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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 01/18/2007 ,031 MINUTES Wp Water Resources Advisory Committee cfjs�01, 00� 11:30 a.m. — January 18, 2007 a�C�Fj Water Department Conference Room C4C, '8 ,' APPROVED ON MARCH 29, 2007 ` �" , a az�j 8, Lt Members present: Carola Serrato-Chair, Lena Coleman, Jon Kiggans, Mary Fant, and Kimberly Stockseth. Members absent: Capt. Timothy E. Coolidge, Ruth Blake, Frank Brogan Herman Johnson (resigned) Staff Present: Eduardo Garana, P. E. Director of Water Danny Ybarra, P.E. Assistant Water Director Max Castaneda, Water Resources Management Advisor Mucio Garza, P.E. Water System Optimizer Ivan Luna, Business Practices Manager Yolanda R. Marruffo, Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator Mrs. Carola Serrato called the meeting to order at 11:45 a.m. I. Mrs. Serrato introduced and welcomed Mary Fant, a science teacher at West Oso High School who was recently appointed to represent the education sector. Other appointees included Frank Brogan representing the Port Authority and Ruth Blake representing citizen at large. II. Approval of Minutes Mrs. Serrato requested corrections to the minutes of September 21, 2006. Lena Coleman made a motion to approve the minutes and seconded by Kimberly Stockseth. The Committee voted to approve the minutes as submitted. III. Report on Water Master Plan Mr. Garana reported on the City's plan to update the existing Water Hydraulic Master Plan, which was last updated in 1997. LNV Engineering and Carrollo Engineers were hired to review the master plan. A presentation to the City Council was recently made and focused on identifying properties within the city limits to have adequate water within the next 10 to 20 years in order to identify capital improvement projects. The reportis expected to be completed by June 2007. Mr. Garana elaborated about the progress made from the Southside Transmission Main Project which will extend to Padre Island. Mrs. Serrato asked if the City's permits were in order. He stated that the Army Corp of Engineers' permit was in order as well as the General Land Office permit. SCANNED 1 Discussion followed on the recent news regarding the island setback requirements becoming more stringent for new development. IV. Update on Water Rate Study A draft report will be going to the City Council on January 23rd. The staff has had difficulty extracting data on how water is used. An intricate part of the presentation is how to handle the storm water situation for inside city limit customers. Mr. Garana reported that a previous rate study was conducted by H2M Hill in August 1990 and a small version completed in 2001. Mrs. Serrato stated that the previous minutes reflected discussion on the tough balancebetween the new rates and the water department's ability to support expenses during more stringent drought contingency measures without allowing the system to suffer. Mr. Garana stated that the utility system and the water system operate on fixed cost regardless of how much water is sold. There is a fixed cost that the City must pay from month to month. Under Rule 288, TCEQ finds the declining block rate as unacceptable. The City is working towards charging the appropriate cost to deliver water to each customer. Mr. Garana . reported that a meeting with the consultant would be held the following Monday and he would get back with the committee as soon as information was available. V. Report on the Coastal Bend Regional Water Planning Group Mrs. Serrato stated that she had last reported that a funding request was submitted to TWDB. Out of 16 possible Planning Groups in the state of Texas, the Coastal Bend Regional Water Planning Group was one of three planning groups fully funded; they received the highest amount of funds of the three planning groups and were awarded $373,900 by the Texas Water Development Board. Each of the projects awarded deal with water resources, including water conservation and implementing best managing practices for this region and being able to distribute those to all of the area water suppliers so that better conservation practices can be implemented. Mrs. Serrato stated that Yolanda Marruffo has been very involved with this important factor and the state will look closer into the matter. She stated that the state will put more emphasis on avoiding the development of new resources, but work towards using our water more wisely. Mrs. Serrato stated that items 1 and 4 referred to the Calallen Pool. The area is a ten-mile stretch of Nueces River that starts at the face of the Calallen salt water barrier dam and goes back up the Wesley Seale Dam. She stated that the issue was that the Nueces River was relatively shallow and possible research to determine the source of high chloride in the Calallen pool. One of the original thoughts that might be causing the high chloride levels was the oil fields that existed around Nueces River; however, this activity has declined drastically and it is unknown where the chlorides are coming from. The blending of high quality water from Lake Texana with Nueces River water has helped to alleviate the 2 • problem. Mrs. Serrato stated that it was still an issue since some customers do not have access to Lake Texana water. Mr. Garana stated that the City would be looking at new development taking place at the base of the Calallen Salt Water Barrier Dam to determine where these elevated chloride levels were coming from. Numerous changes have occurred in water usage since the construction of the Mary Rhodes Pipeline. The City produced more than 120 million gallons per day which came from the Nueces River. During summer months, a good velocity of water spilled to the Bays and Estuaries. Discussion followed on legislation being introduced by the Edwards Aquifer Authority to increase their take from 400,000 acre feet to 549,000 acre feet, except during drought conditions. 'A group of stakeholders from San Marcos and New Braunfels would be involved to protect the endangered species. VI. Progress Report on Ground Water Proiect Mr. Garana stated that San Patricio Municipal Water District had entered into an agreement with the Goliad Sands Limited which is comprised of various land owners. They are presently in the Bee County-Fulton area where San Patricio Municipal Water District was going to develop a groundwater system primarily in Bee County to draw 11,200 acre feet of water with a component similar to that of the Mary Rhodes Pipeline. Mr. Garana stated that the City of Corpus Christi plans to get involved in this and is currently negotiating with San Patricio Municipal Water District. Mrs. Serrato asked if the agreement would be to oversize the project in order for Corpus Christi to be able to have access to it. Mr. Garana stated that it would remain at a capacity of 11,200 acre feet. The water would be part of the regional water supply. Mrs. Serrato stated that water was viewed as a competition throughout the state. Mr. Garana stated that the Garwood water rate was not negotiable and that those water rights would not be sold. Mrs. Serrato stated that there is a task force established by the legislature regarding the impact of take or pay contract on water resources and that the community may be learning more about this. Mr. Garana'stated that the City does have a take or pay contract with the Lavaca Navidad River Authority. The City has three take or pay contracts; the original contract includes 41,840 acre feet take or pay contract that states if the water is available, you could take it. VII. Status of Reservoir Levels Mr. Garana reported that the recent rainfall had helped raise the Lake Corpus Christi by 2% with today's combined reservoir level at 64.6%. • 3 VIII. New or Old Business Mr. Garana explained three components of the Water Supply System. Mrs. Marruffo provided a handout on the upcoming Xeriscape Symposium and invited Committee members to attend. Mr. Kiggans stated that the Regional Health Awareness Board has a public outreach campaign and would like to make a presentation to the Committee. Their effort is to provide information on their objectives and identify themselves to the community. Mrs. Serrato stated that it would be added to the agenda. IX. Set Next Meeting Date The Committee agreed to meet on Thursday, March 22, 2007. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:55 p.m. 4