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HAVE A SEAT.WELCOME EVERYBODY TO THE, UM, MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE MEETING OF JANUARY THE 24TH.
THANK YOU ALL FOR ATTENDING TODAY.
UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH ROLL CALL COUNCIL MEMBER MAKI RODRIGUEZ.
PRESENT, COUNCIL MEMBER VERAN.
COUNCIL MEMBER SAND PRESENT CHAIR.
DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS WHO'VE, UH, SIGNED UP FOR COMMENTS TO THE COMMITTEE TODAY? NO.
CITIZENS HAVE BEEN SIGNED, HAVE SIGNED UP OR WRITTEN, UM, APPLIED ANY, UM, WRITTEN COMMENTS? OKAY, THANK YOU.
[Approval of Minutes ]
THEN, UM, LOOKING AT OUR AGENDA TODAY, THE FIRST ITEM TO ADDRESS RIGHT NOW WOULD BE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF NOVEMBER 29TH.I HOPE ALL THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THOSE.
AND IF YOU, UH, HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS TO COMMENTS FOR CHANGES OR IF YOU'D LIKE TO APPROVE THOSE MINUTES, NOW IS THE TIME.
THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND TO, UH, APPROVE THE MINUTES.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT 'EM? OKAY.
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
ITEMS TODAY THAT THE COMMITTEE IS GOING TO ADDRESS, AND WE'VE, WE'VE GOT THE FIRST ONE.ITEM NUMBER TWO IS, UH, A BRIEFING BY C P S ENERGY AND THEIR BOARD CHAIR, UH, ABOUT THEIR, UH, VOTE YESTERDAY ON, UH, FUTURE RESOURCE PLANNING.
AND I'D LIKE TO, UH, WELCOME UP, UH, DR.
MACKEY OR ANYONE ELSE FROM C P S ENERGY TO GIVE US, UH, A LITTLE RUNDOWN OF HOW THAT WENT AND, UM, WHAT WE SHOULD BE EXPECTING FROM THAT.
MACKEY, FOR COMING THIS MORNING.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE BEFORE YOU ALL TODAY.
UH, CHAIRMAN, COURAGE AND THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UM, I, I THINK, UH, THIS HAS BEEN A, UM, AS CHAIR OF THE C P S ENERGY BOARD, AND THIS IS MY LAST WEEK AS CHAIR.
AS OF MONDAY, I'LL BE RECOMMENDING I'M THE CHAIR NOMINATOR THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR THIS COMING MONDAY FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
SO IT HAS BEEN A PLEASURE TO SERVE, UH, THE CITY C P S ENERGY.
THANK YOU, UH, FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS AS A CHAIR.
WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT OF TASKS.
I WAS SHARING WITH, UH, MR. GAZELLE.
UH, UH, WHEN I FIRST BECAME A, A MEMBER, UH, CHAIR, MY FIRST BOARD MEETING WAS TO LISTEN TO 102 SPEAKERS RIGHT AFTER YURI
SO AFTER LISTENING TO THAT, ONE OF MY NUMBER ONE PRIORITY WAS A GENERATION PLAN.
AFTER LISTENING TO THAT 'CAUSE WE GOT SCORCHED ON THAT ONE BIG TIME.
SO THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH MY C E O.
AND WE, UH, HAVE APPROVED THE RESOLUTION THAT WE PUT IN FRONT OF YOU ALL TODAY.
AND IT TALKS ABOUT, UM, OUR CAPACITY AND UNITS THAT WE'RE GONNA BE DELETING, UH, IN YEAR BY EACH YEAR.
AND THE BIGGEST THING IS DOING AWAY WITH COAL.
AND WE HAVE SPRUCE ONE, SPRUCE TWO CLOSING SPRUCE ONE AND SPRUCE TWO MOVING TO, UH, TO GAS.
AND WE HAVE ALL OF THIS LISTED DOWN THERE FOR YOU ALL'S REVIEW.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, PLEASE CALL RUDY GAZA
HOWEVER, WE'RE, THIS IS THE RESOLUTION, BUT WE'RE GONNA PUT OUR NEXT STEP IS TO PUT A PLAN TOGETHER.
HOW WE GONNA EXECUTE THIS RESOLUTION? SEE A RESOLUTION WITHOUT A PLAN OR WITHOUT WORK IS NOTHING.
SO WE GETTING READY TO GET TO WORK AND PUT THAT TOGETHER, AND THAT'LL BE UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.
AND I'LL BE BEHIND PUSHING IT BECAUSE MY PRIORITY IS I VISIT EVERY PLANT THAT WE HAVE.
AND MR. GARZA AND I HAVE BEEN GOING ACROSS TO NEW ORLEANS TO ATLANTA LI LOOKING FOR, THERE'S A NEW THING THAT'S COMING OUT IS, UM, A STORAGE, BATTERY STORAGE THAT HOLDS A HUNDRED HOURS OF STORAGE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT GEORGIA SOUTHERN HAS.
WE VISIT WITH GEORGIA SOUTHERN AND THE C E O, THEY HAVE THIS OUT.
SO WE'RE, THEY'RE PURCHASING AND WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT RIGHT THERE.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVEN'T PUT OUT THERE.
YOU ONE OF THE FIRST TO HEAR WHAT WE, WE, WHEN WE WERE DOING.
SO I AM GOING TO BE REALLY WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES WITH THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR ON, UH, RENEWABLES AND, AND PUSHING AND PUSHING FOR THAT RIGHT THERE.
HOWEVER, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, GO BACK TO THAT.
YOU, YOU ALL WILL GET THAT PROBABLY.
HOW LONG DOES THAT MR. BALL BE, UH, NEXT 30 DAYS, SIR? NEXT 30 DAYS YOU WILL GET A COPY OF HOW WE'RE GONNA EXECUTE THIS PLAN AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO IT.
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THING IS, UH, CHAIRMAN COURAGE AND, AND COUNCILMAN, I REALLY ENJOYED WORKING WITH YOU ALL THESE LAST TWO YEARS.IT HAS BEEN A LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR ME TOO.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY.
MACKEY, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AT C P S ENERGY, BUT ALSO, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'VE BEEN VERY FORTHCOMING WHEN WE'VE HAD ANYTHING TO TALK ABOUT MM-HMM.
AND, UH, WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOU CONTINUING TO KIND OF PUSH, AS YOU'RE SAYING, FROM MAYBE, UH, BEHIND INSTEAD OF IN FRONT.
UH, THIS LOOKS LIKE A, A VERY IMPORTANT STEP FOR C P S.
I THINK THE COMMUNITY, UH, WILL BE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS.
ONE THING I NOTED IS THAT, UH, YOU'RE CALLING FOR IN YOUR RESOLUTION THAT YOU'LL HAVE, UH, PRETTY REGULAR REPORTS ON THE PROGRESS OF THIS PERIODICALLY.
YOU'LL GET A REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THIS.
AND I CAN, THAT'S MY COMMITMENT TO THIS CITY.
AND I CAN TELL YOU, PROBABLY, PROBABLY THIS COMMITTEE'S GONNA BE LOOKING OVER THE SHOULDER OF THE NEXT CHAIR MORE OFTEN THAN ANNUALLY ON, ON THIS MATTER.
SO Y'ALL WERE O Y'ALL WERE NOT OVER MY SHOULDER.
YOU ALL WERE ON MY SHOULDERS FOR TWO YEARS.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE A QUESTION FOR DR.
UM, FROM ONE EXITING PERSON TO ANOTHER, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
AND I REMEMBER, I MEAN, I KNOW YOU'RE NOT LEAVING, YOU'RE STAYING ON, BUT I DO REMEMBER THE DAY THAT WE MET, UH, IN MY OFFICE ON THE FOURTH FLOOR, UH, WHEN YOU WERE APPLYING FOR, FOR THIS POSITION.
AND YOU WERE VERY FORTHCOMING WITH US TOO, WITH ME.
SO, UH, IT'S, UH, BEEN A PLEASURE TO WORK WITH YOU, DR.
AND CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU FOR YOUR THANK YOU ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
AND, AND, AND YOU'LL BE TRULY MISS.
'CAUSE NOT ONLY HAVE YOU BEEN A, A GREAT COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT YOU'VE BEEN A GREAT FRIEND TO ME SINCE THE VERY FIRST DAY WE MET WITH OUR COMMUNICATION.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I WAS GONNA SAVE THIS FOR MY COMMENTS TO C P S, BUT I WANNA TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR STEADY HAND, UM, AND YOUR LEADERSHIP.
I DIDN'T REALIZE YOUR FIRST MEETING WAS RIGHT AFTER YURI.
SO IT'S BEEN A, A CRAZY COUPLE YEARS FOR ALL OF US, BUT I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE
SO THANK YOU FOR, UM, YOUR LEADERSHIP THAT'S, THAT'S BEEN SHOWN OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, DR.
MACKEY, AND ALWAYS BEING WILLING TO TALK WITH US AND, AND BE SO FORTHCOMING AND TRANSPARENT WITH US.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, NOT JUST FOR THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT I THINK THAT THE COLLABORATION WITH BOTH OUR UTILITIES WITH C P S AND YES.
UM, AND SO THANK YOU FOR THE, THE STEADY, UM, HAND, LIKE I MENTIONED, BUT REALLY THE, THE GREAT ADVICE AND, AND ADVISING THAT YOU HAVE LED NOT ONLY THE BOARD, BUT C P S.
UM, I OFTEN SAY, I TELL MY CONSTITUENTS THEY'RE NOT WHAT'S NOT C P S VERSUS THE CITY VERSUS, YOU KNOW, THE CONSTITUENT OR SAWS.
IT'S, WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM, AND YOU REALLY EMBODY THAT.
I KNOW YOU'RE GONNA STAY ON THE BOARD.
UM, SO I KNOW WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO, TO BENEFIT FROM YOUR ADVICE AND YOUR COUNSEL.
AND THANK YOU, YOU KNOW, AS THANK YOU FOR, YOU KNOW, REACHING OUT AND WE HAD THAT, UH, CONVERSATION A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO MM-HMM.
AND, AND, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW, BUT ONE WAY, AND THAT'S STRAIGHTFORWARD.
AND IT MAY NOT AGREE WITH ME, BUT THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I KNOW HOW.
'CAUSE NOT EVERYBODY'S LIKE THAT.
AND WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION AND THANK YOU FOR AT 30 MINUTES.
YOU KNOW, WE HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION.
UH, BUT I DO LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED WORK WITH YOU.
THANK YOU CHAIR COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ.
AND, UH, TO BE CLEAR, IS THERE GONNA BE ANYTHING ELSE AFTER YOUR, OKAY.
UH, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE END OF YOUR TENURE.
I KNOW YOU LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING SERVING, UH, SERVING.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH YOU.
UM, I'LL, I'LL SHIFT A LITTLE BIT INTO THE ITEM, BUT I KNOW THE DISTRICT TWO COMMUNITY WILL LITERALLY BREATHE, UH, EASIER KNOWING THAT SPRUCE, UH, WILL CEASE ITS COAL BURNING OPERATIONS IN 2028.
AND SO THANK Y'ALL FOR, UH, EMBARKING ON THAT.
AND I KNOW IT WAS AN AMBITIOUS GOAL.
THAT, AND A CONVERSATION THAT MANY SHIED AWAY FROM PREVIOUSLY.
UM, I AM STILL A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT THE USAGE OF NATURAL GAS AND THE ADDITIONAL POLLUTION BURDEN IT'LL PLACE ON FAMILIES, MAINLY BLACK, INDIGENOUS AND WORKING CLASS, UM, PEOPLE OF COLOR LIVING CLOSE TO THE PLANT AND DOWNWIND.
UM, AND I DO WANT TO GO ON RECORD ASKING THE ASKING C P SS ENERGY TO CONDUCT A BI-ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE PERFORMANCE OF THE VARIOUS ENERGY SOURCES.
I KNOW AN ANNUAL REVIEW, UM, YES, OF THE GENERAL PLANNING IS GONNA BE UNDERWAY, BUT I DO WANT US TO, DURING THAT REVIEW, CONSIDER WHETHER WE CAN TRANSITION OUT OF OUR RELIANCE ON NATURAL GAS, UM, MUCH EARLIER THAN 2065.
AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN ALSO INVEST AND PUT OUR PEOPLE TO WORK ON BATTERY STORAGE AS A PART OF A JUST TRANSITION FROM DIRTIER FOSSIL FUELS TO RENEWABLE ENERGY.
AND IT'S EXCITING TO HEAR THAT ON YOUR TRAVELS, YOU'VE SEEN THINGS LIKE THE A HUNDRED HOUR STORAGE BATTERY, AND, UH, I THINK THERE'S PROBABLY A NUMBER OF CITIES DOING VERY INNOVATIVE, UH, AND WONDERFUL THINGS.
AND HOPEFULLY YOU CAN, UH, YOU CAN CONTINUE TO TRAVEL AND BRING SOME OF THAT BACK TO SAN ANTONIO.
WELL, AND, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR, FOR
[00:10:01]
THE COMMENTS ABOUT THAT.UH, I, I'M NOT ONLY GONNA TRAVEL AND BRING IT BACK.
I WANNA PUT IT IN PROGRESS HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THESE THINGS, IF, IF IT HAPPENS IN ATLANTA, THEY BRING IN FOUR UNITS TO ATLANTA, UH, THE ATLANTA AREA, BECAUSE THE GUY THAT WAS DOING IT, UM, THE C E O OF THE ATLANTA PUBLIC LIGHTS AND ELECTRIC AND GAS HAS JUST MOVED UP TO THE C E O OF THE ENTIRE SOUTHERN.
'CAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S GONNA MAKE IT OVER THE ENTIRE SOUTHERN.
SO I'M COLLABORATING WITH HIM BECAUSE IF IT WORKS FOR THEM, IT CAN WORK FOR US.
SO I WANNA SEE IT IN ACTION FOR THEM BEFORE I, UH, SAY ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THAT.
I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT BECAUSE BATTERY STORAGE A HUNDRED HOURS, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT COULD HAVE DONE FOR US DURING THE YEAR A HUNDRED.
'CAUSE WE HAD 72 HOURS AT A HUNDRED HOURS.
HEY, IF, IF IT WORKS FOR THEM, THEN I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT WORK FOR US.
AND I KNOW YOU'RE, I'M WORKING ON THAT.
SO BELIEVE ME, YOU HAVE MY, MY WORD THAT I'M COLLABORATING AND IT, RUDY OR MR. GARS AND I CREATE A GREAT FRIENDSHIP WITH THIS GUY.
WE MET HIM ONE TIME AND CREATED, LIKE, WE'VE BEEN KNOWING EACH OTHER FOR A WHILE.
SO HE'S GONNA BE HELPING WORKING WITH US ON THAT RIGHT THERE.
SO I WANNA THANK YOU FOR THAT.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORKING WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP TOO.
'CAUSE I SAW YOUR EYES LIGHT UP WHEN YOU STARTED TALKING ABOUT IT.
SO I, ABOUT THE, UH, THE THINGS YOU'VE SEEN IN ATLANTA.
AND SO, UM, I'M EXCITED TO CONTINUE SEEING WHAT YOU CAN DO.
AND, AND RUDY, I'M GONNA JUST ASK YOU TO, UH, SAY SOMETHING.
AND THAT IS, UH, YOUR CHAIR JUST SAID YOU'RE GONNA BE HAVING A PLAN PRETTY SOON AT OUR NEXT, UH, BOARD MEETING FOR, UH, THE M U C UH, NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING.
UH, IT MAY BE A LITTLE BIT BEFORE YOUR PLAN PLAN IS COMPLETED, BUT I, IT'S GOING TO FOCUS ON C P S.
AND SO THE NEXT MONTH, THE FLOOR IS GONNA BE YOURS.
WE'LL HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON, BUT I HOPE YOU CAN GIVE US EVEN A TENTATIVE REPORT ON THE DIRECTION YOU'RE GONNA BE GOING IN BASED ON WHAT THIS BOARD IS APPROVED, UH, AT THAT NEXT MEETING.
UH, AND AGAIN, IT'S ALL, YOU KNOW, I HOPE BY NOW, YOU'VE, YOU'VE RECOGNIZED THAT, YOU KNOW, UNDER MY LEADERSHIP AND MY, AND MY LEADERSHIP TEAM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALL ABOUT WHAT WE CAN GET DONE, YOU KNOW, IN A TIMELY MANNER.
WE'RE NOT WORKING ON A LOT OF THINGS THAT AREN'T MOVING FORWARD IN SOME CAPACITY.
UH, AND SO I ALREADY MET, UH, WITH MY TEAM RIGHT AFTER THE BOARD MEETING YESTERDAY.
THEY'RE GONNA WORK UP, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A WAY TO PHASE THIS IN, IN A MANNER THAT, UH, ALLOWS US TO MAINTAIN CAPACITY, THAT WE NEED TO STAY RELIABLE AND, AND PHASE IT IN OVER TIME IN A WAY THAT KEEPS RATES AFFORDABLE.
