ON THAT, UM, IN THE FUTURE.
UM, I HAD ONE OTHER QUESTION ABOUT THE TIERS.
I KNOW IT'S STILL IN THE DECIDING PROCESS AND EVERYTHING, BUT FOR LIKE SMALLER TIERED USERS, DO WE HAVE ANY IDEA OF LIKE PROVIDING INCENTIVES FOR THEM TO HAVE BETTER CONSERVATION USE? LIKE MAYBE A SMALLER USER IS TRYING TO COME ONLINE AND THEY JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT CONSERVATION MM-HMM
THINGS ARE OUT THERE AND BEING ABLE TO INFORM THEM THESE ARE OPTIONS AND THEN SOME KIND OF INCENTIVE FOR THEM TO USE IT.
NOT NECESSARILY BEING LEADERS LIKE THE LARGEST TIER ONES, BUT STILL BEING ABLE TO HAVE THOSE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN MORE ON HOW TO CONSERVE WATER BETTER.
AND I WOULD SAY THAT, UM, WE HAVE OUR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, UM, YOU KNOW, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS HERE WHO COULD SHARE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE ENGAGE WITH, UH, NEW CUSTOMERS AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS.
UM, ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT'S BEEN IMPLEMENTED IS THE, THE SUBMISSION OF THIS WATER BENCHMARKING APPLICATION FOR ALL NEW SITE PLANS.
UM, THERE'S A, A, A TRIGGER AT WHICH WE HAVE DIRECT CONVERSATIONS WITH LARGER DEVELOPMENTS AND, AND THAT ALSO TRIGGERS ADDITIONAL, UM, ONSITE REUSE AND RECLAIMED, UH, REQUIREMENTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT IS A, A REALLY GREAT PATHWAY FOR US TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS WHO ARE MAYBE NOT THE LARGEST USERS, BUT ARE, YOU KNOW, WANTING MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CONSERVATION AND REUSE.
AND THEN FOR EXISTING CUSTOMERS, WE DO HAVE PROGRAMS LIKE OUR BOOKS FOR BUSINESS PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES, UM, YOU KNOW, FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL REBATES OR INCENTIVES, UH, DOLLARS TO ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION, UM, AND OTHER TYPES OF STRATEGIES TO HELP REDUCE POTABLE WATER USAGE AND OUR GO PURPLE INCENTIVES AS WELL.
AND WE HAVE OUR SUITE OF GO PURPLE INCENTIVES AS WELL, UM, TO ENCOURAGE REUSE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE, I, I FEEL LIKE WE'VE DONE A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF, OF TRYING TO CREATE A SUITE OF INCENTIVES ACROSS, UM, CONSERVATION AND REUSE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TOO IS, UM, YOU KNOW, TALKING WITH OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, UM, ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH THEM SO THAT AS THEY ENGAGE WITH, UM,
[01:10:01]
EXISTING BUSINESSES, FOR EXAMPLE, THEY CAN SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE REBATES AS WELL ON THE, THE GO PURPLE.I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAN BE REALLY DIFFICULT, JUST THE PIPELINE AND THE EXPENSES OF GETTING THE PIPELINE TOO.
WHAT ABOUT LIKE, UM, TRYING TO PROMOTE ONSITE REUSE AND ARE YOU GUYS ACTIVELY YES.
THERE ARE INCENTIVES SPECIFICALLY FOR ONSITE MM-HMM
OH, UM, AND, AND FORGIVE ME IF YOU SAID THIS ALREADY, 'CAUSE IF YOU DID, IT WENT IN ONE EAR OUT THE OTHER ON THE, UM, SARAH'S QUESTIONS ON, UM, POTABLE AND NON POTABLE WATER.
SO DOES 85 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR INCLUDE THE NON POTABLE WATER? SO AT OUR OPEN HOUSE, WE HAD INCLUDED, UM, A, A DRAFT DEFINITION THAT, UM, SAID THAT 85 MILLION GALLONS WOULD BE TRIGGERED BASED ON THE COMBINATION OF BOTH OKAY.
AND, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO EVALUATE WHETHER THAT'S THE WAY THAT WE WANT TO FRAME IT IN OUR ULTIMATE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, THERE MAY BE OTHER, UM, APPROACHES THAT WE COULD USE, UM, TO SET A, A POTABLE WATER THRESHOLD, UM, AND SOME, UH, JUST A POTABLE WATER THRESHOLD AND ESTABLISH, UH, OTHER REQUIREMENTS TO, UM, HAVE EFFICIENT USAGE OF OUR NON POTABLE, UM, WATER RESOURCES BY THESE LARGER WATER CUSTOMERS.
