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I'M COUNCILMAN COURAGE, CHAIR OF THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE.
YOU'RE HERE FOR THE MEETING OF APRIL 7TH.
AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND BEGIN WITH, UH, CALLING THE ROLE, PLEASE.
COUNCIL MEMBER MAKI RODRIGUEZ.
HDA IS HERE VIRTUALLY, VIRTUALLY CHAIR.
COURAGE, SIR, WE HAVE A QUORUM.
WE HAVE, UH, ABOUT THREE ITEMS WE'LL BE DISCUSSING, BUT LET'S GO
[Approval of Minutes ]
AHEAD AND START OFF BY APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 28TH.I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION, UH, UNLESS ANYONE HAS ANY CHANGES TO BE MADE, I MAKE I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.
OKAY, WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 28TH.
DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP TODAY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY.
ALRIGHT THEN, UH, I WANNA WELCOME OUR FRIENDS FROM SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM, UH, C E O, UH, PUENTE.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING YOUR STAFF.
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
TO DISCUSS TODAY.THE FIRST ONE IS DISCUSSING POLICIES PERTAINING TO THE YEAR-ROUND CONSERVATION ORDINANCE AND, UH, DROUGHT ORDINANCE.
I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF WATER CONSERVATION AT SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM.
AND, UH, I HAVE TO SAY MAYBE WE SCHEDULE SOMETHING LIKE THIS MORE OFTEN.
AS, AS THE RAIN WE JUST GOT WAS THE BIGGEST RAIN EVENT WE HAVE HAD IN 220 DAYS.
SO, UH, AND OF COURSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DROUGHT AMONG OTHER THINGS.
SO, UH, MY INTENT TODAY IS GIVE YOU A SENSE TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW IT'S GOING WHEN WE'RE IN OUR SECOND YEAR.
SOMEWHAT ARGUE THIRD YEAR OF DROUGHT CONDITIONS.
AND I WANNA GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THAT.
UH, LET'S SEE IF I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD.
SO, UH, 2022, WE ALL LIVED THROUGH IT, SO I DON'T NEED TO, UM, GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT HOW MISERABLE THE WEATHER WAS IN 2022.
IT WAS, UH, EXTREMELY HOT AND DRY RECORD SETTING IN QUITE A FEW WAYS.
IN 2023, THIS RAIN NOTWITHSTANDING HAS STARTED OUT BEING DRY AND WARM.
UH, THE RAIN WE GOT WAS UNFORTUNATELY REALLY OFFICIALLY JUST A BIT OVER AN INCH, UH, AS OF YESTERDAY.
UM, AND SADLY ALSO A LOT OF THAT RAIN FELL A BIT MORE TO THE EAST AND SOUTH THAN WE WOULD'VE LIKED IN TERMS OF BENEFITING THE AQUIFER.
SO WE'RE STILL IN A RAIN DEFICIT, UM, AND WE ARE HOPING THINGS CONTINUE TO IMPROVE.
THIS IS THE US DROUGHT MONITOR MAP AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SAN ANTONIO, UH, BEAR COUNTY THERE.
YOU SEE THE BIG RED DARK BLOTCH.
UH, WE HAVE JUST BEEN PARTICULARLY UNLUCKY IN THE LAST TWO YEARS PERTAINING TO RAIN EVENTS IN OUR AREA THAT HAVE LED US TO HAVE THIS VERY DRY SOILS AND, UM, GROWING DEFICIT IN THE RAIN THAT'S IMPACTING THE EDWARDS AQUIFER.
A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD NEWS, UM, IF YOU FOLLOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CLIMATE CONDITIONS, THE, UH, LA NINA THAT HAD BEEN HOLDING ON FOR AN UNUSUALLY LONG AMOUNT OF TIME, LA NINA CONDITIONS WORLDWIDE GENERALLY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH IT BEING A BIT DRIER IN OUR PART OF THE WORLD.
AND THAT HAS BEEN DECLARED OVER WHEREIN WHAT THEY CALL NEUTRAL CONDITIONS.
UH, NEITHER LA NINO OR EL NINO.
SO THAT COULD MEAN WE RETURN TO NORMAL RAINFALL.
BIT OF CAUTION, THAT'S JUST ONE THING IN A VERY COMPLICATED SET OF WEATHER FORECASTS AND NORMAL, FRANKLY, IS NOT QUITE ENOUGH TO PULL US OUT OF THIS.
UH, SO IT'LL GIVE YOU SOME PERSPECTIVE.
UM, YOU SEE ON THIS CHART, THIS IS THE J 17 INDEX.
WELL, WHICH IS THE ONE WE CITE IN CITY ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO WHERE OUR OH CONSIDERATIONS ARE FOR DROUGHT STAGES AND WHAT THE EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY LOOKS TO IN TERMS OF OUR PERMIT.
AND ALSO, UM, YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN 2011.
THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN AS SEVERE WEATHER CONDITIONS, WE STARTED OUT LOWER IN 2022.
NOW I PUT ON THERE AS A REFERENCE POINT, THE WORST YEAR SAN ANTONIO HAS EXPERIENCED THAT WE HAVE A GOOD RECORD FOR, WHICH WAS 1956.
SO WE ARE CLEARLY NOT AS BAD OFF AS 1956.
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AND WE ARE LOOKING A LITTLE BIT IMPROVED IN TWO WAYS.ONE IS THAT NORMALLY ABOUT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR, WE START TO SEE J 17 TAKE A BIT OF A DIVE BECAUSE THERE'S USUALLY LITTLE STRONGER DEMAND STARTING IN AGRICULTURE TO THE WEST OF US.
AND THAT STARTS TO PULL DOWN THE AQUIFER AS WELL AS SPRING IRRIGATION SYSTEMS BEING TURNED ON IN SAN ANTONIO.
SO WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT DECLINE AND IN FACT, WE'VE GONE UP 1.7 FEET IN THE LAST TWO DAYS.
BUT AGAIN, NO TO CAUTION, WE'RE STILL AT 1 36 0.7, WHICH IS E A A STAGE THREE.
UH, SO WE'RE AT A 35% PERMIT CUT FOR EVERY DAY THAT WE STAY UNDER THAT.
AND CITY OF SAN ANTONIO STAGE TWO, THIS IS TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF HOW WE COPED LAST YEAR, THAT THE DIVERSIFIED WATER SUPPLIES THAT WE HAD WERE CRITICAL IN 2022.
LAST YEAR THE NET EDWARDS PERMIT CUT WAS 26.6% FOR THE YEAR.
UH, WE USED, AS YOU CAN SEE, OTHER SUPPLIES OTHER THAN EDWARDS.
AND THAT HELPED US GET THROUGH THE YEAR COMBINED WITH TRYING TO MODERATE CUSTOMER DEMAND.
UM, YOU SEE AT THE BOTTOM THERE, I NOTE THAT WE SO SOLD OR STORED ALL BUT TWO AND A HALF PERCENT OF OUR EDWARDS PERMIT.
SO THAT COULD SOUND BAD IF I DON'T GIVE THE EXPLANATION THAT WE SEEK TO EITHER USE THE ANNUAL PERMIT 'CAUSE THERE'S NO ROLLOVER TO THE NEXT YEAR, UH, BY EITHER HAVING OUR CUSTOMERS USE IT OR STORING IT IN AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY SO THAT WE HAVE THE OPTION OF PULLING IT OUT IN A DRYER DAY.
NOW, I WANNA GIVE YOU A SENSE OF, OF HOW IT'S BEEN GOING ON.
UH, WE, WE FOLLOW A MULTI-PRONGED STRATEGY IN SAN ANTONIO.
WE LOOK AT, UH, HOW BAD COULD IT GET IN TERMS OF IT BEING DRY AND OUR PERMIT CUTS AND OTHER THINGS WE COULD FACE.
AND THEN WHAT DO WE THINK OUR CUSTOMERS ARE GONNA USE.
SO WE HAVE RULES IN THE CITY ORDINANCE THAT WE LOOK TO TO TRY TO MODERATE DISCRETIONARY WATER USAGE, EVEN WHEN IT'S HOT AND DRY AND PEOPLE TEND TO NATURALLY USE MORE.
WE'RE TRYING TO REIGN THAT IN A BIT.
AND THE RULES RIGHT NOW ARE ONCE A WEEK WATERING THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW THE SYSTEM WORKS THAT IN THE CITY ORDINANCE THERE'S A CRIMINAL PENALTY MUCH LIKE GETTING A TRAFFIC CITATION.
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT VIOLATING THE ONCE A WEEK RULES OR THE TIME OF DAY OR HAVE EXCESSIVE RUNOFF FROM YOUR PROPERTY, THEN A CITATION IS ISSUED THROUGH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO MUNICIPAL COURT.
UM, THAT CAN APPLY IN THE EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.
UH, WE ARE VERY DATA-DRIVEN IN HOW WE, THIS IS MAPS OF OUR PATROL AREAS THAT WE SEND PEOPLE OUT LOOKING TO SEE IF PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWING THE RULES.
UM, WE ARE STARTING TO USE OUR NEW ELECTRONIC METERS THAT ARE GOING IN EVERY NEW PROPERTY.
UH, THOSE ARE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL WHEN WE COMMUNICATE WITH FOLKS ABOUT, HEY, YOU, YOU HAVE A BRAND NEW SITE HERE AND YOU'RE WATERING EVERY DAY.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BIG THAT WATER BELL'S GONNA BE? SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO GET FOLKS TO GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK FROM THE BEGINNING.
WHAT IS THE COLOR CODING HERE? OH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, WE HAVE SOME 20 DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO ARE OUT DOING PATROLS.
SO, UH, YOU CAN TELL BY THE COLORS THAT WHOEVER BLUE IS IS A VERY ACTIVE PATROL PERSON.
UM, BUT WE KEEP TRACK OF EXACTLY WHERE DIFFERENT PEOPLE HAVE GONE WITH A, A TRACKING SOFTWARE THAT'S ON A CELL PHONE AND THEN HOW IT WENT.
SO WE CAN DETERMINE DO WE NEED TO GO BACK TO THAT NEIGHBORHOOD SOME MORE? ARE WE SEEING REALLY GOOD COMPLIANCE AND WE CAN MOVE ON.
SO IS THIS INDICAT INDICATIVE OF OVERUSE OF WATER IN THESE AREAS, WHICH IS WHY THEY'VE KIND OF CALLED THAT IN? YES, SIR.
SO, UH, WHEN WE, WHEN I SAY WE TARGET, UH, WHAT I MEAN IS WE TAKE A LOOK AT A COUPLE DIFFERENT SOURCES OF DATA TO KNOW WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
ONE OF THEM IS THE MONTHLY READS, BUT WE ALSO MEET EVERY OTHER WEEK ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO WE TALK TO OUR OPERATIONS FOLKS AND THEY TELL US WHERE THEY'RE HAVING TO TURN ON THE PUMPS HARD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, WHICH INDICATES THAT'S PROBABLY IRRIGATION USAGE.
AND SO WE KNOW, AH, WE NEED TO HEAD TO THAT AREA OF TOWN 'CAUSE THERE'S SOME INAPPROPRIATE IRRIGATION GOING ON.
AND WE RELY ON CITIZEN REPORTS AS WELL.
PEOPLE CAN REPORT TO 7 0 4 SAVE OR ONLINE@SAAS.ORG AT ANY TIME ANONYMOUSLY TO LET US KNOW IF THEY SEE A PROBLEM.
UH, NOW I WILL SAY THAT I'M GONNA SHOW YOU THE A DOT MAP OF WHERE CITATIONS AND WARNINGS HAVE BEEN.
AND, UM, SO YOU WILL SEE, I'LL, I'LL GET TO THAT IN A MINUTE.
YOU'LL SEE KIND OF WHERE WE'RE SEEING PROBLEMS IN MORE DETAIL.
UM, IN 2022, UH, WE REALLY RAMPED UP THE ENFORCEMENT AS WE HIT MIDSUMMER.
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EARLY ON AS, AS STAGE TWO WAS DECLARED, AND THEN STARTED LETTING PEOPLE KNOW, LOOK, WE REALLY NEED COMPLIANCE HERE.UM, AND STARTED WITH CITATIONS.
THERE WERE OVER 7,000 WARNINGS LAST YEAR AND OVER 4,500 CITATIONS.
SO I HAVE SOME, THERE'S SOME GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS IN THIS.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT, UM, AS MUCH AS THIS IS NOT A PLEASANT PROCESS, UH, THE CITATIONS ARE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE AT CHANGING BEHAVIOR.
UH, WE LOOK AT PRE AND POST WHAT HAPPENS TO PROPERTIES WATER USE AFTER GETTING A WARNING OR AFTER GETTING A CITATION.
WE ARE NOT SEEING A RESPONSE TO WARNINGS, UH, USED TO IN OTHER DROUGHTS AND NOT SO MUCH.
NOW, MAYBE THEY NEED TO BE WRITTEN MORE FIRMLY, WE'LL WORK ON THAT.
UH, BUT WE SEE THAT PEOPLE CUT THEIR USAGE TO THE TUNE OF 3000 GALLONS A MONTH AFTER THEY GET A CITATION AT A SINGLE FAMILY HOME.
UM, I SAID IT'S GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS.
UH, WE ARE NOT SEEING AS GOOD A RESPONSE FROM COMMERCIAL SITES AFTER GETTING A CITATION.
SO WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THAT? WELL, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UH, WE THINK IT IS PROBABLY TIME FOR US TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT UPDATES TO HOW WE DO ENFORCEMENT.
IT'S BEEN THE SAME FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING IS PROBLEMATIC IS THAT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE, UH, THE CITATION AMOUNT THAT IS PAID IS STILL ABOUT $130, AND THAT'S BEEN THE SAME SINCE 1996.
SO IN TODAY'S DOLLARS THAT WOULD BE OVER 250.
UM, IN PARTICULAR THOUGH, FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES THAT MAY PAY A VERY LARGE WATER BILL FOR EXTENSIVE WATER USE, THAT $130 DOESN'T SEEM TO INFLUENCE THEM.
UM, OTHER CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE SEEING, UM, I'LL SHOW YOU OUR, UH, MAP HERE OF WHERE CITATIONS HAVE BEEN ARE KIND OF THE GREEN THAT YOU SEE A LOT.
THE YELLOW IS WHERE THERE HAVE BEEN WARNINGS AND THE RED ARE AREAS WHERE WE COULDN'T ISSUE A CITATION.
SO WE'VE HAD NO ISSUE, BUT NO CHOICE BUT TO JUST ISSUE A WARNING.
AND SO AS WE'VE GROWN AS A SYSTEM, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES HAVE BECOME THAT WE SERVE QUITE A FEW SEPARATELY INCORPORATED CITIES.
AND ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE AN ORDINANCE, ALMOST ALL OF THEM ABOUT DROUGHT, IT IS JUST FRANKLY NOT THEIR FOCUS TO WORK ON, ON DROUGHT ENFORCEMENT.
I'VE NOT, IN MY 21 YEARS EVER KNOWN ONE OF THESE SEPARATE CITIES TO GIVE A DROP CITATION.
UH, WE REFER THINGS TO THEM, BUT THE MESSAGE WE'RE GETTING FROM PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN SOME OF THESE SEPARATE CITIES IS THEY KIND OF KNOW THEY'RE OFF THE HOOK.
UM, AND THEN WE HAVE AREAS THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE E T J AS WELL.