UH, AND SO THAT, THAT'S OUR GOAL.
UH, BUT, BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THINGS, STEPS THAT HA WE HAVE TO TAKE.
AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL, I'LL, UH, SEND A LETTER, UH, TO ERCOT, UH, UH, UH, SOON, UH, WITH THAT RESOLUTION ATTACHED, LETTING 'EM KNOW WE'RE MOVING DOWN THIS ROAD MM-HMM.
AND THEN WE'LL KIND OF PUT A TIME TIMELINE TOGETHER THAT SHOWS YOU WHEN WE'RE GONNA DO WHAT THAT ALLOWS US TO GET THERE.
UH, AND COUNCILMAN, UH, MAKI RODRIGUEZ, YOU KNOW, I CAN PROMISE YOU THAT THE THINGS HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UH, THAT ARE TECHNOL, YOU KNOW, MOVING TECHNOLOGY FORWARD, ARE HAPPENING RIGHT HERE IN SAN ANTONIO TOO.
SO, UH, I REMEMBER A CONVERSATION THAT, UH, COUNCILMAN SANDOVAL AND I HAD ABOUT THE TYPE OF UTILITY SHE WANTS C P S ENERGY, UH, TO BE, YOU KNOW, HER HOMETOWN UTILITY.
INNOVATIVE WAS ONE OF THOSE, UH, KIND OF KEY CHARACTERISTICS.
AND SO, UM, SO WE ARE NOT GONNA GET TO OUR CAP GOALS BY 20 40, 20 50 WITHOUT CONTINUING TO DRIVE FORWARD IN, IN INNOVATING AND TECHNOLOGY.
SO, UH, AS TECHNOLOGY BECOMES, UH, YOU KNOW, SCALABLE TO THE, TO THE LEVEL THAT WE NEED IT, 'CAUSE WE SELL A LOT OF POWER, UM, THEN WE CAN BACK OFF OF, OF RESOURCES LIKE NATURAL GAS AND START TO LEAN ON, UH, NON, YOU KNOW, NON EMITTING, UH, TECHNOLOGIES FURTHER.
AND THAT'S KIND OF, THAT'S OUR PLAN.
UH, SO WE WILL PUT SOMETHING IN FRONT OF YOU THAT'LL GIVE YOU A SENSE OF, UH, WHAT, WHAT OUR EXECUTION PLAN LOOKS LIKE.
UH, BUT I'M HOPEFUL THAT BY THE FEBRUARY BOARD MEETING, UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEND A, A LETTER TO OUR BOARD, LETTING 'EM KNOW WHAT OUR, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR STRATEGY IS, AND WE'LL COPY YOU ALL, UH, ON IT.
AND I'LL BE GLAD TO COME BACK AND, AND TALK TO YOU IN FEBRUARY, SIR.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR DISCUSSION ON ITEM TWO.
UH, THE NEXT THREE ITEMS ARE ALL RELATED TO, UH, SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEMS. AND THANK YOU, UH, ROBERT, FOR BRINGING YOUR TEAM OUT HERE TODAY.
UH, IT WAS ASKED THAT WE, UH, GO AHEAD AND ADDRESS ITEM NUMBER FIVE FIRST, AND IF THERE'S NO OBJECTION FROM THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS A BRIEFING BY SAS ABOUT, UH, WATER SUPPLY SECURITY.
AND SO GLAD TO HAVE THE PRESENTATION.
SO I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WATER SUPPLIES, UH, RESILIENCY.
IT'S, IT'S, UH, SIMILAR TO SOME OF THE WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN DISCUSSION
[00:15:01]
WE HAD, UM, A FEW MONTHS AGO.BUT I WANNA FOCUS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON SOME OF THE DIVERSE SUPPLIES AND SOME OF THAT RESILIENCY.
WHAT WE, WHAT WE LOOK INTO TO.
SO, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE, WE WANNA PLAN FOR SUPPLIES, BUT WE WANNA PLAN, WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR SUPPLIES FOR THE, THE, THE MOST DIFFICULT OF TIMES, THE BIGGEST OF DROUGHTS, THE MOST, UH, UM, UH, UNRELIABLE TIMES.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH WATER IN PLACE, UM, AND THAT, THAT IT'S THERE.
SO, SOME OF THE THINGS WE'D LOOK AT IN TERMS OF RESILIENCY, UM, UH, WE LOOK AT DROUGHT RELIABILITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL SUPPLIES, THE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE.
DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT DISTRIBUTION INFRASTRUCTURE TO GET IT THERE? UM, THE REDUNDANCY.
DO WE HAVE MORE THAN ONE SUPPLY OR MORE THAN ONE, UH, UH, BIT OF INFRASTRUCTURE.
WE LOOK AT DEMAND MANAGEMENT, PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.
DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO, TO MAKE THOSE CALLS, TO GET WATER THERE TO WHERE WE NEED IT? WATER CHEMISTRY IS IMPORTANT AS WELL.
UM, NOT ALL WATER IS CREATED EQUAL, AND WHEN YOU PUT 'EM TOGETHER, SOMETIMES THEY HAVE CHEMICAL REACTIONS.
AND SO THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO ANALYZE THE CHEMISTRY OF, OF THE WATER AND MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN DO THAT.
CAN WE AFFORD, UH, SOME OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S REQUIRED? AND THEN JUST EXTERNAL FACTORS.
THERE'S PROBABLY 10 OR 15 OTHER THINGS ON, ON THE LIST.
THESE ARE JUST KIND OF THOSE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT.
DEVELOPING WATER SUPPLIES IS NOT AS EASY AS JUST GOING TO FIND SOME WATER AND, AND BRINGING IT IN.
UH, WE'RE, WE'RE OBVIOUSLY NOT, UM, UH, EXTREME CLIMATE IS NOT SOMETHING NEW TO, TO SAN ANTONIO.
WE'VE, WE CERTAINLY PLAN FOR THE DRIEST TO DRY TIMES, THE BIG DROUGHTS.
WE PLAN, OBVIOUSLY FOR THE, THE, UM, BIG, BIG SNOW STORMS AS WELL.
AND SO PLANNING FOR EMERGENCY TIMES IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO ON A REGULAR OCCASION, AND IT'S NOT SOMETHING NEW.
UM, IN FACT, JUST THIS, THIS PAST YEAR, WE HAD THE SECOND DRIEST RECORD, UM, UH, RAINFALL ON, ON RECORD, UH, UH, A LITTLE OVER 11, 11 AND A HALF INCHES OF RAINFALLS.
UH, WE HAD LESS THAN FOUR INCHES OF WHAT WE CALL EFFECTIVE RAINFALL, RAINFALL, KIND OF IN THE SUMMER TIMES, AND, AND WHEN IT REALLY MATTERS, AND OVER 50 DAYS OF A HUNDRED DEGREES.
SO WE HAVE TO PLAN AGAIN, OUR WATER SUPPLIES, ALL OF THE DIVERSE WATER SUPPLIES HAVE TO MEET, UH, EVEN IN THESE KINDS OF TIMES, THE DRIEST OF DRY TIMES, THERE'S ALSO THE, UH, THE IMMEDIATE DISRUPTIONS THAT WE HAVE TO PLAN FOR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE REDUNDANCY IN PLACE.
I THINK LAST TIME WE TALKED YOU, UH, THE ONE ON THE, THE LEFT IS A, A, UH, A LIGHTNING STRIKE OF AN O UH, OIL TANKS DOWN AT OUR H TWO OAKS PLANT, UH, TOOK OUT 25% OF OUR SUPPLY, AND WE HAD TO IMMEDIATELY, WE HAD TO HAVE THOSE RIGHT PEOPLE THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO BE ABLE TO SHIFT WATER SUPPLIES AND MAKE SURE THAT NOBODY HAD ANY IMPACTS TO SERVICE THAT WAS DONE.
THE SAME THING ON, ON THE RIGHT SIDE, THAT WAS, I THINK, A VISTA, A VISTA RIDGE MAIN BREAK.
UM, IT WAS ABOUT 20% OF OUR SUPPLY, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT OVER.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY HAVE SOMETHING IN PLACE, UM, UH, READY TO GO SO THAT OUR CUSTOMERS FELT NO IMPACT.
SO HOW WE DO THIS, OBVIOUSLY, CONSERVATION, AND, YOU KNOW, WE BRING THIS UP AT, AT EVERY MEETING, CONSERVATION IS THE NUMBER ONE THING.
THE LESS PEOPLE, UM, UH, ARE USING, OBVIOUSLY THE LESS SUPPLIES THAT WE NEED, BUT ALSO FROM, IN TERMS OF AN EMERGENCY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S A LESS IMPACT TO OUR CUSTOMERS AS WELL.
SO OBVIOUSLY YOU GUYS ARE INVOLVED A LOT IN THIS.
OUR, OUR, WE HAVE A BIG CONSERVATION TEAM, PUBLIC RELATIONS TEAM.
WE PUT OUT A LOT OF MESSAGING ON CONSERVATION.
UH, THAT IS OUR NUMBER ONE, UM, UH, APPROACH TO RESILIENCY AS WELL, IS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR USAGE IS, IS LOWER.
THAT, AGAIN, IS NOT SOMETHING NEW.
CERTAINLY SAWS HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON IT FOR DECADES.
UM, NOT NEW TO OUR C E OS EITHER.
THIS WAS, I THINK LAST YEAR OR MAYBE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO,
UM, OUR C E O' HAS BEEN, BEEN FOCUSED ON IT, OBVIOUSLY SINCE 1991, SINCE HE, HE WALKED INTO THE, UH, LEGISLATURE.
WE HAVE BILLS ALL THE WAY BACK TO, UM, LEGISLATURE WITH HIS NAME ON IT.
AND SO IT HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT, THAT CERTAINLY ROBERT HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON, AND SAS HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON.
IT IS NOT NEW CONSERVATION IS OUR, OUR, UH, OUR MANTRA.
AGAIN, YOU'VE SEEN THIS, YOU'VE SEEN THIS SLIDE, 51% REDUCTION, UH, IN PER CAPITA USE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, AGAIN, WHAT THAT MEANS FOR, FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, IT HAD WE NOT CONSERVED THAT, WE, WE, WE DROVE THAT DOWN FROM 2 25 DOWN TO ONE 11.
HAD WE NOT CONSERVED, WE WOULD'VE USED, UH, WE WOULD'VE NEEDED ABOUT 505, UH, THOUSAND ACRE FEET, UH, TO MEET OUR DEMANDS.
THAT'S, AGAIN, 50% REDUCTION, UH, 200, UH, IT WAS AN, THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL 255,000 ACRE FEET THAT WE WOULD'VE NEEDED IN PLACE.
UM, WHICH IS THE SAME AS ABOUT FIVE DIFFERENT VISTA RIDGE PROJECTS.
SO, UH, VISTA RIDGE COSTS, UM, UH, A GOOD, GOOD BIT OF MONEY, ABOUT $3 BILLION
[00:20:01]
OVER A 30 YEAR PERIOD.SO YOU MULTIPLY THAT TIMES FIVE MORE IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE HAVE.
OUR RATES WOULD BE, UM, WOULD CERTAINLY REFLECT SOME OF THAT.
AGAIN, YOU SEE IT ON THE, ON THE, UH, ON THE BACK END AS WELL.
I DON'T KNOW, ONE DAY I'M GONNA LEARN HOW TO, TO, TO NAIL THAT.
BUT, UH, ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, AND SO YOU HAVE THE SAME TREATMENT CAPACITY ISSUE, UH, THERE, HAD WE NOT CONSERVED, WE WOULD'VE NEEDED AN ADDITIONAL 140 MILLION GALLONS OF TREATMENT, OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT, UM, CAPACITY, WHICH WOULD MEAN NEW PLANTS, AGAIN, WELL INTO THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS THAT WOULD'VE BEEN ADDITIONAL.
SO CONSERVATION IS, IS A HUGE, HUGE BENEFIT.
UH, TALKING SPECIFICALLY ON WATER SUPPLIES, OUR, OUR WATER DIVERSIFICATION.
UM, AGAIN, 15 WATER SOURCES FROM NINE, I'M SORRY, 15 WATER SUPPLY PROJECTS FROM NINE DIFFERENT SOURCES, SCATTERED ABOUT THE REGION ALL THE WAY UP FOR 140 MILES AWAY.
UH, WE'VE HAVE IN GONZALES AS WELL.
BUT SO WE'RE, WE HAVE SOME REGIONAL PROJECTS AROUND.
UM, AGAIN, THOSE, THOSE, SOME OF THOSE PROJECTS YOU'VE GOT, OBVIOUSLY EDWARDS AQUIFER IS THE CORNERSTONE OF OUR SUPPLY.
BUT OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY RECOVERY PROJECT, AGAIN, THE LARGEST GROUNDWATER BASED AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY IN THE NATION.
WE'VE GOT ALMOST 200,000 ACRE FEET STORED.
ABOUT TWO THIRDS, ALMOST THREE QUARTERS OF OUR AVERAGE ANNUAL DEMAND IS ALREADY STORED.
OUR BRACKISH GROUNDWATER DESALINATION PLANT, AGAIN, THE, UM, UH, ONE OF THE NATION'S, UH, NEWEST PLANTS AND, AND CERTAINLY A, UM, UH, A BADGE OF HONOR FOR, FOR US, AWARD-WINNING.
UM, OUR RECYCLED WATER SYSTEM, AGAIN, THE LARGEST IN THE NATION, AND THAT IS WHAT KEEPS THE RIVERWALK FLOWING AND, UM, UH, SOME OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOLS AROUND THE CITY.
UH, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS, OBVIOUSLY.
VISTA RIDGE IS, IS OUR, OUR NEWEST BIG PROJECT.
I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT IN IN JUST A SECOND, HOW THAT BREAKS DOWN.
UH, EDWARDS AQUIFER IS ABOUT 50% OF OUR SUPPLY A LITTLE BIT OVER, DEPENDING ON WHICH, UH, YEAR WE GO.
UM, BUT THAT'S KIND OF HOW EACH ONE OF THESE, SO INTO EACH ONE OF THEM.
UM, BUT WE DO ALL OF THIS, BUT ADDITIONALLY, WE STORED IN 2021 AND ADDITIONAL ALMOST 25,000 ACRE FEET IN STORAGE.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSED HERE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON RESILIENCY.
UM, OUR SERVICE AREA IS THERE ON THE LEFT.
WE HAVE, UM, SERVICE AREAS EXTENDING INTO, I BELIEVE, FOUR COUNTIES NOW.
UM, BUT PRESSURE ZONES ARE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR.
SO AGAIN, IT'S NOT JUST GOOD ENOUGH TO HAVE SUPPLIES ON HAND.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, THAT IT COMES INTO THE RIGHT PRESSURE ZONE AND THAT WE'RE, UM, UH, WE'RE MAKING SURE OUR CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO GET THAT, UH, THAT WATER IN THE RIGHT WAY.
UH, EDWARDS, UH, WE DO HAVE TO PLAN FOR CUTBACKS OF EDWARDS AS WELL.
SO WE DO PLAN FOR, FOR SIGNIFICANT CUTBACKS IN EDWARDS, UP TO ALMOST, ALMOST 50% CUTBACKS IN EDWARDS IN THE DRIEST OF DRY, UH, TIMES SIMILAR TO A DROUGHT OF RECORD.
AND SO WE PLAN FOR THAT, AND THAT IS WHAT OUR OTHER SUPPLIES ARE ABOUT TO MEET THAT.
LAST YEAR WE HAD A, A PERMIT CUT OF ABOUT 26%, UM, FROM THE EDWARDS.
AND IT ENDED THE, THE, UM, AQUIFER LEVEL ENDED ABOUT 31 FEET BELOW NORMAL.
SO, UH, SOME OF OUR DISTRIBUTION AREA OF OUR OTHER ALTERNATIVE SUPPLIES, AGAIN, UH, THERE, WE DON'T HAVE ONE SINGLE, UM, PIPELINE THAT, THAT MOVES EVERYTHING AROUND.
WE HAVE TO BRING 'EM INTO VERY SPECIFIC AREAS.
THIS IS JUST KIND OF A SNAPSHOT OF SOME OF THOSE ALTERNATIVE SUPPLIES, SOME OF THOSE, UH, DIVERSE SUPPLIES WHERE THEY COME IN AND WHERE THEY'RE DISTRIBUTED.
UH, THIS, THESE MAPS CHANGE DEPENDING ON A, UH, A HEAVY USE DAY, A HEAVY USE DAY, OR A, A LOW USE DAY.
UM, THIS IS KIND OF AN AVERAGE USE OF, OF SOME OF THESE WATER SUPPLIES AND WHERE THEY'RE USED.
UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, THIS, THIS, UM, SLIDE IS, IS SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU.
