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>> GARCIA: GOOD MORNING. WE HAVE A QUORUM. WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED FOR THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22ND.
WE'LL START WITH THE ROLL CALL. >> CLERK:
[Approval of Minutes ]
WE WILL START OFF WITH THE EASY ONE, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM SEPTEMBER 24TH OF THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES COMMITTEE, AND YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THEM IN YOUR PACKAGE AND I'LLENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE. >>
>> GARCIA: THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY
AYE. (AYES.) >> GARCIA: ANY OPPOSED?
[Briefing and Possible Action on the following items ]
ANY ABSTENTIONS? MOTION CARRIES. ITEM NUMBER TWO IS BRIEFING ON THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM ON THE CULMINATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY'S CONSENT DECREE. THAT WILL BE PRESENTED BY ANNETTE. AND WELCOME, THE FLOOR'S ALL YOURS.>> GOOD MORNING, MEUNS UTILITIES COMMITTEE. I'M ANNETTE DURAN IN THE DISTRIBUTION COLLECTION GROUP. I'VE BEEN WITH SAWS FOR OVER 36 YEARS. I CAME OVER BETWEEN THE MERGER OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND THE CITY WATER BOARD. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR CONSENT DECREE.
SAWS OPERATES ONE OF THE LARGEST WASTEWATER SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY.
DO I HAVE TO ADVANCE THERE? RIGHT THERE.
WE MANAGE OVER 6,000 MILES OF SEWER MAIN, WE DWROA -- WE CONSTANTLY HAVE EXTRA -- OR GROWTH OF APPROXIMATELY 100 MILES A YEAR OF SEWER MAIN. WE MANAGE OVER 150 LIFT STATIONS AND THREE WATER RECYCLING CENTERS, THE LARGEST BEING STEVEN M CLAUSE, F FORMERLY KNOWN AS DAY. A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON OUR CONSENT DECREE.
IN MAY 2007, EPA REGION 6 CONTACTED OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER CONVEYING THEY WERE OPENING A FILE ON SAWS BECAUSE WE HAD TOO MANY SSOS AND THAT WAS A VIOLATION OF OUR PERMIT AND THE CLEAN WATER ACT.
ALTHOUGH OUR COO ARGUED THE POINT THAT SAWS WAS RELATIVELY A YOUNG TESTSYSTEM COMPARED TO OTHER STATES, WE WERE PERFORMING MUCH BETTER THAN OTHER UTILITIES IN THE STATE, EPA DID NOT ACCEPT THAT AND REFERRED US TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. AFTER THAT WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM EPA IN YEARS. IT WAS A BIG DEAL FOR US, BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT SOME OF THOSE CITIES WERE ON THE VERGE OF CLARIFYING BANKRUPTCY DUE TO TREMENDOUS COST. IN MAY 2008, OUR CASE WAS TURNED OVER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, AND AT THE SAME TIME MR. PUENTE TOOK OVER THIS NUCHAL ECK AS A NEW INTERIM PRESIDENT/CEO. EARLY NEGOTIATIONS BEGAN IN 2008 AND EARLY 2009, SAWS FORMED A SMALL TEAM TO VISIT THE REGION 6EPA OFFICE IN DALLAS MADE UP OF OUR TREATMENT ENGINEERING DISTRIBUTION, FINANCE AND LEGAL TEAMS. FINANCE ALSO DECIDED TO SEND SAWS STAFF AT OTHER UTILITIES PERFORMING WELL AT OTHER CITIES IN THE STATES.
WE LEARNED. WE WANTED TO GET AHEAD OF THE EPA DURING THIS QUIET PERIOD SO WE HAD CREDIBILITY ONCE WE SAT DOWN WITH THEM FOR NEGOTIATIONS. SAWS BROUGHT IN INDUSTRY EXPERTS FOR THEIR GUIDANCE ON WHAT WE COULD DO. WE PROACTIVELY STARTED PLANNING AND ASSESSING OUR SYSTEM, STARTED REPLACING PIPES AND WE APPROACHED THE WO BOARD ON FUNDING THE CD. INTEFNT NEGOTIATIONS RESUMED IN 2011 AND FROM THAT POINT FORWARD WE WERE ABLE TO FINALLY CONCLUDE THE NEGOTIATIONS OF THE CD BY 2013. SOME OF OUR GOALS IN NEGOTIATING WITH EPA, WE WERE COGNIZANT IF WE DIDN'T REDUCE SSO IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH WORK WE DID. WE SET OUT TO BE THE TOP PERFORMING UTILITY IN THE U.S. FROM AN SSO PERSPECTIVE.
WE SET OUT TO PROVIDE A LONG-TERM COMMUNITY BENEFIT BY USING THE BEST METHODS AND MODERN MATERIALS TO SHOW THE COMMUNITY THAT WE REALLY PUT VALUE INTO THE GROUND. THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR SAWS WAS THAT WE WANTED TO MAINTAIN AFFORDABILITY.
A MAJOR GOAL FOR US IN OUR NEGOTIATION WAS THAT EVERYTHING WE AGREED TO HAD TO HAVE A DIRECT REFLECTION ON REDUCING SSOS AND TAILORING IT TO BENEFIT THE SAN ANTONIO WATER SYSTEM AND OUR OPERATION.
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WE WERE VERY AWARE THAT EPA WAS NOTORIOUS FOR USING A COOKIE CUTTER APPROACH IN WHAT WORKED FOR OTHER STATES SO WE NEGOTIATED TOWARDS FITTING SAN ANTONIO'S MODEL. WE WANTED TO USE BEST JUDGMENT SO THAT OUR ENGINEERS COULD USE THEIR EXPERTISE IN WHAT WAS BEST FOR THE SAN ANTONIO COMMUNITY. OUR NEGOTIATIONS WERE GEARED WHERE SAWS COULD MANAGE THE WORKLOAD INTERNALLY AND SHARE THE WORK WE WERE GOING TO DO. WE KNEW THE KEY TO SUCCESS WAS TO PROPERLY MANAGE DATA, MANAGE THE COST, REDUCE BILLS AND TO ENSURE WE HAD DEVELOPED THE INTERNAL EXPERTISE ONCE THE CD WAS OVER SO THAT SAWS COULD CONTINUE THESE BEST PRACTICES. ALTHOUGH THIS PROCESS WAS VERY DIFFICULT, NEGOTIATIONS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN SAVING SAWS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. WE EDUCATED EPA ON UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES, OUR VISION, PROGRAMS WE PUT IN PLACE IN THE TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF NO NEGOTIATION. WE WANTED TO IMPROVE SERVICE TO OUR RATEPAYERS AND INCREASE THE VALUE OF THAT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE.ONE HUGE EXAMPLE OF INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS IS OUR W6 PROJECT AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WHAT THIS IMPROVEMENT PROVIDES THE COMMUNITY. IT IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF RATEPAYER MONEY WELL SPENT BECAUSE OF ITS RELIABILITY FOR YEARS TO COME.
DESPITE ALL THE ADDITIONAL COSTS, SAWS WAS ABLE TO NEGOTIATE A CD THAT KEPT OUR RATES ONE OF THE LOWEST THUS FAR IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. SEVERAL OTHER CITIES HAVE ENTERED INTO A CONSENT DECREE SUCH AS HOUSTON AND CORPUS WITH MUCH MORE CHALLENGING TERMS. THE SUCCESS OF OUR NEGOTIATIONS COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THE COMMITMENT AND LEADERSHIP OF TWO INDIVIDUALS, KAREN HANSON, WHO WAS AN EXTERNAL CONSULTANT FOR US AND IS ONE OF THE TOP ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYERS IN THIS COUNTRY OFFERED THE EXPERTISE BENEFITING SAWS TO ENSURE THE CD DID NOT INCLUDE THINGS THAT WERE NOT NECESSARY, WHICH SAVED SAWS A TON OF MONEY. SAWS IS FORTUNATE TO HAVE KAREN JOIN OUR STAFF LAST MONTH. JEFF HABEY OUR PROGRAM MANAGER HAS BEEN WITH SAWS FOR OVER 27 YEARS. HE'S AN INTERNAL EXPERT AND IS A REASON WHY SAWS WAS ABLE TO MEET EVERY MILESTONE OF THE CD. THE SAWS BOARD APPROVED THE CD ON JUNE 4TH, 2013, THE CD BECAME EFFECTIVE JULY 23RD, 2013, WHICH STARTED THE CLOCK TICKING FOR OUR DEADLINES. THE REMEDIAL MEASURES PLANS WERE SUBMITTED ON TIME AND OUTLINED THE WORK WE COMMITTED TO COMPLETE FOR CONDITION AND CAPACITY PROJECT TION.
THE MAJORITY OF THE WORK WAS COMPLETED BY SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2023, FOR CONDITION AND SEPTEMBER 25TH, 2024, FOR CAPACITY.
THE CD ALLOWED AN ADDITIONAL TWO YEARS FOR SOME OF THE WORK THAT HAD EASEMENT CHALLENGES AND ADDITIONAL TIME WAS ADDED TO THE W9 AND W52 PROJECTS. THOSE ARE LOCATED IN THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO. BECAUSE OF THE CHALLENGES WE FACED WITH THE W6 PROJECT. THERE WERE FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS IN OUR CD.
WE HAD AN ASSESSMENT PHASE, REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE CONDITION AND CAPACITY OF OUR SOURCE SYSTEM. PHASE 2 REQUIRED US TO DEVELOP PLANS THAT DECIDED WHICH PIPES TO FIX BASED ON THOSE ASSESSMENTS, REPORTING TO EPA TO DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONSENT DECREE REQUIREMENTS AND EXECUTING THE PLAN AND CONDUCTING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR SOURCE SYSTEM, WHICH WILL CONTINUE POSTCD. WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS WITH THE PROGRAM, ALL DEADLINES FOR PROJECT AND REPORTS HAVE BEEN MET FOR THE CD. AS MENTIONED, WE HAVE A FEW PROJECTS WE ARE STILL WORKING ON, BUT WE ANTICIPATE NO ISSUES IN MEETING THOSE DEADLINES.
