HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 06/19/2014 * Minutes of Water Resources Advisory Committee
held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, June 19, 2014 °
Water Utilities Building —Choke Canyon Conference Room
2726 Holly Road * Corpus Christi, Texas
mPluplio
Attended by: Brian William, San Patricio Water District;Jeff Edmonds,Residential;Sally Gill, Green Industry;Lillian Riojas, Valero;
Sam Sanders, Valero;Rocky Freund,Nueces River Authority;Mark Scott, City Council;Debbie Lindsey-Opel, Consultant;Bill
Green,Brent Clayton, Wes Nebgen and Alexa Castaneda of City Environmental&Strategic Initiatives;minutes taken by Lori Bryant,
Water Utilities
Chairman Jeff Edmonds called the meeting to order, commenting that with only 4 members out of
9 attending, the committee did not have a quorum. He reminded the group that at the last meeting in
February, a vote had passed to ask City Council to create a seat for a representative from the Nueces
River Authority. Rocky Freund attends all meetings already, but has no vote without Council
approval. Council also needs to make appointments to fill empty seats. Brent Clayton explained that
it is possible to have absences from meetings excused simply by informing the committee. Bill Green
stated that staff would check with Legal and then have appointments put on the Council agenda.
Approval of February minutes was tabled since there was no quorum.
Brent proceeded with his presentation (a copy has been e-mailed to members), updating the
committee on the following:
Reservoir System Statistics:
He first reminded everyone of the effects of pass-throughs and evaporation on lake levels, and
that salinity levels in the bays and estuaries must be maintained at certain levels according to season.
Sally Gill asked which months require highest releases. May/June and Sept./Oct. are highest due to
marine and wildlife needs.
Pass-through requirements change with drought states; under 40% it drops to 1200 ac/ft mo., and
below 30% there are no releases.
Rocky Freund explained that since the City is working on the dam, we are behind on pass-
throughs. TCEQ grants a 10-day grace period into the next month, but the City is past that for May
and June.
Current Drought Status and Projections:
Projections indicate levels will fall below 40% around July 4. Staff plans to announce Stage 2 on
the 7th or 8th to avoid being upstaged by the holiday, and to coincide with regular Council meeting.
Staff and Debbie are in the process of assigning names as well as numbers to drought levels to make
it easier for public to remember how one varies from another.
Water Conservation Efforts:
The WaterSmart certification program for homebuilders will include gray water re-use, rainwater
harvesting, low-flow fixtures, high tech irrigation systems, etc. Staff hopes to be able to give builders
some financial incentives.
A discussion began of how best to revise the drought ordinance to handle allocations during
Stage 3 and higher. Since Choke Canyon was built, the City has not had to resort to that measure. A
blanket 10% rate increase covers lost revenue due to usage drop from conservation. All non-
residential use is affected. The question is what measures will have the minimal customer impact
and be easy to understand. Mark Scott expressed concern that most customers have no idea about
increases and allocations.
Page 1 of 2
Bill Green mentioned that staff is currently working on a presentation to Council to better explain
Safe Yield. The hope is to balance allaying fears about water shortages while keeping the need to
conserve in everyone's minds.
Lillian Riojas brought up incentives for turf replacement, citing San Diego and other cities'
programs. Since irrigation is the highest use for residents, she feels the City should be more
aggressive in pursuing that. Bill stated that is a long-term goal, but must be achieved in small
increments. Brent added that the current landscape ordinance covers commercial accounts, but that
another current proposal is to add residential accounts to that ordinance, requiring the use of drought-
tolerant plants.
Sally Gill brought up the need to raise public awareness about fixing leaks; that fixing quickly is
cheaper in the long run than letting problems worsen. That brought up the Plumbers to People
program. Its current budget is only$10,000, so it is not advertised. If funded more, it would be
advertised so more of the public would take advantage.
Brian Williams asked how various incentives will work for wholesale customers outside of City
limits. They want to do their part, but need to know the mechanics and what is expected of them.
Some programs will be impossible for small towns to implement. Bill Green agreed and promised to
keep OCL customers informed and involved.
Water Supply Projects:
Brent showed the latest update, which is similar to Region N's, but with details more specific to
City needs. It is constantly changing; Bill gave the example of San Pat projecting a need for 35 mgd
at the beginning of the year, but later lowering that expectation to only 10 mgd. Mark Scott in
particular questioned that large discrepancy and it was agreed that firmer numbers are needed
regarding new industry demands. The Celanese plant may not be included on the current list; they
are likely to use up most of the amount that MRP2 will bring in. Mark added that Council philosophy
is that if customers feel the City doesn't have enough water, that even with a conservative safe yield,
we do not have enough water. It is impossible to convince public otherwise.
Other supply projects detailed in presentation slides were
® Desalination Pilot
® Mary Rhodes Pipeline Phase 2
® Water Supply Strategic Plan
Environmental Flows :
A new program under consideration is SMART (Salinity Monitoring in Real Time). Staff expects
to have RFQs in the fall, with delivery in 12 months.
Brent explained the requirement to deplete previously banked water. Rocky mentioned that the
Rincon currently is not receiving flows due to new gates being installed at the pipeline.
While deciding the date for the next meeting, Debbie suggested convening earlier than the next
quarter so that staff can get the committee's input on proposed changes to ordinances and other
time-sensitive issues. It was agreed that Thursday August 21 will be the date for the next meeting.
Page 2 of 2