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COUNCIL MEMBER ELLISON COUNCIL, AND VICE-CHAIR FRANCIS WILL BE JOINING US SOON, BUT[CALL TO ORDER]
WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.SO, UM, I'M CONVENING THE MEETING OF THE AUSTIN WATER SITE, WATER OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE, UM, AT 10 0 5.
[Citizen Communication: General]
WE DO NOT HAVE ANY CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, SO WE'RE GOING TO, UH, GO FIRST[1. Approve the minutes of the October 27, 2021 regular meeting of the Austin Water Oversight Committee]
INTO APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.AND I HAVE A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER POOL AND THE SECOND FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, UH, TO APPROVE THE MINUTES ALL IN FAVOR.
SO IT'S UNANIMOUS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO.
UM, SO, UH, WE HAVE ONE ITEM TODAY AND THAT IS A BRIEFING
[2. Austin Water 2021 Winter Storm After Action Report - Implementation Plan Update.]
ON AUSTIN WATER, 2021 WINTER STORM AFTER ACTION REPORT AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN, UPDATE UPDATE.AND SO I WANT TO SAY, UH, DIRECTOR MERCEDEZ, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL COMING TODAY.
I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE PUBLIC TO HEAR AN UPDATE.
I KNOW THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WORKING TO, UH, IMPLEMENT THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AFTER ACTION REPORT AND ACTUALLY WE'RE BEGINNING THAT WORK BEFORE THE AFTER ACTION REPORT WAS COMPLETED.
SO I THINK IT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL FOR THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING AS WE ENTER INTO THIS.
UM, AND THIS COLD SEASON IN TODAY IS, YOU KNOW, EVIDENCE OF THAT.
I KNOW THAT MY COLLEAGUES WILL HAVE QUESTIONS FOR YOU AND, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S EFFORTS.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO YOU RIGHT NOW.
AND I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT VICE-CHAIR POINTS IS, IS NOW WITH US.
AND IF YOU COULD START UP THE PRESENTATION AGAIN, I AM GREG I'M DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER AND GOING TO GET US KICKED OFF TODAY.
PLEASE ADVANCE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
I JUST WANTED TO START WITH A LITTLE BIT OF AN OVERVIEW TODAY, UH, ON THE PRESENTATION AND, UH, AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK QUESTIONS ALONG THE WAY.
WE HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT CONTENT PROVIDERS TO GO OVER VARIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO JUST JUMP IN ALONG THE WAY WITH QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS, UM, UH, WE'LL START OFF TODAY.
I'M GOING TO SAY A FEW OPENING REMARKS AND TALK ABOUT THE OVERALL PROCESS, OUR PRIORITIZATION APPROACH IMPLEMENTATION, AND SOME REPORTING SUGGESTIONS FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL HAVE, UH, VARIOUS, UH, CONTENT PROVIDERS, UH, PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE, UH, AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS, KIND OF GROUPED BY COMMON AREAS.
UH, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, RANDY JENKINS WILL COVER COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND MESSAGING.
WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATE FROM OUR, FROM OUR HEAD WATER OPERATIONS MANAGER, UH, STEPHANIE SU ON WINTERIZATION OF OPERAS OPERATIONS, OPTIMIZATIONS OPERATIONS, UH, ANA WILL PROVIDE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW AND THEN, UH, SHEA, UH, WE'LL GO OVER INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO AGAIN, I THINK A LOT OF GOOD CONTENT TODAY AND, UH, AND, UH, SOME, SOME GOOD, UH, OPPORTUNITIES TO GO A LITTLE DEEPER ON OUR AFTER ACTION, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS IN STATUS.
SO I WANT TO SPEAK FIRST ABOUT PRIORITIZATION BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S BEEN COMING UP IN SOME OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETINGS AND QUESTIONS FOR, UH, THE ENTIRE CITY ON AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S HUNDREDS, IF NOT THOUSANDS OF AFTER ACTION AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UM, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT PRIORITIZATION? AND I WANT TO SAY WHAT WE DID.
UH, WE SPENT EXTENSIVE TIME WITH OUR COMMISSION, UH, ON A SPECIAL WORKING GROUP THAT THEY PUT TOGETHER, UH, MANY MEETINGS OVER MANY MONTHS AS WE WERE, UH, DEVELOPING AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, AND, UH, THERE IS, UH, IN YOUR PACKET, THERE'S AN EXCERPT FROM OUR, UM, AFTER ACTION REPORT THAT HAS OUR COMMISSIONS, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS ON PRIORITIZATION.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE USING TO DRIVE OUR IMPLEMENTATION.
I DON'T PLAN ON GOING OVER THAT WITH YOU TODAY, BUT I JUST WANTED TO CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THAT AND THAT WE DID GO THROUGH THE PRIORITIZATION STEP.
AND THAT'S A, THAT'S ONE OF OUR GUIDING DOCUMENTS AS WE'RE IMPLEMENTING FROM AN IMPLEMENTATION PERSPECTIVE, IT'S A LITTLE INSIDE BASEBALL HERE, BUT I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT APPRECIATE HOW WE'RE ORGANIZED TO IMPLEMENT THE AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, AGAIN, THEY'RE GROUPED BY KIND OF COMMON THEMES AND WE'RE SETTING UP A CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS AT AUSTIN WATER TO CONTINUE.
THE IMPLEMENTATION COMES, REMEMBER KITCHEN, AS YOU SAID, WE'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING THIS, ISN'T JUST THE START, BUT YOU KNOW, MANY OF THESE THINGS WILL CONTINUE TO BE IMPLEMENTED AND WE'VE DESIGNATED AN EXECUTIVE TO LEAD EACH ONE OF THESE TEAMS. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AT THIS LEVEL, CERTAINLY AT THIS JUNCTURE THAT THIS HAS THE HIGHEST EXECUTIVE LEVEL ATTENTION AT AUSTIN WATER.
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UH, SEVERAL YEARS AGO, RESILIENCY AS A STRATEGIC FOCUS AND THE EXECUTIVES HAVE BEEN REALLY WORKING ON, UH, IMPROVING SYSTEMATIC RESILIENCY, UH, AT THE UTILITY.AND BY HAVING THEM LEAD THESE COMMITTEES, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO NOT ONLY CARRY OUT THE AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT CARRYING THEM OUT IN A WAY THAT COMPLIMENTS BOTH THE WINTER STORM, BUT ALL RISKS THAT WE FACE AS A UTILITY.
AND SO I THINK THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS IN EACH ONE OF THOSE, UH, LEADERS ARE GOING TO BE HANDLING THOSE DIFFERENT AREAS.
AND THEN WE HAVE A MASTER STEERING COMMITTEE WHERE WE ALL GET TOGETHER.
I CHAIR THAT AND WE JUST KIND OF CHECK IN ON A REGULAR BASIS ON, ON HOW THE OVERALL IMPLEMENTATION IS GOING.
WE'RE ALSO PART OF THE CITYWIDE IMPLEMENTATION THAT INCLUDES HE SOME AND AUSTIN ENERGY AND ALL THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO WE'RE, WE'RE A PLUGGED IN AND INTEGRATED INTO ALL OF THAT TOO, FROM A REPORTING PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND IT'S TO HAVE TRANSPARENCY ON, UH, ON PROGRESS.
AND, UH, WHAT WE WOULD PROPOSE IS THAT AT OUR REGULAR QUARTERLY, UH, AUSTIN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETINGS WITH YOU GUYS, THAT WE PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON OUR PROGRESS.
UH, AND SO, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL PLAN TO DO AT EACH ONE OF OUR QUARTERLY SESSIONS, UH, INTO THE FUTURE.
AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO CONTINUE TO ENGAGE, UH, WITH OUR COMMISSION AND, UH, AND THAT WORKING GROUP THAT WAS SET UP AND THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND QUARTERLY REPORT OUT TO THEM.
SO THAT'S SOME OF THE WAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, PUBLICLY WE'LL BE COMMUNICATING, UH, PROGRESS, UH, ACROSS THE SET OF AFTER ACTION WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, AND, AND THEN AGAIN, THERE'S OTHER REPORTING THAT WILL HAPPEN IN, IN THE CITYWIDE PERSPECTIVE.
UH, ALSO, UH, FOR THAT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I WANT TO CONCLUDE MY OPENING REMARKS, UH, WITH, UH, WITH, UH, AN EXAMPLE AND, YOU KNOW, I WAS TRYING TO FIND THE RIGHT WORD.
AND FOR ME, I THINK THIS LAST BULLET IS, UH, IS FAITHFULNESS IS WHAT CAME TO MIND FOR ME.
I WANT YOU TO KNOW FROM THE DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER AND ALL OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM, THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FAITHFUL IN CARRYING OUT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UH, AND WE HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL BEFORE ON AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, AND I WANT TO GIVE YOU THE EXAMPLE OF THE 2018 COLORADO RIVER FLOOD.
I KNOW THE RECENT AUDIT LOOKED AT RECOMMENDATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT EVENT, AND IT WAS REALLY FROM A, FROM A HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE, AND WE'RE A PARTNER WITH THEM AND OWN SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOME OF THE AREAS THAT, UH, THAT WEREN'T SUCCESSFULLY CARRIED OUT, BUT MANY, MANY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THAT 2018 COLORADO RIVER FLOOD IN THE BOIL WATER NOTICE IT WAS AN AUSTIN WATER CENTERED EVENT.
AND WE HAD DOZENS OF RECOMMENDATIONS, OPERATIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS, CIP RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE FATEFULLY CARRIED THOSE OUT AND I HAVE IN YOUR PACKET, A SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE AUSTIN WATER SPECIFIC, AND THEY ARE ALL COMPLETED OR UNDERWAY TO BE COMPLETED.
AND AGAIN, I'M NOT GOING TO GO OVER ALL THIS WITH YOU, BUT I JUST WANT TO USE IT AS AN EXAMPLE OF OUR COMMITMENT WHEN WE HAVE AN EVENT LIKE THIS, AND WE GO THROUGH A FORMAL AFTER ACTION AND CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN THAT WE DO FAITHFULLY CARRY THAT OUT.
MATTER OF FACT, I WOULD POINT OUT THAT, UH, THAT COLORADO RIVER FLOOD, EVEN THIS NEXT COUNCIL MEETING, THAT'S COMING UP AND INTO FEBRUARY AND MARCH, THERE ARE, UH, UH, COUNCIL APPROVAL ITEMS ASSOCIATED WITH US CARRYING THAT OUT.
YOU'RE GOING TO BE APPROVING OUR LONG-TERM POLYMER CONTRACT.
IF YOU RECALL, FROM THAT EVENT, THAT WAS ONE OF THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS WAS THAT WE ADD POLYMERS AS A TREATMENT CHEMICAL TO INCREASE THE FLEXIBILITY, TO TREAT OUT HIGH TURBIDITY EVENTS.
UH, WE HAVE OPERATING POLYMER SYSTEMS THAT ALL THREE PLANTS, UH, THE PERMANENT POLYMER SYSTEM AT ORRICK IS BEING CONSTRUCTED.
WE DID THAT IN 18 MONTHS IN A CREATIVE WAY TO GET MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF INFRASTRUCTURE COMPLETED.
IF YOU KNOW, AUSTIN THAT'S WARP SPEED.
I MEAN, TYPICALLY A PROJECT OF THAT SCALE WOULD TAKE FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS TO GET DONE.
WE HAVE A TEMPORARY POLYMER SYSTEMS AT OUR OTHER PLANTS THAT ARE OPERATIONAL AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PERMANENT SYSTEMS AT DAVIS AND HANCOCKS ARE ALSO SCHEDULED FOR THE MARCH COUNCIL AGENDA MEETING.
SO, UH, JUST AS WE WERE FAITHFUL IN THE 2018 COLORADO RIVER FLOOD, WE'RE GOING TO BE FAITHFUL IN TERMS OF THESE WINTER STORM AFTER ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, WITH THAT, UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR ME TO START, I WOULD TURN IT OVER TO ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, RANDY JENKINS.
YOU KNOW, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN SEE THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON VIRTUALLY.
IS THERE A WAY TO DO THAT? I'M NOT GOING TO, ALL I CAN SEE IS THE PRESENTATION.
BUT IN BETWEEN, SO, SO LET ME JUST SAY TO,
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UM, OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ARE ON THE, UH, ON VIRTUALLY, I CAN'T SEE YOU RIGHT NOW, IF YOU'RE ASKING QUESTIONS.I'M NOT HEARING ANYONE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET THEM KNOW TO SPEAK UP.
AS GREG INTRODUCED, I'M RANDY GENE KINS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN WATER FOR OUR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PROGRAM AREA.
AND AS HE MENTIONED, I'M TO BE COVERING OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND MESSAGING AS IT RELATES TO THE WINTER STORM AND OUR AFTER ACTION REPORT AND ITS PROGRESS.
AND SO AS AN OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND ITS KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OUT OF OUR AFTER ACTION REPORT, I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE AN ENTRY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF WHAT THE SENTIMENT WAS AND THE ACTIONS THAT WE NEEDED TO TAKE TO ENHANCE OUR COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES.
AND SO THE FIRST BULLET THERE IS ADJUSTING TO ENHANCE OUR WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS MESSAGING, UM, INCREASE THE USE OF OUR MITX WATER CUSTOMER PORTAL AND ITS NOTIFICATIONS DURING EMERGENCIES CONDUCT TARGETED OUTREACH TO MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES AND ENHANCING GUIDANCE AND TRAINING FOR USE OF PUBLIC NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS. AND SO I'M GOING TO DRILL DOWN, UM, THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION THIS MORNING, A LITTLE BIT FURTHER FOR EACH OF THESE ITEMS, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND SO TO JUMP RIGHT IN, UM, AUSTIN WATER TOOK IT VERY SERIOUSLY, THE WAYS IN WHICH WE NEEDED TO ENHANCE AND ADJUST OUR WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS MESSAGING AND OUR MATERIALS.
AND SO RIGHT AFTER THE WINTER STORM, WE GOT TO WORK.
WE CONSULTED, UM, ACROSS THE COUNTRY WITH OTHER UTILITIES AND TO FIND OUT WHAT LESSONS WE COULD LEARN FROM THEM AND WHAT ARE SOME BEST PRACTICES, AS WELL AS, UM, UM, OUTREACHING WITH OTHER PLUMBING INDIVIDUALS ACROSS THE CITY ORGANIZATION AND OUTSIDE OF THE CITY TO KIND OF COME UP WITH THIS APPROACH.
AND, UM, WE'VE, UH, DISTRIBUTED, DISTRIBUTED THESE WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS TIPS ACROSS THE CITY THAT STARTED AND, UM, IN MID NOVEMBER IN ADVANCE OF ANY WINTER WEATHER THAT WE MIGHT BE HAVING.
AND LO AND BEHOLD, HERE WE ARE TODAY WITH SOME, SOME COLD WEATHER AMONG US.
AND, UM, WE'VE ALSO PUSHED OUT THAT MESSAGING ON ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS. IT IS HIGHLIGHTED FRONT AND CENTER ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND SO WE TOOK THAT VERY SERIOUSLY AND GOT TO WORK RIGHT AWAY.
