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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packet City Council - 03/31/2026 (W) City Counc '11 Workshy Drought Contingency Play Nicholas J Winkelmann, P. E. Chief Operating Officer - Corpus Christi Water Micheal Dice Interim Assistant City Manager - City of Corpus Christi Jeff Stovall Carollo Engineering Michael Pinckney Carollo Engineering March 31, 2026 WORKSHOP AGENDA • Drought Contingency Plan History & Overviei • Surcharges Baseline Usage, Allocations, Curtailment New water meter connections • Car washing & Swimming Pools " Essential use" definition • Next Steps 7m DROUGHT CONTINGENCY HISTORY Corpus Christi was the first City in Texas to develop a Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plan as a combined policy in 1986 In the summer of 2013, Council separated the manual into two distinct plans, the DCP and the Water Conservation Plan Drought Contingency Plan was last updated and approved by Council on March 18, 2025 DROUGHT CONTINGENCY OVERVIEW A business tool designed for managing operations and water supplies in drought situations Calls for minimizing the use of non-essential water during a drought to protect the water supply Serves as a framework to identify and manage a drought or a water emergency Defines the triggering criteria for initiation and termination of stages • When combined reservoir capacities fall below certain levels or in the event of an emergency Applies to all customers utilizing water provided by CCW DROUGHT CONTINGENCY TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 1-2 Introduction (Page 1) • Declaration of Policy & Reason (Page 2) Public Education (Page 3) Coordination with Regional Water Planning Groups (Page 3) • Authorization (Page 3) Application (Page 4) Definitions (Page 4) Criteria for Initiation & Termination of Drought Stages (Page 6 Response Stage Notification (Page 8) • Response Stages, Best Management Practices per Stage (Page Surcharges for Response Stages 2-3, Water Emergency & Service Measures (Page 19) • Requests for Exemptions & Variances (Page 21) Enforcement (Page 25) Variances (Page 25) Severability (Page 25) DROUGHT CONTINGENCY TABLE OF CONTENTS Section 1-2 continued • Wholesale Drought Contingency Plan (Page 26-36) • Declaration of Policy, Purpose & Intent • Public and Wholesale Customer Involvement • Wholesale Customer Education • Coordination with Regional Planning Groups • Authorization • Application • Triggering Criteria or Initiation & Termination of Response Stage! • Drought Stages • Pro Rata Water Allocation • Pro Rata Surcharges & Enforcement • Request for Exemptions & Variances • Severability • Reservation System Operating Plan DROUGHT RESPONSE STA STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAG 4 Y IMPLEMENTATION TEAM CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI li I 'k CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI .t f f CORPUS CHRISTI • ' WATERbbi, ]gig Peter Zanoni Nicholas J . Winkelmann Brandon Wi City Manager Chief Operating Officer, CCW Chief, CCFD City of Corpus Christi City of Corpus Christi City of Corpus CRITICAL FACILITIES STAKEHOLDER COORDINATION Objectives • Open communication channels • Provide situational awareness and planning scenarios • Understand operational water needs • Ensure plans are in place • Review gaps and immediate needs • Coordinate resources • Support the consideration of alternative water supply strategies Key Messages • These actions are part of an adopted plan • Early action helps avoid more severe restrictions • City Council direction will guide implementation LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGEN AS DEFINED BY THE DROUGHT CONT Drought Contingency Plan ( Page 7) : • A Level 1 Water Emergency begins when the City days of not meeting total water demand All policy and prescribed actions take effect imn declaration of a Level 1 Water Emergency Drought Contingency Plan ( Page 3 & 19) : • With City Manager's recommendation, City Counc applicable provisions of the DCP upon determinat is necessary to protect public health, safety, and BASELINE USAGE, CURTAILM A LLOCATIONS Definitions • Baseline Usage : The determined water usag to establish its allocation • Curtailment: Required water reduction of wa customers to meet water demand - Allocations: A division of the monthly water percentage of water usage baseline WHAT HAPPENS UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY The goal of water use restrictions under Level 1 Vl to reduce the demand curve so that future supply • Increase public emergency communication • Increase mandatory conservation measures • Reduce total water demand • Curtailment percentages approved by City Cour • Implement water allocation • Review and adjust based on the severity of CITY COUNCIL ACTIONS REQUIRED VS OPTIONAL Required • Acknowledge Level 1 Water Emergency • Authorize customer class baseline usage per customer class • Approve curtailment percentages Optional • Adopt retail and wholesale surcharges • Implement service connection moratorium • Expand restrictions if needed WATER USE RESTRICTION DEMAND REDUCTIONS UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY Drought Contingency Plan (Page 16) : When a Level 1 Water Emergency is declared, water � use restrictions for these items take effect immediately : • Irrigation of all landscaped areas is absolutely � prohibited • Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, or other vehicle is absolutely prohibited • Associated uses of water not related to business processes, which are discretionary, such as equipment washing, shall be deferred until the water emergency has been terminated OBJECTIVES OF SURCHAR OPTIONAL UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER El Surcharge: A temporary rate to manage demand in times of drought • Used to reduce water demand • Encourage conservation behavior • Offset revenue loss from reduced usage applied toward existing debt service payment, and operations and maintenance expenses of the water department SURCHARGE STRUCTURE � OPTIONAL UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER El Residential $4 . 