HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 03/28/2019Page 1 of 2
Minutes of Water Resources Advisory Committee
held 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 28, 2019
Water Utilities Building Choke Canyon Conference Room
2726 Holly Road Corpus Christi, Texas
Attended by:
Voting Members: Rocky Freund, Nueces River Representative; Roberto Reece, Military Representative; Barrett Fines,
Port Industries Representative; Faren Von Duben, Large Commercial Customer Representative; Joelle Francois,
Residential Customer Representative; Phil Hale, Sr, Apartment Owners Representative; Brian Williams, Wholesale
Treated Representative; Greg Smith, Ex-Officio; Rudy Garza, Ex-Officio.
Guests: Joanne Salge, Xeriscape Steering Committee member; J.J. Hart, Matt Walford, Anton Kindzirsky
Staff: Dan Grimsbo, Executive Director of Utilities; Reba George, Asst. Director of Utilities Support Services; Gabriel
Ramirez, Asst. Director of Water Quality and Treatment; Steve Ramos, Water Resources Manager; Gabriela Morrow,
Public Information Officer; Bill Green, Development Services engineer; Lori Bryant, Management Asst. for Water
Utilities; Minutes taken by Lori Bryant and compiled by Steve Ramos.
ITEM 1: Call the Meeting to Order – Rocky Freund, substitute Chair, called the meeting to order at 11:30
AM with nine members attending (quorum met). Excused absences: Leah Tiner, Sally Gill. The School
Representative seat remains empty.
ITEM 2: Introductions - Committee members, guests and staff introduced themselves.
ITEM 3: Review and Approval of Minutes - Minutes for the 12/6/18 meeting were approved with a correction
of Barrett Fines’ title to “Port Industries Representative”. Members whose terms expire on April 1 have all
reapplied for another term.
ITEM 4: Water Resources Update – Steve Ramos - Reservoirs remain in good supply from autumn rainfall.
The Nueces Basin is currently considered in “moderate drought” under the statewide conservation watch.
Long-range weather forecasts indicate El Niño conditions are probable for this spring and summer, with
better-than-normal precipitation. Both City and State have upcoming legislative measures on water issues.
ITEM 5: Water Resource Communication – Gabriela Morrow – The City just completed a public info
campaign during “Fix-a-Leak” Week. A new online app is available for customers to be able to monitor their
water meters. The annual soil testing service will be starting soon: citizens can send samples for testing
by the AgriLife Extension Agency to determine how much and what kind of fertilizer they actually need for
their lawns.This aims to prevent excess fertilizer run-off into the bay. Other upcoming and ongoing initiatives
include: City Hall in the Mall on June 29; the Fat, Oil and Grease (FOG) prevention push by Wastewater;
Earth Day/Bay Day in April and the annual Water Quality Report coming out in July.
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ITEM 6: Xeriscape Update – Joanne Salge – formerly with Conservation outreach for Water, Joanne is now
with the Local Emergency Planning Committee, but continues to serve on the Xeriscape Steering
Committee. She gave the background and an update on the Xeriscape Learning Center & Design Gardens
located at the Museum of Science and History, and maintained by City staff, local Master Gardeners and
other volunteers. Current plans include refurbishing the Mary Rhodes Gazebo, organizing Walk & Talk
presentations and installing new plant signage.
ITEM 7: Water Conservation Plan Update – Steve Ramos - the WCP is being completed and will be
presented to City Council in April. There will be a period for public comment before it is sent on to TCEQ
and the Water Development Board. After making those rounds, a final draft will be published. With this
project completed, Steve asked what WRAC members would like to cover in upcoming meetings.
Suggestions included Aquifer Storage and Recovery systems, current Desal projects, and WaterSmart
metering.
ITEM 8: Set next meeting date – Lori will poll members by email to determine the best date for July. (The
majority selected July 11).
ITEM 9: Adjourn - Ms. Freund adjourned the meeting at 12:45 pm.
Note: Meeting audio is available upon request.