THE OTHER THING WE HAVE TO MANAGE, SOME OF THEM ARE BASED OFF OF CONTRACTS, AND WE HAVE TO MANAGE THOSE CONTRACTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, WE HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLIES IN, IN THE CORRECT YEAR, IN THE RIGHT YEAR.
LAKE DUNLAP, YOU SEE THAT, UH, UH, WE ASSUME IT TERMINATES.
THAT CONTRACT TERMINATES IN 2023.
HOWEVER, THE VOLUME IS SWITCHED OVER TO A DIFFERENT PROJECT FROM THE SAME ENTITY CALLED WELLS RANCH.
UM, SO WE, WE PLAN FOR THAT TEXAS WATER SUPPLY THAT, THAT ONE, UH, TERMINATES IN 2027.
IT'S, IT'S ALWAYS THERE IN WET TIMES.
BUT AGAIN, WE'RE PLANNING FOR RESILIENCY.
AND IT'S, IT'S RARELY THERE DURING THE, UH, DRY, DRY TIMES ALL OF A RANCH.
WE THINK IT'LL, IT'LL, UH, GO.
WE HAVE, WE CAN GET, UH, AUTOMATIC EXTENSION TILL 2035.
WE'RE WORKING ON POTENTIALLY EXTENDING THAT A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
THAT'S CANYON LAKE WATER THAT TERMINATES IN 2037.
WE THINK THAT WATER IS PROBABLY GONNA GO OFF INTO A DIFFERENT, UH, AREA.
SO WE WILL PROBABLY LOSE THAT SUPPLY,
[00:25:01]
UH, MEDINA, UH, SYSTEM THAT WILL TERMINATE IN 2049.THAT WAS THE PICTURE OF THE, THE DRY LAKE THAT YOU SAW EARLIER.
THAT'S A, UH, A PROJECT THAT WE HAVE WHEN OUR, OUR GONZALEZ PROJECT TO, UH, IN A CONTRACT WITH THEM THAT SAVED US A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS, UM, IN, IN A, UH, PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM.
THAT'S FIRM THROUGH 2080, PROBABLY WILL GO FURTHER.
AND THEN, UH, VISTA RIDGE, UM, CONTRACT THROUGH 2080, SPECIFICALLY ON VISTA RIDGE.
THE, UH, YOU, YOU'LL REMEMBER, THIS IS A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, WHICH MEANS THAT THEY INVEST ALL OF THEIR MONEY TO, TO DEVELOP THE PROJECT, TO BUILD THE PIPELINE, TO TAKE ALL OF THE RISKS.
UM, ALL WE DO IS WE HOLD OUT OUR CUP AT THE END OF, OF THE, UM, OF THE END OF THAT PIPELINE, AND WE PURCHASE THE WATER THAT THEY DELIVER TO US.
SO THAT IS THE, THE RELATIONSHIP.
I KNOW THERE WAS A SPECIFIC QUESTION ON, UH, COST OVERRUNS, THAT KIND OF THING.
UH, THAT IS WHAT VISTA RIDGE IS ALL ABOUT.
IF THERE ARE COST, COST OVERRUNS, THE PRIVATE SECTOR TAKES THOSE, UH, THOSE RISKS, OUR COST ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE FINANCING IS FIXED FOR THE ENTIRE 30 YEAR TERM.
AND AT THE END OF THAT 30 YEAR TERM THAT, UH, THAT PRICE, UH, KIND OF LIKE YOUR MORTGAGE, IT'S PAID OFF.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT PRICE ANYMORE.
AND SO, UH, THAT COST OF THE VISTAGE PROJECT REDUCES.
THIS IS ALL ABOUT A TRANSFER OF RISK.
WE DO THAT THROUGH OUR LONG-TERM WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING, THAT WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT ALL THESE RESILIENCY QUESTIONS, BUT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF OTHER PRO UH, UH, PLANNING EFFORTS GOING ON.
WE HAVE MASTER PLANS, WE HAVE EMERGENCY PLANS, WE HAVE BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANS.
WE HAVE LOTS OF DIFFERENT PLANS THAT DEAL WITH SOME OF THESE, UH, WATER SUPPLY AND RESILIENCY ISSUES.
PRIMARILY FOR US IN THE WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING PROCESS.
IT'S ABOUT DROUGHT AND, UM, RESILIENCY.
WE DO THAT BY, UM, UH, THIS IS JUST KIND OF AN EXAMPLE.
WE PUT ALL OF THE SUPPLIES IN THE, IN THEIR DROUGHT FORM, WHAT WE THINK THEY WILL BE IN THE DRIEST OF DRY TIMES, UM, HOW MUCH WE'RE ABLE TO PRODUCE OUT OF THOSE.
THAT'S THE SUPPLY IN THE BAR CHARTS.
AND THEN WE PUT, WE OVERLAY OUR, OUR EXPECTED DEMAND ACROSS THAT.
AND WE MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE NO GAPS, THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH SUPPLIES TO MEET THE DEMANDS DURING THOSE DRIEST OF DRY TIMES.
SO THAT IS HOW WE APPROACH RESILIENCY.
AGAIN, I KNOW YOU'VE HEARD, UM, QUESTION OR, OR I'M SORRY, PRESENTATIONS, CERTAINLY ON OUR WINTER STORM URI AND PUTTING IN BACKUP GENERATION AND THAT SORT OF THING.
THAT'S ANOTHER, ANOTHER ELEMENT.
BUT FROM THE WATER SUPPLY PERSPECTIVE, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS WE WORK ON.
I'LL BE GLAD TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
UH, LET ME, IF I MAY START WHERE YOU JUST, UH, LEFT OFF ON THE, UH, THE GRAPHIC THAT SHOWED, UH, THE, UH, SECURING WATER FEATURE.
NOW, AM I RIGHT IN UNDERSTANDING THAT ALL OF THE, UM, THE LINES, UH, IN, IN YELLOW ARE BASICALLY A S R SUPPLIED WATER? SO THIS WOULD BE THE MAXIMUM WATER SUPPLY WE WOULD HAVE, UH, BASED ON ALL OF THE RESOURCES WE HAVE TODAY, OR WE'LL HAVE AT THOSE TIMES, RIGHT? RIGHT.
AND SO THERE ARE LOTS OF ASSUMPTIONS.
THIS IS ASSUMING A DROUGHT OF RECORD.
IT'S ASSUMING INTENSITY OF A DIFFERENT DROUGHT, 2011 DROUGHT.
AND IT'S ASSUMING OUR WATER SUPPLIES THAT ARE IN PLACE AT THAT TIME, DURING THIS PARTICULAR YEARS.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE DARK YELLOW IS US BRINGING A S R WATER BACK IN TO FILL A GAP.
SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE DON'T SEE ANY PROBLEM IN THE FUTURE WITH WATER BASED ON THESE ASSUMPTIONS.
AND, AND LET ME JUST STRESS THIS AS EXAMPLE ONLY MM-HMM.
UM, SO WE, WE WERE GOOD GOING OUT THROUGH 2070.
WE ARE GOING THROUGH THAT PRESENTA, THAT PROCESS NOW.
AND, UM, WE'RE LEARNING A WHOLE LOT FROM THE CURRENT DROUGHT.
IS THIS THE, THE RIGHT DEMAND LINE? DO WE, DO WE PLAN FOR THE SAME DEMAND LINE? WE, UH, WE, UM, UH, WE'RE ALSO DOING A RUN OF OUR, OUR, UM, AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY, MAKING SURE THAT, THAT IT STAYS EDWARDS WATER.
DO WE NEED MORE TREATMENT? ALL OF OUR PLANNING PROCESSES EVOLVE OVER TIME.
AND WE'RE GOING THROUGH THAT AGAIN FOR THIS YEAR.
WILL YOU THEN MAYBE RECALCULATE THIS A YEAR, TWO OR THREE FROM NOW? WHAT, WHAT DO YOU THINK? WELL, WE CALCULATE IT, WELL, FRANKLY, WE CALCULATE IT DAILY.
WE HAVE, UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKLY MEETINGS WITH THE ENTIRE GROUP TO GO THROUGH WHAT OUR SUPPLIES LOOK LIKE.
BUT YES, WE, THAT IS PART OF THE WATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING, WHICH WE THINK IS PROBABLY GONNA GO THROUGH THIS YEAR.
WE, WE'D HOPED TO END IT LAST YEAR, BUT ACTUALLY GETTING THIS DROUGHT, WE HAVE A LOT OF GOOD DATA.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA, UM, WORK THAT THROUGH THIS YEAR AS WELL.
SO YOU'LL SEE THESE KINDS OF SLIDES LATER ON IN THE YEAR.
AND I KNOW IT, THIS IS ALSO BASED ON WHAT YOU PREDICT TO BE THE FUTURE POPULATION GROWTH.
THAT ALL THAT'S IN THERE AND, AND POPULATION GROWTH HAS, HAS EXCEEDED WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE IN 2017 MM-HMM.
SO ALL OF THOSE NEW ASSUMPTIONS HAVE TO BE PLUGGED INTO THE PLAN TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THE WATER.
[00:30:01]
LIKE TO GO BACK TO YOUR SUPPLY DISRUPTIONS.I APPRECIATE YOU, UH, KIND OF REMINDING US ON, ON THOSE.
BUT THE ONE RELATED TO VISTA RIDGE ON THE RIGHT MM-HMM.
NOW, WHAT WAS THAT DISRUPTION? I MEAN, IT LOOKS LIKE A PIPE BURST, FOR EXAMPLE, PIPE BURST, BURST IN THE MIDDLE OF, UH, I THINK IT WAS AROUND THE LOCKHART AREA.
IT WAS ROUGHLY SIMILAR IN RIGHT AROUND LOCKHART.
SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CHARGED FOR THAT WASTED WATER, AND WE WOULDN'T BE CHARGED FOR THE EXPENSE TO FIX OR REPAIR THE PROBLEM.
THAT IS THE RISK THAT THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAS TAKEN ON.
AND SO WE, WE, WE HELP, WE PAY THE O AND M OF THE PROJECT.
SO AS THEY NEW CREWS ON THAT O AND M PIECE, WE PAY FOR, WE DON'T PAY FOR THAT WATER THAT WE DIDN'T RECEIVE.
SO THE INFRASTRUCTURE COST, WHICH IS 80% OF THE PROJECT COST, WE DON'T PAY FOR THAT.
SO ARE, ARE O AND M COSTS GRADUALLY GOING TO INCREASE ACCORDING TO OUR CONTRACT WITH THEM? OR IS THERE SOME KIND OF FORMULA THAT SAYS EACH YEAR IT'S GOING TO CHANGE? NO, AND, AND, UM, IT, IT WILL INCREASE.
UM, WE, BUT WE ACTUALLY NEGOTIATED AS PART OF THE, UM, PART OF THE PROJECT THAT WE WOULD NEGOTIATE THE BUDGET EVERY YEAR.
SO WE HAVE A, A BUDGET PROCESS TO WHERE WE GO IN AND WE NEGOTIATE WITH THE, UH, THE, THE COMPANY EPCOR, WHO'S THE OPERATOR ON WHAT WE THINK THE BUDGET SHOULD BE.
WE HAVE A VERY GOOD TEAM OF OPERATORS.
WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WOULD COST TO DO THINGS.
AND SO WE ARGUE BACK AND FORTH, OR WE AGREE WITH THEM BACK AND FORTH ON SOMETHING.
AND WE HAVE A TEAM OF, UH, UH, PANELISTS THAT WILL MAKE A DECISION THAT ARE SORT OF EXTERNAL TO EITHER ENTITY THAT WILL MAKE KIND OF A NEUTRAL ARBITRATION ON IT.
NOW, HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT THE COST OF OUR WATER? I'M SORRY, SAY THAT AGAIN? HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT THE COST OF OUR WATER IF WE GET INTO A NEGOTIATION ABOUT O AND M AND WE DON'T COME TO AN AGREEMENT OR, OR WE DO, BUT MAYBE IT'S BEYOND WHAT WE HAD ANTICIPATED AS A BUDGET ITEM OVER A FEW YEARS.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE KNOW FINANCING'S GOING UP, UH, PROBABLY THE COST OF WATER, UH, MAYBE GOING UP THE DELIVERY, THE COST OF LABOR, THE COST OF MATERIALS.
SO, YOU KNOW, UM, HOW DO WE, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MAKE SURE IT, IT DOESN'T BECOME SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WE ANTICIPATED AT THE BEGINNING? WELL, AND SO A, A FEW OF THOSE THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED.
SO THE COST OF WATER, THE COST OF FINANCING, ALL OF THAT IS LOCKED IN.
AGAIN, 80% OF THE PRICE OF VISTA RIDGE IS TOTALLY LOCKED IN FOR 30 YEARS.
THAT DOESN'T CHANGE WHATSOEVER.
ABOUT 10 TO 12% OF IT IS O AND M OF THE COST OF VISTA RIDGE.
AND THAT O AND M COST IS PRETTY STABLE.
IT DOES, YOU KNOW, UH, WAGES INCREASE, PEOPLE INCREASE, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS, UH, DO INCREASE.
THERE ARE SOME, UH, UNEXPECTED REPAIRS THAT GET ADDED TO IT AS WELL.
BUT, UM, ALL OF THAT IS GONNA BE A PRETTY STABLE, UM, UH, UH, PROCESS.
IT WILL INCREASE, BUT IT WILL BE A VERY STABLE, UM, UH, INCREASE.
AND IT WON'T, IT WON'T IT MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE COST.
THE INCREASE WON'T MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE COST OF THE VISTA RIDGE WATER.
AGAIN, IT'S A SMALLER PORTION.
UM, THERE WAS ANOTHER, UH, INCIDENT, UH, WHERE I THINK YOU LOST ENERGY, UH, TO DELIVER WATER.
YOU HAD TO BRING IN SOME GENERATORS ABOUT THAT.
COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? 'CAUSE IT'S KIND OF FALLS UNDER THE SU SUPPLY DISRUPTION.
WE, I DUNNO WHICH PROJECT YOU'RE, YOU'RE REFERRING TO, BUT, UM, IT, WAS IT WINTER STORM URI, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A MUCH BIGGER, BIGGER PROJECT.
NOVEMBER 29TH, HIGH VOLTAGE SWITCH FAILED DURING CONSTRUCTION RELATED SHUTDOWN AND CAUSED LOSS OF UTILITY POWER.
UH, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE AS, AS AN EXAMPLE OF A SUPPLY DISRUPTION? YES, SIR.
I'M VICE PRESIDENT OF PRODUCTION AND TREATMENT.
UH, I'LL ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
THAT WAS AT THE KLAUS WASTEWATER PLANT, AND IT WAS, WE'RE REDOING A LOT OF THE ELECTRICAL, UH, EQUIPMENT THERE.
AND DURING THE PROCESS OF SHUTTING OFF SOME OF THAT EQUIPMENT TO DO SOME REPAIRS, A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT FAILED.
AND SO THE ONLY WAY TO PROVIDE POWER, EVEN THOUGH WE DIDN'T LOSE C P SS POWER, BUT WE LOST POWER INTERNALLY TO THE PLANT.
SO THE ONLY WAY TO PROVIDE POWER TO PART OF THE PLANT WAS TO BRING IN GENERATORS AND PROVIDE THOSE BACKUP GENERATORS TO, UH, PROVIDE POWER TO THAT PORTION OF THE PLANT.
WHY WE MADE THE REPAIRS AND ALL THAT EQUIPMENT IS BEING REPLACED AS AN ONGOING REHAB PROGRAM WE HAVE GOING ON.
SO FORTUNATELY WE WERE ABLE TO RESPOND QUICKLY, NEVER VIOLATED PERMIT, AND THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKED, BUT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SO THAT WAS MORE WASTEWATER RATHER THAN WATER DELIVERY.
SO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TOPIC, SIR.
THANK YOU, SIR, THOUGH, FOR EXPLAINING THAT.
UH, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK YOU DID, UH, YOU DO TALK ABOUT, UH, WELL I'LL, I THINK WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT WASTEWATER IN A LITTLE WHILE, SO I'LL, I'LL GET TO THAT LATER.
UM, LET'S SEE, I HAD MADE A COUPLE OF NOTES, SO BEAR WITH ME MEMBERS.
I JUST WANTED TO CHECK AND MAKE SURE WE'VE, WE'VE COVERED EVERYTHING.
I THINK YOU DID A GOOD JOB OF EXPLAINING THE CONSERVATION AND WATER DEMAND.
[00:35:01]
UH, AND THAT WAS, YOU KNOW, SOME AREAS, OH, I KNOW.COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT THE COLORS SHOW US? YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE DIFFERENT COLORS IN AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS.
SO, UH, IT IS KIND OF, UM, YOU MEAN IN THE BAR CHART SLIDE? NO, THE PRESSURE PRESSURE ZONES MAP.
OH, PRESSURE ZONES AND THE WATER SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION.
THE ONE UP THERE ON THE RIGHT.
SO YEAH, THESE ARE OUR PRESSURE ZONES.
