Oct 27, 2021 Austin Water Oversight Committee

[CALL TO ORDER]

[00:00:03]

UH, WE ARE GOING TO CALL, CALL TO ORDER, UH, THE MEDIAN OF THE AUSTIN WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE AT 1 34 AND WE HAVE A QUORUM.

SO THE FIRST ITEM IS CITIZEN COMMUNICATION OF WHICH I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGNED UP TODAY.

SO THE NEXT ITEM IS APPROVAL OF

[1. Approve the minutes of the May 13, 2021 regular meeting of the Austin Water Oversight Committee.]

AND SO WE HAD A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, A SECOND CAN FROM COUNCIL MEMBER.

ALL IN FAVOR.

IT'S UNANIMOUS.

YES.

THANK YOU.

YOU RAN THOSE FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER TO, UH, YEAH.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES.

SO NEXT ITEM IS,

[2. Approval of the 2022 Austin Water Oversight Committee meeting schedule.]

SO HAVE YOU ALL HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT THAT? UM, IT'S IN OUR BACKUP AND BASICALLY IT'S AT, AT THIS POINT WE HAVE A SCHEDULE OF FOUR PROPOSED MEETINGS, WHICH OF COURSE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WE CAN ADD TO IF WE NEED TO, BUT THESE ARE MEETINGS SCHEDULED ON FEBRUARY 23RD, MAY 25TH, AUGUST 24TH AND OCTOBER 19TH.

AND WE HAVE THE TWO HOUR SLOTS, YOU KNOW, WHICH OF COURSE WE CAN ADJUST.

SO, UH, TO BEGIN WITH, IS, DOES THIS LOOK ACCEPTABLE TO EVERYBODY? GO AHEAD.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, UM, I THINK THIS IS ACCEPTABLE.

I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT THEY'RE ALL ON DAYS THAT WE HAVE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS.

SO THERE MAY BE AN OCCASIONAL DATE WHERE SOME OF US WHO ARE ON AUDIT AND FINANCE MAY HAVE TROUBLE MAKING BOTH MEETINGS FOR WHATEVER REASON.

OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE ON OUR CALENDAR, WELL IN ADVANCE AND WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO DO THAT.

UM, BUT THEY WERE ALL FOUR DAYS THAT WE REGULARLY MEET FRAUD AND FINANCE.

OKAY.

SO DO YOU THINK MAYBE SOME OF THEM ARE THESE THE SAME DAYS? DO YOU KNOW? OR DO WE DESTROY ALL FOUR ON AUDIT AND FINANCE DAYS? OH, THEY ARE.

CAN WE GET THAT LIST FROM YOU GUYS? UM, WE HAVE IT, IT'S GOING TO BE AT OUR NEXT WEEK, BUT THOSE ARE ALWAYS THE WEEKS THAT WE, THE LAST WEDNESDAY.

YEAH.

WELL, WELL HOW ABOUT THIS GUYS? WHY DON'T WE TENTATIVELY ACCEPT THIS, BUT WITH THE GOAL OF WORKING WITH OUR STAFF TO MOVE THEM, TODAY'S THAT WE DON'T CONFLICT WITH AUDIT AND FINANCE.

DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? I DON'T MIND IT.

YOU DON'T MIND IT? OKAY.

I MEAN, I, I'M JUST, I JUST WANT TO POINT OUT, I MEAN, I CAN LIVE WITH IT FINE.

I'M JUST POINTING IT OUT BECAUSE IF THERE'S A TIME WHEN WE'RE JUST NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT BECAUSE THERE'S NO FLEXIBILITY IN THE SCHEDULE BECAUSE OF AUDIT AND FINANCE, THEN I'M JUST, I'M, I'M TELLING YOU IN ADVANCE, I'M NOT COMPLAINING THAT WE HAVE TO MOVE THE DATES.

IT'S OKAY.

WHATEVER IN THE MORNING.

YEAH, COUNCILMAN, UM, I'M HAPPY TO APPROVE IT.

I KNOW ALL THE COMMITTEES ARE GOING TO BE HAVING TO ADOPT THEIR SCHEDULES AND SOMETIMES THINGS JUST NEED TO WIGGLE FOR A DAY OR TWO TO ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THEM MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE GOING ON, BUT I'M HAPPY TO AT LEAST KEEP IT MOVING FORWARD.

OKAY.

SO LET'S MOVE IT FORWARD.

WE'LL KEEP IN MIND WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTERED BROUGHT UP AND THEN, YOU KNOW, SEE IF WE NEED TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.

SO ALL IN FAVOR OF MOVING THE SCHEDULE FORWARD, I GUESS WE NEED A MOTION FIRST.

SO COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS MAKES THE MOTION COUNCIL MEMBER A SECOND SET ALL IN FAVOR.

OKAY.

THAT'S A LITTLE LONELY OVER HERE.

YEAH.

YOU CAN COME DOWN AND JOIN US.

I WAS DOWN THERE AND THEN I THOUGHT I COULD COME DOWN, SO, OKAY.

THE NEXT ITEM IS, UM, THE NEXT ITEM.

WHERE'S MY AGENDA FOR THE NEXT ITEM.

I THINK IT'S A REPORT.

UM, NOW THIS IS AUDIT AND FINANCE AGENDA.

WE HAVE THE WRONG AGENDA AND OH WAIT, HERE IT IS IN FRONT OF ME.

UH, THE NEXT

[3. Director’s Report: a. Upcoming recommendations for Council action b. Capital projects update c. Innovations, events and awards.]

SO, UH, AND HE'S, HE'S READY FOR US.

SO MICROPHONE GREG DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER, PLEASURE TO BE HERE.

SO I WANT TO START OFF WITH JUST A FEW UPDATES.

UM, ONE, I KNOW THE COUNCILS, I'M ANXIOUS TO HEAR SOME OF THE AFTER ACTION REPORTS AND, UH, I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE THAT, UH, OBVIOUSLY THAT PROCESS HAS BEEN UNDERWAY FOR MANY MONTHS AND WE WOULD EXPECT, UH, HERE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE NEXT WEEK, UH, AFTER ACTION REPORTS, UH, BEING RELEASED, THERE ARE SOME DISCUSSIONS ABOUT BRIEFINGS FOR THE COUNCIL COMING UP, MAYBE AS SOON AS NEXT WEEK ALSO.

AND, UH, AND AUSTIN WATER WILL BE A BIG PART OF THAT PROCESS.

AND SO I THINK WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY CUED UP FOR, FOR THAT TO BE KICKING OFF VERY SOON HERE.

UH, I WANTED TO NOTE FOR THE COUNCIL AND IMPORTANT, UH, FINANCIAL MATTER, UM, AUSTIN WATER JUST COMPLETED ITS BOND RATINGS.

AND, UH, TODAY WE HAD A SUCCESSFUL BOND SALE.

UH, ALL THREE OF OUR RATING AGENCIES AFFIRMED OUR AA

[00:05:01]

UH, AND SO THAT'S REALLY GOOD NEWS, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY IN TODAY'S CHALLENGING TIMES TO HAVE THE FINANCIAL BOND RATING AGENCIES, UH, UH, FROM OUR RATINGS AND GIVE US A STABLE OUTLOOK IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.

