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>> ROCHA GARCIA: WE'LL BE STARTING WITH THE MUNICIPAL UTILITIES MEETINGS WITH A ROLL CALL.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU. WE'LL START WITH THE EASY ONE, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE DECEMBER 9TH MEETING AND YOU SHOULD HAVE HAD THEM IN YOUR PACKET AND HOPE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW.
I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
MOTION CARRIES. PUBLIC COMMENT. DO WE HAVE ANY? ALL RIGHT. MOVING ON TO ITEM 2, BRIEFING BY SAWS REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION AND COMPLIANCE WITH THE EPA LED AND COPPER RULE REVISION.
WE WILL START OFF THE PRESENTATION SO WE WILL TURN IT OVER TO OUR FRIENDS FROM
SAWS. >> GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING US.
MY NAME IS KIRSTEN ELDER, THE POTABLE WATER SUPERVISOR FROM SAWS AND IT IS MY GROUP'S'S JOB AND WE CREATED A PROJECT CALLED PROJECT LEAD FOR THIS INITIATIVE FROM THE EPA AND TEXAS COMMISSION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OR TCEQ.
ALL OF THIS STARTED BACK IN 1991 WHEN E.P.A. FIRST PUT OUT THE INITIAL LEAD AND COPPER RULE. THERE WAS CONCERN ABOUT LEAD AND COPPER CONTAMINATION IN HOMES AND SO THIS WORK WENT OUT TO MONITOR THAT WITH ALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS. WITH ANY RULE THAT EPA PUTS OUT THEY HAVE THE DATE THAT IT BECOMES EFFECTIVE AND THEY GIVE YOU A TIME PERIOD TO GET EVERYTHING IN ORDER TO BECOME COMPLIANT ON THAT RULE. SO FOR THIS 1991 RULE, THE COMPLIANCE DATE WAS NOT UNTIL ACTUALLY 1994 AND SINCE THEN SAWS AND ALL ITS PREDECESSOR AGENCIES HAVE BEEN COMPLYING UNDER THAT RULE. HEIN 2021 EPA COMPLETELY REINVENTED THIS RULE. THIS WAS IN RESPONSE TO EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN FLINT, MICHIGAN AND THE LEAD CRAZE THAT HAPPENED AND THEY WANTED TO GET A BETTER IDEA OF THE LEAD THAT EVERYONE WAS EXPOSED TO. SO THIS WAS THE LEAD AND COPPER RULE VISION, THE LCRR. THIS IS TO GET THE LEAD OUT OF THE GROUND NATIONWIDE. AND WE HAVE UNTIL 2037 TO DO THAT.
IT'S NOT JUST SAWS, BUT EVERY PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.
THAT RULE ORIGINALLY CAME OUT IN 2021. THAT'S WHEN IT WAS PUBLISHED. WE HAD UNTIL OCTOBER 16TH, 2024 TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE. AGAIN, THAT PERIOD WE HAVE TO GET READY AND THAT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER OF THIS YEAR WHEN WE STARTED PUTTING EVERYTHING OUT AND YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN SOME CALLS FROM SOME OF OUR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT SOME LETTERS THEY RECEIVE WHICH WE'LL GO INTO. IN 2021 WHEN THEY PUT OUT THE LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS, THEY SAID HOLD ON, WE'RE NOT QUITE HAPPY WITH IT.
GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH THE LCRR BUT WE HAVE THE LEAD AND COPPER IMPROVEMENTS AND THAT WILL BE COMING OUT SOME TIME SOON.
THAT WAS OCTOBER OF 2024 AND NOW WE'RE IN THAT COMPLIANCE PERIOD OF ABOUT THREE YEARS WHEN WE NEED TO GO OVER THE NEW STIPULATIONS OF THE LEAD AND COPPER RULES IMPROVEMENTS, THE LCI. THAT COMPLIANCE DATE IS NOW 2027.
I MENTIONED THAT THE LLC LEAD AND COPPER REVISIONS [INDISCERNIBLE] WHERE ALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS ARE REQUIRE TO INVENTORY THE ENTIRE SERVICE LINE.
SO FROM THE MAIN TO WHERE IT ENTERS A BUILDING OR A HOME. IN SAN ANTONIO WE HAVE SPLIT OWNERSHIP OF THAT SERVICE LINE FROM THE MAIN TO THE METER IS SAWS PROPERTY.
THAT'S OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. ONCE IT PASSES THAT METER IT'S ACTUALLY A PROPERTY OWNERS'. THAT'S THEIR SERVICE LINE AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY RIGHT TO TOUCH IT WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION. WITHOUT THIS RULE WE HAVE TO ATTEMPT TO INVENTORY EVERY SERVICE LINE REGARDLESS OF THE OWNERSHIP.
WE HAVE FOUR CATEGORIES THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT THE INVENTORY WITH.
NON-LEAD, THAT WILL BE COPPER, ANYTHING PLASTIC BASED.
THOSE WILL BE THE TWO MAJOR THINGS THAT WE SEE IN SAN ANTONIO.
A LEAD PIPE IS A LEAD PIPE. THERE'S ALSO SOME GALVANIZED, WHICH WOULD BE DEEMED WHAT IS CALLED GALVANIZED REQUIREMENT REPLACEMENT.
IT CAN BE STEEL OR IRON PIPE THAT HAS THE GALVANIC COATING THAT CAN ACT AS A LEAD MAGNET. IF THERE'S ANY LEAD IN THE WATER IF IT PASSES THROUGH THAT GALVANIZED PIPE IT WILL COME OUT OF SOLUTION ATTACHED TO THE PIPE AND THE PIPE BECOMES A LEAD SOURCE ITSELF. IF WE HAVE DOCUMENTATION THAT SAYS LEAD WAS EVER UPSTREAM OF THAT GALVANIZED PIPE ON THE SAWS SIDE OF A CUSTOMER'S LINE IS CONSIDERED GALVANIZED PIPE REQUIRING REPLACEMENT.
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IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE MATERIAL IS WE DEFAULT TO THAT.IF WE HAVE DOCUMENTED PROOF THAT SAID IT WAS ORIGINALLY COPPER OR ANOTHER MATERIAL THAT WAS NON-LEAD, THEN THAT GALVANIZED PIPE IS ACTUALLY CONSIDERED NON-LEAD.
THE MOST BROAD CATEGORY WE HAVE IN SAN ANTONIO IS UNKNOWN.
THAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE CATEGORY RIGHT NOW. IF WE DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER A SERVICE LINE IS DEEMED UNKNOWN AND RIGHT NOW THAT IS FINE AND WE ARE WORKING TO UNCOVER THOSE UNKNOWNS. THIS INVENTORY IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
WE HAVE A PUBLIC MAP WHICH I'LL WALK THROUGH HERE IN A LITTLE BIT.
IN TOTAL WE HAVE 642,000 SERVICE LINES HERE IN SAN ANTONIO.
NOW, THAT INCLUDES BOTH INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS AND OUTSIDE WHERE SAWS DOES SERVE. 60% OF UNKNOWN MATERIAL LARGELY DUE TO THAT CUSTOMER COMPONENT BECAUSE IT'S PRIVATE PROPERTY. WE DON'T HAVE THOSE RECORDS.
WE DO KNOW THAT OVER 800 LEAD LINES WERE REMOVED IN THE '80S AND '90S.
WE HAVE RECORDS THAT SHOW IT WAS ORIGINALLY LEAD AND REPLACED WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS NON-LEAD. WE BELIEVE THAT THE ACTUAL REMOVE WAS PROBABLY LARGER, THAT SOME OF THESE RECORDS HAVE BEEN LOST OVER TIME, BUT WE HAVE CONFIRMED OVER 800 LINES WERE REPLACED. SO HOW DO WE FELL IN THIS INVENTORY? HOW DO WE GET THE ANSWERS? THE FIRST STEP IS HISTORICAL RECORDS REVIEW.
SO LOOKING BACK AT ALL OF THE RECORDS THAT SAWS HAS WE HAVE DETERMINED THAT IN AUDIO], THIS INCLUDES AS BUILT, SO WHEN THE LINES WERE ORIGINALLY PUT IN THE GROUND, WHAT RECORDS DO WE HAVE THAT SHOWS WHAT THAT IS.
THERE IS ALSO PHYSICAL INSPECTIONS WHEN WE DON'T HAVE ANY RECORDS.
RIGHT NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT POTHOLING INSPECTIONS AND METER BOX INSPECTIONS AND THERE'S ALSO A CATEGORY CALLED EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND WHAT THE EPA SAYS IS IF AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY COMES OUT IT'S AT THE STATE'S DISCRETION WHETHER THEY USE THAT TECHNOLOGY AND ALLOW THEIR PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS TO FILL IN THEIR INVENTORY USING THAT. AND WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO LOOK AT MULTIPLE MERGE TECHNOLOGIES WHICH I'LL GO INTO. AS OF NOW WE HAVE 11,000 CUSTOMERS SIGNED UP WITH INTEREST IN INVESTIGATING THEIR SERVICE LINE MATERIAL.
WHILE THIS IS AN EXTREMELY LARGE NUMBER, IT IS ALSO A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL SERVICE LINES THAT WE DO HAVE TO INVESTIGATE. I MENTIONED THE RECORDS REVIEW. YOU CAN SEE HERE WE ARE FORTUNATE THAT WE HAD A LOT OF THE BOXES YOU WITH CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT, THE OLDEST ONE FROM THE 18 1890S.
THIS IS TOOL, YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE MATERIAL WAS FROM THAT TAP OR WHEN THE SERVICE LINE WAS ORIGINALLY ATTACHED TO THE MAIN FROM HERE. IF WE DON'T HAVE THIS RECORD THEN WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT ORIGINAL MATERIAL IS AT THE TIME THAT THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PUT IN WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT AS BUILTS, WORK ORDERS, CUSTOMER INSPECTIONS. WE HAVE A TEAM OF INDIVIDUALS RIGHT NOW WORKING AT SAWS LOOKING AT COUNTLESS DOCUMENTS, GOING THROUGH THE HISTORY OF THE DOCUMENTS WE HAVE AT SAWS TO TRY TO UNCOVER AS MUCH INFORMATION WE CAN USING THIS RECORDS REVIEW PROCESS AND WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO USE TAX PARCEL DATA. SO WHENEVER A NEW SUBDIVISION IS PUT IN, DOCUMENTS HAVE TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY.
HOWEVER, THE AMOUNT OF DOCUMENTS OVER TIME IS NOT SOMETHING THAT THE AT THE CAN MAINTAIN SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE NOT AWARE OF ANY CITY RECORDS THAT CAN FILL IN THIS CUSTOMER PORTION. MOST OF THIS REVIEW IS ON THE SAWS OWNED PORTION BECAUSE THAT'S THE RECORDS THAT WE DO HAVE AVAILABLE. I MENTIONED PHYSICAL INSPECTIONS AND HERE'S TWO EXAMPLES. THIS IS A METER BOX AND IT'S VERY CLEAN. A LOT OF THEM CAN BE INUNDATED WITH DEBRIS, SOILS, LEAVES, GRASS. YOU NAME IT, IT'S IN THERE. IF WE'RE ABLE TO GET IN THAT METER BOX AND SEE WHAT WE NEED TO SEE WE CAN USE THAT TO FILL OUT THE INVENTORY.
ANOTHER PROBLEM WE HAVE WITH METER BOX INSPECTIONS IS YOU CAN'T ALWAYS SEE THE SERVICE LINE. SOMETIMES YOU SEE FITTINGS OR JUST A PORTION OF THE METER ITSELF. IT DEPENDS ON HOW BIG THAT BOX IS AND HOW IT IS STRUCTURED OVER THAT METER AND OVER THOSE SERVICE LINES TO ACTUALLY SEE ANYTHING.
IF WE CAN'T SEE ANYTHING IN A METER BOX WE THEN GO TO A POTHOLE INSPECTION AND THIS BIG TRUCK IN THE MIDDLE COMES OUT AND THEY DIG A HOLE USING A HYDRO VAC SYSTEM ABOVE THE SERVICE LINE. WE TRY TO DO THIS WITHIN THREE FEET OF THE METER BOX. WE DO THAT ONE. WE DON'T WANT TO GO TOO FAR INTO THE CUSTOMER'S PROCESS. THEY'VE ALREADY GRANTED US ACCESS AND WE WANT TO RESPECT THAT. WE NEED TO KNOW WHERE THAT PIPE IS GOING AND THE CLOSER WE ARE TO THE METER BOX THE BETTER ASSUMPTION WE CAN MAKE WHEN WE DIG THAT HOLE THAT WE CAN SEE THAT SERVICE LINE. YOU CAN SEE THE COPPER ON THE TOP. YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE MUCH ON THE BOTTOM, BUT THAT GIVES YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING IN THE FIELD.
SOMETIMES IT'S REALLY EASY WITH THAT COPPER PIPE. THAT'S A NICE, CLEAN COPPER PIPE. AND OTHER TIMES YOU HAVE TO REALLY WORK WITH THAT POTHOLE TO REALLY SEE THAT LINE. WE PRESENTED OUR APPROACHTY PUBLIC CONFERENCE ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND IN IN A WE MENTIONED SOME OF THE WORK
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WE WERE DOING WITH EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. WE'VE BEEN TESTING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS RULE. EPA APPROACHED US AFTER THAT CONFERENCE TO DISCUSS THE SCIENCE THAT WE HAVE DONE AND THE RESEARCH PERTAINING TO THOSE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND FROM THERE WE NOW HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM WHERE WE ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON EVERY EMERGING TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY THINK HAS PROMISE. THIS IS THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT WITH EPA. THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THE OFFICE OF WATER.THE OFFICE OF WATER IS THE ONE WHO CREATES THE RULE, BUT THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FEEDS THEM THE SCIENCE THEY NEED TO PROPERLY DEVELOP THAT RULE.
WE ARE CONTINUALLY HAVING CONVERSATIONS. EPA HAS BEEN DONE TO SAN ANTONIO MULTIPLE TIMES AND WE ARE 10 R. CONTINUING THAT WORK WITH THEM.
