REGULAR CALLED MEETING OF THE AUSTIN INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE PLANNING COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025, AT 12 P.M. WALLER CREEK CENTER, ROOM 104 625 EAST 10TH STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community (Water Forward) Task Force may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by remotely, contact Emily Rafferty, Emily.rafferty@austintexas.gov. telephone. To to speak register CURRENT TASK FORCE MEMBERS: Jennifer Walker, Chair Robert Mace, Vice Chair Bill Moriarty Leah Martinsson Hani Michel Madelline Mathis Paul DiFiore AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL APPROVAL OF MINUTES Perry Lorenz Sarah Faust Todd Bartee 1. Approve the minutes of the Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force Regular Called meeting on October 14, 2025. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. 3. 4. Staff briefing regarding Lower Colorado River and Highland Lakes water supply conditions. Presentation by Emily Rafferty, Program Manager, Austin Water. Staff briefing regarding Q3 Water Management Strategy Presentation by Kevin Kluge, Water Conservation Division Manager, Austin Water. Staff briefing regarding Water Forward 2024 water supply strategies, including implementation of Austin Water’s aquifer storage and recovery project. Presentation by Marisa Flores Gonzalez, Water Resources Team Supervisor, Austin Water. Implementation Report. 5. Staff briefing regarding Water Forward Task Force administrative items. Presentation by Marisa Flores Gonzalez, Water Resources Team Supervisor, Austin Water. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance, please contact the Liaison or TTY users’ route through 711. A person may request language access accommodations no later than 48 hours before the scheduled meeting. Please call or email Emily Rafferty at Austin Water Department, at 512-972-0427 or Emily.rafferty@austintexas.gov, to request service or for additional information. For more information on the Austin Integrated Water Resource Planning Community Task Force, please contact Emily Rafferty at 512-972-0427 or Emily.rafferty@austintexas.gov.
Update on Lower Colorado River and Highland Lakes water supply conditions Austin Water | Water Forward Task Force Meeting | December 9, 2025 Highland Lakes Inflows Highland Lakes Inflows Average 1942 - Present Average 2008 - 2015 2024 Jan.-Nov. 2025 800,000 700,000 600,000 t e e F - e r c A 500,000 400,000 300,000 200,000 100,000 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2 Lakes Buchanan & Travis Combined Storage t e e f - e r c a , e g a r o t S 2,200,000 2,000,000 1,800,000 1,600,000 1,400,000 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 200,000 0 Combined Storage of Lakes Buchanan and Travis January 1, 2005 through December 1, 2025 2.0M ac-ft Full Storage 0.6M ac-ft Interruptible stored water for non-Garwood agricultural operations was not provided by LCRA in 2012 through 2015 and beginning with the second growing season of 2022 through 2025. 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 3 U.S. Drought Monitor 4 NOAA 3-month Outlook: January – March The seasonal outlooks combine long-term trends, soil moisture, and El Nino/Southern Oscillation. 5 NOAA El Niño/Southern Oscillation Forecast La Niña conditions are present and are favored to persist through winter. A transition to ENSO-neutral is likely in January – March 2026 (61% chance). 6 Lakes Buchanan & Travis Combined Storage Projections 7 Questions? 8
Water Management Strategy Implementation REPORT Third Quarter 2025, July - September | Water Forward Task Force | December 9, 2025 Contents Third Quarter Summary Water Conservation Updates Water Loss Reduction Updates Reclaimed Water and Onsite Reuse Updates Conservation Outreach Updates Water Supply Project Updates Water Use and GPCD Notes Regarding Data 2 Third Quarter Summary The Water Management Strategy Implementation Report is intended to provide transparency and accountability regarding the execution of strategies from the 2024 Water Conservation Plan and the 2024 Water Forward Plan. The plans include proactive and substantial demand management strategies and innovative local supply strategies, but the hard work necessary to complete the strategies and meet the goals are illustrated in the implementation reports. The third quarter of 2025 (July – September) includes what is typically the hottest and driest part of the year in Central Texas. In early July, Central Texas was struck by severe storms that caused severe damage and loss of life but filled Lakes Buchanan and Travis from 50 percent storage capacity to over 90 percent. On September 2, the City of Austin returned to the baseline Conservation Stage water restrictions from Stage 2 Drought restrictions. While the city’s water supply was nearly full, the latter two months of the quarter proved to be the typical hot and dry Texas summer. 3 Water Conservation Updates New Community Outreach Grants to support innovative, community-lead conservation initiatives. (WCP, p. 40) Applications accepted Oct. 15 – Nov. 30 Up to $3,000 Irrigation enforcement: 480 Customer 311 reports, 1,700 warnings, 243 citations Stakeholder engagement for new Uniform Plumbing Code landscape irrigation restrictions (pressure reduction and 50% irrigation area in new homes) Categorized all commercial, institutional, and industrial customer with North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code to aid in high use/leaks identification and the establishment of water use benchmarks Began inclusion of conservation programs in the utility’s enterprise customer relations management software. 4 Water Conservation Metrics Residential Rebate Programs Approved Rebates 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Drought Survival Tools Irrigation Upgrades Rainwater Harvesting Rebates WaterWise Landscape WaterWise Rainscape Other Residential Programs Q3 2024-Q2 2025 Q3 2025 5 Water Conservation Metrics Commercial Rebate Programs Approved Rebates 5 4 3 2 1 0 4 4 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 Bucks for Business Other …
