[00:00:03]
UH, THE NEXT ITEM, UH, TO GO OVER IS APPROVAL
[Approval of Minutes ]
OF THE MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 22ND.UH, I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ALL ALL IN FAVOR? APPROVING THE MINUTES? SAY AYE OR? YES.
'CAUSE WE'RE NOT GONNA VOTE ON THE SCREEN.
IT'S, UH, IT'S ACT, IT'S SLOW.
WE'LL SAY, AYE, RIGHT NOW IF YOU'RE IN FAVOR.
THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENT,
[Public Comment ]
AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE AT LEAST ONE PERSON SIGNED UP TO SPEAK ON OUR AGENDA TODAY.I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA GO LATER, LIKE LAST TIME.
IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A SECOND TO GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED, GO AHEAD.
WELL YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HAND OUT.
I WANNA GET THESE, UH, UH, UH, AROUND TO THE, OKAY.
AND DID I THROW YOU A CURVE BALL? DR.
I WAS, I WAS TRYING TO GET MY NOTES TOGETHER AND, UH, MAKE SURE THAT I COULD FIT IT INTO THE, THE THREE MINUTES.
UH, I WILL TRY TO MAKE IT AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE, HOWEVER, UM, THANK YOU.
UM, SO, UH, WHAT I'VE GIVEN YOU ARE, ARE THREE DIFFERENT, UM, PIECES OF INFORMATION.
AND, UH, I'M JUST GOING TO FOCUS ON SOMETHING THAT APPLIES BOTH TO SAWS, UH, RATES AS WELL AS TO C P S ENERGY'S RATES.
UM, I'M VERY CONCERNED THAT THE WAY THE RATES ARE BEING STRUCTURED IS IN SUCH A WAY AS, UM, TO REDUCE THE, UH, EFFORTS TO, UH, REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY AND THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT'S BEING CONSUMED.
UH, AND IT IS SAD THAT BOTH UTILITIES ARE ACTUALLY REWARDING, UH, THE BUSINESSES AND THE RESIDENCES THAT ARE USING THE MOST, UH, WATER OR ENERGY.
AND I THINK THAT THAT IS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM BECAUSE WE ARE HEADING INTO SOME WORST TIMES AHEAD.
UH, CLIMATE CHANGE IS GOING TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR BOTH OF THESE UTILITIES.
AND SO WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY BY WHICH THE RATES ARE, UM, STRUCTURED SO THAT THEY AREN'T REWARDING THOSE WHO ARE USING LOTS OF WATER.
ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS THAT I FOUND OUT FROM THE CONSULTANT, I DIDN'T FIND OUT DIRECTLY FROM THE CONSULTANT.
I FOUND IT IN, UM, A, A WRITING THAT HE HAD, UM, DONE.
UH, THE CONSULTANT FROM R LAST YEAR, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER HIS LAST NAME.
UM, BUT, UM, THE CONSULTANT THERE HAD, UH, RAISED AN ISSUE THAT I THOUGHT WAS IMPORTANT.
HE, HE WAS POINTING OUT THAT IN MANY RESPECTS, THE USE OF CLASSES FOR, UH, CREATING THE RATE STRUCTURE, UH, IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE THERE IS ACTUALLY MUCH MORE DIFFERENCE WITHIN A RATE CLASS, UH, THAN THERE IS BETWEEN THE RATE CLASSES.
AND SO IF YOU'RE TRYING TO SAY, UH, AS LONG AS THAT CLASS COVERS ITS, ITS, UH, UM, THEN THAT WOULD BE FAIR.
BUT, UH, THEY, THEY SAY THAT YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE ONE CLASS HAVE TO SUBSIDIZE ANOTHER CLASS.
BUT IF IN REALITY THOSE CLASSES ARE NOT ACCRUING, UM, THE WATER THAT THEY USE OR THE, UM, UH, THE ENERGY THEY'RE USING, IF THEY ARE NOT ALL USING IT IN APPROPRIATE WAYS, THEN THE END RESULT IS THAT YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE, UH, A, A FAIR RATE STRUCTURE.
AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAD BEEN WONDERING ABOUT WAS, WELL, HOW CAN WE HAVE A TRULY FAIR RATE STRUCTURE GIVEN THAT THESE CLASSES AREN'T,
[00:05:01]
YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, BASICALLY SAWS RATE STRUCTURE, FOR EXAMPLE, IS RESIDENTIAL AND EVERYTHING ELSE.AND THOSE ARE THE TWO REAL CLASSES THAT THEY'RE CLAIMING TO DO.
UH, THE, WHEN YOU PUT IT THAT WAY, THEN IT'S BOUND TO HURT THE RESIDENTIAL RATE PAYERS.
SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WELL, LET ME FINISH WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY ABOUT WHAT, WHAT THE GUY WHEN NICK SOMETHING OR ANOTHER FROM, FROM, UH, TALIS, HE WAS TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT A NUMBER OF CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES HAVE A RATE STRUCTURE THAT ELIMINATES THE CLASSES.
THEY DON'T HAVE CLASSES AT ALL.
BASICALLY, ALL OF THE CUSTOMERS HAVE THE SAME RATES FOR THE SAME THINGS THAT THEY NEED FROM THE UTILITY.
AND, UH, I'M SORRY, 30 SECONDS.
SO ANYHOW, THE POINT IS THAT I THINK THAT, THAT WE NEED TO TAKE A GOOD HARD LOOK AT THE RATE STRUCTURES AND TRY TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT MORE FAIR.
AND THERE IS THIS DIAGRAM THAT I ALSO PROVIDED, UM, THAT WAS PUT TOGETHER BY A MEMBER OF THE CLASS.
UM, THE, THE, UM, RAC, UH, COMMITTEE.
HE PUT TOGETHER SOME OF THE DATA, UH, ABOUT THE RESIDENTIAL RATE PAYS PAYMENTS, UH, WHETHER THEY WERE PAYING A FLAT UNIT COST, LIKE WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT THAT WAS GOING ON IN THESE OTHER CITIES COMPARED TO WHAT, UM, SAW RATES PRODUCES.
AND YOU'LL SEE FROM THAT THAT IT'S REALLY, REALLY, REALLY TIPPED, UH, TO THE POINT.
LEMME JUST READ THE LAST THING.
SO, UNDER THE EXISTING EIGHT TIER SCENARIO, UH, THE LOWEST 10% OF WATER USERS PAID ABOUT $6 MILLION A YEAR FOR MORE FOR THEIR WATER THAN THE, UH, AND THE TOP 10 USERS PAID ABOUT 7.6 MILLION LESS, UM, THAN, UH, 48% OF THE 15.9 MILLION.
I HOPE YOU'LL TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
ALLOW US TO READ THIS AND I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY TO SPEAK WITH ANY OF YOU INDIVIDUALLY AS WELL.
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
ITEM ITEM TWO IS, UH, A BRIEFING BY THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM ON THEIR CERTIFICATE OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY, C C M BOUNDARIES, INCLUDING ALIGNMENT WITH THE CITY'S EXTRA TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION AND COORDINATION WITH THE CITY'S GROWTH POLICY.SO YOU'LL BE MAKING A PRESENTATION.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION AT THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM.
I, I WANTED TO GIVE AN, OH, OOH, THIS IS NOT ME.
THAT'S MY, MY PRESENTATION, UH, STILL SERVICE AREA.
SO I WANTED TO, UH, DISCUSS WITH Y'ALL, UM, REALLY SAS SERVICE AREA AND HOW WE FIT IN HOW SASS FITS IN WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S GROWTH POLICY.
SO I WANNA START WITH SASS GROWTH STRATEGY.
UH, IN 2010, SAWS APPROVED A RESOLUTION, UM, IN REGARDS TO OUR GROWTH STRATEGY.
ONE OF THE KEY TENETS OF THAT STRATEGY IS TO SUPPORT THE CITY'S MASTER PLAN AS WELL AS RELATED GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S ONE OF THE KEY TENETS.
FIRST POINT OF OUR WHOLE GROWTH STRATEGY IS TO FOLLOW THE CITY.
FROM THERE, WE WANNA HAVE CONTIGUOUS COST-EFFECTIVE EXPANSION, AGAIN, TO MATCH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S E T J.
AND WE REALLY PUT THAT COST OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE DEVELOPER.
WE DON'T SUBSIDIZE THAT WITH OUR RATE PAYERS.
WE WANT GROWTH TO PAY FOR GROWTH, EITHER THROUGH IMPACT FEES OR THROUGH THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS.
SO MUCH LIKE THE CITY HAS, THE E T J SAWS HAS OUR C C N OR OUR CERTIFICATE OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY.
SO WHAT IS A C C N? THE C C N IS AN EXCLUSIVE OBLIGATION TO SERVE A SPECIFIED AREA.
IT'S REGULATED BY THE STATE, THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF TEXAS.
IT'S GOVERNED BY CHAPTER 13 OF THE TEXAS WATER CODE.
IT REQUIRES THAT ANYONE WHO'S IN THE C C N WHO COMES AND REQUESTS SERVICE MUST BE GRANTED SERVICE IF THEY FOLLOW THE PROVIDER'S RULES.
[00:10:01]
IF THE PROVIDER DOESN'T PROVIDE SERVICE, THERE ARE PENALTIES THAT COULD INCLUDE REVOKING THE C C N ISSUING AN ORDER TO COMPEL SERVICE OR IMPOSING A PENALTY.SO I REALLY WANTED TO TALK ABOUT VISUALLY THE MAP.
A A MAP THAT OVERLAPS THE COUNTY.
WE'VE GOT THE CITY LIMITS, WHICH YOU SEE IN THAT BROAD BLACK COLOR.
AND THEN YOU SEE THE E T J LIMITS IN GRAY.
I WANNA NOTE BEFORE I GET INTO OUR C C N LIMITS THAT SAWS DOES HAVE BECAUSE OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY HAS THE FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL, EVEN IN THE E T J, EVEN IF IT'S OUTSIDE SAW C C N, OUR WATER C C N IS SHOWN HERE IN BLUE.
YOU NOTE THE WHITE HOLES ON THIS MAP ARE FOR MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AND SUBURBAN CITIES.
YOU'LL NOTE THAT OUR C C N EXTENDS INTO OUT SCOS MEDINA, KENDALL, AND COMAL COUNTIES.
THERE IS AN AREA WHERE OUR C C N EXTENDS PAST THE CITY'S E T J, AND THAT'S IN ATASCOSA COUNTY.
AND THAT WAS C C N THAT WAS ACQUIRED WHEN WE MERGED WITH BARET.
SO NOW WE OVERLAY OUR SEWER C C N AND YOU SEE, NOT EVERYTHING IS QUITE IN ALIGNMENT.
AND YOU ALSO SEE REALLY THE CH THE, THE DISTANCE, THE GAPS BETWEEN THE CITY'S E T J AS WELL AS SAW C C N.
I ALSO WANTED TO OVERLAP THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE AND CONTRIBUTING ZONES ON THIS MAP.
SO YOU'LL SEE THE, UM, THE RECHARGE ZONE IS SHOWN IN HATCHED BETWEEN THE TWO LINES.
NORTH OF THAT IS THE CONTRIBUTING ZONE.
SO OUR ET OUR C C N, EXCUSE ME, DOES EXTEND WITHIN THE RECHARGE AS WELL AS THE CONTRIBUTING ZONES.
AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN EXTRAORDINARY GROWTH IN OUR COMMUNITY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS.
UM, SAN ANTONIO IS ON THE TOP 10 LIST IN TERMS OF THE NATION IN TERMS OF GROWTH FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE FOR NUMBERS, OUR ACTUAL GROWTH PROJECTION FROM THE BUDGETARY STANDPOINT FOR 2021 WAS 1.5%.
OUR ACTUAL NUMBER OF ADDED CONNECTIONS WAS ALMOST DOUBLE THAT FOR 2021, WE SAW ALMOST 3%, 2.9% GROWTH, UH, 2.9% INCREASE IN CONNECTIONS IN OUR SYSTEM IN 2021.
I WANTED TO SHOW THIS MAP, WHICH THIS MAP DOESN'T REFLECT 2021.
IT'S A LITTLE DECEIVING, SO YOU KNOW, PARDON THE NUMBERS, WHICH REFLECT 2021.
BUT THE MAP SHOWS UP THE GROWTH OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS, AND IT SHOWS OUR UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENTS THAT WE'VE ENTERED OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS.
AND WE SEE WHERE THAT GROWTH IS OCCURRING LARGELY IN THE E T J.
WE SEE A LOT OF GROWTH HAPPENING IN THAT WESTERN CORRIDOR IN PARTICULAR.
AND WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME GROWTH HAPPEN IN THE SOUTHEAST PORTION OF THE COUNTY.
OUR GROWTH HAPPENS THROUGH A UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENT.
THAT'S WHERE WE ENTER INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE DEVELOPER.
SO THE U S A, WHAT IT DOES IS IT SETS ASIDE CAPACITY IN OUR SYSTEM FOR A DEVELOPER.
THEY'LL COME TO SAWS AND THEY'LL TELL US WHAT THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS ARE, WHAT THEIR WATER AND WASTEWATER DEMANDS ARE, AND WE ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THEM AS WELL AS OUTLINE THE INFRASTRUCTURE NECESSARY FOR THAT CAPACITY.
AND THAT INFRASTRUCTURE ISN'T JUST LIMITED TO PIPES.
IT CAN BE PUMPS, IT CAN BE TANKS, IT CAN BE WELL CAPACITY, AS WELL AS TREATMENT CAPACITY.
A U SS A IS IN PLACE FOR UP TO 15 YEARS, PROVIDED THE DEVELOPER MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF SAUCE.
IMPACT FEES ARE PAID DURING THIS TIME.
AND AGAIN, OUR TENANT IS FOR GROWTH TO PAY FOR GROWTH.
SO WHEN A NEW DEVELOPER COMES TO SA, THEY'RE EXPECTED TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT, AND PAY FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO CONNECT TO THE SAW SYSTEM AS WELL AS PAYING APPLICABLE IMPACT FEES.
IMPACT FEES ARE A ONE-TIME CHARGE.
THEY DO, UM, THEY ARE APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL.
COUNCIL APPROVED OUR IMPACT FEES IN 2019 AND WILL BE COMING BACK TO COUNCIL IN 2024 WHEN IT'S TIME TO RENEW AND REVISIT OUR IMPACT FEES.
THEY MUST COMPLY WITH SAWS REGULATIONS.
THEY HAVE TO BUILD TO SAWS STANDARDS AND USE SAWS APPROVED MATERIALS.
SO THE DEVELOPER DOES THAT INITIAL INVESTMENT, NOT ONLY IN PAYING THE IMPACT FEES, BUT IT'S UPON THEM TO BUILD THAT INFRASTRUCTURE
[00:15:01]
TO CONNECT TO OUR SYSTEM.AND WHEN THEY'RE DONE AND IT'S ACCEPTED BY SAWS, THEY TURN OVER THAT INFRASTRUCTURE TO SAWS FOR SAWS TO ULTIMATELY OWN AND OPERATE.
SO I'M SURE Y'ALL HAVE GOTTEN THE QUESTION.
AS OUR BOARD HAS GOTTEN THE QUESTION FROM STAKEHOLDERS ON WHY DOESN'T SAW STOP DEVELOPMENT BEFORE IT GO COMES TO THE CITY? WELL, ULTIMATELY IT'S NOT SAS RULE.
SAS DOESN'T HAVE THE LEGAL AUTHORITY TO STOP DEVELOPMENT, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT'S IN OUR C C N AND WE HAVE THAT OBLIGATION TO SERVE.
SO I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT'S WITHIN THE CITY'S AUTHORITY VERSUS WHAT'S WITHIN SAS AUTHORITY.
WITHIN THE CITY'S AUTHORITY, IT'S PLATTING AND ZONING.
WITHIN THE CORPORATE CITY LIMITS, THERE ARE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS INCLUDING AQUIFER PROTECTION, TREE CANOPY, DARK SKIES REQUIREMENTS, AND WATER CONSERVATION RESTRICTIONS ARE IN PLACE BOTH WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS AND THE CUSTOMERS OF SAWS WITHIN THE E T J.
SO ALL OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY LIES WITHIN THE CITY, WHILE SAS RESPONSIBILITY IS TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS AND ADEQUATE WATER AND SEWER SERVICE WITHIN THE C C N SET REGULATIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR SERVICE, AGAIN, WE HAVE THE FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL WITHIN THE E T J.
SASS DOES HAVE DISCRETION TO PROVIDE SERVICE OUTSIDE OF THE C C N, BUT BY AGREEMENT.
AND THOSE HAVE TO GO BEFORE OUR SAS BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR APPROVAL.
SO I WANTED TO PROVIDE A RECENT EXAMPLE THAT MAY HAVE COME TO YOU THAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF.
AND THAT WAS THE WA TRACT IN, UH, NORTHWEST BEAR COUNTY NEAR HALOES.
THIS TRACT IS OVER THE CONTRIBUTING ZONE.
IT IS LOCATED IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, E T J.
IT'S INSIDE SAWS WATER, C C N, BUT OUTSIDE OF OUR SEWER C C N.
SO WITH IT BEING WITHIN SAWS WATER, C C N, AGAIN, SAWS IS OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE WATER SERVICE.
THE DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD WITH A DEVELOPER WAS WHAT TO DO ABOUT SEWER.
WE LOOKED AT DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR SAWS TO EXTEND OUR SEWER MAINS, EXCUSE ME, TO SERVE THIS TRACT.
IN THE END, WE DECIDED IT WASN'T, IT WAS ENVIRONMENTALLY RISKY AS WELL AS IT WAS COST PROHIBITIVE.
BUT BY BEING ABLE TO HAVE THE CONVERSATION WITH THE DEVELOPER, WE WERE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE TERMS AND, UH, NEGOTIATE NINE TENANTS NINE TERMS FOR SEWER SERVICE.
AND ULTIMATELY THEY WILL BE BUILDING THEIR OWN TREATMENT PLAN, PERMITTING THAT THROUGH T C E Q.
