HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 10/10/2016 Minutes of Water Resources Advisory Committee
held 11:30 a.m. Thursday October 10, 2016
I\ j Water Utilities Building Choke Canyon Conference Room
2726 Holly Road* Corpus Christi, Texas
Attended by:
Voting members: Sam Sanders, Large Commercial Customer; Rocky Freund, Nueces River
Representative; Brian Williams, Wholesale; Joelle Francois, Residential Representative; Phil E. Hale,
Apartment Representative; Roberto Reece, Military Representative; Lucia Sosa, Citizen At-Large.
Ex-officio Members: None.
Staff.- Bill Green, Larijai Francis, Gabriela Morrow and Itzel Ojeda of City Environmental & Strategic
Initiatives; Dan Grimsbo, Utilities. Minutes taken by Itzel Ojeda and compiled by Larijai Francis.
Guests: Joel Veeneman; NOAH.
Public: Brenda Joyas; Christina Hernandez.
ITEM 1: Call the Meetinq to Order
Chairman Sam Sanders called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. with a quorum of seven members
attending.
ITEM 2: Review and Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the Wednesday June 15, 2016 meeting were unanimously approved.
ITEM 3: Introductions and Update on Mayoral Reappointments
Introduction of Larijai Francis, City Staff Project Manager for Water Resources.
Reappointments:
Sally Gill
Phil Hale Sr.
Robert Kunkel
Lucia Sosa
School Category is still vacant- Mayor suggested a nominee be submitted for approval by January
2017.
ITEM 4: Water Supply: Inflow and Pass thru Requirements of Agreed Order
Mr. Bill Green gave the Committee an update of the City of Corpus Christi Water Supply including the
following points:
Range of Water Demands (different scenarios)
Brief of Choke Canyon history
Brief of Nueces Estuary Advisory Council(NEAC)
Nueces River Delta importance in South Texas
Brief history of reservoirs
Explained how Freshwater Inflows create environmental conditions that sustain biological
productivity in the Nueces Estuary
Key Points
A healthy Nueces Estuary requires freshwater inflows.
In Texas, other reservoir systems have pass-thru or release requirements (e.g. Lake Texana).
Nueces BBEST Finding: Nueces Bay was not a sound ecological environment.
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Required inflow studies have been completed and are ongoing.
Nueces river Delta watersheds
Pass-thru requirements released from Lake Corpus Christi
Reservoir System Inflow measures
How Nueces Bay target amounts could be affected by salinity levels
Statistical Reports by Nueces River Authority
Outcome:
State of Texas had Water Rights to flow in Nueces River and retained that right with the
construction of Choke Canyon.
State asserted its Water Rights when agreeing to City's Water Rights for Choke Canyon. The
State's water was/is used for the pass-thru.
Scientific basis for pass-thru and numerous studies
Pass-thru requirement has been tweaked, to City's advantage, since original 1976.
Robust monitoring system in place
Reservoirs = our cheapest source of water
Critical in high demand periods when Mary Rhodes not sufficient to meet needs
Operate reservoirs paid for by CC water customers to maximize yield for customers with eye to
safety of proper
Model Improvements
New Data Hydrology Updates
Future Water Supply Strategies evaluation by Region N
2001-2016 Plans for Water Management Strategies evaluated by Region N
2016 Region N Plan Water Management Strategies recommendation
ITEM 5 Water Supply Update -Aquifer Storage & Recovery and Variable Salinity Desalination Pilot Study
Larijai Francis presented the ASR Feasibility Study explaining the following points:
Aquifer Storage and Recovery fundamentals
CCCASRD received a competitive, TWDB grant award of$433,388
Importance of the ASR Feasibility Study
Aquifer Characterization Study for ASR Feasibility (Jan 2016)
Geologic Setting
Groundwater Quality and Local Well Setting
Hydraulic Properties and Well Yield
Geophysical Log Interpretation
Areas of Study
ON Stevens
Corpus Christi International Airport
Greenwood WWTP
Update of Near-Term Activities
July 26th - City Council approves project
Aug through Oct- Contract coordination and project administration
October 17th- Kick-off meeting to discuss goals and objectives
End of Year 2016/Winter 2017
Confirm program
Procure driller for exploratory test drilling program
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Spring/Summer 2017
Drill wells, collect samples, and conduct tests for ASR feasibility
Geochemical analysis
Larijai Francis gave the Committee an update for City of Corpus Christi Variable Salinity Desalination
Pilot Program — Consultant Freese and Nichols Inc. Mr. Francis explained the following points:
Project Structure
Phase 1 Funding — Grant Award
Phase 2 Review and Site Selection
Phase 3 Protocol Development, Implementation, and Reporting
Intake Location
Seawater Reverse Osmosis (SWRO)
Brief summary on Partnership with TAMU-K
Pilot Protocol Operation Stages
Stage 1 — Optimization
Determine Operational Parameters for Optimal Process Performance
Stage 2— Design run
Variable Salinity Desalination Blends will be evaluated
Stage 3— Flux Evaluation
Determine decrease in membrane performance during operations after a CIP.
ITEM 6: Getting to Know your Local NWS Forecast Office
Meeting Guest: Joel Veeneman with the National Weather Service.
Mr. Veeneman presentation included the following points:
NWS 9 National Centers:
The NWS provides 24 hr. weather support 24/7 to Emergency Hazards such as drills,
thunderstorms, wild fires, road accidents, big outdoor events.
NWS Responsibilities
NSW Technology
Over the next two years NWS will release a new satellite generation called GOES-R it is the most
advanced weather satellite ever built. It will bring an exponential increase in data collected.
National Digital Forecast
Graphical Forecast
ITEM 7: Current state of Drought Contingency Planning
Combined Reservoir Capacity 54.8%. Increased 8% from last meeting
Lake Texana 97.1% capacity
Choke Canyon 43.7 % capacity.
Lake Corpus Christi 84.7% capacity
The City remains in Drought Stage 2
Combined levels need to be over 90% sustained more than 15 consecutive days for Stage 2 be
terminated.
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ITEM 8: Staff Announcements
The Water Supply Update was presented to City Council on July 12, 2016.
H2O 4 Texas (TX Water Development Board) meeting was held on July 18, 2016.
Celebration on Mary Rodhes Phase 1 and 2 will be on October 14, at O.N. Stevens Water Plant.
Corpus Christi Aquifer Storage and Recovery Conservation District meeting will be held on October
17, 2016.
The Committee was informed a new Water Resources Manager will be coming on board next
month.
ITEM 9: Set next meeting date
The next meeting was scheduled for 11:30 AM on January 26, 2016.
ITEM 10: Admiourn
Mr. Sanders adjourned the meeting at 1:24 pm.
Note:
No decisions or voting motions were made during this meeting.
Presentation and meeting audio are available upon request.
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