THEY'RE JUST DIFFERENT PRESSURE ZONES, DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS, AND THAT'S HOW, BUT WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT, WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT PRESSURES BASED ON COLOR? I MEAN, ARE SOME OF THEM AT MINIMUM PRESSURE, SOME OF A MAXIMUM? I MEAN, YOU DON'T TELL US.
NO, IT, I'LL, I'LL EXPLAIN IT.
UH, I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR DISTRIBUTING THE WATER IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO WHAT MOST PEOPLE DO NOT REALIZE, BUT SAN ANTONIO HAS, BEXAR COUNTY HAS A MASSIVE CHANGE IN ELEVATION RIGHT FROM FOUR 20 ON THE SOUTH SIDE ALL THE WAY TO 1820 ON THE NORTH SIDE.
SO AS A RESULT, WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL PRESSURE ZONES.
BECAUSE WE SERVE PRESSURE HISTORICALLY BETWEEN 56 AND 150 P S I IS THE WAY OUR PRESSURE ZONES ARE SET UP.
AND SO WHAT THE PRESSURE ZONES MEAN, AND I'M NOT TRYING TO GET TECHNICAL, BUT ON THE SOUTH SIDE, YOUR TANK LEVEL, THE TOP OF YOUR ELEVATED TANK WOULD BE 750 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL.
SO WE, THAT, WE CALL THAT PRESSURE ZONE SEVEN 50.
IF YOU MOVE NORTH TO LIKE THE STONE OAK AREA, THE TOP OF THAT ELEVATED TANK WOULD BE LIKE 1,295 FEET ABOVE MEANS SEA LEVEL.
SO IF YOU SEE THOSE ELEVATED TANKS AROUND TOWN, THEY'RE WHAT PROVIDE THE PRESSURE TO YOUR HOUSE.
IT'S JUST SIMPLY HOW HIGH IS THAT WATER IN THAT TANK? IT PROVIDES PRESSURE TO YOUR HOUSE.
SO THAT'S THE WAY THOSE PRESSURE ZONES ARE SET UP.
SO THEY VARY, OBVIOUSLY, LOWER ON THE SOUTH SIDE FOR THE MOST PART.
THERE'S SOME HIGHER AREAS ON THE SOUTH SIDE THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO BOOST UP TO, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THEY START AT 17, 7 50, EXCUSE ME, AND GO TO ALL THE WAY UP OVER 1600 IN THE FAR, UH, NORTH SIDE OFF OF I 10.
SO IT'S JUST A VARIATION OF WHERE THAT TANK IS.
AND SO EVERYONE GETS THE SAME PRESSURE.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I'D LIKE TO HEAR.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR EXPLAINING THAT.
I DON'T THINK I HAVE ANYTHING ELSE AT THIS TIME.
SO I'LL ENTERTAIN QUESTIONS BY ANY OF THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UM, I, I WAS REALLY INTERESTED IN THAT I, THAT TECHNICAL ISSUE, THE PRESSURE ZONES.
UM, AND AS ADVANCED AND OUR TECHNOLOGY HAS BECOME, WE'RE STILL SUBJECT TO THE LAWS OF PHYSICS APPARENTLY.
BUT, UM, IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THAT, UM, THAT THAT CHART, THAT MAP.
I HAD ANOTHER TECHNICAL QUESTION.
I NEED TO GIVE YOU A SHOUT OUT.
I GOT YOUR JOKE, BUT IT TOOK ME A MINUTE.
UM,
UM, AND, AND HOW WE'RE MAKING UP MAYBE FOR A GAP IN SUPPLY VERSUS DEMAND.
UM, AND, AND STARTING OFF THOUGH, WHAT DOES G P C D STAND FOR? UH, GALLONS PER CAPITA PER DAY, SORRY, WITH THE TECHNICAL JARGON, BUT BASICALLY, UH, EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON USES, AGAIN, THESE ARE ALL AVERAGED OUT, BUT, UM, IN 1982, THEY WERE USING ABOUT 225 GALLONS OF PER DAY.
EACH PERSON TODAY THAT, THAT COMES TO ABOUT 111 GALLONS PER DAY OF EACH PERSON'S USE.
SO HAD WE NOT DONE CONSERVATION, AND WE'D NOT GONE TO THE ONE 11, WE WOULD'VE STAYED AT 2 25, WHICH WOULD MEAN WE WOULD HAVE, WE WOULD'VE NEEDED AN ADDITIONAL 505,000 ACRE FEET OF DEMAND.
PEOPLE WOULD'VE USED MORE WATER IS ESSENTIALLY THE, THE, THE STORY THERE.
AND WHEN YOU QUANTIFY THAT, IT COMES TO ABOUT 255,000 ACRE FEET OF WATER, UH, A WHOLE LOT, WHICH IS THE SIZE OF ABOUT FIVE VISTA RIDGE PROJECTS.
AND SO WE WOULD'VE HAD TO, DURING THAT TIME, HAD WE STAYED AT 2 25 AND NOT FOCUSED ON CONSERVATION, WE WOULD'VE HAD TO DEVELOP AN ADDITIONAL FIVE VISTA RIDGE PROJECTS COSTING OUR RATE PAYERS AGAIN.
SO WHAT, WHAT SPECIFICALLY, WHAT CONSERVATION PROJECT SPECIFICALLY DO YOU THINK GOT US TO THAT POINT? YOU KNOW, WE HAD A WHOLE LOT OF, UH, IN, UH, INDOOR REC, UH, I'M SORRY, INDOOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. A LOT OF TOILET CHANGING AND A LOT OF FOCUS ON OUTDOOR AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WE, WE, WE'VE DONE A LOT OF THAT.
WE'RE VERY FOCUSED ON OUTDOOR USE.
WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE DONE WITH THE, UH, SHUT OFF THE WATER WHEN YOU'RE, WHEN YOU'RE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH KIND OF MESSAGE, THAT'S IMPORTANT AS WELL.
BUT WE'RE, WE'RE WAY BEYOND THAT NOW.
WE'RE MORE INTO A M I AUTOMATED METERS, WHICH YOU'LL HEAR A LOT ABOUT NOW.
UM, SO WE HAVE A WHOLE LOT MORE THAT WE CAN DO.
AND WE'RE PLANNING FOR ANOTHER 30% REDUCTION IN, IN CON ON CONSERVATION, BUT WE'VE DONE A WHOLE LOT OF RECYCLED WATER PROGRAM.
[00:40:01]
MM-HMM.I WAS, UH, THANKFUL TO SEE, I THINK IT WAS SLIDE 13 WHERE, UM, PRETTY SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT WAS RECYCLED WATER.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY VAST MAJORITY IS EDWARDS AQUIFER, BUT THEN A 13%, UM, FOR RECYCLED WATER.
UM, AND YOU SAID THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER 30% REDUCTION IN, IN WHAT AMOUNT OF TIME? UH, OVER OUR PLANNING HORIZON.
SO OVER THE NEXT 50 YEARS IS OUR, AS OUR PLANNING FOR RESIDENT, IT'LL PROBABLY GO IN FLUCTUATION.
SOME, SOME TIMES WILL BE MORE AND AND LESS, BUT, AND I'M SURE ALL OF THAT ACCOUNTS FOR OUR, UH, PROJECTED POPULATION GROWTH AS WELL.
AND SO AS YOU, AS YOU GO UP PART OF THIS AS WELL, YOU HAVE MAIN BREAKS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
AS, AS POPULATION INCREASES, YOUR G P C D CAN INCREASE.
SO YOU'VE GOTTA ADD A LITTLE BIT MORE TO YOUR CONSERVATION MESSAGE TO DRIVE THAT DOWN, JUST TO STAY WHERE YOU'RE AT AND EVEN GO, GO BEYOND.
IF I MAY ADD COUNCILWOMAN, UM, WE ARE GONNA BE ASKING COUNCIL FOR HELP IN THE NEAR FUTURE, UH, ON THESE WATER CONSERVATION MEASURES IN THE SENSE THAT ALMOST ALL NEW HOMES COME WITH AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
UH, AND SOME OF, SOME OF THE HOMEOWNERS DON'T NECESSARILY WANT THEM.
UH, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, RULES ON THE BOOKS ALREADY.
IT'S A QUESTION OF ENFORCEMENT OF THOSE RULES.
WE ON OUR OWN, DON'T HAVE ENFORCEMENT POWER, SO WE MAY COME TO COUNCIL ASKING FOR SOME ASSISTANCE IN THAT REGARD.
AGAIN, NOT NEW RULES, NOT NEW ORDINANCES.
UH, I'M VERY INTERESTED IN THAT.
I KNOW, UM, YOU MENTIONED, UH, THE TOILET REPLACEMENT.
I REMEMBER THERE WAS A BIG CAMPAIGN A WHILE BACK TO REPLACE, UM, I GUESS LOW FLOW FLOW TOILETS.
UM, AND A LOT OF PEOPLE I KNOW TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
THAT'S, I'M, I'M SURE MAKING A DENT IN THAT AS WELL.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M LOOKING AT IS TO INCREASE, UM, IS THEY'RE ESCAPING AND, AND THE, AND THE ALLOWABILITY OF ZERO ESCAPING.
'CAUSE THERE'S SOME NEIGHBORHOODS THAT DON'T ALLOW IT.
UM, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO HELP YOU, UM, ADD ONE OF THOSE BILLS ACTUALLY, UH, PROHIBITS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS MM-HMM.
UH, SO THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF THE, THE SITUATION.
BUT KAREN GU, OUR VICE PRESIDENT OF WATER CONSERVATION WILL TELL YOU ZEROSCAPING IN AND OF ITSELF, UH, IS NOT ONE OF THE ANSWERS.
'CAUSE WE DID TRY THAT ABOUT 10 OR 15 YEARS AGO.
WHAT WE FOUND OUT IS PEOPLE WERE USING ESSENTIALLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF WATER, BUT THERE'S SO MANY OTHER PROGRAMS THAT IF, IF, UH, THIS COMMITTEE AND, UH, CHAIRMAN COURAGE, UH, WANT, WE'LL BRING YOU SOME OF THOSE CONSERVATION, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE HAD AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO IN THE FUTURE.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE TOILET PROGRAM WAS SO SUCCESSFUL, WE DISCONTINUED IT BECAUSE EVERYBODY NOW HAS A LOW FLOW TOILET.
AND THE INDUSTRY, THAT'S ALL THEY SELL.
YOU KNOW, MAYBE THIS DOESN'T MOVE THE NEEDLE.
I'M, THANK YOU FOR INFORMING ME ABOUT, THESE ARE ESCAPING.
MAYBE THIS DOESN'T MOVE THE NEEDLE, BUT I ALSO IMPLORE PEOPLE.
UM, THERE'S SO MANY TIMES I'M DRIVING THROUGH MY NEIGHBORHOODS AND SEE A, UM, YOU KNOW, A BUNCH OF WATER OR A LEAK OR, AND I'M THE FIRST ONE TO REPORT IT, AND IT SHOCKS ME BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST DRIVE RIGHT BY IT.
SO IMPLORE OUR, OUR RESIDENTS TO, TO REPORT THAT STUFF BECAUSE IT CAN, UM, THAT IT ALL ADDS INTO THE, OR MAYBE I SHOULD SAY IT TAKES OUT OF THE WATER BUCKET.
OUTDOOR IRRIGATION IS VERY MUCH WHERE, WHERE THE FUTURE OF OUR CONSERVATION WILL, WILL FOCUS.
GOING TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ABOUT PER CAPITA USE.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CALLING ATTENTION TO THAT.
CAN YOU TELL ME, IS THAT SIMPLY RESIDENTIAL USE OR ARE WE TALKING ABOUT, UH, ALL THE USAGE IN THE SERVICE AREA DIVIDED BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE SERVICE AREA? UH, THESE NUMBERS HERE ARE TOTAL, TOTAL G P C D.
SO ALL OF THEM TOGETHER ARE RESIDENTIAL.
WE ALSO HAVE THAT OUR CONSERVATION TEAM FOCUSES ON ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF G P C D.
UM, SO THIS ONE IS JUST TOTAL RESIDENTIAL? NO, THIS IS TOTAL, I MEAN, I'M SORRY.
AND WHAT'S IN THE DENOMINATOR? IS IT POPULATION? YES, POPULATION IN THE SERVICE AREA.
SO I WAS, UM, LOOKING UP SOME NUMBERS AND, UH, SO THE, THE DECREASE FROM 2 25 TO ONE 11 IS REMARKABLE.
OF COURSE, A LOT OF WORK WAS DONE.
I THINK THERE WAS A LOT OF, UH, COMMUNITY AND ENGAGEMENT AS WELL.
UM, IN THAT IT'S BEEN POINTED TO AS LIKE ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS OF GETTING, UH, INPUT FROM, FROM THE COMMUNITY, WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM, FROM OTHER PROFESSIONALS.
BUT, UM, SO NATIONWIDE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF ABOUT IN THE EIGHTIES.
SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT YOU'RE TARGETING A 30% REDUCTION.
UM, BUT I, I GUESS I'M SURPRISED ABOUT THE ZERO ESCAPING.
MAYBE IT'S JUST OUR OWN POPULATION.
IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, THE HIGHEST USE PER CAPITA USAGE IS STILL IN THE AREAS WHERE IT'S DRIER.
SO EITHER, UH, FOR, FOR, AND MOST LIKELY FOR LANDSCAPING PURPOSES
[00:45:01]
TOO.SO, UM, I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THAT.
UH, WELL, E EVERY COMMUNITY IS DIFFERENT.
AND CERTAINLY, UH, COMMUNITIES WITH HIGHER GCDS WILL, WILL, WILL TELL YOU, WELL, IT'S BECAUSE OF THIS REASON.
UM, YOU KNOW, EL EL PASO, THEY HAVE AN ENTIRE DIFFERENT LANDSCAPE THAN WE DO A RESIDENTIAL LANDSCAPE AND THAT SORT OF THING.
IN HOUSTON, IT, IT RAINS ALL THE TIME.
AND SO THEY'VE GOTTEN TO A DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT SITUATION.
SO G P C D CAN CHANGE DEPENDING ON WHICH CITY YOU'RE IN, WHICH, WHAT'S THE RAINFALL PATTERNS AND THAT SORT OF THING.
UH, ZERO ESCAPING, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE, THE, THE LESS WATER YOU USE OUTDOOR, THAT IS GONNA MAKE THE BIGGEST, UH, UH, IMPACT ON YOUR, ON OUR RESIDENTIAL USE PARTICULARLY.
BUT ALSO BUSINESS USE, TOTAL, TOTAL G P C D, OUTDOOR IRRIGATION WILL MAKE AN ENORMOUS, UM, OF COURSE.
SO, UM, SO I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE ROBERT TALKING ABOUT BRINGING FORWARD THE PROGRAMS THAT YOU WANT TO IMPLEMENT OR THAT YOU'RE CONSIDERING.
AND I WOULD ALSO, UM, CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE, UH, POSSIBLE UPDATES TO THE WATER DEVELOPMENT CODE OR THE UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO HELP.
OF COURSE, THAT DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR WHOLE SERVICE AREA, BUT IT CAN APPLY HERE.
I KNOW THAT WHEN I SPEAK TO DEVELOPERS WHO ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, ASKING FOR PIS OR WHATEVER IT IS, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS, ARE THERE GOING TO BE PRE-INSTALLED SPRINKLERS IN THE, UM, IN THE DEVELOPMENT? AND THEY, AND THEY KNOW WHAT, WHAT I'M LIKELY TO SUPPORT AND WHAT I'M NOT LIKELY, UH, TO SUPPORT WHEN IT COMES FORWARD.
UM, YEAH, THAT'S, UH, THAT'S IT.
LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT ALL OF MY MAJOR QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED.
UM, I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN'T REMINDED PEOPLE THAT I WAS A HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHER IN A WHILE, SO THERE WAS THAT, THIS IS GONNA SOUND A LITTLE BIT NITPICKY, UM, BUT I JUST THINK ABOUT PRESENTATIONS AS NOT JUST BEING FOR US, BUT FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS AS WELL.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT THIS TABLE AND A FEW OF THE OTHER ONES, IT DOESN'T QUITE TELL ME, UM, OR THE COMMUNITY, UH, IN SIMPLEST TERMS WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND SO MY INTERPRETATION IS THAT THE BLUE LINE IS WHERE WE WERE AND WHERE WE ARE BECAUSE OF EFFORTS.
AND THE YELLOW LINE IS WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN, WHAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED HAD WE NOT, MAYBE A SMALL, LIKE A TEXT BOX OR SOMETHING WOULD'VE BEEN, UH, GOOD THERE JUST FOR THE FUTURE, FOR FUTURE PRESENTATIONS.