UM, THE, THE, UM, ONE OF THE OTHER ITEMS THAT THAT CAME TO LIGHT WAS, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE, UM, PROVIDED THOSE IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.
ALL OF THOSE ARE TRANSLATED INTO SIX LANGUAGES, ENGLISH, SPANISH, ARABIC, KOREAN SIMPLIFIED, CHINESE AND VIETNAMESE.
AND SO THOSE ARE ALL AVAILABLE.
AND SO A LITTLE BIT, UM, MORE ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, TAKING THE STEPS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY WAS PREPARED.
UM, IN ADDITION TO JUST HAVING WRITTEN FORMATS OF THESE MATERIALS, WE ALSO TOOK THE STEP TO, UM, ENHANCE, UM, KIND OF OUR VIDEO AND, AND ALLOW A PLACE FOR THE COMMUNITY TO WATCH AND LEARN ABOUT THE THINGS THAT WE'RE, UM, ASKING THEM TO DO.
AND SO WE'VE PRODUCED TWO VIDEOS ON HOW TO DRIP YOUR PRI PIPES PROPERLY AT YOUR HOME, AND THEN ALSO HOW TO SHUT OFF YOUR WATER METER.
SO THE INVENT OF AN EMERGENCY WHEN THERE ARE 30,000 REQUESTS COMING IN, UM, TO OUR UTILITY, UM, THE COMMUNITY AND THE PUBLIC ARE PREPARED TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, TO SHUT OFF THEIR WATER AT THE RESIDENCE.
AND SO THE IMAGES THERE BEFORE YOU ARE IMAGES ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THAT VIDEO, UM, AND ON THE RIGHT IS A, IS A STILL PICTURE OF THE HOSE BIB COVERS AND THE WATER METER KEYS THAT ALLOW AN INDIVIDUAL TO SHUT OFF WATER TO THE RESIDENTS.
AND SO WE, UM, TOOK ON A BIG EFFORT TO, UH, GET THOSE OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND WE DID.
SO WE HAVE DISTRICT DISTRIBUTED OVER 10,000 OF THOSE TO DATE, UM, WITH MORE ON THE WAY AND MORE TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN THE COMING MONTHS, AS WE CONTINUE TO PREPARE AND BE READY FOR WINTER BLAST.
UM, AND SO THAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
AND SO WE TOOK THAT TO HEART AND THAT'S JUST THE HIGHLIGHT OF THOSE ACTIVITIES.
AND SO A LITTLE BIT FURTHER ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION, UM, THAT WE CONDUCTED TO GET THESE TOOL KITS OUT TO THE COMMUNITY.
WE HELD MULTIPLE COMMUNITY EVENTS, UM, IN THE FALL WE HAD FIVE OF THOSE.
AND THEN WE ADDITIONALLY, UM, PUSHED OUT THESE, THESE KITS TO SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTERS, RECREATION CENTERS, SPECIFICALLY ON THE EAST SIDE, WE ALSO REACHED OUT AND PARTNERED WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE ON HAND ALL THE APPROPRIATE TRANSLATED MATERIALS FOR EACH OF THE BRANCH LOCATIONS.
AND SO, UM, ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN, THERE ARE SOME IMAGES OF OUR STAFF, UM, DISTRIBUTING THOSE MATERIALS TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO THIS IS, UM, THE LAST AND PROBABLY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL APPROACH TO, UM, TOOLKIT DISTRIBUTION.
WE PARTNERED WITH, UM, RCOA UTILITIES, CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTERS.
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HAVE, UH, BILLING CENTERS ON NORTHEAST AND SOUTH.AND SO WE DISTRIBUTED OUR TOOL KITS AT THOSE LOCATIONS, HANDED THEM OUT FREE.
AND, UM, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THERE WERE LINES OUT THE DOOR, SO IT WAS CERTAINLY, UM, A NEED IN THE COMMUNITY AND WE WERE FILLING THAT NEED.
I JUST, I WANT TO, YOU KNOW, KIND OF ECHO THAT SENTIMENT.
UM, WE DID HAVE A CUSTOMER REACH OUT TO US, AND SO I'M GONNA READ THIS QUOTE THAT THEY SENT US AND HE'S IN THIS PERSON SAYS I LIVED DOWN IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO, YOU GUYS WERE PASSING OUT FREE WATER KEYS AND HOSE BIB COVERS.
AND I WENT DOWN AND GOT ONE AND THERE WERE ALSO PRINTED BLUE AND BLACK SHEETS THAT WERE THE BEST TIPS I'VE EVER SEEN ON PREVENTION AND FIXING WATER LEAKS.
IS THERE A POSSIBILITY YOU COULD SEND ME SOME MORE COPIES? I'D LIKE TO GET SOME, TO PASS OUT TO SOME OF MY NEIGHBORS.
AND SO WE DID GET HIM COPIES AND, UM, WE TOOK HIM SOME ADDITIONAL HOSE, BIB COVERS A METER KEYS.
AND, UM, I JUST THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS THE ACTIVITY THAT REALLY RESONATED WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UM, CLEARLY, UH, I THINK WE, WE HELPED, UM, TO DIMINISH A LITTLE BIT OF THE ANXIETY AROUND, UM, YOU KNOW, WINTER COMING AGAIN.
AND SO I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, THAT FOR YOU NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND SO I SPENT, UM, QUITE A BIT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE WINTER TOOLKIT AND THAT PREPAREDNESS MESSAGING, BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT A FEW OF THE OTHER ITEMS THAT ARE UNDERWAY AND IN PROGRESS.
SO, UM, WE TOOK VERY SERIOUSLY THE, UM, COMMUNICATION AND NOTIFICATIONS GOING OUT TO THE PUBLIC.
AND SO, UM, WHILE WE USE THE WARN CENTRAL TEXAS, UM, APPLICATION THROUGH, UM, HE, SOME, WE DID NOTICE THAT WE ARE, WE DID FIND THAT THERE ARE WAYS TO, UM, BETTER PREPARE US TO BE ABLE TO SEND OUT THOSE MESSAGES EVEN FASTER.
AND SO ONE OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT WE'VE DONE AND COORDINATED WITH IS WE'VE PROVIDED OUR BASE MAPS FOR OUR SERVICE AND TERRITORY AREAS, AS WELL AS OUR PRESSURE ZONE MAPS, WHICH WAS A KEY, UM, IN HOW WE, UH, RESCINDED THE BULL WATER NOTICE LAST YEAR.
AND SO WE'VE ALREADY PRELOADED THOSE MAPS, UM, INTO, INTO THEIR SYSTEM.
SO THAT IN THE EVENT OF A FUTURE EMERGENCY, THAT WOULD NOT BE AN ADDITIONAL DELAY THAT WOULD BE FELT IN PUSHING OUT THOSE NOTIFICATIONS.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, I THINK YOU'LL RECALL FROM MY LAST PRESENTATION ABOUT HOW WE UTILIZE THE MITX WATER CUSTOMER PORTAL.
UM, WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, ENHANCED OUR STAFF CROSS TRAINING THERE, SO THAT THERE'S MORE THAN JUST ONE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT WITHIN THE UTILITY THAT KNOWS HOW TO HANDLE AND, AND PUSH OUT THOSE NOTIFICATIONS IN OUR SYSTEM.
AND WE'VE ALSO IMPLEMENTED, UH, AN SOP THAT GOES ALONG WITH HOW TO CONDUCT THAT, UM, IN THE EVENT WE NEED TO PULL IN ADDITIONAL STAFF DURING AN ACTUAL EMERGENCY.