AND SO THOSE ARE ALSO AREAS WHERE IT'S NOT POSSIBLE TO ENFORCE.
SO, UH, WE ARE STARTING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ALTERNATIVE MECHANISMS OF ENFORCEMENT, HOW TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE WITH COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AND, AND HONESTLY HOW TO BE MORE EQUITABLE ON THE ENFORCEMENT SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO WHO, UH, AND FOLKS IN THE E T J WHO ARE HELPING OUT DURING DROUGHT WITHIN THE CITY AND E TJ CAN DOWN.
HOW MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO GET CITATIONS OF THE ORGANIZATION, ORGANIZATIONS THAT GET THEM ARE, ARE COMMERCIAL MM-HMM.
AND MAYBE WHAT THE PERCENTAGE OF WATER USE IS OVER AND ABOVE BETWEEN THE COMMERCIAL AND THE RESIDENTIAL.
SO WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF AN UNDERSTANDING SO THAT THE CITY MM-HMM.
SO YEAH, WE, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO GET YOU THAT BREAKDOWN.
I'LL TELL YOU THAT ONE OF THE THINGS I WATCH IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE SERVE, UM, OVER 500,000 SINGLE FAMILY CUSTOMERS AND A MUCH SMALLER NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS THAT ARE COMMERCIAL.
SO I LOOK AT THE PROPORTION OF THE TWO, AND WE ARE CITING COMMERCIAL IN PROPORTION TO THEIR NUMBERS.
UM, SO THAT'S GOOD IN THAT I DON'T WANT ANYBODY TO GET THE IMPRESSION WE'RE NOT ENFORCING ON COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AS WELL.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING I JUST WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO IS THE, THE CITY MUNICIPAL COURTS.
UM, WE'VE PUT QUITE A BIT OF WORKLOAD ON THEM WITH ALL THIS, AND THEY HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT COOPERATIVE, UH, IN, IN TRYING TO KEEP IT AS SMOOTH AS POSSIBLE.
UH, BUT THE, UH, PROSECUTORS, THE, THE CLERK, THEY'VE ALL DONE THEIR BEST
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TO WORK WITH US THROUGH THIS.BUT WE'LL GET YOU, UH, THAT BREAKDOWN.
AND, AND LET ME JUST INTERJECT FOR THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS, SINCE THERE'S JUST THREE OF US.
IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION AS WE GO ALONG, TRY AND LET ME KNOW AND WE CAN ASK INSTEAD OF JUST WAITING TILL THE END OF EVERYTHING.
UM, SO THE, UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU A, A BIT OF A PREVIEW, ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE'RE HAVING IS WHETHER WE SHOULD LOOK TO, UH, HAVING RULES THAT ARE BASED ON YOUR BEING A SAS WATER CUSTOMER RATHER THAN JUST A CITIZEN OF SAN ANTONIO.
AND, AND IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT THAT MODEL, IT'S NOT A SIMPLE OVERNIGHT THING, BUT IF WE WERE TO GO WITH THAT MODEL IN THE FUTURE, UH, THEN WE COULD REFORM THIS ISSUE OF MAKING SURE THAT IT'S EQUITABLE AND PERHAPS AT THE SAME TIME ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES, LIKE, ARE THE AMOUNTS EFFECTIVE? SO ARE YOU SAYING YOU COULD DEVELOP INTERNAL, UH, CONSEQUENCES THROUGH SAWS ITSELF? IF IT, IF IT RECOGNIZES THAT SITUATION? IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO THAT.
IT'S, UH, LIKE I SAID, IT'S, IT'S CERTAINLY NOTHING IS EVER, UM, NOR SHOULD BE QUICK OR SIMPLE TO PUT INTO PLACE.
UM, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET TO WHERE WE HAVE, HAVE EQUITY IN THAT.
WE ALWAYS WONDER WHAT KIND OF AUTHORITY A UTILITY MAY HAVE TO IMPOSE CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS OR, OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE, UH, WITH OR WITHOUT THE CITY'S INVOLVEMENT.
SO IF SAAS HAS MORE AUTHORITY TO GO AHEAD AND IMPLEMENT RULES ITSELF, THAT CAN AFFECT, UH, HELPING PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING WITHIN THE GUIDELINES WE HAVE IN PLACE AND NOT ABUSING, UH, WATER, THEN IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE EASY FOR THEM TO IMPLEMENT THOSE RATHER THAN MAYBE THE CITY AND MUNICIPAL COURT HAVING TO DO IT.
SO, AND IT'S A MIXED, UM, IT IN THAT WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY AS A UTILITY TO HAVE EXPECTATIONS, BUT THEN IN TERMS OF ACTUALLY, UH, HAVING A RATE-BASED CONSEQUENCE, OF COURSE THE CITY HAS AUTHORITY TO APPROVE THAT.
SO IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A PARTNERSHIP AND DISCUSSION TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE ALL COMFORTABLE WITH IT.
SO, UM, SOME OTHER GOOD NEWS ON THE CITATIONS THAT GO TO, UH, HOMEOWNERS IS THAT, UH, WHEN HOMEOWNERS GET CITATIONS FOR VIOLATIONS, THEY'RE USUALLY WHAT I CALL ONE AND DONE.
UH, IT IS EXTREMELY UNUSUAL FOR A HOMEOWNER TO GET MORE THAN ONE CITATION.
SOME WILL GET TWO, BUT MOST OF THEM ARE ONE AND DONE.
UM, I CANNOT SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES.
UM, THEY HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES THAT I HAVE ALREADY ALLUDED TO, BUT IT'S GOOD NEWS ABOUT HOMEOWNERS THAT THEY ARE NOT GENERALLY REPEAT VIOLATORS.
NOW, I WANTED TO SPEAK TO A BIT, UM, THE WATER USAGE OF COMPLIANCE VERSUS NON-COMPLIANCE.
TO GIVE YOU A SENSE OF WHY IT MATTERS, WE HAVE DONE SOME UNIQUE ANALYSIS WORKING WITH SOME FLOW SENSORS THAT WE HAVE OUT IN OUR SERVICE AREA THAT GIVE DATA EVERY FIVE SECONDS.
UM, AND WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE COMPANY'S, UH, DATA SCIENTISTS TO BE ABLE TO DISCERN AMONG THE THOUSANDS OF THESE DEVICES THAT ARE OUT THERE, THEY CAN DISCERN IRRIGATION CYCLES AND WHEN THEY'RE GOING OFF IN AN ANONYMIZED WAY.
SO THEY WERE ABLE TO SHOW US THE WATER USE OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE COMPLIANT THAT YOU SEE IN GREEN, PEOPLE WHO HAVE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS BUT ARE TURNING THEM ON ONLY ONCE A WEEK VERSUS HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE RUNNING THEM MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK.
AND SO THIS IS NOT SURPRISING THAT IF YOU TURN ON THAT IRRIGATION SYSTEM MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK, YOUR WATER USE IS, UH, AVERAGING 20,000 GALLONS A MONTH, UH, VERSUS HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE COMPLIANT, UH, MAY BE 10,000 GALLONS A MONTH OR LESS.
SO, UH, IT, IT DOES MAKE A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WHEN WE ARE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE INTO THE REASONABLE PATTERN OF WATERING ONCE A WEEK.
AND WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THIS MAKE IN THE AGGREGATE WHEN WE LOOK AT, AT ACROSS THE BOARD HOW THE WATER USE PATTERNS ARE GOING? THIS IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS STORIES IN THAT, THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT A LOT OF OUR CUSTOMERS WERE VERY FRUGAL.
51% OF OUR CUSTOMERS USED UNDER 6,000 GALLONS OF WATER A MONTH DURING THAT EXTREME DROUGHT.
ON THE OTHER HAND THOUGH, 6% OF THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS THAT WERE USING AMOUNTS OVER 20,000 GALLONS A MONTH ACCOUNTED FOR 21%
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OF THE WATER VOLUME THAT WE SOLD TO SINGLE FAMILY.SO WHAT I WANNA POINT OUT WITH THIS IS THAT IT'S, IF IT'S EVEN AT A RELATIVELY SMALL PERCENT OF THE BILLS COMING IN AT THAT VERY HIGH LEVEL, THEY CAN ACCOUNT FOR A LOT OF OUR, OUR USAGE THAT CAN DRIVE WATER PATTERNS DURING DROUGHT.
SO WE, UH, THAT'S WHY WE TRY TO TARGET THE AREAS OF HIGH USAGE.
REALLY TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS, UH, AND TRY TO GET COMPLIANCE FROM THEM.
FROM THE NUMBERS YOU'VE MENTIONED EARLIER, 6% IS ROUGHLY 3000 PLUS, UH, RESIDENTIAL UNITS THEN IF YOU'VE GOT OVER 500,000.
RIGHT? SO, SO YEAH, IT'S NOT, UM, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT EVERYBODY OUT THERE, EVEN IN RATHER HIGH-END GATED COMMUNITIES WHERE WE'RE DOING PATROLS.
UM, YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE COLOR ON THIS SLIDE, BUT YOU CAN KIND OF, YEAH, 30,000, YOU CAN GET A SENSE THAT THE HOUSE WHERE THE VIOLATION IS, WHERE YOU SEE THE WATER STREAMING DOWN, UH, HAS VERY GREEN GRASS
AND, UM, SO WHEN WE DRIVE THROUGH NEIGHBORHOODS, WE DO NOT SEE THAT EVERY HOUSE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS IS SURPRISINGLY GREEN.
WHEN THERE'S BEEN NO RAIN FOR OVER 30 DAYS, IT'S, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN KIND OF SPOT THEM THE, THE ONES THAT ARE SUSPICIOUSLY GREEN, BUT, YOU KNOW, GET A TICKET FOR THAT.
WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY SEE IT GOING OFF AT THE WRONG DAY AND THE WRONG TIME.
30,000 IS A LOT, IT'S, IT'S FAIR NUMBER.
BUT, YOU KNOW, IN PERSPECTIVE OF 500,000 CUSTOMERS, IT'S GOOD NEWS THAT A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITY IS, IS REALLY TRYING TO BE CAREFUL EVEN WHEN IT'S VERY HOT AND DRY OUTSIDE.
OH, A LOT OF THEM DON'T HAVE BIG LAWNS AND IRRIGATION SYSTEMS EITHER.
THEY THAT, UM, ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE THINK WE'RE SEEING WITH THIS DROUGHT IS THAT MORE AND MORE NEW HOMES COME WITH AN AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM.
AND ON AVERAGE IN THE SUMMER, HOUSEHOLDS THAT HAVE AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION USE 70% MORE WATER THAN HOUSEHOLDS THAT DO NOT HAVE ONE.
SO YOU ARE CORRECT THAT THAT IS A GROWING PROBLEM NOW.
UM, WE ARE CONTINUING TO ENFORCE THIS YEAR.
UM, AND I HAD I, IN PRIOR YEARS WHEN I'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS, I'VE, I'VE BEEN AT SAWS IN CONSERVATION FOR OVER 20 YEARS AND BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF DROUGHTS.
UM, AND IT IS UNUSUAL TO SEE THE LEVEL OF VIOLATION THAT WE HAVE SEEN FROM JANUARY TO TODAY.
UM, WE HAVE AT THIS POINT ISSUED NEARLY A THOUSAND CITATIONS JUST FROM JANUARY TO TODAY AND MANY WARNINGS.
UM, AND I SHOW THIS PICTURE 'CAUSE THIS IS A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO COMMUNICATE WITH, UH, BUILDERS AND DEVELOPERS, BUT WE ARE STILL SEEING, UM, REALLY INAPPROPRIATE SETTINGS.
WE HAVE A VARIANCE PROCESS THAT THEY CAN WATER MORE OFTEN FOR A PERIOD OF TIME TO GET THE GRASS ESTABLISHED, BUT IT SHOULDN'T BE SO MUCH THAT IT RUNS DOWN THE STREET LIKE THIS.
SO, UH, THEY ARE ALL GETTING NEW ELECTRONIC METERS.
SO WE ARE USING THAT DATA TO REACH OUT TO THEM AND POINT OUT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE AN EMPTY HOUSE HERE AND YOU'RE USING A LOT OF WATER ON IT MORE THAN YOU NEED TO TO GET THAT GRASS ESTABLISHED.
UH, IN 2022, UH, THE, UH, SAWS COMMUNICATIONS TEAM DID A LOT TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE WERE AWARE OF THE DROUGHT.
UH, WE DID GOT A LOT OF EDITORIAL MEDIA.
WE MAKE VERY GOOD USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND SAWS ASSETS LIKE OUR SAS WEBSITE, UH, THE GARDEN STYLE SA.COM WEBSITE, OUR BILL INSERTS.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO GOT EMAILS ASSOCIATED WITH A LOT OF OUR ACCOUNTS AT SAS.
SO WE SEND OUT EMAILS WITH INFORMATION THAT THIS ONE, I HAVE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO 70% OPEN RATE, WHICH IS, IS VERY HIGH FOR A MASS EMAIL.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE DONE PAID CAMPAIGNS TO TRY TO KEEP PEOPLE AWARE OF WHAT IS GOING ON WITH DROUGHT.
THIS PARTICULAR ONE THAT WENT OUT IN AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER WAS DIGITALLY TARGET AT THOSE HIGH USE AREAS WHERE WE REALLY FELT WE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THEY KNEW THAT WE WERE IN STAGE TWO AND THAT IT WAS AN URGENT MATTER.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE ARE WORKING WITH ONE OF OUR CONTRACTED MEDIA COMPANIES TO LOOK AT AN UPDATED CAMPAIGN THAT WILL START PRETTY SOON, UH, TO KEEP PEOPLE VERY AWARE OF, OF WHAT IS GOING ON.
AND WE'RE WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT REFRESHED CAMPAIGN.
SO WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023? WELL, THE, THE RELATIVELY MILD WEATHER, UH, HAS HELPED US, AS I MENTIONED, YOU SEE, THE AQUIFER HAS NOT DROPPED IN, UH, MARCH AND THE BEGINNING OF APRIL THE WAY IT SOMETIMES DOES.
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TO DATE OUR PRODUCTION'S HIGHER THAN IT WAS LAST YEAR.SO WE ARE CONCERNED AND ENFORCING, UH, STRICTLY TO TRY TO TURN THAT AROUND AND REALLY COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE.
NOW I WANNA MAKE SURE NO ONE HAS THE IMPRESSION THAT WE'RE HEADED FOR A CRISIS.
UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF RESERVES IN AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY.
AND SO WE KNOW THAT EVEN AT A LARGER PERMIT CUT IN THIS COMING YEAR, SHOULD THE AQUIFER NOT RECOVER.
AND WE SHOULD, IF WE WERE TO STAY AT LOW AQUIFER LEVELS, WE CAN SUSTAIN THAT, ASSUMING WE KEEP UP DROUGHT DEMAND MANAGEMENT.
BUT THERE'S STILL REASON TO BE CONCERNED.
SOMEONE LISTENING TO ME MIGHT THINK, WELL, WHY DO YOU CARE IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE SUPPLIES? WHY IS, WHY IS THIS A CHALLENGE? WELL, WE'RE FORWARD LOOKING AND WE ARE LOOKING AT GROWING POPULATIONS IN OUR SERVICE AREA HIGHER THAN PREVIOUSLY HAD BEEN ANTICIPATED.
LOTS OF PEOPLE WANNA MOVE TO SAN ANTONIO.