UM, WE COULD ALSO ESTABLISH SEPARATE THRESHOLDS FOR POTABLE WATER USAGE AND NON POTABLE WATER USAGE.
I THINK ONE OF OUR GOALS, LIKE I MENTIONED, IS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING EFFICIENT USAGE OF BOTH THOSE POTABLE AND NON.
YEAH, IT'S, UH, YEAH, I COULD SEE WHY YOU'RE THINKING IT DIFFERENT WAYS.
'CAUSE LIKE ON ONE HAND YOU CREATE ANOTHER INCENTIVE FOR NON-POTABLE IF THAT GETS A PROJECT UNDERNEATH THE THRESHOLD MM-HMM
AND THEN THEY USE THAT TO AVOID ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
UM, BUT THEN THEY CAN USE THAT TO AVOID ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
RELATED TO SLIDE, I THINK IT'S SLIDE 14.
THIS LIST OF LARGE VOLUME OR LARGE WATER CUSTOMERS UNDER OUR CURRENT THRESHOLD.
SO IF, SO THIS IS WHAT'S CONFUSING TO ME.
IF IT'S 85 MILLION ANNUAL USAGE IS THE THRESHOLD MM-HMM
I DON'T SI DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY TESLA IS LISTED AS A COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER AND NOT A LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER.
SAME KIND OF GOES FOR MID-AMERICA APARTMENTS, I GUESS, OR THE, 'CAUSE THEY'RE A RETAIL CUSTOMER, I GUESS.
UH, JOSEPH GONZALEZ, DEPUTY DIRECTOR AUSTIN WATER.
UM, AND JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON, ON THIS CHART.
UH, THIS IS A CHART THAT WE ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER.
UM, ANYTIME WE DO A BOND ISSUANCE AND IT JUST LISTS OUR, OUR LARGEST CUSTOMERS, UM, IRRESPECTIVE OF, OF WHETHER THEY MEET AN 85 MILLION GALLON THRESHOLD.
THIS IS, THIS IS JUST OUR, OUR LARGEST CUSTOMER LIST.
AND IT'S INTENDED TO SHOW THE INVESTMENT COMMUNITY, LIKE HOW MUCH OF OUR OVERALL DEMAND COMES FROM ANY SPECIFIC CUSTOMER OR, OR OUR LARGEST CUSTOMERS.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU KNOW, IF IF 50% OF OUR REVENUES CAME FROM ONE CUSTOMER, THEN WE'D BE AT RISK OF, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH OUR COMMITMENTS IF SOMETHING HAPPENED WITH THAT CUSTOMER.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE THIS THIS LIST CAME FROM.
YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF THE, THE 85 MILLION GALLONS, THAT'S REALLY JUST HISTORICALLY BEEN KIND OF A RATE MAKING THRESHOLD.
IN OTHER WORDS, THAT WAS THE THRESHOLD WHEREBY WE WOULD CONSIDER SETTING INDIVIDUAL RATES FOR, FOR A CUSTOMER, JUST BECAUSE WE CAN'T SET INDIVIDUAL RATES FOR, FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS CURRENTLY.
UM, AND CERTAINLY NOT IN A PRE A MI ENVIRONMENT WITH REGARD TO TESLA, UH, BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL RAMPING UP BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T, UM, REACHED THEIR ANTICIPATED LEVEL OF DEMAND THAT THEY HAD COMMUNICATED TO US.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE, THEIR DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UH, SETTING RATES NOW, UM, BEFORE THEY REACHED THAT LEVEL OF DEMAND, YOU KNOW, CUSTOMER SPECIFIC RATES WOULD, WOULD BE DIFFICULT.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU KNOW, WOULDN'T REALLY, UM, TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE FULL BREADTH OF THEIR DEMANDS ON OUR SYSTEM.
AND, AND SO WHAT WE'RE WAITING FOR, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY WITH TESLA IS FOR, FOR
[01:15:01]
THEIR DEMAND TO, TO KIND OF LEVEL OFF AND, AND BE IN A POSITION WHERE, WHERE WE'RE SEEING KIND OF THEIR, UM, THEIR ANTICIPATED LEVEL OF DEMAND, UM, IN A WAY THAT WOULD BE INDICATIVE OF THEIR FUTURE NEEDS.SO YEAH, I'LL SAY TOO THAT THE, UM, I THINK AS WE MOVE FORWARD, THE CLARITY ON IS THIS A LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER FROM A RATE PERSPECTIVE, IS IT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE GONNA, WE NEED TO WORK THROUGH MAKING SURE THAT THE TERMINOLOGY IS CONSISTENT AND UNDERSTANDABLE.