UH, I WANT TO NOTE FOR THE COUNCIL, I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD COLLABORATIVE EFFORT BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND THE POLICYMAKERS TO NOT ONLY, UH, STAY STRONG FINANCIALLY, BUT WITH THIS LATCH BUDGET PROCESS, THE COUNCIL, IN ADDITION TO THE BUDGET APPROVED, UH, FINANCIAL POLICIES, UH, FOR AUSTIN WATER THAT WERE STRONGER THAN, THAN WHAT WE HAD BEFORE.

AND THAT WAS NOTED IN THE BOND RATINGS.

AND I THINK WENT A LONG WAY TO, UH, TO, UH, AFFIRMING OUR RATINGS.

I ALSO WANT TO SPEND A MOMENT AND JUST RECOGNIZE OUR ENTIRE FINANCIAL TEAM, THE, UH, GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, THE GFL WAY AWARDED OUR TEAM, THE AWARD OF EXCELLENCE THIS YEAR FOR OUR DEBT MANAGEMENT AND, UH, PARTICULARLY DEBT MANAGEMENT TO, UH, IMPROVE AFFORDABILITY AS THE COUNCIL KNOWS AND IS SUPPORTED ALONG THE WAY.

WE HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY MANAGING OUR DEBT THROUGH A COMBINATION OF TOOLS.

UH, OUR DEFEASANCE IS THROUGH OUR CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, UH, BORROWING AT LOW INTEREST THROUGH TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND, UH, AND A REALLY SOLID DECISION MAKING ON REFINANCING TRANSACTIONS AND ALL OF THAT TOGETHER OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, INCLUDING OUR MOST RECENT BOND SALES, UH, HAS RESULTED IN, IN ABOUT $600 MILLION IN TOTAL DEBT SERVICE SAVINGS.

AND SO THESE STRATEGIES THAT THE COUNCIL, UH, WORK WITH US TO ADAPT A FEW YEARS AGO ARE REALLY WORKING AND, UH, AND WE'RE SEEING IT AND NOT ONLY IN OUR RATING AGENCIES, BUT IN THIS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE.

I HAVE ONE OTHER AWARD TO KNOW, UM, EPA GRANTED, UH, AUSTIN WATER, UH, THROUGH OUR WILDLANDS PROGRAM, THE OUTSTANDING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AWARD FOR THIS YEAR.

UH, IT WAS AN AWARD THAT RECOGNIZED A WORK AT OUR WILDLANDS TO, UH, DO STORM WATER CAPTURE AND RESTORATION.

UH, THIS WAS PARTICULARLY AT OUR VEREAL PRESERVE WHERE WE'RE, UH, WORKING, UH, ONE OF OUR BIOLOGISTS, UH, JIM O'DONNELL HAS BEEN REALLY A LEADER IN THIS AREA AND, UH, WORKING TO RESHAPE THE LAND THERE TO CAPTURE MORE STORM WATER, TO REVEGETATION ENHANCE THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND EPA RECOGNIZED THAT AWARD.

UH, AND, UH, AND THIS, UH, THIS TECHNIQUE IS EXPANDING TO OTHER PARTS OF OUR WILDLANDS WHERE WE CAN RESTORE HARD CULICHI SOILS BACK TO MORE NATIVE CONDITIONS.

I WILL SAY I HAVE A SMALL CONFLICT OF INTEREST HERE.

I VOLUNTEER MOST WEEKENDS AT THE VERIO PRESERVE, AND I'VE WORKED ON THIS PROJECT.

AND SO I HAVE EXTRA PRIDE IN TERMS OF, OF THIS, OF THIS RECOGNITION AND A COUNCIL THAT CONCLUDES MY OPENING REMARKS.

I DO HAVE, UH, A CIP BRIEFING THAT, UH, THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, KITCHEN REQUESTED.

I'D LIKE TO GO THROUGH JUST A FEW SLIDES THERE, IF YOU'RE READY FOR THAT.

UH, YES.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR HIM BEFORE WE PROCEED? YES.

COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.

THANK YOU.

WELL, CONGRATULATIONS ON THOSE AWARDS.

UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE, UH, ANY WRITE-UPS ON THOSE.

I'D LOVE TO, UM, TALK ABOUT THEM IN MY NEXT NEWSLETTER, IF POSSIBLE.

UM, I'VE BEEN BUGGING YOU ABOUT THE DEBT STUFF, SO I'M REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THOSE, SEE THOSE NUMBERS, AND I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE BOND RATING STUFF.

SO, UM, WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING WRITTEN UP ON THAT, UM, THE FIRST AWARD PARTICULARLY, BUT BOTH OF THEM WOULD BE OF INTEREST, I THINK, TO GET YOU SOME BULLET POINTS THERE, COUNCIL MEMBER.

GREAT.

AND, UM, I WANT TO SAY THAT I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO REVIEWING THE AFTER ACTION REPORT.

UM, WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MY COLLEAGUES KNOW THAT THE, UM, AUDIT THAT WAS REQUESTED BY COUNCIL RELATED TO THE WINTER STORM WILL BE COMING BACK.

I THINK IT'S ON NOVEMBER 10TH.

UM, SO YOU MAY WANT TO PLAN TO ATTEND, UM, THAT AUDIT AND FINANCE MEETING.

IT'S A, IT'S A SMALLER SEGMENT OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT FROM THE FULLER AFTER ACTION REPORT.

UM, BUT SHOULD BE OF GREAT INTEREST.

WE WILL ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT EMS BILLING, UM, THING.

AND I KNOW SEVERAL OF YOU WERE CO-SPONSORS WITH ME ON MY BUDGET, RIGHT.

OR RELATED TO THAT.

AND THEN, UM, WE WILL ALSO BE TALKING ABOUT THE, IF WE HAVE TIME, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY FUNDS AUDIT AS WELL.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

AND OF COURSE, YOU'LL SHARE THAT, SHARE THAT, UH, AWARD WITH ALL OF US, UM, AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALTRA SAID, THAT'S VERY EXCITING.

YES.

GO AHEAD.

COUNCIL MEMBER POINTERS.

IT WOULD JUST ALSO WANTED TO ADD MY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND YOUR HARDWORKING TEAM AND AUSTIN WATER FOR ALL THAT YOU'RE DOING.

IT'S SO INCREDIBLE TO SEE YOUR OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS RECOGNIZED, RECOGNIZED.

AND SO JUST WANTED TO SAY CONGRATS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM.

THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN.

OKAY.

IF YOU WANT TO PRESS, UH, YOU COULD BRING UP THE CIP PRESENTATION.

[00:10:02]

THANK YOU.

OKAY, SO JUST A FEW SLIDES HERE.

I WANTED TO GO OVER.

I WANT TO, UM, IF WE COULD ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

YES.

SO, UH, UH, OVERVIEW OF RCIP, UH, STARTS WITH GOOD PLANNING.

I THINK RCIP IS, IS REALLY DEVELOPED THROUGH A REALLY EXCELLENT PLANNING AND ASSET MANAGEMENT APPROACHES AND, AND RISK MANAGEMENT.

WE'RE A VERY CAPITAL INTENSIVE INDUSTRY.

WE HAVE THOUSANDS OF MILES OF BURIED INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE HAVE SIX LARGE REGIONAL PLANTS.

WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF SMALLER FACILITIES THAT WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN.

WE ARE STRETCHED OUT OVER, OVER HUNDREDS OF SQUARE MILES.

AND SO PLANNING OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM AND EXECUTING OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE KEY THINGS THAT WE DO AT AUSTIN WATER.