I WANT TO SHARE THIS KIND OF GRAPH OR TIMELINE. IT KIND OF SHOWCASES ALL THE WORK THAT WE HAD TO DO IN THE PAST 20 YEARS -- ALMOST 20 YEARS AND ALL THE MILESTONES AND THE MAGNITUDE OF EFFORT THAT WE HAD TO PUT FORTH TO COMPLETE THIS C CD. SO SAWS DID A LOT OF WORK DURING THIS CONSENT DECREE, DURING THE ASSESSMENT AND IT'S STILL ONGOING. WE'VE CLEANED OVER 21,000 MILES OF SEWER MAIN. WE'VE INSPECTED OVER 5700 MILES OF SEWER MAIN, AND SOME OF THIS WORK WAS COMPLETED BETWEEN 2009 TO 2023, AND ACCOUNTED TOWARD OUR ASSESSMENT MILESTONE. THESE EFFORTS WERE ESTABLISHED USING OUTSIDE CONTRACTS AND IN-HOUSE DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION CREWS. WE HAVE TOUCHED ALMOST PIPE IN OUR SYSTEM ONCE.
THE MILES INSPECTED CONSIST OF MULTIPLE INSPECTIONS OF PIPE WHICH INCLUDES 750 MILES OVER OUR RECHARGE ZONE, WHICH WE DO EVERY FIVE YEARS.
AS I MENTIONED, W6 HAS BEEN THE MOST COSTLY AND COMPLEX PROJECT.
IT'S OVER 5 MILES OF 104-INCH SEWER MAIN THAT RUNS ALONG HIGHWAY 90 TO
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SOUTHWEST MILITARY DRIVE. THE COST OF THAT PROJECT WAS APPROXIMATELY $200 MILLION. IT IS BY FAR THE LARGEST AND MOST EXPENSIVE PROJECT TO DATE FOR SAWS.THIS SECTION IN BLUE THAT YOU SEE WHERE IT SAYS ORIGINAL PROPOSED ALIGNMENT WAS THE ACHILLES HEEL FOR SAWS. WE HAD PROJECTS READY TO GO FOR A DECADE BUT WE COULD NOT GET APPROVAL FROM THE AIR FORCE TO DO IT. IT IS A 3.5-MILE LINE THAT GOES THROUGH THE BASE FOLLOWING LEON CREEK. HOWEVER THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DID NOT WANT US TO GO THROUGH THE BASE. MR. P PUENTE STEPS IN AND IT LITERALLY TOOK AN ACT OF CONGRESS TO GET THIS ACCOMPLISHED.
IT REQUIRED A 144-INCH TUNNEL WITH A DEPTH AT SOME LOCATIONS GREATER THAN 140 FEET WHICH PROVIDES ADEQUATE CAPACITY FOR FUTURE SAN ANTONIO GROWTH. THIS PROJECT ELIMINATED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF SSOS AND PUBLIC NOTICES IN THE SWISS OAKS AND RODRIGUEZ PARK AREAS.
. AS MENTIONED EARLIER, WE DID NOT WANT TO BUILD W9 AND W52 PROJECTS UNTIL W6 WAS COMPLETED. WE ASKED EPA FOR ADDITIONAL TIME TO COMPLETE THESE TWO FINAL CAPACITY PROJECTS OF WHICH THEY GRANTED TO SAWS AND ARE DUE JULY 22ND, 2026.
WE AWARDED THESE CONSTRUCTION WITH AN ANTICIPATED COMPLETION IN 2026. WE WERE EXCITED THAT WE RECEIVED VERY COMPETITIVE BIDS FOR THESE PROJECTS BECAUSE IT KEPT US WITHIN OUR $1.2 BILLION PRICE RANGE. AS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE, SAWS TOTAL INVESTMENT WAS PROJECTED AT A $1.2 BILLION PRICE FOR THE TOTAL INVESTMENT OF THE CD, AND I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE WILL NOT EXCEED THIS COST.
SAWS HAS NOT ONLY COMPLETED COMPONENT MILESTONES OF THE CD, BUT WE HAVE ALSO REDUCED THE NUMBER OF SEWERS BUILT SINCE 2010.
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PPROGRAM WE SET OUT TO WE WERE EXPERIENCING 10 SOURCE BUILDS FOR 100 MILES AND WE'RE REDUCING SOURCE BUILDS FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS. WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT WE HAVE HAD GREAT SUCCESS PER 100 MILES IN 2023. A 77% REDUCTION IN SSOS SINCE 2010. WE'RE EXPECTING AN EVEN BETTER OUTCOME FOR 2024.
THIS SLIDE SHOWS A SOURCE BUILD ALONG HOLBROOK ROAD ON THE EAST SIDE OF SAN ANTONIO NEXT TO SALADO CREEK. A KNOWN AREA THAT CAUSES MANY SSOS DURING HEAVY RAIN EVENTS. THIS SHOWS THE RESTORATION AFTER EXPLEE COMPLETION OF THE PROBABILITY.
WE HAVE BEEN POSITIVELY RECOGNIZED BY THE EPA BY MEETING ALL OF OUR DEADLINES. WE HAVE REDUCED SS SSOS.
THE RECOGNITION FROM EPA IS THAT SAWS CD IS A NATIONAL MODEL.
THEY HAVE EVEN SENT OTHER UTILITIES TO US DURING THE NEGOTIATION PHASE TO SHARE OUR EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE AND MANAGEMENT OF OUR CD WITH THEM.
THIS SUCCESS HAS ALSO SHOWN SAWS THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUING BEST PRACTICES THAT WE ESTABLISHED DURING OUR CD BY MONITORING, MAINTAINING, ANALYZING AND REMEDIATING THE SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE SO THAT WE CONTINUE TO INSURE RELIABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY TO OUR COMMUNITY. SAWS SUCCESS OF THE CD INITIATIVES WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE LEADERSHIP OF OUR CEO, EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM AND ESPECIALLY OUR MAYOR AND BOARD MEMBERS AND THE SUPPORT OF CITY COUNCIL THROUGH RATE ADJUSTMENTS.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE WANT TO THANK THE CITIZENS OF SAN ANTONIO FOR THEIR SUPPORT DURING THESE INITIATIVES OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. THANK YOU.
>> GARCIA: GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS AND I WAS WONDERING IF THE MAYOR SAW THIS SLIDE. IT WAS PRETTY FUNNY.
>> I'M SURE HE'S SEEN IT BEFORE. WE'VE HAD SEVERAL BOARD
PRESENTATIONS. >> GARCIA: I LOVE IT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
I REMEMBER THIS ISSUE CAME BACK -- CAME LIKE A FEW YEARS AGO, AND NORMALLY WHEN SOMEBODY IS OUT OF COMPLIANCE, IT'S VIEWED AS NEGATIVE, BUT I FEEL LIKE SAWS HAS JUST GONE ABOVE AND BEYOND AND DONE SOME REALLY GOOD WORK, AND NOW THAT YOU ALL ARE HELD AS A NATIONAL MODEL, SO I JUST
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CONGRATULATE YOU. GREAT JOB THERE. AND WHEN YOU SAID THAT IT TOOK AN ACT OF CONGRESS, AND SO I SAW MR. PUENTE SMILING OVER THERE, IF IT FEELS BETTER, IT LITERALLY TOOK AN ACT OF CONGRESS JUST TO GET THE AIR FORCE LOGO ON THE BRIDGE AS WELL. I SEE YOUR POINT.I DO WANT TO RECOGNIZE THE W6 PROJECT IS IN DISTRICT FOUR.
IT BASICALLY HAD NO INTERRUPTION TO TRAFFIC, WHICH IS INCREDIBLE, RIGHT? AND SO -- AND THAT'S ON MILITARY DRIVE BECAUSE OF THE UNDERGROUND TUNNELING, AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT WE'RE ALSO THINKING ABOUT THE FUTURE GROWTH AND THE CAPACITY IN THAT AREA.
AND I'M ALSO GRATEFUL THAT YOU HAD THAT PROJECT TO LEARN FROM FOR THE OTHERS, RIGHT? SO WE RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER. NOW I KNOW WE'RE IN 2026, THE CONSENT DECREE WE'LL BE COMPLETING, BUT WHAT'S NEXT? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE SECURE THE COMPLIANCE PIECE, BUT THAT WE ALSO CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THE
BILLS LOW FOR OUR RATEPAYERS? >> WE'RE STILL PLANNING FOR PROJECTS. WE'RE STILL DOING THE SAME THING WE DID -- THAT WERE REQUIRED OF US. WE'RE MONITORING, ASSESSING OUR PIPE, FIXING PIPE, WE'RE MAINTAINING BY CLEANING AND REINSPECTING AND WE ARE DOING PROJECTS, PLANNING THOSE PROJECT PROJECTS OUT FOR FUTURE CIP RELATED WORK. WE'RE CONTINUING THOSE BEST PRACTICES THAT WE
LEARNED. >> GARCIA: WONDERFUL. I'LL ASK MY COLLEAGUE IFS
THEY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. COUNCILWOMAN HAVRDA? >> HAVRDA: CONGRATULATIONS.
I IMAGINE SOMETHING WITH EPA, WE HAVE TO REALLY GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND MAKE SURE WE'RE BEING METICULOUS, SO I APPRECIATE THAT.
BUT YOU GUYS, IT'S -- ON ONE HAND IT'S KIND OF THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY, BUT THE OTHER HAND, IT'S REALLY STARTING SOMETHING INTO THE FUTURE IN GETTING READY FOR OUR INEVITABLE GROWTH, SO I APPRECIATE THAT.
I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS SEE THAT. AND THANKS TO EVERYBODY AT SAWS FOR THEIR ROLE IN THIS OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE ACCOLADE THAT'S KIND OF SAN ANTONIO'S HISTORY OF EXCELLENCE AND SEE THAT WE'RE A MODEL FOR THE CONSENT DECREE.
THAT'S, I THINK, OUR -- WHAT WE STRIVE FOR IN OUR CITY, TO BE THE MODEL, SO I APPRECIATE THAT. I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT PROPERTY OWNERS COMPLYING WITH UPDATED REGULATIONS.