UM, BUT THAT COMBINED WITH HIGHER DROUGHT PERIOD, WATER USAGE IS CHALLENGING FOR OUR FUTURE WATER MANAGEMENT AND KEEPING IT COST EFFECTIVE.
UM, OUR OBJECTIVE IS ALWAYS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE BALANCE THAT HAVING SUPPLIES THAT PEOPLE ARE CONFIDENT THE WATER WILL BE THERE WHEN THEY NEED IT, BUT WE'RE ALSO VERY COST CONSCIOUS.
WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE TO INVEST IN MORE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAN WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.
SO, SO MODERATING DEMAND DURING DROUGHT IS PART OF THAT KEEPING THINGS COST EFFECTIVE IN THE FUTURE.
SO I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
I'D LIKE TO ASK ABOUT ONE, UH, AND THAT WAS AT THE BEGINNING WHEN WE LOOKING AT WATER RESOURCES AND UM, YOU KNOW, IT WAS UH, I GUESS SLIDE FIVE AND IT TALKED ABOUT VISTA RIDGE USING 48,000 UH, ACRE FEET.
BUT I THOUGHT OUR CONTRACT ANNUALLY IS FOR MORE THAN THAT, LIKE 54,000 ACRE FEET A YEAR.
SO CAN, CAN WE UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UH, ARE WE IN ANY KIND OF PROBLEM WITH, WITH THAT CONTRACT OR, UH, HAVE WE SEEN THIS AS KIND OF AN AVERAGE OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS OR WHAT? YEAH, SO, UH, VIS RIDGE IS FOR UP TO 50,000 ACRE FEET OH, 50,000 PER YEAR.
AND SO THAT'S PRETTY ON TARGET.
THEY HAD A MAIN BREAK AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO IT'S ALWAYS GONNA FLUCTUATE A LITTLE BIT MORE.
THERE IS THE ABILITY TO HAVE WHAT ARE CALLED MAKEUP UNITS AND THEN MAYBE THAT'S WHAT YOU, YOU THINK OF.
AND, AND THEY CAN GO UP TO 53,000 IN ANY ONE YEAR TO HAVE CERTAIN MAKEUP UNITS.
UH, THOSE ARE IN VERY PARTICULAR YEARS AND, AND TO BUILD UP A BANK, BUT THAT HASN'T HAPPENED.
AND SO, UM, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THEY DELIVERED LAST YEAR.
BUT GENERALLY IT IS, WE, WE PAY FOR UP, UP TO 50,000 ACRE FEET, UH, PER YEAR.
SO, NO, IT, IT'S RUNNING, RUNNING GREAT.
LIKE I SAID, THERE ARE TIMES WHERE YOU HAVE MAIN BREAKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT, UH, AND WE PAY ONLY FOR, YEAH.
WE PAY ONLY FOR THE WATER THAT THAT IS DELIVERED.
UH, COUNCILMAN, YOU THINK YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS? YEAH.
KAREN, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET, UH, UH, I'M LOOKING AT THE MAPS WITH THE WARNINGS AND I SEE SOME CITATIONS IN DISTRICT THREE.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO MAYBE PUT OUT IN THE NEWSLETTER, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS ZIP CODE IS HAVING CITATIONS IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.
UH, THE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS IF WE SEE THOSE ZIP CODES, ESPECIALLY IN DISTRICT THREE, I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THOSE THAT STOP WITH THE WARNINGS AND ARE DOING A GOOD JOB OF, OF CONSERVATION.
THE ONE THING I BELIEVE THIS CITY DOES WELL IS WE KNOW HOW TO CONSERVE.
I'M NOT SURPRISED THAT THE CITATION IS IN GREEN.
THE, THE GREEN IS IN WHAT PROBABLY IS NEW SUBDIVISIONS YES.
THAT NEED TO LEARN, UM, THE SAN ANTONIO CULTURE AND THE SAN ANTONIO CULTURE SURROUNDING CONSERVATION OF WATER.
SO I THINK WE NEED TO KIND OF TELL THAT STORY.
UM, SO YEAH, IF WE, IF WE COULD GET THAT BREAKDOWN BY ZIP.
I KNOW YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHO THE CUSTOMERS ARE, 'CAUSE IF YOU COULD, I WOULD CALL THEM, BUT, UM, BUT IF YOU CAN GIVE ME THE ZIP CODES, WE COULD, WE COULD FOCUS.
WE APPRECIATE THAT PARTNERSHIP.
COUNCILWOMAN KABE, HAVADA, DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION? UH, YES SIR.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UH, I'M, I'M CURIOUS ON SLIDE SIX AND SEVEN, WHAT THE ACTUAL, UM, UM, THE, THE LIST OF OFFENSES IN, IN WHICH THE CITATIONS WOULD BE ISSUED AND ALSO THE FINE AMOUNT? YEAH, SO THE FINE AMOUNT IS, UM, DICTATED BY CITY ORDINANCE.
SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF WHAT IS LISTED AS POSSIBLE FOR THE MUNICIPAL COURTS TO CHARGE,
[00:30:01]
PLUS WHAT THEIR COURT COSTS ARE, AND THAT BLEND OF WHAT THEY CAN CHARGE.PLUS COURT COST IS CURRENTLY COMING OUT TO $130.
NOW, INTERESTINGLY, THE ORDINANCE SAYS THAT THEY CAN ESCALATE FOR CONVICTIONS AT THE SAME ACCOUNT ADDRESS IF THERE ARE SECOND OR THIRD CONVICTIONS.
BUT THE, THE CONVERSATION WE'VE HAD WITH THE PROSECUTOR TELLS US THAT ACTUALLY MOST PEOPLE PLEA OUT AND PAY.
THEY AREN'T ACTUALLY QUOTE UNQUOTE CONVICTED.
UH, WHICH I THINK IS, BY THE WAY, AN ODD TERM FOR SOMETHING LIKE WATER WASTE.
WE'D RATHER NOT HAVE TO USE THAT WORD.
BUT, UM, BUT IT MEANS THAT THE COURTS CAN'T ESCALATE THE AMOUNTS FOR SOME OF THE, UH, PARTICULARLY THE BUILDERS SITES WHERE THEY HAVE LOTS OF NEW HOMES.
AND THERE'VE BEEN QUITE A FEW CITATIONS AT NEW HOMES THAT ARE STILL IN THE BUILDER NAME, BUT EACH ONE IS A DIFFERENT ACCOUNT.
AND SO THEY'RE ALWAYS ONLY ALLOWED TO CHARGE $130 THE WAY IT WORKS TODAY.
CONVICTION SEEMS A BIT EXTREME, UH, FOR, FOR THIS, BUT, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I GUESS THEY'RE BREAKING AN ORDINANCE.
AND I'LL TELL YOU JUST, UM, ANECDOTALLY, I, I HEAR FROM THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THEY, WHEN THEY DO GET, UM, A CITATION THAT IT'S USUALLY A MISTAKE, RIGHT? THEY, THEY WERE WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY OR FORGOT TO TURN IT OFF OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I AM CURIOUS, IS THERE ANY, ANY TRACK OR ANY RECORD OF KIND OF THE REPEAT OFFENDERS WHO ARE, ARE, IT'S LESS LIKELY THAT, THAT THAT WAS A MISTAKE?
THIS IS, UM, ALMOST ALL SINGLE FAMILY THAT YOU COULD, IF YOU CAN SEE THIS BAR CHART WHERE THERE ARE MANY THAT ARE ONE AND DONE OF THE OVER 4,000 CITATIONS, 3,900 ONLY GOT ONE AT THAT ACCOUNT LOCATION.
SO THAT'S REALLY REMARKABLE THAT THERE ARE SO FEW THAT ARE TWO THAN A TINIER NUMBER THAT ARE THREE AND SO TINY BY THE TIME IT GETS TO SEVEN THAT I, I HAD TO PUT THE NUMBERS ABOVE 'CAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE THE LINE.
AND IT, IT KIND OF LEADS ME TO MY LAST, UM, JUST COMMENT.
I DO APPRECIATE THE, UH, NUMBER ONE, THE SHOUT OUT TO THE MUNICIPAL COURT BECAUSE THEY, THEY WORK HARD OVER THERE.
BUT ALSO, UM, THE EDUCATION TO OUR COMMUNITY, I THINK SO MANY TIMES IT'S BEEN, UH, AS I ME MENTIONED, THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT DAY THEY COULD, THEY COULD WATER OR, UM, USUALLY IT'S MISUNDERSTANDING OR, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, NOT HAVING BEEN INFORMED OR, OR, OR NOT HAVING BEEN INFORMED OR EDUCATED ON IT.
I THINK MY COLLEAGUE MENTIONED PUTTING IT IN NEWSLETTERS, PUTTING IN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
UM, I KNOW A LOT OF, UH, PEOPLE ARE ON, ON NEXTDOOR.
I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL DO THAT, IF Y'ALL PUT THAT OUT ON NEXTDOOR, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TOO.
UM, A LOT OF NEIGHBORHOODS GO TO THAT PLATFORM, UM, AND SOCIAL MEDIA, I KNOW, UH, MY NEIGHBORHOOD PUTS IT UP ON, ON THEIR, ON THEIR, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES.
UM, BUT ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO TO CONTINUE TO HELP EDUCATE AND INFORM PEOPLE ABOUT WHEN THEY CAN WATER AND, AND THE RESTRICTIONS IS, IS REALLY HELPFUL.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I AGREE WITH YOU.
I'D, I'D MUCH RATHER EDUCATE SOMEONE AND HAVE THEM FOLLOW THE RULES AND NOT HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS ENFORCEMENT PROCESS.
UM, IT IS, IT IS ODD TO ME PERSONALLY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WHEN WE'VE LOOKED AT THE DATA THAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN A WATER USE REDUCTION FROM WARNINGS.
IN THE PAST, I COULD SEE LESS OF A WATER USE REDUCTION AFTER A WARNING IN 2022.
I COULDN'T SEE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THE AGGREGATE PRE AND POST.
UH, WE ARE GOING TO WORK ON THE LANGUAGE IN THE WARNING TO MAKE IT MORE FIRM.
UH, MAYBE THE LANGUAGE IS NOT FIRM ENOUGH, UH, FOR WHATEVER REASON, UH, WE ARE NOT SEEING THE RESPONSIVENESS TO THE WARNINGS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE.
UM, I DO HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION.
UM, TALKING ABOUT, UH, OUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM, INSTALLATION AND INSPECTION.
AND HOW, UM, HOW DOES THE CITY COORDINATE THAT WITH YOU? OR WHAT, WHAT'S THE CITY'S ROLE IN THAT? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SAN ANTONIO, OR EXCUSE ME, THE STATE OF TEXAS HAS ACTUALLY, I WOULD ARGUE THE BEST IRRIGATION STANDARDS AND LICENSING PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES.
UH, IN ORDER TO DO IRRIGATION IN TEXAS, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LICENSE THAT'S NOT EASY TO GET.
AND YOU, IN ORDER TO DESIGN AND INSTALL, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LICENSE.
UM, ROBERT PUENTE, WHO'S HERE BEHIND ME, PASSED A, A LAW YEARS AGO BACK IN I THINK 2006, TO EVEN MAKE IT MORE CLEAR THAT CITIES SHOULD HAVE A PERMIT PROCESS AND THEN COULD USE THAT, THE COST FROM THOSE PERMITS TO GO INSPECT.
SO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO DOES HAVE A PERMIT REQUIREMENT THAT IS TRUE BOTH IN THE CITY AND IN THE E T J.
[00:35:01]
IS, UM, LOOKED AT, I THINK DURING INSPECTIONS INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS.BUT IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS NOT IN THE E T J.
UH, AND I WILL SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE LOOKED AT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN CONSUMPTION IN SIMILAR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE DEVELOPED WHERE IT WAS INSPECTED AND WHERE, BECAUSE IT, WHERE IT WAS LOCATED, IT WAS NOT, AND IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE.
THOSE IF WHEN IT'S INSTALLED, IT IS DONE CORRECTLY, IT WILL FOREVER USE A LITTLE LESS WATER.
THAT ADDS UP A LOT OVER TIME FOR OUR CUSTOMERS, FOR THEIR WATER BILLS AND FOR US AS A COMMUNITY.
SO IN OUR PLANNING AT SAWS, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT IS HOW COULD WE ADDRESS THAT, WHERE MOST OF OUR GROWTH IS THAT'S SO FAR OUT, YOU KNOW, OUT OF CITY LIMITS, SOMETIMES OUT OF THE E T J.
UM, THAT THAT IS LONG TERM GONNA BE BETTER FOR OUR CUSTOMERS AND FOR US AS A COMMUNITY IF WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY GETS THE BENEFIT OF THOSE HIGH STANDARDS.
SO IS THERE A WAY THAT THE CITY CAN HELP, UH, TIGHTEN THAT UP AND HELP YOU? AND, AND AS A FOLLOW UP, IS THERE NOT A REQUIREMENT THAT THE, IN THE COUNTY, IS IT JUST CITY LIMITS? IT IS, UM, IT IS REQUIRED TECHNICALLY EVERYWHERE IN THE STATE THAT THE STANDARDS THAT ARE IN OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING CODE AND ARE THROUGH T C E Q, THERE'S NO OFF THE HOOK.
EVEN IF YOU'RE IN COUNTY ONLY, YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MATTER.
YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW THESE RULES.
UH, WHAT I HAVE SEEN THOUGH IS THAT UNLESS SOMEONE'S LOOKING AND TAKING, YOU KNOW, GETTING THEIR EYES ON THAT IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND THEN FORCING IT TO HAVE ALL OF THE STANDARDS THAT IT SHOULD HAVE, IT DOESN'T UNIFORMLY HAPPEN.
AND THEN THE NEW HOMEOWNER IS FRANKLY STUCK WITH THIS WASTEFUL IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND THEY'RE VERY HARD TO FIX ON THE BACKEND.
WE OFFER REBATES TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF THEM, BUT THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT GOOD USE OF GOVERNMENT MONEY EITHER TO LET IT GO IN WRONG AND THEN PAY A LOT TO TRY TO FIX IT.
SO, UM, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THAT HONESTLY.
UM, I AM TALKING TO WATER UTILITIES WHERE THEY HAVE MADE IT PART OF THE PROCESS WHERE THE WATER UTILITY LOOKS AT THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM BECAUSE IT'S SO CRITICAL THAT, THAT BE PUT IN CORRECTLY AND THAT THE BACKFLOW BE RIGHT AND EVERYTHING THAT, UM, ONE OPTION IS THAT BECAUSE THE CITY IS NOT OUT IN THESE FAR AREAS EVEN THAT ARE OUTSIDE THE E T J, THAT THAT COULD BE A SAS RESPONSIBILITY IN THE FUTURE FUTURE.
UM, SO ON THAT, UM, IF IT, IF IT COULD BE, WELL, WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IS IT NOW IN THE E T J? IS IT THE COUNTY? I WOULD IMAGINE? RIGHT? NO, IT, I, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S NOT, IT'S AN INTERESTING THING AT THE STATE LEVEL, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO PULL A PERMIT AND SOMETIMES THEY'RE NOT, BECAUSE IT'S NOT EASY TO GET CAUGHT.
WE SOMETIMES COME ACROSS LOCATIONS WHERE WE CAN TELL, WE LOOK IN THE CITY'S PERMIT SYSTEM AND CAN TELL THEY DIDN'T EVEN PULL A PERMIT.