THEY HAVE TO COME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL ULTIMATELY TO ESTABLISH THEIR C C N.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO AVOID CONSERVATION EASEMENTS, ADD HIGHER TREATMENT STANDARDS, AS WELL AS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS FOR THIS TRACT.
WELL, I WOULD LOVE TO SAY THAT THIS IS A ONE-OFF, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA SEE MORE OF THIS IN THE FUTURE.
I THINK THE REALITY IS, AS WE SEE GROWTH WITHIN THESE OUTER LIMITS WITHIN THE E T J, WE ARE GONNA SEE MORE OF THIS.
SO WE ARE HAVING A CONVERSATION NOW WITH OUR BOARD ABOUT OUR C C N BOUNDARIES.
WE'RE STARTING TO KICK OFF A STAKEHOLDER PROCESS.
WE'RE LOOKING, ARE THERE AREAS THAT IT'S ADVANT ADVANTAGEOUS TO SAWS TO OUR COMMUNITY TO GROW, PARTICULARLY SOUTHEAST SPARE COUNTY.
UM, WE ARE SEEING GROWTH IN THIS AREA.
DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR SAWS TO EXTEND OUR SEWER C C N POTENTIALLY WE DON'T KNOW YET, BUT THAT CERTAINLY IS A POTENTIAL FOR THE NORTHEAST AND FOR THE NORTHWEST PORTIONS OF OUR C C N.
THERE ARE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS.
WE WANNA HEAR OUR STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT THAT.
DOES IT MAKE SENSE FOR US TO MAKE CHANGES TO OUR C C N POTENTIALLY.
THOSE ARE DISCUSSIONS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE.
I DO WANNA CAUTION THOUGH, IF SAWS WERE TO PULL BACK, THAT DOESN'T MEAN DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO STOP.
BUT IT COULD OPEN UP THE POSSIBILITY FOR, UM, PRIVATE MUDS.
IT COULD OPEN UP, UM, ADDITIONAL TREATMENT PLANS, ADDITIONAL PERMITS THAT WOULD COME BEFORE THE STATE AND ULTIMATELY HAVE TO COME BEFORE CITY COUNCIL.
AND WITH SAWS PULLING BACK, THEN WE LOSE OUR ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE LIKE WE WERE ABLE TO DO ON THE WLO DE TRACT TO PROVIDE SOME ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS.
I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO ADD, MODIFYING A C C N IS NOT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS QUICKLY OR OVERNIGHT.
IT'S A LONG PROCESS AND IT COULD BE MET WITH SIGNIFICANT LEGAL CHALLENGES.
SO HOW DOES SAS SUPPORT THE CITY WITH THEIR GROWTH POLICY AND WITH THEIR GROWTH PLAN? WE KNOW THE CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT IS CURRENTLY UPDATING THE GROWTH AND ANNEXATION POLICY, AND THAT WILL BE COMING THE COUNCIL LATER THIS YEAR.
SAS HAS PROVIDED FEEDBACK TO THIS POLICY.
WE SHARE THE CONCERN OF WHAT IS GONNA HAPPEN IN TERMS OF WHAT ARE THE GOALS FOR GROWTH AND DENSITY WITHIN THE E T J.
AND WE UNDERSTAND WITH RECENT CHANGES IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE
[00:20:01]
THAT THE CITY IS HAMPERED IN TERMS OF BEING ABLE TO DICTATE WHAT THAT GROWTH LOOKS LIKE, WHAT THAT DENSITY RATE LOOKS LIKE WITHIN THE E T J.BUT THERE WILL BE GOALS IN PLACE THAT WE WILL ALL LOOK TO.
IN ADDITION, SASS WORKS WITH CITY STAFF, CITY PLANNING STAFF AS THEY BRING CONSENT TO COUNCIL FOR SPECIAL FUNDING DISTRICTS.
TYPICALLY, THOSE FUNDING DISTRICTS HAVE USAS IN PLACE BY THE TIME THEY COME TO COUNCIL.
AND YOU MAY ASK WHY IS, YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION HAS COME UP IS SA AS THE GATEKEEPER FOR THAT DEVELOPMENT.
TYPICALLY THESE ARE, UM, DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE WITHIN OUR C C N THAT HAVE COME TO SAWS FOR SERVICE.
THEY NEED TO DETERMINE WHAT THE UTILITY NEEDS ARE.
SO THEY NEED TO ENTER INTO THAT AGREEMENT TO KNOW WHAT THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS ARE GONNA BE TO FIGURE OUT THAT FINANCING STRUCTURE.
AND SO TYPICALLY THEY'LL COME TOS US FOR THAT U S A, WORK OUT THOSE DETAILS, KNOW WHAT THE FUNDING NEEDS ARE, THEN BRING THOSE SPECIAL DISTRICTS ULTIMATELY TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.
SO CURRENTLY CITY EFFORTS ARE UNDERWAY TO ADDRESS THE GROWTH STRATEGY OF OUR COMMUNITY.
THESE AREAS OF CONCERN HAVE BEEN DEFINED IN THE CITY'S ISSUE ANALYSIS REPORT FROM JANUARY OF 2020.
AND INCLUDE, EXCUSE ME, LAND USE CONTROLS INFRASTRUCTURE, AS WELL AS FINANCIAL AND FISCAL IMPACTS.
SOLAS CANNOT REGULATE DENSITY OR DEVELOPMENT THAT IS DRIVEN ULTIMATELY BY CITY OF SAN ANTONIO POLICIES.
BUT OUR ROLE IS TO SUPPORT AND MEET THE NEEDS OF THAT POLICY.
THE CITY IS CURRENTLY UPDATING THE U D C UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE GROWTH AND ANNEXATION POLICY THAT IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
CERTAINLY ENHANCED PARTNERSHIPS WITH BEXAR COUNTY AS WELL AS SPECIAL DISTRICTS TO HELP DEVELOP POLICIES FOR LAND USE CONTROLS AND PROVIDE INCENTIVES WOULD BE VALUABLE MOVING FORWARD.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL LOOKING FOR.
SOS WILL CONTINUE TO PARTNER TO AID THE PROGRESSION TO A MORE COMPLEX DEVELOPMENT PLAN, WHICH CAN ONLY BE ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH FURTHER CITY OF SAN ANTONIO DIRECTION AND POLICIES.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK IT PROBABLY EDUCATED ALL OF US A LITTLE BIT.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, CAN, CAN SAWS WITHDRAW A C C N AND SAY THEY DON'T WANT TO HAVE THAT PARTICULAR AREAS A C C N IN THE FUTURE? SO SAWS CAN WITHDRAW A C C N, HOWEVER, UM, IF THERE ARE, UM, FOLKS WHO ARE PLANNING FOR SAW SERVICE WITHIN THAT AREA, THEY CAN PROTEST THROUGH THE P U C AND THEN THAT COULD KICK OFF CERTAINLY THE WHOLE LEGAL PROCESS.
BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD FROM ANYBODY AND YOU DECIDED TO SAY, WE WANNA WITHDRAW THAT SOMEBODY CAN'T COME UP A YEAR FROM NOW AND SAY, WELL, YOU KNOW, I WANTED TO GO THERE, BUT THEY WOULD, THEY ELIMINATED IT.
IT WOULD HAVE TO BE THEY WERE IN THE PROCESS.
THEY WOULD HAVE TO BE THROUGH THE PROCESS.
UH, HOW DO YOU MODIFY A C C N? YOU SAID YOU'RE CONSIDERING, UM, ULTIMATELY YOU HAVE TO DO AN APPLICATION THROUGH THE P U C THROUGH THE STATE TO EITHER WITHDRAW OR TO EXPAND THE PROCESS, AND THEN THEY OPEN UP FOR A PUBLIC HEARING.
AND ULTIMATELY THEN, IF THERE'S A CHALLENGE THAT COULD GO TO COURT AND A CHALLENGE EITHER WAY TO EXPAND OR TO WITHDRAW.
BUT THOSE ARE THE TWO MODIFICATIONS.
THERE AREN'T OTHER MODIFICATIONS YOU CAN CONSIDER.
THERE ARE OTHER MODIFICATIONS THAT WE COULD LOOK AT.
FOR INSTANCE, TRANSFERRING OUR C N TO SOMEONE ELSE.
SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MODIFYING YOUR CCNS RIGHT NOW, WHICH I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE GIVEN SOME CONSIDERATION TO, THEN THOSE ARE ABOUT THE THREE OPTIONS THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT? YES, SIR.
UM, COULD SAWS PROVIDE THEIR COST ESTIMATES, UH, BUT HOLD OFF BOARD ACTION UNTIL AFTER THE CITY WERE TO TAKE SOME KIND OF ACTION APPROVING OR DISAPPROVING? UM, YOU MEAN LIKE FOR A SPECIAL DISTRICT? YEAH.
FOR ANY OF THOSE DISTRICTS THAT COME FORWARD.
COULD, COULD SAW US DO A REALLY FAIRLY GOOD ESTIMATE AND SAY, THIS IS PROBABLY WHAT IT WOULD COST, BUT NOT APPROVE IT UNTIL THE CITY APPROVES IT THROUGH PLANNING AND ZONING, ET CETERA.
WHATEVER MIGHT BE NEEDED FROM A PROCESS PERSPECTIVE, WE COULD CERTAINLY DO THAT.
WHAT I DON'T THINK THE DEVELOPER WOULD DESIRE THAT BECAUSE, UM, THEY'RE THE ONES REALLY WHO DEVELOP THE COST ESTIMATES.
THE ONLY ESTIMATE WE PROVIDE IS THE IMPACT FEE.
BUT THE COST FOR THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, THEN IT WOULD BE, I'M GONNA SAY SEMI-SOFT.
YOU KNOW, IT WOULDN'T BE HARD CONCRETE.
AND I THINK IF THEY'RE ENTERING INTO THAT, DEVELOP THAT, UM, SPECIAL FINANCING, THEY WANT THAT CONCRETE COST.
THEY WANNA KNOW, OKAY, I'M GONNA HAVE TO BUILD SO MANY FEET OF 18 INCH.
[00:25:01]
PUMPS.I'M GONNA, THEY'LL WANT THAT CERTAINTY, BUT IT'S SOMETHING WE COULD CERTAINLY EXPLORE.
I'D REALLY LIKE THAT AS, AS A PART OF THE CONSIDERATION BECAUSE QUITE HONESTLY, EVERYBODY GETS THEIR WATER APPROVED.
AND ONCE THEY DO, THEY, THEY SAY, WELL, WE'VE GOT OUR WATER APPROVED.
WHY CAN'T YOU APPROVE THE REST OF US? AND IT REALLY IS A GATEWAY, ALTHOUGH YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE IT IS, BUT IT, IT TRULY IS THE FIRST THING.
I, I EVEN WORKED ON A PROJECT WHERE PEOPLE WERE APPROVED WATER RIGHTS 20 YEARS AGO AND THEY NEVER DEVELOPED THAT PROPERTY.
AND THEY SOLD IT A COUPLE OF TIMES.
AND THEN A NEW OWNER SAID, WELL, WE'VE GOT WATER RIGHTS THAT WERE GIVEN 20 YEARS AGO, SO WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DEVELOP IT.
SO WATER RIGHTS ARE A GATEWAY.
UH, WATER DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS ARE A GATEWAY TO FUTURE DEVELOPMENT.
IF SAWS, UH, WOULD NOT APPROVE THAT UNTIL AFTER THE CITY TOOK WHATEVER ACTION IT THOUGHT, THOUGHT WAS NECESSARY, I THINK THAT WOULD, UM, HELP THE CITY DO MORE TO CONTROL ITS GROWTH.
SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING I HOPE THAT, UH, THE BOARD WILL CONSIDER MORE AS YOU GO FORWARD ON THIS.
THERE WAS ONE OTHER THING YOU SAID, UH, I FORGET WHAT IT WAS EARLIER, BUT YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT A, A FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL.
WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN? UM, SO, UM, I CAN GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
LIKE, WE HAVE AN AREA IN SOUTHEAST BEXAR COUNTY THAT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR, IT'S NOT IN OUR C C N, BUT IT'S WITHIN THE CITY'S E T J.
WE OPTED IN TO PROVIDE SERVICE, BUT THAT DEVELOPER, THEY HAD TO COME TO SAS FIRST TO REQUEST SEWER SERVICE, EVEN THOUGH IT'S NOT IN OUR C C N.
AND BASICALLY IT WAS UP TO US TO EITHER SERVE OR NOT SERVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION.
IF WE SAID NO, THEN THEY'RE, THEY COULD GO ON AND DEVELOP THEIR OWN C C N OR GO TO SOMEONE ELSE.
BUT BECAUSE WE ARE, WE HAVE THE RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE WITH THE CITY, THEY HAVE TO COME TO US FIRST.
WELL, OBVIOUSLY THE MORE, UH, THE MORE PEOPLE ARE RESIDENTS WHO NEED WATER, THE MORE MONEY SAUCE MAKES.
UH, AND SO I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY, UH, GROWTH IS SOMETHING THAT SAWS COULD BE VERY POSITIVELY INCLINED TO APPROVE.
BUT I THINK THAT WE'RE FACING SOME REAL DILEMMAS WITH THE GROWTH BEING UNCONTROLLED BY THE CITY.
AND I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I WANTED TO HAVE THIS BROUGHT UP AS A, A MATTER OF DISCUSSION.
SO I THINK THAT THAT HOLDS THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE RIGHT NOW.
BUT I WOULD INVITE ANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO MAY HAVE A QUESTION.
COUNCIL, I'LL GO WITH, MAY I ADDRESS? I DON'T GO WITH ROBERT.
MAY I ADDRESS ONE OF THINGS YOU SAID? ONE OF THEM WAS, I WANTED TO MAKE CLEAR THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT, 'CAUSE YOU MENTIONED WATER RIGHTS AND SOMEBODY HAD 20, UH, YEARS AGO.
UH, THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT, WHICH IS WATER CAPACITY.
JUST THE CAPACITY IN OUR PIPES, CAPACITY IN OUR TANKS, RIGHT.
HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WATER RIGHTS OR DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
PLUS THESE USAS ARE UP TO 15 YEARS.
AND DURING THAT TIME, UH, THE DEVELOPER HAS TO START BUILDING, HAS TO START DOING, THEY CAN'T JUST SIT ON IT FOR, FOR A PERIOD LONGER THAN FIRST ONE IS, IS FIVE YEARS, THREE YEARS, SEVEN, THEY HAVE TO START DOING SOMETHING AT THREE YEARS, FIVE YEARS, SEVEN YEARS,
UH, SO, UH, I WANNA MAKE THAT DISTINCTION.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PARTICULAR PROPERTY HAD A DEVELOPER WHO DID A FEW THINGS AND THEN STOPPED FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, SOLD IT TO SOMEBODY ELSE WHO DID A FEW MORE.
THEY NEVER REALLY DID BUILD A HOUSE ON IT, BUT THEY DID SOME OF THE OTHER KIND OF WORK THAT LED, I GUESS, TO THE UNDERSTANDING THAT IT WAS CONTINUING TO BE DEVELOPED SOLELY, BUT SURELY.
BUT ANYWAY, UH, THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.
I KNOW PEOPLE HAVE WATER RIGHTS BECAUSE THEY OWN THE LAND, AND THAT'S DIFFERENT FROM, UH, THE RIGHT TO GET WATER FROM C P SS, I MEAN SAWS, UH, THROUGH THE GRANT PROCESS.
SO ANYWAY, UH, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL, YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD AND OKAY.
THANK YOU MS. BEAMER, FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
UM, I HAVE SOME, UH, AND LIKE THE CHAIR SAID IT, IT WAS SOME GOOD BASIC EDUCATION FOR, FOR ME AS WELL.
UH, IN SLIDE 12, YOU MENTIONED, UH, YOU DIFFERENTIATED BETWEEN THE CITY'S DISCRETION AND, AND SAS IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT SAS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IS SETTING REGULATIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR SERVICE FOR THE AREAS WITHIN THE C C N.
CAN YOU SET DIFFERENTIAL REGULATIONS OR DIFFERENTIAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR SERVICE? I AM GOING TO DEFER TO MY LEGAL FOLKS FOR THAT.
I DON'T THINK SO, BUT GOOD AFTERNOON, MR. CHAIRMAN.
I'M SENIOR CORPORATE COUNSEL FOR THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM.
[00:30:01]
IT COMES TO OUR RULES FOR SERVICES, THEY HAVE TO BE, UM, FAIR AND EQUITABLE AND THEY HAVE TO BE RELATED TO THE PROVISION OF WATER AND SEWER SERVICES.UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT ANSWERS.
SO, UM, I KNOW THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE TIED TO OUR CITY'S, UH, PLAN THAT'S UNDER DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND I THINK THERE'S A, THERE'S ANOTHER, THE L A IS THAT THE, I'M SORRY, THE RACK? NO, NO.
IT'S A PLAN THAT NORMALLY THE LAND USE PLAN, LU APP, LU APP, THE, THE LU APP, IT'S TIED TO THAT AS WELL.
SO FOR INSTANCE, THIS IS WHAT I'M INTERESTED IN, IN KNOWING IS IF PART OF YOUR C C N IS OVER THE RECHARGE OR OVER THE, UH, UM, CONTRIBUTING ZONE, YOU WOULD HAVE DIFFERENT REGULATIONS THERE.
BUT IT'S RELATED TO PROVIDING SERVICE THAT THAT IS CORRECT.
SO THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BUILDING, FOR EXAMPLE, SEWER REMAINS OVER THE RECHARGE ZONE THAT YOU REINFORCE THEM, MAKE THEM STRONGER.
UM, WE ALSO, IN OUR IMPACT FEES, WE HAVE DIFFERENTIAL RATES FOR IMPACT FEES DEPENDING ON YOUR DISTANCE FROM THE PLANT.
AND WE USE THE RECHARGE ZONE AS A POINT OF DEMARCATION FOR THOSE FEES.
AND SO THAT YOUR FEES ACTUALLY INCREASE IF YOU'RE ABOVE THE RECHARGE ZONE.
SO THERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES WHERE WE DO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT, BUT THEY ALL ARE RELATED TO OUR WATER AND SEWER SERVICES, THOSE RULES.
