HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 05/21/2015 Minutes of Water Resources Advisory Committee
held 11:00 a.m. Thursday, May 21, 2015
Water Utilities Building —Choke Canyon Conference Room
2726 Holly Road *Corpus Christi, Texas
Attended by:
Voting members: Sally Gill, Landscaping; Robert Kunkel, Port Industries; Sam Sanders, Lg. Commercial Customer;
Phil Hale,Apartment Representative; Joelle Francois, Residential Representative; Rocky Freund, Nueces River Rep.
Ex-officio Members: None.
Staff: Brent Clayton,Alexa Fulbright of City Environmental&Strategic Initiatives; minutes taken Alexa Fulbright and
compiled by Brent Clayton
Non-voting quests: None
ITEM 1: Call the Meeting to Order
Chairman Sam Sanders called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. with a quorum of six members
attending. Mr. Sanders had all of the members introduce themselves since all of the vacant positions
were now full. There were two new members present.
ITEM 2: Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the February 19 meeting were approved unanimously with a motion by Rocky Freund
and a second by Robert Kunkel.
ITEM 3: Review of Reservoir System Statistics, Current Drought Status and Projections
Brent Clayton gave a visual and quantitative overview of the Coastal Bend raw water supply system to
educate the new members. Mr. Kunkel noted how much of the recent rain activity occurred in the
Atascosa River basin and that it is close to Choke Canyon Reservoir. Mr. Clayton said that pumping the
extra water into Choke Canyon is possible but not cost effective. He explained how the recent rains filled
up Lake Corpus Christi and it has been full now for a few weeks. Mr. Clayton said that the combined
capacity could reach 50% in the next days. If not, it will at least maintain its levels. There are forecasts for
3-5 inches in the Frio River Basin over the next few days, which is positive for our water supply reservoirs.
Rocky Freund mentioned that John Metz with NOAA had made a prediction that Choke Canyon could fill
by the end of the summer. The last time that both reservoirs filled was in 2007.
Mr. Clayton then reviewed a series of Power Point slides that showed the volume of water that fell in the
Coastal Bend over the past couple weeks. He showed a map from the Weather Service that displayed the
rainfall amounts throughout the region in a just a 24-hour period ending on May 12. Some areas received
over 8 inches of rain.
The next slide showed the USGS river gage on the Atascosa River at Whitsett. Mr. Clayton explained
how the River Forecast Center uses a computer model to predict gage levels. This recent flood on the
Atascosa was the 3rd highest in its period of record.
Mr. Clayton then showed some pictures of impacts of the recent floods. These included flooding at Hazel-
Basemore Park and high flows at Bluntzer and Calallen. He showed a couple pictures taken at the
Wesley Seale Dam with 6 gates open. Though it seemed like a lot it was small compared to when all 60
gates were open following Hurricane Beulah in 1967. Sally Gill asked if the City was still banking water.
Ms. Freund mentioned that they were not and explained a little about the environmental pass through
requirements. The group continued discussion on environmental flow requirements. Mr. Clayton
explained how releases into the bays far exceeded the pass through requirements.
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The next couple slides showed the river gage and forecast at Cotulla. Mr. Clayton explained how this
water will take a couple weeks to reach Lake Corpus Christi.
Mr. Clayton then went into a discussion on the drought forecasts and predictions. The seasonal outlook
shows that drought removal is likely in much of Texas over the next couple months.
ITEM 4: Update on Drought Contingency Planning and Water Supply Index
Mr. Clayton briefly explained that the City is currently working on developing a water supply index. The
idea is to use the method discussed in a previous WRAC meeting but remove the percentage and use a
number based on years. Ms. Gill asked when it would take effect. Mr. Clayton noted that it would be ideal
to have the water supply index take effect at the same time that Mary Rhodes Phase 2 comes online in
the fall.
ITEM 5: Updates on Water Supply Projects and Studies
Mr. Clayton first gave an update on the Mary Rhodes Pipeline Phase 2. He showed several pictures of
the updates and mentioned that the project is behind schedule because of the large number of rainy days
at the construction site. It is projected that the pipeline will be initially complete in October of 2015.
The next project covered was the desalination pilot. Mr. Clayton explained the progress of each technical
memoranda and showed pictures of the potential sites: one along the ship channel and one on the
Ingleside side of the CC Bay. He mentioned that part of the pilot project is to test blending other water
with the seawater to reduce treatment costs. Ms. Gill wondered what the water would be used for.
Because of the relatively small volumes and regulatory issues, the water from the pilot will probably not
be used. The two locations are the Broadway WWTP and either the SPMWD or Oxy Plant. Mr. Clayton
explained the history of the Brownsville desal pilot project and how the City used lessons learned from
that project to better plan for its project. Mr. Sanders asked if the City will blend SPMWD water. Mr.
Clayton explained that they would blend some other type of water to test a lower salinity. The group then
discussed the pros and cons of a full scale facility at either of the two locations.
The group then discussed two projects that are currently not started but not under contract. The first is a
City Council-approved two-year study with Texas A&M University Kingsville. This study will evaluate the
groundwater-surface water interaction in the Choke Canyon area. This led to a discussion about fracking
and the possible impact that is may have on water supply. The study will address those concerns. Based
on the results, the City will take proactive steps to protect its water supply.
The second study is on aquifer characterization. This contract with HDR is still in the negotiations phase.
The study will look at three specific sites in the City to see if they have potential for an aquifer storage and
recovery operation. The three locations will be the Greenwood WWTP, ON Stevens WTP, and the
Highway 44 area near the airport. Ms. Freund asked how the consolidated Greenwood plant would
impact these plans. Ms Francois suggested using excess water for the ASR.
Lastly, the group briefly discussed if the rising lake levels would impact stage 2 drought measures. Mr.
Clayton said that based on direction from leadership, they would possibly stay in Stage 2 to maintain
successful conservation measures.
ITEM 6: Set next meeting date
The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday September 17, 2015
ITEM 7: Adjourn
The meeting adjourned by Mr. Sanders at 12:50 P.M.
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