UM, UH, BUT IT'S NOT REQUIRED THAT THERE BE AN INSPECTION IN THE E T J AND THEN THERE'S NO REQUIREMENT FOR ANY INSPECTION OR PERMIT IF IT'S OUTSIDE OF THE E T J.
SO IT COULD AGAIN, BE A, A RULE OF BEING A SASS CUSTOMER IN THE FUTURE IN THE, THAT IT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED THAT WAY.
IN THE FUTURE, IS IT SOMETHING THAT IF SAS WERE TO, OKAY, SO WHAT, I GUESS IT'S A, A LONGER CONVERSATION OFFLINE, BUT, UH, WHAT, WHAT'S THE MECHANISM? HOW DO WE SUPPORT HAWS IN DOING THOSE INSPECTIONS OUT, OUT IN A T J? BUT IF YOU DO THAT, THEN UM, WOULD IT BE HELPFUL FOR YOU FOR SAS TO DO IT WITHIN THE CITY? I KNOW, YOU KNOW, THE CITY INSPECTORS DO THEIR, THEIR WORK AND THEY'RE VERY GOOD.
UM, BUT GIVEN ALL THE OTHER INSPECTIONS THAT THEY NEED TO DO STRUCTURAL, ELECTRICAL, I WONDER IF IT'S A WAY, THERE'S A WAY TO, UH, SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN THAT YOU'RE ASKING GREAT QUESTIONS AND THAT AS WE FOLLOW UP AND LOOK AT THESE ISSUES FOR OUR LONG-TERM PLANNING, WE'D WANNA SIT DOWN AND TALK TO THE CITY INSPECTORS BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT, THEY HAVE MANY THINGS TO DO.
AND SO WOULD IT MAKE MORE SENSE FOR SAWS TO TAKE ON THIS EVEN INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS? MAYBE.
YOU, YOU GUYS TAKE THAT ON FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, BUT THAT'S, I THINK THESE ARE ALL GREAT QUESTIONS FOR, FOR FOLLOW UP AND ARE THINGS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO THE FUTURE AND SAYING, OKAY, THESE ARE PATTERNS WE'RE SEEING, WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT, THERE ARE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO PUT IT IN PLACE? OKAY.
A LOT OF WHAT I TRY TO DO IN MY ROLE HERE IS FIND, FIND GAPS IN, IN PARTNERSHIPS.
AND I THINK THAT, UH, THERE'S SOMETHING HERE THAT MAYBE WE COULD WORK ON.
SO I'LL, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO TALKING WITH YOU MORE ABOUT THAT IN THE FUTURE.
[00:40:01]
THANK YOU.UM, I'VE GOT, UH, A COUPLE OF THINGS I'LL ALSO, I'D LIKE TO NOTE, UH, I THINK SLIDE SIX AND EIGHT, UH, ARE VERY TELLING, UM, MOST OF, UH, THE IDENTIFIED, UH, AREAS WHERE MORE WATER IS BEING USED THAN SHOULD BE.
AND MOST OF THE AREAS THAT HAVE RECEIVED CITATIONS SEEM TO BE AROUND, EXCUSE ME, COUNCIL MEMBER DISTRICT 6, 8, 9, AND 10 KIND OF ACROSS THE NORTH SIDE.
UH, AND THEN LIKE ALAMO HEIGHTS OR ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL PLACE.
UM, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS TO GET SOME INFORMATION ABOUT, UH, OUR DISTRICT MM-HMM.
SO, UH, I DEFINITELY APPRECIATE SEEING THAT.
AND I SEE A LOT OF IT IS OUTSIDE THE AREA WHERE THE NEW CONSTRUCTION'S TAKING PLACE MM-HMM.
AND THERE ISN'T A LOT WE CAN DO ABOUT THAT EXCEPT MAYBE WORKING WITH DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES TO INFORM ANY KIND OF DEVELOPMENT THAT'S GOING ON THAT THEY CAN MAYBE HELP THEM BE MORE AWARE OF THIS TOO.
I ALSO HAVE A, A LETTER FROM A CONSTITUENT I WANTED TO READ 'CAUSE IT'S RELATED TO WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
IT'S, IT'S RELATIVELY SHORT, BUT A CONSTITUENT WHO REACHED OUT ABOUT THE NEW FEE STATED THAT THE NEW RATE STRUCTURE NEGATIVELY IMPACTED HIM DUE TO HIS WATER USAGE AND TO MAINTAIN HIS YARD.
HE STATED THE LANDSCAPING WAS VERY LARGE, WAS A VERY LARGE INVESTMENT FOR HIS FAMILY, AND HE FEELS LIKE HE'S BEING PUNISHED FOR TRYING TO MAINTAIN THIS INVESTMENT AND KEEP HIS YARD LOOKING NICE.
NOW, HE HAS LOOKED INTO LANDSCAPING REBATES AND THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE THROUGH SAWS TO HELP HIM LOWER HIS WATER USAGE.
BUT HE STATED THAT THESE ARE NOT ENOUGH TO HELP HIM PAY FOR THE NEW INVESTMENT OF REDESIGNING HIS LANDSCAPE TO MEET THOSE KINDS OF, UH, OF, UH, REBATES.
HE COULD BE CONSIDERED A TARGET AUDIENCE AS A HIGH WATER USING USER LOOKING TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIORS TO SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THEIR USAGE.
AND THE QUESTION IS, HOW FREQUENTLY ARE THE COST EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSERVATION PROMOTING REBATES EVALUATED MM-HMM.
UM, WE'D LOVE THE REFERRAL TO US.
UH, WE HAVE PROGRAMS WHERE WE WOULD START WITH THIS CUSTOMER OFFERING OUR FREE, UH, CONSERVATION CONSULTATION.
WE HAVE SIX PEOPLE IN THE CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT WHO ALMOST ALL OF THEIR TIME IS SPENT GOING OUT TO INDIVIDUAL PROPERTIES, LOT OF HOMES AND WALKING THE CUSTOMER THROUGH THAT IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND LANDSCAPE TO BE ABLE TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHERE THE WATER'S GOING AT THEIR CURRENT SETTINGS, TALK TO THEM ABOUT WHAT THEIR LANDSCAPE DESIGN IS.
SOMETIMES THEY MAY, FOR EXAMPLE, THINK THAT IF THE GRASS IS NOT GREEN, IT'S DYING.
AND SO SOMETIMES THEY MAY CONVINCE THE PERSON WITH THAT LARGE PROPERTY THAT THESE AREAS THAT ARE KIND OF OUT FAR IN YOUR LARGE LOT BERMUDA GRASS, IT'S ACTUALLY OKAY IF IT'S NOT GREEN AND IT CAN SAVE YOU A LOT OF MONEY ON THAT WATER BILL IF YOU CHOOSE TO LET THAT BE OFF COLOR AS IT'S TRYING TO BE IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER.
UH, AND THEN THEY CAN, THEY GIVE AN CUSTOM REBATE OFFER AND THOSE REBATES, UM, WE, WE ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT THESE AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID A COUPLE YEARS AGO IS MADE THEM BASED ON THE DATA.
SO IF YOU HAVE, FOR EXAMPLE, A TINY IRRIGATION SYSTEM THAT'S THREE ZONES AND ONLY USES SIX GALLONS A MINUTE, YOUR REBATE OFFER IS GONNA BE A LITTLE SMALLER THAN SOMEONE WHO HAS 20 ZONES THAT ARE UP TO 30 GALLONS A MINUTE.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE'RE EVALUATED ON COST PER ACRE.
FOOT CONSERVATION IS CONSIDERED A SUPPLY AND WE ARE CURRENTLY, UH, WE ARE AIMING FOR TRYING TO SAVE AT $1,100 AN ACRE FOOT SAVED.
SO THAT REALLY BIG PROPERTY THAT HAS MORE FLOW, WE'RE GONNA SAVE MORE SO WE CAN OFFER A LARGER INCENTIVE TO BE EFFECTIVE.
AND SO WE'D LOVE THE CHANCE TO BE AT THAT HOME.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT'S NEW RIGHT NOW THAT'S BEEN VERY POPULAR AND WE'D LOVE TO PROMOTE IT TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE REBATES TO HELP YOU TRANSFORM AND HAVE LESS GRASS.
AND WE HAVE STARTED OFFERING FREE DESIGNS, UM, IT'S 200 SQUARE FEET AT A TIME AND CALLED IT PLANT BY NUMBERS, WHERE WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A VERY
[00:45:01]
SIMPLE LAYOUT FOR THAT NEW AREA AND VERY CLEAR AS TO WHAT PLANTS TO PUT IN AND HERE'S THE COUPON TO GO BUY THEM AT A REALLY BIG DISCOUNT.UH, AND THAT PEOPLE ARE LOVING BECAUSE OF COURSE MOST PEOPLE WHO WANNA MAKE A CHANGE ARE NOT MASTER GARDENERS AND THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE.
SO WE ARE THERE TO TRY TO MAKE THAT EASIER FOR THEM.
ONE ADDITIONAL QUESTION, ARE THOSE PLANTS ALL DEER PROOF
AND THE BAD JOKE I TELL IS THAT WE HAVE DEER RESISTANT PLANT LISTS THAT THE DEER JUST WON'T READ.
UM, AND SO I CAN ONLY SAY, YOU KNOW, THE DEER WHERE I LIVE, DON'T EAT THESE.
UH, YOUR DEER MAY BE SO HUNGRY THAT THEY DON'T CARE.
UH, BUT YES, WE, WE ACTUALLY ON GARDEN STYLE SA.COM, YOU CAN SEARCH BY PLANTS AND PUT IN ATTRIBUTES.
I WANT A TWO FOOT TALL PURPLE PLANT THAT'S GONNA BLOOM IN THE SUMMER THAT DEER ARE LESS LIKELY TO EAT.
WELL, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND HAVE, UH, THAT PERSON WHO'S WRITTEN TO US CONTACT YOU AGAIN AND ASK YOU GREAT.
TO KEEP US INFORMED OF HOW THAT GOES.
I THINK UNLESS WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION ON THIS, UH, WE'RE READY TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA.
THE NEXT ITEM IS A BRIEFING ON SAS GROWTH POLICY AND PROPOSED SERVICE AREA CHANGES, UH, THE CERTIFICATE OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY.
I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN A DISCUSSION AT THE SAS MEETINGS AND SO WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR US TO KIND OF HEAR HOW THAT, UH, DISCUSSION IS GOING, WHERE WE THINK IT MAY BE LEADING TO ANY FUTURE CHANGES.
VERY GOOD, THANK YOU COUNCILMAN COURAGE.
I'M SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION AT SAS.
I WANTED TO START OUT BECAUSE WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT SAS ROLE VERSUS THE CITY'S ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT.
SO I REALLY WANTED TO START OUT WITH SOME BACKGROUND BEFORE I GET INTO SOME OF THE, THE GROWTH DISCUSSION ITSELF.
UM, AS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENTS, I KNOW WE GET QUESTIONED ABOUT, UM, WHERE ARE WE IN THE PROCESS AND HOW DO WE FIT IN WITH THE CITY'S PROCESS? UM, SO'S ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT IS REALLY LIMITED TO WATER AND SEWER SERVICE.
OUR JOB IS TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS AND ADEQUATE WATER WITHIN THE C C N AND I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT, WHAT A C C N IS.
UM, WE SET REGULATIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR SERVICE.
WE CALL THEM OUR UTILITY SERVICE REGULATIONS.
WE HAVE THE FIRST REFRE, FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL TO PROVIDE SERVICE IN THE E T J WHEN IT'S OUTSIDE OF OUR C C N.
WE DO HAVE THAT DISCRETION TO PROVIDE SERVICE OUTSIDE OF OUR C C N BY COMPLIANCE, BY AGREEMENT, AS LONG AS THE PARTY THAT WE'RE ENTERING INTO AGREEMENT IS WILLING TO ABIDE BY OUR UTILITY SERVICE REGULATIONS.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO ISSUES LIKE LAND USE AND ZONING, ALL OF THAT FALLS UNDER THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO'S PURVIEW.
UM, AQUIFER PROTECTION TREE CANOPY, DARK SKIES, ALL FALLS WITHIN THE CITY UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE, PLATTING AND ZONING.
AND EVEN, UM, DOVETAILING A LITTLE BIT OFF WHAT, UH, KAREN WAS TALKING ABOUT, WATER CONSERVATION RESTRICTIONS ACTUALLY ARE ENFORCED BY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UM, WITHIN THE CORPORATE CITY LIMITS AND TO CUSTOMERS OF SAWS WITHIN THE E T J.
SO WHAT IS A C C N? UM, AS COUNCILMAN CUR SAID, CERTIFICATE OF CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY, TEXAS WATER CODE AND PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION RULES REFER TO THIS AS CERTIFICATED SERVICE AREA.
IT'S BASICALLY THE AREA WHERE A UTILITY HAS THE OBLIGATION TO SERVE.
A SPECIFIED AREA IS REGULATED BY THE P U C CHAPTER 13 OF TEXAS WATER CODE MANDATES SERVICE IN C C N AREA.
THE P U C MAY REVOKE C C N IF PROVIDER FAILS TO PROVIDE SERVICE, THE P U C MAY ORDER OR COMPEL SERVICE WITHIN THE SERVICE AREA AND P U C MAY IMPOSE A PENALTY FOR REFUSING TO SERVE.
SO IN ESSENCE, THE C C N HOLDER IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE CONTINUOUS AND ADEQUATE SERVICE TO THE AREA WITHIN ITS C C N BOUNDARY.
SO I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, I THINK WHAT'S SPARKING SOME OF THE DISCUSSION AND IT'S EASIEST TO SHOW WITH A MAP.
SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH BEXAR COUNTY, THEN WE'VE GOT THIS CITY LIMITS AS NOTED IN WHITE WITH THE DARK BORDER, AND THEN THE GRAY IS THE E T J.
AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT THE E T J IS EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION RIGHT NOW.
LEGISLATURE HASN'T CHANGED IT YET.
I UNDERSTAND IT'S UPWARD DISCUSSION IN AUSTIN RIGHT NOW, BUT THE LIMITS OF THE E T J IS FIVE MILE RADIUS FROM THE CITY LIMITS.
[00:50:01]
EXTEND REGULATIONS TO ADJACENT LAND WHERE DEVELOPMENT CAN AFFECT THE QUALITY OF LIFE WITHIN THE CITY.SO NOW WE'RE GONNA JUMP INTO THE SAUCE PORTION.
THE WATER C C N IS SHOWN HERE IN BLUE, AND THEN OUR SEWER C C N IS IN GREEN.
AND YOU SEE IT DOESN'T QUITE ALIGN AND THAT'S WHERE SOME OF THE ANGST COMES FROM.
UM, WHY DOESN'T IT ALIGN? THERE ARE A FEW REASONS.
UM, WHEN SAWS AND BARE MET MERGED, THAT ACTUALLY EXTENDED OUR SERVICE AREA AND OUR AREA, OUR AREA OF JURISDICTION.
AND IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS WE DIDN'T HAVE SEWER SERVICE.
THERE WAS ALSO IN THE NORTHWEST.
WE PURPOSELY PULLED BACK ON SEWER C C N DUE TO SOME ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS 10, 15 YEARS AGO.
AND THEN WE ALSO OVERLAY THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE ZONE AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THAT AFFECTS A LOT OF THAT NORTH NORTHWEST NORTH CENTRAL AREA.
