5 - Staff update on Austin’s Drought Contingency Plan and Water Conservation Plan updates — original pdf

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2024 Water Conservation and Drought Contingency Plans Updates Water Forward Task Force – April 15, 2024 Kevin Critendon, P.E., Assistant Director Agenda  Water Supply  Planning Overview  Proposed Water Conservation Plan (WCP)  Proposed Drought Contingency Plan (DCP)  Next Steps 2 Austin’s Water Supply: 325,000 Acre Feet Per Year Colorado River • Combination of State-granted water rights & long-term contract with LCRA • Up to 325,000 acre- feet per year (afy) LCRA reservation & use fees pre-paid in 1999 • Additional use payments trigger when average for 2 consecutive years exceeds 201,000 afy Centralized Reclaimed System 3 What plans and why do we need them?  Texas utilities must provide a Water Conservation Plan (WCP) and a Drought Contingency Plan (DCP)  Required by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) every 5 years  WCPs identify programmatic activities aimed at reducing overall water consumption and improve water use efficiency 4  DCPs identify water supply triggers and related drought response activities How are these plans different? Water Conservation Plan (WCP) Drought Contingency Plan (DCP)  Plan for all weather conditions  Focuses on drought conditions  Describes  Describes • Utility and water use information • Conservation (rebates, education, enforcement) • Water loss reduction • Reuse activities  Includes water consumption and water loss • Drought Stages • Drought Triggers (demand and supply) • Drought Actions & Restrictions  Must be consistent with the LCRA DCP  Requires Chapter 6-4 changes goals 5 How does this work regionally with our water supply partner? LCRAs Drought Contingency Plan (DCP)  AWs DCP aligns with LCRAs DCP  LCRA recently updated its DCP on March 26, 2024  LCRAs significant updates include: • Adjusting drought trigger levels (From 4 stages to 5 stages) • Adding LCRAs inflow trigger for Drought Stage 2 • Adding specific drought condition water use restrictions 6 Austin’s Water Conservation Plan (WCP)  Public education & outreach  Residential assistance  Incentive programs  Regulatory programs  Water loss reduction  Water reuse 7 2024 WCP Updates  Updated program activity and water savings  Increased integration with My ATX Water  Updated Conservation Goals and Water Loss goals 8 2024 WCP Proposed Goals  Based on a 5-year average and measure attainable achievements and updated targets for: • Total Population Gallons Per Capita per Day (GPCD) reduction of water use • Residential Gallons Per Capita per Day (GPCD) reduction of water use • Water Loss and Infrastructure Leak Index reduction  Conservation and water loss goals correlate with utility industry best practices 9 Austin’s Drought Contingency Plan (DCP)  Current sources & projections  Drought stages/triggers • Conservation Stage • Drought Stage 1 - 5  Actions by Stage • Restrictions • Utility actions 10 2024 DCP Updates by Drought Stage  Stage 1 (1.4 Million Acre Feet) • Expanded enforcement in irrigation season • Work with other City Depts to implement water conservation • Increase incentives for reclaimed and conservation activities  Stage 2 (900,000 Acre Feet) • Reduction in eligible time for irrigation • Replace automatic exemption for athletic fields with an administrative variance process 11 2024 DCP Updates by Drought Stage  Stage 3 (750,000 Acre Feet) • Further reduction in eligible time for irrigation • Voluntary water budgeting (My ATX Water) • Irrigation citations without warnings, with offering of dismissals for irrigation and water conservation course completion  Stage 4 (600,000 Acre Feet) • Moratorium on all new irrigation and pool permits • No irrigation of turfgrass unless used for community purposes • SpeakUp & Email survey responses indicated support of Stage 4 updates  Stage 5 (*Emergency Drought* authorized by City Manager’s order) 12 Drought Stage Triggers and Storage COA Stage 1 Stage 1 1.4 MAF LCRA Stage 1 Stage 1 1.1 MAF COA and LCRA DCP Stages 2-4 Stage 2 0.9 MAF Stage 3 0.75 MAF Stage 4 0.6 MAF Public Outreach for Proposed Updates  November 2023: SpeakUpAustin  December 2023: Virtual Public Meeting  Survey of SpeakUpAustin visitors and AW Customers • 110 responses received  Majority responses favored proposed additions to drought regulations 14 Key 2024 Activities Advancing Conservation  May 2 Council considers adoption of updated WCP, DCP and related code  Continued focus throughout summer and fall on current climate and drought changes situation  Planning underway for potential Drought Stage 3 • Increased public notification, education and outreach • Increased collaboration with LCRA and other regional partners • Increased enforcement  Preparation underway for potential Drought Stage 4 • Pro Rata Curtailment 15 Questions?