ARE THERE ANY KIND OF GRACE PERIODS OR -- >> WELL, WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF MEAT TO FORCE HOMEOWNERS TO FIX THEIR PROBLEMS ON THEIR SIDE, BUT WE DO SHARE THAT. WE DO A PRIVATE LATERAL REPORT EVERY MONTH.
WE SEND THAT TO MR. URESTE, AND IT OUTLINES IF ANYTHING WAS FOUND THAT IT WAS SPILLING ON THEIR SIDE. TCEQ IS THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS MEAT TO REALLY MAKE THEM FIX THE PROBLEM. IF WE HAVE APARTMENT COMPLEXES OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I MEAN, WE JUSTJU KEEP REPORTING IT
UNTIL SOMETHING IS DONE. >> HAVRDA: OKAY. SO THAT WAS ANOTHER ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS ABOUT ENFORCEMENT. SO IT'S TCEQ THAT NEEDS
TO ENFORCE. >> ON THAT SIDE. YOU KNOW, WE FIX OUR PROBLEMS ON OUR SIDE OF THE PROPERTY LINE, SO IF THERE'S ANY ISSUES, WE
WILL FIX THOSE. >> HAVRDA: OKAY. WELL, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS TALKED ABOUT SYSTEM RELIABILITY, REDUCING SEWAGE OVERFLOWS, EVEN, YOU KNOW, RESTORING PARK TRAILS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. THAT'S ALL A BIG BENEFIT TO THE PEOPLE THAT WE REPRESENT. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING FAIR TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND GIVING THEM SOME TIME, AT THE SAME TIME MAKING SURE THAT THEY ARE COMPLYING. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MAY BE SOME CHALLENGES IN THAT REGARD, JUST BECAUSE WE'RE NOT -- ON THAT SIDE, AT LEAST, WE'RE NOT
ABLE TO ENFORCE. >> RIGHT. WE DON'T ENFORCE THE CITY ORDINANCE, SO WE DON'T HAVE THAT MUSCLE ON THAT SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
>> HAVRDA: OH, YOU'RE SAYING WE, YOU'RE SAYING SAWS.
I SHOULD SAY THAT. HOW SHOULD THE CITY ENFORCE -- MAYBE I'LL ASK
THE CITY THAT. >> GOOD MORNING, COUNCILWOMAN.
I NEED TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT UNLESS YOU'VE GOT -- ON THAT CITY SIDE?
>> YEAH. I THINK -- I'LL MENTION SOMETHING.
SO PART OF THE CONSENT DECREE WAS SAWS OWNS FROM THE PROPERTY LINE TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE PROPERTY LINE ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE STREET TO THE MAIN SEWER LINE. FROM THE PROPERTY LINE ON IS A PRIVATE -- THE HOMEOWNERS OR THE BUSINESS. AND ONE OF THE BIG THINGS WITH THE CONSENT DECREE EARLY ON WAS HOW DO YOU ADDRESS PRIVATE LATERALS? AND THAT WAS A HUGE STICKING POINT IN NEGOTIATIONS. AND, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE DON'T REALLY HAVE POWER TO ENFORCE ON THE PRIVATE SIDE. SO WHAT THE COMPROMISE WE REACHED DURING NEGOTIATIONS AND WHAT WE'VE DONE THROUGHOUT THE TERM OF THE CONSENT DECREE IS EVERY MONTH WE SUBMIT TO CODE COMPLIANCE EVERY PRIVATE LATERAL THAT OVERFLOWED THAT WAS THE RESULT OF A PRIVATE
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SEWER SPILL. SO EVERY MONTH I SIGN THIS LETTER THAT GOES TO CODE COMPLIANCE. AND WE WORK WITH THEM. WE ACTUALLY REPORT -- SO WE'VE HAD A VERY COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. WHEN WE HAVE A PRIVATE SEWER SPILL, WE CALL 3-1-1 AND ESTABLISH A NUMBER, A COMPLAINT NUMBER, HOWEVER YOU WANT &-Ú. IT'S ACTUALLY THE NUMBER THAT WE'RE GIVEN.WE REPORT THAT. AND SO THEN WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH CODE COMPLIANCE. AND IF THERE'S SOME CUSTOMER CONTINUES TO HAVE AN ISSUE, WE WORK WITH THEM. AND THERE IS -- IF YOU DO QUALIFY FOR ASSISTANCE, THERE'S -- WE DO WORK WITH THEM AND WE CALL IT KIND OF LATERALS TO PEOPLE. IF YOU DO NEED NEW LATERAL, YOU KNOW, THAT'S ON THE PRIVATE SIDE, SO WE HAVE A GREAT DEAL OF COLLABORATION. THAT WAS A VERY BIG POINT, STICKING POINT DURING THE NEGOTIATIONS BECAUSE WE CAN'T NECESSARILY CONTROL WHAT'S ON THE PRIVATE SIDE, BUT WE FIGURED OUT A WAY TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY, SATISFY EPA, WORK CLOSELY WITH THE CITY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD A WIN/WIN. AND I THINK WE HAVE. I THINK THERE'S BEEN NO COMPLAINTS. I THINK WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, AND WE WORK TOGETHER. AND AS ANNETTE REFERRED TO, IF IT REALLY BECOMES STICKY, WE HAVE A BUSINESS, WE HAVE SOME STORES THAT CONTINUE TO SPILL, WE'LL CALL TCEQ IN, AND, YOU KNOW, BUT WE REALLY WORK COLLABORATIVELY WITH CODE COMPLIANCE AND TCEQ.
>> HAVRDA: OKAY. I GUESS WE'LL MAYBE FOLLOW UP ON OUR SIDE OF IT. SO ARE THERE PLANS TO ASSIST PROPERTY OWNERS THAT MIGHT BE IN FINANCIAL NEED OF COMPLYING?
>> YES, MA'AM. WE DO HAVE A PROGRAM, IF THEY QUALIFY, WE DO HAVE LATERALS TO PEOPLE WILL WORK WITH THEM. IT'S KIND OF LIKE.
>> HAVRDA: IS THAT A PROGRAM? LATERALS TO PEOPLE?
>> YEAH, IT'S KIND OF A PROGRAM WE HAVE. AND YOU WORK ON THAT --
>> IT'S ONE OF THE AFFORDABILITY PROGRAMS, WE HAVE LATERALS TO
PEOPLE AND THEN PLUM PERS PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE. >> HAVRDA: THANK YOU,
CHAIR. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN.
COUNCILMAN COURAGE? >> COURAGE: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
I REALLY WANT TO CONGRATULATE SAWS AS A TEAM AND PARTICULARLY, ROBERT, YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM, I THINK THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB ON MAKING SURE THIS WHOLE PROCESS WENT PRETTY WELL.
AND I KNOW, YOU KNOW, SINCE I'VE WITHIN ON COUNCIL FOR SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS, IT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON EVERY BIT OF THAT TIME, AND I RECOGNIZE THE EXPENSE THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH AS A CITY, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S REALLY A SUCCESS.
WOULD YOU SAY 100%? >> WELL, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT 100%, BUT 99.999.
VERY SUCCESSFUL, AND YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS, WE HAD TO COME IN FRONT OF COUNCIL PROBABLY EIGHT, NINE YEARS IN A ROW FOR RATE INCREASES TO PAY FOR THIS PROGRAM, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THE RATES SOME OF THE LOWEST IN TEXAS, BUT WHEN YOU COMPLIMENTED OUR PERSONNEL, ONE OF THEM I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS ANNETTE. COME OVER HERE, ANNETTE.
SHE WAS A FORMER CITY EMPLOYEE, CAME OVER TO SAWS WHEN SAWS WAS CREATED, AND SO NOW SHE'S IN CHARGE. SHE WAS IN CHARGE OF THIS $1.2 BILLION PROGRAM, WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT'S GREAT FOR HER RESUME, ALTHOUGH SHE'S GOING TO STAY AT SAWS, RIGHT? SO THANK YOU FOR THAT
COMPLIMENT. >> COURAGE: SURE. I HOPE YOU STOP TAKING OUR EMPLOYEES, THOUGH. BETWEEN SAWS AND CPS, WE LOSE MORE EMPLOYEES.
>> WE CAN GIVE SOME BACK. >> COURAGE: THANK YOU.
I WANT TO COMMEND, TOO, I THINK ONE IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PROGRAM, AND IT WAS YOUR GREASE MONSTER PROGRAM. BECAUSE I THINK THAT WAS ONE OF THE MAJOR ELEMENTS THAT LED TO A LOT OF THE OVERFLOWS WAS CLOGGING UP OF SEWER LINES AROUND THE CITY, AND I KNOW THAT YOU'VE DONE MORE TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT YOU SHOULDN'T BE PUTTING DOWN YOUR TOILETS OR SINKS OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE. IS THAT AN ONGOING CONTINUING EFFORT TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT THOSE THINGS?
>> WE DO. WE ACTUALLY -- WHEN WE HAVE A SEWER SPILL, OUR TEAM MEETS, MY TEAM, PR IS PRESENT, OUR ENGINEERING TEAM IS PRESENT, OUR RPC TEAM IS PRESENT, OUR FOG PEOPLE ARE PRESENT, SO WE TALK ABOUT WHAT CAUSED THE SSO. ANYTHING RELATED TO GREASE, WE DO SEND OUT FLYERS EITHER TO, YOU KNOW, APARTMENT COMPLEXES OR TO NEIGHBORHOODS SAYING, HEY, WE HAD A GREASE SSO, JUST TO INFORM THEM. AND WHAT TO DO -- OR WHATNOT TO DO IN TERMS OF OF PN
THE DRAIN. >> COURAGE: I HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO DO THAT PROGRAM, PARTICULARLY TO EDUCATE CHILDREN SO WHEN THEY GROW UP TO BE ADULTS
THEY'LL NO BETTER. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILMEMBER COURAGE.
COUNCILMEMBER CASTILLO? >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR.