Water Forward 2024 Water Supply Strategies Austin Water | 12/09/2025 Water Forward 2024 Water Supply Strategies Water Forward 2024 (WF24) Supply Strategies Overview Adaptive Management Approach WF24 Year One Implementation Updates by Strategy Aquifer Storage and Recovery Brackish Groundwater Desalination Indirect Potable Reuse Lake Walter E. Long Other Related Efforts Next Steps 2 Water Forward 2024 Supply Strategies Overview Water Forward 2024 Portfolio Utility-Side Water Loss Control • Production meter improvements • Expanded active leak detection programs • Additional analysis of smart meter data Customer Side Water Use Management • Expanded customer incentives for conservation • Use of smart meter data for customer-side leak identification, education, and outreach • Water use budgeting Native & Efficient Landscapes • New landscape ordinances & incentives • • Irrigation efficiency incentives Landscape conversion programs Non-Potable Reuse • Onsite Water Reuse Systems • Decentralized Reclaimed • Centralized Reclaimed 4 Water Supply Storage Aquifer Storage and Recovery Potable Reuse Indirect Potable Reuse New Water Supplies Brackish Groundwater Desalination Lake Walter E. Long On Channel Reservoir Strategies reliant on Colorado River and LCRA supplies 4 Water Supply Strategies 2030 - 2080 Portfolios All volumes in max annual yield, acre-feet per year Strategy 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 Aquifer Storage and Recovery Lake Walter E. Long Reservoir 0 0 44,500 44,500 44,500 44,500 44,500 18,300 18,300 18,300 18,300 18,300 Indirect Potable Reuse *** *** 22,400 22,400 22,400 22,400 Brackish Groundwater Desalination TOTAL 0 0 0 0 0 20,000 40,000 62,800 85,200 85,200 105,200 125,200 5 Adaptive Management Approach Water Forward 2024 Adaptive Management Approach Update plan every five years using an adaptive management approach Between updates: Implement, evaluate and adjust strategies Plan alternate pathways to respond to lessons learned and changing conditions 7 Adaptive Management Approach Excerpt from the Water Forward 2024 Plan Metric Adaptation Triggers Possible Adaptation Actions Annual strategy yield Strategy implementation progress Annual strategy yield falls below target levels for two years in a row Progress falls behind action timeline Combined lake storage Combined lake storage remains below 750,000 AF for four months or longer • Identify supply project delivery methods and tasks that can be accelerated • Evaluate possible alternative supply project configurations or approaches • Accelerate implementation of emergency supply strategies • Re-evaluate staffing and funding levels for projects and programs 8 WF24 Year One Implementation Updates by Strategy …
Water Forward Task Force Administration Austin Water | Water Forward Task Force Meeting | December 9, 2025 Current Water Forward 2024 Implementation Working Group Roster Current Working Group members Include: Jennifer Walker Perry Lorenz Bill Moriarty Hani Michel Paul DiFiore Working Group will continue with bi-monthly meeting cadence in 2026 Working Group membership is limited to 5 Task Force members, as six members constitute a quorum. Notes from the Working Group meetings will promptly be shared with the entire WFTF 2 Current Water Forward Plan Update Working Group Roster Water Forward 2024 Plan Update Working Group members Included: Jennifer Walker Robert Mace Madelline Mathis Sarah Faust Working Group will focus on 2029 Plan with quarterly meetings beginning in 2026 Working Group membership is limited to 5 Task Force members, as six members constitute a quorum. Notes from the Working Group meetings will promptly be shared with the entire WFTF 3 Questions? 4
Water Forward Task Force: Water Forward 2024 Implementation Working Group November 18, 2025, Meeting Notes Teams Meeting, 12:00 pm Attendees: Paul DiFiore, WFTF Marisa Flores Gonzalez, Austin Water Bill Moriarty, WFTF Kevin Kluge, Austin Water Katherine Jashinski, Austin Water Water Forward 2024 Water Supply Strategies Update Marisa Flores Gonzalez provided a brief update related to the Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) project. The Bastrop County ASR collaboration agreement will be considered by Austin City Council on November 20. Austin Water is also continuing to work on Indirect Potable Reuse emergency implementation planning, use of Lake Long as a water supply reservoir, and brackish groundwater desalination. Water Forward 2024 Water Conservation Strategies Update Kevin Kluge shared that the Q3 water management strategy report will be presented at the December 9 Water Forward Task Force meeting. He also shared the following conservation updates: • In October a new Community Outreach Grant was launched. The grant will provide five mini-grants to local organizations promoting water conservation activities, providing up to $3,000 per application. Austin Water will be awarding grants in February 2026. • Austin Water has been sending out pilot MyATXWater notifications over the past several months, including notifications sent to irrigators after rain days, notifications sent to those irrigating three or more times per week, and notifications for home water use reports. The Conservation team is gathering data on how these notifications are impacting water use to plan for future broader rollout of notifications. • Conservation staff are categorizing commercial water customers to perform water use benchmarking and analyses. • All water conservation programs are being integrated into SalesForce (a customer relationship management application), which will help to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of customer outreach. Water Forward 2024 Implementation Working Group Meeting September 2025 Water Forward 2024 Water Reuse Update Katherine Jashinski shared the following water reuse updates: o The Onsite Water Reuse Systems (OWRS) Team is starting a project next month to use a permit tracking software for onsite reuse permits. This system will automate data collection to estimate savings from operational water systems and provide alerts when systems may not be in use. o OWRS is finishing up an OWRS operators training manual that was developed by AW in collaboration with the Water Reuse Foundation. This training will be publicized and an exam to get the certificate will be made available nation-wide in April 2026. In October, Austin will establish …