UM, ADDITIONALLY, AND I THINK, UM, ONE OF THE KEY ACTIVITIES, UM, THAT WAS A REAL AHA MOMENT FOR AUSTIN WATER WAS THAT, UM, IN THE PAST WE'VE UTILIZED KIND OF OPERATIONAL UPDATES TO OUR PUBLIC AND DONE THAT ON A, UH, A 12 HOUR CYCLE, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS CERTAINLY A KEY ACTIVITY, BUT IN ORDER TO BEST GET THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC, WE, INSTEAD OF RELYING ON A 12 HOUR OPERATIONAL PERIOD FOR THE UTILITY AND HOW WE OPERATE, WE'RE GOING TO ALIGN OUR UPDATES WITH THE NEW CYCLES.
AND SO THAT WILL ALLOW, UM, REAL TIME NEAR REAL TIME INFORMATION TO BE PUSHED OUT APPROPRIATELY.
AND AROUND THOSE TIMES OF DAY THAT PEOPLE ARE WATCHING, UM, THEIR LOCAL NEWS STATIONS.
UM, AND OUTSIDE OF THAT, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE DID HAVE POWER DISRUPTION THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, THE ACTIONS THAT WE'RE ASKING INDIVIDUALS TO TAKE ON TO BE PERSONALLY PREPARED IS TO PURCHASE BATTERY OPERATED RADIOS.
AND SO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT IN THE EVENT OF POWER OUTAGES, WE, UM, HAVE ALREADY SPOT PURCHASE RADIO ADVERTISEMENTS THAT WE CAN CONVERT TO EMERGENCY MESSAGING ON THE SPOT, SO THAT THOSE WOULD BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE RADIOS, UM, AS SOON AS WE NEEDED THEM.
SO THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED ANOTHER ACTIVITY AND THIS, UH, THIS RELATES BACK TO OUR, UM, EXPANSIVE OR NOT EXPANSIVE, UM, REALLY HIGH VOLUMES OF CALLS THAT WERE COMING IN DURING THAT TIME.
AND SO, UH, WE RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO UPDATE OUR 3, 1, 1 COORDINATION.
SO WHEN CALLS COME IN THROUGH 3, 1, 1, THERE THEY'RE TAKEN IN A VARIETY OF WAYS, BUT THEY ARE STILL MANUALLY, THERE'S STILL MANUAL INTERVENTION.
UM, THAT HAS TO BE DONE ON THE UTILITY SIDE TO GET THOSE INTO OUR ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THEN ROUTED A CREW MEMBER ROUTED TO THAT PROPERTY.
AND SO WE ARE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO THOSE SYSTEMS AND INTEGRATING THE 3, 1, 1 APPLICATIONS WITH, UM, THE UTILITIES ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, SO THAT THOSE CAN BE A SEAMLESS TRANSACTION.
AND THEN THE LAST ITEM THAT I WANT TO UPDATE.
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UM, AS A VALUABLE LESSON LEARNED ABOUT HOW WE COMMUNICATE TO OUR MULTIFAMILY AND TENANT COMMUNITY.UM, SO WE HAVE RECENTLY, AND AS OF, UM, ACTUALLY THIS MORNING INITIATED OUR FIRST WINTER PREPAREDNESS E-NEWSLETTER WITH AUSTIN ENERGY THAT HAS GONE OUT TO ALL MULTI-FAMILY TENANTS.
UM, AND SO THAT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIP GOING FORWARD.
SO WHILE WE SENT OUT OUR FIRST ONE THIS MORNING, REMINDING THOSE CUSTOMERS, OR BROUGHT OUR WINTER WEATHER TIPS ON THE FIRST KIND OF COLD SNAP THAT WE'VE HAD THIS WINTER, UM, WE, THAT WILL BE, UM, QUARTERLY, A QUARTER COMMUNICATION THAT WE PARTNER WITH AEE ON NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND SO THE LAST ITEM THAT I WANT TO, UM, CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO, UM, BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO ANY QUESTIONS IS OUR SERVICE OUTAGE MAP.
AND SO OUR MAPPING EFFORTS WAS CERTAINLY ONE OF THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING OUT OF OUR AFTER ACTION AND CERTAINLY WAS SOMETHING WE WERE TRYING TO PRODUCE ON THE FLY DURING THE EVENT.
AND SO WE NOW HAVE A REAL-TIME SERVICE OUTAGE MAP THAT NOT ONLY BRINGS IN OUR LEAKS IN OUR SYSTEM, BUT ALSO ANY POTENTIAL SHUTOUTS THAT ARE HAPPENING, UM, SHUTOUTS CAN OCCUR FOR MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES AS WELL AS, UM, DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, AS WE TIE CUT NEW CUSTOMERS INTO OUR SYSTEM.
AND SO THIS BRINGS ALL OF THOSE INTO ONE FORMAT.
UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE UTILITY HAS OFFERED OVER TIME, BUT IT WAS NOT IN A MAP.
AND, UM, IT DID NOT HAVE THE SEARCHING FUNCTION WHERE YOU COULD ACTUALLY TYPE IN YOUR ADDRESS, FIND OUT WHERE YOU ARE, WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND ME.
AND SO THIS IS LIVE ON OUR WEBSITE, UM, TODAY.
AND, UM, CAN YOU, I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GO OUT AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND LET US KNOW WE WILL HAVE FUTURE PHASES FOR THIS MAP, UM, TO, YOU KNOW, JUST CONTINUE TO ENHANCE ITS FUNCTIONALITY, BUT IT IS LIVE TODAY.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY PROUD OF THAT ENHANCEMENT AND ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST PROVIDING OUR CUSTOMERS WITH A, UH, A MORE SIMPLE SOLUTION AND FINDING OUT THE STATE OF THE UTILITY.
AND SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER FOR ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE TURNING IT OVER TO OUR WINTERIZATION OF OPERATIONS UPDATES.
SO, UH, VICE CHAIR WINCES OKAY.
SO WE CAN'T HEAR YOU, UH, WE'RE CHECKING TECHNICAL ON THAT.
SO HANG ON JUST A MINUTE, VICE CHAIR.
I TRIED CHI-MING IN EARLIER AND I DON'T THINK THEY COULD HEAR ME EITHER.
WE JUST HEARD YOU COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
SO YEAH, I WAS SAYING FIRST, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THANK YOU FOR THIS VERY THOROUGH UPDATE.
I'M VERY PLEASED TO HEAR ABOUT THE REAL-TIME IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, ESPECIALLY ON THE COMMUNICATIONS FRONT.
AND I SEE THE SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS AND I'M ALWAYS LIKING THEM AND SHARING THEM OUT.
SO JUST KNOW THAT THAT EFFORT, ESPECIALLY IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES GOES A LONG WAY IN EDUCATING OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE EFFORT THAT HAS BEEN EXTENDED ON THAT PART.
I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS, UM, TO ASK ON THE, UM, 3, 1, 1 COORDINATION OF GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE IS SOME ATTENTION FOCUSED ON HOW TO GET THAT, UM, MORE STREAMLINED BETWEEN THE 3 1, 1 PLATFORM AND YOUR, UH, IN YOUR SERVICE MAP AREA AND PROCESS IS THERE DO Y'ALL MEASURE RESPONSE TIMES? SO I KNOW THAT WE'RE ENCOURAGING FOLKS FOR A NON-EMERGENCY, UH, IF THEY HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A LEAKAGE OR A BROKEN PIPE TO REPORT ON 3, 1, 1, DO Y'ALL MEASURE RESPONSE TIMES IN HOW LONG IT TAKES TO HAVE SOMEONE, A TECHNICIAN TO GO OUT TO THE HOUSEHOLD TO SERVICE THE AREA, UM, ANY INFORMATION ON THAT PROCESS? YES, MA'AM.
UM, WE DO MEASURE THAT, AND THAT IS ONE OF OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS THAT WE TRACK ON A MONTHLY BASIS.