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THANK YOU, ANNETTE FOR THE PRESENTATION. AND TO MY COLLEAGUES, I'D I'D LIKE TO COMMEND YOU FOR COMING INTO COMPLIANCE.GRATEFUL THAT SAWS HAS TAKEN SERIOUS THESE CONCERNS BY THE EPA AND HAVE WORKED TOWARD RESOLUTION. MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IN JANUARY THE NEWSPAPER HAD AN ARTICLE ABOUT SAWS ASKING FOR ADDITIONAL TIME. CAN Y'ALL SHARE WHAT THE BARRIERS WERE THAT Y'ALL
NEEDED A BIT MORE TIME TO WORK WITH THE EPA? >> SURE.
SOME OF OUR PROJECTS RELY ON EASEMENT AND RIGHT OF WAY ACCESS, SO THOSE USUALLILY TAKE -- THE NEGOTIATION OF THAT UCIALGLY TAKES LONGER.
WE WERE ALLOWED TO ADD TWO ADDITIONAL YEARS FOR OUR LARGE DIAMETER CIP PROJECT. I TALKED ABOUT W9, W52, WE STRUGGLED SO MUCH WITH W6, THAT CLEARLY IMPACTED THOSE TWO PROJECTS. EPA WAS FINE WITH THAT, THEY UNDERSTOOD THE COMPLICATIONS WE WERE HAVING WITH THE W6 LINE GOING THROUGH THE BASE AND SO WE R WERE ALLOWED THAT EXTRA TIME.
>> W6S WITH REALLY VERY UNIQUE IN THE SENSE THAT IT WENT THROUGH LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, AND AT ANY GIVEN TIME PRIOR TO THE CONSENT DECREE, IF THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH ONE OF THE LINES, IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO GET ON BASE, RIGHTLY SO, NATIONAL DEFENSE. WE WOULD HAVE TO GIVE NOTICE, AND SOMETIMES THEY WOULDN'T LET US ON THE BASE FOR WHATEVER REASON. AND SO THESE CAUSED A LOT OF DELAYS. SO WHEN WE NEGOTIATED THE CONSENT DECREE BACK IN 2011, 2012, WE KNEW THAT WAS AN ISSUE, SO ANYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH THE RIGHT OF WAY OR EASEMENT, WE PUT IT INTO NEGOTIATIONS IN 2013, LO AND BEHOLD, IT COMES INTO FRUITION AT THE END OF THE CONSENT DECREE, SO NOW WE HAVE TIME TO ACTUALLY BUILD THAT W6, WHICH IS NOW COMPLETE, BUT W6 NEEDED TO BE DONE BEFORE THE OTHER TWO PRO PROJECTS. SO AS CHAIRMAN OF THIS COMMITTEE MENTIONED, IT LITERALLY TOOK A CONGRESSIONAL ACTION BY HENRY CUELLAR TO HAVE THE AIR FORCE ALLOW US MORE FLEXIBILITY TO DO WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO. THAT EASEMENT ISSUE IS WHAT CAUSED THE DELAY.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU. AND I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN THE NEGOTIATION PIECE WITH THE PRIVATE LATERALS. I KNOW YOUR TEAM'S WELL AWARE THAT OUR OFFICE SUBMITTED A COUNCIL CONSIDERATION REQUEST ON HOW TO EXPAND THE LATERALS TO THE PEOPLE PROGRAM THAT YOU ALL HAVE, BECAUSE WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT A LOT OF THOSE PRIVATE CITIZENS DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE RESOURCES IF A PROJECT REQUIRES CUTTING INTO A CITY'S RIGHT OF WAY, WHICH CAN INCREASE THE COST BY LIKE NINE, $10,000. AND I'M GRATEFUL Y'ALL HAVE THAT PROGRAM BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS COMMITTEE REVIEWING THAT CCR AND HOW WE CAN PROVIDE RESIDENTS WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT. BUT WITH THAT COLLABORATION THAT YOU ALL HAVE HAD WITH CODE COMPLIANCE, I'M CURIOUS IF YOU ALL HAVE TRACKED OR IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO MAP OUT WHERE YOU ALL HAVE FOUND THAT PRIVATE CITIZENS ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE LATERALS, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS ABOUT IS THAT IT'S PARCEL BY PARCEL. THERE'S NO DATA TO SHOW WHO'S CONNECTED TO A LATERAL AND WHO'S NOT. BUT I THINK THAT CAN HELP US PAINT A PICTURE OF WHICH PARTS OF TOWN DON'T HAVE CONNECTION TO A SEWER SYSTEM. AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE 21,000 MILES OF SEWER PIPES THAT WERE INSPECTED, IF YOU ALL HAVE DATA ON HOW MANY OF THOSE WERE PRIVATE PARCELS NOT CONNECTED, IF Y'ALL CAN SHARE THAT, THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO EXPLORE AND SEE WHAT STORY WE CAN SEE THERE.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL HAVE ALREADY ANALYZED TO LAY OUT -- YOU KNOW, ARE THERE CONCENTRATIONS OF PRIVATE PARCELS NOT CONNECTED TO
LATERALS OR SEWER PIPES, RATHER? >> THE FIRST PARTS OF YOUR QUESTION IS WE'RE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH YOUR OFFICE, WITH CITY STAFF, TO MAKE SURE WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE NEEDS ARE.
WE'VE LOOKED AT OTHER CITIES TO SEE HOW THEY'RE ADDRESSING THIS PARTICULAR NEED. AND I THINK TOGETHER WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF PROGRAM THAT MAYBE THE SAWS RUNS, THE CITY WOULD BE INVOLVED IN IT, I'M SURE YOU'RE MUCH MORE FAMILIAR WITH IT THAN THE OTHER COUNCILMEMBERS BECAUSE WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH YOUR OFFICE TO TRY TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION ABOUT THAT. IN PARTICULAR, ABOUT THE 21,000 CLEANED I'LL LET THE EXPERT TALK ABOUT THAT, AS TO WHETHER OR NOT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO USE THAT INFORMATION TO FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S HOMES NOT CONNECTED TO OUR SEWER SYSTEM.
>> THOSE ARE ACTUALLY HARD. WE DON'T HAVE A WAY TO TRACK THAT IF THEY'RE NOT MAPPED. THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO IS SEE WHO SHOULD HAVE A CONNECTION. IF THEY'RE PAYING A SEWER BILL, THEY SHOULD BE CONNECTED. BUT OFTENTIME WE DON'T FIND THAT UNTIL WE HAVE A SPILL AND WE'RE INVESTIGATING THE PIPE AND WE CAN SEE WHETHER THEY'RE CONNECTED A LOT. OFTENTIMES IN THE OLD
[00:30:03]
NEIGHBORHOODS OR OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS, RESIDENTS ARE CONNECTED TO ONE ANOTHER, THEY'RE BOOTLEGGED TO SOMEONE AND THAT ONE TAP IS CONNECTED TO OUR MAIN. SO WE HAVE FOUND A NUMBER OF THOSE DURING OUR ASSESSMENT PHASE AND WE CONTINUE TO FIND THOSE WHEN WE HAVE SSOS AND WEHAVE TO INSPECT THE SEWER MAINS. >> CASTILLO: GO AHEAD,
SORRY. >> I'M SORRY. I JUST WANTED TO ADD GAVINO JUST GAVE ME SOME INFORMATION THAT CONGRESS JOAQUIN CASTRO APPROPRIATED $2 MILLION TO HELP WITH THIS INITIAL PROGRAM THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GET OFF THE GROUND -- DEVELOPMENT SERVICES TO SEE ABOUT THAT NEED THAT YOU -- THAT A LOT OF IT IS IN DETECTIVE -- IN YOUR DISTRICT, DISTRICT FIVE.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND THE LAST FEW THINGS I JUST WANTED TO COMMEND Y'ALL ON ELIMINATING SEWERS OVERFLOWS AND HOW YOU HAVE BROUGHT THE SPILLS DOWN. I'M CURIOUS HOW WE COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES OF COMPARABLE SIZE WITH SEWER SPIELS. SPILLS.
AND DURING THE LAST COMMITTEE MEETING I SAID I DIDN'T RECEIVE NOTICE ON A PROJECT AND I DID. I WANTED TO APOLOGIZE FOR MISSPEAKING AND THANK GA VINO. I MISSPOKE, AND THANK YOU.
THOSE ARE ALL MY COMMENTS. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN.
COUNCILMAN WHYTE? >> WHYTE: I APOLOGIZE IF THESE WERE ANSWERED EARLY, AS I WALKED IN A BIT LATE. ON SLIDE 9, IT SAYS THE FINAL CAPACITY REMEDIAL MEASURE WAS GOING TO BE COMPLETED IN 2026.
ARE THERE ANY GOALS OR METRICS REGARDING SEWER SPILLS PER 100 MILES THAT
WE'RE LOOKING TO -- LOOKING AT BY THAT DATE? >> BY THE DATE --
>> WHYTE: BY 2026? >> WELL, SO OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO BE A TOP PERFORMING UTILITY. AND THAT IS HAVING THREE OR LESS SSOS PER 100 MILES. WE ARE BELOW THAT RIGHT NOW, SO WE KNOW THAT WE'VE MADE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS WITH EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING, CLEANING AND HAVING THESE MEETINGS AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT WAS THE C
CAUSE SO WE CAN PREVENT THAT FROM RECURRING. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
SO WE THINK WE'LL PROBABLY STILL BE AROUND THE 2.4 PER 100.
>> WE'RE HOPING WE GET LOWER THAN THAT, BUT START RIGHT NOW -- KNOCK ON WOOD, WE HATE TO BRAG ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING BECAUSE OFTENTIMES THEN WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN THAT WE HAVE SEVERAL SEWER SPILLS.