SO FOR, UM, I GUESS THIS WOULD BE, UH, A POLICY THAT WOULD BE RECOMMENDED BY OR EVALUATED BY THE RACK IS IF IT'S NOT SO MUCH DISTANCE FROM THE PLANTS, BUT DISTANCE FROM AN EXISTING MAINE, SO AN INFILL, LET'S SAY AN EMPTY LOT ON A, ON A BLOCK IN AN OLD NEIGHBORHOOD VERSUS A BRAND NEW, UM, SUB DEVELOPMENT THAT MIGHT BE, OR SUBDIVISION THAT MIGHT BE VERY CLOSE TO A PLANT.
UM, WOULD THERE BE A DIFFERENCE IN IMPACT FEES? THERE COULD BE.
UM, THE WAY THE IMPACT FEES ARE STRUCTURED, WE IDENTIFY A SERVICE AREA.
SO WITHIN THAT SERVICE AREA, YOU WILL LOOK AT THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SERVE GROWTH, THAT'S FUTURE GROWTH ONLY, AND THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
AND THEN DIVIDE THOSE COSTS BY THE NUMBER OF EDS.
AND THAT WE, WE, WE GET OUR EDS FROM THE LU APP.
UM, AND THEN YOU COME UP WITH YOUR IMPACT FEE AND IT'S DIFFERENT SERVICE AREAS HAVE DIFFERENT IMPACT FEE RATES.
SO IF IT TAKES MORE INFRASTRUCTURE BECAUSE YOU'RE FURTHER AWAY FROM SAY, A, A TREAT, UH, A PUMP STATION, THEN YOUR IMPACT FEE MIGHT BE HIGHER.
SO IT'S IT'S FROM THE STATION, NOT FROM AN EXISTING MAIN.
AND I WOULD ADD THOUGH, FOR INFILL DEVELOPMENT FOR THAT SPECIFIC EXAMPLE, UM, TYPICALLY FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE SOME OF THE REDEVELOPMENT THAT WE'RE SEEING LIKE NEAR THE PEARL OR UM, MID DOWNTOWN, THERE'S ALREADY BEEN A SERVICE THERE.
THEN THEY'RE ONLY PAYING THE IMPACT FEES FOR THAT INCREASE IN WATER USAGE THAT THEY MAY HAVE.
SO THERE'S ALREADY A LITTLE BIT OF A CREDIT THAT'S INHERENTLY THERE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES, IT, IT DOES.
UM, A A COUPLE OF OTHER QUESTIONS.
UM, THE C C N BOUNDARIES THAT YOU'RE REEVALUATING RIGHT NOW, HOW, HOW BIG CAN THE C C M BE? LIKE, WHAT'S YOUR, OR HOW SMALL CAN IT BE? WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES FOR THAT? UH, INITIALLY I THINK AT ONE POINT OUR GOAL WAS TO MATCH THE CITY AND TO MATCH THE E T J MM-HMM.
BUT, UM, I THINK CANDIDLY WITH OUR WASTEWATER SYSTEM SEVERAL YEARS AGO WE PULLED BACK FROM THAT BECAUSE OF THE CONCERN OF LEAPFROG DEVELOPMENT.
ALSO CONCERN OF SEWER OVER SOME CRITICAL AREAS.
IN TERMS OF HOW BIG OR HOW SMALL, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A SET GOAL IN MIND REALLY FOR THE SIZE, I GUESS LEGALLY, WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES? SO JUST ONE POINT TO CLARIFY THE, THE C C N WE SAW US BECAUSE WE WERE OWNED BY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HOME RURAL CITY.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A C C N TO SERVE.
WE ARE LEGALLY PERMITTED TO SERVE ANYWHERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS SO LONG AS IT ISN'T SERVED BY ANOTHER, UM, RETAIL PROVIDER THAT HAS A C C N.
SO WE CAN EXTEND OUR C C N AS FAR AS WE WANT, BUT WE DON'T NECESSARILY NEED TO TO SERVE.
AND THE E T J WOULD ALWAYS BE RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL YES.
BECAUSE OF YOUR ASSOCIATION WITH THE CITY.
UM, YOU MENTIONED THE LAND USE CONTROLS WITH BEAR COUNTY THAT YOU WERE EXPLORING THAT.
UM, DID I HEAR THAT CORRECTLY? WELL, UH, I THINK THAT WAS JUST IN TERMS OF SPECIAL DISTRICTS AND RELATIONSHIPS.
'CAUSE WE DO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE SOME PERMITTING, PARTICULARLY IN THE E T J THAT ALSO HAS TO GO THROUGH BEXAR COUNTY, NOT JUST THE CITY.
UM, I GUESS ULTIMATELY WHAT I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SEEING, AND I THINK THIS MAY NOT EVEN COME OUT OF THIS COMMITTEE, BUT IT WOULD BE OUT OF THE OTHER, UM, OUR PLANNING COMMITTEE, RIGHT? IS IF THE LU APP WERE TO, UH, SAY THAT WE WANT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE MORE INFILL DEVELOPMENT AS OPPOSED TO MORE, YOU
[00:35:01]
KNOW, DEVELOPMENT AT THE EDGES, HOW COULD YOUR, UH, YOUR C C N GUIDELINES BE SUPPORTIVE OF THAT? UM, BUT ULTIMATELY THAT THAT'LL COME OUT OF A DIFFERENT COMMITTEE AND I PROBABLY WON'T BE PART OF THATSO, BUT I'LL HOPEFULLY YOU'LL CARRY THAT MESSAGE.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M A LITTLE CONFUSED, I THINK EVEN AFTER THAT QUESTIONING, BUT IS ALL OF SAN ANTONIO OR BEXAR COUNTY CURRENTLY IN THE C C N? NO.
DO YOU HAVE A MAP OF WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED? AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY.
WELL, I SHOULD SAY ALL OF THE CITY LIMITS EXCEPT FOR MILITARY INSTALLATIONS.
ASIDE FROM THE ONES THAT YOU POINTED OUT.
SO ALL OF THE CITY LIMITS IS IN THE C C ALL CITY LIMITS YES.
ARE IN THE OUTSIDE OF MILITARY.
THE REASON I ASK IS BECAUSE I HAVE A, UM, THIS IS A, A YEAR AGO OR SO I CALLED SAW IS BECAUSE I WAS, UM, WALKING IN A NEIGHBORHOOD IN MOUNTAIN VIEW ACRES IN DISTRICT SIX, AND THERE'S A MAYBE TWO OR THREE BLOCKS OF, UM, NEIGHBORHOOD THAT DON'T HAVE PIPELINE SAW PIPELINE.
AND THEY WERE TOLD BY SAWS THAT THEY NEED TO COME UP WITH 60 TO $80,000 TO GET PIPE, UM, EXTENDED PART OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD HAD IT.
AND, AND THEY DON'T, IT'S ABOUT SIX HOUSEHOLDS BECAUSE THEY'RE BIG, BIG LOTS.
UM, THEY'RE WELL WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS NOW.
THEY DIDN'T, THEY ARE WITHIN OUR C C N, THEY DIDN'T USED TO BE, UM, WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS, AND THEY ARE WITHIN THE C C N.
SO, UM, HOW DO WE REMEDY THAT? WE HAVE PEOPLE CURRENTLY IN, UH, C C N THAT ARE NOT RECEIVING, UM, SERVICES FROM SAS WHEN, AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING TO EXPAND.
I MEAN, I WOULD PREFER WE, WE WORRY ABOUT WHAT'S CURRENTLY IN OUR C C N AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED.
THIS, THIS ONE GENTLEMAN THAT I TALKED TO HAS, UM, HAS HAD THE LAND FOR A LONG TIME.
HE IS, HAS BUILT A HOUSE THERE AND CAN'T MOVE IN BECAUSE HE'S NOT GONNA HAVE WATER.
SO HOW DO WE REMEDY THAT BEFORE WE MOVE OUTSIDE MORE? AND SO THAT IS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING FOR GROWTH TO PAY FOR GROWTH.
SO WHETHER IT'S WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN LIMITS OR SOMETHING, THAT'S WHEN THE E T J, THOSE COSTS TO EXTEND SERVICE AND CONNECT TO SAUCE ARE THE, ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE DEVELOPER.
AND IF IT'S A HOME THAT'S BEEN THERE FOR A WHILE, IT'S STILL THE RESPONSIBILITY THEN OF THAT HOMEOWNER THEN TO DEVELOP, TO PAY THOSE COSTS, THOSE PIPELINE COSTS TO CONNECT HIS OFFICE.
SO YOU'RE, YOU'VE USED TWO PHRASES AND ONE WAS A DEVELOPER, ONE WAS HOMEOWNER, HE'S NOT A DEVELOPER.
THERE HASN'T BEEN A DEVELOPER THERE FOR YEARS.
HE WAS COUNTY, THERE WASN'T EVER A DEVELOPER.
UM, I, I STILL MAINTAIN, IT'S NOT RIGHT TO ASK HIM TO COME UP WITH 60 TO $80,000 TO LAY A PIPELINE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT EXTENDING PIPELINE THAT WILL BE FUNDED BY A DEVELOPER, UM, OUTSIDE, IF I MAY, ANDREA MM-HMM.
SO THAT'S WHY I THINK SHE USED THOSE TWO WORDS.
BUT WE, WE DO NOT PAY FOR ANY LINES IN NEW DEVELOPMENT.
THE DEVELOPER PAYS FOR IT, THE HOMEOWNERS PAY FOR THAT THROUGH WHEN THEY PURCHASE THEIR HOMES.
THIS CURRENT HOME, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH IT, BUT, UM, IF HE DOESN'T HAVE ACCESS TO, HE HAS ACCESS TO THE WATER, BUT HE'S NOT CONNECTED.
SO HE WOULD HAVE TO HAVE TO PAY AN IMPACT FEE.
AND I'M NOT SURE IF THE $68,000 IS PARTIALLY THE IMPACT FEE AND PARTIALLY THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO GET THE WATER TO HIS HOUSE.
AND AS YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WAIVE IMPACT FEES.
SO THOUGH THAT PART OF THE COST COULD BE WAIVED BY COUNCIL.
UH, BUT THERE ARE CIRCUMSTANCES IN WORKING WITH Y'ALL WITH COUNCIL TO HELP OUT ON THAT PART OF THE WATER MAIN THAT MAY NEED TO GET CLOSER TO HIS HOUSE.
AND THEN THE IMPACT FEE COST ALSO.
WELL, I MEAN, I THINK THERE SHOULD BE A SEPARATION BETWEEN DEVELOPER AND HOMEOWNER BECAUSE HE'S NOT A DEVELOPER.
WHEN WE THINK OF DEVELOPER, WE THINK OF BIG MONEY, YOU KNOW, UM, CORPORATIONS THAT ARE DEVELOPING WHOLE, UM, PLOTS OF LAND, WHOLE, WHOLE AREAS OF LAND.
HE'S GOT A COUPLE ACRES THAT HE'S OWNED FOREVER AND CAN'T, CAN'T LIVE ON IT.
I THINK IT'S JUST A DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT ASK OF A HOMEOWNER VERSUS A A, YOU KNOW, TRUE DEFINITION OF A DEVELOPER.
UM, SO, AND BUT I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND YOU KNOW, THAT WHAT, WHEN I TALKED WITH YOU GUYS ABOUT A YEAR AGO, THERE WAS, UM, WELL YOU CAN PAY FOR IT COUNCILWOMAN, AND HE CAN PAY FOR THE OTHER HALF.
HE DOESN'T HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY.
YOU KNOW, SO I, I JUST WANT A SOLUTION TO THAT.
AND IT'S, HE'S ONE EXAMPLE, BUT THERE'S OTHER HOMES IN THAT AREA.
THERE'S OTHER AREAS I'M SURE, IN OUR CITY.
SO, I MEAN, IF THERE'S A WAY THAT DEVELOPERS, UM, THAT ARE DEVELOPING OUTSIDE THE, THE, THE CURRENT, UM, I GUESS BOUNDARIES, UM, TO HELP PAY FOR SOME OF THE INNER CITY, UM, HOMEOWNERS, I THINK THAT THAT'S A SOLUTION.
[00:40:01]
JUST ONE.RIGHT? YES, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
AND, AND IT'S A SOLUTION THAT WE CAN PARTICIPATE IN AND BY PARTICIPATING MEANS HELPING TO PAY FOR IT.
UH, NOT JUST, UH, OTHER THINGS, BUT THE DETAILS.
I WILL WORK OUT, I WILL WORK WITH YOU OKAY.
TO GET AT EXACTLY WHAT THE SITUATION IS.
AND BELIEVE ME, WE'RE HERE TO SOLVE SOME PROBLEMS. YEAH.
AND I UNDERSTAND THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEBODY THAT BUILDS THEIR HOME AND A DEVELOPER THAT BUILDS MULTIPLE HOMES.
SO I'LL, I'LL REACH OUT TO YOU TO GET MORE DETAILS.
AND I, I'M, I'M TALKING ABOUT ONE INDIVIDUAL PERSON AND, AND ACTUALLY SIX HOUSEHOLDS IN MY DISTRICT, BUT I'M SURE THAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, 'CAUSE IT, IT IS CLOSER TO THE EDGE, I GUESS, OF THE CITY.
IT'S, UM, IT USED TO BE E T J AND NOW IT'S, IT'S BEEN CITY FOR A WHILE.
AND I'M NOT THE ONLY DISTRICT ON THE EDGE THOUGH.
SO I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE OTHER HOUSEHOLDS OUT THERE.
AND MAYBE WE CAN COME UP WITH A PLAN OR PROGRAM FOR THOSE HOUSEHOLDS.
ACTUALLY, I WANTED TO, UM, TO JUMP ON THAT TRAIN.
UH, I THINK ANY OF THE DISTRICTS THAT ARE AT THE EDGES, UM, PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING EXCEPT ONE IN FIVE, UH, HAVE HOMES, UH, LIKE THIS, UH, CERTAINLY WE DO IN DISTRICT SEVEN, UH, NOT TOO FAR FROM PEMBROKE THAT, UH, THAT AREA.
AND I'VE CERTAINLY HEARD DISTRICT THREE TALK ABOUT THIS IN THE PAST.
SO AREAS THAT WERE ANNEXED, UM, AND BACK THEN THEY DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE OF BEING ANNEXED.
UM, UP UNTIL VERY RECENTLY, THAT WASN'T AN OPTION.
SO, UH, PEOPLE WHO, UM, WHO HAVE THEIR OWN WELLS SOMETIMES OR WHO HAVE THEIR OWN, UH, SEPTIC SYSTEM.
SO, UM, I'M WONDERING IF, UM, MAYBE WE COULD ALSO CONSIDER A MORE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR AREAS THAT MAY BE INTERESTED IN, IN COMING, UM, INTO, INTO SERVICE WITH SAWS.
UM, SOME PEOPLE RECALL THAT WHEN THEY WERE ANNEXED, THERE WERE PROMISES THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE PROVIDED WITH, UM, WITH INTEGRATED INTO THE SAWS SYSTEM.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT COMMENTS WERE MADE OR IF ANY, ANY DOCUMENTS WERE SIGNED WITH THEM.
BUT, UH, BEN, MAYBE IF YOU COULD, UH, ASSIST US WITH THIS IN, IN MULTIPLE DISTRICTS.
UM, THE, THE OTHER QUESTION IS, UM, YOU CAN FINANCIALLY, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO, UM, TAKE OUT DEBT, INCUR DEBT ON SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF YOU ANTICIPATE, UH, REVENUE, ADDITIONAL REVENUES FROM THAT? OR I COULD JUST LEAVE THAT TO, TO YOU MEANT
IT DEPENDS ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT THE ANSWER IS YES.
WHAT, THAT'S THE ANSWER I WANTED TO HEAR.
BUT, UH, SAME CASE AS IN DISTRICT SIX IS THESE ARE HOMEOWNERS.
THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, ON LARGE LOTS, THEY DID NOT, UH, DEVELOP IT.
UH, THEY MAY NOT BE THE ORIGINAL HOMEOWNER.
UH, COUNCILMAN, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? NO.
UH, I HAVE ONE OTHER QUESTION RELATED TO WHAT WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT INFILL, A LOT OF TIMES THERE ARE PROPERTIES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED 60, 70 YEARS AGO.
THEY BURNED DOWN, THEY WERE TORN DOWN, THEY WERE ABANDONED.
UH, THERE MAY STILL BE PIPES UNDERGROUND, ET CETERA.
SOMEBODY WANTS TO REBUILD ON ON THAT LOT OR SOMETHING.
IT DO, THEY HAVE TO PAY AN IMPACT FEE.
IF THEY'RE USING THE SAME SIZE SERVICE THAT WOULD'VE EXISTED, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY AN IMPACT FEE.
BUT IF THEY HAVE A GREATER WATER NEED THAN WAS THERE BEFORE, THEY'D HAVE TO PAY THAT DIFFERENCE.
SO IF THERE'S A SEWER LINE IN THE GROUND THAT WAS THERE, UH, AND IT USED TO GO INTO A STRUCTURE THAT'S NO LONGER THERE, THEN YOU CAN REBUILD AND TIE INTO THAT WITHOUT A BIG FEE.
AND SAME WITH WATER, THAT BEING AVAILABLE.
WELL, I, I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS WE HAVE ON THAT FIRST PRESENTATION.
OKAY, NEXT ITEM THREE IS A BRIEFING ON, UH, BY SAWS ON THE CONNECT H TWO O AUTOMATIC METERING PROGRAM, INCLUDING WHAT WERE THE RESULTS FROM THE PILOT PROJECT, UH, WHAT WERE THE TECHNOLOGY SELECTED AND THE SYSTEM-WIDE EMPLOYMENT STATUS? GOOD AFTERNOON.
SO YEAH, I WANNA GIVE YOU A BRIEFING ON OUR CONNECT H TWO O PROGRAM.
THIS IS A VERY EXCITING PROGRAM FOR SAS.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN VERY LONG IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING PROCESS, AND WE'RE FINALLY GONNA GET TO SEE IT, UH, BEGIN IN 2022.