NOW THAT I'M ON THE COMMITTEE, I WOULD LIKE TO ADVOCATE FOR THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS BEEN THE FEEDBACK FROM GROUPS LIKE THE EDWARDS AQUIFER ALLIANCE TO THE SAWS WATER SUPPLY PLAN? UH, WE'VE HAD, UH, MEETINGS WITH, WITH A FEW OF THE INDIVIDUALS DURING THE, DURING THIS TIME WE HAVE A, A, A, A BIG OUT, UM, ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UM, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH THE, UH, GIA IS VERY IN, UH, INFORMED ON THE ISSUES.
THEY DO TALK TO US A LOT, UM, THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE PROCESS.
SO, UH, WE HAVE ONGOING CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM.
THEY FOCUS ON LAND USE A LOT OF TIMES.
AND I KNOW THAT'S ALWAYS A BIG, UH, DIFFICULTY AND, AND DISCUSSION.
UH, UH, COUNCILWOMAN SANDOVAL TALKED ABOUT IT, BUT WHAT, WHAT IS OUR ROLE ON, ON LAND USE VERSUS THE CITY'S ROLE? AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH ON THAT.
THAT IS ONE AREA THAT THEY FOCUS ON A LOT.
WATER LOSS IS ANOTHER AREA THAT THEY, THEY FOCUS ON.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, THEY IS, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THEY'RE ALL INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS AND, AND SEVERAL OF 'EM HAVE DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT ISSUES.
AGAIN, CONSERVATION, AND THAT'S, THAT'S OUR MESSAGE AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UH, UH, THOUGHT PROCESSES, BUT THOSE ARE SOME OF THE LAND USE IS, IS ALWAYS A BIG, UH, ISSUE.
COUNCILMAN COUNCILWOMAN VIA GRIME.
AND APOLOGIES FOR BEING LATE THAT I GOT THE PRESENTATION AND I'VE GONE OVER IT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE ONE THING I THINK SAWS DOES WELL IN THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO HAS DONE WELL IS CONSERVATION OF WATER.
AND IT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT WE'VE, UH, DEALT WITH MY ENTIRE LIFE, WHICH IS, UM, KIND OF A LONG TIME.
BUT I, I WANNA THANK Y'ALL FOR THIS PRESENTATION AND, UH, THIS BRIEFING.
SO ON SLIDE SEVEN, IF WE COULD PULL THAT UP, JUST SO I CAN SEE ROBERT'S PICTURE,
UH, CONSERVATION IN TEXAS LEDGE.
IS THERE ANYTHING THIS SESSION THAT PERHAPS THE CITY SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT WOULD HELP US IN OUR EFFORTS? UM, FROM THE CONSERVATION SIDE, YES.
UM, I, I HAVEN'T SEEN A LOT OF CONSERVATION BILLS THIS TIME.
UM, THEY DO FOCUS A LOT ON, ON LAND USE AS WELL.
AND SO WE, WE, WE WORK A LOT WITH THE CITY'S, UM, I G R FOLKS ON THOSE PARTICULAR ISSUES SO THAT OUR MUNICIPAL AND AND UM, UH, WATER REGULATIONS AREN'T REMOVED.
SO WE DO FOCUS ON THAT QUITE A BIT.
UM, FOR US IT'S ABOUT, AND, AND THIS IS MOSTLY ABOUT RESILIENCY, IT'S ABOUT THE STABILITY OF THAT WATER SUPPLY.
SO WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THOSE, UM, THOSE TERMS TO MAKE SURE WATER SUPPLY IS THERE.
[00:50:01]
WE, THERE'S A REGULATORY PROCESS.I'D LOVE TO GIVE YOU A BRIEFING ON THE REGULATORY PROCESS, BUT WE FOCUS ON MAKING SURE THAT THAT IS LONG-TERM AND STABLE.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE, WE YEAH.
AND IF YOU COULD JUST KEEP, AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT'S NOT, UH, A CONSERVATION EFFORT THAT WE SHOULD WORRY ABOUT THAT COMES THROUGH THE TEXAS LEDGE, IF YOU COULD JUST LET US KNOW AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
UH, THE OTHER, UH, CONCERN FOR, UH, ME IS THAT, IS THE GRASS FIRES.
UH, DISTRICT THREE HAD A, UM, AND I KNOW IT'S, IT'S A SUPPLY LOSS AND TO LET US KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO, ANYTHING OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT CAN DO TO HELP.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THOSE, UH, DISRUPTIONS.
AND I KNOW THAT IT'S, IT'S JUST GOING TO HAPPEN.
BUT I FEEL LIKE GRASS FIRES AND, UH, MAKING OUR, UM, RESIDENTS AWARE OF, YOU KNOW, HOW TO BE CAREFUL, ESPECIALLY AS WE, I KNOW WE JUST FINISHED 4TH OF JULY, BUT AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE SUMMER, UH, I MEAN THE NEW YEAR, BUT AS WE HEAD, HEAD TOWARDS 4TH OF JULY, THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE UNDERSTANDING THAT GRASS FIRE IS A REAL THREAT AS WE GO THROUGH THIS DROUGHT.
SO IF YOU COULD JUST HELP WITH THAT.
I JUST THINK THAT, UM, I, I MEAN, THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION AND JUST PLEASE CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS COMMITTEE AND, AND THE COUNCIL UPDATED AS WE, AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE THESE, UM, THESE DRY DAYS.
BUT AS I WALKED IN WITH ALL THE RAIN, I WAS LIKE, OH, WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE, BUT I KNOW WE'RE NOT.
I THINK THAT'S, UH, CONCLUDES THE DISCUSSION ON THAT.
THE NEXT ITEM WE'RE GONNA GO TO WAS ITEM NUMBER THREE ON OUR AGENDA.
WE HAD PASSED THAT BY TO GO TO FIVE, AND THAT'S A BRIEFING, UM, ON THE ADVANCED METER.
INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVE THAT'S BEING UNDERTAKEN BY SAAS.
AND SO, UH, I, I APPRECIATE THIS AS MEGAN'S GONNA BE DOING THIS PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY.
I HAVE THE HONOR OF SERVING SASS AND OUR CUSTOMER BASE, UM, AS THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE WITHIN THE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT.
IN THAT ROLE, I'M RESPONSIBLE FOR OVERSEEING CHANGE MANAGEMENT AS IT RELATES TO THE CONNECT H TWO O PROGRAM.
SAS HAS BEEN EXAMINING ELECTRONIC, UH, ELECTRONIC WATER SYSTEMS, INCLUDING A M R AND A M I SINCE 2004.
WE'VE UNDERTAKEN AT LEAST FIVE SEPARATE REVIEWS OVER A 15 YEAR PERIOD, BUT WE WERE NEVER ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT WE CAN MAKE THE PROJECT COST EFFECTIVE UNTIL 2017.
THE STUDY CONDUCTED AT THAT TIME RECOGNIZED THAT THE BATTERY TECHNOLOGY HAD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED IN THE EARLY TECHNOLOGY.
THE BATTERY LIFE WAS PROBABLY 10 YEARS AT BEST, AND THAT MAKES IT VERY EXPENSIVE IF YOU HAVE TO REPLACE IT EVERY 10 YEARS.
THE NEWER TECHNOLOGY USES BATTERIES THAT ARE EXPECTED TO LAST TWICE AS LONG, UP TO 20 YEARS, IF NOT LONGER.
AND THAT IMPROVEMENT SUDDENLY MADE THE A M I TECHNOLOGY MUCH MORE COST EFFECTIVE.
AND SO THE CONSULTANT AT THAT TIME RECOMMENDED THAT SAAS CONDUCT A PILOT STUDY TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF FULL DEPLOYMENT IN OUR SERVICE AREA.
THEREFORE, WE SPLIT THE OVERALL PROJECT INTO THREE SEPARATE PHASES.
THE FIRST PHASE CONSISTED OF GATHERING OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS, ESTABLISHING A GOVERNANCE, GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE INDICATING HOW INFORMATION WOULD FLOW THROUGH OUR ORGANIZATION AND HOW DECISIONS WOULD BE MADE.
THE SECOND PHASE CONSISTED OF DEVELOPING SOLICITATIONS TO CAPTURE THE IDENTIFIED REQUIREMENTS AND SELECTING VENDORS.
WE'VE ALSO DEPLOYED AND ANALYZED APPLY IT PILOT PROGRAM, ALLOWING US TO BRING A RECOMMENDATION FOR FULL SYSTEM-WIDE DEPLOYMENT TO OUR BOARD IN DECEMBER OF 2021.
THE FINAL AND CURRENT PHASE HAS INCLUDED INITIATING AND MANAGING DEPLOYMENT EFFORTS, AND NOW DESIGNING PROCESSES THAT CAN UTILIZE THE SYSTEM DATA TO DRIVE CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR OVERALL OPERATIONS.
THE CONNECT H TWO O PROGRAM DESIGN IS GETTING NATIONAL ATTENTION.
WE HOSTED SEVERAL TOURS OF OUR TEST LAB FOR UTILITIES, SUPPLIERS, AND VARIOUS CONSULTING AND ENGINEERING FIRMS FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.
WE WERE ONE OF THE FIRST UTILITIES IN THE UNITED STATES TO USE THE STATIC METER ON SUCH A LARGE SCALE.
PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN THE STATIC METER TECHNOLOGY, BUT ALSO OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE C P S ENERGY AND THE MESH NETWORK.
IN THE FIRST YEAR OF DEPLOYMENT, WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON BUILDING STRONG PROCESSES AND RAMPING UP TOWARDS OUR PEAK INSTALLATION PACE, STARTING WITH SMALL TO INTERMEDIATE SIZED METERS.
THAT'S ANYWHERE FROM, UM, FIVE EIGHTHS INCH UP TO AN INCH AND A HALF.
THE MAP ON THE SCREEN SHOWS WHERE OVER 42,000 INSTALLATIONS ARE LOCATED.
DEPLOYMENT ON THIS SCALE IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THAT PART PARTNERSHIP I MENTIONED EARLIER.
THE IMAGE DISPLAYED SHOWS THE CONSTANTLY POWERED DEVICES OR COMMUNICATION ENDPOINTS AVAILABLE IN THE MESH NETWORK.
NOT ONLY DOES THIS NETWORK ALLOW FOR WIDE COVERAGE, BUT IT ALSO ENSURES RELIABLE COVERAGE.
IF FOR ANY REASON ONE ENDPOINT LOSES POWER, OUR METERS CAN UTILIZE THE NEXT CLOSEST ENDPOINT FOR UP TO FIVE POINTS AWAY WITH SEVERAL MILES IN BETWEEN.
I STILL, I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT EVEN IN THE SCENARIO THAT DOES NOT
[00:55:01]
RESULT IN DATA LOSS, OUR COMMUNICATION MODULES, WHICH ARE PAIRED TO THE METERS AT EACH HOME, CAN HOLD DATA FOR UP TO 160 DAYS.THE NETWORK HAS PERFORMED WELL SO FAR, AND WE HOLD IT TO A HIGH STANDARD.
97.5% OF OUR METERS ARE REQUIRED TO DELIVER THEIR DATA BY THE FOLLOWING DAY, AND 99% OF METERS HAVE TO DELIVER THAT DATA WITHIN TWO DAYS.
AND IT HAS CONTINUOUSLY MET THIS STANDARD IN BOTH THE PILOT AND THE FULL SYSTEM-WIDE DEPLOYMENT.
WE HAVE MAINTAINED CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION AS A TOP PRIORITY TO HELP CAR CUSTOMERS BECOME FAMILIAR AND COMFORTABLE WITH THIS CHANGE.
WE ARE MAKING EVERY EFFORT TO GET THE WORD OUT AND MEET WITH THEM.
WE'VE HOSTED BOTH VIRTUAL COMMUNITY PRESENTATIONS AND ATTENDED NUMEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS ACROSS THE CITY.
WE'VE ADDITIONALLY COMMUNICATED THROUGH COUNCIL MEMBERS NEWSLETTERS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND ONLINE NEWS PUBLICATIONS.
WE'VE ALSO RECENTLY RUN TWO DIGITAL BILLBOARDS.
OUR GOAL IS TO KEEP CUSTOMERS INFORMED THROUGH THE INSTALLATION PROCESS.
CUSTOMERS RECEIVE A TWO A POSTCARD TWO WEEKS OUT FROM THEIR INSTALLATION, AND A CALL ONE WEEK PRIOR.
ON THE DAY OF, INSTALLERS ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOCK ON THE DOOR BEFORE THEY START AND LEAVE A DOOR HANGER WITH ANY NECESSARY FLUSHING INSTRUCTIONS AFTER THEY FINISH THE DOOR HANGER ALSO INCLUDES A SURVEY SO WE CAN GET TIMELY FEEDBACK.
I'VE ADDITIONALLY LEFT A PAMPHLET AT EACH OF YOUR STATIONS TO GIVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, UM, ON THE METER ITSELF, BUT ALSO TO SHOW THE PAMPHLETS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO HELP CUSTOMERS UNDERSTAND HOW TO READ THAT METER AND HOW TO CONNECT WHAT THEY'RE SEEING ON THE METER BACK TO THEIR USAGE IN THE HOME.
SPEAKING OF THE SURVEY, WE DO HEAR FROM OUR CUSTOMERS.
SOME RESPOND TO THE SURVEY, SOME CALL IN TO, AND COMMUNICATE OR COMMUNICATE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA REGARDLESS OF THE CHANNEL THEY USE.
IF THEY HAVE A QUESTION OR A CONCERN, WE REACH OUT TO ADDRESS IT.
THE MOST COMMON QUESTIONS SO FAR ARE ON THE METER FUNCTIONALITY.
DOES SAWS NOW CONTROL MY FLOW REMOTELY? MANY CUSTOMERS ASSUME OUR PROGRAM IS SIMILAR TO C P S, WHERE THERMOSTATS WERE CONTROLLED REMOTELY, BUT THAT'S NOT THE CASE FOR OUR ELECTRONIC METERS.
WE STILL NEED TO SEND SOMEONE TO THE LOCATION IN ORDER TO SHUT OFF THE WATER.
THE SECOND MOST FREQUENT QUESTION IS REGARDING A FLUME DEVICE.
FLUES ARE WATER FLOW SENSORS THAT NOW HAVE THAT ALSO HAVE NOTIFICATION CAPABILITY.
AND THE FLUME IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY AS IT RELIES ON THE MECHANICAL METER PHYSICAL ROTATIONS TO REGISTER THEIR FLOW.
STILL, THE OPTION THAT WE, THE TECHNOLOGY WE OPTED FOR MEETS MORE OF OUR CUSTOMER BASE'S NEEDS.
IT DOESN'T REQUIRE THE CUSTOMER TO HAVE WIFI.
IT HAS A BATTERY LIFE OF OVER 20 YEARS FAR BEYOND THAT OF A FLUME AND IS MAINTAINED BY SAWS LEAVING THE CUSTOMER OF NEEDING TO FIX OR REPLACE IT.
WE'VE RECEIVED 306 RESPONSES ON THAT DOOR HANGER SURVEY OR ONLINE SO FAR THROUGH JANUARY 11TH.
AND OVERALL, CUSTOMERS ARE SATISFIED WITH THE INSTALLATION EXPERIENCE AND THE COMMUNICATION WE'VE PROVIDED PROVIDED THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
WHILE WE CAN'T SAY FOR THE 42,000 WHO DIDN'T RESPOND ARE EXTREMELY SATISFIED, WE BELIEVE THEY'RE AT MINIMUM NEUTRAL, IF NOT SATISFIED.
WE'VE ALSO HAD AT LEAST ONE CUSTOMER REACH OUT TO US THROUGH OUR GENERAL COMPLIMENTS BOX TO INFORM US OF THEIR POSITIVE EXPERIENCE.
AND WE BELIEVE THERE ARE OTHERS OUT THERE.
IN THIS PARTICULAR ONE, THE CUSTOMER WAS ABLE TO QUICKLY IDENTIFY AND REPAIR A LEAK, PREVENTING FURTHER COSTS AND ANY DAMAGE TO THE HOME.
ULTIMATELY, THOUGH, THE BENEFIT TO OUR CUSTOMERS IS HOW THEY ENGAGE WITH AND UNDERSTAND THEIR WATER USE.
WE WANNA PREVENT THE HIGH BILL FOR EACH CUSTOMER, AND WE WANNA BRING DOWN G C P D OVERALL IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THIS.
OUR NEXT WAVE OF MESSAGING WILL FOCUS ON OUR CUSTOMER PORTAL AND WHAT WE REFER TO OR WHAT WE REFER TO AS MY ACCOUNT.
WE FIRST BEGAN PRESENTING HOURLY WATER USE INFORMATION TO CUSTOMERS IN JULY OF 2021.
AS PART OF OUR PILOT PROGRAM, CUSTOMERS BEGAN SEEING THEIR CAN BEGIN SEEING THEIR DATA WITHIN FIVE DAYS OF INSTALLATION.
AND WE TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO REMIND THEM THAT IT'S THERE AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO REGISTER ONLINE.
OVER 26,000 OF THE TOTAL 42,000 CUSTOMERS HAVE AN ONLINE ACCOUNT.