AND LITERALLY THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF AUSTIN WATER EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN THIS AND MANY OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN WATER TO HELP US PLAN AND DELIVER OUR CIP.

UH, WE USE AN ASSET MANAGEMENT APPROACH TO PLANNING OUR CIP, AND THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY LOOK AT CONDITION DATA.

WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME UPDATING CONDITION STANDARDS, CAPTURING CONDITION DATA, AND THEN LINKING THAT INTO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE RISK AND WHERE WE SEE A POOR CONDITION INFRASTRUCTURE THAT HAS A HIGH CONSEQUENCE.

IF IT WERE TO FAIL, THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF DECISION-MAKING THAT WE USE TO DRIVE OUR CIP.

WE PLAN OUR CIP FOR MANY YEARS OUT.

UH, WE REALLY LOOK HARD AT THE FIVE-YEAR PERIOD, BUT REALLY OUR CIP, OUR MAJOR PROJECTS, WE HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF THOSE OUT INTO 10 AND 15 YEAR TIME RANGES.

AND SO THAT, THAT'S A PART OF IT TOO.

WE DO A BUSINESS CASES FOR THE BULK OF OUR LARGE CIP PROJECTS, WHERE WE ANALYZE THE BUSINESS CASE AND THE RISK MANAGEMENT.

WE HAVE A BUSINESS CASE REVIEW COMMITTEE OF EXECUTIVES THAT, UH, THAT REVIEW THOSE BUSINESS CASES AND MAKE, UH, MAKE, UH, DETERMINATIONS AND, UH, AND HELP SHAPE OUR CIP THAT'S RECOMMENDED TO THE COUNCIL, UH, EACH YEAR.

SO, UH, SO I THINK A VERY MATURE MODEL FOR HOW WE GO ABOUT PLANNING OUR CIP FROM AN EXECUTION PERSPECTIVE, UH, AT ANY ONE TIME WE'RE WORKING WELL OVER 300 PROJECTS.

UM, WE, UH, HISTORICALLY HAVE THE LARGEST CIP OF ANY CITY DEPARTMENT.

I'M JUST GIVING AN EXAMPLE IN, UH, IN FISCAL YEAR 21 THAT JUST CONCLUDED A RCIP OUTPUT WAS $199 MILLION.

AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT NUMBER.

THAT'S NOT LIKE A PLANNING NUMBER.

THAT IS WHAT WE ACTUALLY SPENT.

THAT IS WHAT WE GOT DONE.

AND, UH, AND THAT IS REALLY SUPPORTING A WIDE RANGE OF COUNCIL POLICIES AND, AND, UH, UTILITY RISK MANAGEMENT.

UH, WE DO UTILITY RELOCATIONS TO PREPARE FOR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PROJECTS.

WE REPLACED WATER MAINS.

WE, UH, WE UPGRADE INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE PREPARE FOR GROWTH.

WE PREPARE FOR REGULATIONS.

WE DO ENHANCEMENTS, WE DRIVE WATER FORWARD INITIATIVES.

I MEAN, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON AND ON.

THERE'S JUST A LOT IN THAT CIP.

AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT NUMBER THAT WE COMPLETED AND THE LITTLE, THE LITTLE S UH, KIND OF A GRAPH THERE, UH, TO THE LEFT OR TO THE RIGHT, UM, IS A, IS REALLY KIND OF A BROAD GROUPING OF RCIP.

ROUGHLY HALF OF OUR CIP IS FULLY DEDICATED TO RENEWAL, JUST, UH, TAKING CARE OF WHAT WE HAVE ALREADY, UH, REPLACING INFRASTRUCTURE, MODERNIZING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, MANAGING THAT PART OF IT.

ANOTHER, A THIRD ROUGHLY IS GROWTH RELATED.

THAT'S PREPARING OUR COMMUNITY, UH, FOR GROWTH IN THE FUTURE, AND THAT'S EXPANDING PIPELINE SYSTEMS WORKING ON PLANTS, UH, TANKS, LIFT STATIONS, WHATEVER WE MAY NEED TO DO TO ACCOMMODATE THE GROWTH.

AND THAT, THAT, THAT PART OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS WHAT GOES INTO OUR CAPITAL COVERY FEES AND, AND OTHER ASPECTS OF THAT.

AND LASTLY, THE LAST CHUNK ABOUT A FIFTH, 20% IS ENHANCEMENTS THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING THAT ARE NEW OR INNOVATIVE OR GROWING OUR PROGRAMS. YOU MIGHT THINK OF SOME OF THE AMI ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE IS ENHANCEMENT.

A PART OF IT IS METER REPLACEMENT, BUT PART OF IT IS NOT JUST REPLACING EXISTING METERS, BUT DOING IT IN A WAY THAT'S CHANGING AND UPGRADING THE APPROACH, RIGHT? A DIGITAL SYSTEM, UH, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY FOR CUSTOMERS TO INTERACT.

SO THAT'S REALLY KIND OF THE GLOBAL SIDE OF OUR CIP.

AS WE LOOK INTO THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR 22, WE HAVE, AGAIN, A LARGE BUDGET FOR OUR CRP.

WE RIGHT NOW, OUR BUDGET IS 222 MILLION FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN 22.

AND WE CERTAINLY HOPE TO, TO SPEND A VERY CLOSE TO THAT NUMBER.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SO LOOKING AT SOME OF OUR BIGGER INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS IN THE CIP, OUR LARGEST PROJECT IN TOTAL REALLY OVER THE NEXT YEAR FOR YEARS IS GOING TO BE OUR WALNUT CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT EXPANSION, THAT PROJECT A WELL INTO THE ENGINEERING PHASE, UH, THAT PROJECT WOULD ADD 25 MILLION GALLONS OF CAPACITY WASTEWATER TREATMENT AT OUR WALNUT CREEK PLANT.

OUR WALNUT CREEK PLANT SERVES THE MAJORITY OF THE AREA NORTH OF THE RIVER.

SO ANYTHING AN

[00:15:01]

AND SO KEEPING THAT PLANT HEALTHY AND READY FOR THE FUTURE, VERY IMPORTANT.

AND, UH, AND THAT'S OUR BIGGEST PROJECT.

I WILL NOTE FOR YOU THAT THE TOTAL THERE IS NOT NECESSARILY THE TOTAL COST OF THAT PROJECT, THAT YOU'RE SEEING THE FIVE-YEAR CIP, WHICH IS IN OUR BUDGET, BUT A PROJECT LIKE WALNUT CREEK EXPANDS BEYOND THE FIVE-YEAR PERIOD.

AND SO THERE'LL BE ADDITIONAL SPENDING ON A PROJECT LIKE WALNUT CREEK.

THAT'S NOT IN THAT TOTAL.

THAT'S JUST OUR BUDGETED FIVE-YEAR CIP, TOTAL OTHER BIG PROJECTS THAT, THAT WE HAVE UNDERWAY ARE ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.

WE HAVE ROUGHLY 63 MILLION OF ADDITIONAL SPENDING TARGETED FOR THAT.

THAT PROJECT IS IN CONSTRUCTION.

YOU'LL GET AN UPDATE ON THAT TODAY, GETTING SOME MORE DETAILS.

OUR BIGGEST PIPELINE PROJECT IS THE WILLIAMSON CREEK INTERCEPTOR.

THIS IS A TUNNEL THAT WE BE CONSTRUCTED ALONG THE WILLIAMSON CREEK AREA.