UH, SO, UH, THEY'RE PULLING UP THE PRESENTATION.
[00:45:11]
WELL, I'M HAPPY TO START THROUGH IT.I KNOW YOU GUYS PROBABLY HAVE COPIES.
I'LL GO AHEAD AND START WHILE, WHILE HE'S TRYING TO PULL THIS UP.
SO, SO METER READING TECHNOLOGY HAS, UH, PROGRESSED OVER TIME, UH, FROM MANUAL METER READING, WHICH IS VIRTUALLY HAVING TO GO OUT, PHYSICALLY LOOK AT EVERY SINGLE METER, UM, EVERY SINGLE MONTH IN ORDER TO, TO CREATE A BILL TO AUTOMATED METER READING OR A M R, WHICH IS BASICALLY DRIVE BY TECHNOLOGY WHERE WE REMOVE THAT MANUAL INPUT, BUT STILL REQUIRED SOMEBODY TO PHYSICALLY KIND OF BE AT THAT LOCATION PERIODICALLY, UH, LIKELY ONCE A MONTH.
UM, AND THEN TO ADVANCED METER INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH IS A SYSTEM THAT COLLECTS AND TRANSMITS IN NEAR REAL TIME, UH, USAGE DATA FROM THE METER.
IT PROVIDES A TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION WITH NO PHYSICAL PRESENCE RE REQUIRED, AND CAN REALLY HELP A UTILITY UNLOCK SIGNIFICANT BUSINESS VALUE BY DRAMATICALLY, UH, REDUCING THE FIELD ACTIVITIES AT A CUSTOMER'S LOCATION, UH, BY PULLING OR PUSHING THE DATA, UM, UH, AND REALLY AT ANY TIME.
AND SO SAS CURRENTLY MANUALLY READS ARE MORE THAN 550,000 METERS EACH AND EVERY MONTH.
WE HAVE A STAFF OF ABOUT 40 SAWS METER READERS, AS WELL AS A THIRD PARTY, UH, METER READER, UH, THAT, UH, COMPANY THAT PROVIDES ABOUT HALF OF OUR READS.
SO IT IS A VERY MANUAL INTENSIVE, UH, EFFORT.
WE HAVE BEEN EXAMINING THESE SMART METER SYSTEMS, INCLUDING, UH, BOTH, UH, THE AUTOMATED SYSTEM, UH, WHERE YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU DRIVE BY AND THE, THE A M I SYSTEMS SINCE 2004, AND WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN, LOOKS LIKE WE'RE UP HERE NOW, UH, WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN AT LEAST FIVE SEPARATE REVIEWS OVER A 15 YEAR PERIOD AND NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT WE COULD MAKE A THIS PROJECT BE COST EFFECTIVE UNTIL THE LAST STUDY THAT WAS DONE IN 2017.
AND AT THAT TIME, THE CONSULTANT THAT PERFORMED THE ANALYSIS RECOMMENDED THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH, WITH A M I AND THAT WE FIRST CONDUCT A PILOT FIRST TO EVALUATE THE, THE APPROPRIATE METER TYPE THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO USE, AS WELL AS EVALUATE THE, THE APPROPRIATE NETWORK THAT WE MIGHT USE, INCLUDING POTENTIALLY PILOT WITH THE C P S E A M I NETWORK.
SO WE, UH, TOOK THE, UH, CONSULTANTS' RECOMMENDATION TO HEART AND DEVELOPED OUR CONNECT H TWO O PROGRAM IN 2019.
AND DURING, UH, THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT PROGRAM, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED THE KEY OBJECTIVES THAT WE WANTED TO ACHIEVE WITH OUR PROGRAM.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, WE WANTED TO ENHANCE THE CUSTOMER'S EXPERIENCE BY PROVIDING MORE INFORMATION TO THE CUSTOMERS ABOUT THEIR WATER USAGE, HOPEFULLY PREVENTING THOSE SURPRISE HIGH BILLS THAT, THAT ARE CAUSED BY METER LEAKS OR WATER LEAKS.
AND BECAUSE THE CUSTOMER DOESN'T, BECAUSE THE CUSTOMER DOESN'T KNOW HOW OFTEN PERHAPS, THAT THEY'RE USING THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
UH, NEXT, AS YOU KNOW, SAS IS A LEADER IN WATER CONSERVATION.
THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE A M I SYSTEM WILL EMPOWER EVERY CUSTOMER TO PROACTIVELY MANAGE THEIR OWN WATER F FOOTPRINT, ACCESS TO HOURLY AND DAILY WATER USAGE.
UH, INFORMATION ALONG WITH TARGETED CONSERVATION MESSAGING WILL HELP.
SAS SUPPORT HELPS TO SUPPORT SAS GOAL TO CONTINUE TO DRIVE DOWN OUR WATER USAGE FOR OUR CITY.
AND LAST, BUT BY NO MEANS LEASE, THIS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON IMPROVING EFFICIENCY.
WE EXPECT TO SEE A REDUCTION IN COSTS AS MUCH, UM, OF THE MANUAL LABOR ASSOCIATED WITH READING METERS OBVIOUSLY WILL NO LONGER BE REQUIRED, BUT ALSO COST REDUCTIONS, UM, AND IMPROVING EFFICIENCY, UH, IN OTHER AREAS AND PARTICULARLY NON-REVENUE WATER, THE, THE METERS THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO USE, UM, DO NOT HAVE, UH, ARE MOVING PARTS.
THEY WILL NOT DEGRADE OVER TIME.
AND SO THEREFORE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO, UH, CAPTURE ALL THE WATER USE THAT GOES THROUGH THE METERS, UM, AND REDUCE THAT NON-REVENUE WATER.
SO SOME OF THE KEY PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS, UH, THIS WILL BE THE LARGEST US DEPLOYMENT OF STATIC METERS.
SO THOSE ARE THOSE ULTRASONIC METERS THAT I JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT HAVE NO MOVING PARTS.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN A LITTLE BIT.
AND AS I MENTIONED, THEY WILL REDUCE OUR NON-REVENUE WATER.
WE HAVE A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP WITH C P SS ENERGY.
WE ARE UTILIZING THEIR, UH, A M I NETWORK.
UH, OUR, OUR COMPUTE, OUR, UH, WATER METER WILL TRANSMIT THROUGH THE ELECTRIC METER AND THEN ACROSS THEIR NETWORK AND THEN ULTIMATELY GET THE DATA BACK TO SAWS.
THAT IS A, A UNIQUE CONCEPT, UM, FOR THE MOST PART IN THE US.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT CREATING THAT VALUE FOR BOTH OUR SHARED CUSTOMERS.
[00:50:01]
AND IT SUPPORTS THE SAN ANTONIO CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, WE'RE PROBABLY GONNA TAKE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 50 AND 60 VEHICLES OFF THE STREETS.
UH, THOSE, THAT'S WHAT'S REQUIRED TO DO THE MANUAL METER READING, UH, EACH AND EVERY DAY.
AND, UH, SO THAT'S GONNA HAVE A, A TO SUPPORT THAT CLIMATE ACTION PLAN.
THE TIMELINE WAS DEVELOPED, UH, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROGRAM.
WE ANTICIPATED, UH, PUTTING A, UH, CON, UH, THE, UM, RFPS OUT FOR THE CONSULTING, UH, CONTRACTS AS WELL AS THE VENDOR SELECTION.
UH, IN, UH, LATE 2019 AND 2020, UH, THE BOARD APPROVED THE, UH, THOSE A M I CONTRACTS AS WELL AS THE PILOT IN LATE 2020.
AND WE CONDUCTED THE PILOT EARLIER IN 2021, UH, FOR ABOUT A SIX MONTH PERIOD.
AT THE END OF 2021, WE CAME BACK TO OUR BOARD AND WE MADE A RECOMMENDATION TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FULL SYSTEM-WIDE DEPLOYMENT, WHICH THEY DID APPROVE.
AND WE EXPECT THAT TO BEGIN THIS YEAR, 2022.
AND WE'LL TAKE ABOUT FOUR YEARS.
WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT IN A FEW MINUTES.
UH, SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PILOT.
UH, THE MAIN REASON FOR THE PILOT WAS TO PROVE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROGRAM.
UH, IT WAS FOCUSED ON ENSURING THAT THE TECHNOLOGY WORKED AS EXPECTED.
AND, UH, SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE GETTING REGULAR AND ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT METER READING INFORMATION.
WE WANTED TO FIND OUT IF THERE WERE ANY GEOGRAPHIC OR TOPOLOGY ISSUES, ANYTHING WITH, UM, UH, HIGH CONCENTRATION, PERHAPS A NOISE, IF YOU WILL, FROM DOWNTOWN, ET CETERA.
WAS ANY OF THAT GONNA AFFECT THE ABILITY FOR THESE METERS TO TRANSMIT THE DATA? UM, AND BECAUSE WE WERE LOOKING AT A NEW, UH, TYPE OF METER, THESE ULTRASONIC METERS, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD REALLY VETTED THOSE METERS DURING THIS PILOT.
UH, WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DEALT, WE DEALT RIGHT CORRECTLY WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE PROPERLY ENGAGED OUR CUSTOMERS DURING THE PILOT AND LOOKED TO SEE WHAT THEY MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND FINALLY, WE UTILIZE THE PILOT TO FURTHER EVALUATE AND REFINE OUR PROCESSES, UH, THAT WOULD CHANGE AS A RESULT OF THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY.
THREE PILOT AREAS WERE IDENTIFIED, UM, ON THE NORTH, VERY NORTH SIDE THAT'S OUT IN YOUR DISTRICT.
UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE, UH, IN THE STONE OAK AREA THAT, THAT AREA WAS SELECTED BECAUSE OF THE TOPOLOGY, A LOT OF CHANGES, RIGHT? VALLEYS, HILLS, ET CETERA.
WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS NOT GONNA INTERFERE.
WE, WE SELECTED AN AREA IN CENTRAL SAN ANTONIO DOWN IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
I'M NOT SURE COUNCILMAN BRAVA THAT WAS IN YOUR AREA OR MIGHT BE, UH, IN DISTRICT TWO TO SOME EXTENT.
UM, THAT WAS TO LOOK AT THE, UH, CLUTTER, IF YOU WILL, LARGE BUILDINGS, THE RIVER WALK.
WAS THAT GONNA CAUSE ANY KIND OF CHALLENGE? AND THEN ON THE, ON THE WEST SIDE, THE FAR WEST SIDE OUT, UH, 1 51, THAT AREA LOOKS A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE OUR NORMAL SERVICE AREA, BUT IT HAS SOME UNIQUE CHALLENGES.
IT HAS, UH, SOME OF THE IMPACTS OF THE, UM, THE FEDERAL, UH, AREAS OUT THERE, THE LACKLAND, UM, N S A, ET CETERA, THAT MIGHT HAVE ANY INTERFERENCE WITH, UM, THE, THE, UH, TRANSMISSION OF THE DATA.
UH, WE, WE DID ABOUT 2,500, UH, DURING THE PILOT.
AND WE CONFIGURED THOSE METERS TO READ, UH, HOURLY AND TO TRANSMIT THOSE READS THREE TIMES PER DAY.
SO WE, YOU KNOW, I MENTIONED THAT WE WANTED IT TO MAKE SURE IT WOULD BE ACCURATE, UH, AND CONSISTENT IN THE TRANSMISSION OF DATA.
AND WHAT THESE BARS SHOW YOU IS THE, THE BLUE BARS ON THE LEFT SHOWS THE PERCENTAGE OF DATA THAT COMES ACROSS THE FIRST TIME THAT WE ASK FOR IT.
SO THAT FIRST DAY, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL OF THOSE BLUE BARS ARE WELL ABOVE 98.5%.
SO VERY CONSISTENT TRANSMISSION BY THE SECOND DAY.
SO WE, IF IT DOESN'T GET TO US THAT FIRST DAY, THAT INFORMATION WILL GET TO US ON THE SECOND DAY.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THOSE GREEN BARS, THOSE DARK GREEN BARS, ALL OF THEM ARE ABOVE 99.5%.
SO THE C P SS NETWORK IS VERY CONSISTENT.
UM, AND, UM, AND OUR METERS WORK VERY WELL TALKING TO THEIR ELECTRIC METERS.
TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT VETTING THIS NEW METER TECHNOLOGY.
UM, WE CURRENTLY USE POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT METERS, OR WE, WE USUALLY REFER TO THEM AS MECHANICAL METERS.
THEY HAVE A LIFETIME SPAN OF ABOUT 15 TO 20 YEARS, BUT THEY WILL SLOW DOWN OVER TIME.
SO AS THE METER GETS OLDER, WE WILL GET LESS ACCURATE REGISTRATION.
AN ULTRASONIC METER, STATIC METER HAS NO MOVING PARTS.
UM, THE ACCURACY IS VERY CONSISTENT OVER ITS LIFESPAN.
THE METERS SHOULD LAST 15 TO 20 YEARS, BUT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ACCURACY.
IT HAS TO DO WITH THE BATTERY LIFE.
UM, SO THAT BATTERY LIFE IS NOW, UM, GOING TO BE THE DETERMINANT AS TO WHEN THAT METER FAILS.
VERY, VERY ACCURATE AT LOW FLOW ACCURACY.
AND SO, UH, WE DID AN EXTENSIVE AMOUNT OF TESTING
[00:55:01]
OF THESE METERS, BOTH IN THE LAB, EXCUSE ME, BOTH IN THE LAB AND OUT IN THE FIELD.DURING THE PILOT IN THE LAB, WE, UM, WE HAVE A, UH, AN OUT, WE BUILT AN OUTDOOR TEST LAB WHERE WE PUT THE METERS IN LINE WITH A, A BRAND NEW MECHANICAL METER, AS WELL AS THIS BRAND NEW ULTRASONIC METER.
AND, AND THEN EVALUATED, UH, IF THE ULTRASONIC METER WAS MORE ACCURATE, IT WAS IN FACT MORE ACCURATE.
IT REGISTERED MORE, BUT IT, IT REALLY PICKED UP SOME VERY ULTRA LOW FLOWS THAT WE KNEW WE WERE PUTTING THROUGH THE LINE THAT THOSE, UM, MECHANICAL METERS DID NOT PICK UP.
WE ALSO TESTED THEM ON THE BENCH.
UM, THESE METER, WE HAVE A, A TEST LAB, A BENCH THAT'S, UH, UH, BEEN CALIBRATED, UH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
AND THEY, THEY MET THEIR, UH, EXPECTED INDUSTRY, UH, UH, STANDARDS RELATED TO EACH OF, UH, EACH OF THE TYPES OF METERS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, IN THE, IN THE PILOT ITSELF, WE LOOKED AT THE USAGE THAT WAS BEING RECORDED, UM, ON THESE NEW ULTRASONIC METERS.
AND WE ACTUALLY COMPARED IT TO A, A CONTROL GROUP.
UM, BASICALLY ONE SIDE OF THE STREET WAS THE PILOT, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET WAS THE CONTROL GROUP BECAUSE OF WEATHER CHANGES, UM, OVER THE YEARS, IT'S HARD TO SAY, WELL, DID WE GET MORE REGISTRATION THAN THE PRIOR YEAR? WELL, NO, WE DIDN'T BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY HAD A RAINIER PERIOD OF TIME.
BUT HOW DID THE PILOT METERS COMPARE TO THE CONTROL GROUP? AND IN FACT, THE PILOT METERS DID REGISTER MORE USAGE THAN THE CONTROL GROUP.
SO AGAIN, AND PARTICULARLY AT THOSE LOW FLOWS.
SO WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE AS A RESULT OF ALL OF OUR TESTING, THAT THE TECHNOLOGY IS VERY ACCURATE AND IT WILL, UH, IT WILL IMPROVE OUR REGISTRATION, UM, AND, AND PREVENT ANY SORT OF, UM, UH, DEGRADATION OF THAT REGISTRATION OVER TIME.
YOU MENTIONED CUSTOMER, UH, ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS WERE VERY KEY.
WE, WE HAD A NUMBER OF EFFORTS, UH, WHERE WE ENGAGED WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
FIRST, WE SENT OUT PRE-INSTALLATION NOTIFICATIONS.
ONCE THE, UH, INSTALLATION WAS COMPLETED, WE ASKED THEM TO, UH, UH, RESPOND TO A SURVEY TO LET US KNOW HOW WE DID.
AND THE RESPONSES THAT WE GOT WERE VERY FAVORABLE.
THEY WERE, UM, THEY FELT LIKE THE, THE PROCESS WAS PRETTY SEAMLESS.
UH, THE INSTALLER DID A GOOD JOB OF CLEANING UP.
THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS GOING ON.
WE SENT A BROCHURE TO EACH OF THESE CUSTOMERS TO TELL THEM HOW TO READ THIS NEW METER.
SO RIGHT NOW, YOU GO OUT AND YOU LOOK AT YOUR MECHANICAL METER.
THERE'S ONE SCREEN AND THAT'S IT.
BUT THESE ULTRASONIC METERS, IT'S A, IT'S AN ELECTRONIC METER.
THERE'S FIVE DIFFERENT SCREENS.
YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT EACH ONE SAYS IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, RIGHT? IF YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, SO WE DID SEND OUT A BROCHURE THAT WOULD HELP THEM DO THAT.
UH, AND IN JULY OF THIS OF LAST YEAR, WE ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO PUT THE, UM, THE USAGE DATA ON OUR CUSTOMER PORTAL, MY ACCOUNT, FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO SEE.
SO AT THAT POINT, WE SENT A NOTE, UH, A POSTCARD OUT TO THEM, LETTING THEM KNOW THAT THAT INFORMATION WAS OUT THERE, THAT THEY COULD VIEW THEIR, THEIR HOURLY AND DAILY USAGE.
AND, UM, AND THEN WE ALSO SENT A SURVEY AFTER A COUPLE MONTHS TO SEE HOW THAT WENT.
DIDN'T GET A LOT OF RESPONSES, BUT, BUT IT'S GONNA TAKE SOME TIME TO GET PEOPLE USED TO GOING OUT AND LOOKING AT THE, THE INFORMATION.
