Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force - Nov. 3, 2021
Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force Special Called Meeting of the Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force
AUSTIN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLANNING COMMUNITY TASK FORCE November 3, 2021 --12:00pm Austin City Hall 301 W. Second Street Austin, Texas For more information go to: Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Voting Members: Bill Moriarty (Mayor) Hani Michel (District 1) Vacant (District 2) Perry Lorenz (District 3) Sharlene Leurig (District 4) Sarah Faust (District 5) Todd Bartee (District 6) Robert Mace , Vice Chair (District 7) Vanessa Puig-Williams (District 8) Jennifer Walker, Chair (District 9) Diane Kennedy (District 10) Ex Officio Non-Voting Members: Austin Water: Kevin Critendon Austin Energy: Kathleen Garrett Austin Resource Recovery: Tony Davee Neighborhood Housing and Community Development: Tymon Khamsi Office of Innovation: Kerry O’Connor Office of Sustainability: Lucia Athens Parks and Recreation: Liana Kallivoka Watershed Protection: Mike Kelly AGENDA CALL TO ORDER – November 3, 2021 at 12:00pm CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Approval of the meeting minutes from the September 7, 2021 Task Force meeting. 2. STAFF BRIEFINGS, PRESENTATIONS, AND OR REPORTS a. Water Supply Outlook b. Water Forward 2018 Implementation Progress Presentation of FY21 Quarter 4 report i. ii. Overview of FY20 Water Forward Annual Report and preview of draft FY21 Annual Report content c. Water Forward 2024 Planning Update d. Aquifer Storage and Recovery pilot survey results e. Task Force Subcommittee Reorganization f. Advisory Group and Task Force Subcommittee Reports Lead Abatement Subcommittee i. ii. Ordinance Subcommittee iii. iv. Climate Technical Advisory Group v. Aquifer Storage and Recovery Technical Advisory Group Indirect Potable Reuse Subcommittee 3. VOTING ITEMS a. Approve dates for 2022 meetings 5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS a. Discussion of future agenda items. ADJOURN The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force, at 512-972- 0112, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force, please contact Jaynell Nicholson at 512-972-0112 or jaynell.nicholson@austintexas.gov
Water Forward A WATER PLAN FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS FY 2019-2020 Annual Report W A T E R F O R W A R D INTRODUCTION This report documents Austin Water’s progress made during Fiscal Year 2019-2020 (FY20) to implement the Water Forward plan. Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, staff made considerable progress on near term Water Forward strategies as described in the following pages. Water Forward is the City of Austin’s 100-year integrated water resource plan developed to create a resilient and sustainable water future in the face of challenges posed by population growth, climate change and droughts worse than those we have experienced in the past. The Austin City Council adopted the Water Forward plan in November 2018. Austin Water (AW) led the development of the plan using a One Water approach that balances multiple objectives including water reliability, social, environmental and economic benefits. The plan’s guiding principles (listed to the right) were crafted in collaboration with the Council-appointed Water Forward Task Force to reflect our community’s values and continue to inform current implementation efforts. AW is also working to understand and consider equity and affordability impacts in implementing the plan. The Water Forward plan includes strategies to reduce potable water demand, increase the use of alternative and reclaimed water, protect our core Colorado River and Highland Lakes supplies, and build potable supply resiliency during future droughts with strategies like Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR). AW is leading the implementation of the plan and continues to work with the Water Forward Task Force and other City departments. Current implementation efforts include onsite reuse and reclaimed water code changes, development of conservation programs, working with our regional partners to protect our core supplies, and procuring a consultant to assist in the identification of potential ASR pilot locations and future ASR program management. The utility is also continuing to engage the community to develop the relationships and resources necessary to support the plan implementation process. 1This annual report covers the period from October 1, 2019 to September 31, 2020, which aligns with the City of Austin fiscal year. Many AW performance metrics, including gallons per capita per day (GPCD), are reported on a fiscal year basis. Some metrics that AW reports to other agencies including Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) are tracked on a calendar year basis from January 1st …