AS A RESULT OF THAT WE HAVE TESTED THREE TECHNOLOGIES. THE FIRST OF WHICH IS THAT ONE ON THE LEFT. THAT'S CALLED A SWORD FISH. IT ACTUALLY SNAKES THROUGH THE PIPE, CREATE A CURRENT AND THE MASTER METER READS IT AND THE DECAY OF THAT CURRENT CAN TELL YOU WHAT THAT PIPE MATERIAL IS. WE FOUND OUT THIS WASN'T A FIT FOR SAWS DUE TO PRESSURE REDUCING VALVES. THEY'RE VERY COMMON IN THE CITY AND THIS CANNOT GO THROUGH THE PRESSURE REDUCING VALUES.
THE ONE IN THE MIDDLE IS A METAL DETECTING TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS THE ONE ON THE FAR RIGHT THAT LOOKS LIKE THE LUNAR LANDER. THAT'S A REALLY GOOD METAL DETECTING TECHNOLOGY. THE ONE IN ORANGE WE TESTED AND IT WASN'T READY FOR THIS WORK AND THE COMPANY WAS NOT INTERESTED IN PURSUING IT AND DEVELOPING IT FURTHER FOR THIS APPROACH. HOWEVER, THE ONE ON THE FAR RIGHT, THE LUNAR LANDER LOOKING ONE, THEY'RE A WONDERFUL COMPANY TO WORK WITH AND WE'RE WORKING WITH A PILOT WITH THEM RIGHT NOW TESTING THIS TECHNOLOGY AND WE ARE THE ONLY PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM IN THE NATION DOING THIS WORK WITH THEM. WE'RE LOOKING AT THESE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES BECAUSE DIGGING A POTHOLE WE'RE DISTURBING OUR CUSTOMER'S PROPERTY. IT'S ALSO RATHER EXPENSIVE. THESE EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT IS NON-INVASIVE, THAT IS GOING TO BE COST EFFECTIVE AS WELL AS GIVE US A PROACTIVE APPROACH WHERE WE CAN REALLY COME TO THE BEST CONCLUSION FOR EACH PROPERTY SO WHEN WE DO HAVE TO DIG A POTHOLE WE KNOW WE REALLY HAVE TO DIG THAT POTHOLE. SO HERE'S A SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE DATA THAT WE HAVE AND THE SERVICE LINES. YOU CAN SEE THIS CHART SHOWS THE DIFFERENT RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS SO YOU CAN KIND OF GO INTO THE AREA OF YOUR INTEREST. OVERALL INSIDE THE CITY LIMITS WE HAVE OVER 450,000 LINES. AGAIN SAWS AS A WHOLE, 642,000.
NOW, IN 1989 THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT BANNED LEAD PIPE SO YOU COULD NO LONGER PUT IT IN THE GROUND. WE ARE ABLE TO USE ANYTHING BUILT AFTER 1989 AS A DETERMINATION FOR NON-LEAD. SO A LOT OF THE SERVICE LINES THAT ARE DEEMED NON-LEAD IN THE CITY ARE THAT BECAUSE THEY WERE BUILT AFTER 1989.
THAT STILL LEAVES US WITH ALMOST 380,000 SERVICE LINES TO BE INVESTIGATING BEFORE 2037. LOOKING A LITTLE BIT MORE AT THE TABLE. AND I KNOW THIS IS A BUSY TABLE, BUT WE WANTED TO PROVIDE ALL OF THE DATA THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS. I'M JUST GOING TO TALK ABOUT SOME HIGH LEVEL TRENDS THAT WE SEE HERE. DISTRICT 1 AND DISTRICT 5 ARE GOING TO BE OUR OLDER AREAS. YOU CAN SEE THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF UNKNOWNS BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ABLE TO LEVERAGE THAT 1989 DATE AS MUCH IN THOSE DISTRICTS. SOME OF THE NEWER AREAS LIKE DRIED DISTRICT 9, YOU CAN SEE WE HAVE A LOT LESS UNKNOWNS IN THOSE AREAS. YOU CAN SEE THAT THE DISTRIBUTION OF METER BOX INSPECTIONS AND POTHOLES DON'T NECESSARILY CORRELATE WITH THE NUMBER OF UNKNOWNS. THE METER BOX INSPECTIONS WE ARE DOING IN COORDINATION WITH OUR SMART METER CHANGEOUTS THAT WE'RE DOING IN THE CITY SO AS THEY GO IN AND CLEAN OUT THAT BOX THAT'S GOING TO BE OUR BEST CHANCE OF INVESTIGATING THAT SERVICE LINE SO THAT'S WHEN WE'RE GOING AND WE'RE FOLLOWING THEM.
THE COMPLETED POTHOLES YOU CAN SEE THE HIGHEST IN DISTRICT 5.
OUR INITIAL EFFORTS WITH THE POTHOLING WHEN WE WERE REALLY TESTING IT OUT WAS IN 410 WHERE WE SEE A HIGHER NUMBER IN DISTRICT 5. WE WERE REQUIRED TO SEND OUT CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION TO ANY CUSTOMER WITH AN UNKNOWN OR LEAD IN SEPTEMBER 2024.
WE HAD A MONTH TO DO IT AFTER THAT. A LOT OF CUSTOMERS RECEIVED A LETTER. THERE WAS SOME SCARY LANGUAGE IN THAT LETTER THAT WE WERE REQUIRED TO PUT IN BY EPA. EPA IS AWARE THAT THE LANGUAGE WAS A LITTLE AGGRESSIVE AT SOME POINTS, HOWEVER, WE HAVE TALKED TO A LOT OF CUSTOMERS AND AFTER WE TALKED WITH THEM, THEY'RE VERY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO CONVEY AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. ANY PERSON BUILT ONCE AGAIN BEFORE 1989 WAS LIKELY TO RECEIVE ONE OF THESE LETTERS UNLESS THEY HAD ANOTHER MEANS OF INSPECTION. WE DO HAVE A WEBSITE, SAWS.ORG/LEAD, WHICH HAS ALL THE OF INFORMATION WHERE CUSTOMERS WITH EVEN SIGN UP FOR AN INSPECTION.
ALTERNATIVES TO A SAWS INSPECTION. WE HAVE 11,000 CUSTOMERS INTERESTED IN AN INSPECTION. THAT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
ONE OF THE BIGGEST CONCERNS CUSTOMERS HAVE WHEN THEY CALL AND TALK TO ONE OF US
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IS HOW LONG IT'S GOING TO TAKE FOR US TO GET TO ALL OF THOSE 11,000 LET ALONE THE TOTAL NUMBER OF 370,000. IT'S GOING TO TAKE AWHILE. WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.THIS IS A MULTI-YEAR PROGRAM AND WE'LL BE DOING OUR BEST TO GO TO THE HIGHEST RISK AREAS FIRST TO MAKE SURE THAT THE HIGHEST RISKS ARE TAKEN CARE OF.
THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES. CUSTOMERS CAN COMPLETE THIS INSPECTION THEMSELVES.
THEY CAN SEE THEIR SERVICE LINE TO DETERMINE WHAT IT IS.
WE CAN ACCEPT THAT. WE HAVE A SELF-REPORT FORM ON OUR WEBSITE.
ON OUR WEBSITE THERE ARE ALSO INSTRUCTIONS LIKE THE IMAGE HERE SHOWING THIS IS WHAT A PEX PIPE LOOKS LIKE AND THIS IS A PVC AND IT TALKS TO CUSTOMERS ABOUT HOW THEY CAN DO IT THEMSELVES. THEY CAN ALSO HIRE A CONTRACTOR TO COME DO IT.
IT IS PART OF THE CITY ORDINANCE THAT IN A PLUMBER INSPECTS IT THEY NEED TO REPORT THAT AND IT IS THE SAME SELF-REPORT FORM ON OUR WEBSITE.
WHAT IF WE FIND LEAD PIPE? PROBABLY THE MOST COMMON QUESTION WE GET.
RIGHT NOW WE WILL PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS TO THE CUSTOMER TELLING THEM HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES. RIGHT NOW SAWS WILL OFFER TO REPLACE THAT PIPE, WHICH WILL BE EXPENSIVE. WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR A LEAD PIPE IN TWO YEARS AND WE HAVEN'T FOUND ONE AND THAT MAKES A FUNDING PROGRAM VERY DIFFICULT BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE FUNDING. RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING AS MANY INSPECTIONS AS WE CAN TO GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS WE CAN BEFORE DEVELOPING THAT. THIS IS NOT A MANDATORY PROGRAM.
WE RESPECT THE CUSTOMER'S PROPERTY. IF THEY REFUSE, THAT'S PERFECTLY FINE. IF THEY WANT AN INSPECTION BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO DO REPLACEMENT, THAT'S ALSO COMPLETELY FINE. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE A PENALTY AGAINST THEM. WE'RE NOT GOING TO SHUT OFF WATER, WE'RE NOT GOING TO INITIATE FINES. AND ANY CONCERN CUSTOMERS CAN USE FILTERS AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LEADING THEM TO, THE FILTERS YOU CAN BUY AT ANY STORE ARE VERY EFFECTIVE AT MOVING LEAD. WE ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO LOOK AT THE PACKAGING MATERIAL. IT WILL TELL YOU WHAT IT DOES REMOVE OR WHAT IT DOESN'T, AS WELL AS A WAY TO USE THAT FILTER. USING THE FILTER PROPERLY IS KEY TO PROTECT YOURSELF IN THESE SITUATIONS. SO HERE'S A LITTLE VIEW OF OUR WEBSITE. I'M ACTUALLY GOING TO SHOW YOU OUR PUBLIC-FACING INVENTORY. THIS IS PART OF OUR REQUIREMENT PER EPA.
YOU CAN GO HERE ON SAWS SAWS.ORG/LEAD AND SEE A WATER SERVICE LINE MAP AND IT WILL TAKE YOU TO A MAP LIKE THIS. YOU WILL GET A LEGAL DISCLAIMER AND THEN YOU CAN TYPE IN ANY ADDRESS IN THE ENTIRE CITY AND IT WILL POP UP AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE. ONCE YOU TYPE THAT IN IT WILL ZOOM IN ON THAT SPECIFIC AREA AND TELL YOU WHAT WE KNOW.
ANYTHING IN GREEN IS GOING TO BE UNKNOWN. IT MEANS WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. ANYTHING IN BLUE IS GOING TO BE NON-LEAD.
YELLOW WILL BE GALVANIZED REQUIRE REPLACEMENT. IN THE EVENT WE FIND LEAD THAT IS GOING TO BE RED, BUT AS I MENTIONED WE HAVEN'T FOUND ANY YET.
AS YOU MOVE THROUGH THIS MAP YOU CAN SEE YOUR NEIGHBORS, YOU CAN SEE OTHER PROPERTIES. THIS IS NOT LIMITED TO YOUR SERVICE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO OUR CUSTOMERS AND IT WILL BE UPDATED QUARTERLY SO THAT AS WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE NEW INFORMATION, WE'RE GOING TO UPDATE THIS SO THAT OUR CUSTOMERS ARE ABLE TO SEE THOSE CHANGES. SO WHAT COMES NEXT? THE FUTURE WORK STARTING LIKELY IN JANUARY OF 2027 IS TO CONTINUE UNCOVERING ALL OF OUR UNKNOWNS, BUT THEN WE'LL ALSO START LINE REPLACEMENTS. ANYTHING THAT NEEDS REPLACING. SO THAT WILL BE LEAD LINES, GALVANIZED REQUIREMENT REPLACEMENT LINES HAVE TO BE REMOVED BY 2037. IT SOUNDS LIKE A LONG WAY OFF. IT'S NOT. THIS IS GOING TO BE AN AGGRESSIVE APPROACH THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TACKLE.
WE ARE READY FOR THAT CHALLENGE, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WILL BE COMING. IF WE COME ACROSS A SAWS LINE WE WILL REPLACE IT AND THE CUSTOMER, IT IS AT THEIR DISCRETION. THERE IS ALSO SCHOOL AND CHILDCARE SAMPLING THAT IS PART OF THIS RULE THAT WE HAVE TO OFFER SAMPLING TO SCHOOLS. THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO REFUSE. AT AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IT IS FIVE SAMPLES IN THAT SCHOOL. AT A CHILDCARE CENTER IT IS TWO SAMPLES AND WE HAVE TO OFFER THAT OVER FIVE YEARS, HAVE TO DO 20% A YEAR.
AND THERE'S ALSO COMPLIANCE MONITORING SYSTEM-WIDE THAT WE'LL HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR AND SAMPLE WITH THE COOPERATION OF CUSTOMERS INSIDE THEIR HOMES.
HERE'S SOME BASIC INFORMATION OF HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US.
AGAIN, OUR WEBSITE IS SAWS.ORG/LEAD. THIS IS OUR PROJECT PHONE NUMBER AS WELL AS THE EMAIL ADDRESS. ANY CUSTOMER IS WELCOME TO EMAIL US, CALL US. WE'RE HAPPY TO TALK WITH YOU.
WE'RE GETTING THROUGH ALL OF THE CALLS AND EMAILS THAT WE GET AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
AT THIS TIME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS I'M HAPPY TO TAKE THEM.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH, KIRSTEN. I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE THE CEO OF SAWS IN HERE. MR. FUENTE, DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING AT THIS POINT AND THEN WE CAN START WITH QUESTIONS.
GO AHEAD, THE FLOOR IS YOURS. >> IT'S A FEDERAL MANDATE.
IT'S EXPENSIVE. TRYING TO GET THROUGH IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
LUCKILY IT'S A LONG-TERM PROJECT AND LUCKILY WE HAVE HER ON HER TEAM AND SHE'S
THE LEAD OF IT. >> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH.
MY FIRST QUESTION IS WHAT DOES THE NOTIFICATION LOOK LIKE NOW?
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I THINK YOU SAID THAT YOU ADJUSTED IT BECAUSE IT WAS A LITTLE SCARY AT FIRST.>> ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN THE LANGUAGE IS THAT YOU HAVE TO SAY UNKNOWN, BUT COULD BE LEAD. AND THE INITIAL DRAFT OF OUR LETTER HAD THAT HIGHLIGHTED MORE AND WE TALKED TO TCEQ AND WE MOVED THAT A LITTLE BIT SO THAT IT WASN'T SO FRONT AND CENTER BECAUSE THE LIKELIHOOD OF SOMEBODY HAVING LEAD IN SAN ANTONIO IS ACTUALLY REALLY LOW BASED ON THE DATA THAT WE'VE SEEN. I'M NOT GOING TO SAY IT'S NOT THERE, BUT WE REALLY FEEL LIKE WE'RE LOOKING FOR THAT NEEDLE IN THE HAY STACK EVERYWHERE WE CAN THINK AND WE HAVEN'T FOUND IT YET. SO THE LIKELIHOOD OF A
CUSTOMER ACTUALLY HAVING IT IS LOW, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE. >> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU FOR THAT BECAUSE MY NEXT QUESTION WAS GOING TO BE SPECIFICALLY LIKE WHAT PERCENTAGE DO YOU THINK, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S HOPEFULLY VERY, VERY LOW.
