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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 04/19/2018Page 1 of 3 Minutes of Water Resources Advisory Committee held 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 19, 2018 Water Utilities Building Choke Canyon Conference Room 2726 Holly Road Corpus Christi, Texas Attended by: Voting Members: Sally Gill, Landscaping Representative; Rocky Freund, Nueces River; Phil E. Hale, Apartment Representative; Faren Von Duben, Large Commercial Customer; and Brian Williams, Wholesale Treated. Ex-officio Members: Rudy Garza, Council Member District 5 Staff: Gabriel Ramirez, Asst. Director of Water Quality and Treatment; Steve Ramos, Water Resources Manager; Larijai Francis, Water Resources Project Manager; Bill Green, Engineer with Development Services; Gabriela Morrow, PIO; Lori Bryant, Management Asst. for Water Utilities; Minutes taken by Lori Bryant and compiled by Steve Ramos. Public: Melissa Brewer, Eddie Wilcut, Scott Baker ITEM 1: Call the Meeting to Order Sally Gill, Chair, called the meeting to order at 11:30 am with five members attending. Joelle Francois, Roberto Reece and Leah Tiner have excused absences. ITEM 2: Introductions Committee members and staff introduced themselves. Guest Eddie Wilcut from Alan Plummer Associates was introduced as a Water & Energy Efficiency Practice Leader. ITEM 3: Review and Approval of Minutes The minutes for Thursday, January 18, 2018 were approved at the end of the meeting when a quorum was in attendance. ITEM 4: Committee Re-appointments and Vacancies On April 10, the City Council confirmed the reappointment of Sally Gill, Leah Tiner, and Phil Hale. Their new terms will end on April 1, 2020. Barrett Fines was recruited to fill Robert Kunkel’s vacancy in the Port position. The City Secretary’s office is still searching for a candidate to replace Lucia Sosa as the School District representative. ITEM 5: Water Resources Update – Steve Ramos Steve Ramos gave the Committee an update of the City of Corpus Christi Water Supply including the following points: • Water Levels Reviewed • Water Reservoir Capacity Status • Regional Water Supply System ITEM 6: Water Conservation Plan Review – Steve Ramos A. Steve Ramos introduces guest speaker Eddie Wilcut, whose presentation touched on: • The definition of conservation – preservation, protection, management, control. Page 2 of 3 • Similarities/differences between conservation and drought contingency – both reduce usage, both can lead to rate increase. Only conservation increases capacity in reservoirs, saves needing to add infrastructure, reduces energy consumption and drought restrictions. Conservation allows the City to serve more people over time with the same amount of water. It is a strategic way to accommodate growth; loss of revenue will be reversed in the long run. • The TCEQ requirement for an updated Conservation Plan every 5 years shouldn’t be just a formality to be glossed over; the City should really work on changes made and carefully examine goals with each update. • Steve Ramos added that since we have wholesale customers, the City decisions affect many other communities in the area. B. Larijai Francis gave an update on the Aquifer Storage project: • Aquifer Storage is not a new supply, but a resource allowing the City to stockpile water during times of heavy rain. Underground storage prevents loss by evaporation. • The City matched a $400K grant received from the TX Water Development Board and used it to drill 6 test sites, looking for sandy areas that will hold water. • The second phase will return to the 2 most promising sites of the original 6 for further testing. • Current sites are all within City limits due to limits of the grant. A question was asked about the possibility of looking at federally owned lands. Larijai replied that one consideration for site selection is proximity to the treatment plant. Linking to existing pipelines could be a possibility. C. Steve Ramos brought the discussion back to Section 5 of the Conservation Plan: • Sally Gill starts with the turf grass requirement, mentioning several types of grass that Texas growers have developed to be drought tolerant. • She also stated that reducing the turf areas in new lawns to 50% is too restrictive and suggested 70% is more realistic. Others agreed, mentioning the percentage could be revisited at the next update period in 5 years. • The current WaterWise plant list has been recently updated, but with new plants being offered all the time, it was suggested that updates be more frequent. • Steve gives an overview of the Xeriscape Demonstration Gardens and the annual Xeriscape Symposium. D. The Committee moved on to Section 5.5, Rebates and Incentives: • Sally asked how customers learn about the Plumbers to People program. Steve stated the Utilities Business Office refers customers. It was suggested that it be promoted more; perhaps getting plumbing businesses involved. • The City’s Rain barrel program was examined next. It has evolved from a once-yearly event to an ongoing offer. This allows the City to keep a smaller supply in stock since storage is an issue. o Rain barrels seem to be very popular. Steve and Larijai have been donating them to schools where they visit to present programs. Page 3 of 3 o A suggestion was made that there should be more formal tracking of the number of barrels sold, along with seeking feedback from customers who use them. • Irrigation Consultations were used as an incentive in the past; the group agrees that consultations should be handled as reminders rather than requirements. Customers with large lots of >1 acre could be required to have a yearly inspection. o Getting the Development Services office and the Public Information office involved is a good way to start. o One member brought up the idea of building new parking lot islands lower than surrounding pavement instead of elevated as is done currently. This would allow run-off to drain into the islands to irrigate landscaping. • Reclaimed water is currently used mostly by golf courses and the State Veterans Cemetery. Expanding use would involve building infrastructure. Restrictions in timing must be considered when using for parks and athletic fields so the public isn’t exposed to non-potable water. • The current Leak Detection campaign was explained in relation to the increase in water pressure expected when new elevated tanks come online. • Steve closed the discussion, telling members that Section 5.6, Water Loss & Education, would be reviewed at the next meeting. ITEM 7: Set next meeting date The next meeting was scheduled for 11:30 am on Thursday, August 16, 2018. ITEM 8: Adjourn Ms. Gill adjourned the meeting at 12:50 pm. Note: Meeting audio is available upon request.