AND THEN WE DID A LOT OF OUTREACH DURING THE PILOT WHERE WE SAW HIGH USAGE OR WE SAW CONTINUOUS USAGE.
WE REACHED, WE FOUND OVER 440 LEAKS ON THE RESIDENTIAL FROM OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS IN THE PILOT.
SO THAT'S WHERE THEIR CONTINUOUS, THEY HAD CONTINUOUS HOURLY USAGE FOR MORE THAN 48 HOURS FOR MORE THAN FIVE GALLONS A MINUTE.
THAT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF USAGE.
AND SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE PERCENTAGE OF THE, YOU KNOW, THAT 2,500, THAT'S ABOUT 2020 5% RIGHT? OF THE, OF THE, OF THE 2,500.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY PRETTY REPRESENTATIVE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THOSE ONGOING LEAKS.
UM, WHETHER IT'S A LEAKY TOILET, UH, OR WHETHER IT'S A SLOW DRIP, UM, FROM A FAUCET, UH, THAT ADDS UP OVER TIME.
SO WE FELT LIKE WE, UH, HAD BEEN ABLE TO REACH OUT TO THOSE CUSTOMERS, GET THEM MORE COGNIZANT OF THAT, CATCH THAT IN ADVANCE, UH, OR MORE QUICKLY AND, AND RE AND RESOLVE THEM.
I MENTIONED THAT THEY CAN NOW SEE THE INFORMATION OUT ON MY ACCOUNT.
UM, AND, UH, IT'S REALLY EXCITING.
THE, THE ONE ON THE LEFT SHOWS, UH, KIND OF THEIR, THEIR MONTHLY LOOK.
AND IT SHOWS HOW THEIR DAILY USAGE ADDS UP TO THE, TO THE LIGHTER, UH, BROWN BAR AT THE BEHIND TO THEIR OVERALL USAGE.
THIS IS GONNA HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND, WELL, HOW DID MY WATER BILL GET SO BIG? MAYBE THEY'LL SEE A SPIKE, MAYBE THEY'LL SEE IT ON CERTAIN DAYS, THEN THEY CAN DRILL DOWN.
THEY CAN GET ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE HOUR IF THEY WANT TO.
THEY CAN SEE THEY CAN GO BACK OVER TIME.
THEY CAN LOOK AT THE, THE PERIOD SINCE THE LAST BILL.
HOW AM I DOING SO FAR? IT'LL TELL THEM, YOU KNOW, WHERE THEIR WATER USAGE IS BY DAY.
YOU CAN SEE, UH, IF YOU'VE GOT CONTINUOUS USAGE, YOU CAN SEE WHERE YOUR REAL, WHERE YOUR REAL, UH, PEAK DAYS ARE AND MAYBE WHY
[01:00:01]
THAT IS.A LOT OF THE TIMES PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW OFTEN THE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS ARE GOING OFF, BUT THIS INFORMATION WILL HELP THEM SEE THAT.
UH, I MENTIONED THAT OUR BOARD DID APPROVE THE FULL SYSTEM-WIDE DEPLOYMENT.
UM, IN DECEMBER, UH, WE CONCLUDED THAT THE PILOT WAS SUCCESSFUL.
THIS PROGRAM IS FEASIBLE AND, UH, SO THE BOARD AWARDED, UH, THE, UH, CONTRACTS TO DEPLOY OVER 600,000 ELECTRONIC METERS AND COMMUNICATION DEVICES OVER OUR SERVICE AREA, UH, WHICH WILL BE ABOUT THE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
WE DO ANTICIPATE REPLACING 100% OF OUR METERS THAT ARE TWO INCHES AND SMALLER WITH, UM, THESE ULTRASONIC OR STATIC METERS.
AND THEN IF THE METER IS GREATER THAN IT'S THREE INCHES OR GREATER, WE WILL EVALUATE WHICH IS THE APPROPRIATE, UH, TECHNOLOGY TO USE ON THOSE METERS.
THE OVERALL COST OF THE PROGRAM, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THE PILOT, THE BOARD HAD HAD PREVIOUSLY APPROVED CONTRACTS.
THE AMOUNT OF A LITTLE OVER $5 MILLION TO CONDUCT THE PILOT FULL SYSTEM WIDE DEPLOYMENT WILL RUN OVER $215 MILLION.
THAT INCLUDES THE FOUR YEAR ROLLOUT, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES ALL THE METERS AND, AND, UH, COMMUNICATION DEVICES THAT WE WILL NEED FOR THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT THESE AMOUNTS WERE ALREADY PROVIDED FOR IN THE 2020, EITHER PRIOR YEARS OR IN THE 2022 BUDGET WITH NO RATE INCREASE.
PEOPLE ASK ME WHENEVER I GIVE A BRIEFING, WILL THERE BE A RATE INCREASE? THERE IS NO RATE INCREASE TO PAY FOR THIS PROGRAM.
UM, I MENTIONED IT'S GONNA TAKE ABOUT FOUR YEARS.
THE BLUE BARS THERE SHOW OUR REPLACEMENT OF EXISTING METERS BY YEAR, AND REALLY WE'LL GET IT STARTED THIS NEXT MONTH.
WE'LL START RAMPING UP BY THE END OF THE YEAR, AND THEN WE'LL BE AT A CONSISTENT STEADY STATE.
AND IN 2025, WE'LL BE DOING ABOUT A HUNDRED AND, AND, UH, 70,000 METERS OR SO A YEAR.
UM, THE LITTLE RED CAPS ON EACH OF THOSE MEAN THAT WE EXPECT THAT WE WILL START SEEING NEW DEVELOPMENT.
SO WE'LL BE PUTTING IN THESE ELECTRONIC METERS FOR ANY NEW GROWTH, UH, PROBABLY BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.
AND WE CAN DO THAT BECAUSE THE C P S NETWORK HAS ALREADY BEEN CONSTRUCTED.
SO ANYTIME WE WANT TO ADD, UM, AN ELECTRONIC METER, THAT NETWORK IS ALREADY THERE.
WE WILL SEE A NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL PROGRAM BENEFITS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, PARTICULARLY ONCE EVERYTHING IS FULLY DEPLOYED, WE WILL BE ABLE TO UTILIZE THIS DATA TO BETTER CORRELATE, UH, CUSTOMER USAGE WITH OUR DAILY PRODUCTION DATA.
AGAIN, TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE MAY BE HAVING ISSUES IN OUR SYSTEM WHERE THERE COULD BE POTENTIALLY LEAKS.
UM, WE WILL HELP, IT WILL HELP TO ENSURE BILLING PERIODS ARE MORE CONSISTENT, WON'T WE? ONCE WE GET EVERYBODY ON THESE, INSTEAD OF SOMEBODY WALKING AROUND AND BEING DEPENDENT ON READING IT EACH AND EVERY MONTH, WE CAN PULL IT FOR AN EXACT 30 DAY, 31 DAY PERIOD, AND THERE WILL NO LONGER BE LARGER BILLS BECAUSE THE CYCLE WENT LONGER.
UM, I THINK THAT IT'S GONNA HELP US UNDERSTAND, I MENTIONED MAIN BREAKS, UH, WHERE WE MIGHT SEE, UM, A LOSS IN PRESSURE.
WE WILL GET ALARMS FROM THE METERS SAYING THAT THERE'S EITHER REVERSE FLOW, THERE'S EMPTY PIPE, ET CETERA.
SO IF WE START GETTING A LOT OF THOSE ALARMS, IT'S GONNA HELP US UNDERSTAND OUR SYSTEM BETTER AND WHERE THERE MAY BE LEAKS, UM, AND THEN THAT A M I NETWORK THAT WE'RE LEVERAGING WITH C P S, WE MAY BE ABLE TO ADD ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGY TO PROVIDE OTHER INFORMATION THAT WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY GETTING.
WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
UH, AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE LEARNING A LOT ABOUT, UH, WHAT THE POTENTIAL IS.
UH, I REMEMBER WHEN, UH, C P S ENERGY CAME OUT WITH THEIR METERS AND, UH, I WAS FAIRLY NEW ON THE COUNCIL AND I GOT A LOT OF CALLS FROM PEOPLE SAYING, GOD, THEY'VE PUT ON THESE NEW METERS, AND NOW MY BILLS HAVE GONE WAY UP.
AND I KNOW YOU ADDRESSED THIS WHEN YOU SAID THESE METERS ARE GONNA BE MORE ACCURATE, WHICH MEANS IT'S GOING TO TELL US MANY MORE GALLONS OF WATER THAT MAY BE GOING THROUGH THAT SYSTEM INTO THAT HOME OR OUT, ET CETERA.
UH, ARE ARE PEOPLE GONNA BE PREPARED TO SEE MAYBE A 15, 20% INCREASE IN THEIR WATER BILL BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD AN OLD METER THAT HASN'T WORKED, UH, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO TRY AND MITIGATE THE, UH, HOW IT WILL AFFECT MANY PEOPLE IF THEY, THEY SEE A BIG 10, 15% INCREASE WHEN THEY DON'T THINK THEY'RE DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENT, THEY'RE JUST GONNA BLAME IT ON THE METER? SURE, SURE.
UM, I MENTIONED THAT THE METERS WILL BE MORE ACCURATE.
UH, WE, DURING THE PILOT, WE SAW ON AVERAGE ABOUT 2% MORE REGISTRATION.
SO, UH, SOME, MAYBE SOME AREAS A BIT MORE THAN THAT.
UM, SO IT WILL BE, IT, IT WILL BE DEPENDENT UPON KIND OF THE, THE AGE OF THE METER THAT WE'RE REPLACING.
BUT I WANNA POINT OUT THAT WITH THIS INFORMATION THAT MAYBE THEY MIGHT SEE A HIGH BILL,
[01:05:01]
BUT BEING ABLE TO THEN SEE WHAT'S CAUSING THAT, WHICH THEY WILL BE ABLE TO DO, UH, CAN HELP THEM ADDRESS THAT BECAUSE MAYBE THAT HIGH BILL IS BECAUSE THERE IS SOME SORT OF CONTINUOUS LEAK THAT'S GOING ON THAT THEY CAN ADDRESS.OR MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT, UM, THEIR WATER SOFTENER OR THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM OR WHO NAME WHO KNOWS WHAT IT WAS, WAS, WAS OPERATING MORE OFTEN THAN THEY THOUGHT.
SO WE REALLY THINK THAT THEY'LL HAVE THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED TO CONTROL THAT.
UM, WE CAN, UH, AS WE COMMUNICATE THE, UH, THIS ROLLOUT AND WE ARE HAVING, WE'RE STARTING MEETINGS THIS WEEK AND PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE, UH, VIRTUAL THAT PEOPLE CAN JOIN, AS WELL AS THE INFORMATION THAT WE'LL BE SENDING OUT IS THAT YES, YOU MAY SEE, UM, INCREASED REGISTRATION, BUT IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO, UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, FOCUS IN ON THAT USAGE INFORMATION THAT WE CAN PROVIDE YOU.
AND OF COURSE, WE ARE GONNA BE MONITORING IT TOO.
SO IF WE SEE ANYTHING THAT LOOKS OUT OF, OUT OF, UH, OUT OF, UH, NORM, PARTICULARLY CONTINUOUS USAGE, WE'RE GONNA REACH OUT AND HOPEFULLY CONTACT THAT CUSTOMER MUCH SOONER THAN THEY WOULD'VE FOUND IT IF THEY WAITED FOR A WATER BILL.
I HAD TO CHUCKLE AT YOUR, UH, WORDSMITH REGISTRATION
IT'S JUST COST TO PEOPLE I UNDERSTAND.
BUT, UH, ALSO, UM, WHAT ARE, WHAT'S GOING TO BE AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY CHALLENGED WITH PAYING THEIR BILLS? AND ALSO, I KNOW WE'VE SET UP A PROCESS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEAKS.
WOULD THAT PROCESS THAT EXISTS NOW STILL BE AVAILABLE TO HELP THOSE PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY IN THE LOWER FINANCIAL AREAS TO ADDRESS THAT? IF WE FIND OUT, OH, YOU'VE, YOU'VE GOT A LEAK THAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT FOR THREE YEARS AND RIGHT.
CAN WE HELP? SO, SO ABSOLUTELY OUR PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS THAT QUALIFY TO HELP WITH ANY LEAKS THAT ARE FOUND.
UH, CERTAINLY AS A RESULT OF THIS PROGRAM, I THINK OUR CONSERVATION FOLKS WILL BE LOOKING AT UTILIZING THIS INFORMATION TO, TO BE MORE PROACTIVE WITH CUSTOMERS TO SAY, HEY, DID YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN HELP YOU MAYBE, MAYBE EVEN STRUCTURE OUR REBATES TO HELP FOLKS, UM, ADDRESS THOSE LEAKS MORE TIMELY.
UM, SO THAT ONE, IT CAN HELP LOWER THEIR BILL, BUT CERTAINLY IT REDUCES ALL OF THAT, THAT WASTED WATER.
UH, I THINK I'LL HOLD ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AND LET SOME OF THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS SPEAK ON THE ISSUE.
COUNCILWOMAN, THANK YOU CHAIR.
UM, WE HAVE, MY NEIGHBORHOOD HAS, UM, SOME OF THE PILOT METERS, I GUESS.
AND, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONSTERNATION, OF COURSE, BECAUSE SOMETHING NEW IS ALWAYS GONNA BE A LITTLE SCARY, BUT A LOT OF IT WAS JUST DIRECTED AROUND THE COST OF, UM, INSTALLATION OR MAINTENANCE.
AND, UM, SO I REACHED OUT TO YOU GUYS AND YOU LET ME KNOW THAT THERE'S NO ADDITIONAL COST, UM, TO INSTALL IT OR IF IT BREAKS FOR SOME REASON, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO COST TO REPAIR IT MM-HMM.
UM, SO I JUST, UH, WANNA THANK YOU, NUMBER ONE FOR GETTING BACK WITH ME SO QUICKLY, AND ONCE I LET, UM, MY NEIGHBORHOOD KNOW THAT THEY WERE A MUCH MORE, UM, OPEN TO THE IDEA MM-HMM.
UM, BUT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE EDUCATION ON THESE METERS.
UH, WE, I REMEMBER WE GOT RECEIVED A LITTLE FLYER AND IT WAS VERY INFORMATIVE, IT LET US KNOW, BUT IT DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS NO COST TO YOU TO INSTALL OR, UH, MAINTAIN.
SO I WONDER IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN ADD ON.
WHEN YOU HAVE THE LITTLE MAILER THAT GOES OUT BEFORE INSTALLATION.
THANK YOU, MARY, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
I WAS, UH, PARTICULARLY DRAWN INTO THE PARTS ABOUT CONTROLS AND TESTING, SO I I DO WANNA ASK YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
UM, SO JUST TO, TO BE CLEAR, THE CURRENT NON-AUTOMATIC METERS THAT YOU HAVE, I THINK YOU HAVE A SPECIAL NAME, UH, FOR THEM, THE PD MM-HMM.
THOSE ARE BIASED TOWARD A LOWER READING THAN WHAT YOU, UM, THAN WHAT YOUR NEW METERS ARE SHOWING.
SO THEY, THEY ALL TEND TO READ LOW, SO THEY READ, UH, LESS ACCURATELY AT LOW FLOWS.
SO PD METERS DO, WILL NOT PICK UP THE VERY LOW FLOW.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE ON THE MEDIUM TO HIGH RANGE.
WHEN I SAY VERY LOW FLOWS, WE'RE TALKING LESS THAN A GALLON AN HOUR.
SO IN IN GENERAL, IN YOUR PILOT, WHAT YOU FOUND WAS THAT, UM, EITHER THE ULTRASONICS READ HIGHER OR THE SAME, THEY THEY READ, OR DID ANY OF THEM READ LOWER? THEY READ MORE ACCURATELY.
THEY READ MORE ACCURATELY AT VERY LOW FLOWS.
DID ANY OF THEM READ ANY LOWER? NO.
[01:10:01]
SO TELL ME ABOUT THE CONTROL GROUP.WERE YOU ABLE TO BRING IN ANY PDS INTO THE LAB TO RUN THEM AGAINST THE YES.
AND THESE WERE PDSS THAT WERE, UH, OLD AND USED ALREADY.
SO EVERYONE THAT WE PULLED OUT OF THE GROUND, UM, WE, WE, WE TOOK THEM BACK AND TESTED MANY OF THEM ON THE TEST BENCH.
MANY OF THEM WERE NOT RECORDING ACCURATELY AT AT LEAST ONE OF THE FLOW LEVELS, LOW, MEDIUM, AND HIGH.
SO CLEARLY THE METERS OUT IN OUR SYSTEM ARE NOT REGISTERING AT A HUNDRED PERCENT ACCURACY NOW.
AND, UM, AND, AND SO WE, WE DID THAT COMPARISON AS WELL.
AND, UH, IN TERMS OF THE PILOT AREAS, UH, THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING THAT MAP.
WE DID NOT HAVE ANY PILOT AREAS IN DISTRICT SEVEN, BUT WERE THERE RESIDENTIAL AS WELL AS OTHER TYPES OF USERS? YES, COMMERCIAL, UH, AND RESIDENTIAL IN ALL OF THOSE PILOT AREAS, DID YOU DO ANY MULTI-FAMILIES? THERE WAS SOME MULTIFAMILY IN, UM, THE, UH, I BELIEVE OUT IN THE STONE OAK, UH, PILOT AREA AS WELL AS, UM, I BELIEVE IN THE ONE OUT IN, IN, UH, AT 1 51.
UM, WELL, I THINK IT'S ALWAYS BETTER TO KNOW THE TRUTH, EVEN IF IT'S NOT NICE, UH, TO, TO KNOW IT.
LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S, UH, IT'S GONNA BE INCONVENIENT FOR, FOR SOME FOLKS.
UH, BUT I THINK THIS IS GOING TO HELP US HAVE A FAIRER, ULTIMATELY, RIGHT, RIGHT.
I RECALL A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN, UH, ROBERT CAME TO US WITH A RATE INCREASE.
THERE'S A, I THINK THERE'S A CATEGORY RIGHT, ABOUT LEAKS THAT YOU JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF NON-REVENUE WATER.