IT REALLY SERVES SEVERAL PURPOSES.

IT'S GOING TO, UM, PROVIDE A NEW INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A POOR CONDITION.

INTERCEPTOR.

THE INTERCEPTOR THAT RUNS ALONG THERE NOW IS IN, IS IN POOR CONDITION.

AND THIS WILL REPLACE THAT INTERCEPTOR.

UH, ALSO IT'S GOING TO BE SIZED FOR FUTURE GROWTH.

THERE'S REALLY NO PART OF OUR UTILITY SYSTEM THAT'S NOT GROWING.

AND THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS THAT IS CERTAINLY GROWING A LOT SERVED BY THIS SYSTEM.

AND SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THAT TUNNEL IS, IS, HAS CAPACITY FOR FUTURE GROWTH.

WE HAVE A VERY LARGE PROJECT COMING UP AT SOUTH AUSTIN, REGIONAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT.

WE'RE GOING TO BE REHABBING OUR, WHAT WE CALL TRAINS A AND V ARE MECHANICAL SYSTEMS ON THOSE TWO TREATMENT TRAINS THAT PROJECT WILL BID THIS YEAR AND SHOULD COME TO THE COUNCIL LATE IN 22, A AGAIN, A VERY LARGE PROJECT.

AND THE SPENDING IS ACTUALLY JUST FOR THE FIVE YEARS.

I THINK THE TOTAL SPENDING WILL BE ABOVE THAT, UH, AS WE GET PAST THE FIVE-YEAR WINDOW, BUT A VERY IMPORTANT REHAB PROJECT, RECLAIM WATER.

WE HAVE A BIG PRESENCE IN RECLAIMED WATER IN OUR FIVE-YEAR CIP.

WE'RE FOCUSING ON COMPLETING THE CORE, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE WATER FORWARD RECOMMENDATIONS WHERE WE REALLY BUILD OUT THE CORE NUCLEUS OF OUR RECLAIMED WATER SYSTEM.

AND, AND THAT 35 MILLION WOULD COMPLETE ALL THE PROJECTS FOR, UH, FOR THE CORE PART OF THAT SYSTEM.

AND, AND LAST OUR LARGEST RESERVOIR AND PUMP STATION PROJECT, OUR NORTH AUSTIN RESERVOIR AND PUMP STATION AS WELL IN CONSTRUCTION.

THAT PROJECT SHOULD AT LEAST IN PART GO INTO SERVICE IN 22.

UH, THAT IS OUR OLDEST RESERVOIR.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED IN 1926, AND IT'S BEEN DEMOLISHED AND REBUILT IN A, IN A, IN A, A BETTER WAY IN A NEW PUMP STATION AND GIVES US A LOT OF ADDITIONAL CAPACITY AND SYSTEM OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY WITH THAT, WITH THAT NEW PUMP STATION IN RESERVOIR.

AND IF WE COULD ADVANCE A SLIDE, I DID WANT TO NOTE OTHER HIGHLIGHTS, NOT NECESSARILY BIG PROJECTS, SOME OF THEM ARE BIG, BUT THESE ARE SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT HAVE STRONG, UH, RESILIENCY CONNECTIONS.

UH, ONE OF THEM IS OUR AQUA STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.

THAT WAS A PRIMARY RECOMMENDATION OF WATER FORWARD, WHERE WE WOULD ULTIMATELY, UH, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT A AQUIFER STORAGE SYSTEM WHERE WE'D, WE WOULD TAKE TREATED DRINKING WATER AND PUT IT UNDERGROUND IN A, IN A BUBBLE INSIDE AN AQUIFER.

WE WOULD BUILD UP THOUSANDS OF ACRES, FEET OF WATER, SAFE FROM EVAPORATION, SAFE, FROM UPSET, AND BE AVAILABLE FOR WHATEVER WE NEED IN THE FUTURE.

IT WOULD BE LIKE THE WORLD'S BIGGEST STORAGE SYSTEM.

AND, AND SO THAT PROJECT IS UNDERWAY.

THE ENGINEERING HAS STARTED REALLY THE PLANNING ENGINEERING PHASE OF THIS, WHERE WE'RE EVALUATING AQUIFERS AND EXPLORING OPTIONS AND DOING SOME OUTREACH.

SO THAT PROJECT IS JUST GETTING STARTED.

BUT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WE WOULD ULTIMATELY WORK THROUGH A PILOT PROJECT.

AND DEPENDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PILOT, ULTIMATELY GO OUT AND BUILD THE SYSTEM AND FINISH IT BY THE MID 2030S, WE HAVE A LOT OF, UH, ELECTRICAL WORK UNDERWAY.

OUR ELECTRIC, UH, LOW SERVICE PUMPING ELECTRICAL AT ALL.

RICK IS IN CONSTRUCTION.

THAT PROJECT WILL COMPLETE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

WE HAVE OTHER, UH, ELECTRICAL IMPROVEMENTS AND POWER RELIABILITY IMPROVEMENTS.

DAVIS LANE IS A CRITICAL PUMP STATION THAT SERVES OUR SOUTH SYSTEMS AND, UH, AND WE'RE WORKING ON IMPROVING ELECTRICAL FEEDS TO THAT SYSTEM FOR RELIABILITY CENTER STREET, PUMP STATION, AGAIN, ANOTHER CRITICAL SYSTEM ON SOUTH FIRST STREET, UH, DOING A LOT OF WORK TO IMPROVE THAT SYSTEM FOR, UH, IMPROVED RELIABILITY AND OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY, SOUTHWEST PARKWAY, ELEVATED TANK AND WATER MAIN.

THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT HAD COME OUT OF OUR AFTER ACTION, AND WE STARTED TO ACCELERATE.

AND JUST NOTING THOSE FOR YOU.

UH, YOU'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS NEXT WEEK, BUT WE HAVE ORDERED TWO PORTABLE WATER TRUCKS, PORTABLE POTTABLE WATER TRUCKS, AND THERE'LL BE IN SERVICE FOR THIS WINTER.

AND THEN OF COURSE, CONTINUING INVESTMENTS IN OUR PIPELINE, RENEWAL, REPLACING OUR WATER INFRASTRUCTURE.

THAT'S UNDERPERFORMING.

WE HAVE ROUGHLY ABOUT $50 MILLION IN THE CURRENT CIP WITH, UH, WITH, UH, LOOKING AT EXPANDING THAT IN THE FUTURE.

SO AGAIN,

[00:20:01]

I WOULD SAY I COUNTED UP OUR FORECAST.

I THINK WE'LL HAVE ROUGHLY 25 TO 30 CIP PROJECTS HAVE COME TO THE COUNCIL IN 22.

AND SO, UH, SO, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE AN ACTIVE FLOW OF RCIP PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

THANK YOU.

DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? COUNCILMEMBER WINTERS.

THANK YOU.

I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.

CAN YOU TALK ME THROUGH FOR THE WATER PIPE, RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT PROGRAM? WHAT OR MATRIX DO YOU USE IN IDENTIFYING WHICH AREAS TO PRIORITIZE? SURE.

SO, UH, WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE, I MIGHT ASK ONE OF MY EIGHTIES TO COME UP.

KEVIN MIGHT WANT TO COME UP HERE TOO, BUT, UM, WE, WE, WE CAN CAPTURE A LOT OF CONDITION DATA ON OUR WATER PIPELINE INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE LOOK AT WATER MAIN BREAK HISTORIES.