SO THE AREAS THAT KEEP COMING IN QUESTION ARE AREAS WHERE WE DON'T HAVE C C N, BUT THERE'S CITIES E T J AND AREAS WHERE WE DON'T HAVE OVERLAP OF OUR WATER AND SEWER C CNS.
SO AS COUNCILMAN COURAGE MENTIONED, UH, THE SS BOARD HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT THIS FOR AT LEAST TWO PLUS YEARS.
UM, AT OUR LAST BOARD MEETING OR AT THE MARCH BOARD MEETING, THE BOARD GAVE US SOME DIRECTION AND I'VE SUMMARIZED THAT HERE.
FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT IS ALIGNMENT WITH THE CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SECONDLY, THEY'VE ASKED US TO LOOK AT INCREASED STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH IN TERMS OF C C N CONSIDERATIONS.
THEY'VE ASKED US TO REEVALUATE THE BORDERS OF OUR C C N, ENCOURAGE INFILL DEVELOPMENT, UH, LOOK AT PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE AREAS, MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, AND LOOK FOR AREAS TO INCENTIVIZE GROWTH IN TERMS OF THAT FIRST ITEM OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE CITY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
UH, RUDY NINO, WHO'S HERE TODAY, THANK YOU RUDY FOR COMING.
UH, HE PRESENTED TO OUR SOS BOARD IN FEBRUARY, JUST WHERE THE CITY WAS WITH THE GROWTH IN ANNEXATION PLAN.
I'M ACTUALLY, I STOLE HIS SLIDE.
SO THIS IS HIS SLIDE, WHICH I'M INCORPORATING INTO THIS PRESENTATION.
BUT I WANTED TO SHOW WHAT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SAYS ABOUT THE UTILITIES, SPECIFICALLY SAWS.
AND THERE'S REALLY, IT'S ONLY MENTIONED IN TWO PLACES.
UM, THE GROWTH AND CITY FORM POLICY 19, WHICH CALLS FOR THE PLAN TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE, UM, FOR THE GROWTH PLANS AND POLICIES MADE BY THE MAJOR UTILITY PROVIDERS AS WELL AS NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY POLICY 13, WHICH CALLS FOR THE CITY TO WORK WITH SAWS AND C P S E TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF SERVICE AREA EXPANSION.
I ALSO UNDERSTAND, UH, CITY STAFF AND WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH THEM, ARE WORKING ON THE, UH, UPDATING THE ANNEXATION AND GROWTH POLICY THAT WILL BE COMING TO COUNCIL THIS SUMMER.
WE HAVE BEEN A STAKEHOLDER AND WE HAVE HAD A SEAT AT THE TABLE IN THAT DISCUSSION.
AND WE ARE WORKING WITH THE CITY BECAUSE FROM THAT PLAN, WE UNDERSTAND THERE WOULD BE A DEVELOPMENT FOR THE GUIDE FOR GROWTH AREAS THAT COULD AND WOULD AFFECT US IN TERMS OF COORDINATION WITH THE CITY.
WE MEET BIMONTHLY WITH THE CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT TO TALK ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS, TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I'LL BE SHARING WITH YOU TODAY.
AREAS WHERE SAS WANTS TO GROW AND YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GET SPECIFIC SERVICE REQUESTS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF OUR C C N, BUT IN THE E T J WE'LL HAVE THAT DISCUSSION WITH CITY STAFF AS WELL.
SO IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT THE BORDERS OF OUR C C N LAST YEAR, WE IDENTIFIED THESE THREE AREAS THAT WE WANTED TO LOOK AT FURTHER.
AND THESE ARE AREAS THAT WE ARE SEEING SIGNIFICANT GROWTH WITHIN THE CITY, WITHIN THE COUNTY, UM, SPECIFICALLY SOUTHEAST, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST.
UM, I'M GONNA GO INTO SOME SPECIFICS STARTING WITH SOUTHEAST.
UM, TO ORIENT ON THE MAP, THE GRAY SHOWS THE LIMITS OF THE E T J, THE BLUE SHOWS WHERE WE HAVE WATER, C N BUT NOT SEWER, C C N, THE GREEN SHOWS WHERE WE HAVE BOTH WATER AND SEWER.
UM, IN TERMS OF WATER, C C N, THERE'S NO PLACE FOR US TO GROW BECAUSE EAST CENTRAL PROVIDES WATER SERVICE FOR THAT AREA.
SEWER C C N IS, THERE'S NO ONE, THERE IS NO ONE WHO IS PROVIDING SERVICE.
SO RIGHT NOW WE ARE STARTING TO PROVIDE SERVICE IN SOME AREAS BY AGREEMENT BECAUSE IT'S WITHIN THE E T J.
IN FACT, AT A BOARD MEETING JUST TUESDAY, WE APPROVED A SOME SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE, OVERSIZING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SOME LARGE DEVELOPMENTS COMING WITHIN THIS AREA.
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BEXAR COUNTY HAS APPROACHED SAWS TO PROVIDE SEWER SERVICE TO THIS AREA AS THEY'RE SEEING SIGNIFICANT GROWTH AT OUR BOARD'S DIRECTION.LAST FALL, WE DID A SURVEY AT TO SEVERAL AREAS, THIS BEING ONE OF 'EM, JUST TO SEE OUR PEOPLE INTERESTED.
IS THERE A DESIRE FOR SEWER SERVICE? AND THAT ANSWER OVERWHELMINGLY WAS YES, PEOPLE WERE FAVORABLE TO SAWS, EXPANDING SEWER SERVICE TO THE LIMITS OF THE E T J.
WHEN WE LOOK AT NORTHWEST, THIS AREA DOES INCLUDE SENSITIVE AREAS OVER THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE AND CONTRIBUTING ZONES.
BUT THERE IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT GROWTH POTENTIAL FOR THIS AREA WITH APPROXIMATELY 23 ACRES OF AVAILABLE LAND IN BARRON MEDINA COUNTIES.
WE ALSO ASKED SIMILARLY A SURVEY FOR THIS AREA WHERE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN HAVING OUR SEWER AND WATER E T J UM, CCNS MATCH, BECAUSE AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, THEY DON'T MATCH.
AND WE ALSO ASKED THEN, WERE PEOPLE INTERESTED IN HAVING OUR CCNS EXTEND TO THE LIMITS OF THE E T J? BOTH GOT FAVORABLE RESPONSES.
BOTH WERE TO THOSE SURVEY QUESTIONS WE GOT INTEREST OF YES SAWS, YOU SHOULD DO BOTH.
AND THAT TAKES US TO NORTHEAST.
NORTHEAST IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT WE EXTEND INTO COMAL COUNTY AND YOU'RE JUST SEEING GREEN THERE BECAUSE EVERYTHING ALIGNS HERE.
WE HAVE E T J, WE HAVE OUR WATER C C N AND SEWER, C C N ALL STACKED ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.
SO THEY ALL EXTEND INTO COMAL COUNTY.
WE CURRENTLY DO PROVIDE WATER SERVICE INTO THIS AREA OF COMAL COUNTY, BUT WE DO NOT YET PROVIDE SEWER.
IT DOES ENCOMPASS PART OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER RECHARGE AND CONTRIBUTING ZONES.
AND THIS AREA THAT WE'RE SPEAKING OF IN COMAL COUNTY IS ABOUT 1100 ACRES.
SO IN THE SURVEY WE ASKED IF WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO PROVIDE WATER SERVICE, CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT SERVICE AREA AND THAT WE GOT A FAVORABLE RESPONSE.
BUT WHEN IT CAME TO SEWER, PEOPLE WERE NOT FAVORABLE OF SAWS PROVIDING SEWER SERVICE IN COMAL COUNTY.
WE'D HAVE TO CROSS B COUNTY'S CREEK AND AT THAT IS COST PROHIBITIVE.
SO THAT WAS REALLY SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM THE SURVEY.
SO BEFORE I GO INTO MY RECOMMENDATIONS, I WANTED TO TAKE A STEP BACK AND TALK ABOUT IMPACT FEES.
SO IS JUST ABOUT TO KICK OFF OUR IMPACT FEE PROCESS.
CHAPTER 3 95 OF TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE REQUIRES IMPACT FEES TO BE UPDATED EVERY FIVE YEARS.
THE CURRENT IMPACT FEES WERE APPROVED BY COUNCIL IN 2019 AND REQUIRE UPDATE BY MID 2024.
WE HAVE A, UM, COMMITTEE, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS APPOINTED BY COUNCIL 11 MEMBERS.
STATE LAW REQUIRES 40% OF THE MEMBERS MUST REPRESENT THE REAL ESTATE AND BUILDING INDUSTRY.
WELL, CURRENTLY, AS I SAID, WE'RE ABOUT TO KICK OFF THE PROCESS, BUT WE HAVE FOUR VACANCIES ON THIS 11 MEMBER COMMITTEE.
SO WE DO NEED TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES BY THIS SUMMER WHEN WE START OUR, OUR WORK WITH THE HOPE OF COMING TO COUNCIL BY THE SPRING IN ORDER TO GET THE NEW IMPACT FEE APPROVED.
BUT WHAT IS AN IMPACT FEE? THAT'S AN ASIDE.
UM, IT IS A ONE-TIME CHARGE TO DEVELOPERS DESIGNED TO RECOVER CAPITAL COSTS FOR WATER AND WASTE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, SPECIFICALLY TANKS, WELLS, TRANSMISSION MAINS, OUR TREATMENT PLANTS, SEWER COLLECTION SYSTEMS, EVEN THE PROPERTY THAT THIS INFRASTRUCTURE WILL GO ON.
IT'S A MECHANISM FOR DEVELOPERS TO PAY THEIR EQUITABLE PORTION OF THE CAPITAL COSTS.
WE DON'T HAVE A FLAT IMPACT FEE.
IT DOES VARY BASED ON LOCATION AND THAT COST IS BASED ON THE DISTANCE EITHER FROM OUR WATER PRODUCTION AREAS OR FROM OUR WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITIES.
THE FURTHER AWAY YOU ARE, THE MORE INFRASTRUCTURE IT TAKES, AND THEN THE MORE THOSE O AND M COSTS ARE FOR ENERGY COSTS, FOR CHEMICALS, ET CETERA.
SO WE PASS THAT ALONG TO THE DEVELOPER.
SO THE FURTHER AWAY YOU ARE, THE MORE YOU HAVE TO PAY.
BUT I BRING THIS UP ABOUT IMPACT FEES BECAUSE OUR BOARD ASKED US TO LOOK AT THAT.
AS WE LOOK AT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS TO OUR BOARD, WE DO HAVE A BUDGET LINE ITEM FOR IMPACT FEES.
SO IF WE'RE LOOKING TO CHANGE OUR SERVICE AREA, WHAT WILL THAT DO TO OUR BUDGET? THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WERE ASKED IN MARCH.
SO DOUG EVANSON AND HIS TEAM ARE HELPING ME DO THAT ANALYSIS AND THAT'S SOMETHING, A QUESTION WE HAVE TO ANSWER BEFORE WE BRING OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATION BACK TO OUR BOARD.
SO WHAT WAS OUR RECOMMENDATION? THIS WAS A STAFF RECOMMENDATION WE BROUGHT IN MARCH FOR THE SOUTHEAST AREA.
WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO EXPAND OUR SEWER C C N TO MATCH THE CITY'S E T J AS I MENTIONED WE'RE ALREADY STARTING TO PROVIDE SERVICE IN THIS AREA, BUT WE'RE DOING IT BY
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AGREEMENT.SO THIS WOULD JUST SOLIDIFY THINGS.
AND ACTUALLY WE THINK IT WOULD HELP A LOT IN TERMS OF THE GROWTH AND THE CONSISTENCY FOR THAT AREA.
C C N AS, THERE'S ANOTHER PROVIDER THAT'S ALREADY THERE FOR THE NORTHWEST.
WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING ANY CHANGE.
AND THAT'S LARGELY DUE TO THE SENSITIVE AREAS, THE SENSITIVE FEATURES OVER THE RECHARGE ZONE.
SO NO CHANGE TO WATER OR SEWER.
C C N CONSIDER EACH CASE AS THEY COME.
THAT COMES OUTSIDE OF OUR C C N EACH REQUEST ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
ON THE NORTHEAST, WE'RE RECOMMENDING NO CHANGES TO WATER C C N, BUT FOR SEWER TO PULL BACK TO THE BEXAR COUNTY LINE, NOT TO PROVIDE SERVICE IN COMAU COUNTY.
AND AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WE ARE CONTINUING TO WORK WITH THE CITY ON THE ANNEXATION POLICY.
ON TOP OF THAT FINANCIAL ANALYSIS, OUR BOARD HAS ASKED US TO DO AS WELL AS SOME ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER OUTREACH.
SO WE ANTICIPATE BRINGING THE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS BACK TO OUR BOARD SOMETIME THIS SUMMER.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK THAT WAS, UH, PRETTY THOROUGH.
UH, I DO HAVE A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND, AND, AND ASK ABOUT AND, AND REALLY MAYBE AN OBSERVATION.
I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU, UM, I HAVE RUN ACROSS SEVERAL, UH, UM, DEVELOPMENT ISSUES IN WHICH THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, SAWS, ISSUANCE OF WATER PERMITS, UH, IN SOME CASES THAT WERE GIVEN 20 YEARS AGO.
BUT THE PROPERTY DID NOT GET DEVELOPED.
AND SO NEW DEVELOPERS BY THE PROPERTY AND THEY SAY, OKAY, WE'VE GOT THESE SAW WATER PERMITS SO WE CAN DEVELOP THIS AND THAT UNDER WHATEVER THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCES WERE 20 YEARS AGO.
IN OTHER WORDS, BECAUSE THEY HAD A SAWS PERMIT, THEY'RE SAYING THEY WERE GRANDFATHERED AWAY FROM THE CURRENT, UH, BUILDING CODES OR TREE PRESERVATION CODES, ET CETERA.
AND I'VE, I'VE ALWAYS FOUND THAT A, A REAL, UH, CHALLENGE FOR THE COMMUNITIES TO ACCEPT THE FACT THAT, UH, A NEW DEVELOPMENT, EVEN THOUGH THEY GOT WATER PERMITS 20 YEARS AGO, ARE SAYING, WELL, WE DON'T HAVE TO BUILD OR WE DON'T HAVE TO FOLLOW THE NEW GUIDELINES.
WE CAN FOLLOW ONES THAT ARE 20 YEARS OLD.
UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION A COUPLE OF TIMES IN, IN DISTRICT NINE.
AND I THINK A LOT OF TIMES THERE ARE DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE COME FORWARD WHEN IT COMES TIME TO, UH, PUT FORWARD A DEVELOPMENT PLAN OR PUT FORWARD AN ATTEMPT TO REDISTRICT THAT WILL SAY, WELL, SAWS HAS ALREADY SAID THIS, AND THOSE ARE THE GUIDELINES WE'RE GONNA FOLLOW.
FOR EXAMPLE, UH, ON REDISTRICTING, THEY SAY, WELL, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THIS GUIDELINE FOR THE AREAS THAT CAN DRAIN WATER, 'CAUSE THAT'S WHAT SAWS SAID, THEN THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GONNA GO BY.
EVEN IF THE COMMUNITY IS SAYING, WELL, WE WANNA HAVE, UH, BETTER DRAINAGE ON THIS PROPERTY.