>> YEAH. WE HAVE GONE TO EVERY PLACE WE CAN THINK OF.
WE RECENTLY WERE LOOKING AT THE -- IF YOU KNOW THE KELLY AIR FORCE BASE, THOSE OLD OFFICER HOMES, WE'RE LIKE SURELY THEY HAVE LEAD! NO, NO, THEY DID NOT.
SO WE'RE -- IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OF A LOCATION THAT MIGHT HAVE IT, PLEASE LET US KNOW. WE WANT THAT INFORMATION, BUT AS OF RIGHT NOW WE HAVEN'T FOUND ANY. WE DO FIND SOME GALVANIZED SO THERE ARE SOME THAT ARE GOING TO BE DEEMED GALVANIZED REQUIRING REPLACEMENT, BUT IT WILL BE DUE TO THE FIRST [INDISCERNIBLE] RECORD RATHER THAN UNKNOWN THAT
THERE WAS EVER LEAD PRESENT. >> ROCHA GARCIA: SO IF AS YOU ALL ARE LOOKING, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ALL FIND THAT THERE'S OUTDATED OR MAYBE DANGEROUS METAL PIPES? LIKE HOW DO YOU INFORM? DO YOU INFORM THE CUSTOMER? WHAT KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS
DO YOU MAKE TO THEM? >> YES. IN THE FIELD AFTER AN INSPECTION THERE'S A CARD THAT'S GOING TO BE LEFT BEHIND ON THAT CUSTOMER'S DOOR. WE HAVE THESE HANGING BAGS SO IT'S VERY OBVIOUS WHEN SOMETHING IS ON THEIR DOOR THEY'RE GOING TO SEE IT AND IT'S GOING TO TELL THEM WHAT THEY FOUND. WE ALSO INCLUDE IN THE PACKETS INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN PROTECT YOURSELF IN THE EVENT OF LEAD. EVEN IF WE FIND NON-LEAD WE'RE PROVIDING THAT EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL REGARDLESS.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: I WONDER IF THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WELL OR IF IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THOSE ARE ALL MY QUESTIONS AND I'LL GO ON TO MY COLLEAGUES. COUNCILWOMAN CABELLO HAVRDA.
>> HAVRDA: JUST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS. ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO
GET THROUGH ALL THESE BEFORE 2037? >> WE HAVE TO.
WE ARE ACTIVELY LOOKING AT THE BEST APPROACH TO DO THAT, TO LOOK AT EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. SOME OF THE ONES THAT WE ARE TESTING HAVE A LOT OF PROMISE, SO WE WILL DESIGN SOMETHING THAT WE ARE COMPLIANT THAT TCEQ WILL
AGREE THAT WE ARE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THIS RULING. >> HAVRDA: OKAY.
JUST CURIOUS. >> IT'S A HUGE TASK, I'M NOT GOING TO LIE.
>> HAVRDA: IN SLIDE 13 YOU MENTIONED THAT, OF COURSE, IF THERE IS LEAD MATERIAL FOUND, SAWS WILL PAY FOR THE REPLACEMENT UP TO THE METER AND THEN IT'S UP TO THE HOMEOWNER TO COVER THAT EXPENSE. BY VIRTUE OF I'M LOOKING AT THE DISTRICTS THAT -- WHERE THERE ARE AT LEAST GOING TO BE MORE INSPECTIONS, POTENTIALLY MORE LEAD BECAUSE THEY'RE OLDER NEIGHBORHOODS.
I'M ALSO THINKING ABOUT EDGEWOOD IN MY DISTRICT. IF WE HAVE -- BY VIRTUE OF THAT THERE WILL BE OLDER PEOPLE, PEOPLE ON FIXED INCOMES. IS THERE A PROGRAM
TO HELP THEM PAY FOR IT IF THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT? >> THAT'S WHAT WE'RE
INVESTIGATING RIGHT NOW. >> HAVRDA: OKAY. I'LL TELL YOU -- SO THERE'S
NOT ONE RIGHT NOW. >> NO, WE'VE NOT FOUND ANY LEAD AND NOT MUCH NON-GALVANIZED. WE DON'T KNOW IF IT'S 50 OR 50,000.
>> HAVRDA: WHAT'S THE AVERAGE COST FROM METER -- OF THE HOMEOWNER?
>> IT DEPENDS ON HOW BIG THAT YARD IS. I RECENTLY WAS TALKING WITH A CUSTOMER WHO REPLACED HIS OWN AND HE REPORTED THAT TO US, WHICH WAS GREAT.
I BELIEVE IT WAS ABOUT ROUGHLY 50 YARDS -- 50 FEET OF LINE.
IT WAS ABOUT $4,500. SO WE RECOGNIZE THAT THESE AREN'T CHEAP.
>> HAVRDA: YEAH. I'LL ASK YOU -- DO SCHOOLS HAVE TO PAY AS WELL?
>> NO. THE PROGRAM THAT WE'LL START IN 2027, IT'S NOT -- A SCHOOL WILL NOT HAVE TO BE CHARGED. RIGHT NOW TCEQ ACTUALLY HAS A PROGRAM THAT ALL SCHOOLS WITH PARTICIPATE IN AS WELL AS CHILDCARE FACILITIES WHERE AGAIN IT'S COMPLETELY COVERED. ONE BENEFIT OF THAT PROGRAM IS IF THEY FIND SOMETHING THEY WILL ACTUALLY PROVIDE FILTERS TO THAT SCHOOL AND
THAT IS NOW. >> HAVRDA: OKAY. YOU KNOW, YOU SAID THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK. WE'RE NOT EXPECTING A WHOLE LOT AND I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW. I'LL ASK YOU TO CONSIDER IF IT'S NOT THAT MANY FOLKS AND THEY ARE ON A FIXED INCOME AND THEY CAN QUALIFY THAT WE
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PAY FOR IT. THAT WE TAKE IN THAT EXPENSE.IT'S NOT THAT MANY PEOPLE, NOT THAT MUCH MONEY BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO FIND IS THAT THE MORE UNDERSERVED AREAS ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO FORD IT AND STILL HAVE LEAD IN THEIR PIPES. THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE AS A COMMUNITY WANT TO HAPPEN. I GUESS WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH.
>> AND WE'RE VERY AWARE OF THAT AND THAT IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR CONVERSATIONS NOW AND HAVE BEEN FROM THE VERY BEGINNING OF THIS PROGRAM WHEN IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED BY THE EPA IN 2021. SO IT HAS NOT BEEN PUSHED
ASIDE WHATSOEVER. >> HAVRDA: SOMETHING WE HEAR A LOT WITH CONSTRUCTION IS JUST TO BE CREATURE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING METICULOUS ABOUT CURBS AND YARDS BECAUSE PEOPLE WON'T BE SHY ABOUT BEING
UPSET ABOUT THAT. >> NO, THEY DON'T. >> HAVRDA: THANK YOU SO
MUCH. >> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN.
COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO. >> THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT WORK THAT Y'ALL ARE TAKING ON AND I UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS A FEDERAL REQUIREMENT, BUT I WANTED TO COMMEND YOU ALL FOR WORKING WITH WITH THE EPA, WITH THEIR EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE TACKLING THIS ISSUE ANY WAY WE CAN, EVEN IF THAT IS EXPLORING EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES,.
YOU KNOW, BEXAR COUNTY IN COLLAR HAS A LOW UNINSURED RATE.
OUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE. SO MAKING SURE WE'RE CHECKING PIPES FOR LEAD IS REALLY IMPORTANT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE IMPACTS THAT HE -- HEALTH IMPACTS THAT BEING EXPOSED TO LEAD CAN HAVE ON OUR FAMILIES.
IN TERMS OF THE WORK BEING DONE WITH THE RECORD-KEEPING FOR THE LEAD SERVICE LINE INVENTORY, WHILE YOU'RE HAVING FOLKS REVIEW THE HISTORICAL TAPS IS THIS ALSO
BEING DIGITIZED THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS. >> YES, THEY ARE COMPLETE FOR ALL THAT WE KNOW. I'M SURE THERE'S A BOX THAT WE'LL UNCOVER, BUT THOSE HAVE ALREADY BEEN DIGITIZED. ALL OF THE AS BUILTS AND WORK ORDERS THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH RIGHT NOW ARE DIGITIZED AS WELL. IF WE COME ACROSS ANY
RECORDS THAT AREN'T THAT WILL BE PART OF THE PROCESS. >> CASTILLO: IN TERMS OF THE UNKNOWNS, I MENTION THAT DISTRICT 5 HAD THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF POTHOLES AND D1 AND D5 HAVE THE MOST UNKNOWNS. IS SAWS FOCUSING ON THOSE AREAS TO EXPLORE SOME OF THE OLDEST PARCELS, OLDER [INDISCERNIBLE] RATHER, TO SEE IF THEY HAVE LEAD PIPES. HOW ARE Y'ALL PRIORITIZING WITHIN THOSE AREAS THAT
Y'ALL HAVE IDENTIFIED UNKNOWNS? >> WE ARE GOING TO BE GOING FOR THE HIGHEST RISK AREAS FIRST, WHICH ARE GOING TO BE IN THOSE AREAS.
BUT WE'RE ALSO I MENTIONED THE 11,000 CUSTOMERS. SO WE'RE KIND OF STARTING ALSO WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT HAVE SAID, HEY, HEY, I WANT A SERVICE LINE INSPECTION. SO WE'RE LOOKING TO PARTNER WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS.
ONCE WE GET THROUGH THAT 11,000, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE A LOT MORE DATA AT THAT POINT TO HOPEFULLY GET A BETTER IDEA OF WHERE -- WHAT THE HIGHEST RISK IS AT THAT POINT WITH THAT EXTRA DATA THAT WE CAN PLUG IN. SO WE'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING AT IT. RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST TRYING TO UNCOVER AS MANY AS WE CAN
WITH THAT PARTICIPATION THAT WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU.
I APPRECIATE YOU WALKING US THROUGH WHAT IF THE LEAD PIPE MATERIAL IS FOUND BECAUSE OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM AND AT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON, RIGHT? IF LEAD IS FOUND AM I RESPONSIBLE AND DO I GET PENALIZED IF I DON'T ADDRESS IT WITHIN A CERTAIN TIME FRAME? AND I'M SURE YOU HAVE THIS AVAILABLE, BUT IF POSSIBLE IF Y'ALL COULD HAVE AN INFOGRAPHIC WITH THIS SLIDE IN PARTICULAR THAT WE CAN WITH OUR NEIGHBORS WILL HELP EASE THE CONCERNS.
LONG-TERM RIGHT WHEN THERE ARE INSTANCES OF LEAD PIPES FOUND WITHIN SPECIFIC AREAS, I THINK I WOULD BE HOPEFUL THAT THE CITY AND SAWS CAN WORK COLLABORATIVELY TO CREATE SOME TYPE OF PROGRAM TO HELP WITH COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH REPLACING THE PIPES. I SHARE A SIMILAR CONCERN AND I'M GLAD THAT NONE HAS FOUND AND I HOPE NONE ARE THROUGH THE ANALYSIS, HOWEVER IN THE CASE THAT SOME OF MY CONSTITUENTS ARE PUT IN THAT SITUATION, I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE FILTERS THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE, BUT LONG-TERM I WOULD HOPE THAT WE CAN COLLABORATE ON A PROGRAM TO HELP ALLEVIATE THAT COST THAT'S GOING TO BE A HEAVY BURDEN TO MANY OF MY FAMILIES. LASTLY, -- THAT WAS MY LAST QUESTION.
I WANTED JUST TO SAY IF YOU COULD SHARE THAT DOCUMENT AND INFOGRAPHIC, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL AND THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR WORK AND INITIATIVE AND LEANING ON SOME OF THAT NEW TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IMPACTING AND EASING THAT CONCERN FOR MANY FAMILIES BECAUSE THAT LETTER WAS PRETTY SCARY AND WE GOT AT A LOT OF CALLS ABOUT IT, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. THANK YOU.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU, COUNCILWOMAN. COUNCILMANCOUNCILMAN WHYTE.
>> WHYTE: THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE LEAD ON IT. I'LL R THE COLLEAGUES OF MY COLLEAGUES, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT I THINK WE GET THESE INSPECTIONS DONE AND THAT OUR RESIDENTS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S THERE SO THAT WE CAN AVOID SOME HEALTH
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CONSEQUENCES, NEGATIVE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES THAT COULD COME ABOUT IF WE DO FIND SOME OF THESE LEAD PIPES. QUICKLY, OTHER THAN COST, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE REASONS THAT HOMEOWNERS MIGHT GIVE TO REFUSE THESE INSPECTIONS?>> WE HAVEN'T HAD TOO MANY REFUSALS, BUT WE HAVE HAD SOME.
I THINK SOME PEOPLE JUST DON'T WANT US KNOWING AND THAT'S THEIR RIGHT AS IT'S THEIR PRIVATE PROPERTY. I THINK SOME PEOPLE MAY BE CONCERNED THAT IF YOU KNOW, THEN YOU'RE GOING TO EVENTUALLY COME AFTER ME FOR IT, AND SO THEY WOULD RATHER US NOT KNOW. SO WE EVEN HAD ONE CUSTOMER WHERE THE WIFE SAID YES AND THE HUSBAND SAID NO AND SO THAT WAS ONE. BUT WHY SOMEBODY DOESN'T WANT US TO, WE HAVEN'T REALLY DELVED IN. WE KIND OF WHEN A CUSTOMER
SAYS NO WE RESPECT THAT AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR TIME. >> WHYTE: IN TERMS OF IF THERE ARE REPLACEMENTS NEEDED OTHER THAN COST DO YOU ANTICIPATE ANY OTHER
PUSH-BACK FROM RESIDENTS? >> I THINK SOME CUSTOMERS MAY NOT LIKE ANY DIGGING IN THEIR LAWN. I COULD SEE THAT AS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE ARE LIKE, OKAY, WELL, THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME KNOW, BUT I'M HAPPY, ESPECIALLY WITH THEY CAN USE A FILTER AND THEY'RE OKAY WITH THAT. I DON'T REALLY KNOW.