YOU KNOW, IF, IF THE PRO, IF THE PIPELINE IS FAILED, WE LOOK AT, UH, THE SIZE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE.

IF IT'S A, IF IT'S AN UNDERSIZED WATER MAIN AND WE COULD UPGRADE IT, IF THERE'S WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS, LIKE IF THERE'S A THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S ANY RUSTY WATER OR WATER QUALITY PROBLEMS, ALL OF THAT GOES INTO OUR MODEL FOR HOW WE SELECT PROJECTS.

WE ALSO, UM, LOOK AT COORDINATING THOSE PROJECTS WITH, UH, OTHER CITY WORK, IF, UH, IF THERE'S A TRANSPORTATION PROJECT, UH, UNDERWAY AND THEY'RE MAYBE RESURFACING A ROAD OR THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OR PROJECT CONNECT, WHATEVER'S DRIVING OTHER INITIATIVES, THAT'S TEARING UP THE STREET.

WE, UH, WE, WE FOLD THAT INTO OUR DECISION-MAKING AND, UH, AND USE THAT TO DRIVE WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS.

UH, THE LAND DEVELOPMENT PROCESS, UM, OFTEN DRIVE SOME WATER MAIN REPLACEMENTS, IF AN AREA IS DENSIFYING AND WE NEED TO UPGRADE INFRASTRUCTURE, WE WORK WITH DEVELOPERS TO PAY FOR UPGRADING INFRASTRUCTURE.

THAT'S MAYBE INADEQUATE TO SERVE THE NEW DEVELOPMENT.

SO THAT THAT'S KIND OF THE RANGE OF THINGS THAT WE USE.

I DON'T KNOW KEVIN, IF OR JAY, IF YOU WOULD BE, WOULD YOU CHANGE, UM, SHAY ROLSON ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING SERVICES? UM, I THINK GREG CAPTURED IT VERY WELL.

THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD IS THAT WHEN WE'RE SCOPING THESE PROJECTS, WE DO LOOK TO SCOPE THEM, UM, TO A SIZE THAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY OUR LOCAL CONTRACTING, UM, POOL.

AND SO WE MAY TRY TO MAKE THEM VERY COMPETITIVE FOR BIDDING, WHICH IS THAT THAT'S ALL I WOULD HAVE TO DO.

GOTCHA.

THANK YOU.

THAT INFORMATION IS HELPFUL.

AND I MAY REQUEST AN OFFLINE MEETING FOR US TO DISCUSS THIS FURTHER.

THERE'S JUST SO MUCH GROWTH IN OUR AREA, AND WE HAVE THESE HUGE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, PROJECTS COMING UP IN AUSTIN THAT I'M JUST WANTING TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT YOU ALL USE IN COORDINATING WITH ATD AND WITH OTHER ENTITIES.

AND SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION.

I HAVE A FOLLOW-UP QUESTION THEN.

UM, SO YOU, YOU MENTIONED, UH, LAN LAND DEVELOPMENT, SO, UM, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU, UM, DO YOU LOOK IN A PROACTIVE WAY ABOUT THE, UH, IN THE PARTS OF THE CITY THAT ARE PROJECTED FOR GROWTH AND DOES THAT IMPACT, UM, UH, JUST LIKE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL AS ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER FRANCIS WAS ASKING? UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, THAT WE BE PROACTIVE AND GET AHEAD OF THE PROJECTED GROWTH AROUND THE CITY, SO THAT INSTEAD OF HAVING TO, YOU KNOW, RESPOND AFTER THE FACT AFTER, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENT HAS PUT MORE PRESSURE ON THE SYSTEM, BUT INSTEAD WE ARE DOING SOME LEVEL OF ANTICIPATION OR PROACTIVE PLANNING.

SO CAN YOU JUST TALK TO US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW YOU DO THAT? SURE.

I'LL START IN.

YEAH.

SO, UM, SO, UH, YES, WE, WE HAVE A WHOLE GROUP, OUR SYSTEMS PLANNING GROUP, UH, THAT WORKS TO FORECAST, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS AND GROWTH, AND IS TIED BACK TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WHERE WE REALLY, UH, WE KNOW WHERE WE'RE GOING.

WE KNOW WHERE WE NEED INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE'RE PLANNING THAT THAT TEAM IS ENGAGED WITH THE GROUP THAT WORKS DIRECTLY WITH LAND DEVELOPERS, OUR UTILITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES GROUP, AND MORE PARTICULARLY OUR SERVICE EXTENSION, UH, GROUP THAT THAT IS THE FIRST TO HEAR FROM DEVELOPERS.

AND THEY LINK BACK WITH SYSTEMS PLANNING AND THEY LOOK AT THE MODELS AND THE FORECASTING AND OUR PLANS AND, AND, AND SOME OF THAT DRIVES, UM, UH, LARGER INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE, WE WILL SOMETIMES PARTNER WITH DEVELOPERS TO OVERSIZE INFRASTRUCTURE AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY NEED

[00:25:01]

YOU SEE THOSE, YOU KNOW, A FEW TIMES A YEAR.

UM, WE ALSO DO OUR OWN PROJECTS THAT DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH LAND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SENSE OF, UH, OF AN ACTIVE PROJECT.

WE JUST WE'RE FORECAST AND SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, WE NEED A VERY LARGE TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE SYSTEM IN THIS PART OF OUR SYSTEM TO GET AHEAD OF GROWTH, THAT'LL OCCUR OVER MAYBE 20 OR 30 YEARS, YOU KNOW, LARGE WASTEWATER INTERCEPTORS LARGE TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURES.

YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE BIG PIPES, YOU KNOW, 60 INCH, 80 INCH KIND OF PIPES.

WE HAVE TO KIND OF DRIVE THOSE OURSELVES, UH, SIMILARLY PLANT EXPANSIONS.

UH, LIKE I MENTIONED, WALNUT THAT THAT'S A PART OF OUR, OUR FORECASTING.

WE ACTIVELY MONITOR FLOWS AND FORECAST AND TRY TO, YOU KNOW, STAY AHEAD OF THOSE.

I DON'T KNOW.

SHE MIGHT WANT TO AMPLIFY SOME OF THAT.

UH, KEVIN CRITTENDON ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, AUSTIN WATER.

I, I WOULD JUST SAY, IN ADDITION TO THAT, I THINK IT'S JUST A, IT'S AN ONGOING INVOLVING EXERCISE THAT WE DO KIND OF BALANCING OUR LONGTERM CHANGE NEEDS.

WE DO HAVE, AGAIN, A VERY, UM, ROBUST AND COMPREHENSIVE HYDRAULIC MODELS OF OUR SYSTEM.

AND WE LOOK VERY DILIGENTLY AT, YOU KNOW, DAY BY DAY OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE HAVE TO PARTNER WITH THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY AND THOSE WHERE THE COUNCIL WILL ACTUALLY SEE THE OPPORTUNITIES TO OVERSIZE WHERE WE'LL BRING RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.

SO IT'S AN ONGOING, AND IT'S AN ACTIVE PLACE, A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT GOING ON THROUGH THE COMMUNITY, EVEN DESPITE THE PANDEMIC.

UM, AND, UM, UM, AGAIN, WE, WE'VE CONSTANTLY GOT OUR EYES ON KIND OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE CITY AND INCLUDING OTHER, UH, SITTING PLANNING, CITY PLANNING INITIATIVES, SO LONG RANGE PLANS FOR THE CITY PLANS FOR THE CITY.