BUT WE'RE DOING VERY WELL THIS YEAR. THIS IS PROBABLY GOING TO
BE THE BEST YEAR WE'VE EVER HAD. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
>> SO WE CONTINUE TO DRIVE THAT NUMBER DOWN. >> WHYTE: SECOND AND FINAL QUESTION, ON THE PROGRAM PROGRESS TAB ON THE WEBSITE, IT SAYS SAWS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR 5200 MILES OF PIPE FOR REPLACEMENT OR REHABILITATION. AND SO MY QUESTION IS, DURING THIS PROCESS, HAS SAWS IDENTIFIED ANY FURTHER PIPES THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED THAT EXCEED THE CONSENT DECREE AMOUNT FOR REHABILITATION?
>> WE'VE TACKLED THE WORST OF THE WORST DURING THIS CONSENT DECREE.
WE DO HAVE CONTINUED STUFF THAT WE FIND THAT WE HAVE TO FIX OR IT GETS DAMAGED OR, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST -- IT JUST GOT WORSE OVER TIME THAT WE DO PLAN TO FIX. WE DO PLAN TO PUT THAT ON THE CIP PROJECT, BUT NOTHING WITH THE MAGNITUDE OF WHAT WE HAD TO FACE DURING THE
CONSENT DECREE. >> WHYTE: OKAY. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN FOR THE PRESENTATION AND
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2026. >> THANK YOU. >> GARCIA: THERE'S -- THE NEXT ITEM IS ALSO BY SAWS, AND IT'S A BRIEFING ON THE ELECTRONIC METER PROGRAM CONNECT H2O, AND THAT WILL BE PRESENTED BY CECILIA.
RIGHT? THERE YOU ARE. YOU ARE ALREADY HERE.
ALSO JUST WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE FOR MY COLLEAGUES TO KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON THE DISCONNECTIONS, THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND THE CFO'S OFFICE NEED JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, AND JUST TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT AND JUST FY I. SO BUT IT'S ALL YOURS, CECILIA.
>> OKAY. PERFECT. AGAIN, MY NAME IS CECILIA VELASQUEZ. I'M THE VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. IN ADDITION TO THE APARTMENTS I'M ALSO OVER THE CONNECTH2O PROGRAM. I'M HERE TO PROVIDE YOU AN OVERVIEW, AN UPDATE ON THE SAWS CONNECTH2O PROGRAM. THE KEY OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM ARE TO ENHANCE OUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE OBVIOUSLY BY PROVIDING MORE REALTIME WATER USAGE INFORMATION. SINCE SAWS IS FOCUSED ON WATER CONSERVATION, THIS INFORMATION WILL EMPOWER EVERY CUSTOMER TO PROACTIVELY MANAGE THEIR OWN WATER FOOTPRINT. ACCESS TO HOURLY WATER
[00:35:02]
USAGE, ALONG WITH TARGETED CONSERVATION MESSAGING, SUPPORTS SAWS' TARGET TO REDUCE THE OVERALL NUMBER OF GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY.LASTLY, THIS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON IMPROVING EFFICIENCY.
AGAIN, RIGHT NOW WE ACTUALLY GO OUT AND MANUALLY READ OUR METERS THAT ARE NOT ON AMI JUST YET, SO WE EXPECT TO REDUCE THE COSTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT MANUEL METER READING PROCESS.
WE ALSO PLAN TO ASSIST WITH NONREVENUE WATER EFFORTS BY MOVING TO THESE ULTRASONIC METERS WHICH ARE MORE ACCURATE AT REGISTERING LOW FLOWS, WHICH, AGAIN, MOST RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS ARE AT THOSE LOW FLOWS, AND THEY DON'T DEGRADE OR SLOW DOWN OVER TIME. WE ARE ONE OF THE LARGEST ULTRASONIC METER INSTALLATION PROJECTS IN NORTH AMERICA.
THIS UPDATE WILL EXPLAIN OUR COORDINATION EFFORTS, THE PROGRESS WROE'VE MADE WITH OUR INSTALLATIONS AND OUR RESULTING CONSERVATION EFFORTS.
THE PROGRAM'S END POINT-METER INSTALLATIONS ARE PERFORMED THROUGH A COMBINATION OF OUR SAWS TEAM MEMBERS AND OUR EXTERNAL VENDOR OLIMETER. SINCE SAWS ACTS AS THE PROGRAM MANAGER, WE DETRMINE WHICH ROUTES ARE DEPLOYED BY OUR TEAMS AND BY OLIMETER.
WE MANAGE OUR TWO DEDICATED WAREHOUSE ALONG WITH INVENTORY MANAGEMENT. WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EXPECTING AND CLEANING THE METER BOXES AND AFTER INSTALLATIONS WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INSURING THE INSTALLATIONS ARE ACCURATE FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAMS BEFORE THEY GO INTO OUR BILLING SYSTEM. WE ALSO PROVIDE CALL CENTER SUPPORT FOR SCHEDULING LARGE METER INSTALLATIONS AND RESOLVING ANY CUSTOMER CONCERNS. OUR INTERNAL EFFORTS HAVE BEEN THE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS. OUR FIELD OPERATIONS ARE SHOWN HERE ON THE ORG CHART. WE HAVE THREE FIELD SUPERINTENDENTS THAT MANAGE THE ENTIRE ARRAY OF OPERATIONS FOR OUR AMI PROGRAM INTERNALLY, SO, AGAIN, WE HAVE INSTALLATIONS, WE HAVE METER MAINTENANCE, ALONG WITH REGULAR MOVE-IN/MOVE-OUTS, AS WELL AS LEAKS. WE KNOW THAT THESE AMI METERS, DURING INSTALLATION, WE ASSOCIATE, OBVIOUSLY, SOME LEAKS WITH THEM.
WE ALSO HAVE A DATA SUPERVISOR WHO IS RESPONSIBILITY FOR INSURING THE ACCURACY OF OUR PROGRAM DATA. I WANTED TO EMPHASIZE THIS TEAM, SO, AGAIN, FROM BEGINNING TO END, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED A BEST PRACTICE THAT WHEN WE GO TO OTHER CONFERENCES THAT MOST UTILITIES HAVE NOT IMPLEMENTED AND THEY'RE NOT SEEING THE SUCCESS OR THE PROGRESS THAT WE'RE SEEING, AND THAT IS CLEANING THOSE METER BOXES.
SO, AGAIN, IF YOU SEE A HYDROVAK TRUCKS AND WE'RE GOING IN AND CLEANING ALL OF THOSE METER BOXES BEFORE THE INSTALLERS COME IN, THAT SAVES OBVIOUSLY TIME FOR THE INSTALLERS, BUT IT ALSO HELPS, AGAIN, IDENTIFY ANY PREEXISTING LEAKS, PREEXISTING ISSUES THAT ARE IN THAT BOX BEFORE AN INSTALLER COMES IN. SO IT'S SAVING A HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME, A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF EFFORT ON OUR PART TO DO THAT TO BEGIN WITH, BUT, AGAIN, WE'RE HEARING THAT'S A BEST PRACTICE ACROSS, AGAIN, THE UNITED STATES, AS WELL AS OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE OUR OWN SET OF INSTALLERS.
WE HAVE 40 INSTALLERS OF OUR OWN THAT OBVIOUSLY WORK EVERY DAY.
ON THE FLIP SIDE, ONCE WE INSTALL, WE HAVE ANOTHER TEAM THAT GOES IN AND INSPECTS OUR INSTALLATIONS. OUR INSTALLATIONS AS WELL AS OLAMETER'S INSTALLATIONS AND THAT'S HOW WE IDENTIFY LEAKS PROACTIVELY AND FIX THEM PROACTIVELY AS WELL. IN ADDITION TO THIS TEAM, WE DAILY COORDINATE WITH OUR CALL CENTER AND OUR BILLING TEAMS. OUTSIDE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, WE RELY ON OUR DISTRIBUTION OPERATIONS TEAM TO ASSIST WITH LARGE METER INSTALLATIONS. OUR PUBLIC AFFAIRS INSURE THAT'S WE EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.
OUR INFORMATION SYSTEM TEAM INSURES THAT ALL OF OUR SYSTEM INTEGRATIONS WORK ON A DAILY BASIS, AND I KNOW THEY'RE NOT HERE TODAY, BUT A HUGE SHOUTOUT TO CPS. OBVIOUSLY WE PIGGYBACK ON THEIR JEN 5 MESH NETWORK, AS WELL AS OUR CONSULTANT WHO HELPS US OUT. SAN MARCOS AGAIN PIGGYBACKING ON CPS'S ENERGY THAT ALSO IS A BEST PRACTICE.
WE HEAR THAT A LOT OF CITIES ARE LOOKING AT DOING THAT AS WELL.
AGAIN, THE ELECTRIC COMPANIES ARE WELL AHEAD OF US, THEY HAVE THEIR NETWORKS IN PLACE, AND, AGAIN, IT'S A HUGE ADVANTAGE TO BE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH CPS. AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL PROJECT, THE SAWS BOARD APPROVED MOVING THE PROGRAM INTO FULL SYSTEMWIDE DEPLOYMENT AFTER A SUCCESSFUL PILOT IN DECEMBER OF 2021. IN 2023, SAWS DETERMINED THAT WE WOULD INSTALL A PORTION OF THE METERS, AS WELL AS HAVING OUR THIRD-PARTY VENDOR. THE BOARD APPROVED OUR END-POINT INSTALLATION VENDOR CONTRACT IN JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, AND AT THAT POINT IN TIME, WE ESTIMATED THAT IT WOULD TAKE US THREE YEARS UNTIL DECEMBER OF 2026, TO COMPLETE THE INSTALLATION OF OUR 610,000-METERS. WE ESTIMATED
[00:40:06]
APPROXIMATELY 17,000-METERS WOULD BE INSTALLED EACH MONTH WITH 60% BEING INSTALLED BY THE VENDOR, WHICH IS SHOWN IN RED.TO DATE, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT TODAY, WE WILL INSTALL OUR 300,000TH METER AND WE ARE INSTALLING APPROXIMATELY 20 TO 25,000-METERS PER MONTH WITH SAWS INSTALLING 50% OF THOSE ON ANY GIVEN MONTH.
BASED ON OUR CURRENT DEPLOYMENT RATE, WE ARE FORECASTED TO COMPLETE OUR INSTALLATIONS BY DECEMBER OF 2025 VERSUS 2026.