>> WHYTE: OKAY. OTHER THAN HEALTH ISSUES, ANY LEGAL OR FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS THAT YOU SEE FROM REFUSALS OR REFUSALS TO REPLACE ANY OF THESE PIPES?
>> YOU MEAN IF THE CUSTOMER IS REFUSING IF WE HAVE ANY LEGAL ACTION ON THEM?
>> WHYTE: NO. DO YOU SEE ANY -- IF THERE ARE HEALTH ISSUES DOWN THE ROAD, ARE WE -- WE THINK WE'RE IN A GOOD SPOT LEGALLY IF WE'VE SAID HEY, WE'VE DONE THE INSPECTION, YOU GUYS REFUSED AND THAT WAS THAT.
>> AS FAR AS THE RULE STATES AND FOLLOWING THOSE GUIDELINES I WOULD SAY YES, WE'RE FINE. HE MIGHT HAVE A BETTER INTERPRETATION.
>> HI. EDWARD GUZMAN, LEGAL COUNSEL FOR SAWS.
THERE ISN'T REALLY ANY LEGAL LIABILITY FOR SAWS IF A PROPERTY OWNER REFUSES.
THAT'S THEIR CHOICE, THEIR OWN PROPERTY. AT THAT POINT THEY ARE ESSENTIALLY ACCEPTING ANY RISK FOR CONTINUING TO HAVE THE LINE IN PLACE.
>> WHYTE: AND WHAT ABOUT IF WE MISSED A HOME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
WOULD WE HAVE LIABILITY THEN? >> I STILL DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE WOULD BECAUSE THE WAY THAT THE RULE IS SET UP IS THAT THEY'RE NOT ALLOWING US TO EVEN USE PREDICTIVE MODELING THAT WOULD GET TO 99.9% CERTAINTY.
THEY WANT 100% CERTAINTY. SO WE WOULD HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SHOW EVERY LINE IN OUR
INVENTORY SO I DON'T THINK WE'LL BE MISSING A LINE. >> WHYTE: GOT IT.
ALL RIGHT. >> AND ONE THING TO ADD, THERE ARE EVEN STIPULATIONS IN THE RULE THAT IF SOMEBODY SAYS NO, WE HAVE TO SEND THEM AN ANNUAL LETTER STARTING IN 2027, SO THEY WILL BE GETTING A LETTER EVEN IF THEY SAID NO, GO WE WERE, WE HAVE TO SEND A LETTER. BUT ALSO IF THAT CUSTOMER MOVES OUT AND SOMEBODY ELSE MOVES IN, WE HAVE TO REENGAGE THAT NEW CUSTOMER.
>> WHYTE: OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: COUNCILMAN COURAGE. >> COURAGE: I THINK ALL MY QUESTIONS WERE JUST ANSWERED. THANK YOU.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. VERY INFORMATIVE.
AND YOU HEARD THE DIRECTION WE'RE GOING HERE, WE'RE READY TO HELP WHEN NEEDED ESPECIALLY FOR THE MOST VULNERABLE. WE WILL MOVE ON TO ITEM NUMBER 3, WHICH IS BRIEFING BY SAWS REGARDING THE 2025 BUDGET.
AND IT'S ALL YOURS, THANK YOU. >> GOOD MORNING.
YEAH, TODAY I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT OUR 2025 ANNUAL BUDGET AND I DO APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU ABOUT THAT BUDGET. SEEMS LIKE IN THE PAST THE ONLY TIME WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO VISIT WITH YOU ABOUT OUR BUDGETS IS WHEN WE'RE ASKING FOR MORE MONEY. SO SINCE LAST TIME THAT SAWS DID THAT WAS BACK IN 2020.
IT'S BEEN AWHILE SINCE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OUR ONGOING BUDGET PROCESS.
SO CERTAINLY SAWS, JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, HAS UNDERGONE A LOT OF CHANGE, SO BEFORE WE DIVE IN ON THE SPECIFICS OF 2025, I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO POINT OUT A FEW KEY FACTORS IN RECENT YEARS THAT HAVE IMPACTED OUR PLANNING AS WELL AS OUR BUDGET PROCESS. EVERY FIVE YEARS AS YOU KNOW WE DO A RATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROCESS. THE LAST ITERATION OF THIS PROCESS IN 22 SAW SAWS RESIDENTIAL BILLS DECREASE BY ALMOST NINE PERCENT. AT THE SAME TIME THAT WAS OFFSET BY INCREASES IN HIGH WATER USERS' BILLS AS WELL AS BUSINESS BILLS.
AND I'LL GO INTO THIS IN A BUILT MORE DETAIL IN A MOMENT, BUT WE OBVIOUSLY FOLLOW THE LEAD OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND ADJUST IT TO ANY SHIFTING PRIORITIES.
AND IN ADDITION AS YOU JUST HEARD, WE NEED TO ADHERE TO ANY STATE AND FEDERAL MANDATES. OBVIOUSLY THOSE CAN HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR
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BUDGET, AS WELL AS MAJOR INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE OUR SERVICE TO CUSTOMERS.SO JUST QUICKLY LOOKING AT, AS I MENTIONED AS A MUNICIPALITY OWNED UTILITY, WE FOLLOW THE LEAD OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AS YOU KNOW, THE MOST RECENT BOND PROGRAM WAS THE LARGEST IN HISTORY AND MANY SAN ANTONIANS DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE PROJECTS ALSO REQUIRE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT OFTEN TIMES FROM BOTH SAWS AND CPS ENERGY'S BEHALF. AND MOST RECENTLY WE ESTIMATED THAT THE 2022 BOND PROGRAM, 2022-2027 BOND PROGRAM IMPACTED OUR CIP IN EXCESS OF $80 MILLION.
YOU ARE AWARE THAT SAWS DOES HAVE THE TRANSFER TO THE CITY, WHICH WAS 2.7% SINCE OUR INCEPTION WAS INCREASED TO FOUR PERCENT TO HELP FUND SOME OF THESE ADDITIONAL -- SOME CHANGES THAT WERE MADE RELATIVE TO THE FUNDING OF THE EDWARD'S AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM, WHICH HAS BEEN A VERY POPULAR INITIATIVE ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. WINTER STORM URI WAS ONE OF THOSE EVENTS THAT WE CAN'T PLAN FOR, BUT NEVERTHELESS HAVE MAJOR IMPACTS ON OUR BUDGET.
YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE COST FIGURES LAID OUT HERE. AND IT CONTINUES TO IMPACT.
YOU WILL SEE ON ONE OF OUR LATER SLIDES THE ONGOING INSTALLATION OF GENERATORS ACROSS OUR SERVICE TERRITORY AT OUR PRIMARY PUMP STATIONS CONTINUES TO IMPACT OUR BUDGET. THE COVID PANDEMIC OBVIOUSLY IMPACTED ALL OF OUR LIVES IN A 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, YOU WILL SEE THAT PARTICULARLY IN OUR CHEMICALS AREA.
WE'VE SEEN A DRASTIC INCREASE IN THE COST OF CHEMICALS.
THESE FINANCIAL PRESSURES HAVE NOT ONLY IMPACTED OUR BUSINESS, BUT ALSO IMPACTED OUR MOST VITAL ASSET, WHICH IS OUR EMPLOYEES, AND IN PARTICULAR OUR LOWER PAID EMPLOYEES. AND SO IN ORDER TO RESPOND TO THEIR FINANCIAL CHALLENGES, IN SEPTEMBER 2022 WE PROCESSED AN OUT OF CYCLE WAGE ADJUSTMENT AND PART OF THAT -- THAT OUT OF CYCLE WAGE ADJUSTMENT WAS PART OF THE ALMOST 25% INCREASE IN SAWS LIVING WAGE, WHICH HAS TAKEN PLACE BETWEEN 2021 AND TODAY. AGAIN, ACTIONS LIKE THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT SAWS BEING IN A VERY STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION. YOU HEARD A QUESTION WE WENT THROUGH AND TALKED ABOUT THE THREE-PHASE APPROACH TO LEAD AND COPPER.
OBVIOUSLY THIS WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT ISSUE IT OUR BUDGET AND THERE'S ANOTHER ISSUE OUT THERE CALLED PFOS, WHICH IS ALSO GOING TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT OUR BUDGET LEVELS. ONE OTHER MAJOR INITIATIVE THAT WE ARE FOCUSING ON, WATER STEWARDSHIP, THE BOARD HAS MADE IT QUITE IMPORTANT OBVIOUSLY JUST LIKE WE FOCUSED ON THE FEDERAL IMPOSED CONSENT DECREE THAT SAWS SPENT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO IMPROVE THE SEWER SYSTEM. WE NOW NEED TO TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE WATER SYSTEM. YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING RELATIVE TO OUR WATER STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE INITIATIVE. THE CONNECT H20 PROGRAM IS ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT INITIATIVE. YOU'VE HEARD CECELIA WHO IS HERE IN THE AUDIENCE, WHO HAS COME BEFORE YOU BEFORE, AND TALKED ABOUT THE ROLLOUT OF MORE THAN 550,000 METERS WHERE WE'RE MOVING TO AUTOMATED METERING. WE'RE USING THE EXISTING AMI NETWORK OF CPS ENERGY WHICH IS SAVING US MONEY, BUT IT'S STILL A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT, YOU CAN SEE THERE MORE THAN $2 MILLION IS BEING SPENT ON THIS INITIATIVE AND IT WILL BE COMPLETED, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT, LATER THIS YEAR.
YOU CAN SEE THE FOCUS IS ON IMPROVED CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT, WATER CONSERVATION AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES. WE THINK IT WILL BE DO A LOT TOWARDS TOWARDS OUR INITIATIVE THAT WE UTILIZE EFFECTIVELY EVERY GALLON OF WATER THAT WE CAN PROCESS. NEXT, TAKING A LOOK OBVIOUSLY GROWTH HAS IMPACTED NOT ONLY THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, BUT SAWS AS WELL.
YOU CAN SEE AS SAN ANTONIO HAS GROWN SO AS SAWS. YOU CAN SEE THE GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS, OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS ALSO IMPACTED BY THE ASSUMPTION OF BEXARMET, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT MORE THAN 50% GROWTH IN THE CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS TOTAL ASSETS OVER THE LAST 17 YEARS, I PUT THESE NUMBERS TOGETHER
[00:40:03]
AND THIS IS BASICALLY SINCE ROBERT CAME ON BOARD IN 2008, SO THE END OF 2007 IS WHEN WE STARTED. YOU CAN SEE THE TOTAL SOURCES OF FUNDING ABOUT 168% INCREASE. AND FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES HAVE INCREASED ABOUT 24%.THOSE HAVE REALLY -- MOST OF THOSE EMPLOYEES HAVE COME ON RECENTLY, MORE RECENTLY THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, AS WE HAVE CONTINUED TO DEAL WITH THE IMPACTS OF THE ONGOING DROUGHT THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING AND THE IMPACTS ON WATER MAIN BREAKS AND THE EFFICIENCY OF OUR OVERALL WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. SO THE SIX KEY INITIATIVES, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A COUPLE OF THEM, BOTH -- WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WATER STEWARDSHIP AND CONNECT H20 ALREADY, BUT THERE ARE A COUPLE MORE THAT THEY HAVE ASKED US TO FOCUS ON PARTICULARLY IN 2025. FIRST IS TO IMPROVE THE OVERALL SAFETY CULTURE. ANOTHER ONE IS WATER ENERGY NEXUS.
OBVIOUSLY WE ARE CPS ENERGY'S LARGEST UTILITY CUSTOMER AND THEY ARE OUR LARGEST WATER CUSTOMER, SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF BENEFITS IF WE CAN DO THINGS JOINTLY TOGETHER THAT CAN BENEFIT, WE SERVE THE SAME CUSTOMERS FOR THE MOST PART SO WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK TOGETHER AND CONTINUE IN AUDIO]. THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN, THE BOARD HAS ASKED US TO HAVE RESPONSE READINESS AND INCORPORATE IT INTO OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANS.
AND FINALLY THE CHILLED WATER, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS GOING O WE HAVE BEEN INVESTING MORE INTO OUR CHILLED WATER PROJECTS AND PROJECT MARVEL AND SOME OF OTHER THINGS, INITIATIVES, WE'VE GOT TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS RELATIVE TO THAT BUSINESS GOING FORWARD. SO GETTING MORE INTO OUR BUDGET PROCESS ITSELF, THIS -- OUR FOUNDING ORDINANCE, 75686 THAT WAS ADOPTED BACK IN APRIL OF 1982. LAID OUT THAT SAWS NEEDS TO BASICALLY THE BOARD IS TO PREPARE AN ANNUAL BUDGET TO CONTROL AND ADMINISTER THE MANAGEMENT AND OPERATION OF THE SYSTEM, AND YOU CAN SEE THERE IT'S TO REFLECT AN ESTIMATE OF THE GROSS REVENUES, AN ESTIMATE OF THE DISPOSITION OF THOSE REVENUES, AND CONSISTENT WITH THE FUNDS FLOW REQUIREMENT, WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT IN A MINUTE.
AND FINALLY, THAT WE'RE TO APPROVE THAT BUDGET ABOUT 60 DAYS, AT LEAST 60 DAYS PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR. AND AFTER APPROVAL WE SUBMIT IT TO YOU TO CITY COUNCIL FOR REVIEW AND CONSULTATION AND OBVIOUSLY WE WORK WITH BEN AND HIS TEAM AS WELL. SO LOOKING AT THE RATE AND CHANGES WATERFALL, YOU CAN SEE THAT THIS IS HOW IT'S LAID OUT IN THE BOND ORDINANCE THAT ANY REVENUES THAT WE COLLECT ARE OUR GROSS REVENUES, HAVE TO BE PAID FOR EXPENSES AND REVENUES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SYSTEM. SECOND TO FUND DEBT SERVICE AND RESERVE FUND REQUIREMENTS. THIRD, WE MAKE OUR TRANSFER TO THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. AND FINALLY, FOURTH, ANY SURPLUS IS TRANSFERRED TO THE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND. AND THAT REALLY SERVES TWO PURPOSES. IT PROVIDES THE DEBT COVERAGE THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN OUR CREDIT RATINGS AND IT ALSO PROVIDES CASH FOR FUNDING FOR FUTURE CAPITAL PROGRAMS. SO THIS SLIDE PRESENTS AN OVERALL SUMMARY OF SAWS 2025 BUDGET AS WELL AS ACTUAL RESULTS FOR 2022 AND 2023. AND A FORECAST OF 2024 AND WE'RE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF CLOSING OUT OUR FISCAL YEAR SO WE DON'T HAVE THE DECEMBER RESULTS COMPLETELY FINALIZED AT THIS POINT. IN TOTAL AS YOU CAN SEE SOURCES OF FUNDING ARE PROJECTED TO INCREASE BY ABOUT 36 MILLION FROM 2024.