SO WE'RE GONNA REDUCE THE NON-REVENUE WATER CATEGORY.
I WAS LIKE, ROBERT, GO WORK ON THAT.
UH, I THINK IN TERMS OF EDUCATION, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE DOING THE FLYERING, UH, BEFORE THE INSTALLATION.
UM, PERHAPS ALSO WHEN PEOPLE ARE ABOUT TO PAY THEIR BILL, IF THEY PAY IT ONLINE, FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE AUTOMATED OR WHO DON'T HAVE PAPER BILLS LIKE ME, WHO WANTS TO ACTUALLY READ THEIR EMAIL AND DO IT, UM, IT MIGHT BE GOOD JUST TO GET A, LIKE, SOME SORT OF POPUP OR, OR SOMETHING AT THE POINT, LIKE YOU ARE BEING SWITCHED OVER TO A NEW, UM, UH, METER, JUST AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERACTION.
BECAUSE IF IT COMES IN THE MAIL, YOU DON'T ALWAYS READ IT.
BUT WHEN I'M THINKING ABOUT PAYING MY WATER BILL, THAT'S WHEN I WILL KNOW.
BUT, UH, GIVEN THE CONCERN ABOUT POSSIBLE INCREASES, UH, HOW, WHAT'S THE RANGE OF POSSIBLE INCREASES IN BILLS THAT YOU WOULD, THAT YOU MIGHT SEE JUST BASED ON YOUR, ON YOUR PILOT? SO, AGAIN, ON OVERALL, ON AVERAGE, IT WAS ABOUT 2% ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION.
UM, BUT, UH, I THINK WE DID SEE AREAS THAT IN SOME METERS IT COULD HAVE BEEN AS MUCH AS 10.
UM, THOSE ARE VERY OLDER, OLDER METERS.
SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL LOOK AT THE AREAS THAT HAVE REALLY OLD METERS AND PERHAPS DO SOME ADDITIONAL OUTREACH TO THOSE CUSTOMERS, UM, TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THAT THEY MAY SEE, UM, AN INCREASE IN THEIR, THEIR BILL.
AND SO THEREFORE, YOU KNOW, GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITY TO, TO WORK WITH US TO SEE HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP THEM.
UM, I'M, I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT.
I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S A WAY TO, UM, SORT OF, UH, YOU CAN'T DO THIS 'CAUSE YOU CAN'T PUT BOTH METERS ON IT THE SAME TIME, BUT BASICALLY PHASE OUT THE OLD METER SO THAT THEY CAN GET USED TO THAT NEW NUMBER, UH, COMING IN.
UM, SO AT ANY TIME, AND, AND WE'VE SEEN IT EVEN THIS LAST YEAR, WE'VE HAD A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF OUR METERS FAIL, AND ANY TIME THEY FAIL, WE GO AND IMMEDIATELY PUT IN A BRAND NEW METER.
SO THAT CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME FOR A CUSTOMER.
UM, AND CERTAINLY AS THE METER GETS OLDER, WE HAD A, WE HAD A PRETTY ROBUST METER REPLACEMENT PROGRAM WHERE WE WERE REPLACING METERS THAT WERE MORE THAN 15 TO 20 YEARS OLD.
SO WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF 'EM THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE MUCH OLDER THAN THAT.
UM, BUT, UH, I THINK THAT THE BEST BET IS TO TRY TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND THEIR USAGE AND SEE IF THERE IS SOME SORT OF LEAK TO HELP THEM ADDRESS THAT MORE QUICKLY.
SO IF NEXT MONTH, UH, MY OR SOMEBODY'S METER, NEW METER GETS INSTALLED AND THE BILL IS ACTUALLY $10 HIGHER FROM, YOU KNOW, $38 A MONTH TO $48 A MONTH, UM, THEY WILL BE EXPECTED TO PAY IT.
AND NOW AGAIN, IF THEY, IF UH, IT'S, IT'S A LEAK THAT'S CAUSING IT, WE, AND THEY CAN ADDRESS THAT LEAK, WE CAN GIVE THEM AN ADJUSTMENT FOR THAT.
AND IF IT'S A, UM, IF THEY, THEY SEE THE USAGE AND DECIDE TO PERHAPS, UM, MODIFY THEIR USAGE, WE, WE CERTAINLY CAN HELP THEM PAY IT OUT OVER TIME IF IT, THAT WAS GONNA BE AN ISSUE.
UM, AND WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR US TO HEAR ABOUT THAT BASICALLY ONCE YOU START ROLLING THIS OUT? SURE.
WHERE THOSE, UH, BIG DIFFERENCES ARE, ARE HAPPENING? I, I, I CONCUR WITH, WITH THE CHAIR.
[01:15:01]
COULD BE A BIG SURPRISE TO, TO SOME PEOPLE WHO FEEL, WHO WILL FEEL LIKE IT IS NOT, NOT THEIR FAULT.UM, SO I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A LITTLE TOUCHY.
UM, UM, AND, AND WE RUN INTO THAT NOW ANYTIME THAT WE HAVE TO REPLACE SOMEBODY'S METER.
IN FACT, DURING THE PILOT, WE HAD A FEW PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T WANNA BE PART OF THE PILOT.
WE DIDN'T ASK, WE DIDN'T MAKE THEM, AND ONE OF THEM IN PARTICULAR DIDN'T WANT THEIR METER CHANGED OUT, AND LO AND BEHOLD, THREE MONTHS LATER IT WAS CLEAR THEIR METER WAS SICK AND WE CHANGED OUT THEIR METER ANYWAY.
UM, SO MARY, IF, UM, YOU INSTALL ALL THESE METERS AND ON AVERAGE IT'S TWO PER, THEY'RE, THEY'RE READING 2% LOAD, DOES THAT MEAN SIZE REVENUES ARE GONNA GO UP BY 2%? UH, THAT, UH, WE WOULD EXPECT THAT OVER TIME, YES.
NOW IT'S GONNA TAKE US FOUR YEARS TO ROLL THESE OUT.
UH, SO WHAT THAT'S GONNA DO IS AVOID ANY SORT OF ADDITIONAL RATE INCREASES THAT MAY BE NEEDED ON THE, UH, POTENTIALLY IN THE FUTURE.
SO, UM, AND WE ARE PLANNING FOR THIS, RIGHT? SO EVEN OUR BUDGETS, RIGHT, EVEN FOR 2022, THERE WAS AN EXPECTATION THAT WE WOULD GET SOME ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION, UH, DUE TO THESE REPLACEMENTS.
SO, UM, WHAT WAS MY OTHER QUESTION? UM, YOU, YOU SAID THAT WHERE THE OLDER METERS ARE, THAT'S, THAT'S OFTEN WHERE YOU TEND TO SEE THE BIGGER JUMPS BY PUT, UM, IN I GUESS, MEASUREMENTS, UM, OF WATER FLOW, I GUESS MM-HMM.
ONE OF THE PROBLEMS WAS WHEN WE TOOK OVER BARE MET, WE DIDN'T GET GOOD INFORMATION AS TO THE AGE OF THEIR METERS.
THEY DID NOT TRACK THAT INFORMATION, SO WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE THE AGE OF THOSE METERS.
WE KNOW THEY'RE OLDER THAN 2012, WHICH IS WHEN WE TOOK OVER BARE MET.
SO WE COULD PROBABLY GIVE YOU MAYBE A HEAT MAP OF, OF METERS THAT WOULD SAY BE OVER THIS 15 TO 20 YEAR, UM, AGE THAT YOU COULD KINDA SEE.
AND, AND IT IS, IT IS IN POCKETS BECAUSE AS WE, AS METERS FAIL, WE'LL GO AND REPLACE THAT METER, BUT MAYBE SOME OF THE NEIGHBORS HAVEN'T YET FAILED.
I, I'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE THAT.
UM, I GUESS WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT IS, IS IT POSSIBLE TO, YOU KNOW, IT'S GONNA TAKE YOU FOUR YEARS TO REPLACE 600,000 METERS.
SO IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRIORITIZE REPLACING THOSE METERS IN LOW INCOME AREAS FIRST IF THIS TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS YOU TO DETECT LEAKS AND, YOU KNOW, DO, DO THAT, DO A BETTER JOB OF THAT, AND THEN ASSIST THEM IN GETTING THOSE LEAKS FIXED SO THAT WAY WE CAN HELP REDUCE THOSE, THOSE WATER BILLS IN THESE LOW INCOME AREAS? MM-HMM.
AND SO, AND WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE MANAGE OUR METER READING RESOURCES.
SO WE ACTUALLY INTEND TO TOUCH EVERY PART OF THE CITY BASICALLY EVERY SIX MONTHS.
AND SO THERE'S NOT ONE AREA THAT'S GONNA BE DISPROPORTIONATELY TARGETED.
SOME PEOPLE MIGHT SAY WE'RE TARGETING LOW INCOME.
UM, IF WE WERE TO DO THAT FIRST, OR BENEFITING, LET'S SAY, UM, AN AREA THAT, UH, IS A HIGH WATER USE BECAUSE THEY DO A LOT OF OUTSIDE IRRIGATION, WE'RE GONNA BE HITTING EVERY SINGLE COUNCIL DISTRICT, EVERY SINGLE, UM, PART OF TOWN, UM, EVERY SIX MONTHS.
UM, SO WILL THERE BE AN EQUITY LENS THAT'S APPLIED TO THIS IN DECIDING HOW, WHERE YOU TARGET FIRST, I MEAN, THAT'S WHAT I'M GETTING AT, RIGHT? BECAUSE IF YOU WENT IN AND REPLACED THESE METERS, LIKE A, A HIGHER PRECISION METER THAT COULD, COULD SENSE A LEAK AND WE CAN ASSIST IN THEM IN GETTING THOSE LEAKS FIXED SO WE CAN HELP REDUCE THEIR ENERGY WATER, THOSE.
I, I WILL TELL YOU COUNCILMAN, THAT, UM, THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, LET'S SAY THE LAST 10 YEARS, WE HAVE HAD A CONTINUOUS METER REPLACEMENT PROGRAM BECAUSE EVERY ONE YEAR A BIG BATCH OF OUR METERS GET TO BE 15, 20 YEARS OLD.
AND SO THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS, UH, THAT, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, INDIVI DIFFERENT POCKETS OF, UH, THE TOWN WHERE WE HAVE CHANGED THE METERS.
PEOPLE GET SAY, OH, ALL OF A SUDDEN MY, MY BILL IS HIGHER.
SO WE ARE VERY EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCED IN THIS HAPPENING.
NOW, JUST BECAUSE A PART OF TOWN IS LOW INCOME DOESN'T MEAN THEY HAVE THE OLDEST METERS.
THEY MAY HAVE THE NEWEST METERS JUST BECAUSE THOSE HAVE BEEN REPLACED ALREADY.
SO THE OLD, AND THERE'S NO DEFINITE AREA OF TOWN THAT HAS NEW OR OLD METERS.
UM, YEAH, SO I UNDERSTAND THERE COULD BE DIFFERENT, UM, UH, VARIABLES THAT YOU NEED TO CONSIDER AND THIS, RIGHT.
YOU DON'T WANT TO GO INTO A LOW INCOME AREA WHERE THE METERS ARE ONLY TWO YEARS OLD AND REPLACE ALL OF THOSE NECESSARILY.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO, UM, ASK THAT YOU ALL CONSIDER THAT AS A FACTOR.
AND SEE HOW YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO ASSIST LOW INCOME, UH, WATER USERS.
[01:20:01]
OKAY.AND, AND MARY, LET'S HOPE THAT MAYBE SIX MONTHS FROM NOW AFTER WE'VE SEEN MORE INSTALLATIONS, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO COME BACK, GIVE US A LITTLE REPORT ON HOW IT'S GOING.
I'M GONNA STAY UP HERE 'CAUSE I THINK I'M NEXT.
LET ME, LET ME READ THE HEADING I HAVE HERE.
UH, ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS A BRIEFING BY SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM ON RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
I'M ACTUALLY GONNA SHARE THE PODIUM, UH, TODAY WITH DOUG EVANSON, OUR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, BUT WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU, UM, UH, AN UPDATE OR ACTUALLY, UH, UH, AN OVERVIEW OF OUR, OUR RATE STUDY THAT WE HAVE BEGUN.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, SAWS, UH, TRADITIONALLY, UH, DOES A RATE STUDY EVERY FOUR, EVERY FIVE YEARS OR SO.
I'M GONNA FIRST TALK ABOUT KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE RATE STUDY PROCESS INVOLVES.
THEN I'M GONNA PROVIDE SOME CURRENT INFORMATION ABOUT THE, UM, SAS RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WE'LL BE UTILIZING DURING THIS RATE STUDY.
UH, THAT INCLUDES THE PURPOSE OF THE COMMITTEE, WHO'S ON THE COMMITTEE, HOW THEY WERE SELECTED, AND THEN THE, THE MEETING SCHEDULE.
I WILL ALSO REVIEW THE APPROVED COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS THAT WAS PERFORMED, UH, BY OUR RATE CONSULTANT.
AND THEN DOUG WILL GET UP TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CURRENT RATE STRUCTURE AND HIGHLIGHTING, UH, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT THE RACK, UH, MAY BE LOOKING AT AS THEY LOOK INTO THE APPROPRIATE RATE DESIGN FOR ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, WE PERIODICALLY UNDERTAKE A RATE STUDY, UH, EVERY FIVE YEARS OR SO.
THE LAST ONE THAT WE COMPLETED WAS DONE IN 2015.
AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT RESULTED FROM THAT RATE STUDY WERE IMPLEMENTED IN 2016.
THE PURPOSE OF A RATE STUDY IS TO EQUITABLY ALLOCATE THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS TO VARIOUS CUSTOMER CLASSES AND TO DETERMINE HOW RATES SHOULD BE STRUCTURED.
AND WE, UH, I MENTIONED THAT WE CONDUCT THESE RATE STUDIES WITH THE HELP OF OUR NATIONAL RATE CONSULTANT AS WELL AS THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT IS APPOINTED BY THE BOARD.
WE DID BEGIN A NEW RATE STUDY IN 2019, BUT WE HAD TO SUSPEND THAT STUDY IN MARCH OF 2020, UH, BECAUSE WE COULD NO LONGER SAFELY HAVE RAC MEETINGS AS A RESULT OF THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC.
UM, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, WE'VE LEARNED HOW VERY WELL TO DO VIRTUAL MEETINGS, BUT, UH, WE DID SUSPEND IT ONE, UH, BECAUSE OF NOT HAVING THAT ABILITY, BUT ALSO, UH, THE, THE, UM, UNCERTAINTY, IF YOU WILL IN THE CHANGES IN OUR, IN OUR CUSTOMER BASE, UH, WHERE, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY WENT HOME FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.
AND SO WE WANTED THINGS TO KIND OF SETTLE BACK DOWN INTO WHAT MAY COME, WHAT WE SEE AS A NEW NORMAL, UH, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, SO IN 2022, OR I MEAN, SORRY, IN 2021, THE SAS BOARD DECIDED THAT WE SHOULD CONDUCT A BRAND NEW RATE STUDY WITH UPDATED COST AND USAGE INFORMATION.
AND IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021, UH, SAS ENGAGED IN THE NATIONAL RE CONSULTANT COROLLA ENGINEERS TO HELP PERFORM THIS STUDY.
AND THEIR APPROACH, WHICH IS SHOWN HERE, IS A THREE PHASE APPROACH.
PHASE ONE INCLUDES, WHICH FOR THIS STUDY WILL BE OUR 2022 BUDGET, PHASE TWO, WHICH IS PERFORMING THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS, WHICH ALLOCATES THE COST TO THE CUSTOMER, VARIOUS CUSTOMER CLASSES.
UM, AND IT'S THE CUSTOMER SERVICE ANALYSIS IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT PROVIDES A QUALITATIVE AND DEFENSIBLE BASIS FOR DISTRIBUTING COSTS OF WATER AND WASTEWATER SYSTEMS TO EACH CUSTOMER CLASS PROPORTIONATE TO THE DEMANDS THAT THEY PLACE ON THE SYSTEM BASED ON THEIR USAGE CHARACTERISTICS.
AND YOU'LL SEE, UM, SOME OF THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD WHEN I, WHEN I REVIEW THE COST OF SERVICE RESULTS.
AND THEN PHASE THREE IS THE RATE DESIGN STUDY, AND THIS IS WHERE THE RACK WILL HAVE ITS BIGGEST IMPACT.
OKAY? THIS IS WHERE WE WILL LOOK AT HOW WE CHARGE RATES TO RECOVER THOSE COSTS.
THIS RATE STUDY WILL BE REVENUE NEUTRAL, MEANING THAT WE WILL LOOK AT HOW THE COSTS ARE ALLOCATED TO VARIOUS CUSTOMER CLASSES.
BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, AFTER ALL THE RATE DESIGN CHANGES, UM, HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDED, WE WILL GENERATE NO ADDITIONAL REVENUE.
WE WILL GET THE SAME AMOUNT OF REVENUE THAT OUR EXISTING RATE STRUCTURES GENERATE TODAY, BUT PERHAPS IN A DIFFERENT WAY AF AS A RESULT OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO AS I MENTIONED, WE CONDUCT THESE STUDIES WITH THE HELP OF THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, AND IN JANUARY OF 2022, THE SAWS BOARD APPROVED THE 22, UH, BYLAWS, UH, FOR THE RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
AS STATED IN THE BYLAWS, THE PURPOSE OF THE RACK IS TO PROVIDE RATE DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGARDING, UH, THE RATE STRUCTURES FOR WATER, WASTE, WATER AND, UH, RECYCLED WATER SERVICES.
CHILL WATER SERVICES, WHICH IS OUR FOURTH BUSINESS UNIT, WAS NOT
[01:25:01]
INCLUDED IN THIS RATE STUDY.WE ARE DOING A SEPARATE ANALYSIS OF OUR CHILL WATER SERVICES, AND I'M SURE THAT COUNCIL WILL HEAR MORE, WILL HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT LATER IN 2022.