00 per 7, 000 gall Commercial $4 . 00 per 55, 000 ga Large-Volume Users $ 12 - 00 Pe ( non-exempt) 121842, 00 $4 . 00 per Wholesale Customers 25% of the to March 2' PARTICIPATION IN THE D SURCHARGE EXEMPTION • Approved by Council, effective October 1 , 2018, to estE Surcharge Exemption Fee • "Fee" of $0 . 31 per 1,000 gallons of water per mont applicable allocation surcharges of City Code Sectio billing Provides an exemption from drought surcharges for lari who pay a voluntary drought surcharge exemption fee Per Texas Water Code § 11039 large-volume industrial during Level 1 Water Emergency WATER BASELINE ALLOCATII RESIDENTIAL & MULTI- FAMI UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY • Residential • Single value for entire year, 7,000 7,500 gallons per month ' - _ - - F. • All meter sizes included in a single customer class 5,500 5-000 • Period of Record .5 • Residential : 2021 to 2023 � iy }tY 9.1y1qIy • Residential usage dropped 3,000 significantly in 2024/2025 because of drought restrictions WATER BASELINE ALLOCATII COMMERCIAL CUSTOMER CLA UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY Monthly baseline usage determined seasonally for Commercial customer class • Summer: June-September 8,000 s 7,500 • Spring/Fall : April -May, October-November o 7,000 • Winter: January-March, December 6500 6,000 5,500 0 Period of Record 5,000 4z5o° • Commercial : 2021 to 2023 4,000 • Commercial usage dropped " 3,500 — significantly in 2024/2025 because of 6f0 0 0 drought restrictions WATER BASELINE ALLOCATII LARGE VOLUME CUSTOMER C UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY • Monthly baseline usage determined Aggreg; seasonally for Large Volume 1,200 customer class 1,100 o 1 • Summer: June-September 1,000 • Spring/Fall : April -May, October-November °° • Winter: January-March, December °° 700 v 600 • Period of Record • Large Volume Users : 2022 to 2024 400 • Lowest value in each month is N N excluded ` Ln *There will be WATER BASELINE ALLOCATII WHOLESALE CUSTOMER CLA, I-INDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY • Monthly allocation shall be a percentage whop of the customer's water usage baseline 2,000 1,800 s The raw water or wholesale treated water 1, 00 customer's water usage baseline will be 1,400 computed on the average water usage by 1,200 month for the previous five-year period 1,000 800 600 '400 0 0 0 C Ln M ENFORCEMENT & EXEMPT. UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY Drought Contingency Plan ( Page 25 ) : • A violation under this article is a Class C misdemeanor • Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be subject to a fine of not more than $500 per violation per day • A second conviction results in the authorization to discontinue service for at least one billing cycle REQUESTS FOR EXEMPTION UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY Drought Contingency Plan ( Page 21 ) : • Grant a temporary variance to any of the provisions for water users found in this DCP upon a determination that failure to grant such variance would cause an emergency condition adversely affecting the public health , sanitation , or fire protection for the public or person requesting such a variance • CCW shall review and make a determination NEW WATER METERED CO AMENDMENTS Moratorium Bill, HB 2559, established 2025 • Meter taps • New development/construction • Existing builds Moratorium Decision Notice of Public Hearing Public Hearing is Public Hearing 30 day notice Day 31 Day 61 Day 12rn heal Moratorium Expiration 90t" day after adoption (maximum of two) Moratorium Extension Public hearing called within the 15f 90 days WATER USE RESTRICTION CAR WASHING UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY Drought Contingency Plan ( Page 16) : B) Use of water to wash any motor vehicle, motorbike, boat, trailer, or other vehicle is absolutely prohibited • Applies to the use of water from CCW's water system • Auxiliary water sources may be used WATER USE RESTRICTION SWIMMING POOLS UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY Drought Contingency Plan ( Page 8 & 9) : The filling, refilling, or adding of water to swimming pools, wading pools, and Jacuzzi-type pools, and hot tubs is prohibited except to maintain structural integrity. i he person or entity who owns, leases, or manages an outdoor swimming pool (including City-owned pools) shall have approximately 100% of the pool surface area covered when not in use. A request for an exemption or variance from this provision for pools that have awater-saving feature may be submitted by submitting an application for exemption/variance. ADDED DEFIN � PROPOSED ESSENTIAL WATER" UNDER LEVEL 1 WATER EMERGENCY Essential Water Usage: Water use necessary to sL welfare, safety, sanitation, and fire protection Essential water definition uses language outlined thr Conservation Plan, with each element listed Auxiliary Water Supply: Water supply from a sour from CCW's supply system, whether treated or raw hese definitions would need to be amended in the I by Council action to address auxiliary water outside NEXT STEPS Staff recommendation on essential wat auxiliary water (April 14) • City Council approval of surcharge and and/or April 21 ) • Next City Council workshop (April 28 ) • Other potential recommendations CITY OF CORPUS CHR CORPUS CH WATER