FORECAST LEVELS WITH MOST OF THAT GROWTH IS STEMMING FROM A GROWTH IN OPERATING REVENUES, WHICH WILL BE DISCUSSED A BIT MORE ON ENSUING SLIDES.
OFFSETTING THIS GROWTH IS IN PROJECTED REVENUES IS AN ALMOST 30-MILLION-DOLLAR INCREASE IN FORECASTED ANNUAL EXPENSES THAT WE'LL GO INTO A LITTLE MORE AS WELL AS A 56-MILLION-DOLLAR INCREASE, A BUDGETED 56-MILLION-DOLLAR INCREASE IN DEBT SERVICE AND EXPENSES. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT IN ORDER TO ENSURE SAWS' ABILITY TO MAINTAIN DEBT RAJ RATIOS CONSISTENT WITH OUR CREDIT RATING THERE ARE SOME VERY CONSERVATIVE ASSUMPTIONS BUILT INTO THE DEBT SERVICE AND EXPENSES BUDGET. AND WE WOULD FULLY ANTICIPATE TO FINISH 2025 AT A LEVEL SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN THE BUDGETED LEVEL OF
[00:45:02]
276 MILLION. SO WE GO THROUGH THIS ON AN ANNUAL BASIS WITH THE RATING AGENCIES AND THAT IS ONE OF THE DRIVING FACTORS IS OUR DEBT ORIGINAL RATIO WHEN WE DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED A RATE ADJUSTMENT. ANY SUCH SAVINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GENERATE ON THAT DEBT SERVICE AND O&M, WHICH WE NORMALLY COME IN A BIT FAVORABLE AS WELL, WOULD SERVE TO INCREASE THE BALANCE OF UNRESTRICTED FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR THE R AND R FUND WITH THIS AMOUNT HOPEFULLY BEING PUSHED ABOVE 100 MILLION AGAIN IN 2025, SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'VE SEEN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.NEXT, LOOKING AT A PIE CHART DEPICTION OF SAWS' 2025 ANNUAL OPERATING BUDGET, ONE CAN SEE MORE THAN 80% OF SAWS FUNDING SOURCES ARE COVERED BY CHARGES FOR WATER AND SEWER SERVICES WITH ANOTHER 13% FUNDED BY IMPACT FEES ASSESSED TO DEVELOPERS.
THE REMAINING FIVE PERCENT OF FUNDING COMES FROM INTEREST EARNINGS ON SAWS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO. THE FIRST AND MOST SIGNIFICANT COMPONENT OF CHARGES IN SAWS WATERFALL PAYMENTS IS OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSES WHICH ARE FORECAST TO REPRESENT ABOUT 55% OF SAWS TOTAL USES OF FUNDS.
ROUGHLY ANOTHER 25% GOES TO SERVICE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS ON SAWS DEBT PORTFOLIO. AND THE THIRD RUNG ON SAWS WATERFALL OF PAYMENTS IS THE TRANSFER OF FOUR PERCENT OF SAWS GROSS REVENUES TO THE CITY, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER. THAT ACCOUNT FOR ABOUT THREE PERCENT OF TOTAL USES OF FUNDS. AND FINALLY, ANY REMAINING BALANCE IS AGAIN GO TO PROVIDE CASH FUNDING FOR A PORTION OF SAWS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AS WELL AS TO PROVIDE THAT DEBT COVERAGE THAT WE SPOKE ABOUT.
SO DRILLING DOWN A BIT MORE INTO SOURCES OF FUNDS, YOU CAN SEE HOW WE GO ABOUT -- YOU CAN SEE THE SOURCES OF FUNDS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, INCLUDING THE 2025 BUDGET, HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSTANT. JUST IN EXCESS OF A BILLION DOLLARS, SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 1 AND $1.1 BILLION. THEY'VE BEEN CONSISTENT AND THE PRIMARY SOURCE IS THE OPERATING REVENUES, NONOPERATING REVENUES AND CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES. OPERATING REVENUES ARE PROBABLY THE MOST DIFFICULT TO PROJECT. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT OUR REVENUES BY CORE BUSINESS.
WE ALSO LOOK AT THEM BY CUSTOMER CLASS. WE HAVE DIFFERENT VOLUMETRIC TIERS SO IF YOU USE MORE WATER YOU GET CHARGED MORE PER GALLON.
PLAY. SO WE THEN LOOK AT OUR NONOPERATING REVENUES AND WE FORECAST THOSE BASED ON PROJECTED LEVEL OF CASH AND INVESTMENTS A AS WELL AS FORECAST INTEREST RATES. AND FINALLY, THE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES OR IMPACT FEES ARE BASED ON THE MOST RECENT LAND USE ASSUMPTIONS PLAN AND IMPACT FEE STUDY, WHICH WAS COMPLETED EARLIER THIS YEAR. SO WE DO HAVE SOME NEW FIGURES ON THAT. SO SOME OF THE KEY SOURCES OF FUNDING ASSUMPTIONS ARE CUSTOMER GROWTH, HOW MANY CUSTOMERS ARE WE GOING TO ADD TO OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. YOU CAN SEE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IT'S BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT RANGING FROM PROBABLY ONE PERCENT TO THREE PERCENT.
YOU CAN SEE WE'RE PROJECTING AROUND ONE AND A HALF PERCENT, SLIGHTLY HIGHER FOR WATER CONNECTION THAN WASTEWATER CONNECTION. CAN SEE OUR PROJECTED LEVEL, AND AROUND $56 BILLION OF WASTEWATER. OUR BUDGET AND INVESTMENT YIELD ON THE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO IS LESS THAN 4.1 PERCENT.
YOU CAN SEE THAT WE CONTINUE TO PROVIDE A BAD DEBT PROVISION OF .7% OF REVENUES. AND FINALLY, THE IMPACT FEES, AS I DISCUSSED, DO REFLECT THE NEW LAND USE ASSUMPTION PLAN AND RATES APPROVED EARLIER THIS YEAR.
DRILLING DOWN INTO OUR OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE EXPENSE, IT SHOWS YOU THE USES OF FUNDS BUDGET FOR 2025 AS COMPARED TO SAWS ACTUAL O&M COSTS FOR BOTH 2022 AND 2023 AND THE FORECAST FOR 2024 EXPENSES, AGAIN, BASED ON 11 MONTHS ACTUAL AND ONE MONTH BUDGET. AS YOU CAN SEE, TOTAL O&M BEFORE CAPITALIZED COSTS HAS INCREASED FROM ABOUT 490 MILLION IN 2022 TO A PROJECTED LEVEL OF 588 MILLION IN 2025. THAT ALMOST 20% GROWTH IN GROSS O&M COSTS REFLECT A MIXTURE OF INFLATIONARY PRICE INCREASES THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AS WELL AS VOLUMETRIC INCREASES ASSOCIATED WITH THE GROWTH IN SAWS SERVICE TERRITORY.
OBVIOUSLY AS WE GROW WE HAVE TO USE MORE CHEMICALS, MORE MAINTENANCE MATERIALS, MORE COSTS IN GENERAL. BUT IT'S ALSO INCLUDED THE HIRING OF ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL AS I SPOKE ABOUT EARLIER. WE'LL DRIVE INTO A FEW OF
[00:50:02]
THE MORE SPECIFICS ON THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES. SO THIS AGAIN SHOWS A PIE CHART. AS YOU CAN SEE IN LOOKING AT THESE PIE CHARTS ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF SAWS O&M EXPENSES BEFORE CAPITALIZATION IS PERSONNEL RELATED OR PURCHASED WATER COSTS. AN ADDITIONAL 17% GOES TO FUND CERTAINLY VENDORS FOR CONTRACTUAL SERVICES SUCH AS WATER AND SEWER MAIN POINT REPAIRS, WATER TANK MAINTENANCE, SEWER LINE CLEANING AND TELEVISING CONTRACTS, BIO SOLIDS DISPOSAL AND SECURITY. THE FINAL 20% OF OTHER CHARGES IS BROKEN DOWN IN THE SMALLER PIE CHART WITH THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE EXPENSES BEING FOR UTILITIES AND THE PRIOR MARY BENEFICIARY BEING CPS -- PRIMARY BENEFICIARY BEING CPS ENERGY. OUR EEA AND WATER AUTHORITY AND TCEQ FEES THAT WE HAVE TO PAY AND MAINTENANCE COST AND EXPENSE AND MATERIALS.SO SIMILAR TO THE REVENUE SIDE, OR SOURCES OF FUNDING SIDE, HERE ARE SOME OF THE KEY MAINTENANCE AND EXPENSE ASSUMPTIONS. WE DID ADD IN THIS BUDGET CYCLE 87 ADDITIONAL HEADCOUNT WITH 48 OF THOSE DEALING, AGAIN, THE WATER STEWARDSHIP INITIATIVE. 48 OF THESE POSITIONS ARE TO HELP US RESPOND TO LEAKS FASTER AND TAKE OTHER INITIATIVES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE UTILIZING EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY EVERY GALLON OF WATER THAT WE PRODUCE.
18 GO TO SUPPORT OUR CIP -- THE GROWTH IN OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND EXECUTION OF THAT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. AS YOU'LL HEAR IN JUST A MINUTE, OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR 2025 IS BUDGETED AT MORE THAN 625 MILLION. YOU CAN SEE THE LIVING WAGE INCREASE WENT FROM 18.25 TO $19 PER HOUR WITH OTHER BUDGETED PAY INCREASES AVERAGING FOUR PERCENT.
WE ARE BUDGETING TO PROCESS 10 MILLION GALLONS A DAY OF BRACKISH WATER WHICH REPRESENTS OUR FULL ALLOTMENT, WHICH DOES OBVIOUSLY AS WE PRODUCE MORE BRACKISH WATER THAT DOES HAVE AN IMPACT ON OUR UTILITY BILL BECAUSE IT IS A VERY ENERGY INTENSIVE PROCESS. THE O&M BUDGET DOES TAKE INTO ACCOUNT SEVERAL CHEMICAL COST INCREASES, INCLUDING THE THREE THAT YOU SEE DETAILED HERE. YOU CAN SEE CHLORINE HAS GONE UP JUST IN THE LAST YEAR 41%. LIME, 79%. FERROUS SULFATE 19%.
OVERALL SAWS BUDGET FOR CHEMICAL COSTS INCREASED BY $3.6 MILLION OR MORE THAN 26% SINCE LAST YEAR. FINALLY, THERE ARE BUDGETED INCREASES FOR EXPENSES ASSOCIATED WITH ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS, IN PARTICULAR THE LEAD AND COPPER RULE THAT YOU JUST HEARD ABOUT, AS WELL AS PFAS.
HERE'S OUR TOTAL CIP BUDGET. AS I MENTIONED, IT WAS 626 MILLION EFFECTIVELY.
OBVIOUSLY ALL WATER, SEWER, WASTEWATER UTILITIES ARE HIGHLY CAPITAL INTENSIVE.
AS A RESULT ONE OF THE KEY DRIVERS IMPACTING SAWS BUDGET IS THE LEVEL OF CAPITAL SPENDING FORECAST FOR THE YEAR. YOU CAN SEE HERE OF A $626 MILLION, ABOUT 70% OF THE PLANNED 2025 INVESTMENT IS GOING TO SUPPORT THE WATER SUPPLY DELIVERY UNITS WITH ABOUT 29% SUPPORTING WASTEWATER OPERATIONS.
AND WITH THE REMAINDER GOING TO THE CHILLED WATER BUSINESS UNIT.
THAT'S A LITTLE FLIP FROM WHERE WE'VE BEEN IN THE PAST.
WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH THE EPA MANDATED CONSENT DECREE AND WE'VE BEEN SPENDING MORE ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE OF THE BUSINESS NOW. WE NEED TO TURN OUR ATTENTION MORE TO THE WATER SIDE OF THE BUSINESS. THAT BEING SAID, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THERE'S NOT STILL NEEDS AT THE WASTEWATER SIDE OF THE BUSINESS. YOU CAN SEE THE FUNDING FOR THIS CAPITAL PLAN IS FORECAST AT ROUGHLY 62%. DEBT FUNDING AND 38% CASH FUNDING.
CIP HIGHLIGHTS LOOKING AT SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CAPITAL PLAN YOU CAN SEE WE TALKED ABOUT THE WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS. WEAVER GOING TO SPEND $151.3 MILLION WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS THIS YEAR. WATER TANK REPLACEMENTS.