ASR baseline customer survey Survey background Survey provides a baseline to structure community engagement efforts Austin Energy Data Analytics managed the survey distribution and responses Questions were sent to random sample of AW customers and the Water Forward stakeholder list Approximately 1,200 responses received Survey participation Survey Participation by Austin Council District 10 18% 1 2% 2 4% 3 5% Group Percentage of Respondents 9 16% Customer Stakeholder 96.5% 3.5% 4 7% 5 9% 6 11% 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8 15% 7 13% Survey questions Questions are abridged for presentation purposes Q # Question text (abridged) Prior to this survey, were you aware of Water Forward? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Please rank the community values associated with the City's Water Forward plan in order of importance to you. Do you view having ample water supply as a pressing issue for the City's future? Do you have any concerns about the City's future supply of water? (open text) Prior to this survey, were you aware of the ASR project? ASR is a water supply strategy to store water in a natural aquifer when it is available during wet times and supply stored water to customers in times when water is needed. Does this description help you understand the meaning of ASR? How could we better describe ASR? Based on your current knowledge, do you have any concerns about the ASR project? Please rank the ways that COA will benefit from ASR in order of importance to you. 10. Please select your top 3 preferred communication methods, to be used by AW. High-level survey results Water Forward Stakeholders AW Customers Awareness of Water Forward Plan Awareness of Austin’s ASR Project Water Supply is a Pressing Issue 70% 60% 97% 4.5% 16% 80% High-level survey result summary Among the community values of the Water Forward plan, “reliable water supply” ranked highest in importance The preferred methods of communication were emailed newsletters, AW website, utility bill inserts, and text messages Does this description help you understand ASR? No 2% Don't know, unsure 2% Yes No Don't know, unsure Responses for ASR description “Aquifer Storage and Recovery is a water supply strategy used by water utilities in Texas and around the world, to store water in a natural aquifer when it is available during wet times. This …
Water Supply Update Water Forward Task Force 11/3/2021 Current Water Supplies 0200,000400,000600,000800,0001,000,0001,200,0001,400,0001,600,0001,800,0002,000,0002,200,0002005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023Storage, acre-feetCombined Storage of Lakes Buchanan and TravisJanuary 1, 2005 through November 1, 20210.6M ac-ft2.0M ac-ft Full StorageInterruptible stored water for non-Garwood divisionswas not provided by LCRA in 2012 through 2015. LCRA Lake Levels Forecast Possible COA Stage 1 Drought Restrictions Possible COA Stage 2 Drought Restrictions Possible COA Stage 3 Drought Restrictions https://www.lcra.org/download/combined-storage-of-lakes-buchanan-and-travis/?wpdmdl=9375&refresh=60c24207690e11623343623 La Nina • High chance of staying through February • Most of the state is expected to be in drought over the next three months October 2021 ENSO update: La Niña is here! | NOAA Climate.gov
Water Forward 2024 Planning Update Updates since May 2021 Continued refinement of scope and technical work related to demographics and demand forecasting Finalized Climate and Hydrology Analysis scope and developed agreement with UT Revised Tasks 6, 7, 8, and 9 in alignment with updated methodology (to be discussed) Key methodology changes from WF18 Describing WF24’s relationship to related AW and COA efforts Clearer approach to water needs identification Updated characterization of WF18 and new strategies Better alignment with regional water planning considerations Development of Equity and Affordability Tool More robust approach to addressing risk and uncertainty Addressing uncertainty Deep uncertainty is uncertainty that cannot be predicted or well understood using standard statistical methods • Rather than predicting the most likely future or deriving a plan that performs best on average, deep uncertainty approaches seek robust strategies that perform well across a wide range of plausible assumptions about the future WF24 changes to address uncertainty • Use of ranges in to define modeling scenarios and strategy yields • Updated approach to portfolio development and evaluation • Development of robust adaptive management plan Define the needs Evaluate potential solutions Select the best solution & implementation strategy Develop modeling scenarios WF18 implementation evaluation and update Preliminary needs assessment Construct 50-yr portfolios for further evaluation 50-Year portfolio trade-off analysis Vulnerability assessment to identify system stressors Preferred 50-yr portfolio Adaptive Management Plan (AMP) Initial WAM reliability and sensitivity analysis Iterative process Identify potential solutions Identify, screen, and characterize additional WMS Based on preliminary needs, develop strategy setup for sensitivity analysis s e m o c t u O Updated WF18 strategies and range of baseline needs Strategy setup for WAM sensitivity analysis Evaluated 50-year portfolios and identified system stressors Water Forward 2024 Plan and equity and affordability analysis Water Forward 2024 (WF24) Project Plan Task 1 - Project Management Task 2 - Community Engagement Task 3. Refine planning methodology Task 4. Forecast baseline water demands Task 6. Identify water resource needs Task 7. Identify, screen, and characterize strategies Task 8. Develop and evaluate 50-yr water resource portfolios Task 5. Update climate and hydrology analysis Task 9. Develop plan recommendations and 100-yr adaptive management plan 1/2022 1/2023 1/2024 Task 2: Community Engagement Key Deliverables: • Updated mission statement, guiding principles, plan objectives • Equity and Affordability Roadmap • Education and Engagement Plan Anticipated …