THE MAPS SHOW OUR PROGRESS FROM JUNE OF LAST YEAR WHERE WE INSTALLED 50,000-METERS IN THE GROUND, TO LAST WEEK, WHEN WE WERE UP TO 295,000 INSTALLATIONS. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ARE -- EVERY WEEK THAT WE ARE INSTALLING, WE ARE INSTALLING BY BILLING CYCLE, SO EVERY SINGLE BILLING CYCLE HAS BEEN OBVIOUSLY HAD METERS INSTALLED AND WE'RE GOING IN THAT PATH UNTIL WE F FINISH. REGARDING CUSTOMER ENGAGE. ENGAGEMENT, WE PROVIDE A POSTCARD TO OUR CUSTOMERS TWO WEEKS IN AD VANTS LETTING THEM KNOW WE'LL BE INSTALLING AN ELECTRIC METER AND DIRECTING THEM TO OUR WEBSITE FOR ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.
A WEEK IN ADVANCE WE ROW BOW CALL THESE CUSTOMERS AND AAAND INFORM OF OUR ARRIVAL. A WEEK AFTER THE INSTALLATION, WE ARE SENDING ANOTHER POSTCARD EXPLAINING HOW OUR CUSTOMERS CAN USE THEIR ONLINE PORTAL TO LOOK AT THEIR DATA, LOOK AT THAT HOURLY USAGE INFORMATION. WHEN WE INSTALL THESE ELECTRONIC METERS, WE CAN PROVIDE MORE EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE. OUR CALL CENTER CAN VIEW CUSTOMER DATA AND PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO POTENTIAL ISSUES.
SIMILAR TO WHAT WE SEE HERE, IT'S CLEAR WHEN THE CUSTOMER IS UTILIZING THEIR IRRIGATION SYSTEM. SO ON ANOTHER GRAPH YOU CAN SEE EVERY DAY THOSE POP UP IN USE SAJ AND YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL IF YOU MAYBE HAVE AN ISSUE OR YOU CAN SEE AT 2:00 IN THE MORNING, YOUR IRRIGATION SYSTEM IS ON.
IN ADDITION, OUR FIELD TEAMS CAN EXPLAIN HOW THESE METERS WORK AS WELL AS GOING OUT TO INVESTIGATE LEAKS. WITH THE NEW CONNECTH2O DATA WE PROVIDE CONTINUOUS USAGE AND PROVIDE TOOLS AND CHECKLISTS TO IDENTIFY LEAKS AND LASTLY WE USE THE DATA TO PROVIDE GENTLE REMINDERS TO CUSTOMERS WHO ARE WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY. FOR CONTINUOUS USAGE, IT'S INTEGRATED WITH OUR METER DAY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL LEAKS.
ANY ACCOUNT WITH CONTINUOUS USAGE OF 5-GALLONS OVER A 48 HOUR PERIOD WILL RECEIVE A ROBO CALL AND E-MAIL AND TEXT MESSAGE, AGAIN, IF WE HAVE ALL THAT CONTACT INFORMATION ON THEIR ACCOUNT, IF, AGAIN, CONTINUOUS USAGE IS IDENTIFIED. THE E-MAIL INCLUDES THE ESTIMATED GALLONS OF WATER, THE DURATION OF THE CONTINUOUS USAGE AND THE ESTIMATED LEAK RATE. WHILE ROBO CALLS HAVE BEEN VERY HELPFUL DURING THE PILOT WHEN CONSERVATION, KAREN DOES OBVIOUSLY, WHEN WE PUT OUT TEXT AND E-MAILS, THEY HAVE SHOWN TO GET RESOLUTIONS EIGHT HOURS FASTER. IN OUR PILOT, 10% OF OUR CUSTOMERS WHO RECEIVED AN ALERT USED THE LEAK FINDER TOOL IN WATER SMART ON OUR WEBSITE TO FIX OR IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THEIR LEAK. FOR THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE NOTIFIED -- FOR THE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE NOTIFIED, OUR CONSERVATION TEAM HAS DONE A GREAT JOB IN PROVIDING SEVERAL TOOLS, WHICH INCLUDES A PHONE CONSULTATION, A DO-IT-YOURSELF LEAK IDENTIFICATION CHECKLIST, FOR THOSE THAT NEED ADDITIONAL HELP, AGAIN, KAREN'S TEAM OFFERS AN AT-HOME INDOOR CONSULTATION, AND WHEN THE LEAK CANNOT BE FOUND, THE TEAM HAS CREATED A CHECKLIST FOR PLUMBERS TO HELP NARROW DOWN THE SOURCE OF THE ISSUE FOR THOSE PLUMBERS.
REGARDING WATER SAVINGS FROM THESE ALERTS, THE KEY IS QUICK IDENTIFICATION AND QUICK RESOLUTION OF THESE LEAKS, WHICH IS WHILE WE'VE EXPANDED OUR NOTIFICATION TO TEXTS AND E-MAILS. NATIONAL STUDIES ESTIMATE BETWEEN .5% TO .9% OF RESIDENTIAL VOLUME SAVED FROM LEAK ALERTS. FOR OUR SYSTEM, .5 WOULD EQUATE TO ROUGHLY 200 MILLION TBAL LONS OR 1600-ACRE FEET OF WATER, THAT COULD BE SAVED ANNUALLY BY FULL DEPLOYMENT JUST BY THESE LEAK ALERTS AND GETTING RESOLUTION QUICKER. IN ADDITION, WE ARE SENDING GENTLE REMINDERS TO OUR CUSTOMERS WHO ARE WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY OR MORE THAN THREE DAYS A WEEK. WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED ANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING
[00:45:02]
THESE GENTLE REMINDERS, BUT WE HAVE BEEN ALERTED BY THOSE CUSTOMERS USING DRIP IRRIGATION WHERE THE SYSTEM IS SEEING CONTINUOUS USAGE BUT THEY'RE NOT WALTERING ON THE WRONG DAY. WE HAVE FOUND THAT 51% OF CUSTOMERS CHANGE THEIR USAGE PATTERNS TO COME BACK INTO FULL COMPLIANCE. AGAIN, THOSE ARE LARGE REDUCTION IN USAGE, AGAIN, IF THEY'RE WATERING MORE THAN THREE TIMES A WEEK AND COME BACK INTO COMPLIANCE ON THAT ONE DAY A WEEK. SO IF WE WERE TO EXTRAPOLATE THESE WATER SAVINGS AGAIN AT FULL DEPLOYMENT, WE COULD SAVE AN ADDITIONAL 240 MILLION-GALLONS OF WATER WHICH TRANSLATED TO 737-ACRE TBEET. FEET. WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE QUICK RESOLUTION OF CONTINUOUS USAGE AND/OR GENTLE WATERING ON THE WRONG DAY REMINDERS. OVERALL, WE ARE EXCITED TO CONTINUE OUR CONNECTH20 EFFORTS ALONG WITH THE CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION EFFORTS. BUT THAT'S THE UPDATE FOR TODAY.>> GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH, CECILIA. AND I'M GLAD THAT Y'ALL ARE INSTALLING THE NEW METERS AND I LOVE THE GENTLE REMINDER, WHEN YOU SAID GENTLE THREE TIMES. I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE GENTLE ABOUT ALL OF OUR REMINDERS. I THINK THAT THE FEATURE THAT I LIKE MOST WAS THE ONE ON THE ALERT FOR POTENTIAL LEAKS, AND I KNOW SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE SHOCKED TO SEE THAT THEY HAVE LIKE THOUSANDS IN THEIR WATER BILL THAT THEY OWE AND IT'S BECAUSE THEY WERE UNAWARE THAT THEY HAD A LEAK OR THE RUNNING TOILET. AND SO I APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO HELP THEM THERE. AND THEN ALSO I KNOW THAT YOU TYPICALLY DO READINGS ONCE A YEAR. WHAT -- SO THAT -- THE PERIOD USAGE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WHAT DOES -- LIKE HOW DOES THIS CHANGE
IT? >> SO ARE YOU MEANING THE METER READINGS IN AND OF THEMSELVES, THE ONCE-A-YEAR READ? >
>> GARCIA: UH-HUH. >> WE WOULD READ ONCE A MONTH.
WHEN WE HAD ALL 600,000, WE WOULD HAVE METER READERS GO OUT AND ANNUALLY READ THEM EVERY MONTH. 20 BILLING CYCLES, WITHIN THOSE 20 WORKDAYS OF THE MONTH, THEY WOULD BE GOING OUT --
>> GARCIA: I'M SO SORRY, I WAS TALKING ABOUT SEWER READINGS.
>> SEWER READINGS. WE DO HAVE CUSTOMERS THAT ARE WASTEWATER CUSTOMERS. WE DO HAVE WASTEWATER MONITORS THAT THOSE ARE READ, AGAIN, BUT MOST OF THE TIME, AGAIN, WHETHER IT'S MAINLY ON A MILITARY BASE OR ANOTHER LARGE FLAT-RATE SEWER CUSTOMER, AGAIN, THOSE ACTUAL MONITORS ARE MAINTAINED AND ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THOSE CUSTOMERS. WE JUST HELP, AGAIN, READ THEM FOR THEM.
WINTER AVERAGING. ONCE A MONTH. SORRY.
SO WINTER AVERAGING FOR AS FAR AS RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS AVERAGE WINTER -- SO WE HAVE ANYWHERE BETWEEN NOVEMBER AND MARCH, THERE'S THREE MONTHS OF THOSE BILLS, RIGHT? EVERY MONTH YOU GET A BILL, WE'D AVERAGE THOSE -- ALWAYS BEEN VERY INTERESTED IN THEIR WINTER AVERAGE, AGAIN, BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR SEWER -- ONCE WE AVERAGE THOSE THREE BILLS, THAT'S THEIR SEWER CHARGE THAT THEY WILL GET THE NEXT YEAR FOR THAT ENTIRE -- RIGHT? SO THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN IT.
OBVIOUSLY THESE METERS ARE VERY ACCURATE AT LOW FLOW.
