2_Update on Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan – Water Forward Revisions — original pdf

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Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan Update 8/13/2024 Agenda  Why has baseline GPCD increased? • How have demands changed over the past ten years? • How have conservation and reuse strategies performed?  Where we go from here • What are updated projected baseline demands? • What savings can we achieve from conservation and reuse strategies? • GPCD goals • How can we measure and report water savings in the future? How is GPCD calculated? Gallons Per = Capita Daily Water Pumped Population Days Why has baseline GPCD increased?  2018 Water Forward and 2019 Water Conservation Plan GPCDs were likely based on under-projected demands  Recent years of hot and dry weather contributed to increased Key Points demand  Post-pandemic changes in customer behavior contributed to increased demand, especially for single-family residential  Key Water Forward water conservation and reuse strategies did not achieve projected savings 4 What were WF18 demands based on?  Water Forward 2018 baseline demands are based on 2013- 2015 water use  Demands include passive conservation savings 5 How has customer usage changed over the past ten years? Historic Water Use by Customer Sector (Million Gallons Per Day) 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 SFR MFR COM LV COA WSL NRW y a D r e P s n o l l a G n o i l l i M 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 6 How has GPCD changed over the past ten years? Historic Gallons Per Capita Per Day Historic Gallons Per Capita Per Day 2013 2013 2014 2014 2015 2015 2016 2016 2017 2017 2018 2018 2019 2019 2020 2020 2021 2021 2022 2022 2023 2023 y y a a D D r r e e P P a a t t i i p p a a C C r r e e P P s s n n o o l l l l a a G G 160 160 140 140 120 120 100 100 80 80 60 60 40 40 20 20 0 0 7 How do we compare to peer cities? Avg 2019-2022 TWDB Submitted Data Total GPCD Residential GPCD Water Loss GPCD Infrast. Leakage Index SAN ANTONIO HOUSTON AUSTIN EL PASO FORT WORTH DALLAS CORPUS CHRISTI 116 124 127 136 154 178 206 69 61 67 73 71 51 63 21 25 18 25 26 23 10 2.91 7.12 4.03 2.70 4.42 4.86 2.03 8 Water Forward 2018 Conservation and Reuse Yield Targets 2024 Yields (percent of total) 13% 28% 3% 1% 11% 44% 9 Advance Metering Infrastructure Utility-Side Water Loss Control CII Ordinances AC Condensate Reuse Irrigation Efficency Incentive Direct Non-Potable Reuse How have conservation and reuse strategies performed?  Advance Metering Infrastructure • Savings yields not achieved in the expected timeframe due to the date of the project pilot and official deployment in 2021.  Utility-Side Water Loss Control • Savings yields not yet achieved.  Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) Ordinances • Cooling tower ordinance implemented, yield for all 3 CII ordinances 75% of projected.  Irrigation Efficiency Incentive • Savings yields overstated, primary incentive not recommended. 10 How have conservation and reuse strategies performed?  Air Conditioning Condensate Reuse • Yields from voluntary projects did not materialize as expected, mandatory requirements took effect in 2024.  Direct Non-Potable Reuse • Reclaimed system savings yields did not increase as much as projected, expanded mandatory requirements took effect in 2024.  Other Strategies yields undetermined. 11 • Water Use Benchmarking & Budgeting – Phase I (new development) started, • Landscape Transformation Ordinance – Implementation in 2025. Where do we go from here?  AW has developed updated baseline demand projections  Plummer and AW have evaluated potential savings from WF24 and Task Force-suggested conservation and reuse strategies  Resulting decreased demands are the basis for recommended revised WCP GPCD goals Key Points 12 What are updated projected baseline demands?  Water Forward 2024 baseline demands are based on water use from 2015-2020  Demands include a small amount of passive conservation  Updated total baseline demands are similar to Water Forward 2018 projections and per capita demands are higher. 13 What savings can we achieve from conservation and reuse strategies?  