WE'VE GOT $41 MILLION BUDGETED TO REPLACE THREE OF THESE TANKS SO OBVIOUSLY WHEN WE REPLACE A TANK IT COSTS QUITE A BIT OF MONEY TO DO SO.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE 38 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO FURTHER ESPECIALLY HANS OUR SYSTEM RESILIENCY THROUGH BACKUP GENERATORS AT A NUMBER OF OUR KEY PUMP STATIONS. WHILE WE HAVE LARGELY COMPLETED OUR EPA CONSENT DECREE, DESPITE THAT SAWS MUST STILL MAINTAIN MORE THAN 6,000 MILES OF SEWER MAINS, WHICH OBVIOUSLY THAT COMES WITH A PRICE TAG. YOU'VE GOT TO KEEP UP WITH
[00:55:04]
THAT. AND THE $69 MILLION WILL REPLACE JUST A FRACTION OF THESE MAINS. WE WERE FORTUNATE TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THE TREATMENT PLANTS OUT OF THE EPA CONSENT DECREE AND THAT SAVED US PROBABLY MILLIONS IF NOT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN INVESTMENT. THAT BEING SAID, DURING THAT PERIOD WE FOCUSED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON OUR COLLECTION SYSTEM AND THE TREATMENT PLANTS, THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS CONTINUE TO GET OLDER.NOW WE NEED TO START MAKING SOME OF THE IMPROVEMENTS ON THOSE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS AND YOU CAN SEE THERE ONE OF THE FIRST INITIATIVES IS OUR CLAUSE TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION AND BLOWERS. YOU CAN SEE THERE ABOUT 77 MILLION IS THE FIRST OF SOME VERY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS NEEDED IN THIS TREATMENT PLANT INFRASTRUCTURE. THE ASR PLANT EXPANSION YOU SEE THIS 33-MILLION-DOLLAR INVESTMENT IS TO DESIGN THE EXPANSION OF OUR 30 MILLION-GALLON PER SE ASR TREATMENT PLANT AND INCREAE THAT TO 60 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY, TAKING THAT AN EVEN MORE INVALUABLE PLANT FOR SAWS OPERATIONS. WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DEAL WITH THIS DROUGHT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW WITHOUT THE OPERATIONS OF OUR ASR FACILITY. FINALLY, WE WILL INVEST ABOUT $25 MILLION IN WATER RESOURCES OVERHEAD COSTS TO BE CAPITALIZED PRIMARILY IN SUPPORT OF THE CONNECT H20 PROGRAM THAT WE TALKED ABOUT. WE'RE DOING A LOT OF THAT IN-HOUSE WITH OUR IN-HOUSE RESOURCES. SO THIS SLIDE JUST SHOWS YOU 2007, KIND OF HOW SAWS BILL HAS COMPARED TO OUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER BEING DEFINED AS 6,000 GALLONS OF WATER AND 6,000 GALLONS OF SEWER USE AND HOW WE COMPARE TO DALLAS, AUSTIN AND HOUSTON OVER THE PERIOD 2007 TO 2024.
IF YOU LOOK BACK, SAWS AVERAGE BILL, BACK IN 2007, WAS AROUND $38 WHILE THE AVERAGE OF THE OTHER CITIES WERE ABOUT $48. SO WE'RE ABOUT TEN DOLLARS LESS THAN THE AVERAGE OF THOSE THREE OTHER CITIES. COME 2011 SAWS AVERAGE BILL WAS STILL AROUND $39. IT HAD GONE UP, BUT NOT BY VERY MUCH.
WITH THE CD AND THEN VISTA RIDGE, SAWS IMPLEMENTED RATE ADJUSTMENTS FOR NINE CONSECUTIVE YEARS BEGINNING IN 2011 AND ENDING IN 2020. AT THE END OF 2020 THE AVERAGE SAWS BILL, RESIDENTIAL BILL, WAS ABOUT $69.
NO RATE ADJUSTMENT IN '21 OR 2022. A RATE REDUCTION TO LESS THAN $64 PER MONTH IN 2023, WITH THE AVERAGE SAWS BILL AT THE END OF 2024 BEING APPROXIMATELY $63.50, WHICH IS JUST SLIGHTLY LESS THAN DALLAS AND $39 LESS THAN THE AVERAGE FOR THE THREE OTHER CITIES OF $102.50. FOR THAT SAME LEVEL OF USAGE USAGE. WHILE WE ARE PROUD OF OUR EFFORTS TO MAINTAIN AFFORDABLE RATES FOR ESSENTIAL LIFE PROVIDING QUANTITIES OF WATER AND SEWER SERVICES, WE ARE ACUTELY AWARE THAT THE COST OF SERVICES CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE FOR MANY IN OUR COMMUNITYIES. THEY HAVE DEVELOPED THE OUTLOOK PROGRAM TO HELP THOSE NEIGHBORS IN NEED. SOME OF THE TOUCH POINTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT UPLIFT PROGRAM YOU CAN SEE THEM LAID OUT HERE, WE'RE GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THIS SEPARATE UPLIFT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM RATE STRUCTURE, BUT THAT WENT INTO EFFECT AGAIN IN 2023, SO WE HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT RATE STRUCTURE FOR THOSE CUSTOMERS THAT QUALIFY FOR OUR UPLIFT PROGRAM.
WE DO -- YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS WE DO, WATER ASSISTANCE UP TO $115 TWICE A YEAR, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PLUMBERS TO PEOPLE, LATERALS TO PEOPLE WHERE WE REPAIR LEAKS AND SEWER LATERALS ON BEHALF OF OUR CUSTOMERS.
YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DO THERE AS WELL.
SO IN CLOSING, THE LAST SLIDE WE SHOWED 6,000 AND 6,000.
THE AVERAGE USAGE BASED UPON THE LAST RATE STUDY WE DID IN 2022, OUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER USED ABOUT 6,275 GALLONS OF WATER.
>> SLIGHTLY LESS IN SEWER. THEIR AVERAGE WINTER CONSUMPTION WAS AROUND 5,000 GAE EXACT. SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THOSE SLIDES, SEE HOW THEY COMPARE AND IT ALSO SHOWS WHAT WE CHARGE FOR OUR UPLIFT CUSTOMERS.
THOSE SAWS UPLIFT UNDER THAT --S UPLIFT RATE STRUCTURE WHICH REDUCES THE BILL BY APPROXIMATELY 58% FOR THE WATERS THAT USE EXACTLY THAT AMOUNT.
ADDITIONALLY I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT UPLIFT CUSTOMERS DO NOT PAY ANY
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SAWS-RELATED CHARGES FOR WATER OR SEWER SERVICE USAGE OF LESS THAN TWO THOUSAND GALLONS A MONTH. SO IF YOU HAVE A SENIOR CITIZEN OR SOMEBODY THAT LIVES BY THEMSELVES AND ONLY USES VERY LITTLE QUANTITY OF WATER, THE ONLY BILL THEY'RE GOING TO GET FROM SAWS WOULD BE FOR THE EEA AND TCEQ PASS-THROUGH FEES, WHICH GENERALLY SPEAKING AT THAT LEVEL USAGE IS AROUND A DOLLAR.SO WITH THAT I'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND I'LL START OFF RIGHT AWAY WITH THE BUDGET EXPENDITURES. YOU HAVE 50% ON O&M AND -- 22% ON RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT. CAN YOU MAYBE HELP ME
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE? >> SO RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT IS MONEY THAT WE AACCUMULATE TO HELP US PAY FOR -- I SHOWED YOU WE ARE PAYING OUR CAPITAL FUND.
WE DON'T FUND OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM ENTIRELY BY CASH, BUT WE HAVE A GOAL, WE'D LIKE TO FUND 50% WITH CASH AND 50% WITH NEW DEBT PROCEEDS.
BUT WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET THERE QUITE YET. THIS NEXT YEAR IT WILL BE 38% CASH. SO THAT CASH THAT WE SPIT OUT TO THE RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT FUND GOES TOWARDS FUNDING FUTURE CAPITAL PROGRAMS.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: AND I THINK THAT THE REASON I WAS TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE MAINTENANCE PART AND SPECIFICALLY IN THIS THERE. AND THE REPLACEMENT.
AND YESTERDAY I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH BEN AND WITH TROY, AND FOR INSTANCE, I SAW A STORY ON TPR ABOUT THE RAINBOW CROSSWALK BEING TORN UP BECAUSE THERE WAS I GUESS SOMETHING NEEDED TO BE FIXED. AND SO THE QUESTION CAME TO WHO WILL BE PAYING FOR THE REPLACEMENT, OF, FOR INSTANCE, ALL OF THAT WORK? SO I WAS THINKING, LIKE, IS THAT OWE SEW WHICH ONE -- WHAT WOULD THAT FALL UNDER? WOULD IT FALL UNDER -- SO IT WOULDN'T FALL UNDER O&M, IT WOULD FALL UNDER RENEWAL AND
REPLACEMENT. >> IT LIKELY WOULD FALL -- IT DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE IMPROVING AN ASSET. THERE ARE SOME RULES DICTATING BY ACCOUNTING WHETHER YOU HAVE AN ASSET OR NOT. IF WE'RE JUST GOING TO FIX SOMETHING, THAT'S AN O&M CHARGE. IF IT DOESN'T EXTEND THE LIFE OR IMPROVE THE FUNCTIONALITY OF THAT ASSET THEN IT GETS EXPENSES AND WE GO THROUGH OUR O&M BUDGET. EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE WE HAVE SOME DISPUTES AS TO IS THIS A CAPITAL OR IS THIS AN O&M CURE. EXPENDITURE.
BEN, THAT NEVER HAPPENS TO YOU, BUT WE DO HAVE THAT -- WE HAVE TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, SO IT DEPENDS. I HATE TO SAY THAT, BUT IT DOES DEPEND ON THE
SITUATION. >> EXCUSE ME. BUT ON THIS PARTICULAR ONE, JOHN JUST CAME OVER AND WE FINALIZED SOME AGREEMENTS. THIS PARTICULAR BREAK IN THE --S ACTUALLY A REPAIR SO IT WAS GOING TO BE O&M. BUT THE KEY WAS THE RAINBOW ON TOP. AND WE'RE GOING TO USE THE -- THE CITY IS GOING TO DO IT, BUT WE'RE GOING TO REIMBURSE THE CITY FOR THE COST.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: OKAY. GOT IT. THEY HAD FUNDRAISED FOR THAT AND I FELT BAD. SO WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BUDGET.
>> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND THEN MY FINAL QUESTION IS REALLY ON PFAS AND IT SOUNDS LIKE IT'S ON HOLD OR SOME OF IT IS ON HOLD AS OF A FEW DAYS AGO. I FIRST BECAME AWARE FOR -- VERY AWARE OF PFAS WITH OUR ADVOCACY AT NLC, AND WE WERE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR -- BECAUSE CITIES ARE PASSIVE RECEIVERS ESSENTIALLY, RIGHT --N OF TIME LIGHT MANDATES AND EVEN LOOKING FOR HELP AS TO HOW WE CAN HELP CITIES HAVE FUNDING FOR REPLACEMENT OR FOR HELP WITH A CONTAMINATION, ET CETERA. SAN ANTONIO IN PARTICULAR, KIND OF LIKE YOU ALLUDED TO EARLIER, CHRISTIAN, THAT IT'S ASSUMED THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, BUT ANY MUNICIPALITY WITH LANDFILLS, ET CETERA, RIGHT? AND SO I JUST DON'T KNOW WHERE WE'RE AT. SO WHAT HAPPENS? I KNOW THAT YOU ALL SAID THAT YOU HAD BUDGETED AND I SAW A PORTION AT THE END FOR PFAS, BUT WHERE IS IT REALLY GOING? I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL CONTINUE AND WHAT WILL NOT
CONTINUE? >> HI. >> ROCHA GARCIA: IT'S A
TOUGH QUESTION, I KNOW. I'M SORRY. >> WELL, YOU KNOW, PFAS IS SORT OF BROKEN INTO TWO THINGS FROM A REGULATORY STANDPOINT.
WE HAVE DRINKING WATER STANDARDS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN PUT OUT.
NOTHING HAS BEEN PUT OUT IN WASTEWATER. THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES GOING ON. UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION THERE WERE VERY FORWARD-THINKING WITH REQUIRING OTHER SORT OF TESTING AND LOOKING AT OTHER
[01:05:06]
THINGS TO EXPAND TO, WHICH INCLUDED THE SUPER FUND. THAT'S WHERE THE PASSIVE RECIPIENT MANDATE CAME IN. AND REALLY THERE'S SOME LEGISLATION OUT THERE THAT WOULD PROTECT WATER SYSTEMS BECAUSE WE DON'T MANUFACTURE, WE DON'T USE PFAS. WE WOULD SIMPLY BE RECEIVING IT FROM OUTSIDE SOURCES.SO THAT WOULD PROTECT US FROM ANY LIABILITY FOR THAT. SO THAT'S STILL IN CONGRESS.
THAT'S GOING FORWARD. WITH WASTEWATER THERE STILL IS NO REGULATION.
BIO SOLIDS, NOTHING, CLEAN AIR ACT, NOTHING YESTERDAY. ALL THAT IS STILL IN FLUX.
WE HAVE BEEN PARTICIPATING IN EPA TESTING ON THE DRINKING WATER SIDE.
OUR RESULTS HAVE BEEN GOOD. WE DON'T REQUIRE TREATMENT AT THIS POINT BASED ON THE TESTING THAT'S BEEN DONE. SO I THINK AT THIS POINT THAT'S CONFINED OF WHERE WE'RE AT WITH PFAS, BUT WITH THE CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION WE'LL BE CONTINUING TO
MONITOR OUT THAT HIGH MOVE FORWARD. >> ROCHA GARCIA: SO THERE'S TWO SEPARATE RULINGS THAT ARE EXPECTED. ONE OF THEM WAS EXPECTED BY JANUARY OF THIS MONTH OR ESSENTIALLY WOULD BE THIS WEEK.
AND ANOTHER ONE IN FEBRUARY. SO I'M JUST ASSUMING IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ALL ARE KEEPING A CLOSE WATCH AND MAKING SURE. SO OKAY, I THINK THAT WAS KIND OF MY NUMBER ONE CONCERN THAT IT'S JUST CHANGES SO MUCH.
>> YES. WE HAVE A WHOLE TEAM THAT CONTINUAL LUMINS AND IF ONE OF US SEE SOMETHING, ALL OF US KNOW WITHIN A COUPLE OF MINUTES.
WE'RE ON TOP OF IT. >> ROCHA GARCIA: GOT T I APPRECIATE IT SO MUCH AND THAT MAKES ME FEEL A LITTLE BIT BETTER, RIGHT. SO ALL THERE IS IS UNCERTAINTY. THANK YOU SO MUCH AND WE'LL CONTINUE WITH SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND I HAVE FIRST QUEUED UP COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. A RATE STRUCTURE IN WHICH YOU USE MORE YOU PAY FOR AND I'LL ALWAYS COMMEND SAWS FOR YOUR RATE STRUCTURE.
THAT'S EQUITABLE IN ENSURING THOSE WHO USE LESS PAY THEIR SHARE.