UH, AND SO WHAT I'M SAYING IS SOMETIMES IT APPEARS THAT DEVELOPERS PREFER TO PUT SAWS ACTIONS AHEAD OF THE IDEA OF DEVELOPING A, A PLAN THAT THE CITY APPROVES THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS OR AHEAD OF, UH, ZONING.
AND WHAT I'M THINKING IS, CAN'T CAN'T SAS JUST EVALUATE SOMETHING AND GIVE, UH, SOME KIND OF A, AN ASSESSMENT OF WHAT IT WOULD BE, BUT NOT GIVE ANY KIND OF FINAL APPROVAL OR GUARANTEE UNTIL AFTER IT'S BEEN APPROVED THROUGH A PLANNING PROCESS.
SO THAT WHAT SAS SAYS DOESN'T LEAD THE PLANNING, BUT FOLLOWS THE PLANNING, SO TO SPEAK.
SO I'D WILLING TO HEAR SOMETHING ABOUT THAT.
GOOD MORNING, COUNCILMAN AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M WITH THE SASS LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
COULD YOU LIFT UP THE MIC A LITTLE BIT? YES, THANK YOU.
UH, MY NAME IS KEITH MARTIN AND I'M WITH THE SAS LEGAL DEPARTMENT.
AND SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO IS ADDRESSED IN CHAPTER 2 45 OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE.
WHAT IT SAYS THERE IS THAT FOR DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES, A UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENT FROM A WATER OR SEWER UTILITY CONSTITUTES A PERMIT.
AND SO UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE ON WHETHER THE U S A CONSTITUTES A PERMIT OR NOT, BUT WHEN THAT STATUTE WENT INTO EFFECT, WE COORDINATED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.
THIS WAS AROUND 2005 OR SO, AND WE CAME UP WITH A PROCESS THAT WOULD REFER THE DEVELOPERS BACK TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, UM, TO PERFORM THAT ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLETENESS
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REVIEW.I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AS FAR AS PERFORMING A REVIEW.
AND WE STILL HAVE A PROVISION IN THE UTILITY SERVICE AGREEMENT THAT REQUIRES, UH, THE DEVELOPERS TO CONTACT THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UM, WITH SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN THERE ON HOW TO CONTACT THEM IN ORDER TO GET THAT REVIEW STARTED.
SO UNDER THE U S A, WE FOCUS EXCLUSIVELY ON, UM, THE PROVISION AND OF CAPACITY, WATER AND SEWER CAPACITY, AND SETTING THAT ASIDE FOR THE DEVELOPERS.
UM, BUT THEN WE REFER 'EM TO THE CITY TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS REGARDING, UM, UM, VESTED RIGHTS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS VESTED RIGHTS.
SO IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION, WELL, IT, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IF THE CITY WERE TO ASK SASS TO SIMPLY DO AN EVALUATION RATHER THAN GRANTING A PERMIT, THAT THAT MIGHT ENABLE A CITY TO HAVE MORE EARLY INPUT ON THAT.
UH, AND, AND CAN'T SAWS SET UP AN EVALUATION PROCESS RATHER THAN A PERMIT PROCESS THAT WOULD BE LESS COST, SO TO SPEAK, FOR THE DEVELOPER, BUT WOULD GIVE THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT A LITTLE MORE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPOSE WHAT IT FEELS SHOULD BE BETTER PLANNING? YEAH, WE ACTUALLY SYMPATHIZE WITH THAT POSITION.
WE'D LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UNFORTUNATELY, UNDER CHAPTER TWO TO 45, IT'S THE APPLICATION FOR THE PERMIT THAT TRIGGERS THE PROCESS.
UM, SAW, SO WE, WE WE'RE, WE REVIEW THE U S A FOR, UH, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE WATER OR SEWER SERVICES, BUT THEN REFER THE DEVELOPER BACK TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND THE REMAINING ISSUES.
AND IT'S, IT'S NOT THAT THE, THE PERMIT DOESN'T KICK IN AFTER OUR REVIEW, IT'S THE FACT THEY APPLY FOR THE PERMIT THAT THAT TRIGGERS THAT, THAT RIGHT UNDER CHAPTER 2 45.
HOW ABOUT IF THE CITY THROUGH ITS PLANNING ORDINANCES, UH, WOULD ASK THAT, UH, BEFORE A PERMIT IS GRANTED THAT AN ASSESSMENT IS, IS REQUIRED, UH, SO THAT THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY APPLYING FOR A PERMIT, THEY COULD BE APPLIED FOR AN ASSESSMENT.
NOW, I KNOW THAT'S THEORETICAL, BUT I MEAN, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THE CITY MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO? WE, WE COULD CERTAINLY COORDINATE WITH THE CITY'S, UH, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND SEE WHAT WE CAN COME UP WITH.
THAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, ANSWERED MY QUESTION ON THAT.
UH, UH, ON THE OTHER ONE I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WAS ON THE IMPACT FEES.
AND, UM, I UNDERSTAND THEY VARY AND IT DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU'RE BUILDING, UH, BECAUSE OF THE ELEVATION AND THE POWER IT TAKES TO MOVE WATER AROUND TO BUILD SEWER AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
BUT WHAT HAS BEEN THE AVERAGE AMOUNT THAT SAWS HAS BUDGETED FOR IMPACT FEES AND OVER THE LAST, LET'S SAY, WELL, SINCE THE LAST ADJUSTMENT AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE AVERAGE THAT HAS COME IN? I WOULD LIKE OVER THOSE LAST FEW YEARS, DOUG EVANSON ANSWER THAT QUESTION.
I KNEW DOUG WOULD HAVE THE ANSWERS.
WELL, I'M TRYING TO DIG THROUGH OUR FER TO GET THE ACTUAL AMOUNTS, BUT THE AMOUNT WE HAVE BUDGETED HAS BEEN THE SAME SINCE THE LAST TIME WE DID THE, UH, BUDGET PROCESS.
WHEREBY, AGAIN, THE IMPACT FEE PROCESS GETS UPDATED EVERY FIVE YEARS.
LAST UPDATE WAS 20 20 19, 20 19, AND AT THAT TIME, THEY PROJECTED OUT HOW MUCH GROWTH WE WOULD HAVE AND HOW MUCH WE WOULD COLLECT AN IMPACT FEES, UH, OVER THAT TIME PERIOD.
UM, SO AGAIN, THAT WAS OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD.
WE WILL UPDATE IT AGAIN, THE PROCESS IS GOING AND THEN IT'LL COME IN FRONT OF YOU LATER THIS YEAR OR EARLY NEXT YEAR.
UM, SO THAT A HUNDRED MILLION HAS REMAINED CONSTANT SINCE 2019 OVER THE LAST, AND I HAVE THREE YEARS WORTH OF DATA HERE.
UM, CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES IN THE LAST THREE YEARS HAVE AVERAGED RIGHT AROUND 120, PROBABLY 125 MILLION JUST EYEBALL IN IT.
SO WE HAVE RIGHT, WE HAVE GENERATED MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED IN TERMS OF IMPACT FEES.
LAST YEAR, 2021 WAS THE HIGHEST YEAR WE EVER HAD ON RECORD.
WE ACTUALLY HAD 136 MILLION AND THIS LAST YEAR WE HAD ABOUT A HUNDRED, A LITTLE LESS THAN 130 MILLION.
AND HAS THAT BEEN ENOUGH TO PAY FOR ALL OF THE COSTS THAT SAS INCURRED, MAKING ALL THOSE CONNECTIONS AND DELIVERING ALL THOSE SERVICES? I BELIEVE SO, YES.
WE HAVE BEEN, I WOULD SAY WE ARE ONE OF THE MORE, I DON'T WANT TO SAY AGGRESSIVE, BUT I, I WOULD SAY THAT WE TRY TO VERY HARD TO MAKE GROWTH, PAY FOR GROWTH AND SET OUR IMPACT
[01:10:01]
FEES AT LEVELS THAT ARE, THAT, THAT HAVE BEEN BASICALLY AS HIGH AS OUR ALLOWABLE BY LAW.I GUESS A CONCERN THAT'S BEEN EXPRESSED IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE UNDER BUDGETED, UH, WHEN WE SAID A HUNDRED MILLION A YEAR WHEN WE KNEW WE WERE GETTING MORE, UH, AND SO WAS, WERE THESE FEES AND THE AMOUNT UNDER BUDGET THAT CAME IN, UH, OR OVER BUDGET THAT CAME IN, WAS THAT CONSIDERED BY THE RAC COMMITTEE WHEN THEY WERE REDOING THEIR RATE EVALUATION? I MEAN, 20 OR $30 MILLION EXTRA MONEY NOT IN THE BUDGET IS SIGNIFICANT WHEN IT COMES TO LOOKING AT RATES.
UH, IT, IT'S SIGNIFICANT, BUT AGAIN, THESE DOLLARS, WHAT THEY'RE TO BE USED FOR IS WE'RE NOT TO USE 'EM FOR O AND M.
THESE DOLLARS ARE TO BE USED FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS.
SO 20 OR 30 MILLION IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, I'VE GOT MORE THAN A $500 MILLION CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM EACH YEAR.
WHILE I DON'T DISAGREE, IT'S, IT'S A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT.
IT DOESN'T MOVE THE NEEDLE A LOT ON OUR RATES BECAUSE IT WASN'T ADDRESSING OPERATIONS OR MAINTENANCE.
BECAUSE THAT THESE DOLLARS CANNOT BE USED FOR OPERATIONS AND PAYMENTS.
IT'S ALL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.
WELL, I JUST LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT GOES FORWARD WITH THAT.
UH, LET ME SEE IF ANY OF THE OTHER COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THIS COUNCILWOMAN.
UH, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M MOST INTERESTED IN THE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SOUTHEAST SIDE.
SO IF I COULD JUST GET A TIMELINE AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UH, AND I KNOW YOU MENTIONED YOU'RE HOPING YOU TAKE IT TO THE BOARD THIS SUMMER.
AND THEN, UH, HOW WE WOULD MOVE FROM THERE.
THE OTHER THING I'M INTERESTED IN AS WE MOVE FORWARD, IF THIS PASSES WITH THE BOARD, IS MAYBE LOOKING AT, UH, PROGRAMS, UH, IN THE FUTURE THAT KIND OF HELPS AS WE BRING SEWER LINES INTO, UM, AREAS WHERE WE STILL HAVE HOMES ON SEPTIC TANKS.
MAYBE WE, WE LOOK AT A PROGRAM EITHER CITY OR SAW AND CITY OR SAW CITY AND COUNTY.
'CAUSE I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THE COUNTY IS UNDERSTANDING THE NEED TO GET PEOPLE OFF OF THEIR SEPTIC TANKS AND ONTO AN ACTUAL SEWER LINE THAT WE CAN MAYBE HAVE, UH, UNDER ONE ROOF TYPE PROGRAM FOR, UM, GETTING PEOPLE CONNECTED TO, TO A, TO A SEWER LINE.
SO, UH, AS SOON AS THIS HAPPENS, UH, I, I'M, I'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN COORDINATING AN EFFORT TO, TO START A PROGRAM WHERE WE CAN GET PEOPLE CONNECTED, UM, TO THESE LINES AS THEY COME FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT.
UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE, UH, SOME DEVELOPMENT COMING, UM, IN OTHER PARTS OF, OF THE, THE DISTRICT AND COUNTY THAT WE COULD WORK ON THAT TOO.
WE'LL CERTAINLY COMMUNICATE THAT AND WORK ON BRAINSTORMING SOMETHING.
HAVADA, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
THE, UH, NEXT SECTION OF THE MEETING TODAY IS GOING TO BE ADDRESSING WATER SYSTEMS', CURRENT FINANCIAL STANDING, INCLUDING UPDATES ON ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND IT'S JUST OVERVIEW OF THAT.
UH, I GUESS YOU SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST HERE, UH,
MY NAME'S DOUG EVANSON, I'M CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER HERE AT SAS.
AND TODAY, AS YOU JUST, UH, ALLUDED TO, I WANNA TALK TO YOU, GIVE YOU A BRIEF FINANCIAL UPDATE, HOPEFULLY VERY BRIEF FINANCIAL UPDATE ON WHERE WE'RE AT, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, AS WELL AS WHERE OUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ARE AT CURRENTLY.
JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE, SAWS IS A CALENDAR YEAR END, AND SO WE JUST RECENTLY COMPLETED OUR 2022 EXTERNAL AUDIT PROCESS.
SO WE ACTUALLY JUST PUBLISHED OUR MOST RECENT ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT, AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT SAS IS CURRENTLY IN EXCELLENT FINANCIAL CONDITION AND THERE WERE, WE HAD AN UNMODIFIED OPINION, WHICH IS THE BEST OBVIOUSLY, THAT YOU CAN DO.
UM, SO AGAIN, I WANNA SHARE WITH YOU HOW SA HAS UTILIZED ITS EXCELLENT FINANCIAL POSITION TO BENEFIT OUR CUSTOMERS IN THE RECENT PAST, AS WELL AS SOME OF OUR PLANS TO DO SO IN THE FUTURE.
SO WE DON'T GET TO GET IN FRONT OF YOU ALL THAT OFTEN, UH, TO TALK ABOUT FINANCIAL RESULTS, UM, THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE COUNCIL WAS, UH, NORMALLY IS WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RATES.
AND THE LAST TIME WE DID A FORMAL RATE REQUEST, THIS IS A SLIDE THAT I PRODUCED THAT CAME RIGHT OUT OF A, A BRIEFING WE GAVE BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2017.
THAT WAS THE LAST TIME SAWS FORMALLY REQUESTED A RATE INCREASE AT THAT TIME.
UH, CITY COUNCIL DID THANKFULLY APPROVE.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THERE, UH, THE 5.8 AND THE
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4.7% INCREASE IN OUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER BILL.WE ALSO HAD, RELATED TO 2016, THERE WAS A CITY COUNCIL HAD APPROVED A RATE FIVE-YEAR RATE INCREASE RELATED TO THE WATER SUPPLY FEE TO HELP PAY FOR THE VISTA RIDGE WATER SUPPLY PROJECT.
SO THE LAST, THAT LAST RATE INCREASE WENT INTO EFFECT IN 2020.
AND SO THOSE WERE THE LAST, THESE INCREASES, THESE TWO THAT WE SEE HERE, AS WELL AS THE ONE THAT WENT INTO EFFECT IN 2020 WERE THE LAST IN A SERIES OF RATE ADJUSTMENTS THAT SAWS RECEIVED FROM 2012 TO 2020.
SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU KIND OF THE IMPACT OF SOME OF THOSE INCREASES AND SAWS IS SHOWN IN THE BLUE LINE AND YOU CAN SEE THE OTHER CITIES THERE.
AND THIS BASICALLY JUST SHOWS THE MONTHLY BILL AMOUNT FOR WHAT WE REFER TO AS AVERAGE ESSENTIAL WATER AND SEWER SERVICES.
EVERYBODY'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT ON AVERAGE, SOMEWHERE AROUND 6,000 GALLONS OF WATER, 6,000 GALLONS OF SEWER IS MAYBE THAT MAY BE A LITTLE HIGH ON THE SEWER SIDE.
WE, WE ARE SEEING ABOUT 5,000 GALLONS THESE DAYS.
BUT, UM, SO THAT'S WHAT WE DEFINE AS ESSENTIAL SERVICE.
AND THIS IS ACTUALLY REPEATED, OR WE PUT THIS INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT AND IT HAS A ROLLING 10 YEAR HISTORY, BUT I'VE WENT BACK IN THE PAST AND FOUND SOME OF THESE OTHER DATA POINTS.