Projected short-term savings consistent with Spring 2024 savings  Increased savings for Onsite Reuse and reclaimed systems 14 Preliminary Water Loss Recommendations  Report recommendation summary: • Production meter precision improvement • Increased large customer meter testing • Leak detection activity optimization and data management improvements • Implementation of District Metered Areas (DMAs) • Continue improving water audit data and processes  AW is launching a cross-functional team on Water Loss to implement the recommendations of  AW will brief Water and Wastewater Commission on the water loss report in the coming the water loss report months 15 What more can we do? Current and Planned Activities  Water loss reduction  Landscape transformation  Reclaimed water use  My ATX Water • Customer leak alerts • Customer irrigation engagement Additional Activities  Restrict drip irrigation as automatic irrigation  Increase commercial & industrial engagement via My ATX Water  Water use benchmarking & budgeting • Commercial & industrial • Single-family residential  Improved water loss mitigation  Commercial & industrial incentives  Enhanced price signals in residential tiered rate structure 16 Task Force Suggested Strategies No. Consolidated Strategy Description Staff Response Increase outdoor water restrictions in all stages of drought in the DCP, including possible elimination of all outdoor water use in Stage 5 of the DCP. WF 24 Applicability Short-term Amend the DCP to restrict drip irrigation as automatic irrigation in all stages (required by LCRA in Stage 4). Continue to improve irrigator engagement and expand the current enforcement capabilities. 2 Consider benefit of patio misters. Short-term Staff recommendation is not to include changes to patio mister hours in the DCP. Analyze and potentially limit the number of new pool permits and rules for refilling. Short-term Staff recommendation is not to include additional moratoriums on pool permits as part of the DCP (beyond what is already included in Stage 4). Staff may revisit this in future DCPs, to include evaluation of pool size, etc. Expand existing reuse ordinance to require all new industrial users to connect to the reclaimed system or utilize onsite reuse. Long-term Staff recommendation is to further evaluate feasibility of requiring all new industrial users to connect to the reclaimed system or utilize onsite reuse. Connect the Travis County Courthouse to the reclaimed system. Long-term Evaluate and consider connecting the State Capital Complex to the reclaimed system. Long-term Evaluate and consider connecting the UT campus to the reclaimed system. 17 Long-term Staff recommend including a sentence in the WCP to say that staff are continuing to connect customers to the centralized reclaimed water system, such as the Travis County Courthouse, State Capitol Complex, and UT. Staff do not recommend including additional savings from these strategies to achieve a reduced GPCD since these savings are already included in projected reclaimed water savings contributing to current GPCD goals. 1 3 4 5 6 7 Task Force Suggested Strategies No. Consolidated Strategy Description Staff Response WF 24 Applicability Perform an analysis and consider expanding the voluntary reclaimed water rebate. Long-term Staff will continue to revisit reclaimed rebate program design to encourage further uptake. Staff do not recommend including additional savings from this strategy to achieve a reduced GPCD since these savings are already included in projected reclaimed water savings contributing to current GPCD goals. Consider providing cost-sharing or additional incentives to promote onsite reuse in low- income housing. Long-term Recent GoPurple incentives apply to low-income housing projects. Some low-income projects are exempt from water reuse requirements eligible for GoPurple incentives. 10 Expand CII ordinances to include upgraded standards and requirements for reclaimed water. Incorporated already Staff will update the WCP to include information regarding the recently-approved Go Purple requirements and incentives for reclaimed water. No additional ordinance changes are recommended during this revision, but staff will continue to consider actionable requirements. 11 Increase enforcement efforts. Short-term Austin Water will continue to add temporary enforcement staff as the Drought Stage and situation warrants. 8 9 18 GPCD Goals – Proposed Revision Total GPCD - Baseline Total GPCD - 2029 Goal Total GPCD - 2034 Goal 2024 WCP 127 123 116 2024 WCP – Proposed Revision 127 121 114 19 How do potable demands reduce with conservation and reuse savings? 2040 Sector Demands After Conservation and Reuse Savings PLUS AMI and Drip r a e Y r e P t e e F e r c A 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 - 20 SFR MFR COM COA NRW Remaining Indoor Demand Remaining Outdoor Demand Indoor Savings Outdoor Savings How can we measure and report water savings in the future?  Quarterly Reports • Commissions and Task Force • Leading measures to reduce demands  Annual Report • Public year-end report • Leading measures, programmatic efforts, and total water use and loss 21 Next Steps  Today: Receive feedback and answer questions from the Task Force on proposed Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan revisions.  8/29 Water Forward Task Force Meeting: Further Task Force discussion of Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan revisions  9/10 Water Forward Task Force Meeting: Staff to present revised Water Conservation Plan and Drought Contingency Plan Reports 22 Questions?