AND, UM, AND SO I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS THE CUSTOMER CLASS RELATED TO THE RATE CLASS ON THIS TABLE, NOT NECESSARILY TO THE 85 MILLION GALLON PER YEAR THRESHOLD WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FOR HIGH IMPACT WATER USERS.
AND WHEN, WHEN DO WE EXPECT THEIR DEMAND TO LIKE QUOTE UNQUOTE LEVEL OFF OR BE IN A PLACE WHERE WE CAN SET A RATE FOR THEM? IF IT'S NOT GONNA BE 544 MILLION GALLONS PER YEAR? WHEN DO WE EXPECT THAT TO LEVEL OFF? I, I, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION AT HAND, BUT I THINK, UM, WE'RE GONNA, UM, SO
I'M, I'M EMILY CHANCELLOR AND I'M CHIEF OF STAFF HERE AT AUSTIN WATER.
AND SO THEY'RE ALL LOOKING AT ME 'CAUSE THERE'S SOMETHING WE WANNA ADVISE YOU OF, UM, RELATED TO, UM, OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE CUSTOMER WATER USE INFORMATION.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A STORY.
I'M GONNA TRY TO MAKE IT SIMPLE.
UM, SO LEGISLATION PASSED IN 2021 THAT DID ADDRESS RELEASE OF, OF INFORMATION OF CUSTOMER WATER USE.
AND IT WAS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT WATER USE, UM, DATA FROM ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU KNOW, SMART METERS.
AND SO THE INTERPRETATION OF THAT REALLY WAS THAT IT WOULD APPLY TO INDIVIDUALS, SO LIKE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
SO YOU MAY REMEMBER IN THE PAST, MEDIA OUTLETS WOULD REQUEST, YOU KNOW, DO A PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST AND ASK AUSTIN WATER WHO ARE YOUR LARGEST RESIDENTIAL USERS.
THEY WOULD DO A NEWS STORY ABOUT IT, CALL OUT THEIR NAMES.
YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THAT IN THE LAST FEW YEARS.
UM, UM, MOSTLY BECAUSE OF THIS LEGISLATION.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN ATTORNEY GENERAL RULINGS ABOUT THE APPLICABILITY OF THIS, THIS STATE LAW, UM, THAT NOW, UM, BRING IN COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS INTO THIS, UM, PRO, UM, THIS EXCEPTION FOR PROVIDING WATER USE DATA.
AND THAT IS COINCIDING WITH AUSTIN WATER'S COMPLETION OF OUR SMART METER INSTALLATIONS.
AND OUR LARGEST METERS WERE THE LAST ONES TO BE INSTALLED BECAUSE IT WAS VERY, IT'S A COMPLEX, UM, INSTALLATION, UM, THAT NEEDED TO BE CONTRACTED SEPARATELY.
AND SO WE ARE ADVISING YOU THAT WE SEE LIMITATIONS IN THE FUTURE ON US BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC WATER USE FOR THESE LARGE CUSTOMERS.
AND WE ALSO ANTICIPATE THAT THAT WILL BE CONCERNING TO PROBABLY YOU AND OUR MAKERS, UM, YOU KNOW, CITY COUNCIL.
AND SO WE ARE ALREADY IN TALKS WITH OTHER WATER UTILITIES ABOUT HOW THIS IS IMPACTING THEM AND THEIR COMMUNITIES AND HOW IT MIGHT BE ABLE TO BE ADDRESSED DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, AND SO YEAH, I I'M DEFINITELY NOT THE THANK YOU.
I CAN'T GIVE YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LEGAL ANALYSIS ON THIS, BUT WE FELT LIKE WE WANTED TO ADVISE YOU OF THIS.
WE'RE GONNA BE UPDATING COUNCIL OFFICES ALSO AND, AND, UH, WORKING WITHIN THE INDUSTRY ON THIS FOR THE SESSION.
DID THAT AG OPINION JUST RECENTLY COME OUT OR HAS IT BEEN IT WAS DURING THE SUMMER.
SO WE'RE FIXING TO LOSE OUR QUORUM, WHICH MEANS WE WOULD HAVE TO ADJOURN.
ONE LAST THING ON THAT, ROBERT, THEN BEFORE WE DO LOSE QUORUM AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT UPDATE.
WE DON'T, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ADJOURN BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE A QUORUM.
YOU JUST CAN'T TAKE ANY ACTION.
YOU CAN CONTINUE THE MEETING IS MY UNDERSTANDING FROM ROBERT'S RULES, BUT THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING.