AND I KNOW EVEN IN THE DIVISION INSIDE THE UTILITY, EVEN DRILL DOWN A LITTLE BIT FURTHER DAILY, WEEKLY UPDATES WITHIN THOSE TEAMS. UM, IT, WE, UM, SET A GOAL TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RESPOND TO LEAKS WITHIN 90%.
AND I'M LOOKING BACK IS THAT 90% OF THE TIME.
UM, BUT WE ARE ALWAYS ABOVE THAT METRIC.
AND SO I BELIEVE AS OF LATE, I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND CHECK OUR, OUR, OUR, UM, NUMBERS TO BE SURE.
AND I CAN FOLLOW BACK UP WITH YOUR OFFICE, BUT I BELIEVE AS OF LATE, WE ARE WELL ABOVE 95% ON THAT WEEK RESPONSE TIME.
AND I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE THE RESPONSE TIME IN, UM, IN GETTING OUT TO THE HOUSEHOLD AND KNOWING WHAT THE CHANGING OF 3, 1, 1, OR AT LEAST LOOKING FOR MORE, UM, EFFICIENT PROCESSES, IF, HOW THAT IMPACTS THE ABILITY FOR US TO GET OUT THERE, TO SERVICE THOSE AREAS.
[00:25:01]
I HAVE IS AROUND, UH, THE MULTIFAMILY NEWSLETTER, THRILLED TO HEAR THAT THERE IS A PARTNERSHIP WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND PROVIDING INFORMATION TO TENANTS WHO LIVE, UM, IN AN APARTMENTS.AND I'M CURIOUS IF YOU CAN, IF YOU ALL CAN SHARE THAT NEWSLETTER WITH US, UM, I'D BE INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT INFORMATION IS INCLUDED AND WOULD WANT TO INCLUDE IT IN THE NEWSLETTERS THAT, THAT MY OFFICE HAS SENSE AS WELL.
WE'LL ABSOLUTELY GET THAT Y'ALL'S WAY.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, AND THEN MAYOR PRO TIM, UM, ALTER, THANK YOU, CHAIR.
UM, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION ON THAT, UM, ON THE NEWSLETTER, IT'S REALLY EXCITING TO HEAR THAT THAT COLLABORATION, THAT COLLABORATION IS HAPPENING.
IS THERE A WAY FOR FOLKS WHO ARE RENTING APARTMENTS TO BE ABLE TO SIGN UP IF THEY ARE NOT THE MAIN ACCOUNT EMAIL ADDRESS FOR AUSTIN ENERGY? CAUSE I'M WONDERING IF FAMILIES NEED NOTIFICATION THAT THEY SHOULD FORWARD IT TO THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE IN THE APARTMENT KNOWS THE INFORMATION YOU'RE SHARING.
SO THEY CAN ALWAYS CALL OUR SEAWAY UTILITIES ACCOUNT LINE 4, 9, 4 9400 TO MAKE SURE THAT THEIR ACCOUNT INFORMATION IS UP TO DATE, BUT THESE INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE THE DIRECT, UM, TENANTS AT THAT LOCATION BECAUSE IT'S TIED TO THE ELECTRIC ACCOUNT.
SO THAT'S HOW WE'RE ACTUALLY PARTNERING WITH AEE IS THAT, UM, EVERY TENANT DOES HAVE A SEPARATE AND INDEPENDENT ELECTRIC UTILITY ACCOUNT.
UM, AND SO THAT, THAT'S HOW WE'VE PARTNERED IN THAT WAY.
SO IT SHOULD, BUT THEY CAN ALWAYS CALL 4, 9, 4 9400 TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY, UM, HAVE THAT CONTACT INFORMATION UPDATED.
CAUSE I KNOW AUSTIN WATER, OBVIOUSLY SOME APARTMENTS JUST DIVVY IT UP BY SQUARE FOOTAGE AND DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE SEPARATE METERING AS WE'VE HAD THIS CONVERSATION IN THIS COMMITTEE OVER A RANGE OF DIFFERENT TOPICS.
AND SO I APPRECIATE THAT THAT OPTION IS OUT THERE FOR APARTMENT DWELLERS.
UM, AND I ALSO LOVE THE SERVICE OUTAGE MAP.
I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT Y'ALL HAVE WORKED REALLY HARD IN THE LAST YEAR TO MAKE SURE IT'S UP AND RUNNING.
AND IT'S REALLY HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, WHY THEY'RE OUT OF WATER? IS IT A LEAK? UM, BUT I DID WONDER IN YOUR NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, UM, YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEND OUT INFORMATION ABOUT BOILED WATER NOTICES, BUT DO YOU HAVE A WAY TO SEGMENT THAT FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY BE, UH, QUICKLY APPROACHING, RUNNING OUT OF WATER AS, UM, A TREATMENT PLANT MAY POTENTIALLY GO OFFLINE? JUST BECAUSE I KNOW SOMETIMES THE OUTAGE MAY HAPPEN BEFORE THE BOIL WATER NOTICE AND PEOPLE MAY WANT TO MAKE THEIR, THEIR DECISIONS ABOUT WHETHER TO GO STAY WITH A NEIGHBOR QUICKER IF, IF THEY KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS GOING TO BE OUT OF WATER SOON AND THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD MAY NOT HAVE ACCESS TO RUNNING WATER FOR AWHILE.
SO AS WE CONTINUE TO ADVANCE HER, UM, AUTOMATED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT, WHICH RIGHT TO DATE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE WILL BE MENTIONING THIS STATISTIC, BUT WE'VE INSTALLED OVER 21,000 METERS IN OUR SYSTEM WITH THE PLAN TO GET TO A 50,000, UM, COUNT THRESHOLD THIS YEAR AND, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO, UM, REPLACE THOSE.
AND, UM, THAT PROJECT SHOULD WRAP UP IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
AND SO I THINK AS, AS WE GET MORE OF THOSE METERS INSTALLED AND NOW IN OUR SERVICE AREA, WE WILL HAVE REAL TIME INFORMATION ABOUT OUTAGES AND WE'RE ALREADY SETTING THE GROUNDWORK AND THE PLATFORM TO HAVE, UM, DASHBOARDS INTERNAL TO AUSTIN WATER SO THAT WE CAN TRACK ALONG WITH THAT IMMEDIATELY AS THOSE ITEMS ARE HAPPENING.
UM, I BELIEVE WE'RE ALSO PILOTING AND LOOKING INTO IT.
UM, AND I'M PROBABLY, I'M PROBABLY MIGHT NEED TO RELY ON RICK TO SPEAK TO THIS, BUT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, OUR STORAGE TANKS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, UM, WE'RE NO LONGER JUST SIMPLY RELYING ON THE, UM, THE MEASUREMENT TOOL IN THOSE SYSTEMS. WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT DEPLOYING OTHER ELECTRONIC MEANS THAT WOULD, WOULD HELP US IDENTIFY OUTAGES AND IN CERTAIN TERRITORIES, THAT THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND LAST QUESTION, I REALLY APPRECIATED THE, UH, PRESENT THIS SLIDE THAT ACTUALLY SHOWED THAT Y'ALL HAVE VIDEOS UP INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS ON HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HOME.
CAN YOU PLUG VERY QUICKLY HERE WHERE TO FIND THAT, IS THERE A CERTAIN SEARCH TERM THAT PEOPLE SHOULD LOOK FOR ON YOUR WEBSITE? THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET TO IT STRAIGHT FROM OUR HOMEPAGE.
SO AUSTIN WATER.ORG, AND AT THE VERY TOP IS OUR WINTER WEATHER TOOLKIT.