IMAGINE AUSTIN AND OTHER THINGS ARE TRYING TO PLAY ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN, UM, IT'S, IT'S WHAT WE DO ON A DAILY BASIS.

THANK YOU.

OTHER QUESTIONS.

OKAY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE AFTER ACTION REPORT.

WELL, I DO HAVE ONE OTHER QUICK QUESTION.

SO YOU MENTIONED ANOTHER, A NUMBER OF THESE ITEMS THAT WERE IN RESPONSE TO, UH, THE AFTER ACTION REPORT AND WINTER STORM.

DO YOU, DO YOU FEEL LIKE AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE REFLECTED IN THIS, IN THIS, IN THIS CIP PLAN, ALL THE PROJECTS ARE GOING TO NEED, OR WILL YOU BE BRINGING BACK MORE TO US TO RESPOND TO THE AFTER ACTION? I GUESS I'M ASKING FOR A LITTLE BIT OF A PREVIEW TO THE AFTER ACTION REPORT, SO, RIGHT, RIGHT, RIGHT.

AFTER THE WINTER STORM.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST FEW MONTHS AS WE WERE, WE WERE ABSORBING THE, THE EXPERIENCE.

UH, WE DID MAKE SOME REVISIONS TO OUR CIP THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET MOST RECENTLY APPROVED, BUT OF COURSE THE AFTER ACTION CONTINUED TO ADVANCE.

UH, ONE OF THE PARTNERS IN OUR AFTER ACTION ANALYSIS WAS, UH, WAS AN ENGINEERING FIRM, FREESE AND NICHOLS.

AND, AND SO THEY'VE WORKED WITH US TO DO A DEEPER REVIEW OF AFTER ACTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.

SO WE DO ANTICIPATE ADDITIONAL CIP INVESTMENTS, EITHER ACCELERATING PROJECTS OR NEW PROJECTS THAT, THAT WE WOULD DO AS A RESULT OF A MORE DETAILED UNFOLDING OF THE AFTER ACTION.

AND, UH, WE HAVE STARTED RCIP PLANNING FOR THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE, AND WE WILL BE FOLDING AND INCORPORATING THOSE, THOSE NEW INSIGHTS INTO ADDITIONAL CIP RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND, AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER WILL, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO GO INTO THIS IN MORE DETAIL.

I JUST WOULD ALSO ADD THERE'S NEW STATE LAW THAT WAS ENACTED DURING THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION THAT, UH, APPLIES TO ALL WATER UTILITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.

AND, AND THAT'S ALSO GOING TO DRIVE SOME CIP INVESTMENTS IN ORDER FOR US TO PREPARE TO, UM, MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THAT, OF THAT NEW STATE LAW.

IT'S A LITTLE MORE FOCUSED ON POWER RELIABILITY FOR WATER UTILITIES.

AND, AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER AREA OF INVESTMENT THAT WILL BE FACTORING OUT.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

[4. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (My ATX Water) Update.]

I'M GOING TO ABANDON THE DYESS AND LET THE TWO STAFFERS COME HERE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT REPORT.

YOU'VE BEEN DIRECTOR ORDERS ARE LET'S SEE, GOOD AFTERNOON.

COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, CHAIR, VICE CHAIR, UM, UH, RICK CORNETTO ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR OPERATIONS.

AND I HAVE HERE WITH ME, RANDY JENKINS, UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

SO WE'RE GOING TO BE SHARING THE PRESENTATION TODAY AND ALSO ANSWERING QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

UH, IT'S BEEN, UH, PROBABLY ABOUT FIVE MONTHS SINCE WE LAST UPDATED YOU.

SO IF YOU ADVANCED THE FIRST SLIDE THERE I DO HAVE ON, ON THE AGENDA, THE LINK TO THE LAST PRESENTATION.

SO I WON'T GO OVER THAT CONTENT, BUT JUST GIVE YOU AN UPDATE SINCE THEN.

UH, WE DID PRESENT TO THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION,

[00:30:01]

SO AS, AS IT LAYS OUT ON THE AGENDA, I'LL COVER THE INFRASTRUCTURE PART.

THAT INCLUDES THE METERING, THE, UH, DATA COLLECTION UNITS AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS THAT WE HAVE.

AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO RANDY TO COVER SOME OF THE DETAILS, UH, SINCE, SINCE MAY ABOUT THE, UH, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

AND SO IF, UH, WE WE'D GO TO THE FIRST, THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO THIS I'M GOING TO USE AS KIND OF OUR GAUGE OR METRIC ON OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS, UH, DELIVERING A FULL SYSTEM-WIDE, UH, AMI PROGRAM.

UH, WE LAST REPORTED, UH, BACK IN MAY, UH, AS WE WERE EXITING SOME OF THE PILOT AREAS, UH, WE INVESTED IN PILOT INSTALLATIONS FOR THAT ONLY THE MUELLER, UH, AND, UH, RIVER PLACE AREAS.

BUT SINCE THEN, WE'VE ALSO GONE CITYWIDE.

AND PART OF THAT YOU'LL SEE IN SOME OF THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO CUSTOMERS, AS WELL AS, UM, FOR, FOR YOU TO, TO KIND OF SHARE WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS.

UM, I WANT TO JUST DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS.

UH, THIS WAS UPDATED BACK IN SEPTEMBER, BUT SINCE THEN, WE'VE, UM, WE'VE NOW INSTALLED, UH, ALMOST 16,000 METERS.

SO AS OF TODAY, WE HAVE ABOUT 16,000 METERS INSTALLED ON THE GROUND.

AND, UM, THAT'S, UH, AN IMPORTANT METRIC FOR US AS, AS YOU'LL SEE IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS UPDATES, WE'LL START ACCELERATING THAT BECAUSE WE WILL BE INVESTING IN THE WORKPLACE, THE WORKFORCE, NOT ONLY ON THE CONTRACTOR, BUT ALSO FOR AUSTIN WATER.

UM, WE ALSO UPDATE THIS IF, IF YOU KNOW, TO GET, UH, A MORE REFLECTIVE RECENT UPDATE, UH, THIS WILL SHOW UP ON THE MONTHLY DASHBOARD.

SO THIS METRIC WILL SHOW UP ON THE MONTHLY DASHBOARD.

YOU CAN KIND OF VIEW THAT ONLINE AS WELL.

SO YOU CAN GO AND FORWARD.

YOU CAN KEEP TRACK, YOU KNOW, HOW OUR PROGRESS IS GOING.

AND IF YOU KIND OF WANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, WE'LL DEFINITELY INCLUDE THAT IN ANY FUTURE UPDATES AS WELL.

UM, I WANT TO ALSO REMIND YOU THAT THIS NOT ONLY IS THIS A INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT PROJECT, BUT OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A LOT OF GOALS AT THIS, UH, AMI PROGRAM TOUCHES, UH, THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE, THE CUSTOMER SERVICE INVESTMENTS, THE CONSERVATION, UH, EFFORTS, AS WELL AS THE REPLACEMENT OF METERS.

AND, AND THIS IS WITH OUR CONTRACTOR.

THIS IS INTENDED TO GO ON FOR MULTIPLE YEARS.