STAFF HERE IS TELLING ME SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
SO
[01:20:01]
FROM DISCUSSING EVEN IN VAGUE TERMS, GENERALLY WHAT THEIR PROJECTIONS ARE BECAUSE THAT'S NOT RELATED TO THE METER, IT'S JUST RELATED TO WHAT THEY TOLD US IN PLANNING.UM, SO I WOULD CONSIDER THAT AS A POSSIBILITY TO DISCUSS, WELL, WHERE DO WE THINK THEY'RE GONNA LEVEL OFF? YOU CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
IS IT GONNA BE ANOTHER A HUNDRED MILLION GALLONS? IS IT GONNA BE ANOTHER 500 MILLION GALLONS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE YEARS? DID DID THAT'S DIFFERENT.
I THINK HER TEAM JUST DOESN'T HAVE THAT DATA PREPARED TO, TO SHARE AT THE MOMENT.
DID, DID THE RANDOM DUDE IN THE AUDIENCE SAY WE COULD CONTINUE MEETING OR THAT RANDOM DUDE IS ERIC
MAYBE THAT DOES NOT APPLY TO APPOINTED.
RIGHT? WE CAN'T CONTINUE A MEETING.
YOU CAN, YOU CAN GATHER SEPARATELY, BUT WE CANNOT HAVE A, A POSTED MEETING CONTINUE.
COULD I JUST ADD ONE, ONE LAST QUESTION? SURE.
SO ON THE, THE TIERED AND WAITING FOR THEM TO RAMP UP, IS THERE WAYS TO CHANGE ONCE THEY'RE, UH, LIKE SAMSUNG FOR INSTANCE, IS PUTTING IN NEW LINES, WOULD THEY STAY WITH THE SAME PAID TIER RATE OR WOULD THAT CHANGE IF THEY USED INCREMENTALLY MORE WATER AND WITH SAMSUNG, LIKE WITH TESLA, COULD YOU CHANGE IT LATER WHEN THEY HIT THEIR FINAL AMOUNT? OR IS IT LIKE ONCE YOU SET IT, IT'S A CONTRACT, YOU HAVE A FIVE YEAR PERIOD OF THAT? HOW DOES THAT WORK EXACTLY? WELL, WE EVALUATE RATES EVERY, EVERY YEAR.
AND SO WE COULD CHANGE RATES, YOU KNOW, UM, ANNUALLY.
UH, WE DON'T TYPICALLY CHANGE RATES MID, MID-YEAR.
UM, AND, AND GENERALLY DON'T HAVE REASONS TO.
UM, BUT, UH, BECAUSE THEIR USAGE HAS BEEN INCREASING SO RAPIDLY, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAD SAID RATES AFTER 2023 AND, AND THEY'RE NOT QUITE DOUBLE, BUT THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, FOR 2025, THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, IN THE, IN THE 80% INCREASE RATE, YOU KNOW, THOSE, THOSE RATES WOULDN'T HAVE REALLY ADEQUATELY MEASURED THEIR DEMANDS ON HONOR SYSTEM.
UM, I WILL ADD THOUGH THAT GENERALLY SPEAKING WITH OUR LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS WHO, WHO HAVE CONSISTENT DEMANDS, UM, BECAUSE THEIR DEMANDS SAY DON'T PEAK, FOR EXAMPLE, THE WAY RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS MIGHT PEAK, SAY DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, UM, BECAUSE THEIR DEMANDS ON OUR SYSTEM ARE RELATIVELY CONSISTENT, UH, FOR, FOR FOR LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMERS, UH, THEIR RATES, THEIR AVERAGE RATE, UH, TENDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN SAY OUR AVERAGE COMMERCIAL RATES.
SO BY, BY LEAVING THEM IN COMMERCIAL RATES, WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, NOT GIVING THEM THE BENEFIT THAT THEY MIGHT OTHERWISE GET AS A LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER WITH CONSISTENT DEMANDS.
SO THE RATES ARE REALLY AFFECTED BY THE PEAKING FACTORS, BUT THE, UM, I THINK WHAT JOSEPH IS TALKING ABOUT REALLY SPEAKS TO, AS WE SAID AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MEETING, WE ARE REALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL OF THIS ANALYSIS.
THERE'S A LOT OF WORK LEFT TO DO TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE GET TO WHERE, UM, TO SOME POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO I CALL IT AT 1:31 PM ONE THANK, THANK YOU TO STAFF FOR PUTTING TOGETHER THE THOUGHTFUL PRESENTATION, THE DISCUSSION.
AND, UH, TILL NEXT TIME, I GUESS WE'RE MEETING IN DECEMBER, SO OH YES.
WE'LL MEET IN DECEMBER, DECEMBER 8TH AND WE HAVE A, UM, WORKING IMPLEMENTATION WORKING GROUP MEETING IN NOVEMBER.