BUT YOU CAN SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHERE WE STARTED IN 2005 AND THAT'S WHEN I STARTED AT SAWS, YOU CAN SEE THAT SAWS RATES FOR THAT LEVEL OF ESSENTIAL SERVICE AGAINST 6,000 GALLONS OF WATER AND 6,000 GALLONS OF SEWER WAS LOWER THAN THE AVERAGE.
WE WERE $3 AND 95 CENTS, ALMOST $4 BELOW AVERAGE OF THE OTHER THREE TEXAS CITIES.
YOU CAN SEE THAT OUR RATES, YOU CAN SEE IN 2012 THROUGH 2020, OUR RATES INCREASED BASICALLY EVERY YEAR DURING THAT PERIOD.
BUT EVEN DESPITE THAT, AT THE END OF 2020 SAWS AVERAGE BILL COMPARED TO THE OTHER THREE TEXAS CITIES WAS ABOUT $10 BELOW AVERAGE.
SO BEFORE WE MOVE PAST WHERE WE'RE AT IN 2020, I WANNA SPEND JUST A MINUTE TO PROVIDE YOU A REMINDER OF THE TWO PRIMARY DRIVERS FOR THE RATE INCREASES THAT SAW US IMPLEMENTED DURING THIS TIMEFRAME.
THE FIRST DRIVER WAS THE E P A MANDATED CONSENT DECREE, WHICH SAW US ENTERED DURING 2013.
THIS CONSENT DECREE REQUIRED THAT SAWS TAKE REMEDIAL ACTIONS TO IMPROVE THE WASTEWATER COLLECTION SYSTEM AND DRIVE DOWN SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS.
THE TERM OF THE CD WAS 10 YEARS WITH CERTAIN LIMITED EXTENSIONS, AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE ARE LARGELY COMPLETE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS DECREE.
DURING THE LAST DECADE, SAWS HAS INVESTED APPROXIMATELY $1.6 BILLION INTO OUR WASTEWATER, UH, SYSTEM, WASTEWATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS WITH THE VAST MAJORITY OF THAT SPEND IN SUPPORT OF OUR COLLECTION SYSTEM.
THE GRAPHIC IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SLIDE, UH, SHOWS YOU KIND OF OUR SUCCESS IN DRIVING DOWN THE NUMBER OF SANITARY SEWER OVERFLOWS, WHICH AS YOU CAN SEE BACK IN 2010, WE'RE ABOUT 538.
WE HAD 538, AND THEN OUR MOST RECENT YEAR WE HAD 174.
I WILL SAY WE'RE ON A GOOD PACE SO FAR IN 2023 AS WELL.
OBVIOUSLY THE GOAL IS ZERO, THAT'S AN UNACHIEVABLE GOAL.
NO ONE GETS TO ZERO, BUT THAT IS THE GOAL.
SO WE HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE HAVE MADE.
THE PICTURE ON THE RIGHT UH, SHOWS A TUNNEL BORING MACHINE AT OUR SINGLE LARGEST CONSENT DECREE PROJECT, THE W SIX SEWER MAIN, WHICH ROUTED WASTEWATER AROUND RATHER THAN THROUGH LACKLAND AND HAD A COST INDIVIDUALLY.
THAT PROJECT ALONE COST MORE THAN $200 MILLION TO COMPLETE.
THIS LEVEL OF IMPROVEMENTS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF CITY COUNCIL.
SO I KNOW NONE OF YOU WERE SITTING HERE IN BACK IN 2012 AND 2013, BUT I KNOW YOU HAVE HAD TO TAKE SOME VOTES AND WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT WE COULD NOT HAVE DONE WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF CITY COUNCIL.
THE OTHER BIG THING, I'M NOT GONNA SPEND A LOT OF TIME HERE, KAREN TALKED ABOUT A LOT IN TERMS OF SOME OF OUR EXPANSION AND DIVERSIFICATION OF WATER SUPPLY, BUT DURING THE LAST DECADE, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT SAWS HAS SPENT INVESTED $1.7 BILLION IN WATER SUPPLY AND WATER DELIVERY INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, ON TOP OF THAT AMOUNT, SAWS ALSO ENTERED INTO A CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT, WHICH TOTALED MORE THAN $900 MILLION.
SO IF YOU ADD THOSE TWO TOGETHER, THE 1.7 AND THE 900, WE'VE INVESTED BASICALLY $2.6 BILLION OVER THE LAST DECADE.
[01:20:01]
UH, EXPANDING NOT ONLY OUR DI WATER DISTRIBUTION NET NETWORK THAT NOW TOTALS MORE THAN 7,600 MILES, BUT ALSO ADDING MORE THAN 70,000 ACRE FEET A YEAR OF NEW SUPPLIES FOR OUR WATER SUPPORT, UH, WATER SUPPLY PORTFOLIO.THIS, THESE INVESTMENTS WILL ENSURE AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF HIGH QUALITY WATER FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DECADES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF SAN ANTONIO.
SO AT APPROXIMATELY THE SAME TIME THAT SAWS BROUGHT THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT ONLINE, THERE WAS ANOTHER EVENT WHICH CHANGED THE WORLD, AND THAT WAS THE C OVID 19 PANDEMIC.
I KNOW YOU'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THIS PICTURE SAWS HAS BEEN READY.
OBVIOUSLY IT IMPACTED EVERYBODY IN SAN ANTONIO AS WELL AS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD.
BUT SAWS HAS BEEN READY, WILLING, AND ABLE TO RESPOND TO THE MYRIAD OF CHALLENGES WHICH SPAWNED AS A RESULT OF COVID.
SO GETTING INTO OUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, UM, YOU'VE SEEN SOME OF THESE SLIDES BEFORE.
I KNOW MARY BAILEY'S BEEN UP HERE AND TALK ABOUT KIND OF HOW WE POSITIONED OURSELVES, BUT UPON THE OUTBREAK OF COVID WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY SAW US IMMEDIATELY ACTED, YOU KNOW, WE JUST LIKE OTHERS, SUSPENDED SERVICE DISCONNECT DISCONNECTIONS IN LATE FEE PENALTIES FROM MARCH OF 2020 THROUGH OCTOBER OF 2021.
YOU CAN SEE THE IMPACT IT HAD ON US IN TERMS OF OUR ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE.
UH, AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, ANY OF THOSE WERE SHOWN HERE.
ANYTHING 30 OR MORE DAYS PAST DUE.
AND AT THE TIME THEY WERE AROUND 15 MILLION AT THE BEGINNING OF 2020.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT GREW TO MORE THAN $57 MILLION IN SEPTEMBER OF 2021.
WE HAVE MADE SOME IMPROVEMENTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED RESUMED SOME OF OUR PROCESSES THAT WE HAD IN PLACE PREVIOUSLY.
WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED CLOSE TO $9 MILLION OF ARPA FUNDING THROUGH, THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT AS OF MOST RECENT DATA AVAILABLE AS OF THE END OF MARCH, ABOUT $40 MILLION OF DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE IN ORDER TO ACCOUNT FOR THESE HIGHER LEVEL OF DELINQUENCIES.
SINCE 2020 SAWS HAS INCREASED ITS PROVISION FOR BAD DEBT BY APPROXIMATELY $35 MILLION AS COMPARED TO THE HISTORICAL AVERAGE OF WHAT WE WOULD'VE RECORDED.
SO WHAT THIS MEANS IS THAT SAWS IS LIKELY TO FOREGO APPROXIMATELY $35 MILLION OF REVENUE THAT IT WOULD HAVE COLLECTED IN MORE NORMAL TIMES.
HOWEVER, AS I SPECIFICALLY STRESSED TO THE BOND RATING AGENCIES THE LAST TIME WE MET WITH THEM SAWS HA STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION HAS ALLOWED IT TO BRIDGE THIS BASICALLY SUBSTANTIAL BUSINESS DISRUPTION WITH NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO THE ORGANIZATION.
SO TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE DATA, THE $40 MILLION OF DELINQUENCY THAT WE REFERRED TO ON THE PRIOR SLIDE INCLUDED FINAL BILLED ACCOUNTS, WHICH HAVE NOT YET BEEN CHARGED OFF.
SO ONCE WE, ONCE WE FINAL BILL AN ACCOUNT, THEN EVENTUALLY THEY WILL GET CHARGED OFF.
UH, BUT THAT JUST HADN'T HAPPENED YET.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS JUST OUR ACTIVE ACCOUNT DELINQUENCIES.
SO THAT'S THE REASON FOR THE DISPARITY.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S ROUGHLY, IN LOOKING AT THERE SAWS, ACTIVE ACCOUNT DELINQUENCIES AS OF THE END OF MARCH, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 92,000 ACTIVE ACCOUNTS THAT HAVE A BALANCE OF 30 PLUS DAYS PAST DUE.
THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF THESE PAST DUE BALANCES TOTALS THE 33.8 MILLION.
THEN OF THOSE 92,000 ACCOUNTS, IF YOU LOOK IN THAT FAR RIGHT COLUMN, ROUGHLY ONE THIRD OR 31,000 ACCOUNTS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DISCONNECTION.
SO YOU DON'T GET IN OUR SYSTEM, YOU DON'T GET ELIGIBLE FOR DISCONNECTION UNTIL YOU'RE BASICALLY 60 DAYS PAST DUE.
UH, UM, ADDITIONALLY, AS OF THE END OF MARCH, SAS MAINTAINED APPROXIMATELY 21,600 ACTIVE PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS WITH CUSTOMERS.
OBVIOUSLY DISCONNECTING THE SERVICE OF ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS IS NOT OUR PREFERRED METHOD OF RESOLUTION.
AND SAWS CONTINUES TO WORK WITH CUSTOMERS AT RISK FOR DISCONNECTION WHO DEMONSTRATE A WILLINGNESS TO WORK TOWARD A RESOLUTION OF THEIR PAST DUE BALANCE.
THE COVID PANDEMIC ALSO IMPACTED OUR LIVES IN ANOTHER O NUMBER OF OTHER WAYS AS WELL.
SIMILAR TO ALL OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SAWS HAS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS AND PRICE INCREASE REQUESTS.
JUST THIS WEEK I HAD SHARED WITH ME AN EXTENSION OF TIME REQUEST RELATED TO ONE OF THE PROJECTS WE'RE UNDERTAKING AT OUR KLAUS WATER RECYCLING CENTER.
THE PROJECT, THIS PROJECT ORIGINALLY HAD A SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION DATE OF MAY 27TH, 2023.
DUE TO LEAD TIMES ASSOCIATED WITH OBTAINING ELECTRICAL PARTS.
THE VENDOR IS NOW REQUESTING A REVISED SUBSTANTIAL COMPLETION DATE OF AUGUST 20TH, 2024.
[01:25:02]
SO THAT'S MORE THAN A YEAR DELAYED, AND WE'RE SEEING THAT IN A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS.UM, THE SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS HAVE ALSO LED TO SIGNIFICANT PRICE INCREASE REQUESTS, CHLORINE, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE USE A LOT OF AS A WATER UTILITY.
WE'VE HAD SIX DIFFERENT PRICE INCREASE REQUESTS SINCE THE END OF 2019, AND THE PRICE HAS BASICALLY TRIPLED WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR CHLORINE COMPARED TO WHAT WE WERE PAYING PRE PANDEMIC.
SO THESE FINANCIAL PRESSURES, JUST AS I KNOW, THEY'VE IMPACTED EVERY, THE CITY AND ALL YOUR STAFF AS WELL, THEY'VE IMPACTED OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET AND THAT'S OUR EMPLOYEES AND IN PARTICULARLY OUR LOWER PAID EMPLOYEES.
IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO THEIR FINANCIAL CHALLENGES, WE ACCELERATED PLANNED WAGE ADJUSTMENTS BY MORE THAN EIGHT MONTHS.
SO THOSE ADJUSTMENTS THAT GONNA BE GIVEN IN APRIL AND MAY OF THIS YEAR WERE ACTUALLY GIVEN IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
AND THOSE ACTUALLY CAME IN, WE ACTUALLY PROVIDED MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD FORECAST AS WELL, OR WHAT WE HAD PLANNED TO DO.
YOU CAN SEE THAT EVERYBODY THAT EARNS UNDER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ACTUALLY RECEIVED A 10% PAY INCREASE IN SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
AGAIN, ACTIONS LIKE THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT OPERATING FROM A POSITION OF FINANCIAL STRENGTH.
ANOTHER RECENT CHALLENGE THAT I KNOW WE'VE TALKED TO THIS COMMITTEE ABOUT A LOT, UM, AND THAT WE WERE ABLE TO MEET HEAD ON WAS WINTER STORM URI.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE INCURRED MORE THAN $2 MILLION IN UNEXPECTED COSTS AND IN AN EFFORT TO BE RESPONSIVE TO OUR CUSTOMER'S NEEDS DURING THAT DIS DIFFICULT TIME, PROVIDED MORE THAN $12 MILLION IN BILLING ADJUSTMENTS SIMPLY RELATED TO THAT EVENT.
SO AGAIN, THAT WAS ANOTHER $12 MILLION THAT WE BASICALLY JUST WROTE OFF ADJUSTED OFF OF CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS.
IN ORDER TO INDEPENDENTLY EVALUATE OUR RESPONSE EFFORTS, SAWS IMMEDIATELY ENGAGED BLACK AND VEATCH TO CONDUCT A REVIEW OF OUR PREPARATIONS AND RESPONSIVENESS.
AS A RESULT OF BOTH THIS REVIEW AS WELL AS THE REVIEW OVERSEEN BY THIS COMMITTEE, SAWS HAS AND CONTINUES TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN OUR RESILIENCY PROFILE.
ONE OF THE KEY INITIATIVES DESIGNED TO FURTHER ENHANCE OUR OVERALL RESILIENCY IS THE INSTALLATION OF BACKUP GENERATORS AT A NUMBER OF OUR PUMPING STATIONS IN TOTAL SAWS, ANTICIPATE SPENDING MORE THAN $200 MILLION TO FACILITATE THESE EFFORTS.
THIS AMOUNT IS ON TOP OF SAWS OTHER CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS WITH SAWS PLANNING TO FUND THIS INITIATIVE WITHOUT A CORRESPONDING RATE ADJUSTMENT.
OTHER MAJOR INITIATIVES, CHALLENGES, WHICH HAVE COME ABOUT DURING THE LAST THREE TO FOUR YEARS INCLUDE OUR CONNECT H TWO O ADVANCED METERING IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH I KNOW WE BRIEFED THE THIS COMMITTEE ON, AND WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE SAWS BOARD IN LATE 2021 AT A COST OF MORE THAN $200 MILLION, AS WELL AS THE INCREASE IN THE PERCENTAGE OF GROSS SAWS, GROSS REVENUES BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE CITY GOING FROM 2.7%, UH, IN LATE 2019 TO 4%.
CURRENTLY SAWS STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION WAS AGAIN ABLE TO ABSORB THESE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES WITHOUT SEEKING OF ADDITIONAL RATE ADJUSTMENTS.
SO AS A CONTINUATION OF SLIDE THREE, THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU THE ADDITIONAL YEARS 20 21, 20 22, AND 2023 SAWS HELD ITS RATE STEADY IN BOTH 2021 AND 2022 WHILE IMPLEMENTING A RATE REDUCTION AGAIN AT 6,000 GALLONS OF WATER AND SEWER YEARS.