UH, WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AT A THREE YEAR TARGET TO TRY TO ADVANCE, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTIAL METERS TO BE REPLACED WITHIN THE NEXT THREE YEARS.

SO WE'VE STARTED BACK IN MAY, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS, UH, GRAPH.

AND THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE THE, THE, UH, THE SLOPE OF THIS TREND STARTS TO INCREASE, AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN, LIKE I MENTIONED, THE WORKPLACE, THE WORKFORCE ON THE CONTRACTORS TO INSTALL MORE METERS, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THIS IS, UH, I PARTICULARLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THIS.

AND IF YOU GO TO THE, MY ATX WATER.ORG WEBSITE, THERE IS AVAILABLE NOT ONLY IS IT A LANDING PLACE FOR YOU TO REGISTER TO FOR THE PORTAL, BUT IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO ACCESS A, AN A, UM, WHAT I'D SAY DYNAMIC, UM, MAP THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY LOOK AT AND SEE IT CHANGE, UM, DAILY.

UM, IT PROVIDES INFORMATION ON WHERE WE'RE GOING TO INSTALL THE METER, AND IF A METER, A AMI METER SMART METERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN INSTALLED, AND, UH, THIS JUST KIND OF SHOWS YOU, UM, AN EXAMPLE OF THE SOUTH EAST AREA, WHERE WE HAVE NEIGHBORHOOD IN MCKINNEY FALLS AND COLTON BLUFFS SPRINGS AS A TARGET AREA FOR REPLACEMENTS.

SO YOU HAVE IN BLUE, THE, THE METERS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN INSTALLED AND THE, UH, THE YELLOW COLOR REPRESENTS THOSE THAT ARE SCHEDULED TO BE INSTALLED.

SO WE'D LOVE TO SEE, YOU KNOW, HEAR ABOUT ANY FEEDBACK THAT YOU MAY HAVE, OR THIS TOOL, BUT IT'S AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND THEY CAN ACCESS IT AND SEE WHETHER OR NOT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN THEIR AREA.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

I MENTIONED OUR, UH, JOURNEY TOWARDS FULL WIDE, UM, IMPLEMENTATION.

UH, WHEN I LAST REPORTED BACK IN MAY, WE WERE JUST STARTING, UH, NOT ONLY THE, THE DATA COLLECTION UNITS, THOSE ARE THE COLLECTORS THAT, UH, GATHER THE INFORMATION FROM THE METERS THEMSELVES.

AND THEY REPORT BACK TO WHAT WE CALL A HEAD END SYSTEM, ESSENTIALLY, A CENTRALIZED DEPOSITORY OF THIS INFORMATION.

[00:35:01]

UM, WE'RE STILL AT 28, MAYBE 29% AS OF TODAY, WE INSTALLED ANOTHER ONE ON TOP OF A TANK IN THE SOUTH WEST AREA.

SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAKE PROGRESS CITYWIDE ON INSTALLING THESE, UH, WHAT WE CALL, UH, DATA COLLECTION UNITS.

AND THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT HELPS US, UH, DETERMINE WHERE WE'RE GOING TO PLAN NEXT.

ESSENTIALLY, ONCE WE HAVE THESE DATA COLLECTIONS UNITS INSTALLED, WE'RE ABLE TO THEN PERFORM SURVEYS, ESSENTIALLY THERE IT'S THAT THE PLANNING PART OF REPLACEMENT OF THESE METERS, WE'LL GO SURVEY THE METER BOX, IDENTIFY WHICH METERS NEED A NEW LID, UH, PREPARE TO, TO CLEAN THESE, UH, BOXES.

WE'LL EVEN AT SOME POINT INITIATE COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE CUSTOMERS TODAY, WE HAVE PROBABLY ABOUT, UH, IT SAYS 30 2005.

WE'RE UP TO ABOUT 35,005 METERS THAT WE'VE SURVEYED.

AND THAT, THAT KIND OF GIVES YOU THE WINDOW OF THE NEXT LEVEL OF, UH, INSTALLED PLANNED INSTALLED LOCATIONS.

UH, WE CONTINUE TO, UM, WORK TOWARDS, UH, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE INVENTORY OF NOT ONLY OUR METERS, BUT OUR LIDS AND ANY OTHER SUPPLY CHAIN, UM, ISSUES THAT WE MAY RUN INTO.

WE'RE TRYING TO PREPARE IN ADVANCE AND HAVE THAT STORED IN, UH, THE VENDOR'S WAREHOUSE TO, UH, CONTINUE TO ADVANCE OUR INSTALLATION PROGRESS.

UH, ALSO YOU MIGHT NOTE IS, UM, THE, THE WORKFORCE, UH, PART OF THIS, WE DID, UH, ASK FOR APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL FTES FOR AUSTIN WATER THAT'S RELATED TO AMI.

AND THOSE INCLUDE, UH, POSITIONS SUCH AS IT RELATED, UH, POSITIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND EVEN METER TECHS.

AND THOSE ARE TO HELP ADVANCE NOT ONLY THE INSTALLATION, BUT ALSO, UH, TO MAINTAIN, UH, ONCE THE SYSTEMS ARE IN, IN, IN THE, IN THE GROUND, HOW TO MAINTAIN, MAKE SURE THAT OUR STAFF KNOW HOW TO EXCHANGE THESE METERS IN CASE THEY, THEY RUN INTO FUTURE O AND M ISSUES, BUT ALSO JUST TO TRAIN OUR WORKFORCE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE INSTALLING THE GROUND, THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY.

SO, UM, THERE THERE'S ABOUT NINE, UH, EIGHT TO NINE, UM, POSITIONS THAT WE'RE FILLING TODAY, UM, FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE CLARA, WHICH IS OUR, UM, MAIN CONTRACTOR, THEY HAVE IT RAMPED UP THEIR, UM, THEIR RECRUITMENT TO, TO INSTALL, UM, ADDITIONAL METERS ON A DAILY BASIS.

CURRENTLY THEY'RE PROBABLY TARGETING ANYWHERE FROM 500 TO A THOUSAND METERS PER WEEK.

AND YOU'LL START TO SEE THAT RAMP UP OVER THE NEXT MONTHS AND WHAT YOU SEE IN THE PICTURE.

THERE IS JUST A DEPICTION OF WHAT GOES IN THE METER BOX.

SO YOU HAVE A METER, A WHAT WE ALSO CALL A METER TRANSMITTING UNIT IS KIND OF THE RADIO WITH THE BATTERY.

THAT'S ALL, UH, EQUIPPED UNDERNEATH THE METER BOX.

AND IF YOU HAVE TO ADD AN ADDITIONAL ATTENDANT, THAT WILL ALSO BE PART OF THE EQUIPMENT THAT GOES INSIDE THE METER BOX.

UM, LET'S SEE, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, BACK IN FEBRUARY KIND OF, UM, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCED THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PROGRAM, NOT ONLY FOR COMMUNICATING TO CUSTOMERS, BUT ALSO TO USE THIS INFORMATION FOR OPERATIONAL PURPOSES.

UH, SO WHAT WE DID, WE PAUSED A LITTLE BIT ON THE IT END OF THINGS, TO, TO ADD SOME ADDITIONAL SCOPE, UH, THAT SCOPE INCLUDED, UM, UH, ADVANCING OR ENHANCING OUR DISASTER RECOVERY FOR INFORMATION.

