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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM1984-1184 - 10/30/1984MOTIONS - 10/30/84 2. Bids be received November 21, 1984, for 71 vehicles as follows: 33 police sedans, 12 other vehicles for police, 2 station wagons and 24 standard sedans. M84 -1184 ,-r YOENOTES PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION The Mayor and City Council City Hall Corpus Christi, Texas 78401 Dear Mayor Jones and Members of the Council: This is a further written report from the ad hoc Water Supply Commission which supplements our report of October 16, 1984. We :make it in this fom to give you specific recommendations. As you know, the amount of water in our two reservoirs has increased substantially because of recent rains in the watershed. With water still flowing into the reservoirs, we now have avail- able in both approximately twice the amount in storage we had three weeks ago. Within two more weeks we should have in usable storage 230,000 acre feet or an amount almost identical with that of a year ago. If we have no additional rainfall until August 1, 1985, which we consider unlikely, this assures us water at a rate which can be increased above our present usage if it is supplemented water from wells now producing, and to be drilled under our well drilling and production progr am. By December 1, 1984, we anticipate receiving from wells approximately 25,000,000 gallons per day. We believe that this will be reasonably adequate as a supplemental supply for the fore- seeable future. At the same time, it is essential that the City continue to acquire leases and contracts covering land upon which even more wells could be drilled to produce a total 60,000,000 • LAW OFFICES HEAD Sc KENDRICK A PARTNERSHIP INCLUDING AYOEN W PROFESSIONAL CORPORATIONS MICHAEL KENDRICK, JR! PAUL C. PEARSON, III• 1020 FIRST CITY BANK TOWER LANCE K. BRUUN• PAUL CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS 78477 O. PRICE. OLAN A. KEETER 1 5121 863 -5465 O. MIC HAEL N<CROSSIN BARBARA C.KURT2 COLLEEN M . HUGH October 30, 1984 ,-r YOENOTES PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION The Mayor and City Council City Hall Corpus Christi, Texas 78401 Dear Mayor Jones and Members of the Council: This is a further written report from the ad hoc Water Supply Commission which supplements our report of October 16, 1984. We :make it in this fom to give you specific recommendations. As you know, the amount of water in our two reservoirs has increased substantially because of recent rains in the watershed. With water still flowing into the reservoirs, we now have avail- able in both approximately twice the amount in storage we had three weeks ago. Within two more weeks we should have in usable storage 230,000 acre feet or an amount almost identical with that of a year ago. If we have no additional rainfall until August 1, 1985, which we consider unlikely, this assures us water at a rate which can be increased above our present usage if it is supplemented water from wells now producing, and to be drilled under our well drilling and production progr am. By December 1, 1984, we anticipate receiving from wells approximately 25,000,000 gallons per day. We believe that this will be reasonably adequate as a supplemental supply for the fore- seeable future. At the same time, it is essential that the City continue to acquire leases and contracts covering land upon which even more wells could be drilled to produce a total 60,000,000 • gallons per day if that should prove necessary. There is no doubt that water from wells is the most immediate and most economical supplemental supply available to Corpus Christi. The initial draft of the desalination report from Stone & Webster and DDS Engineers was received only yesterday and we will report on it to you after careful study. There is nothing in it, however, which contradicts this conclusion on well water. Neither is it con- tradicted by the possible purchase of water from Lake Texana which is still being considered. Even so, well water costs approximately four times the current cost of water in storage in our reservoirs. If the City is to have the supplemental supply from wells which we believe this situation demands, additional revenue from the sale of water is essential. We do not hold ourselves out as water rate experts but we have examined with the City staff the rate schedule now in effect. You ' know already, but unfortunately the public generally does not, that water is sold to residents of Corpus Christi and the area it serves at cheaper rates than those of any other city in Texas. We believe that a restructuring of our rate schedule.is required to allow the continued drilling of wells. If this occurs and if the City's water rates are restructured there should be a relaxation but certainly no present removal, of the current restrictions on water use. Our problem is not yet resolved. With this in mind, our Commission passed unanimously the fol- lowing resolution in three parts which are designed to be insep- arable and which are recommended to you for adoption: (1) The City should move ahead promptly to complete development and production of 25,000,000 gallons per day of well water and should acquire leases and rights on land -'? for further development and production of a total 60 (Ol ,IBSq million gallons per day of well water if and when this I'61 '(I ;d should be necessary; )r' (2) Corpus Christi's current water rates should be restructured immediately so that revenue will be sufficient to cover the cost of deyelopinp and producing well water and to finance our current water s stem obli ations; and (3) You should remove immediately, until at least the month of August, 1985, the water allocation and sur- charge provisions adopted under the ordinance og verning ^:rt" water use) leaving in effect remaining water use restric- tions. (This simply means that allocations to residences I and businesses would be removed for a period during which 1� , ee G the City may evaluate properly and safely the removal of other restrictions or reimpose mandatory allocations, de- pending on the situation t develops during thatttime.) The people of Corpus Christi responded admirably to the de- mands imposed by our temporary water shortage. Having learned not only that water conservation is possible but beneficial, and re- alizing that our water problem is not yet at an end, we believe they will continue to respond voluntarily in a comparable manner. lie suggest that there is an additional important reason for Your adoption of this program. For some reason, our water problem in Corpus Christi has received not only state and national, but international, attention. We do not know why this occurred when other cities have suffered temporary water shortages without achieving the notoriety inflicted on Corpus Christi. It will take years for us to recover from the damage done but we believe that the program we recommend will demonstrate to the world our de- termination to maintain an adequate water supply. We look confidently to the restoration of the good image of Corpus Christi that we can achieve through proper management of our water resources. Respectfully, Haden W. Head Chairman, Water Supply Commission