AND WHEN YOU CLICK ON THAT LINK, IT WILL TAKE YOU TO ALL THE MATERIALS, INCLUDING THE VIDEOS.
UM, I WANTED TO JUST MAKE SURE THAT I'M UNDERSTANDING FOR THIS SERVICE OUTAGE MAP, WHETHER IT IS ADDRESSING ONE OF THE KEY CHALLENGES THAT WE FOUND, UM, DURING THE STORM WHERE FOLKS WERE REPORTING LEAKS, BUT THEY WERE NOT SHOWING UP ON OUTAGE MAP UNTIL THEY WERE INVESTIGATED.
UM, IT'S LOOKING FROM THAT, THE KEY HERE THAT YOU HAVE
[00:30:01]
LEAKS PENDING INSPECTION.UM, SO IT APPEARS THAT YOU'VE ADDRESSED THAT, BUT CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE PLEASE? ABSOLUTELY.
SO, UM, THE PENDING INSPECTION WOULD MEAN THAT WE'VE RECEIVED A, A CALL, UM, INDICATING THAT THERE'S AN ISSUE WITH THAT SERVICE ADDRESS AND THAT WE ARE ROUTING A TECHNICIAN TO INVESTIGATE ONCE THEY INVESTIGATE AND THEY, UM, ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE IS A REPAIR NEEDED, THEN THAT WOULD BE FLIPPED TO A REPAIR, WHICH IS TYPICALLY, OH, GO AHEAD.
I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, WHICH IS TYPICALLY A DIFFERENT CREW.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, CREWS THAT WILL COME AND INVESTIGATE IF THERE'S NO PROBLEM OR IF THERE IS, AND THEY, UM, IDENTIFY WHAT TOOLS ARE NEEDED TO MAKE THAT REPAIR AND THEN THAT, THAT CREW MEMBER WOULD BE IN ROUTE.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD IS, UM, FOR WARRING CENTRAL TEXAS, UM, I APPRECIATE THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MAKING WHERE, WHERE YOU HAVE THE SERVICE AREAS, ET CETERA.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS ALWAYS PUZZLED ME IS IT SEEMED LIKE THE CITY WAITED REALLY LONG TO USE WARN CENTRAL TEXAS.
CAN YOU HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY IT TOOK SO LONG, UM, TO DEPLOY THAT RESOURCE? AND IT'S NOT JUST FROST WATER, BUT LIKE, I THINK AUSTIN WATER WAS LIKE ONE OF THE FIRST ONES WE SAW ACTUALLY USE IT.
AND YOU PROBABLY USED IT RELATIVE TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING FASTER THAN OTHERS, BUT IT WAS STILL KIND OF FAR INTO THE, TO THE PROCESS AS I RECALL.
THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
AND AS YOU SPEAK TO THAT, IF YOU COULD TELL US ANY CHANGES THAT YOU'VE PUT IN PLACE TO MAKE THAT QUICKER.
SO I, YOU KNOW, I DID MENTION THAT WE HAVE PRELOADED, UM, IN CENTRAL TEXAS WITH SERVICE AREA MAPS.
SO THAT, THAT, THAT WAS ALSO A DELAY WE HAD TO, YOU KNOW, UM, GET OUR GIS TEAM TO PRODUCE THE LAYERS THAT THEN HE SOME, AND, AND THOSE FOLKS COULD UPLOAD.
AND SO THAT TRANSACTION TOOK, UM, A LITTLE BIT AND THEN, AND THEN TO PRELOAD ALL OF THE ACCOUNTS THAT WERE WITHIN THOSE AREAS THAT ALSO TOOK ANOTHER CHUG.
SO NOW THAT WE'VE HAD THOSE AREAS PRELOADED, UM, IT WILL DEFINITELY GO QUICKER.
AND DO YOU HAVE, UM, SOMETHING WRITTEN UP ON THE OUTAGE MAP AND THOSE CHANGES SPECIFICALLY? SO YES MA'AM.
SO, UM, WHILE THIS IN OUR POWERPOINT IS SIMPLY A SCREENSHOT, WHEN YOU DO UPLOAD THE REAL, YOU KNOW, AND GO VIEW THE REAL MAP ON OUR WEBSITE ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE, THERE IS A DESCRIPTION.
AND SO WHEN YOU OPENED THE MAP, IT POPS UP AND YOU CAN MINIMIZE THAT PIN OUT OF YOUR WAY, ONCE YOU'RE DONE READING IT, BUT IT DOES PROVIDE DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH OF THOSE CATEGORIES, AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE ARE WORKING TO GET TO EACH ADDRESS ON THIS LIST.
I HAVE A FEW FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS.
DO I HAVE A FEW FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS? THANK YOU ALL.
AND THANK YOU FOR THOSE QUESTIONS AND, UH, WELCOME TO COUNCIL MEMBER.
TOVO I SEE YOU'VE JOINED US NOW.
SO, UM, THE, UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE DISTRIBUTION AND, AND HELPING US UNDERSTAND HOW THE TOOL KITS WERE DISTRIBUTED.
UH, WHAT WOULD, UH, WHAT WOULD A PERSON DO RIGHT NOW IF THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, MISSED ONE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AND THEY WANTED TO, TO GET A TOOLKIT, WHAT COULD THEY DO? SO WE ARE, WE ARE IN PROGRESS OF WAITING FOR A SECONDARY SHIPMENT OF THOSE TOOLKITS TO COME IN.
UM, SO WE ARE, UM, GETTING READY TO SET UP A SECONDARY DISTRIBUTION.
SO BE ON THE LOOKOUT, IF, IF THEY ARE WANTING SOMETHING IN THEIR HANDS, NOW THOSE ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE AT LOCAL HARDWARE STORES FOR PURCHASE.
UM, SO I DO RECOMMEND, YOU KNOW, IF SOMEONE WANTED TO THAT SAID, I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT WHILE THESE THINGS ARE KIND OF NICE TO HAVE, UM, MOST HOMES STILL HAVE A PRIVATE PROPERTY SHUTOFF VALVE THAT WOULD WORK IN THE SAME WAY.
SO KIND OF THE METER KEY IS A SECONDARY SOURCE FOR SHUTTING OFF WATER TO YOUR HOME.
IF YOU HAVE A PRIVATE, WHICH MOST HOMES DO, UM, HAVE A PRIVATE SHUT OFF VALVE, THAT WOULD BE KIND OF YOUR FIRST, UM, FIRST STEP IS TO SHUT THAT OFF.
UM, AND THEN IF THAT DIDN'T WORK, THEN GET IN THE METER BOX.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, WE ARE STILL AVAILABLE TAKING CALLS.
OUR DISPATCH OFFICE IS OPEN 24 7 365.
SO FEEL FREE TO ALWAYS GIVE US A CALL IF, UM, SOMETHING IS OCCURRING AT YOUR RESIDENT.
AND THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THE SHUT OFF VALVE.
IS THAT PART OF THE INFORMATION IN YOUR EDUCATIONAL VIDEO? IT IS.
SO AT THIS POINT, IF, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A NUMBER OF OPTIONS, THERE'S THE EDUCATIONAL VIDEO THAT WILL TELL THEM ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SHUTOFF VALVE, IF THEY HAVE ONE AT THEIR HOME, THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER SHIPMENT OF TOOLKITS
[00:35:01]
COMING IN.SO FOR THOSE WHO NEED, UH, THAT RESOURCE WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR THAT'LL BE COMING OUT.
UM, AND I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN SENDING THAT INFORMATION OUT TO, TO US SO THAT WE CAN HELP DISTRIBUTE IT.
SO I'LL LOOK FORWARD TO THAT WHEN YOUR NEXT SHIPMENT ARRIVES.
SO I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION OPEN AGAIN.