THESE CUSTOMERS HAVE VISITED THEIR WATER USE PAGE OVER 11,000 TIMES SINCE MAY OF 2022, AND THEY STAY AN AVERAGE OF THREE MINUTES.
OUR HOPE IS THAT WHAT THIS EQUATES TO IS THAT THEY'RE REVIEWING THEIR USAGE, CONNECTING IT BACK TO KNOWN SOURCES OF WATER AND TROUBLESHOOTING ANY DIFFERENCE.
CURRENTLY, WE CALL CUSTOMERS AND NOTIFY THEM OF CONTINUOUS USAGE.
IF WE SEE 72 CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF OVER THREE GALLONS OF USE PER HOUR BETWEEN JANUARY 1ST AND AUGUST 31ST, 2022, WE ALERTED ALMOST 2000 CUSTOMERS OVER 3000 TIMES.
MEANING SOME CUSTOMERS HAD MULTIPLE EVENTS.
THE AVERAGE HOURLY USE FOR THESE CUSTOMERS WAS JUST OVER FIVE GALLONS PER HOUR WITH ONE CUSTOMER USING, OVER USING 264 GALLONS IN A SINGLE HOUR.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT MANY CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO LOCATE THIS USE AND STOP IT BEFORE, UM, AFTER WE SPEAK WITH THEM.
BOTH ARE AVERAGING A RESOLUTION WITHIN 17 DAYS.
THIS MEANS IF THOSE SAME CUSTOMERS WERE PREVIOUSLY RELYING SOLELY ON A BILL TO INDICATE THAT THERE MIGHT BE A PROBLEM, THEY MAY HAVE GONE TWICE THE NUMBER OF DAYS BEFORE EVEN BECOMING AWARE OF
[01:00:01]
IT.A M I TRANSFORMS THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE BY ALERTING THEM BEFORE THEIR BILL IS GREATLY IMPACTED.
WE CAN USE THIS DATA IN OTHER WAYS TO HELP WITH CONSERVATION EFFORTS.
RECENTLY OUR CONSERVATION TEAM USED THIS DATA IN THEIR OUTREACH TO A CUSTOMER TO ENCOURAGE WATERING RULE COMPLIANCE.
THIS CUSTOMER WAS REMINDED OF THEIR WATER USE, HOW IT DID NOT ALIGN WITH THEIR CORRESPONDING DAY OR TIME.
AND WITHIN ONE DAY OF THAT EMAIL, THE CUSTOMER CAME INTO COMPLIANCE.
WE ARE ALSO PARTNERING WITH CONSERVATION TO IMPLEMENT A CUSTOMER FACING WATER MANAGEMENT PORTAL.
THIS EXPANDS ON WHAT IS AVAILABLE IN MY ACCOUNT TODAY BY ALLOWING THE CUSTOMER TO DRIVE THEIR NOTIFICATIONS AND OFFERS TIPS ON HOW THEY TROUBLE HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT THE USAGE.
THEY FIND CUSTOMERS WILL BE ABLE TO SELECT THE PREFERRED CHANNEL AND EVEN, UM, WITH WITHIN SOME LIMITS, UH, CHOOSE THE FREQUENCY OF THE COMMUNICATION IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE MOST EFFECTIVE METHODS FOR COMMUNICATION.
WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT PILOT.
WE WANNA KNOW IF ONE OF THOSE METHODS IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE OTHER, AS WELL AS IF THIS A PARTICULAR TONE OR STYLE OF THE MESSAGE IS MORE EFFECTIVE AS WELL.
WE ALSO WANNA START DETERMINING AND CALCULATING HOW THAT EFFICACY TRANSLATE INTO WATER SAVINGS.
OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN SAWS CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS DATA AS WELL.
WITH OUR METER DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OPERATING AS EXPECTED, WE ARE NOW WORKING TO BRING A M I DATA TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO TRANSFORM THEIR OPERATIONS.
THE FIRST PRIMARY USERS OF THE DATA, OF THE DATA WERE AGENTS IN OUR CALL CENTER.
BUT NOW WE KNOW THIS DATA IS USEFUL FOR OTHERS.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS AND DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTIONS CAN USE THIS DATA.
ONCE PRESSURE IS CAPTURED TO BETTER LOCATE LEAKS AND OTHER ISSUES, PRODUCTION AND WATER RESOURCES CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND SUPPLY AND DEMAND ON BOTH POTABLE AND RECYCLED SYSTEMS. ENGINEERING CAN USE THIS DATA TO CALIBRATE OUR HYDRAULIC MODEL AND OUR NON-REVENUE WATER TEAM CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND OVERALL WATER LOSS.
WITH THAT, I'M GONNA INVITE MARY BAILEY UP TO GIVE US SCHEDULE UPDATE.
SO, UM, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE, UM, ON OUR SCHEDULE WHEN WE ORIGINALLY, UH, UH, GOT SYSTEMS FULL SYSTEM WIDE DEPLOYMENT APPROVED BY OUR BOARD.
WE ANTICIPATED THAT 2022 WOULD BE A BIT A BIT OF A RAMP UP, UM, AS WE GOT OUR, UH, INSTALLER VENDOR ONLINE.
AND, UH, WITH THE IDEA THEY STARTED AROUND IN MAY INSTALLING AND, AND WITH THE IDEA THAT BY THE END OF THE YEAR WE WOULD BE UP TO OUR KIND OF FULL, UH, EXPECTED RUN RATE FOR THE REST OF THE, OF THE DEPLOYMENT PERIOD.
THE PLAN WAS TO COMPLETE DEPLOYMENT BY FIRST QUARTER OF 2026.
AND JUST AS A REMINDER, WE HAVE OVER 550,000 METERS ACROSS OUR SYSTEM AND WE ARE REPLACING EVERY ONE OF THEM WITH ONE OF THESE DEVICES.
UM, UNFORTUNATELY, UM, I, UH, OUR INSTALLER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE SCHEDULE AND, UH, AS OF, UH, LAST, UH, WEEK, WE HAVE DECIDED THAT WE NEEDED TO TERMINATE OUR CONTRACT WITH OUR INSTALLER.
UM, HOWEVER WE DO INTEND TO MOVE FORWARD.
UH, THE COMMITMENT TO THIS PROGRAM, AS YOU CAN SEE, ALL OF THE BENEFITS, UH, SAS IS, IS VERY MUCH COMMITTED TO THIS PROGRAM.
WE ARE GOING TO BE, UH, SOLICITING BIDS FOR, UH, AN INSTALLER TO REPLACE THE, UH, PREVIOUS INSTALLER IN THE MEAN, UH, WE EXPECT TO PROBABLY BRING ONE ON LATER THIS YEAR.
UM, WE, IN, IN THE MEANTIME, UH, ARE, UH, METER TECHS ARE FULLY TRAINED TO DO INSTALLATIONS.
WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOING INSTALLATIONS IN-HOUSE FOR ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS WELL AS TRY TO PICK UP SOME OF THE METERS THAT WOULD'VE BEEN INSTALLED BY OUR, OUR INSTALLER DURING THIS PROCUREMENT PERIOD AS WE LOOK FOR A NEW INSTALLER.
UM, AND SO WITH THAT, UM, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND MEGAN AS WELL ON THE PROGRAM.
THIS IS AN EXCITING PROGRAM FOR US.
UM, I THINK, UH, HOPE YOU SEE THAT IT WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON HOW OUR CUSTOMERS, UH, UNDERSTAND THEIR WATER USE AND HOPEFULLY HELP THEM BETTER, UM, MANAGE THAT USE OVER TIME AND CONTRIBUTE TO OUR CONSERVATION EFFORTS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, LET ME BEGIN BY, UH, JUST ASKING, UM, AND THIS IS AN, AN OBSERVATION BASED ON WHAT C P S ENERGY KIND OF WENT THROUGH.
THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO GOT REALLY UPSET ABOUT THEIR C P S ENERGY BILLS GOING UP BECAUSE THE, UH, NEW METERS SEEMED TO BE A LOT MORE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE THAN THE OLD METERS.
UH, AND I PRESUME WE, WE HAVE A SIMILAR EXPECTATION WITH, UH, THE NEW WATER METERS.
UH, HOW DO YOU INTEND TO ADDRESS THIS KIND OF IN ADVANCE OR AS MUCH AS YOU CAN? 'CAUSE I, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR FROM A THOUSAND PEOPLE COMPLAINING THAT THEIR BILL, THEIR BILL WENT THROUGH THE ROOF WITH THE NEW METER.
I MEAN, AS ANYTIME YOU REPLACE, UH, A MECHANICAL METER, MECHANICAL METERS FAIL OVER TIME, RIGHT? THEY START TO SLOW DOWN, WHICH MEANS THEY
[01:05:01]
DON'T REGISTER AS ACCURATELY.AND, UM, AND SO, UH, WE ARE REPLACING METERS THAT, AND IT COULD BE, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM, UH, 10, 15 YEARS OLD, WHICH MEANS THEY'RE LIKELY UNDER REGISTERING.
UM, THESE METERS WILL BE, UH, VERY ACCURATE.
UM, AND BECAUSE WE'VE REPLACED THEM WITH WHAT WE, WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS A STATIC METER, THESE METERS HAVE NO MEETING MOVING PARTS AND THEY WON'T DEGRADE.
SO WE SHOULDN'T SEE THAT SLOWING DOWN AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
WE HAVE PROVIDED INFORMATION IN, UH, THE FAQS, UH, TO OUR CUSTOMERS THAT JUST THAT, THAT THERE IS A LIKELIHOOD THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEIR METER COULD BE UNDER REGISTERING AND, AND THEY MAY SEE SOME INCREASED REGISTRATION, UM, OUT OF THE NEW METERS.
HOWEVER, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT WHAT, WHAT I BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO WITH THIS INFORMATION AND ALREADY HAVE IS SHOWN THEM THAT THEY'VE HAD PROBLEMS ALL ALONG WITH CONTINUOUS USAGE MAY, YOU KNOW, AT SOME POINT IN THEIR, IN THEIR, UH, HOUSE.
AND, UM, AND WE ARE GONNA HELP THEM FIND THOSE LEAKS SOONER AND, AND HOPEFULLY ADDRESS THEM SO THAT THEIR OVERALL WATER USAGE WILL GO DOWN.
AND, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT WITH, WITH, UH, MOST OF THE FOLKS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN INSTALLED.
SO I THINK THAT OVER TIME THEIR WATER USE SHOULD ACTUALLY BE LESS THAN EVEN WHEN IT WAS UNDER REGISTERED.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT MESSAGE, EXACTLY WHAT YOU'VE SAID FROM BEGINNING TO END.
I REALLY BELIEVE THAT WE NEED TO GET THAT OUT FRONT AND NOT JUST, UH, A COUPLE OF WEEKS BEFORE THE THE METER GOES IN, BUT MAYBE EDUCATE THE POPULATION OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU MAY SEE AND THIS IS HOW WE HOPE IT'LL HELP YOU.
UH, SO MY PHONE WON'T RING SO MUCH.
NOW ANOTHER THING ABOUT THESE METERS IS YOU DON'T GET LIVE IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION.
SO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S NOT LIKE REGISTERING HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY IS GOING THROUGH YOUR HOUSE AT THAT TIME.
YOU'RE SAYING IT MAY BE 24 TO 48 HOURS BEFORE THE, THE METER TRANSMITS ENOUGH INFORMATION FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND AND THEN GET THAT INFORMATION BACK TO THE CUSTOMER.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THAT IF THE CUSTOMER USES THEIR PHONE APP TO TIE INTO THE SYSTEM, UH, IT MAY D BE A DAY OR TWO LATE BEFORE THEY FIND OUT I MIGHT HAVE A LEAK 'CAUSE IT'S A HUNDRED GALLONS PER HOUR COMING OUT SOMEWHERE.
I IF THEY RELY ON THAT ALONE, CORRECT.
UM, EVERY DATA COMES INTO OUR METER DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM EVERY DAY AT 6:00 AM AND AGAIN, AT 2:00 PM IF ANY INTERVALS WERE MISSING FOR ANY REASON, UM, HOWEVER, THEY CAN STILL SEE IT DIRECTLY ON THEIR METER.
SO IF THEY'RE ACTIVELY TROUBLESHOOTING A LEAK AT THEIR HOME, THAT INFORMATION IS ON THE SCREEN.
SO THEY'LL BE ABLE TO TIE IT, CONNECT, YOU KNOW, I'VE TURNED EVERYTHING OFF IN THE HOME.
DO I STILL HAVE FLOW? THEY'D BE ABLE TO SEE THAT IMMEDIATELY.
THERE'S NO DELAY IN THEIR DIRECT DISPLAY.
UM, BUT IT DOESN'T COME THROUGH TO THE CUSTOMER PORTAL FOR ABOUT 24 HOURS.
WELL, HOW WOULD THEY SEE THAT? CAN THEY WALK OUT AND LOOK AT THE METER? YES, THEY CAN.
IT'S OH, JUST LIKE YOU COULD TODAY.
SO IS THERE A LITTLE DOOR YOU CAN OPEN TO SEE THE READING? YES.
THERE'S ABOUT SEVEN SCREENS AND THE FLOW, IT USED TO BE A SPINNING RED TRIANGLE.
NOW IT'S, UH, GIVES YOU EXACT, UH, GALLONS PER MINUTE.
UM, I THINK THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW.
SO, UH, COUNCILMAN MCKEE RODRIGUEZ HAD A QUESTION.
UM, WOULD YOU MIND GOING TO SLIDE SIX? WELL, FIRST LOOKING AT THIS, UH, GRAPH, MY TRY BIPHOBIA HAS BEEN TRIGGERED AND NOW MY WHOLE DAY IS RUINED
UM, I DO WANNA KNOW WHAT DO, WHAT DO THE, UM, DIFFERENT SHAPES REPRESENT? 'CAUSE I SEE THERE'S YELLOW TRIANGLES AND THERE'S SOME DIAMONDS AND THERE'S SOME OTHER SHAPES IN THERE.
UM, SO IT'S, IT'S A MAP THAT COMES DIRECTLY OVER FROM ITRON, THE NETWORK PROVIDER.
UM, MY UNDERSTANDING IS IT'S A DIFFERENT ASSET, BUT FOR US THEY WORK THE SAME.
IT'S JUST, IT'S A CONSTANTLY POWERED DEVICE.
SO IT COULD BE ANOTHER ELECTRIC METER, IT COULD BE A STREETLIGHT.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE METER CAN COMMUNICATE THROUGHOUT THE NETWORK.
SO ARE THE BLUE DIAMONDS, THE, UM, THE NEW METERS? 'CAUSE I SEE IN THE MAP.
PLEASE MOVE THIS SLIDE IMMEDIATELY.
IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID? YES, YES.
JUST WONDERING, UM, ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN INSTALLING THESE METERS IN HIGH EQUITY AREAS VERSUS LOW EQUITY AREAS? UM, FOR JUST ALL THAT QUESTION TO BEGIN WITH, I SUPPOSE.
SO YOU, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT HOW WE ARE DEPLOYING THE TECHNOLOGY ACROSS THE SYSTEM? THAT, AND THEN AS WELL, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, COUNCILMAN COURAGE HID ON THIS ISSUE A LITTLE BIT AND THE, THERE WAS THAT EXAMPLE WHERE, UM, SOMEONE DISCOVERED THAT THERE, UH, SOMEBODY RAN OVER THEIR METER WITH A TRUCK AND THEN THEY
[01:10:01]
HAD TO, THEY GOT TO PAY, THEY PAID SIX 60 AND THEY SOUNDED PLEASED ABOUT THAT.THAT WOULD BE DEVASTATING TO A NUMBER OF MY CONSTITUENTS.
AND SO I'M WONDERING WHAT OPPORTUNITIES THERE ARE FOR SUPPORT OR THOSE KINDS OF CONSIDERATIONS WHEN YES, ABSOLUTELY.
SO WE DO OFFER SEVERAL, UM, PROGRAMS THAT WILL ASSIST, UM, CUSTOMERS, UM, THAT ARE LOW INCOME WITH THE, WITH THE REPAIRS THAT THEY MAY END UP NEEDING AFTER, UH, SOMEONE RUNS OVER WITH A TRUCKER DISCOVERING ANY OTHER ISSUE, UM, AFTER RECEIVING THE A M I TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE VISIBILITY TO BEFORE.
UM, PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE IS ONE OF THEM.
UM, AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO TOUCH THAT.
AND IN TERMS OF THE, THE PLAN TO DEPLOY, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE'VE KIND OF BEEN ALL OVER TOWN MM-HMM.
SO WE DON'T WANNA FOCUS ON ONE AREA TOWN AND, AND, AND SAY COMPLETE THAT, BECAUSE THEN THAT'S GONNA CAUSE A PROBLEM WITH MANAGING OUR LABOR FORCE THAT ARE DOING THE MANUAL METERS.
SO WE ARE ACTUALLY MOVING AROUND TOWN.
