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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Water Resources Advisory Committee - 05/01/1996 MINUTES City of Corpus Christi Water Conservation Advisory Committee May 1, 1996 The meeting was called to order by Assistant City Manager Carl Crull at 1:15 p.m. Members present included Dr. David McNicols, Eugene C. Urban, Herman Johnson, Darlene Locke, Caralee Dibble, Gwen Henzi (representing Alan Schoen), Chuck Bird, Jim Naismith,Terry Boone, Dale Nelson,John McHugh, Mickey Garza, Douglas Matthews, Carola G. Serrato,Dan Davis,James Gill, Jerry Kane and Don King. Staff members present included Carl Crull, Victor S. Medina, Eduardo Camila, Hubert Hall, Yolanda Marruffo and Maria Bazan-Garcia. Guests included Bruce Moulton of TNRCC, Rudy Blahuta of Nueces County Water Improvement District No. 3 in Robstown and Paul Werner, former City Water Superintendent. Jim Parker had called to excuse himself from the meeting due to pending work load. Mr. Crull reported on the status of the reservoir system. The combined system capacity of the Choke Canyon/Lake Corpus Christi Reservoir System was at 35.2 percent. Dale Nelson pointed out the combined reservoir capacity for Monday was 35.1 percent, resulting in a .1 percent increase as a result of Monday's rainfall. Mr. Crull stated that on Tuesday, April 30,the City Council amended the Drought Contingency Plan. A copy of the ordinance and its guidelines were distributed to the Committee members. Mr. Crull stated that the City Council made various modifications to the Committee's recommendations, including extending lawn watering for newly planted material from 14 days to 30 days. Additionally, the City Council provided clarification on the use of well water. Mr.Crull stated that the City would face enforcement problems if permits were not issued. As a result a recommendation was made to allow individnals to use well water for irrigation purposes. A data base will be created to identify water well owners. The Council approved an amendment to the ordinance to allow the use of water for flower beds, trees or shrubs any day of the week, except between the hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Additionally,the Council requested that the City Manager provide knowledge and seek advise before proceeding to implement additional restrictions under Condition II. Mr. Crull reported that the ordinance would be published on Sunday, May 5, and be in effect on Monday,May 6, 1996. Gene Urban inquired about the restriction to use effluent between the hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. He stated that it would limit private water haulers to half a day's work. Mr. Crull stated that the City had received numerous calls on the matter and that it would be taken into consideration. Mr. Urban asked if neighboring cities had been notified of the amendments to the City's Drought Contingency Plan. Victor Medina stated that a letter was sent to its regional water customers over a week ago;however, a second letter would be sent to discuss the new amendments. Jim Naismith stated that neighboring cities are working towards revising existing ordinances to comply with the City of Corpus Christi. Mr. Crull stated that there were four items that remained to be implemented under Condition II. He stated that the Council would ultimately decide when to implement the remaining four items. Mr.Crull introduced Bruce Moulton of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission(TNRCC). Mr. Moulton has worked closely with the City regarding the freshwater release plan. Mr. Moulton reported that he has maintained close communications with James Dodson on the City's water situation and they were concerned about the health of the reservoir system, as well as the bay system. He stated that the public's water needs would ultimately preceed the needs of freshwater releases to the bay. Mr.Medina asked what would happen if the City chose to stop further releases to the bay. Mr. Moulton stated that the City would be in non-compliance with the Order and that TNRCC would want to avoid any such discussion or the possible results. Mr.Kane asked if the approved Drought Contingency Ordinance was consistant with TNRCC guidelines. Mr. Moulton stated that the Order agreed upon by the City and TNRCC did not allow for provisions to delay portions of the Drought Contingency Plan. He made reference to the last four measures of Condition II which will not take effect on May 6, 1996. Mr. Kane stated that the intent of delaying the last four measures of Condition II were to postpone economic hardship to water use industries. SCANNED Water Conservation Advisory Committee Minutes -May 1, 1996 An inquiry was made to the minutes of April 17 which did not reflect the water use schedule for street addresses as approved by the Committee. Mr. Crull stated that the City Council simplified the numbering sequence as follows: Addresses ending with: Watering Day: 0 and 1 Monday 2 and 3 Tuesday 4 and 5 Wednesday 6 and 7 Thursday 8 and 9 Friday Mr.Crull made reference to the meeting of April 17 whereby James Dodson announced that he would be absent at today's meeting and recommended that a Committee chairman be appointed. Gene Urban made a motion to recommend a dual chairmanship. He submitted the names of Jerry Kane to represent the industrial customers and Jim Naismith represent the municipal customers. Carola Serrato made a motion to accept the nominations,seconded by Caralee Dibble. The Committee voted unanimously to accept the nominations of Jerry Kane and Jim Naismith as Co-Chairs to the Water Conservation Advisory Committee. Mr.Naismith stated that like Carola Serrato of the South Texas Water Authority, he remained in close contact with neighboring cities. He felt that the neighboring cities appreciated the energy and time spent by Corpus Christi's staff to carefully review the rules which would be applied to the region. He felt that the decisions made by Corpus Christi helped them to explain their decisions to their customers. Dale Nelson made reference to the public perception in the Corpus Christi Caller Times Sound Off Section in the Tuesday newspaper. He stated that comments made by the public indicated that they did not understand the serious nature of our problem and remained upset with the freshwater releases. Dr. McNichols stated that there has been alot of misunderstanding regarding the freshwater release plan, ranging from upper management to the public. He stated that freshwater releases was an issue agreed upon by city officials along before it was a public issue. He stated that whenever we impound water, then we must also agree to release a portion of the freshwater to the bay. Mr. Naismith stated that the public's aggrevation escalated with the high visibility of the freshwater releases along IH 37. Mr.Kane emphasized the importance of conservation to our community. He stated that we occasionally do not speak about it too loudly for fear that jobs may be driven away. He stated that it was important to promote the urgency of conservation. Mr.Werner stated that Corpus Christi could not have survived the 1984 drought without the support of the surrounding communities. Mr.Urban recommended that the Advisory Committee meetings be changed from 1:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. He felt that most members had a difficult time arriving at 1 p.m. Mr. Kane also recommended that the meetings be limited to two hours unless circumstances prevailed the need for additional time. Terry Boone asked if there was a way in which to measure the water savings as a result of implementing Condition II. Mr. Crull reported that there were a couple of ways to measure the savings. First, the City could provide historical data on the reservoir storage and compare it with data recorded during the preceeding year. Secondly, the City could provide information on the number of gallons treated at the 0.N.Stevens Treatment Plant. He stated that there were various factors, such as dry and wet weather conditions which would make it difficult to compare information from one year to the next. Although,he felt that within a couple of months we could quantify the difference in reduced water consumption. He stated that first month's data would be insufficient to provide an adequate corelation between historical consumption. He agreed to provide information to the media on the progress of our regional consumption as it became available. Mr. Crull stated that the staff currently provides statistical data on the reservoir levels every Monday. He provided reassurance that the media would receive daily distribution of the reservoir levels. Mr.Kane announced that the next meeting would be held on Wednesday, May 15, 1996 at 1:15 p.m. He emphasized the change of the meeting time. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m. te, a. S,0City of CorpusCi sti PLEASE NOTICE THE CHANGE OF MEETING PLACE AND CENTRAL LIBRARY LA RETAMA ROOM 805 COMANCHE STREET CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78401 MEETING TIME BEGINS AT: 1:15 P.M. * This is a temporary change. Future meetings will continue to be held at the Water Utilities Conference Room, unless the room has been previously reserved