WE'VE HAD SEVERAL CUSTOMERS WHO HAD SICK METERS FOR A VERY LONG TIME, SO THEY MAY HAVE HAD ZERO USAGE AS THEIR AWC FOR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A YEAR, IF NOT MORE. SO WE ARE SEEING AN INCREASE, BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN -- AGAIN, WE'RE COMING INTO WINTER AVERAGING AND WE'RE NOT SEEING ANY COMPLAINTS REGARDING WINTER AVERAGING RIGHT NOW.
>> GARCIA: GOT IT. AND THEN WHAT IS A FINAL COST FOR THE UPGRADES?
>> SO OVERALL, AGAIN, OUR PROGRAM COST US $215 MILLION, 175 MILLION OF THAT IS -- ARE THE METERS THEMSELVES, THE METERS AND THE COMMUNICATION MODULES THEMSELVES. SO, AGAIN, THAT WAS THE LARGEST PART OF THAT INVESTMENT. RIGHT NOW, AGAIN, WE RECEIVED ABOUT 112 MILLION OF THAT $175 MILLION INVENTORY,
SO... >> GARCIA: GOT IT. SO TELL ME HOW Y'ALL MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T LOSE SENIORS WHO AREN'T AS TECHNOLOGICALLY SAVVY
BEHIND. >> UNDERSTOOD. AGAIN, WE PROVIDE OBVIOUSLY THE INFORMATION ON THE POSTCARD, WE ALSO AS KAREN'S TEAM, IF THEY ARE EVER -- IF THEY ARE EVER USING, OBVIOUSLY, A CONTINUOUS USAGE ISSUE COMES UP, THEIR PHONE CALL. SO, AGAIN, THEY'RE NOT JUST TEXT MESSAGED, THEY'RE NOT JUST E-MAILED.
BUT IF THEY HAVE STILL A LAND LINE PHONE AND WE STILL HAVE THAT NUMBER ON THE ACCOUNT, THEY'RE STILL GETTING THAT NOTIFICATION.
SO THEY'RE NOT BEING LEFT BEHIND. SO WE DO REALIZE, AGAIN, WE DO HAVE A LOT OF FOLKS THAT AREN'T PART OF THE MOBILE PHONE COMMUNITY
[00:50:03]
AND/OR A LAPTOP, SO, AGAIN, WE ENSURE THAT WE WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE TO PROVIDE A PHONE CALL. IN ADDITION, TO WHETHER IT'S TEXT MESSAGE, E-MAILS OR ANYTHING IN THE NEW, WE WOULD PROVIDE THAT NOTIFICATION.>> GARCIA: WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. WE'LL START WITH QUESTIONS FROM MY COLLEAGUES. COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO?
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU, CHAIR. THANK YOU, CILIA FOR THE PRESENTATION. I'M ALWAYS PLEASED TO SEE WHEN THE COMS PLANT HAS MULTIPLE POINTS OF CONTACT AND THE ROBOCALLS POSTCARD AND THE DOOR HANGAR, I THINK ARE EXCELLENT POINTS OF COMMUNICATION AS YOU JUST HIGH LHIGHLIGHTED THERE ARE MULTIPLE FOLKS THAT DON'T HAVE THE NEWER TECHNOLOGICALLY. IT'S SOME. A LOT OF FOLKS STILL DON'T USE -- WE DON'T USE ROBOCALLS IS MY POINT BUT I THINK WE'RE GOING TO START IMPLEMENTING ROBOCALLS. MY ONLY COMMENT OR QUESTION REGARDING SLIDE 6 WHERE IT HIGHLIGHTS THAT SAWS WAS IMPLEMENTING -- OR INSTALLING THE NEW METER READERS UNTIL JANUARY 2024. AND I'M CURIOUS TO WHO YOU ALL ARE CURRENTLY CONTRACTING WITH, WHAT'S THEIR -- THE WAGE THAT'S BEING OFFERED? AND THEN I KNOW IT WAS ALSO MENTIONED THAT -- WITH THE PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR Y'ALL USED, THEY WEREN'T REALLY FOLLOWING THE TIMELINE SO YOU ENDED UP HIRING ADDITIONAL SAWS EMPLOYEES, I'M CURIOUS IF THAT'S A MORE EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO HIGHER FOLKS ONBOARD OR POTENTIALLY RETRAIN FOLKS. MY QUESTIONS ARE, WHO ARE Y'ALL CONTRACTING WITH
AND DO WE KNOW WHAT THEIR WAGE IS? >> SURE.
SO WE WANTED TO DIVERSIFY OUR RISK, RIGHT? AGAIN, WE OBVIOUSLY DID HAVE STARTS AND STOPS WITH THIS PROJECT IN THE PAST, AND SO WE ARE UTILIZING OLAMETER CORPORATION AS OUR THIRD-PARTY END-POINT-METER INSTALLER. WE HAVE HAD A LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH OLAMETER CORPORATION, THEY ARE ACTUALLY OUR PARTNERS IN RIDING OUR METERS. WE HAVE OUR OWN INTERNAL TEAM AS WELL AS OLAMETER. WE'VE WORKED WITH THEM SINCE 2007 IN THAT CAPACITY. AND OBVIOUSLY NOW STARTING WITH THEM AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR WITH THE AMI PROGRAM, SO AS FAR AS, AGAIN, THEY'VE WORKED ON SEVERAL INSTALLATIONS AS FAR AS -- I BELIEVE IN UTILITIES ALL ACROSS THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING BOTH ELECTRIC A MI METERS BECAUSE A LOT OF THOSE ELECTRIC PROJECTS WENT WAY BEFORE US. SO THEY'VE WORKED ON A LOT OF ELECTRIC METERS.
BUT THEY'VE ALSO WORKED ON, AGAIN, SOME SMALLER UTILITIES, BUT, AGAIN, THIS WAS ONE OF THEIR LARGEST THAT THEY HAD DONE.
GIVEN THE FACT THAT, AGAIN, THERE AREN'T A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER PROJECTS, AGAIN, FULL -- FULL METER END-POINT CHANGEOUTS, NOT JUST RETROFITTING A METER, BUT THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER UTILITIES OF OUR SIZE OR EVEN OVER 50,000 UNITS AT A TIME TO BE CHANGING OUT.
SO, AGAIN, WE REALIZED THAT, WE TOOK THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, BUT THEY HAD DONE A LOT OF SMALLER UTILITIES AND HAD VERY, AGAIN, RAVING
RECOMMENDATIONS. >> CASTILLO: OKAY. SO -- AND I ASK THAT BECAUSE I'M CURIOUS IF THERE'S RETRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE ONCE THEY COMPLETE THE INSTALLMENT OF THE NEW METERS, THERE'S OPPORTUNITY TO GO BACK TO JUST CONDUCTING THE METER READING WORK; IS THAT CORRECT, SO THERE'S WORK FOR THEM FOLLOWING THE
INSTALLATION OF THE NEW METERS? >> YES.
ALTHOUGH, AGAIN, WE'VE HAD OPEN AND HONEST FEEDBACK THAT ONCE 2025 -- OBVIOUSLY, THE END OF 2025, WE'LL BE DONE WITH THIS PROJECT, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS GREAT FOR OUR CONNECTH20 PROGRAM, BUT ALSO AT AT THE SAME TIME WE WILL NO LONGER NEED MANUAL METER READERS. SO BOTH OF THOSE CONTRACTS WILL END AT THE SAME TIME, BUT WE'VE HAD THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM.
AND AT OTHER UTILITIES ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH THEIR PROJECTS, THEY'RE ABLE TO -- THEY HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED OTHER BIDS FOR OTHER PROJECTS
IN THE FUTURE. >> CASTILLO: OKAY. AND LAST POINT, WE HAVE HAD A CUM OF CONSTITUENTS WHO HAVE HAD THE NEW METER INSTALLED AND THEN THEY'LL CALL OUR OFFICE TO SHARE THAT THEY NOW HAVE A WATER LEAK.
ARE YOU ALL TRACKING TO SEE IF THERE'S A TREND OF NEW INSTALLATIONS AND THEN REPORTS OF WATER LEAKS, LIKE IS THE TECHNOLOGY ALLOWING RESIDENTS TO IDENTIFY SOONER THAN LATER THAT THERE IS A LEAK? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE ALREADY SEEING A TREND OF, OR NOT QUITE
YET? >> SO, AGAIN, BECAUSE WE HAD STARTS AND STOPS BEFORE WITH PRIOR VENDORS, LEAKS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TOP OF MIND FOR US, SO WE DO TRACK THEM ON A DAILY BASIS. SO DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, AND IF WHICH SEE ANY TRENDS, WE ARE ADDRESSING THEM OBVIOUSLY
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WITH OUR TEAM AND/OR WITH OLAMETER AND CREATING PLANS TO -- WHETHER IT'S AN INSTALLATION, WHETHER IT'S OLD PARTS OF TOWN WHERE, AGAIN, THOSE METER THE BOXES HAVE NOT BEEN TOUCHED SINCE THEY WERE INSTALLED AND THAT INFRASTRUCTURE HASN'T BEEN TOUCHED SUNS THEY WERE INSTALLED.SO, AGAIN, WE ECHO THE FACT THAT WE DO HEAR FROM CUSTOMERS, BUT EACH CUSTOMER SITUATION IS GOING TO BE UNIQUE, WHETHER IT'S INFRASTRUCTURE THEY PUT IN, WHETHER THEY HAVE A PRV CONNECTED TO THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, HOW OLD THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IS. AGAIN, SOMETIMES WE GET TO THAT METER AND THERE ARE SEVERAL PREEXISTING ISSUES, SO WE TRY TO, AGAIN, NOTIFY THE CUSTOMER AHEAD OF TIME BEFORE WE PUT THAT METER IN, LET THEM KNOW OF THAT LEAK. IF THEY FIND A LEAK AFTER THE INSTALLATION, AGAIN, WHETHER THEY'RE REACHING OUT TO US OR WE RECEIVE A CALL TO LOOK INTO THIS LEAK, AGAIN, WE GO OUT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE, IF ANY LEAK WE ARE RECEIVING INFORMATION OUT, WE ARE SENDING OUT A FIELD INVESTIGATOR TO DETERMINE, AGAIN, IF IT'S ON OUR SIDE OR OBVIOUSLY IT'S ON THE CUSTOMER'S SIDE. AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE CAN DO, OBVIOUSLY WE CAN SEND OUT KAREN'S AT-HOME CONSULTATION TO SEE, OKAY, IS IT -- IS IT THEIR WATER HEATER, IS IT THEIR SWIMMING POOL, BUT THEY -- WE TRY AS MUCH AS WE CAN TO IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THAT LEAK
BEFORE WE LEAVE THAT RESIDENCE. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, CHAIR, THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS. GAR
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. COUNCILMAN WHYTE?
