HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 09/17/2015 Minutes of Water Resources Advisory Committee
held 9:30 a.m. Thursday, September 17, 2015
City Hall—Conference Room
1201 Leopard* 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: Dan McGinn, Brent Clayton, Suzanne Flores of City Environmental &Strategic Initiatives; minutes taken
Suzanne Flores
Non-voting quests: Steve Ramos,Water Master Program; Brice Thomas,Watermaster Program
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.
ITEM 2: Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the May 21 meeting were unanimously approved.
ITEM 3: Review of the Watermaster Program
Steve Ramos and Brice Thomas with the Watermaster Office went over the introduction to the
Watermaster program. Brice started his presentation by going over the four areas of the program and
what it does. Water rights permits enforcement comes the Texas Water Code. Brice then went over the
permitted usages of irrigation, municipal, industrial and recreational. Brice overviewed violations and
exemptions such as domestic and livestock use as well as water use for oil and gas drilling and wildlife.
Brice reviewed the violations, which can include water usage without a permit or permitted usage going
over the amounted water usage; permitted users not reporting their usage like they are supposed to;
pump trucks taking water without a permit; unauthorized impoundments such as dams to hold water back
(this prevents the downstream users from getting water).
Importance of the Watermaster program is to make sure everyone with a permit has available water. This
is done by making sure the river doesn't run dry when everyone is pumping water at the same time.
Another importance is enforcing the priority system. Question-Who handles the priority calls?Answer-
They are handled on a case-by-case basis in Austin.
Watermasters cover parts of 50 counties, comprised of seven river basins, and approximately 12,000
water rights holders. This program is funded solely by appropriated water right holders. The fee is based
on the amount of water and what the water is used for.
Job Functions: Watermasters are required to investigate eight thousand sites a year, check river and
diversion points, and check meters. They took 2,200 phone calls last year, including inquires and
complaints. Brice went over their field equipment such as flow meters.
ITEM 4: Review of Reservoir System Statistics, Current Drought Status and Projects
Brent Clayton went over the reservoir capacity which is below 50%. Lake Texana was close to 95% in
reservoir capacity.
Mr. Clayton then reviewed a series of Power Point slides that showed the impact of the rain that fell in the
Coastal Bend on the lake levels.
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Brent went over current drought status. On September 5th the City of Corpus Christi suspended the once
a week watering restriction to improve water quality to help water flow until the chloramine is put back into
the water system.
One question was asked if the chlorine affects the plants. Sally responded she hasn't seen the plants
been affected by the chlorine.
The early September drought monitor was not in drought status for Corpus Christi, but it is something to
keep an eye on. Parts of the watershed however are slightly in drought stage. Drought triggers were
raised for stages I and 11. Power washing, car washing and pool refills are allowed any time and any day,
but irrigation retains the once a week watering schedule.
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.
A motion was made and accepted by the committee to recommend having Corpus Christi residents select
their own watering day. It also would direct staff to investigate the technology feasibility of such a
measure.
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. Another study discussed was the
aquifer characterization study aiming to develop an aquifer storage and recovery system. This was
followed by a discussion about fracking and the watershed protection actions being taken by the City.
ITEM 6: Set next meeting date
The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday December 3, 2015
ITEM 7: Adjourn
The meeting adjourned by Mr. Sanders at 11:30 A.M.
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