WE WILL GET TO, UM, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY PROBABLY, UH, TWO, TWICE IN A YEAR.
SO WE'LL HIT AND IT'LL, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST GONNA BE GOING KIND OF LIKE IN KIND OF, OR LIKE, IF YOU THINK OF IT AS A WHEEL GOING BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE SPOKES.
UM, AND SO THE IDEA IS AGAIN, YOU KNOW, BY 2026 TO HAVE EVERYBODY INSTALL, I WISH I COULD DO IT ALL LIKE THAT, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THIS IS A PHENOMENAL BENEFIT TO OUR CUSTOMERS, BUT, UH, WE DO HAVE TO STILL MAKE SURE THAT WE MANAGE.
SO I WOULD SAY WE'RE NOT HITTING ANY ONE AREA HARDER THAN, THAN THE NEXT, UM, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PRO, PRO, UH, PROCESS.
THEN I GUESS I'M WONDERING, UM, YOU DID HAVE SOME SURVEY DATA THERE, UM, BUT BASED ON ANYTHING THAT YOU MIGHT KNOW THAT'S NOT, THAT'S NOT DEMONSTRATED IN THE SLIDES, UM, IS THE CHANGE BEING ACCEPTED, YOU KNOW, EQUALLY AND WELL IN ALL DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES? OR ARE THERE SOME THAT ARE REJECTING OR I WOULD SAY RESPONSE IS FAIRLY CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL OF OUR CUSTOMERS? I THINK, UM, AGAIN, WHEN YOU SUDDENLY HAVE VISIBILITY TO SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN'T HAVE BEFORE, IT CAN HAVE SORT OF A, UM, AN IMMEDIATE REACTION TO THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT.
UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS TECHNOLOGY IS NEW FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, AND SO WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO GET THEM FAMILIAR AND COMFORTABLE WITH THIS TECHNOLOGY TO TRUST THE TECHNOLOGY.
WE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE, UM, DIFFERENT THINGS WE PUT THAT METER THROUGH TO BE ABLE TO RELY AND TRUST ON IT BEFORE WE EVER DEPLOYED IT THROUGH OUR PILOT PROGRAM.
UM, BUT WE HAVE SEEN THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT I SEE FLOW, BUT I, NOTHING'S ON, I, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THIS IS.
UM, WE'VE EVEN HAD, YOU KNOW, THIS TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN DEPLOYED FOR TO OUR OWN EMPLOYEES AND WE'VE HAD SOME THAT ARE LIKE, ARE YOU SURE MEGAN? BUT IT'S A SERVICE LINE LEAK UNDER A DRIVEWAY AND THOSE ARE VERY HARD TO DETECT.
SO, UM, I THINK IT'S JUST GONNA BE CONTINUED EDUCATION, CONTINUED, UM, COMMUNICATION TO MAKE, TO REASSURE THEM THAT, UM, WE BELIEVE IN THIS TECHNOLOGY AND THIS TECHNOLOGY IS A BENEFIT FOR THEM.
UM, AND THE CITYWIDE DEPLOYMENT MAP, I, AS I'M LOOKING AT THE SOUTH SIDE, I'M LIKE, OH, IS THAT THIS SUBDIVISION OR WHERE IT IS? BUT I THINK THE ONE THING WE NEED TO ADDRESS IS THAT DIGITAL DIVIDE ASPECT AS WE GO INTO THE INNER CITY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE, AND WE, OUR LIBRARIES ARE A GREAT RESOURCE, UH, GET THEM COMFORTABLE WITH USING THEIR PHONES AND USING THAT APP IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE INTERNET SERVICE.
THE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, I'M NOT SURE IF Y'ALL CAN DO THIS, BUT IN MY AREA, I MIGHT HAVE SOMEONE WITH A HOME THAT HAS MORE THAN ONE BATHROOM OR THREE BATHROOMS AND LIKE THE SHOWER LEAKS HERE OR THE TOILET DOESN'T WORK THERE.
IS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN MAYBE DO, HAVE A PROGRAM SO BEFORE THEY GET, THEY KNOW THERE'S A LEAK 'CAUSE THAT'S WHY ONE OF THE, THEIR, THEIR, UH, ITEMS ISN'T WORKING THE SHOWER OR THE, THE TOILET OR A SINK.
IS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN HAVE THEM CONTACT SAUCE TO TRY AND SEE IF THEY CAN FIX THAT BEFORE THEY GET THIS NEW METER? UM, INSTALLED IS
WE HAVE A, WE HAVE A, A PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE TYPE PROGRAM MM-HMM.
AND I KNOW THAT WE'VE DONE EXTENSIVE OUTREACH ON STUFF LIKE THAT.
AND SO WHAT WE CAN DO IS AS WE START WORKING, WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR A M I TEAM.
AS WE START GOING INTO AREAS, WE CAN START WORKING WITH YOUR OFFICE A LITTLE MORE AND WE CAN WORK WITH EVERY COUNCIL OFFICE SO THAT YOU'RE BETTER PREPARED FOR IT.
AND THEN YOU HAVE THOSE RESOURCES.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT OUR PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE, OUR LATERALS, PEOPLE, OUR AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS HAVE DONE A, A GREAT JOB OF GROWING AND REACHING OUT.
AND SO WE CAN JUST, UH, ENSURE THAT THAT CONTINUES.
THE OTHER THING WITH THE A M I PROGRAM IS IF IT IS A SENIOR COUPLE OR IF IT'S A SENIOR OR ONE PERSON LIVING IN A, IN
[01:15:01]
A HOME, THAT WE ALSO KIND OF DO THAT EDUCATION PROGRAM OF THIS IS HOW MUCH WATER YOU SHOULD BE USING AND IF, IF YOU'RE USING MORE, UH, THEN THERE, THERE'S A LEAK SOMEWHERE.BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF OUR OLDER HOMES HAVE OLDER PLUMBING OR PLUMBING THAT ISN'T UPDATED.
AND WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO HELP THEM, BECAUSE I THINK WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IS THEY'RE GOING TO SEE THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY COME IN AND THEY'RE GONNA BLAME THE TECHNOLOGY.
WHERE AS WE, AS Y'ALL SAID BEFORE, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THERE.
IT JUST WASN'T NECESSARILY READING, UH, IT CORRECTLY.
OH YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT POINT.
ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON IS BRINGING CONTEXT TO THE USAGE.
LIKE YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL SEE A CERTAIN LEVEL OF GALLONS OR USE AND THEY, THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND IF THAT'S HIGH OR NOT.
UM, AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO BUILD ON INFORMATION WE ALREADY PROVIDE THEM.
I THINK THERE'S, YOU KNOW, NEIGHBORHOOD COMPARISONS ON OUR BILL TODAY.
BUT WHAT WE'RE BUILDING IS, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT DOES AN APPLIANCE USE? WHAT DOES AN AVERAGE SINGLE PERSON, UM, INTO THE HOME USE? WHAT DOES OUTDOOR USAGE LOOK LIKE? WHAT, WHAT ARE FACTORS THAT CAN MAKE THAT VARY QUITE A BIT? UM, AND SO WE'RE WORKING, UH, WITH OUR CONSERVATION TEAM TO BUILD THOSE AND PUSH THOSE MATERIALS OUT AS WELL.
AND I LOOK, I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT.
AND IF OFFLINE, OR WE WANNA SET UP A MEETING TO LOOK AT THAT, TO BRIDGE THAT DIGITAL DIVIDE AND GET PROGRAMMING INTO OUR LIBRARIES FOR OUR SENIORS.
AND THOSE THAT ARE, ARE NOT MAYBE CONNECT, ARE SOLELY RELYING ON THEIR PHONE, UH, THAT WE PUSH THAT OUT TO THEM TOO.
ISN'T TECHNOLOGY WONDERFUL? YEAH,
UH, ANY OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBER HAVE A QUESTION? OKAY.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO, UH, OUR FINAL ITEM, ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS AN UPDATE ON SA SANITARY SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW CONSENT DECREE.
THAT, THAT THEY'VE BEEN DEALING WITH, UH, AS, UH, AS PRESENTED TO US BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT QUITE A FEW YEARS AGO.
SO LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING HOW FAR ALONG WE'VE PROGRESSED ON THAT.
AND, UH, THIS IS GONNA BE ANNETTE DURAN.
I'LL EXPLAIN, BUT I'M NOT ANNETTE.
GOOD MORNING MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING US TODAY.
WE APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE THIS UPDATE ON THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW CONSENT DECREE.
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION ABOUT MYSELF.
MY NAME IS ELISA LOCKETT, NOT ANNETTE DERON.
I'M FILLING IN TODAY FOR MY COLLEAGUE WHO IS IN CHARGE OF OUR OPERATIONS SUPPORT GROUP AND DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION OPERATIONS.
I'M A LIFELONG SAN ANTONIO RESIDENT AND HAVE BEEN AT SSS FOR OVER 13 YEARS, WORKING FOR FOUR YEARS ON THE CONSENT DECREE AS A DIRECTOR IN DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION OPERATIONS.
MY GROUP MAINTAINED THE NOW 5,900 MILES OF WASTEWATER PIPELINES IN OUR SYSTEM, AS WELL AS MITIGATED ANY SEWER OVERFLOWS THAT HAPPENED TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT.
FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, I HAVE BEEN A SENIOR DIRECTOR IN PRODUCTION AND TREATMENT OPERATIONS, OVERSEEING THE WATER RECYCLING CENTERS AND THE SEWER LIFT STATIONS, SORRY, SAWS BEGAN NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE E P A BACK IN 2007, REACHING AN AGREEMENT IN 2013 ON A COURT ORDERED CONSENT DECREE WITH A 10 YEAR DURATION.
THE SAWS BOARD APPROVED THE CONSENT DECREE ON JULY, ON JUNE 4TH, 2013, AND IT BECAME EFFECTIVE ON JULY 23RD OF THAT SAME YEAR.
THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL USE THE ACRONYM C D WHEN REFERRING TO THE CONSENT DECREE, JUST SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO HEAR CONSENT DECREE A HUNDRED TIMES.
THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEMS. KEY GOALS RELATED TO THE C D R AS FOLLOWS, SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOW REDUCTION, WHICH WE SOMETIMES CALL SS S O CONSENT DECREE COMPLIANCE, CONTROLLING IMPACTS TO OUR RATE PAYERS AND SUSTAINING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
THERE ARE FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS TO OUR CD.
FIRST, WE ASSESSED OUR SYSTEM AND DETERMINED THE CONDITION AND CAPACITY OF ALL OF THE EXISTING WASTEWATER PIPELINES.
SECOND, WE PLANNED WHICH PIPELINES TO REPAIR, REPLACE, OR CONTINUE TO MONITOR BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THAT ASSESSMENT.
THIRD, WE REPORTED AS REQUIRED TO THE E P A TO DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONSENT DECREE REQUIREMENTS.
ALSO, WE PROVIDE QUARTERLY REPORTS ON OUR CD TO OUR LOCAL ELECTED LEADERS, INCLU, INCLUDING CITY COUNCIL.
LASTLY, WE ARE EXECUTING THE PLAN BY PERFORMING PROJECT WORK AND CONDUCTING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR SEWER SYSTEM, WHICH WILL CONTINUE EVEN AFTER THE CD IS COMPLETE.
WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH THE CD PROGRAM.
ALL DEADLINES HAVE BEEN MET AND MOST OF THE PROJECT WORK WILL BE COMPLETED THIS YEAR.
WE HAVE MADE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT IN REPLACING, REHABILITATING AND IMPROVING OUR SANITARY SEWER PIPE.
OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS TO DATE, WE HAVE SPENT APPROXIMATELY
[01:20:01]
$1.09 BILLION OF A PROJECTED 1.2 BILLION WITH JUST OVER $100, $100 MILLION REMAINING IN CONTRACT AWARDS.IT WAS ONE OF OUR KEY GOALS TO ENSURE THAT THE MONEY WE SPENT WAS A RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT FOR ALL OF OUR RATE PAYERS.
AND WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE HAVE IMPROVED THE WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE THROUGHOUT ALL OF SAN ANTONIO IN, AND ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE CD WAS A MILEAGE REQUIREMENT IN TERMS OF MILES OF PIPE.
IN TERMS OF THAT MILEAGE REQUIREMENT, WE HAVE INSTALLED 87% OF THE NEW SEWER PIPE WITH JUST 13% REMAINING, MOST OF WHICH IS ALREADY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND WILL BE COMPLETED BY THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE CD.
THIS JULY, WE HAD THE FORESIGHT TO ACCOUNT FOR THE UNKNOWN BACK IN 2013.
SAS NEGOTIATED AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS FOR PROJECT WORK AFTER THE 10 YEAR CD DURATION TO ALLOW TIME FOR POSSIBLE IMMINENT DOMAIN CASES, WHICH ARE OF COURSE POSSIBLE WHEN CROSSING HUNDREDS OF MILES, MILES OF LAND.
THE MARQUEE PROJECT OF THE CD PROGRAM HAS BEEN OUR W SIX PROJECT.
IT IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE AND COMPLEX SEWER PIPELINE IN SAN ANTONIO'S HISTORY, GOING AS DEEP AS 140 FEET IN PLACES WITH A CONSTRUCTION COST OF $168 MILLION.
THIS PROJECT TOOK OVER 10 YEARS OF PLANNING.
WE STARTED AND STOPPED DESIGN MULTIPLE TIMES DUE TO CONCERNS WITH THE ORIGINAL PIPELINE AND ALIGNMENT THAT WENT THROUGH LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE.
AFTER PROLONGED NEGOTIATIONS AND MANY DESIGN CHANGES, IT TOOK AN ACT OF CONGRESS THROUGH THE HELP OF US CONGRESSMAN HENRY QUAR TO HELP US FINALIZE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE AIR FORCE, WHICH WAS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019.
THE DECISION WAS MADE TO GO AROUND THE AIR FORCE BASE REROUTING THE SEWER PIPELINE WEST ON HIGHWAY 90 AND THEN SOUTH ON WEST MILITARY DRIVE.
YOU CAN SEE ON THIS MAP THAT THIS ALIGNMENT WAS NOT THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BY FAR, BUT IT TOOK IT.
THIS IS WHAT IT TOOK TO FINALLY GET THIS CRITICAL PROJECT OFF THE GROUND.
WE HAVE NEARLY FINISHED CONSTRUCTION AND ARE COMMISSIONING THIS PIPELINE THIS WEEK.
WE ACTUALLY HAVE GOING ON RIGHT NOW ABOUT WHEN WE'LL INTRODUCE FLOWS THROUGHOUT THE PIPELINE.
THIS CHALLENGING PROJECT HAS GARNERED NATIONAL ATTENTION WITH MANY, MANY, UM, PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL CONFERENCE CONFERENCES AND HAS GONE EXTREMELY WELL STAYING AHEAD OF SCHEDULE AND UNDER BUDGET DESPITE SUPPLY CHAIN CHAIN CHALLENGES.
SO THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE PROJECTS IMPACTED BY COMPLETION OF W SIX.
AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, DURING NEGOTIATIONS OF THE CD, OUR SAS TEAM LAWYERS AND E P A AGREED TO ADDITIONAL TIME ON PROJECTS WITH REAL ESTATE CHALLENGES.
THE MAJOR PROJECTS PENDING COMPLETION ARE W NINE AND W 52, WHICH ARE UPSTREAM OF THE W SIX PROJECT AND ARE SCHEDULED FOR CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN IN 2024.
SINCE THESE TWO PROJECTS CONNECTS TO THE W SIX PROJECT, WE HAD TO COMPLETE IT FIRST.
THE COMBINED COST OF THESE TWO PROJECTS IS ABOUT 98 MILLION, 98 MILLION, WHICH IS ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT TO OUR SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SAS HAS CONTINUED TO MEET WITH E P A EVERY YEAR SINCE THE CD WAS IN EFFECT TO REVIEW OUR ANNUAL REPORT, WHICH IS POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE.
ALONG WITH OF ALL THE ANNUAL REPORTS FROM YEARS PAST TO DATE, WE HAVE MET ALL COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.
E P A REGION SIX RECOGNIZES THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM AS A LEADING PROGRAM AND A TOP PERFORMING UTILITY WITH RESPECT TO CD COMPLIANCE.
SAWS HAS NOT ONLY COMPLETED COMPONENT MILESTONES OF THE CD, BUT WE HAVE ALSO REDUCED THE NUMBER OF SEWER SPILLS SINCE 2010.
OUR GOAL, OF COURSE, IS TO HAVE ZERO SEWER SPILLS, BUT JUST LIKE THE CITY HAS POTHOLES, SEWER SPILLS ARE HARD TO ELIMINATE ALTOGETHER.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROGRAM, WE SET OUT TO ACHIEVE RESULTS AS A HIGH PERFORMING UTILITY TARGETING THREE SEWER SPILLS OR L OR LESS PER HUNDRED MILES OF WASTEWATER PIPELINE.