THE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE RACK COMES UP WITH, UH, MUST, UH, WILL NEED TO BE DESIGNED TO FULLY RECOVER THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS IDENTIFIED BY THE CONSULTANT MENTIONED THAT'S 2022 BUDGET.
THEY MUST BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
AND THOSE INDUSTRY STANDARDS FOR WATER WERE GENERATED BY THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION AND FOR WASTEWATER IS THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION.
AND THEY MUST BE BASED ON THE COST OF SERVICE ALLOCATIONS DEVELOPED BY OUR RATE CONSULTANT, UM, AND APPROVED BY OUR SOURCE.
SO BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND THAT COST OF SERVICE, UH, STUDY WAS TOOK INTO ACCOUNT THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE 2019 RACK MADE ABOUT COST OF SERVICE.
SO THE 2019 RACK SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON COST OF SERVICE.
WE NEVER GOT TO RATE DESIGN, WE DIDN'T WANT TO JUST IGNORE THAT WORK.
UM, BUT WE REALLY NEEDED TO GET THE RACK FOCUS, THIS RACK FOCUS ON RATE, FOCUS ON RATE DESIGN.
SO WE DID TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
UH, DURING THE FINALIZATION OF THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS, THE SAS BOARD APPOINTED APPOINTED 21 MEMBERS TO THE 2022 RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UM, THE RAC MEMBERS, UH, ARE SELECTED FROM THROUGHOUT OUR COMMUNITY AND REFLECT A REPRESENTATION OF OUR SA SERVICE AREA.
THE MEMBER APPOINTMENTS WERE THE CULMINATION OF NOMINATIONS SOLICITED FROM EACH OF THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, IN ADDITION TO A BUSINESS, CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
AND 11 MEMBERS OF THE 22, UH, RACK ALSO SERVED ON THE 2019 RACK, UM, INCLUDING THE, THE, UH, RAC CHAIR FRANCIS GONZALEZ.
WE EXPECT TO MEET, UM, ABOUT SEVEN TIMES, UH, DURING THIS PROCESS AND THE DATES OF THE MEETING, UM, AND THE EXPECTED TOPICS ARE SHOWN HERE.
WE'VE ALREADY HAD THREE MEETINGS.
WE FIRST TWO MEETINGS PROVIDED AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS AND A REVIEW OF THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS.
UM, AND THEN LAST WEEK'S MEETING, WE REALLY GOT INTO THE FIRST DISCUSSION RELATED TO RATE DESIGN.
WE FOCUSED ON RESIDENTIAL RATE DESIGN.
FUTURE MEETINGS WILL CONTINUE TO REVIEW OPTIONS FOR RESIDENTIAL AND GENERAL CLASS, WHICH IS OUR, UH, INCLUDES OUR COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY, WE IRRIGATION CLASS AND OUR RECYCLED WATER CUSTOMERS.
AND OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE THE RACK RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING CHANGES TO THE RATE STRUCTURES FINALIZED BY THE END OF JUNE.
UM, THE, THE INTENT WOULD BE TO THEN GO OUT AND COMMUNICATE TO OUR, UH, OUR, ALL OF OUR, OUR CUSTOMERS TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT THE RACK RECOMMENDATIONS WERE AND ULTIMATELY BRING THOSE FORTH TO OUR BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL LATER IN THE YEAR FOR IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH WOULD HA APPROVAL AND IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH WOULD HAPPEN IN 2023 IF APPROVED.
ALL OF THE RAC MATINGS, UM, TAKE PLACE, UH, UH, FROM BETWEEN 6:00 PM AND 8:00 PM THEY ARE, UH, LIVE STREAMED AND RECORDED SO PEOPLE CAN SEE THEM ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, THEY, UH, RIGHT NOW THEY'VE BEEN IN A HYBRID SCHEDULE FOR THE LAST TWO MEETINGS.
I THINK WE WILL CONTINUE THAT SCHEDULE FOR THE TIME BEING, UH, WHERE WE'VE GOT ABOUT HALF OR SO IN PERSON AND THEN HALF ADJOINING.
UM, VIRTUALLY, UH, AN IMPORTANT PART, AS I MENTIONED OF THE RATE STUDY IS THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS RATES VARY, UH, BY CUSTOMER CLASS AND ARE DESIGNED TO RECOVER THE, THE COST OF PROVIDING THE SERVICE TO EACH OF OF THOSE CLASSES.
BASING RATES, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, ON COST OF SERVICE, PROVIDES THAT QUALITATIVE AND DEFENSIBLE BASIS, UM, THAT REALLY HELPS SUPPORT, UM, THE RATIONALE FOR OUR RATES.
THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS IS A VERY STRUCTURED APPROACH TO ALLOCATING COSTS OBJECTIVELY TO EACH CUSTOMER CLASS.
IT STARTS WITH IDENTIFYING THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS FROM RATES, AND AS I INDICATED, THAT'S 2022 BUDGET.
THE REVENUE REQUIREMENTS ARE THEN ALLOCATED TO FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES AND RATE COMPONENTS.
AND TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF FUNCTIONAL CATEGORIES FOR WATER SERVICE COULD INCLUDE THINGS LIKE, UM, WELL, WHAT'S THE COST TO ACQUIRE THE WATER? WHAT'S THE COST TO PRODUCE AND DISTRIBUTE THE WATER? WHAT'S THE COST TO PROVIDE SPECIFIC INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMER SERVICES, SUCH AS BILLING OR, OR THE CALL CENTER, ET CETERA.
UM, ONCE THOSE COSTS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED TO THESE CATEGORIES AND COMPONENTS, A UNIT COST IS THEN DETERMINED, AND THEN THAT UNIT COST IS MULTIPLIED BY THE UNITS THAT EACH CLASS, UM, THAT HAVE FOR THAT CLASS.
SO, UH, SOME OF THOSE UNITS MAY BE BASED ON USAGE CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS VOLUME.
OTHERS MAY BE ON CUSTOMER CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS IN THE CLASS.
SO, UM, THE FULL REPORT OF THE DETAILED COST OF SERVICE FINDINGS IS PROVIDED ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, IT'S CALLED A TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM, WATER AND WASTEWATER COST OF SERVICE, AND YOU CAN FIND IT OUT ON THE RACK, UM, WEBPAGE ON OUR WEBSITE.
THIS SLIDE SUMMARIZES THE RESULTS OF OUR CONSULTANTS' COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS.
UM, IN ACCORDANCE WITH DIRECT BYLAWS, I MENTIONED THAT CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN TO
[01:30:01]
THE 2019 RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO COST OF SERVICE.UH, THE COST OF SERVICE ALLOCATIONS NOW WILL SERVE AS THE BASIS FOR ANY CHANGES TO RATE DESIGN.
RATES RECOMMENDED FOR EACH CUSTOMER CLASS FOR WATER SUPPLY, WATER DELIVERY, AND WATER WASTEWATER WILL NEED TO GENERATE THE TOTAL REVENUE FOR EACH OF THE CLASSES SHOWN HERE.
THIS, THIS NEXT SLIDE SHOWS THE, UM, UH, EXISTING THE REVENUE UNDER EXISTING RATES COMPARED TO THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS THAT WAS DONE, UH, BY A CONSULTANT FOR WATER.
THAT'S THIS COMBINES WITH WATER SUPPLY AND WATER DELIVERY.
SO IF NO CHANGES WERE MADE, NONE TO OUR RATE STRUCTURE, WHAT THIS SAYS IS THAT IN ORDER TO RECOVER THE COST OF SERVICE, THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS WOULD ACTUALLY SEE A 1% REDUCTION IN THEIR EXISTING RATES.
GENERAL CLASS I MENTIONED, AGAIN, COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY, THEY WOULD SEE A 1.9% INCREASE IN THEIR RATES IRRIGATION.
UM, THAT CLASS LOOKS LIKE, OH, LO AND BEHOLD, THEIR RATES ACTUALLY RECOVER EXACTLY THEIR COST OF SERVICE.
WELL, THAT IS UNDER THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE 2019 RACK, AND ACTUALLY PREVIOUS RACKS BEFORE THAT, THE EXISTING RATES RECOVER MORE THAN THEIR INITIAL COST OF SERVICE FOR IRRIGATION CLASS.
BUT BECAUSE WE VALUE CONSERVATION MESSAGING VERY STRONGLY, WE HAVE, WE HAVE, UM, FILLED THAT GAP BY REALLOCATING COSTS FROM OTHER CLASSES, UM, IN ORDER AT FOR THE IRRIGATION CLASS TO ABSORB THOSE COSTS AND BRING THEM RIGHT ON TO THEIR CURRENT, THE REVENUE, UH, DEVELOPED FROM THEIR, OR CREATED BY THEIR CURRENT RATES.
UM, RECYCLED CUSTOMERS ALSO, LO AND BEHOLD, EXACTLY EQUAL TO THEIR COST OF SERVICE.
AND THAT HISTORICALLY, UH, NO CHANGE THIS YEAR THAN PRIOR YEARS.
RECYCLED RATES DO NOT RECOVER A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEIR COST OF SERVICE.
THEIR COST OF SERVICE IS ABOUT THREE TIMES WHAT WE SHOW HERE AS THE COST OF SERVICE.
BUT WE HAVE HAD OTHER CLASSES ASSUME SOME OF THAT COST.
HOWEVER, THAT THAT IS ONE OF THE INSTRUCTIONS THAT OUR BOARD HAS GIVEN TO THE RACK, IS THAT THEY NEED TO LOOK AT THE RATES RECOVERED FROM, FROM OUR RECYCLED WATER CUSTOMERS TO DETERMINE IF THEIR, THEIR, THEIR RATES SHOULD GO UP, PERHAPS BECOME CLOSER TO POTABLE WATER RATES.
UM, AND IF THAT WERE TO OCCUR, THEN WE WOULD PULL THAT COST BACK FROM THOSE OTHER CLASSES.
WASTEWATER, UH, THIS SLIDE SHOWS THAT FOR WASTEWATER, UH, IF THERE WAS NO CHANGES IN OUR EXISTING RATES OTHER THAN TO ADJUST FOR COST OF SERVICE, RESIDENTIAL CLASS WOULD ACTUALLY SEE A SIX AND A HALF PERCENT REDUCTION IN THEIR SEWER RATES, WHEREAS THE GENERAL CLASS, AGAIN, COMMERCIAL MULTIFAMILY, WOULD SEE AN 11.6% INCREASE IN THEIR RATES.
AND THEN, UM, THE, THE WHOLESALE CLASS WOULD GO DOWN SLIGHTLY.
SURCHARGE IS PAID BY INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS FOR THE STRENGTH OF THEIR SEWAGE THAT'S ACTUALLY IMPROVED OVER TIME, AND THEIR RATES WOULD GO DOWN SLIGHTLY.
FINALLY, AS PART OF THE COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS, WE ASKED, UH, THE CONSULTANT TO LOOK AT THE REASONABLENESS OF OUR EXISTING RATE DIFFERENTIALS FOR INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CITY LIMIT CUSTOMERS.
BECAUSE OUTSIDE CITY LIMIT CUSTOMERS ARE NOT OWNERS OF OUR SYSTEM.
UH, SAWS HAS HISTORICALLY CHARGED A RATE DIFFERENTIAL, UH, FOR WATER DELIVERY AND WASTEWATER SERVICES.
THIS DIFFERENTIAL ENSURES THAT SAWS EARNS A FAIR RATE OF RETURN AND PROVIDES THE BENEFIT OF THAT RETURN TO THE OWNERS OF OUR SYSTEM.
THE OWNERS OF OUR SYSTEM BEING INSIDE CITY LIMIT CUSTOMERS, UH, BASED ON THE ANALYSIS PERFORMED BY THE CONSULTANT, THE CURRENT RATE DIFFERENTIALS OF 1.3 TIMES FOR WATER DELIVERY AND 1.2 TIMES FOR WASTEWATER ARE REASONABLE.
THEREFORE, ANY RATE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY THE RACK WILL APPLY THESE DIFFERENTIALS TO THE INSIDE CITY LIMITS TO DETERMINE THE OUTSIDE CITY LIMIT RATES.
NOW, BEFORE OUR RAC CAN DECIDE WHAT CHANGES TO RECOMMEND TO OUR BOARD RELATED TO RATE DESIGN, IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE CURRENT RATE STRUCTURES.
AND SO DOUG EVANSON IS NOW GONNA BRIEFLY REVIEW THE EXISTING RATES AND PROVIDE, UH, HE PROVIDED SIMILAR PRESENTATION TO THE RAC JUST LAST WEEK.
UH, NOT THAT MARY COULDN'T HAVE, UH, CONTINUED WITH THIS, BUT WE THOUGHT WE'D GIVE HER A LITTLE BIT OF A BREAK.
SO, DOUG, I'M JUST GONNA INTERJECT TOO, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT KNOW THAT MOST OF US ON THE COUNCIL AT FOUR O'CLOCK ARE GONNA BE, UH, GOING TO GET READY FOR, UH, FIESTA THE RIVER PARADE.
OKAY, SO IT'S ABOUT 20 MINUTES.
WE'LL, BUT I KNOW THERE'LL WANT TO BE A FEW QUESTIONS TOO, SO JUST LET YOU KNOW, TRY TO GO THROUGH IT VERY QUICKLY.
SO I'LL TRY TO GO THROUGH THIS AGAIN VERY QUICKLY AGAIN.
[01:35:01]
SAWS PORTABLE WATER RATE STRUCTURE, UH, YOU CAN SEE HERE SAWS EXISTING RATE STRUCTURE FOR PORTABLE WATER SERVICES CONSISTS OF WATER DELIVERY CHARGE, WHICH PAYS FOR THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH DISTRIBUTING THE WATER TO THE CUSTOMERS.A SEPARATE WATER SUPPLY FEE HAS BEEN IN PLACE SINCE 2001, WHICH PAYS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONAL COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH NEW SOURCES OF SUPPLY.
OH, IT'S, IT'S NOT ON YOUR SCREEN.
I JUST WASN'T ON THE RIGHT SLIDE.
SORRY I DIDN'T ADVANCE IT FAR ENOUGH.
UM, SO THEN MARY ALLUDED TO, I'M NOT GONNA GO INTO, BUT SHE TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE OTHER THING WITHIN THE WATER SUPPLY FEE.
IT DOES SUPPORT THE, UH, RECYCLED WATER PROGRAM.
AND AS SHE MENTIONED ALREADY, WE CURRENTLY MAINTAIN FOUR DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CUSTOMERS, WHICH ARE, AGAIN, VERY SIMILAR TO OTHER UTILITIES.
UH, THE ONLY NUANCE THAT YOU SEE AT TIME IS A SEPARATE RATE CLASS FOR MULTIFAMILY, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT OUR INITIAL LOOK IS THAT IF YOU WERE TO SEPARATE OUT MULTIFAMILY AS ITS OWN CLASS, YOU WOULD ACTUALLY SEE A RATE, A SIGNIFICANT RATE INCREASE FOR THAT MULTIFAMILY CLASS.
SO, UH, THEIR COST OF SERVICE IS HIGHER THAN THE GENERAL CLASS AS A WHOLE.
SO, UM, NEXT, WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR PORTABLE WATER RATE STRUCTURE, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, SIMILAR TO VIRTUALLY ALL OTHER UTILITIES, WE HAVE BOTH A FIXED AND A VOLUMETRIC CHARGE.
SO FIXED AND A VARIABLE CHARGE, UH, SAWS DOES MAINTAIN CONSERVATION BASED RATES.
WE DO THAT BY CHARGING MORE FOR USAGE ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS.
SO YOUR FIRST, WHAT WE CALL BLOCK OF USAGE IS VERY CHEAP, AND THEN IT KEEPS GETTING MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE AS YOU PROGRESS THROUGH OUR EIGHT BLOCKS.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT IN OUR, UH, GENERAL CLASS STRUCTURE AS WELL.
MARY TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, UH, RATE DIFFERENTIAL THAT WE CHARGE TO OUR CUSTOMERS RESIDING OUTSIDE OF THE CITY LIMITS.
WE DO MAINTAIN SKIPPED ONE, A LIFELINE RATE FOR RESIDENTIAL CLASS CUSTOMERS.
SO IF YOU USE LESS THAN FOUR CCFS OF WATER, WHICH IS 2,992 GALLONS IN A MONTH, THEN BASICALLY YOU GET THE LOWEST RATE THAT WE CURRENTLY OFFER.
FINALLY, WE DO, WE'RE GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE DISCOUNT PROGRAMS THAT WE DO HAVE FOR OUR AFFORDABILITY CUSTOMERS.
NOT GONNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS SLIDE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT WASTEWATER STRUCTURE HAS MANY OF THE SAME ATTRIBUTES AS OUR PORTABLE WATER STRUCTURE WATER RATE STRUCTURE.
FINALLY, UH, BEFORE DI DIVING DEEPER INTO OUR RESIDENTIAL RATE STRUCTURE FOR BOTH WATER AND SEWER, I WANNA TAKE JUST A MINUTE TO TALK ABOUT A RECYCLE WATER.
UM, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE USES, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO MAINTAIN ONE OF THE LARGEST RECYCLED WATER SYSTEMS. YOU CAN SEE LANDSCAPING, GOLF COURSES, MANUFACTURING, COOLING TOWERS, ET CETERA.
THERE ARE C P S ENERGY WE PUT ABOUT, WE PUT UP TO 50,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER THAT THEY PULL OUT OF THE SAN ANTONIO RIVER THAT THEY USE TO COOL THEY'RE POWER PLANTS ON BRO AND CALVERS LAKES.
SO, UH, THEY PAY US ALMOST $4 MILLION, ABOUT $3.7 MILLION A YEAR FOR THE RIGHT TO DO THAT.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WE PUT ABOUT, UH, 5,000 ACRE FEET, A LITTLE MORE THAN 5,000 ACRE FEET A YEAR, BASICALLY INTO VARIOUS DISCHARGES.
THE ONE BRACKENRIDGE PARK, THE CONVENTION CENTER, AND IN SLA CREEK.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST USES OF RECYCLED WATER THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE CURRENTLY IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE CITY ABOUT, UH, PAYING FOR THAT, UH, RECYCLE WATER.