>> WHYTE: NO REAL QUESTIONS. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. I APPRECIATE IT, AS DO MY CONSTITUENTS THE -- SAWS' EFFORTS TO KEEP CUSTOMERS INFORMED ABOUT THEIR WATER USAGE, BECAUSE SOMETIMES DURING DROUGHTS AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S RESTRICTIONS AND THINGS, IT'S CONFUSING. IT'S CONFUSING FOR THEM. WE HEAR ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME, AND SO APPRECIATE THIS TOOL AND ALERT SYSTEM, IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO HELP US SAVE WATER, RIGHT, WHICH WILL BE -- MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR WATER CONSERVATION HERE IN THE CITY, AND SO I
APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS. THANKS. >> THANK YOU.
I ALSO WANTED TO SAY AS FAR AS, AGAIN, BEING ABLE TO SEE ON AN HOURLY BASIS WHEN THAT USAGE IS, IT'S HELPFUL FOR A CUSTOMER TO SEE IT AND ACTUALLY SAY, OKAY, TURN OFF ALL OF YOUR APPLIANCES, EVERYTHING, AND THEY'RE STILL SEEING USAGE, THAT MEANS, AGAIN, IT'S SOMETHING ON THEIR SIDE, RIGHT? SO IT'S EASIER, LIKE YOU SAID, KEEP THEM INFORMED ON HOW THEY CAN LOOK FOR THOSE THINGS AND LIKE YOU SAID, BE AN INFORMED
CUSTOMER OF YOUR WA WATER FOOTPRINT, SO... >> WHYTE: AND I WILL SAY, THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE ISSUES WITH THE INSTALLATION IN SOME OF THESE THINGS IN MY DISTRICT AND I REACHED OUT TO GAVINO ON THOSE, AND HE WAS GREAT IN TERMS OF GETTING THOSE TAKEN CARE OF, SO I APPRECIATE
THAT AS WELL. >> YES, IF YOU DO HAVE ANY OTHER -- I KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE INSTALLING THE NEXT 300,000, IF THERE ARE ANY ISSUES, IF YOU LET US KNOW,EN G, WE UNDERSTAND THAT OUR CUSTOMER'S FRUSTRATION WHEN THEY DO HAVE A LEAK AND WE WANT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT FOR THEM, SO PLEASE LET US KNOW AND --
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN COURAGE? >> COURAGE: THANK YOU, CHAIR. AS WE ENTERED INTO PUTTING IN THE AMIS IN CPS ENERGY, THERE WAS A LOT OF PUSHBACK FROM CUSTOMERS BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY WERE FINDING OUT THEY WERE USING MORE ELECTRICITY THAN THEY THOUGHT BECAUSE THE METERS WERE MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE IN MEASURING THAT. AND I PRESUMED THE THING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN WITH WATER. WHEN YOU REPLACE MECHANICAL METER WITH ONE OF THE NEWER ONES, WE WERE PRESUMING THEY WOULD BE A LOT MORE ACCURATE.
AND SO THAT WOULD ALSO MEAN THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO FIND OUT THEY'RE USING A LOT MORE WATER, MAYBE NOT A LOT MORE, BUT A CERTAIN MORE PERCENTAGE, MAYBE ONE OR TWO OR THREE OR 4%. ARE YOU FINDING THAT WE ARE DETERMINING THAT THERE IS A GREATER AMOUNT OF WATER USAGE FROM THESE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOW GETTING THESE METERS, AND WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE WE FINDING THAT'S BEING REPORTED BACK TO SAWS AS ACTUAL WATER BEING USED NOW AS OPPOSED TO WHAT IT MAY HAVE BEEN BEFORE THOSE
METERS CAME IN? >> DURING THE PILOT -- AND, AGAIN, WE WERE ABLE TO DO PARALLEL TESTING DURING THE PILOT OF ROUGHLY -- AUDIO] -- DEPENDED ON THE SIZE OF THE METER. AND SO WE HAVE -- WE ARE LOOKING AT DOING A MUCH MORE EXPANDED TEST OF THAT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS IN WORKING WITH DOUG'S TEAM TO DO THAT OFFICIAL ANALYSIS.
BUT AS FAR AS NATIONAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN, AND WE'VE SEEN SOME OTHER CUSTOMERS THAT ARE SEEING THE 5 TO 6% INCREASE REGISTRATION, BUT, AGAIN,
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NOW THAT WE HAVE, OBVIOUSLY, A VERY CONCERTED EFFORT ON OUR DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, THAT I THINK ALSO OBVIOUSLY THE WEATHER IMPACTS THAT AS WELL. SO WE WILL TRY AND DO ANOTHER PARALLEL TEST ANDBRING BACK THOSE RESULTS. >> COURAGE: YEAH.
THAT'S GOOD. I'D LIKE TO SEE THAT MAYBE IN A YEAR, IF NOT SOONER, WHEN WE'VE GOTTEN 80, 90% OF THE HOUSES METERED AND YOU CAN DO A COMPARISON. BUT ALSO THAT MEANS THAT CPS IS ABLE TO BILL MORE FOR THE WATER, BECAUSE THEY'RE ABLE TO IDENTIFY IT.
SO HAVE WE SEEN AN INCREASE IN ACTUAL REVENUE TO CPS OVER WHAT THEY PROJECTED BEFORE THESE METERS WERE INSTALLED?
>> YOU SAID REVENUE TO CPS. I ASSUME YOU MEAN REVENUE
TO SAWS. >> COURAGE: I'M SORRY. THANK YOU.
YEAH, YOUR INVESTIGATE. THANKS, DOUG. >> WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR AND I WAS TELLING RUSSELL HUFF WHEN WE WERE TALKING, WE HAVEN'T SEEN THAT. RIGHT NOW THROUGH AUGUST OUR OPERATING REVENUES ARE DOWN COMPARED TO BUDGET BY ABOUT $8 MILLION.
>> COURAGE: OKAY. >> SO WE HAVEN'T -- WE HAVE SEEN AND I'VE SEEN IT IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO -- IT'S JUST BEEN SO DRY THAT UNLESS YOU'RE GOING TO WATER A LOT, YOU MIGHT GIVE UP.
AND IN SOME CASES I THINK SOME PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN UP.
>> COURAGE: YEAH, RIGHT. MY FRONT YARD LOOKS LIKE THAT, TOO.
BUT I DO MANAGE TO WATER MY BACKYARD. I GUESS THAT REALLY SUMMARIZES WHAT I WAS THINKING ABOUT. AND HOPEFULLY WE SEE MORE ABOUT THIS AS WE CONTINUE TO GET THESE METERS IN MORE AND MORE OF THE HOMES. I THINK IT'S SMART. I THINK IT HELPS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW THEY'RE USING THEIR WATER. IT HELPED ME.
I GOT A BILL AND I SAID, MY GOODNESS, I DIDN'T KNOW I USED THAT MUCH.
AND I WENT BACK AND LOOKED. AND I SAW THE DAYS WHEN I WAS USING MORE THAN I SHOULD. SO HOPEFULLY --
AUDIO] -- >> GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN.
COUNCILMAN CABELLO HAVRDA, DO YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING CAVS NO.
>> GARCIA: WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE'RE EXCITED THAT WE'RE USING TECHNOLOGY. I THINK OUR ATTORNEY WANTS TO SAY SOMETHING, OR ADD SOMETHING. GO AHEAD.
SCOTT. >> WELL, IF WE'RE DONE WITH THIS, I HAVE THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION FROM THE EARLIER PRESENTATION.
>> GARCIA: OH, YEAH. >> OUR PROSECUTION TEAM INDICATED THAT WHEN THE CITY RECEIVES A NOTICE OF A SEWER SPILL ON PRIVATE PROPERTY, THEY'LL DO THEIR INSPECTION, AND IF IT'S CONFIRM, THEY'LL ISSUE A 10-DAY NOTICE TO REPAIR. IF THE REPAIR IS NOT DONE WITHIN 10 DAYS, THEN BEGIN THEIR CITATION PROCESS FOR ENFORCEMENT. AND THEN DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF THE SPILL, THEY MAY ISSUE A NOTICE TO VACATE IN CONNECTION
WITH THE REPAIR NOTICE. >> GARCIA: YEAH, GO AHEAD.
>> HAVRDA: THANK YOU FOR THE ANSWER. SO THERE'S A NOTICE AND THEN THEY HAVE 10-DAY NOTICE TO REPAIR. SO -- THAT THE REPAIR HAS
TO BE COMPLETE? TB >> CORRECT.
>> HAVRDA: OKAY. WHAT IF -- IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A LOT OF TIME FOR A FAMILY THAT MIGHT BE, YOU KNOW, WORKING AND ALL THE ZERO OTHER THINGS. ALTHOUGH I UNDERSTAND IT'S PROBABLY A PRETTY URGENT ISSUE, WHAT IF THEY HAVE CONTRACTED SOMEBODY TO COME AND FIX
IT OR LIKE THERE'S SOMETHING -- >> I CAN'T SPEAK WITH ANY PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE ON THE MATTER. I WOULD HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS SOME DISCRETION ON THE ISSUANCE OF A CITATION.
>> HAVRDA: OKAY. THAT'S THE ANSWER. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
OKAY. >> GARCIA: THANK YOU. WELL, THAT CONCLUDES OUR MEETING FOR MUNICIPAL UTILITIE
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.