IN TERMS OF -- ON SLIDE 14 FOR AVAILABLE R AND R RESTRICTED FUNDS AND UNRESTRICTED FUNDS, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE AND USE OF
RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED FUNDS? >> SO RESTRICTED FUNDS ARE RESTRICTED FORED A PURPOSE. THE BIGGEST COMPONENT OF THAT 156.6 MILLION THAT YOU SEE IN THE 2025 BUDGET CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES UP ABOVE THERE YOU SEE PAC FEES, 139.3 MILLION. THOSE ARE RESTRICTED. WE CAN ONLY USE THOSE FOR GROWTH-RELATED CAPITAL EXPENDITURES. SO THOSE FUNDS CAN'T BE USED FOR OTHER INITIATIVES. SO THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED. AND THE TWO BIGGEST COMPONENTS OF THE RESTRICTED FUNDS ARE THE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES AND THEN IF WE EARN INTEREST ON DEBT PROCEEDS, TAX EXEMPT DEBT PROCEEDS, WE DEPOSIT THOSE INTO SOMETHING CALLED THE PROJECT FUND, THEY EARN INTEREST. THAT CASH HAS TO ALSO GO TOWARDS FUNDING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS OR PAYING DOWN DEBT.
SO WE CAN'T USE THAT FOR OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE COSTS, WE CAN ONLY USE THAT
FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THAT.
IN TERMS OF IMPROVEMENTS FROM WINTER STORM URI AND THE GENERATORS AND THE BILL APPROVED IN 2021, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US ABOUT HOW MANY GENERATORS HAVE Y'ALL INCREASED IN GENERATORS AND THEN THAT ARE IN USE OR PREPARED FOR USE SINCE 2021?
2021? >> OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WE'LL BE INSTALLING ROUGHLY 36 GENERATORS. THE FIRST GENERATOR JUST COME ONLINE END OF DECEMBER, EARLY JANUARY, AND WE HAVE OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, WE
ANTICIPATE HAVING ADDITIONAL 14 GENERATORS COMING ONLINE. >> CASTILLO: AND WITH THE 14 GENERATORS COMING ON, WOULD YOU ALL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE US WITH A HEAT MAP AND/OR A MAP WITH THE GENERAL LOCATION OF THESE GENERATORS?
>> SURE. >> CASTILLO: THANK YOU. IN TERMS OF, ONE, RIGHT, I WANT TO COMMEND Y'ALL THAT YOU'VE ALSO INCREASED THE COST OF LIVING TO EMPLOYEES UP TO FOUR PERCENT. I'M ALWAYS EAGER TO SEE FOLKS THAT SUPPORT THEIR EMPLOYEES WITH A RATE INCREASE -- WAGE INCREASE RATHER.
AND I'M LOOKING AT THE CHILLED WATER PORTION, THE 6.6 MILLION.
CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW MUCH IT IS TO RELOCATE A CHILLED WATER SYSTEM? AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THE EAST MARKET LOCATION IN
PARTICULAR. >> OBVIOUSLY IT DEPENDS ON THE LOCATION WHERE IT'S GOING TO, BUT 40 TO $50 MILLION IS THE BACK OF THE ENVELOPE ESTIMATE.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THE COST TO REPLACE WATER MAIN BREAKS. CAN YOU SHARE WHAT A TYPICAL
ESTIMATION TO REPLACE A WATER MAIN BREAK COULD BE? >> IT DEPENDS ON THE SEVERITY OF THE BREAK AND IF WE HAVE TO GO AND REPLACE LARGE SECTIONS OF PIPE OR WHETHER WE CAN JUST PUT A CLAMP ON IT IS WHAT WE NORMALLY DO.
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I CAN'T TELL YOU ANY MORE -- [INDISCERNIBLE]. COST.>> CASTILLO: AND IF YOU COULD GET THAT TO ME LATER IF NECESSARY, I RAISE THAT QUESTION BECAUSE I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF CLIMATE RESILIENCY, AND I KNOW IN DISTRICT 5 IN PARTICULAR, ESPECIALLY AS YOU CITED WITH THE DROUGHT WHEN THE SOIL WAS MORE DRY AND CAUSES THE PIPES TO RESTRICT AND THEN CAN RESULT IN MORE -- OR PIPE BURSTS AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE SEEN EVERY SUMMER.
AND I THINK ABOUT THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH FIXING THOSE PIPES AND THEN OVERALL HOW IT IMPACTS, RATHER, THE OVERALL INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT, THE ROAD AND THEN MY CONSTITUENTS HAVE TO MANAGE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENT, BUT IT'S A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY. WE COUNT ON SAWS' EMPLOYEES TO GO OUT AND TACKLE THE ISSUE, BUT WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY AS A CITY TO MITIGATE THE HEAT ISLAND EFFECT AND ALL THOSE OTHER IMPACTS THAT HELP REDUCE HEAT.
SO JUST WANTED TO CONNECT THOSE TWO PIECES. I WANT TO ALSO COMMEND Y'ALL FOR THE UPLIFT PROGRAM. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT OUR CONSTITUENT SERVICES TEAM IS CONNECTING RESIDENTS TO EVERYDAY, WHETHER IT'S PLUMBERS TO THE PEOPLE OR LATERALS TO THE PEOPLE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT PROVIDES A LOT OF RELIEF TO OUR CONSTITUENTS. SO I WANTED TO THANK Y'ALL FOR THAT WORK AND INITIATIVE AND GAVINO FOR TAKING THE LEAD ON THAT, AND OF COURSE ALWAYS BEING RESPONSIVE TO OUR TEAMS. FOR THE MOST PART THOSE OF ALL MY QUESTIONS.
IF I CAN GET AN ESTIMATE ABOUT HOW MANY WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS TYPICALLY Y'ALL CONDUCT THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO AND THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, THAT
WOULD BE HELPFUL. >> I CAN TELL YOU THE NUMBER AS BEEN HIGHER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AS WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF THIS DROUGHT. AS YOU TALKED ABOUT THE SHIFTING SOILS, IT DOES CREATE HAVOC ON OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM.
>> CASTILLO: THANK YOU. THANK YOU, CHAIR. >> ROCHA GARCIA: THANK YOU SO MUCH, COUNCILWOMAN. COUNCILMAN WHITE? COUNCILMAN WHYTE?
>> WHYTE: THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. JUST A FEW QUESTIONS.
50% INCREASE IT LOOKS LIKE IN CUSTOMER CONNECTIONS SINCE 2007.
OVER 200% GROWTH IN ASSETS. DO WE THINK WE'RE STAFFED ADEQUATELY?
>> I THINK WE ARE TODAY. OBVIOUSLY THINGS CHANGE AND WE MAY NEED ADDITIONAL STAFFING GOING FORWARD, BUT WE HAVE RAMPED UP -- I WOULD TELL YOU THAT WE WERE AT THE SAME LEVEL OF EMPLOYEES. WE ASSUME BEXARMET -- I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER EXACTLY WHEN, BUT 2015 I THINK WE COMPLETED THAT ASSUMPTION.
I WAS GOING BACK AND LOOKING AT SOME SLIDES SOLICITATION SOME SLIDES COMPARING THE DATA IN 2007 AND 2000 -- LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN GO TO THAT REAL QUICKLY, THAT SLIDE. CAN YOU GO TO SLIDE -- LET ME PUT MY GLASSES ON.
PAGE 10, I THINK. SLIDE 10. SO WE HELD CONSTANT AT THAT 1600 LEVEL FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES EVEN AFTER WE ASSUMED BEXARMET IN 2015 AND I THINK WE WERE STILL AROUND 1769. SO IT'S JUST IN THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS THAT WE HAVE REALLY RAMPED UP THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES.
WE WERE FALLING BEHIND AS YOU'VE READ IN THE PAPER, I'M SURE YOU SAW SOME STUFF ABOUT THE NON-REVENUE WATER THAT WE HAVE, AND WE NEED TO FOCUS MORE ON SOME WATER STEWARDSHIP AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE UTILIZING EVERY GALLON SO WE ADDED MORE CREWS SO THAT WE CAN RESPOND TO THOSE LEAKS FASTER AND GET TO THEM FASTER.
I WILL TELL YOU IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE GIVEN THE DROUGHT. WE'RE ADDING PEOPLE AND THE BREAKS KEEP COMING MORE AND MORE FASTER, BUT I THINK RIGHT NOW AROUND THAT 2,000, I THINK BUDGETED LEVEL IS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN THAT, WE HAVE A FEW VACANCY AS ALL OF THE ORGANIZATIONS WOULD AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN TIME, BUT WE
HAVE BUDGET >> WHYTE: OKAY. MOVING ON TO THE DEBT, IT LOOKS LIKE 2022 DEBT SERVICE AND EXPENSE WAS ABOUT 203 MILLION, LOOKING LIKE 275 MILLION THIS YEAR. WHAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE INCREASE IN DEBT SERVICE AND EXPENSES -- THAT'S BASICALLY 70 MILLION MORE DOLLARS NOW THAN A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
>> AS I MENTIONED, IT'S VERY CONSERVATIVE. I WOULD ANTICIPATE US TO BE SOMETHING LESS THAN THAT, BUT WE HAVE HAD CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS. YOU SAW THE ONE LISTED FOR 2025, $626 MILLION, OF WHICH BASICALLY 400 MILLION IS GOING TO BE ADDITIONAL DEBT ISSUANCE. YOU CAN'T CONTINUE TO ADD ADDITIONAL DEBT AT THAT LEVEL AND WE ARE WITHOUT SEEING YOUR DEBT SERVICE AND
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EXPENSES GO UP. >> WHYTE: BASICALLY FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS?
>> OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET, WE'RE PROJECTING ABOUT 3 MONEY 1 BILLION DUELS IN CAPITAL INVESTMENTS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS Z YOU MENTIONED ON ONE OF THE EARLY SLIDES THAT SAWS CONTINUED STRENGTH IN CHANGING ENVIRONMENT AND ONE OF THE THINGS YOU'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH OR CHANGING PRIORITIES IN CITY OF SAN
ANTONIO. WHAT ARE YOU REFER TO THERE? >> I BELIEVE -- YOU CAN PULL UP -- LET ME PUT MY GLASSES BACK ON. SLIDE 3.
SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IN 2020 THE MAYOR -- WE HAD THE 1/8-CENT CENTS TAX.
IN 2020, THE MAYOR WANT TO REDIRECT THAT SALES TAX TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FUNDING WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT NEED. BUT WE WANTED TO MAINTAIN THE LEVEL OF EDWARDS AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM FUNDING THAT HAD BEEN APPROVED -- OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVED BY THE RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO, WANTED TO SEE THAT PROGRAM CONTINUE. SO I BELIEVE THAT WAS ONE OF THE DRIVERS THAT SAW US MOVE FROM 2.7% WE HAD BEEN AT FUNDING LEVELS SINCE THE FORMATION OF SAWS IN 1992 TO 4%. THAT GENERATED BASICALLY ANOTHER $10 MILLION FOR THE CITY SO THAT THEY COULD CONTINUE WITH THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM
AS WELL AS DO THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION FUNDING. >> WHYTE: IN SUMMARY, IT WAS THE DECISION TO MOVE MONEY TO THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND AWAY FROM THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROGRAM THAT I GUESS HAD A FINANCIAL IMPACT ON YOU GUYS.
>> YEAH, WE WENT FROM 2.7, RESULTED IN ABOUT $10 MILLION MORE COMING OUT
OF SAWS GROSS REVENUES TO CITY OF SAN ANTONIO. >> WHYTE: OKAY.
IN THE OPERATIONS BUDGET, CONTRACTUAL SERVICES OBVIOUSLY IS A PORTION OF THAT. I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT SLIDE THAT IS.
AND SO THERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE CONTRACTORS YOU GUYS HIRE TO GO IN AND DO
THE WORK, RIGHT? >> YEAH, WE HAVE SOME WORK THAT'S DONE IN-HOUSE AND
OTHER THAT'S OUT SOURCED. >> WHYTE: MY QUESTION IS THIS.
HAS THERE BEEN A THOUGHT-AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AT ONE OF THE PAST COMMITTEE MEETINGS. MY OPINION, CONSTRUCTION IS TAKING TOO LONG.
ALL ACROSS THE CITY. WE'VE TALKED AT LENGTH ABOUT COORDINATION BETWEEN SAWS AND OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HERE. MY QUESTION IS WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BUDGET MOVING FORWARD, HAVE WE THOUGHT ABOUT -- HAVE YOU GUYS THOUGHT ABOUT PUTTING MONEY INTO SOME OF THESE CONTRACTS TO INCENTIVIZE THE
CONTRACTORS TO GET THE WORK DONE QUICKER? >> TWO PIECES TO THAT.
FIRST TO DIRECTLY ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ON A CIP PERSPECTIVE, WE HAVE.
IT IS SOMETHING WE HAVE LOOKED AT. AND FOR SOME PROJECTS WE'VE USED ITEN USED IT SUCCESSFULLY LIKE FOR OUR BRACKISH DESAL PROJECT.
WE HAD THE INCENTIVE IF THEY FINISHED EARLY AND LIQUIDATED DAMAGES IF THEY DIDN'T. IN THAT CASE THE CONTRACTOR FINISHED EARLIER, THEY WERE ABLE TO GET ADDITIONAL MONEY. PROGRAMS WHERE THERE IS AN IMPACT TO US, WATER SUPPLY, IF THEY DON'T SUCCESSFULLY FINISH.
WE ALSO LOOKED AT SOMETHING SIMILAR ON THE AGUA VISTA PROJECT WHERE WE WERE BRINGING VISTA RIDGE WATER. WE ARE LOOKING AT THAT BUT FOR VERY SPECIFIC INSTANCES.
THIS BUDGET LINE ITEM WAS FOR OUR O&M EXPENSES FOR OUR CREWS.
SO WE HAVE SOME WORK THAT OUR CREWS DO THAT ARE MORE COMPLICATED, THOSE P1 EMERGENCIES WHEN YOU SEE THAT GEYSER HITTING THE STREET.
THERE ARE SOME THINGS MORE PLANNED LIKE A VALVE REPLACEMENT, HYDRANT REPLACEMENT, AND THAT'S WHEN WE BRING SOME OF THESE CONTRACTORS ON TO PERFORM
THAT WORK. >> WHYTE: THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
I'LL JUST END BY SAYING, AND I'VE TALKED ABOUT ERIK AND OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND SINCE YOU GUYS ARE HERE NOW I'LL MENTION IT, BUT ON THOSE CAPITAL PROJECTS TO THE EXTENT WE CAN BE REAL EFFICIENT IN OUR BUDGET SO WE HAVE MONEY TO INCENTIVIZE THESE CONTRACTORS TO GET THINGS DONE ON TIME, I THINK THAT'S A DIRECT WE NEED TO
[01:20:03]
HEAD AS A CITY INCLUDING YOU GUYS. >> YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT, COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE. THIS THURSDAY ON YOUR AGENDA IS THE MOU BETWEEN THE CITY AND SAWS. ALL OF THESE ISSUES THAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE ADDRESSED IN THAT DOCUMENT. AND SO INCENTIVES, PRIORTIZATION, UPFRONT MONEY ON TO COURTERS, ALL OF THAT IS IN THERE SO -- CONTRACTORS SO I THINK YOU WILL SEE A MUCH BETTER EFFORT ON EVERYBODY'S PART IN THE FUTURE.