AND SO, UH, BACK, UH, THE ORIGINAL SCOPE OF THIS WAS TO HAVE INFORMATION, UH, SERVICE LEVEL BACK UP FOR 48 HOURS.

ESSENTIALLY, IF THE SYSTEM WOULD GO DOWN, WE WOULD HAVE THAT INFORMATION BACK UP IN 48 HOURS.

WE'VE SINCE CHANGED THAT MODEL AND REQUESTED TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION BACKED UP IN A MATTER OF HOURS, SO MULTIPLE HOURS.

AND SO, UH, TWO IS THE TARGET.

AND SO WHAT YOU SEE AS A DEPICTION IS WE HAVE TWO DATA CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY THAT HELPED WITH THAT BACKUP.

AND WE'VE TESTED THAT SINCE.

SO WE'VE HAD TO KIND OF ADJUST OUR SCOPE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE SOME DISASTER RECOVERY GOALS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS.

AND THAT HAS, THAT I BELIEVE WILL BE, UH, VERY VALUABLE AS WE KIND OF INVEST MORE IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND START USING IT MORE FOR ADDITIONAL SCOPE, SUCH

[00:40:01]

SO DEFINITELY, UH, INVESTING INTO THIS PROGRAM IS GOING TO, UH, HAVE A VERY GOOD OUTCOME.

SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THE TOOLS AND SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO ACHIEVE THOSE GOALS.

IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, OVER THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, UH, AREN'T AN EXTRA REPORT OUT.

WE'LL ALSO, UH, TALK ABOUT OUR METER TO BUILD PROCESS.

UH, WE'RE STILL FINALIZING MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, SIGNIFICANT CRITERIA BEFORE WE SWITCH, SWITCH OUR SWITCH.

OUR, UH, AMI METER READS TO, FROM A MANUAL READ TO AN AMI READ, AND THEN IT WOULD PROBABLY BE PROCESSED THROUGH THE BILLING SYSTEM.

UH, SO WE'RE ENSURING THAT NOT ONLY THAT, THAT WE'VE INSTALLED THE METERS IN THE GROUND, THEY'VE BEEN IN THERE FOR SOME TIME THAT THEY MATCH THE CURRENT MANUAL RATE PROCESS WITHIN A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE, UH, THAT THEY HAVE A REPEATABILITY AND ALSO CONSISTENCY OF THAT METER READ, UH, ESSENTIALLY JUST GATHERING THE OVERALL INTEGRITY OF THAT INFORMATION.

AS WE KIND OF LAUNCH WE'LL, WE'LL LAUNCH A COUPLE OF METERS OR A BATCH OF METERS TO BILL, AND THEN WE'LL GROW THAT, UH, OVER TIME UNTIL WE HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT WE CAN SWITCH OVER ROUTES TO THE AMI READS.

AND SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL HEAR OUR PROGRESS TOWARDS THAT IN THE NEXT UPDATE.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

SO WE'RE KIND OF, UH, CONTINUING DOWN THE PATH OF IMPROVING OUR RESILIENCY, UH, SINCE THE WINTER STORM, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO NOT ONLY, UM, INSTALL, UH, METERS IN THE SOUTHWEST AREA, BUT ALL OF THE SOUTH AS WELL.

SO TOTAL OF SOUTH, YOU KNOW, WE, OUR PILOT AREAS WERE TYPICALLY TARGETED IN THE NORTH AREA.

WE'VE SINCE NOW INSTALLED AT LEAST 5,000 METERS IN THE SOUTH.

UH, IN ADDITION TO THE, THE CURRENT INVENTORY OF METERS THAT WE'VE INSTALLED IN, IN THE NORTH, WE'RE PROBABLY ABOUT EIGHT, UH, DISTRICTS INSTALLED.

AND SO BY, BY THE NEXT UPDATE WILL PROBABLY BE CITYWIDE AS WE HAVE, UH, ADDITIONAL DC USE, UM, INSTALLED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THIS IS GOING TO GIVE US SOME, UH, AS WE INSTALL NEW AREAS, WE'RE GOING TO ALSO BE TESTING DIFFERENT MONITORING TOOLS, SUCH AS I MENTIONED, UH, PRESSURE MONITORING DURING THE WINTER STORM, WE DID HAVE, UH, SOME SIGNIFICANT, UH, PRESSURE MONITORING DEVICES GO OUT IN OUR SCADA SYSTEM.

SO THIS IS GOING TO GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO TEST OUT SOME OF THOSE DEVICES IN, IN, UH, CERTAIN AREAS OR AT LEAST, UH, DEMONSTRATE THE, UM, THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS PRODUCT, AND THEN SEE HOW WE WOULD INCORPORATE THAT ON THE CITY-WIDE BASIS.

LET'S SEE FEATURE.

SO WITH THAT, I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD.

IF YOU WANT TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO RANDY AND HE'LL SHOW DISCOVER, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, UH, OUTCOMES FROM OUR CUSTOMER OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT.

THANK YOU, RICK.

GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS AS RICK INTRODUCED I'M RANDY JENKINS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AT AUSTIN WATER.

AND SO DIGGING INTO, UM, OUR OUTREACH AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL MIGRATE INTO OUR PORTAL, UM, FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

BUT, UH, JUST TO GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW AND REMINDER, I SHARED, UM, A BIT OF THIS INFORMATION IN MAY.

UM, BUT I WANTED TO JUST PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THIS SUCCESS.

SO IF YOU RECALL, AND OUR MAY BRIEFING, I PROVIDED THAT WE HAD, UM, CONDUCTED A SURVEY THAT WENT OUT TO OUR PILOT, AMI, PILOT CUSTOMERS.

AND THROUGH THAT SURVEY, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, WANTED TO REACH OUT TO THOSE CUSTOMERS.

WHO'VE DETERMINED HOW WELL DID OUR OUTREACH EFFORTS WORK IN THE PILOT, AND WHAT CHANGES DID WE MEET NEED TO, UM, MITIGATE FOR GOING FORWARD AS WE MOVED INTO FULL DEPLOYMENT? AND SO, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE MAINTAINED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL IN A VIRTUAL MODE.

UM, WE WILL BE MIGRATING TO FUTURE IN-PERSON MEETINGS, BUT WE HAVE WITHHELD OUR STANDING MONTHLY VIRTUAL COMMUNITY MEETING.

SO THAT INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ABOUT TO GET THEIR, UM, AMI METER OR, UM, JUST ARE INTERESTED OVERALL, THEY DO NOT HAVE TO BE ON THE LIST FOR GETTING A METER THEY CAN JUST ATTEND AT, AT THEIR WILL.

UM, SO THOSE ARE HELD MONTHLY.

AND THEN, UM, THE, THE OTHER PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT COMES TO A CUSTOMER THAT WAS MAINTAINED FROM THE PILOT INTO FULL DEPLOYMENT IS OUR CUSTOMER MELLER.

SO A CUSTOMER RECEIVES A LETTER THAT PROVIDES A FULL IN-DEPTH OVERVIEW OF OUR PROJECT, UM, WITH INFORMATION THAT THEY ARE, UM, ON THE LIST TO RECEIVE A METER, UM, IN TWO TO FOUR WEEKS.

AND SO THAT IS STILL OCCURRING.

[00:45:01]

SO WE, UM, STARTED USING EMAIL COMMUNICATION TO THOSE CUSTOMERS.

AND SO TH THOSE THAT WE HAVE EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR, WE ARE EMAILING THEM ONE APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THEIR INSTALL.