THOSE, THOSE CUSTOMERS SAW A RATE REDUCTION OF MORE THAN 8% BEGINNING IN 2023.
THIS HAS RESULTED IN THE MONTHLY BILL FOR SAWS ESSENTIAL WATER AND SEWER SERVICE DECLINING FOR MORE THAN $69 IN 2020 TO 63 50 AS OF 2023, WHILE THE AVERAGE FOR THE OTHER THREE CITIES ROSE FROM $79 IN 2020 TO ALMOST $91 IN 2023, RESULTING IN A DIFFERENCE OF $27 WITHIN JUST THE LAST COUPLE DAYS.
IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT HOUSTON, SINCE THE TIME THAT I PREPARED THIS SLIDE AND CENTERED OVER HOUSTON'S LATEST RATE INCREASE, WHICH WENT INTO EFFECT ON APRIL 1ST, ACTUALLY INCREASED EVEN MORE THAN I HAD ORIGINALLY THOUGHT.
THEY ACTUALLY MISSIONARY TYPE PROVIDER AS WELL.
SO IT WENT UP MORE THAN WHAT I HAD ENVISIONED.
AND THIS HAS RESULTED IN C IN HOUSTON'S AVERAGE BILL BEING ABOUT $123 FOR THAT SAME LEVEL OF SERVICE RIGHT NOW.
I, BUT I DON'T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT EL PASO OR FORT WORTH OR, OR CORPUS.
AND WE CAN, YOU KNOW, HOW DO OUR RATES, YOU KNOW, MEASURE WITH THOSE OTHERS, WHICH ARE MAJOR CITIES IN THE, AND WE CAN SHOW YOU THAT DATA.
EL PASO WOULD BE, UM, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOWN THERE AROUND OUR AREA.
FORT WORTH IS SLIGHTLY HIGHER, SO,
[01:30:01]
BUT THEY'RE IN OUR ACT FOR AS WELL.UM, AGAIN, THAT SAME DATA, WHAT SCHEDULE IS IT SPECIFICALLY? IT'S 27.
SCHEDULE 27 IN OUR ACT FOR, WE'LL SHOW YOU OUR COMPARISON FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS FOR 27 AND THEN 29.
DO WE EVER LOOK AT, UH, LIKE A, A CITY LIKE PHOENIX, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO US OR SAN DIEGO, WHICH WE GET COMPARED TO ALONG WE DO.
UM, AND WE'VE SHARED THAT WITH OUR BOARD.
WE'D BE HAPPY TO COME BACK AND SHARE IT WITH YOU IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT DATA.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, PHOENIX HAS SOME VERY, VERY INEXPENSIVE WATER AND SEWER RATES.
THEY HAVE VERY LITTLE OUTDOOR IRRIGATION.
UM, BUT SAN DIEGO'S QUITE A BIT HIGHER THAN OURS.
THEY'VE ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH A E P A CONSENT DECREE SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE DONE AS WELL.
IF SOMEBODY COULD JUST SEND ME A NOTE ON WHERE TO LOOK FOR THAT INFORMATION IN THERE.
'CAUSE I DON'T WANNA START ON PAGE ONE AND TRY AND FIND IT BECAUSE IT'S 400 PAGES.
UM, BUT IT'S A GREAT READ
UM, OKAY, SO HOW HAVE WE MANAGED TO REDUCE THE COST OF ESSENTIAL WATER AND SEWER SERVICES SINCE 2020 WHILE AT THE SAME TIME CARRYING OUT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS THAT OVER THAT SAME TIME PERIOD, 20 20, 20 21 AND 2022, THEY AVERAGED ALMOST $600 MILLION PER YEAR.
SO AGAIN, I TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS. THEY ARE SIGNIFICANT.
ONE OF THE DRIVING FACTORS BEHIND THIS ACCOMPLISHMENT IS THE PRUDENT USE OF CASH RESERVES TO MANAGE SAS DEBT PORTFOLIO.
SINCE 2019, SAS HAS REDEEMED $292 MILLION OF HIGHER COUPON DEBT OBLIGATIONS WITH CASH RESERVES.
THESE REDEMPTIONS HAVE PROVIDED AND WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE DEBT SERVICE SAVINGS TOTALING APPROXIMATELY 356 MILLION THROUGH THE YEAR 2031.
ADDITIONALLY, SAWS HAS TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF WHAT TILL MORE TILL MORE RECENTLY HAS BEEN A HISTORICALLY LOW INTEREST RATE ENVIRONMENT TO REFINANCE A TOTAL OF NINE DIFFERENT SERIES OF BONDS DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS, AND WHICH REALIZED DEBT SERVICE SAVINGS OF ANOTHER NEARLY $130 MILLION AS A RESULT OF THOSE TRANSACTIONS COMBINED.
THOSE TWO STRATEGIES HAVE ENABLED SAUCE TO HOLD ITS OVERALL BONDED DEBT SERVICE OR BASICALLY OUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT RELATIVELY CONSTANT SINCE 2018, DESPITE SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL PROGRAMS OVER THAT TIME PERIOD.
I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT THAT THE RATING AGENCIES HAVE PROVIDED US POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON THE USE OF OUR CASH RESERVES WITH S AND P HAVING PROVIDED SAWS A RATING UPGRADE IN SEPTEMBER OF 2022.
SO WE NOW HAVE OUR HIGHEST CREDIT RATINGS OF ALL TIME.
ANOTHER DRIVER IN SAWS ABILITY TO NOT HAVE TO SEEK OUT FURTHER RATE ADJUSTMENTS HAS BEEN THE CONTINUED EFFICIENCY GAINS THAT SAWS HAS RECOGNIZED AS AN ORGANIZATION.
AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND THEREFORE SAWS CUSTOMER BASE CONTINUES TO GROW AS DEPICTED WITH THE ORANGE LINE AT THE END OF 2011, SAWS SERVED A TOTAL OF 765,400 CUSTOMER RECONNECTIONS.
THIS FIGURE SPIKED UP BY MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND WITH THE ASSUMPTION OF BARE MET DURING 2012 AND THEN THEN GREW BY ROUGHLY ONE AND A HALF PERCENT PER YEAR FROM 2013 TO 2017.
WITH THE PACE OF GROWTH ACCELERATING DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS, 2018 THROUGH 2013 OR 2022, WE'VE ADDED CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS AT AN AVERAGE RATE OF ABOUT 2.3% PER YEAR.
UM, OVER THAT SAME TIME PERIOD, THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AS SHOWN WITH THE PURPLISH BARS ALSO SPIKED.
YOU CAN SEE IT SPIKED BY ABOUT 220 EMPLOYEES WITH THE ASSUMPTION OF BARE MET AND IN 2012, BUT THROUGH NATURALLY OCCURRING ATTRITION, OH, SORRY, THROUGH NATURALLY OCCURRING ATTRITION, WE WERE DOWN TO 1732 AS OF THE END OF 2013, WITH THIS LEVEL OF EMPLOYEES HOLDING ALMOST CONSTANT THROUGH THE END OF 2022, OBVIOUSLY SAWS HAS BEEN DOING MORE WITH THE SAME OR EVEN LESS FOR A LONG, LONG TIME.
FINALLY, THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT DRIVER IN SAWS ABILITY TO REDUCE ITS CHARGE FOR ESSENTIAL RESIDENTIAL WATER AND SEWER SERVICES WAS OUR RECENTLY COMPLETED RATE RESTRUCTURING, WHICH YOU ALL WERE BRIEFED ON AND APPROVED THE FULL ENTIRE COUNCIL IN NOVEMBER, AND WHICH TOOK EFFECT EARLIER THIS YEAR.
AS WE REPORTED BACK IN DECEMBER, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF POSITIVE RESIDENTIAL RATE CHANGES IMPLEMENTED, WHICH SHOULD SAVE OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS THAT USE LESS THAN 9,000 GALLONS OF WATER IN MONTH, WHICH REPRESENTS MORE ABOUT 83% OF THE BILLS THAT WE GENERATE IN A GIVEN YEAR, SIGNIFICANT MONEY OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR AND INTO THE FUTURE.
WE ALSO MADE WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR
[01:35:01]
UPLIFT PROGRAM SINCE I ARRIVED AT SAS IN 2005.SO WHERE DOES SAS STAND FROM A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE AT THE END OF 2022? RATHER THAN GOING THROUGH A WHOLE BUNCH OF UH, NUMBERS FOR YOU, I THOUGHT I WOULD SIMPLY SHOW YOU A GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE OUR TWO MOST IMPORTANT CREDIT METRICS WHEN WE ARE BEING REVIEWED BY THE BOND RATING AGENCIES.
THE FIRST OF THESE METRICS IS OUR TOTAL BONDED DEBT COVERAGE, WHICH IS A MEASURE OF SOUS ABILITY TO PAY ITS CURRENT DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.
BASICALLY, AGAIN, HOW COMFORTABLY WE CAN PAY OUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT AND STILL HAVE SOME IMBALANCES LEFT IN THE CHECKING ACCOUNT.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAD A VERY STRONG YEAR IN 2022, UH, WITH TOTAL BOND OF DEBT COVERAGE OF 2.2 TIMES.
THIS COMPARES FAVORABLY TO OUR STATED TARGET THAT WE'VE COMMUNICATED TO THE RATING AGENCIES OF 1.75 TIMES.
THE SECOND MEASURE THAT I KNOW WE'VE HAD NUMEROUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COUNCILMAN COURAGE, UH, IS DAY'S CASH ON HAND.
AS OF THE END OF THE YEAR, SAWS DOES MAINTAIN SUFFICIENT CASH RESERVES TO MEET ITS ONGOING OPERATING REQUIREMENTS FOR 490 DAYS.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THAT METRIC ROSE BACK UP IN 2022 AFTER TRENDING DOWNWARD FOR THE LAST COUPLE SEVERAL YEARS.
AND THIS IS LARGELY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE VERY HOT AND DRY WEATHER THAT KAREN TALKED TO YOU ABOUT BEFORE, WHICH RESULTED IN US, UH, BILLING BASICALLY 9% MORE METERED WATER USAGE THAN WE HAD BILLED IN THE PRECEDING FIVE YEAR AVERAGE AND 11% MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD BILLED IN THE THE YEAR IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING.
SO THIS VERY STRONG CASH POSITION HEADING INTO 2023 WILL ENABLE SAW TO MAKE AGAIN, TARGETED DEBT REDUCTIONS AS WE STRIVE TO MAINTAIN OUR RATES AT THEIR CURRENT LEVELS FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
IN SUMMARY, SAWS IS CURRENTLY AN EXCELLENT FINANCIAL CONDITION AND MAINTAINS THE STRONGEST CREDIT RATINGS IN OUR HISTORY.
THE MORE CHALLENGING ASPECT OF WHAT IS TO COME IS THAT SAWS ANTICIPATES VERY SIZABLE CAPITAL PLANS IN 2023 THROUGH 2027.
WHILE WE HAVE TAKEN HUGE RE STEPS TO REHABILITATE OUR ALMOST 6,000 MILES OF COLLECTION SYSTEM, THERE ARE STILL DOLLARS TO BE SPENT TO FINALIZE THE CONSENT DECREE WHILE ALSO BEGINNING TO MAKE THE REQUIRED INVESTMENTS OUTLINED IN OUR RECENTLY COMPLETED WASTEWATER TREATMENT MASTER PLAN.
THESE TREATMENT INVESTMENTS ARE EXPECTED TO AVERAGE MORE THAN A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
IN ADDITION TO THE WASTEWATER CAPITAL SPENDING, WE ARE ALSO PROJECTING THE NEED TO INVEST MORE THAN $1 BILLION INTO OUR WATER DISTRIBUTION INFRASTRUCTURE DURING THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
AS ROBERT OFTEN POINTS OUT WITH INFRASTRUCTURE, YOU ARE NEVER REALLY DONE SPENDING BECAUSE EVERY YEAR, MORE AND MORE EACH YEAR THAT GOES BY, YOU ADD TO THAT LIST OF QUOTE UNQUOTE AGING INFRASTRUCTURE.
FINALLY, THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER FINANCIAL CHALLENGES WHICH LOOM ON THE HORIZON.
A COUPLE OF THESE POTENTIALLY LARGE CHALLENGES INCLUDE NEW E P A WATER QUALITY INITIATIVES EITHER BEING IMPLEMENTED OR CONSIDERED.
WHILE WE CANNOT CURRENTLY QUANTIFY THE POTENTIAL FINANCIAL IMPACTS OF THESE NEW INITIATIVES, SUFFICE IT TO SAY THEY COULD BE VERY SIGNIFICANT.
SO I CAN'T, WHILE I CAN'T PROMISE THAT SAS WILL BE ABLE TO CONFRONT EACH OF THESE CHALLENGES GOING FORWARD WITHOUT FUTURE RATE ADJUSTMENTS, I CAN'T ASSURE YOU THAT SASS IS ACTIVELY UTILIZING OUR CURRENT CASH RESERVES TO MINIMIZE ANY SUCH REQUEST TO THE MAXIMUM DEGREE POSSIBLE.
SO WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
OKAY, I THINK THAT WAS REALLY GOOD REPORT.
UH, I'LL SHARE A FEW COMMENTS AND I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UM, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE CHALLENGES, I I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND THERE WILL BE MANY AND THERE WILL BE SIGNIFICANT.
UH, THE THING IS THOUGH, YOU, YOU'RE ENDING A $1.6 BILLION CHALLENGE SO THAT MONEY WON'T HAVE TO BE SPENT, UH, AS IT WAS THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS OR HOWEVER MANY YEARS IT TOOK TO DO THAT.
SO SIR, WE'LL BE OUT OF QUORUM.
ONCE, UH, COUNCILWOMAN VERAN LEAVES, WELL THEN IT'S, IT'S STILL A BRIEFING, SO YEAH, WE WON'T BE TAKING ANY ACTION ANYWAY.
SO WE WILL, WE WILL STOP TELEVISING AS WELL.
BUT COUNCILWOMAN CAN STILL SAY ON FOR HER QUESTION.
YEAH, SINCE WE'VE LOST A QUORUM, THEN WE WON'T BE STAYING, UH, ONLINE ANY LONGER, SO NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR MY QUESTIONS, BUT BE THAT AS IT MAY, THAT'S FINE.
UM, BUT I RECOGNIZE THERE ARE GONNA BE A LOT OF CHALLENGES
[01:40:01]
AND THAT'S FINE.BUT I, I THINK YOU'VE SHOWN, UH, THE CAPABILITY OF MEETING THOSE CHALLENGES AND I, I BELIEVE WITHOUT A FUTURE RATE INCREASE.
UM, BUT THE, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I HAVE IS ABOUT UPLIFT.
UH, THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF CONFUSION ABOUT UPLIFT FROM TWO PERSPECTIVES.
ONE IS THAT THERE'S A, A NEW VERY PUBLIC ADDITIONAL UPLIFT CHARGE IN PEOPLE'S BILLS.
THE OTHER IS THE UPLIFT PROGRAM ITSELF, WHERE PEOPLE CAN APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE THROUGH UPLIFT.
AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONFUSION FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE CALLED OUR OFFICE AND SAID, I GOT ONLINE TO LOOK AT THIS UPLIFT, AND IT SAYS IT'S VOLUNTARY, BUT THEN IT'S ON MY BILL AND I DON'T HAVE TO VOLUNTEER.
I DON'T WANT TO, I I WANT TO ELIMINATE IT, BUT I CAN'T.