WHEN THE SERVICE CENTER, THE SERVICE CENTERS HAVE ALSO CLOSED, UM, DUE TO OUR STAGE FIVE COVID RIGHT NOW.
AND SO ONCE THEY OPEN, WE WILL WORK OUT REDISTRIBUTING THROUGH THOSE SERVICE CENTERS AGAIN.
THEN, UM, I HAD ANOTHER QUESTION, UM, JUST TO, TO FOLLOW UP ON THE, THE INTEGRATING WITH THE 3, 1, 1 WITH UTILITY.
UH, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTOOD THAT CORRECTLY.
DOES THAT MEAN THAT THAT'S GOING TO CONNECT TO THE OUTAGE MOUNT THAT INFORMATION CONNECTS ELECTRONICALLY IN A REAL-TIME WAY? IS THAT WHAT YOU MEANT? CORRECT.
WHICH, WHICH THAT INTEGRATION THROUGH OUR ASSET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ALREADY EXISTS.
UM, SO ONCE WE DO RECEIVE A PHONE CALL, THAT OUTAGE MAP IS UPDATED EVERY TWO MINUTES.
AND SO IT'S CONTINUALLY PULLING, UM, NEW CUSTOMER, UM, UM, INQUIRIES.
SO THAT, THAT IS UPDATED THE 3, 1, 1 COMPONENT.
UM, RIGHT NOW IT'S MANUAL, IT COMES OVER, WE, YOU KNOW, STAFF ENTERS IT RIGHT AWAY AND THEN IT GETS UPLOADED.
UM, BUT THAT INTEGRATION THAT'S BEING BUILT RIGHT NOW WILL SPEED THAT UP EVEN, EVEN GREATER.
THEN MY LAST QUESTION, LET'S SEE.
UM, OH, I THINK YOU ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS.
SO I THINK THE NEXT PRESENTATION IS WINTERIZATION.
YOU WANT TO MOVE TO THAT? GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS STEPHANIE SUE, AND I AM AUSTIN WATERS, OPERATIONS MANAGER, UM, FOR WATER TREATMENT OPERATIONS, I GUESS IF WE WANT TO PULL THE NEXT SLIDE UP.
AND YOU CAN MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO TODAY I'M GOING TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON, UM, REALLY WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON FROM A WINTERIZATION STANDPOINT ON THE OPERATION SIDE.
UM, I'LL START WITH, UH, SOME DETAILS OF OUR WINTER WEATHER PREPARATIONS, WHICH IS REALLY SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SINCE THE END OF WINTER STORM URI LAST YEAR.
UM, AND, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, PROVIDING AN UPDATE OF OUR AVAILABLE CAPACITY PROTOCOLS, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS, IS OUR, UM, IS OUR BALANCING OF OUR MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES WITH THE, OUR ABILITY TO ALSO MEET INCREASED CAPACITY, UH, DEMANDS, UH, THROUGH THE WINTER TIME AND THEN OUR STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE, UH, THESE, THESE CAPACITY REQUIREMENTS.
SO FROM A WINTER WEATHER PREPARATION STANDPOINT, AS I MENTIONED, PRETTY MUCH WHEN TEMPERATURE STARTED RISING DURING WINTER STORM URI, OUR STAFF GOT IN AND, UM, TOOK CARE OF CRITICAL REPAIRS THAT WERE NEEDED AT ALL THREE OF OUR WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.
UM, WE'RE SHOWING A COUPLE PICTURES HERE, THE ONE ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE, UM, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE IT, BUT THERE'S LIKE A GRAY PIPE THAT THAT'S RUNNING ACROSS THAT WALKWAY.
UM, AND, AND IT'S GOT A OF CRACKS IN IT.
UM, AND THAT'S PRETTY REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DAMAGE THAT WE SUSTAINED AT OUR PLANTS.
UM, REALLY, YOU KNOW, BROKEN PIPES, LEAKS, BURST, BURSTED PIPES, AND THEN, UM, A LOT OF EQUIPMENT OR SOME OF OUR EQUIPMENT THAT, THAT IS EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS, YOU KNOW, FROZE.
AND WE HAD TO GET IN THERE AND MAKE REPAIRS AND, AND, AND BASICALLY GET BACK TO NORMAL OPERATION.
UM, ONCE WE COMPLETED THAT WE REALLY FOCUSED OUR EFFORTS ON RE REALLY, UM, KIND OF THROUGH THE END OF LAST YEAR ON, UM, INSTALLING INSTALLATION, UM, MAKING FORTIFYING OUR INSTALLATION AND REALLY WINTERIZING OUR PIPING AND EQUIPMENT.
UM, AND I THINK IT'S WORTH NOTING THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR PLANTS ARE PRETTY WELL EQUIPPED AND ACCUSTOMED TO DEALING WITH A COUPLE OF DAYS OF THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES, BUT WITH HER, WITH WINTER STORM YURI, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SIX DAYS OF BELOW FREEZING, SUSTAINED BELOW FREEZING TEMPERATURES.
AND SO THAT REALLY IS WHAT WAS CHALLENGING FOR A LOT OF OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
UM, BUT, UH, THROUGH A LOT OF AFTER-ACTION DISCUSSIONS THAT WE HAD INTERNALLY, WE, WE REALLY FOCUSED ON HOW TO BEST WINTERIZE OUR EQUIPMENT AND OUR PIPING TO, TO DEAL WITH THOSE SUSTAINED FREEZING TEMPERATURES.
ANOTHER THING THAT KIND OF CAME OUT OF OUR AFTER ACTION DISCUSSIONS, UM, WAS, UH, THINKING ABOUT, AND, AND, AND, AND BUYING TOOLS THAT WE NEED AT THE PLANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE NOT RELIANT ON ACCESS
[00:40:01]
TO THE PLANT.SO KIND OF THROUGH IN THE MIDDLE OF WINTER STORM YURI, WE WERE RUNNING LOW ON LAB SUPPLIES, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TYPICALLY HAVE DELIVERED TO THE PLANT BECAUSE OF THE ICY ROAD CONDITIONS.
WE WEREN'T ABLE TO GET ACCESS TO THAT.
SO, UM, AGAIN, ANOTHER OUTCOME OF OUR AFTER-ACTION DISCUSSION WAS, WAS BUYING HANDHELD CHLORINE ANALYZERS TO ALLOW US TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITHOUT RELYING ON, ON LAB SUPPLIES.
NEXT SLIDE, WE'VE ALSO STOCKED UP ON OUR SUPPLIES.
SO THINGS LIKE SAND, WHICH I'M SHOWING HERE ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE, UM, AND DEICING FLUID TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SURFACES, THAT WE CAN DRIVE ON HEATERS TO HEAT UP OUR EQUIPMENT, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE FUNCTIONAL WHEN IT'S FREEZING OUTSIDE, UM, EMPLOYEE SAFETY ITEMS. UM, I SHOW SOME ICE TREKKERS.
THOSE ARE BOOT SPIKES THAT, UH, AND THAT THOSE ARE BOOTS SPIKES.
AND THEN THINGS LIKE TIRE CHAINS THAT ALLOW OUR GUYS TO GET WHERE THEY NEED TO, WHICH THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE TO DO THEIR PERIODIC CHECKS THROUGHOUT THE DAY IN, IN THESE FREEZING TEMPERATURES, MAKING SURE THAT THEY CAN SAFELY DO THAT.
UM, WE'RE SHOWING SOME COTS AND READY TO EAT MEALS AND AIR MATTRESSES, UM, IN THE MIDDLE, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT WINTER STORM YURI, WE HAD A STAFF THAT WERE SHELTERING IN PLACE, UM, THROUGHOUT THAT WHOLE WEEK.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD THE RIGHT SUPPLIES TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY WERE SAFE AND COMFORTABLE IN THE EVENT THAT WE HAVE TO DO THAT AGAIN.