IN 2010, WE WERE EXPERIENCING OVER 10 SEWER SPILLS PER HUNDRED MILES.
AND PER THE GRAPH YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE BEEN REDUCING THAT NUMBER CONSISTENTLY.
AND NOW WE, UM, ARE AT 2.9 SEWER SPILLS PER A HUNDRED MILES IN 2022.
OF COURSE, OUR GOAL IS STILL TO DRIVE THAT NUMBER DOWN TO ZERO AS MUCH AS WE CAN.
SO THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION TODAY, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.
I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A BIG UNDERTAKING FOR SAWS OVER THE YEARS AND A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY AND PLANNING WENT INTO IT.
I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'RE NEAR THE END OF THE ROAD ON THAT.
AND I JUST THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE COMMITTEE TO KIND OF HEAR, UH, WHERE THAT END OF THE ROAD IS.
AND I CAN UNDERSTAND, UH, WHERE WE ARE NOW.
UH, WHAT IS THE MAJOR CAUSE OF THE OVERFLOWS? WHAT CONTINUES TO BE THE MAJOR CAUSE OF THOSE? I THINK THAT'S OILS AND
[01:25:01]
GREASE.AND I THINK WE HEAR ABOUT THAT, ABOUT, UH, WHAT YOU POUR DOWN YOUR, UH, YOUR SINK IN THE KITCHEN GREASE AND, AND OTHER THINGS THAT GET THROWN INTO THE TOILET THAT SHOULDN'T GO THERE, THAT ADD TO ALL OF THIS.
WE JUST RECENTLY STARTED A NEW CAMPAIGN.
WE USED TO HAVE GREASE MONSTER, NOW WE HAVE PIPES, DON'T LIE.
AND WE DO A LOT OF OUTREACH TO TRY TO EDUCATE OUR CUSTOMERS.
UM, I I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS EXACTLY RELATED AND I GUESS, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THE SEWER SYSTEM, BUT IT ENDS UP GOING INTO, UH, AT THE, AT THE END OF THE LINE, THE, UH, WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.
SO IT'S ALL PART OF ONE SYSTEM.
SO THIS JUST GETS EVERYTHING THERE.
UH, AND I HAD A QUESTION THAT'S MORE RELATED TO THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT.
AND IF, IF YOU DON'T MIND, SINCE I THINK WE'VE GOT A LITTLE MORE TIME, I WANTED TO ASK, UH, HAVE WE, UH, ARE ARLA, ARE ALL OF OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT CENTERS FUNCTIONING AS THEY SHOULD? AND HAVE WE CLOSED ANY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS? WE HAVE NOT CLOSED ANY OVER THE FA LAST FEW YEARS.
WE DID CLOSE OUR SATO CREEK WATER RECYCLING CENTER BACK IN THE EARLY TWO THOUSANDS AND ROUTED FLOWS TO THE THEN DOSE RIOS, NOW STEPHEN M KLAUS WATER RECYCLING CENTER.
BUT WE DID JUST UNDERGO A WASTEWATER MASTER PLAN THAT WAS COMPLETED IN 2022, WHICH WILL END UP BEING JUST AS BIG ALMOST AS THIS CONSENT DECREE PROGRAM OVER THE NEXT 10 TO 20 YEARS WHERE WE, UM, MAKE INVESTMENTS IN OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES SO THAT THEY CAN SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS FOR THE, I THINK IT WAS A 30 YEAR DURATION OF THE PROJECTED TIMELINES AND FLOWS.
WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING TO HEAR.
I, I'D REALLY WELCOME A PRESENTATION ABOUT THAT AT A, AT A FUTURE MEETING.
SO WE HAVE AN IDEA OF, OF THAT TOTAL PICTURE OF THAT PLAN.
ONE OTHER THING IS, I, I'VE HEARD OTHER CITIES TALK ABOUT MEASURING C O V I D LEVELS IN THEIR WASTEWATER.
DO WE HAVE THE CAPACITY OF UNDERSTANDING AND DOING SOME OF THAT TOO TO SEE HOW RELEVANT THAT IS IN OUR COMMUNITY? THE CITY ACTUALLY STILL VISITS OUR WASTEWATER FACILITIES TO COLLECT SAMPLES.
AND SO WE PARTICIPATE BY ALLOWING THE CITY'S REPRESENTATIVE TO COME IN AND TAKE SAMPLES.
SO IT'D BE PUBLIC HEALTH WE'D TALK WITH ABOUT THAT.
WELL THOSE ARE THE ONLY QUESTIONS I HAVE RIGHT NOW.
ANY OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS? YES.
AND Y'ALL KNEW I'D HAVE TO CHIME IN BECAUSE I'VE GOT MITCHELL LAKE IN DISTRICT THREE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, SEWER OVERFLOW AND HOW THIS, THE CITY HAS MANAGED IT.
BUT I'M, SO, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE PROGRESS.
UM, I DID WANNA TALK ABOUT THE INITIATIVES TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
UH, GREASE MONSTER PIPES DON'T LIE.
I HAD A MIDDLE SCHOOL OUT IN THE HARLANDALE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT WANTED TO, UH, ADDRESS THE WIPES ISSUE AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, TREAT THEM AS DIAPERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO IS THERE ANY OTHER PROGRAMS WE CAN HELP NOW THAT WE HAVE THIS, THIS NEW SYSTEM AND THIS PIPES COMPLETED, HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE RESIDENTS ARE, UH, TAKING CARE OF THEM? UM, WITH, WITH SOME OF THOSE INITIATIVES? YES MA'AM.
WE HAVE A, UH, EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP THAT WE GO OUT TO THE SCHOOLS.
AND SO WHAT WE'VE STARTED DOING OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS IS STARTING OUT AT GRADE SCHOOL LEVEL ALL THE WAY TO COLLEGE LEVEL.
AND WE EDUCATE 'EM ON, YOU KNOW, WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T PUT INTO THE PIPES, WHY IT'S BAD TO PUT 'EM INTO THE PIPES.
AND SO WE GO THROUGH THAT ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND SO IT'S OUR HOPE THAT AS WE CONTINUE TO SHARE THAT MESSAGE WITH THEM AS YOUNGER KIDS, ALL THE WAY AS THEY'RE GROWNUPS.
BECAUSE FOR THOSE OF WHO HAVE KIDS, ONCE THEY START NAGGING AT US, DO SOMETHING OR NOT DO SOMETHING, THEY NEVER STOP.
AND SO THE IDEA IS TO TEACH 'EM EARLY SO THAT THEY CAN THEN TURN AROUND AND NOT ONLY HELP THE PARENTS UNDERSTAND IT AT THAT POINT, BUT THEN DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF YEAR, WE CONTINUE TO HAVE CAMPAIGNS AS TO THE PIPES DON'T LIE.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE THAT A LOT, ESPECIALLY DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASONS WHEN THERE'S POURING GREASE AND STUFF DOWN THE DRAINS THAT WE DON'T WANT 'EM TO.
SO WE USE THAT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, BUT WE HIGHLIGHT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR AS WELL.
AND I DO WANNA ADDRESS OUR, UH, ADULT CONSUMERS BECAUSE I HAD A FRIEND THAT THOUGHT SHE, IT WAS OKAY IF SHE POURED THE GREASE IN AS LONG AS SHE, SHE PUT A BUNCH OF DAWN AFTERWARDS 'CAUSE SHE THOUGHT IT CUT THE GREASE.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO DO AN EDUCATION WITH OUR, UH, OLDER ADULTS ALSO, OR MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS BECAUSE THEY ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE MISSING THE HABITS OF PUTTING GREASE IN A JAR LIKE THEIR GRANDMA DID AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO, UH, LET'S WORK ON THAT AND, UM, AND LET, AND I DO WANNA APPLAUD YOUR EFFORTS, UH, WITH THE SCHOOLS BECAUSE I TELL YOU, THEY, THEY WERE ON IT, THEY HAD A PLAN.
SO WITH THE, WITH THE YOUTH, I THINK IT'S WORKING AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO ENGAGE THEM, BUT
[01:30:01]
I THINK THERE'S, THERE'S A GAP BETWEEN MAYBE OUR, I DON'T KNOW WHAT GENERATION XERS TO, TO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OTHER THAT WE NEED TO KIND OF ADDRESS.DALE'S BEEN A, A MAJOR PARTNER OF OURS.
SO THE SUPERINTENDENT, UH, JERRY SOTO HAS BEEN REALLY FOCUSED ON HELPING SASS AND OUR GROUPS GO OUT.
AND SO WE'VE HAD DIFFERENT EVENTS FOR TEACHERS THROUGH OUR EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND HARLANDALE HAS HAD SOME OF THE HIGHEST ATTENDANCE AS WELL.
SO THEY'VE BEEN VERY ACTIVE IN OUR PROGRAMS. WELL, THANK YOU.
AND I, I, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S 'CAUSE IT'S DISTRICT THREE AND, AND OUR HISTORY AND THE FACT THAT WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, WASTE, UH, IT TENDS TO FLOW SOUTH.
BUT I AM REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS AND, AND THESE PICTURES WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, PIPES COMING IN, THIS IS A GOOD THING FOR SAN ANTONIO AND I'M GLAD, UH, THE CONGRESSMAN AND OTHERS WERE HELP US, HELPING US TO GET TO THIS POINT.
THANK YOU COUNCILMAN COURAGE FOR, UH, BRINGING THIS FORWARD AND THANK YOU FOR NOT BLAMING THE BABY BOOMER GENERATION
COUNCILMAN MCGEE RODRIGUEZ, THIS QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, I REALLY HOPE TO GET THROUGH 2023 WITHOUT HAVING TO USE THE WORD SEWAGE OVERFLOWS TOGETHER.
UM, BUT WE DIDN'T EVEN MAKE IT THROUGH JANUARY.
UM, I'M WONDERING, SORRY ABOUT THAT.
DO WE HAVE A MAP OF THE SEWAGE OVERFLOWS THAT WE EXPERIENCED CURRENTLY? OR WAS, DO WE HAVE A MAP FROM LIKE HISTORICAL FOR 2022 OR? YEAH, I MEAN, HISTORICAL, IT WOULD BE GOOD.
SO WE COULD GET TWO DIFFERENT, WE COULD GET A NUMBER OF THINGS OUT OF THAT, RIGHT.
WE COULD SEE WHERE WERE WE TO, WHERE ARE WE NOW, OR REALLY I JUST CARE ABOUT RIGHT NOW.
BUT THAT OTHER PART WOULD BE NICE TOO.
BEAUTIFUL, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT DESIGN.
AND THEN I'M ALSO WONDERING HOW IS ALL COMMUNICATE, AND THIS IS, UM, KIND OF A BROAD QUESTION, BUT WE CAN TRY TO KEEP IT TO THE SCOPE OF THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, HOW IS SAS COMMUNICATING WITH PUBLIC WORKS, UH, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND LOCAL RESIDENTS, UM, TO NOTIFY THEM AND ADDRESS POTENTIAL IMPACTS DUE TO THE CONSTRUCTION? I THINK I'LL LET GINO ANSWER THAT.
SO PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION, WE TEND TO HAVE, UH, COMMUNITY MEETINGS AS WELL AS DIRECT MAIL PIECES.
AND SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS SEND POSTCARDS TO THE AREAS THAT ARE GONNA BE AFFECTED AS EARLY AS WE CAN OUTLINING WHAT THE PROJECT IS, WHERE EXACTLY ON, UH, THE STREET THE PROJECTS IS GONNA GO.
WE PROVIDE 'EM PHONE NUMBERS AS WELL SO THAT THEY CAN CALL IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS AND THEN WE HOLD COMMUNITY TYPE MEETINGS SO THAT WE INFORM THE COMMUNITY THAT WAY.
SO THEN WE'VE, SINCE COVID, WE WOULD RECORD 'EM 'CAUSE WE DID A LOT OF ONLINE MM-HMM.
AND SO BETWEEN THE IN-PERSON OR WEBEX TYPE MEETINGS AS WELL AS DIRECT MAIL PIECES, WE TRY TO GO THROUGH IT THAT WAY FROM THE COMMUNICATION SIDE.
BUT THEN THERE'S A TON OF, UH, COORDINATION FROM STAFF, THE CONSTRUCTION FOLKS THAT ARE MEETING WITH THE CITY AND THE DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS SO THAT THEY CAN LAY OUT THE PROJECTS.
AND THAT, JUST TO EXPLICITLY SAY IT, UM, THAT NOTIFICATION PIECE ALSO APPLIES TO LOCAL BUSINESSES.
IT'S EVERYBODY IN THAT AREA THAT'S GONNA BE AFFECTED.
AND I THINK TYPICALLY OUR STAFF, CECILIA AND BYRON WILL WORK WITH YOUR STAFFS TO MAKE SURE Y'ALL ARE AWARE OF IT AS WELL, SO THAT IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT IN NEWSLETTERS OR STUFF LIKE THAT, WE TRY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I WANTED TO ADD ONE THING TO THAT.
YOU KNOW, THE CD HAS BEEN A VERY LONG JOURNEY.
AND ONE THING WE COMMITTED TO EARLY IN 2013 IS AFTER ALL THIS EXPENSE AND THIS EFFORT BY STAFF, WE REALLY WANTED TO COMMIT TO MAKING BEST PRACTICES.
AND WE WOULDN'T BE SUCCESSFUL IF WE DIDN'T REACH THIS POINT AND HAVE BEST PRACTICES IN PLACE.
AND I WANTED TO POINT OUT, ONE THING THAT WE'VE ADDED IS SAW SEWER.ORG, WHERE YOU CAN LOOK AT ALL THE PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING ON AND WE PRODUCED IT BECAUSE OF CD 'CAUSE WE KNEW IT WOULD BE ACROSS THE CITY.
YOU CAN CLICK ON THOSE PROJECTS, YOU CAN ZOOM DOWN, YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE CONSTRUCTION COST IS, WHAT THE TIMELINE IN, WHETHER IT'S UNDER DESIGN, UNDER CONSTRUCTION, AND ALL OF THAT.
SO SAW SEWER.ORG IS A VERY BENEFICIAL AND THAT WAS SOMETHING WE IMPLEMENTED THAT WE FEEL IS A BEST PRACTICE AS PART OF THE CD ALONG WITH A TON OF OTHER THINGS.
WELL THAT'S, THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
AND WE'LL ENCOURAGE PEOPLE IF THEY WANT TO GO LOOK AT OUR PIPES, THAT'S WHERE THEY GO.
I THINK THAT CONCLUDES THE QUESTIONING.
UH, YES, ROBERT, UH, THANK YOU.
UM, CHAIRMAN, IF I MAY SUM UP, UH, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU WANTED TO LEARN ABOUT AND WE WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT IS OUR OVERALL MASTER PLAN AS IT DEALS WITH OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS.
AND WE, WE LOOK FORWARD TO, TO, UM, TO BRINGING THAT FORWARD.
AND, UH, COUNCILWOMAN, UH, YOU ASKED ABOUT, UH, OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND YES, WE USED TO HAVE FOUR.
THE REASON WE CLOSED IT ONE DOWN IS 'CAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH WATER, CONSERVATION, WATER NOT USED.
WE DIDN'T HAVE TO RUN THAT PLANT ANYMORE.
WE SAVED OURSELVES A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF O AND M COST.
AND, UH, COUNCILMAN, UH, RODRIGUEZ, YOU ASKED ABOUT, UH, YOU, YOU OFTEN ASK ABOUT, UH, EQUITY AND NEIGHBORHOODS AND THIS PARTICULAR CD UH, PART OF IT,
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UH, PART OF THE NEGOTIATION WAS UPFRONT IN THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF THE TENURE CONSENTED DECREE IS TO CONCENTRATE SOME OF THE, UH, WORK IN LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS.AND OBVIOUSLY WE PASSED THAT TEST.
WE WERE, WERE VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THAT.
AND LASTLY, UH, UH, THE E P A USES SAWS AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO RUN A CD PROGRAM AND HOW WE USED TO GO.
WE USED TO, WELL WE WENT TO SAN DIEGO TO LEARN HOW THEY WERE DOING THINGS AND OTHER CITIES TO SEE HOW THEY WERE DOING THINGS.
NOW THEY'RE COMING TO SAN ANTONIO HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS AND I WOULD LIKE TO PUBLICLY THANK, UM, UH, JEFF HABE.
HE'S BEEN IN CHARGE SINCE DAY ONE, UH, AND IS ENDING IN JULY.
YOU'LL STILL BE EMPLOYED WITH US AFTER JULY
UM, UH, BUT I JUST WANNA COMMEND HIM AND HIS TEAM, WHICH INCLUDES, UH, ELISA LOCKETT AND ANNETTE DOON AND A LOT OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS, ESPECIALLY THE UTILITY WORKERS THAT ARE OUT THERE, UH, IN THE, UH, SEWER WATER, IN, UH, IN THE GROUND, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DOING WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING.
I THINK THAT CONCLUDES OUR MEETING.