WE HAD A 20 YEAR CONTRACT THAT JUST RECENTLY EXPIRED.
UM, THAT RECYCLE WATER RATE IS A HOT TOPIC OF CONVERSATION AT THE RACK.
AS MARY, UH, POINTED OUT, THERE ARE SOME RACK MEMBERS THAT WANT TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THAT RATE OF THAT RECYCLE WATER.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANNA MAKE SURE IS THAT WE DON'T MAKE IT SO COST PROHIBITIVE THAT WE DRIVE PEOPLE OFF OF THE RECYCLE WATER AND BACK TO POTABLE WATER.
I KNOW WE'RE PRESSED FOR TIME.
SO THIS JUST GIVES YOU A BETTER SENSE OF OUR EXISTING RESIDENTIAL WATER RATE STRUCTURE.
THE FIGURES ON THE FAR LEFT REPRESENT KIND OF THE VOLUMETRIC USAGE AND THOUSANDS OF GALLONS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKS, 6,000, 12,008, 18,000, ET CETERA.
THE, THE MULTICOLORED BARS REPRESENT OUR BLOCKS.
SO THAT DARK BLUE AT THE VERY BOTTOM IS THAT FIRST LIFELINE BLOCK THAT GOES, AGAIN, 2,992 GALLONS.
THE NEXT BLOCK HAS A LITTLE MORE THAN ABOUT 1500 GALLONS, AND SO DOES THE NEXT BLOCK.
SO WHEN YOU GET THROUGH THE FIRST THREE BLOCKS, YOU BASICALLY GET THROUGH ALMOST 6,000 GALLONS WORTH OF USAGE.
[01:40:01]
ON THERE THE RATES.THE RATE THAT WE ACTUALLY CHARGE FOR THAT WATER, AS WELL AS THE RATE, INCLUDING THE E EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY PASS THROUGH FEE ARE THE TWO NUMBERS THAT ARE LISTED INSIDE THAT, UH, BOX.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT YOU GOTTA GO THROUGH TO GET TO THE NEXT BLOCK.
YOU GO THROUGH EACH AND EVERY ONE BLOCK.
SO IF YOU USE 5,000 GALLONS, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU WOULD GO YOUR FIRST 29 92 GALLONS WOULD GET CHARGED AT THAT, UH, 2.65 CENTS PER THOUSAND GALLONS, OR I'M SORRY, $2 AND 66.40 CENTS PER THOUSAND GALLONS.
THAT WOULD BE YOUR FIRST 3000 GALLONS.
THEN YOU GO UP TO YOUR NEXT BLOCK AND YOUR NEXT 1500 GALLONS WOULD BE PRICED AT THAT NEXT LEVEL, THAT 4.406 PER THOUSAND GALLONS.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE REMAINDER IS WHAT WOULD GET CHARGED THAT HIGHEST LEVEL.
SO THAT'S JUST AN IMPORTANT POINT TO KEEP IN MIND AS WE GO THROUGH IT.
THIS JUST, THERE'S A LOT OF LINE GRAPHS HERE THAT I'M NOT GONNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON, GIVEN THE SENSITIVITY OF TIME, BUT IT JUST SHOWS YOU HOW OUR RATE STRUCTURE COMPARES TO THE RATE STRUCTURE OF THE OTHER FOUR LARGEST CITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
UH, A COUPLE THINGS YOU'D TAKE AWAY FROM THIS IS THAT SAWS, IF YOU LOOK AT THE VERY FAR LEFT, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IS SAWS DOES CURRENTLY HAVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST FIXED CHARGES OR SERVICE AVAILABILITY CHARGES.
OF THE FIVE MAJOR CITIES IN TEXAS, YOU CAN SEE IT THERE.
WE'RE CONSISTENTLY ON THAT BLUE LINE.
YOU CAN SEE THEN SOME, WHEREVER THERE'S A KINK IN THE CURVE, THAT MEANS SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT HAS HAPPENED.
AND WHAT'S HAPPENED THERE IS, UH, IN CITY OF AUSTIN'S CASE, THEY HAVE A FIVE TIERED FIXED CHARGE.
SO DEPENDING ON WHERE YOUR USAGE ENDS UP GOING, IT CAN RANGE FROM $8 AND 50 CENTS ALL THE WAY TO $37 FOR THEIR FIXED CHARGE AMOUNT.
UM, AND THEN IN CITY OF HOUSTON, THERE YOU SEE THAT BIG INCREASE BETWEEN 3000 AND 4,000 GALLONS.
BASICALLY, THEY HAVE A CONSERVATION CREDIT THAT THEY, IF YOU STAY BELOW 3000 GALLONS, THEY GIVE YOU VERY CHEAP WATER, BUT THE MINUTE YOU GO TO 3001 GALLONS, IT GOES UP, YOUR BILL GOES UP BY ABOUT 20 $20.
UM, THAT CREATES SOME CHALLENGES IN CUSTOMER SERVICE WHEN YOU HAVE A STRUCTURE LIKE THAT, BUT THAT IS JUST A UNIQUE ASPECT OF THEIR CHARGE.
SO THIS WAS FOR WHAT WE CALL LOW USAGE CUSTOMERS.
HERE'S WATER USAGE FOR MODERATE TO HIGH USE, 90.
THERE'S ONLY ABOUT, UH, 6% OF OUR BILLS IN OVER A COURSE OF A YEAR GO OUT FOR MORE THAN, UH, 15,000 GALLONS.
SO ALMOST ALL THE USAGE IS EITHER IN THE FIRST SLIDE THAT I SHOWED YOU, WHICH HAS ABOUT 50% OF THE USAGE, OR THIS SLIDE, WHICH HAS ABOUT 44% OF THE BILLS FOR A TOTAL CUMULATIVE 94% OF THE BILLS.
THIS JUST SHOWS VERY HIGH USAGE.
AGAIN, WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 6% OF OUR CUSTOMERS, BUT YOU CAN SEE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN BETWEEN WHAT AUSTIN, UH, SAN ANTONIO AND HOUSTON CHARGE COMPARED TO WHAT DALLAS AND FORT WORTH CHARGE OUT ON THE HIGH END.
UM, WE THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO SEND THIS CONSERVATION MESSAGE AND REALLY HAVE PEOPLE, IF THEY WANT TO USE THAT AMOUNT OF WATER, IT IS EXPENSIVE TO GO GET ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLIES.
SO THEY NEED TO PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE TO DO EXACTLY THAT.
UM, LOOKING QUICKLY AT THE SEWER BILL, THIS JUST SHOWS YOU THE SAME TYPE OF COMPARISON.
THE ONLY THING I'D POINT OUT, AGAIN, WE HAVE THE HIGHEST FIXED CHARGE THERE OF ALMOST $15 A MONTH.
HOWEVER, THAT DOES INCLUDE YOUR FIRST 1500 GALLONS OF USAGE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR LINE STAYS VERY FLAT FOR THOSE FIRST 1500 GALLONS BEFORE IT STARTS UPWARDLY SLOPING.
WE ALSO HAVE SOME OF THE CHEAPEST, UH, SEWER RATES YOU CAN SEE OUT AT 4,000 GALLONS.
WE DO HAVE THE CHEAPEST, UH, SEWER RATES OF THE FIVE MAJOR TEXAS CITIES.
LOOKING A LITTLE CLOSER MORE, WE DON'T HAVE MANY BILLS.
SEWER BILLS ARE BASED UPON YOUR AVERAGE WINTER CONSUMPTION FOR EVERY CITY IN TEXAS OTHER THAN HOUSTON.
IN HOUSTON, THEY CHARGE WHATEVER GOES THROUGH YOUR WATER METER.
THAT'S WHAT THEY ASSUME GOES THROUGH YOUR SEWER.
SO PEOPLE IN HOUSTON, IF YOU'RE IRRIGATING YOUR GRASS IN HOUSTON, YOU'RE GONNA GET VERY LARGE SEWER BILL IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER.
UM, YOU CAN SEE THERE AT 10,000 GALLONS, THERE'S ONLY ABOUT, WE ONLY HAVE ABOUT 7% OF OUR BILLS GO OUT ON AN ANNUAL YEAR BASIS THAT HAVE HIGHER THAN 10,000 GALLONS OF SEWER USAGE.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE STOPPED COMPARING THERE.
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU THE COMBINED RESIDENTIAL WATER AND SEWER BILL COMPARISON.
FIRST FOR LOW USE, UH, THIS NEXT SLIDE, I, I GUESS WE STOPPED.
WE ONLY SHOWED IT FOR LOW USE.
WE'VE GOT OTHER SLIDES, BUT DO WANNA TOUCH ON OUR AFFORDABILITY DISCOUNT QUICKLY.
THIS IS THE PROGRAM, THE PREDOMINANT PROGRAM THAT WE HAVE, UH, TO HELP WITH PEOPLE THAT ARE INCOME CHALLENGED, THAT PEOPLE QUALIFY FOR OUR PROGRAMS. THEY GET A FLAT RATE DISCOUNT DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY FALL ON THE SCALE OF THE POVERTY LEVEL, SCALE, UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY USE WATER ONLY, SEWER ONLY, OR WATER AND SEWER.
SO YOU CAN SEE AT THE FAR END OF THE SCALE, SOMEBODY THAT HAS
[01:45:01]
BOTH OF OUR SERVICES AND IS AT 50, AT OR BELOW 50% OF POVERTY, THEY GET A $28 35 CENTS FLAT DISCOUNT AMOUNT OFF OF THEIR BILL EACH MONTH.AND SOMEBODY AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM, IF THEY'RE ABOVE AT OR BELOW 125% OF POVERTY, BUT GREATER THAN A HUNDRED PERCENT OF POVERTY, THEY GET $9 AND 80 CENTS DISCOUNT.
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU THE POINT OF THIS SLIDE WAS TO SIMPLY SHOW YOU THAT I THINK THESE FLAT RATE DISCOUNT AMOUNTS WORK PRETTY WELL WHEN YOU HAVE FAIRLY LOW USAGE.
WHERE YOU HAVE A BIT MORE OF A CHALLENGE IS WHEN YOU HAVE, AGAIN, WE HAVE TIERED RATE STRUCTURE, SO THAT WHEN YOU GET OUT INTO THAT 10,000 GALLONS WORTH OF USAGE, EIGHT, 10,000 GALLONS WORTH OF USAGE, EVEN IF THEY'RE GETTING THAT FLAT DISCOUNT AMOUNT, THEIR BILL MAY STILL BE A QUITE A CHALLENGE FOR THOSE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.
THIS JUST SHOWS AGAIN, FIRST ONE WAS WATER, THIS ONE'S WASTEWATER.
UM, THIS IS THE GENERAL CLASS RATE STRUCTURE.
AGAIN, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT MODEL.
WE LOOK AT YOUR AVERAGE ANNUAL USAGE OVER THE LAST 12 MONTHS.
THERE IS A WIDE DISPARITY IN OUR GENERAL CLASS CUSTOMERS THAT SOME THAT USE MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER AND SOME THAT JUST A COUPLE THOUSAND.
SO IF THEY STAY WITHIN THAT, WE DON'T LIKE PEAKING USAGE.
THAT'S WHERE WE ASSESS MORE CHARGES.
SO IF THEY STAY WITHIN THEIR BASE, WHICH IS BASICALLY THEIR MONTHLY AVERAGE FROM THE PRIOR YEAR, THEN THEY GET THAT LOWEST RATE.
BUT HOWEVER, ONCE THEY GO ABOVE A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THEIR BASE, YOU CAN SEE THAT THEY DO RATCHET UP SIMILAR TO THE WHAT THE RESIDENTIAL CLASS DOES.
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU THE GENERAL CLASS WATER BILL COMPARISONS, NOT GONNA SPEND ANY TIME HERE.
GENERAL CLASS WATER BILL COMPARISONS AT HIGHER AMOUNTS OF USAGE, 50 TO 500,000 GALLONS.
I KNOW I'M GOING VERY QUICKLY THROUGH THESE, BUT I DO WANNA BE SENSITIVE TO YOUR TIME AND SEWER BILL COMPARISONS.
AGAIN, VERY MUCH SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SAW ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE.
SAWS HAS VERY COMPETITIVE SEWER RATES CURRENTLY.
UH, AND YOU SEE THAT FROM 50 TO 500,000 AS WELL.
THIS IS FINALLY THE IRRIGATION RATE STRUCTURE.
UM, IT, THE ONLY THING I'D POINT OUT IS THOSE FIRST COUPLE BLOCKS ARE MUCH SMALLER THAN THAT THIRD BLOCK.
UH, THAT'S SOMETHING WE WILL PROBABLY BE LOOKING AT OVER THE COURSE OF THIS YEAR.
I WOULD TELL YOU THAT THAT CHARGE UP AT THE TOP, YOU CAN SEE THAT'S THE HIGHEST RATE.
WE CHARGE ALMOST $17 PER THOUSAND GALLONS OF WATER FOR THE, ANY, ANY IRRIGATION CUSTOMER USING THAT AMOUNT OF WATER.
THIS SIMPLY JUST, THIS IS A BALANCING ACT.
THERE'S DIFFERENT COMPETING OBJECTIVES.
SOMETIMES AFFORDABILITY MAY IMPACT REVENUE STABILITY, FOR EXAMPLE.
UH, SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GO THROUGH AND THAT'S WHAT EXACTLY WHAT THE RATES ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS CHARGED WITH DOING.
THEY'RE GONNA RECOMMEND CHANGES TO THE EXISTING RATE STRUCTURE.
THAT FIRST WILL GO TO OUR BOARD.
AND THEN ULTIMATELY ANY CHANGES THAT WILL COME FRONT OF COUNCIL.
JUST HOW MUCH INCOME SHOULD BE GENERATED BY THE FIXED CHARGE? SHOULD WE ADJUST THE EXISTING DIS DIFFERENTIALS BASED ON METER SIZE? SHOULD THE RESIDENTIAL FIXED CHARGE BE TIERED? YOU KNOW, HAVE MULTI-TIER SIMILAR TO WHAT THE AUSTIN MODEL HAS VOLUMETRIC CHARGES, THE NUMBER OF RATE BLOCKS, YOU KNOW, ET CETERA.
AND THEN FINALLY, THE LAST SLIDE, YOU KNOW, AFFORDABILITY IS OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT.
SHOULD WE HAVE, OBVIOUSLY RATES FOR LOW INCOME CUSTOMERS, WE SHOWED YOU OUR EXISTING PROGRAM.
DO WE WANNA STAY WITH THAT FLAT DISCOUNT PROGRAM OR DO WE, WOULD WE CARE TO GO TO A COMPLETE SEPARATE RATE STRUCTURE? I'M GONNA GO THROUGH THE REST OF THESE, BUT YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE OTHER CHALLENGES THAT WE DO FACE.
SO I KNOW THAT WAS VERY QUICK, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER FOR YOU.
NO, YOU DID WELL, AND YEAH, YOU DID HAVE A LITTLE BIT SHORTER TIMEFRAME, BUT ALSO I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO REALLY ABSORB THIS.
AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT DEFINITELY NEEDS MORE CONSIDERATION, I THINK, BY US.
COUNCILWOMAN, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO RECOMMEND? YES, I THINK PROBABLY A 10 OF, I STOPPED TAKING
SO IF THAT'S POSSIBLE FOR YOUR AGENDA IN THE FUTURE, I'D LIKE TO REQUEST THAT.
WHAT I THINK I'M GONNA DO IS ASK, UH, SAWS TO BE PREPARED TO COME BACK, UH, MAYBE IN, LET'S SEE, EITHER MAY OR JUNE MEETING, UH, NEXT MEETING WE'RE GONNA BE HEARING FROM C P S, SO THE MEETING FOLLOWING THAT.
AND WE'LL CERTAINLY GIVE YOU PLENTY OF ADVANCED NOTICE, BUT PROBABLY GET INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE.
IT GIVES US TIME TO LOOK IT OVER TO SEE WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS THAT WE MAY HAVE.
ALSO TO KIND OF FOLLOW ALONG WITH WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE RACK AS IT, IT MOVES FORWARD.
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UH, SANDOVAL IS, IS FOLLOWING THE RACK CLOSELY, SO SHE'S PROBABLY GOT MORE QUESTIONS.SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS GIVES US MORE TO LOOK AT AND TO KIND OF GO OVER IN OUR HEADS.
UH, IF THAT'LL WORK, UH, WE'LL DO THAT PROBABLY TWO MEETINGS FROM NOW, AND WE'LL JUST HAVE THIS AND MAYBE ONE OTHER ITEM.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, I'LL MENTION,
[Consideration of items for future meetings ]
UH, THE OTHER ITEM THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US TALK ABOUT, IT WAS RELATED TO SOME OF WHAT WE HEARD EARLIER, AND THAT WAS ABOUT, UM, IMPACT FEES.I, I UNDERSTOOD THAT IN, IN THIS BUDGET OR THE NEXT BUDGET, THEY'RE LOOKING AT A, A DECLINE FROM EXPECTATIONS IN IMPACT FEE REVENUE.
AND, UH, I THINK THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT MORE DEVELOPMENT THAN PEOPLE WERE THINKING ABOUT.
UH, I'D LIKE TO SEE A, A GOOD MAYBE AUDIT OF THE IMPACT FEE, UH, PROGRAM, UH, A REVIEW OF THAT WITH US IN DETAIL.
SO MAYBE THE NEXT TIME WE MEET, WE'LL DO THE RACK AND HAVE A, A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE IMPACT FEES ARE WORKING OR NOT WORKING, AND WHAT WE MAY BE DOING GOING FORWARD WITH THOSE.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO, BUT WE'LL SEND MORE DETAILS TO, TO SAS, SO THEY'RE COMPLETELY READY TO, TO COME AND TALK ABOUT THESE AGAIN.
ANY FINAL QUESTIONS BY ANY OF THE COMMITTEES? OKAY.
WELL THEN THANK YOU ALL, EVERYBODY, ESPECIALLY, UH, ROBERT AND YOUR TEAM.
UH, IT WAS GOOD PRESENTATIONS.
Y'ALL GO OUT AND START ENJOYING FIESTA.