>> WHYTE: EXCITED ABOUT THAT. >> GARCIA: GO AHEAD, BEN.
>> I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY ONE PIECE RELATED TO THIS SLIDE.
MY RECOLLECTION IS IN 2019 THE CITY WAS EXPERIENCING A REVENUE LOSS BASED ON SOME LEGISLATIVE CHANGES DEALING WITH CABLE AND" WHERE WE HAD A BILL PASS THAT WAS IMPACTING FROM A REVENUE STANDPOINT. THE CITY CAN GO UP TO 5% OF GROSS REVENUES. WE LOOKED AT THAT AS A POTENTIAL OPTION TO HELP US SOLVE THAT BUDGET GAP FROM A RECURRING REVENUE PERSPECTIVE.
TALKING ABOUT WHAT THAT IMPACT WOULD BE BOTH ON SAWS AND ON THE CITY, AND ULTIMATELY MADE A RECOMMENDATION TO GO TO FOUR.
WE COULD HAVE GONE TO FIVE, KEPT IT AT FOUR. THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM CAME UP, IF YOU RECALL I THINK IT WAS LATER ON IN 2020 OR MAYBE EARLY '21, AND WHAT WE ENDED UP HAVING TO DO BASED ON THE CHARTER LIMITATION THAT WE HAD IN PLACE AT THE TIME, NOT THERE TODAY, WE HAD THAT CHANGED THE PREVIOUS CHARTER ELECTION TWO YEARS AGO, WE COULD ONLY ISSUE DEBT, PROPERTY TAX SUPPORTED DEBT FOR THINGS THAT WERE PUBLIC WORKS. THERE WAS INTEREST IN CONTINUING TO FUND THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROGRAM, REDIRECTING THAT SALES TAX TO TRANSPORTATION FUNDING SO WE PUT A FUNDING MECHANISM IN PLACE THAT ALLOWED US TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT USING A PARTICULAR TYPE OF DEBT THAT WE WERE ISSUING.
WE PLEDGED ALL THE SAWS REVENUE TO THAT DEBT, WE DON'T USE IT, BUT WE PLEDGED IT SO WE COULD MEET THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. THE PROGRAM IS $10 MILLION A YEAR OVER TEN YEARS, SO $100 MILLION IS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE.
SO I WANT TO BE CAREFUL HOW I SAY THIS, WE'RE SEX OFFENDERRING ROUGHLY $10 MILLION A YEAR BUT WE ARE IN YEAR 3 OF THAT TEN-YEAR PROGRAM SO WE DON'T HAVE $10 MILLION IN DEBT SERVICE. WE HAVE, I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE A LITTLE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN DEBT SERVICE.
I JUST WANTED TO BREAK THOSE TWO A LITTLE BIT. WE WERE WORKING ON SOLVING A BUDGET ISSUE, DID THAT. WE CAME BACK, THERE WAS A POLICY DISCUSSION ABOUT REFLECTING THAT SALES TAX TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. SO WE HAD TO COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT FUNDING MECHANISM FOR THE EDWARDS AQUIFER. THAT WAS THE ONLY
CLARIFICATION I WAS GOING TO MAKE. >> WHYTE: SO YOU'RE NOT -- YOU'RE NOT DISPUTING WHAT THEY ARE SAYING THAT THERE WAS A -- OR ARE YOU, THAT
THERE WAS A CHANGE IN PRIORITIES? >> NO, NO, DEFINITELY WE WERE LOOKING AT AND WE REQUESTED THE INCREASE IN THE 4%.
INITIALLY IT WASN'T TIED TO THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROGRAM. THE EDWARDS AQUIFER PROTECTION PROGRAM BECAME AN ADDITIONAL CONVERSATION MAYBE A YEAR OR 2024 WE MADE
THAT -- YEAR OR TWO AFTER WE MADE THAT CHANGE. >> GARCIA: COUNCILMEMBER
COURAGE. >> COURAGE: THE STATE LEGISLATURE CHANGED AND WE LOST OVER $7 MILLION BECAUSE OF THAT CHANGE AND THAT'S WHERE WE STARTED LOOKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL SOURCE. I'VE GOT A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT R&R, WHERE IS -- AND WE SEE IN HERE THAT THERE'S $76 MILLION THAT IS UNRESTRICTED, WHAT DOES UNRESTRICTED MEAN?
>> IT MEANS WE CAN USE IT FOR ANY LAWFUL PURPOSE THAT SAWS MAY HAVE THE NEED FOR.
>> COURAGE: WHAT IS IT BUDGETED FOR IN THIS NEXT BUDGET?
>> VIRTUALLY ALL OF OUR R&R CASH GETS BUDGETED TO HELP WITH THAT CASH FUNDING FOR
OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. >> OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM WITH CASH AND WE KIND OF LISTED TO THE RATING NEGOTIATIONS OUR TARGET IS TO BE -- AGENCIES OUR TARGET IS TO BE 50/50.
>> COURAGE: WHAT IS OUR DAILY CASH ON HAND NOW FOR SAWS?
>> ABOUT 490 DAYS. >> COURAGE: OVER YEAR'S CASH ON HAND.
[01:25:03]
>> CORRECT. >> COURAGE: AND WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE RATING AGENCIES FOR HOW MUCH CASH ON HAND AN AGENCY OF OUR SIZE WOULD USUALLY KEEP?
>> WELL, THEY WON'T GIVE YOU A RECOMMENDATION, THEY WILL GIVE YOU BENCHMARKS OF OTHER UTILITIES SIMILARLY RATED AND IT'S PROBABLY -- I CAN GET THE IMPACT INFORMATION, ABOUT AROUND 50 DAYS. DOUBLE A PLUS RAID CREDITS SIMILAR TO -- RATED CREDITS SIMILAR TO SAWS OR ROUGHLY 550 DAYS OF CASH. TRIPLE A RATED MORE THAN
700, 800 DAYS CASH ON HAND. >> COURAGE: OKAY. WHEN YOU TALKED ABOUT CHEMICAL COSTS, I DIDN'T SEE YOU MENTION FLUORIDE AND THAT IS ONE OF THE
ADDITIVES. >> IT'S RELATIVELY CHEAP RIGHT NOW.
OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A DISPUTED ITEM AND WE TAKE DIRECTION FROM THE CITY.
THAT WAS PASSED BY A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY TO ADD YOU ARE IN RIDE TO THE SYSTEM. AS FAR AS FINANCIAL IMPACT, IT'S 200, $250,000 A YEAR.
>> COURAGE: EVEN IF IT WENT UP 5% IT'S NOT MUCH OF A IMPACT.
>> YES -- 50%. >> COURAGE: HAS THERE BEEN ANY THOUGHT TO SELLING VISTA RIDGE WATER OUT OF OUR SYSTEM AND WHERE IS THAT GOING?
>> I WON'T SPEAK FOR THE ORGANIZATION, BUT SPEAKING AS A FINANCIAL GUY RIGHT NOW, GIVEN THE DROUGHT WE'RE IN, I WOULD NOT SELL A DROP OF WATER THAT WE HAVE
CONTROL OVER. >> COURAGE: I KNOW THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS DISCUSSED AS A POSSIBILITY IN THE FUTURE AND I JUST WONDERING IF SAWS WAS
EXAMINING THAT ANY FURTHER. >> WE HAVE CONSIDERED IT, WE'VE TALKED TO A NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS AND ENTITIES. THERE ARE A LOT A OF INTEREST OF GETTING SOME OF THAT WATER. BECAUSE WE ARE ESSENTIALLY TRACKING THE DROUGHT OF RECORD FROM THE 1950S, WE'RE DEFINITELY IN NEED OF ALL OF THAT WATER RIGHT NOW SO WE HAVE NOT BEEN IN THE MARKET TO OFF-LOAD ANY OF THAT WATER AT THIS POINT.
>> COURAGE: THANK YOU. I KNOW THAT -- >> COUNCILMAN, THAT CAN'T BE DONE WITH COUNCIL INVOLVEMENT BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE TO SET THE RATE AT WHICH WE SELL IT. SO YOU'LL WILL BE THE FIRST BE THE FIRST TO KNOW IF YEAR
GOING THAT THAT DIRECT. >> COURAGE: THANK YOU. I KNOW THE VISTA RIDGE PROJECT WAS A VERY EXPENSIVE PROJECT AND THEN THE EPA CONSENT DECREE WAS ALSO VERY EXPENSIVE PROJECTS, BUT WE'VE GOTTEN PAST BOTH OF THOSE.
DO WE SEE ANY NEED FOR ANY OTHER KIND OF EXPENSIVE PROJECT COMING UP, MAYBE THE
LEAD HAS A POSSIBILITY OF THAT? >> THAT ONE HAS A POSSIBILITY. WHAT I SEE ON THE HORIZON, THE SINGLE BIGGEST, WE HAVE CAPITAL NEEDS. WE HAVE MORE THAN 7,000 MILES OF WATER MAINS ACROSS OUR DISTRIBUTION NETWORK. YOU SEE, YOU READ ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF LOST WATER, THE AMOUNT OF LEAKS, THEMENT A OF MAIN BREAKS WE HAVE.
WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO REPLACE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE. WE'VE GOT PIPES THAT ARE VERY OLD. WE TALK ABOUT THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.
DOS RIOS IS OUR MOST CORRECT PLANT AND IT WAS BUILT IN 1987.
THESE -- CURRENT. THESE ARE MASSIVE INVESTMENTS THAT HAVE BE TO
BE MADE TO CONTINUE TO UPGRADE THESE ASSETS. >> DOUG MADE AN EXCELLENT POINT. IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS, HE HIGHLIGHTED THOSE IN THE PRESENTATION. WE TALKED ABOUT IMPROVEMENTS AT WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS. OUR NEWEST PLANT IS FROM 1987 AND WE HAVE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT THAT DIRELY NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WE'LL BE SPENDING OVER $700 MILLION FOR PLANNED IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL AS WATER REPLACEMENT, WE'RE LOOKING AT SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO DEAL WITH LOST WATER, TO DEAL WITH NON-REVENUE WATER.
>> COURAGE: CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH THE APPARENT WATER LOSSES ARE THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ESTIMATED OVER THE LAST YEAR ON A PER YEAR BASIS SO THE LAST THREE
OR FOUR YEARS? >> SORRY. I GUESS IN '23 OUR LOSSES WERE UP TO 19 BILLION GALLONS. ON THE ORDER OF 50 TO 60,000-ACF WATER LOST IN THE SYSTEM.
SOMETIMES IT'S JUST METERS AREN'T READING ACCURATELY SO YOU NEED BETTER READING SO WE'RE CHANGING OUT A LOT OF OUR PRODUCTION METERS SO WE HAVE BETTER ACCURACY OF WHAT WE'RE READING. ALSO JUST OUT IN THE FIELD AS WE REPLACE A PIPE, YOU HAVE TO PUT IN MEASUREMENTS OF HOW MUCH WATER. SOME OF THOSE ARE BEING
[01:30:02]
IMPROVED. IMPROVEMENT IN THE ACCURACY AND THE METER IS IMPORTANT.>> COURAGE: THE LAST QUESTION I WOULD HAVE OF ROBERT, DO YOU FORESEE ANY NEED FOR REQUEST FROM SAWS FOR ANY KIND OF RATE INCREASE THIS YEAR OR NEXT
YEAR? >> YES, SIR. PROBABLY FOR 2026 AND 2027.
>> COURAGE: CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT WHY? >> WELL, EVERYTHING THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT, THESE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANTS, AS ANDREA MENTIONED, AND GETTING A HANDLE ON WATER STEWARDSHIP. SO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE WHAT IS GOING TO BE DRIVING OUR NEEDS IN THE FUTURE. BUT I WILL SAY THAT YOU SAW AT THE BEGINNING OF SOME OF THESE SLIDES, FOR EXAMPLE, THE GENERATORS THAT COUNCILWOMAN CASTILLO TALKED ABOUT, THAT WAS A $200 MILLION PROJECT. WE DID THAT WITHOUT A RATE INCREASE. THE AMI WE'RE GOING TO FINISH THIS YEAR, $212 MILLION, WE DID THAT WITHOUT A RATE INIES. WE'RE DOING A LOT INCLUDING ALL THESE ADDITIONAL HIRES TO ADDRESS LOST WATER WITHOUT AN INCREASE.
>> COURAGE: THANK YOU. >> GARCIA: COUNCILMEMBER WHYTE.
>> WHYTE: IN THE INTEREST OF FAIRNESS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT MY FRIENDS AT CPS ENERGY TO GET MAD AT ME, Y'ALL'S SLIDES IN HERE ABOUT WHERE THE LOWEST OR ONE OF THE LOWEST IN WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR WATER RATES, YOU KNOW, CPS DID THE SAME THING AND I ASKED THEM TO RETAKE A LOOK AT IT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD INCOME HERE IN SAN ANTONIO RELATED TO WHAT WE'RE PAYING FOR WATER.
I WOULD JUST SAY WHEN YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT YOUR RATE INCREASE, I'M SURE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SIMILAR SLIDES LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, SAYING THAT WE'RE ON THE LOW END, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT OR WHOEVER IS SITTING HERE WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT IN
RELATION TO HOUSEHOLD INCOME HERE IN SAN ANTONIO. >> WE'LL HAVE THAT READY.
>> WHYTE: THANKS. >> I WAS GOING TO SAY WE DO TRACK THAT CURRENTLY.
WE TRACK AGAINST MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME. ONE OF HIS GOALS IS AFFORDABILITY AND IT'S OUR BILL AS A PERCENTAGE OF MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
>> GARCIA: THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH, DOUG, FOR THE PRESENTATION.
LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE IN THE FUTURE. THE TIME IS 11:34 AND WE ARE ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.