UM, AND THEN ANOTHER THING THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING IS, UH, UPDATING OUR STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
SO WE, WE SOP THAT EXISTED ALREADY MORE SO FOR THE COMMON WINTER THAT, THAT WINTER WEATHER THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE PAST.
UM, BUT, UH, WE, WE REALLY, UM, TOOK OUR LESSONS LEARNED FROM, FROM WHAT WE OBSERVED DURING WINTER STORM YURI AND USE THAT AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF BEEF UP OUR SOP.
WE NOW HAVE KIND OF A TWO TIERED APPROACH, UH, KIND OF OUR COMMON WINNER AND THEN OUR HARD STEPS, UH, DEPENDING REALLY ON HOW LONG THE FREEZING WEATHER IS GOING TO LAST.
SO COMMON WINNER STEPS ARE THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, CRACKING VALVES, MAKING SURE THAT OUR HEATERS ARE WORKING, DOORS ARE CLOSED AND OUR HEAT TRACINGS WORKING HARD, FREEZE STEPS ARE THINGS LIKE, YOU KNOW, DRAINING, BEING ABLE TO DRAIN LINES, UM, TURNING OFF, UH, CHEMICALS THAT ARE NOT CRITICAL TO OUR PROCESS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE REDUCING THE AMOUNT OF TESTING THAT WE DO, UH, FROM OUR DAILY ROUTINE.
SO I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE'VE, WE'VE GONE THROUGH OUR SOP A COUPLE OF TIMES ALREADY THIS YEAR, AND WE JUST FINISHED IT THIS WEEK, JUST IN TIME FOR THE WINTER WEATHER THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW.
SO THAT KINDA COVERS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING TO WINTERIZE OUR PLANTS AND FACILITIES.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO COVER IS OUR, UM, UPDATED CAPACITY AVAILABILITY PROTOCOLS.
SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, WINTER IS, ARE, IS, IS LOW DEMAND TIME, AND REALLY IS PRIME TIME FOR US TO GET A LOT OF, UH, MAJOR MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES DONE.
UM, YOU KNOW, W WITH OUR, WITH OUR PLANTS AND THE PHOTO THAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS ACTUALLY AT OUR DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
IT'S ONE OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS, UM, JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, WASHING DOWN AN EMPTY BASIN.
AND, UM, THIS IS A PRETTY LABOR INTENSIVE AND TIME-CONSUMING PROCESS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE TO DO ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
WE HAVE TO DO THIS TO ALL OF OUR BASINS, AND WE, WE DO THIS TYPICALLY DURING THE WINTER TIME BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, SUMMERS ARE OUR PEAK PRODUCTION SEASON, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR EQUIPMENT WORKS AND WE'RE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE NEEDS.
SO, UM, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE'RE NOW IN WINTER SEASON AND WE ARE, THE CHALLENGE FOR US RIGHT NOW IS TO BE ABLE TO BALANCE, UM, THESE, THESE ACTIVITIES, MAINTENANCE AND CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES AT OUR PLANTS WITH, UH, THE CAPACITY AND THE DEMAND THAT, THAT, UM, THAT WE MIGHT SEE, YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE CAN SEE, AND, AND EVEN IN THE WINTER SEASON.
SO A LOT OF IT IS BASICALLY, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE BALANCE THESE IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES, UH, WITH OUR ABILITY TO BE ABLE TO, TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF, OF, UH, OF THE WATER SYSTEM.
UM, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE'VE GOT FEWER BASINS, THAT, AND FACILITIES THAT CAN BE OFFLINE AT THE SAME TIME.
AND SO FROM A, FROM A, UM, MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS STANDPOINT, THAT MEANS THAT WE ARE WE'RE, WE'RE NOW IMPLEMENTING NEW STRATEGIES THAT ALLOW US TO KIND OF BALANCE THAT, UM, TOGETHER, NEXT SLIDE.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'VE PUT INTO PLACE, UM, TO, TO ALLOW US TO, TO MAINTAIN, UM, THE CAPACITY AND MEET THE DEMANDS EVEN THROUGH THE WINTER TIME.
UM, THE FACILITY CONCURRENCE PROCESS IS, IS A PROCESS THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY BEEN USING, UM, FOR AWHILE.
NOW IT'S AN INTERNAL PROCESS THAT ALLOWS KIND OF ALL THE FACILITIES, UH, WITHIN AUSTIN WATER TO COMMUNICATE, UM, IN COORDINATE ON
[00:45:01]
SCHEDULED OUTAGES, LIKE, LIKE, LIKE WHAT YOU SAW IN THE PICTURE BEFORE, UM, AND REALLY ALLOWS US TO COMMUNICATE THAT AND AVOID MULTIPLE OUTAGES.SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE, THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR A WHILE THAT I THINK COMING INTO THE WINTER SEASON, AGAIN, MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THE CAPACITY, UM, AND STILL DO THESE THINGS AS IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT NOW WAS, IS PRESENT WHEN WE DO, WHEN WE GO THROUGH THE FACILITY, CONCURRENCE PROCESS, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, UM, SOMETHING ON IS GOING TO TALK A BIT MORE ABOUT, BUT WHAT THIS IS, IS, UH, JUST MAKING SURE AGAIN, THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING AND COMMUNICATING OUT ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO ALLOW US TO MEET, UM, CAPACITY NEEDS.
SO FROM THE WATER TRIM PLANT STANDPOINT, THAT'S THINGS LIKE TRACKING OUR CHEMICAL STORAGE, YOU KNOW, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH CHEMICALS GOING INTO A STORM KNOWING THAT IT'S GOING TO BE HARD TO GET DELIVERIES BECAUSE OF ICY ROAD CONDITIONS? DO WE HAVE ENOUGH STAFF AVAILABLE? CAN WE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE WAY TO, TO CALL THEM IN WHEN WE NEED TO.
AND THEN AGAIN, ARE WE MEETING OUR PRODUCTION CAPACITY IN ORDER TO MEET THE DEMANDS THAT THE SYSTEM IS GONNA GONNA NEED? UM, ANOTHER THING FOR, FOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IS, UH, REALLY, UH, UH, FREQUENT REPORTING OUT OF THE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM, HEALTH THINGS LIKE HOW MUCH ARE WE PUMPING? HOW MUCH ARE WE PRODUCING? HOW MUCH USAGE AND DEMAND IS THERE OUT IN THE SYSTEM, AND THEN HOW MUCH DO WE HAVE IN STORAGE? SO THAT'S, SO AGAIN, A WAY FOR, FOR ALL THE FACILITIES TO BE COMMUNICATING ON OUR STATUSES SO THAT WE KINDA KNOW, UM, HOW EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING AND WHETHER ANYBODY ELSE NEEDS TO STEP UP.
UM, IF SOMETHING, IF SOMETHING HAPPENS AND THEN FINALLY THE, THE PHOTO THAT I'M SHOWING HERE IS A REMOTELY OPERATED VEHICLE OR AN ROV.
UM, I WANNA, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THIS REALLY, BECAUSE IT'S A, IT'S A GOOD EXAMPLE OF OUR NEED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK INTO AND INVEST IN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY.
UM, THIS IS A, THIS IS A DEVICE THAT WE'RE USING TO INSPECT OUR TANKS.
UM, NOW W WELL, WHILE IN OPERATION, TRADITIONALLY, UM, INSPECTIONS ARE DONE IN A TANK THAT YOU DO WATER, AND YOU, YOU SEND A, SEND SOMEBODY IN THERE TO ACTUALLY DO THE INSPECTION, BUT THE USE OF SOMETHING LIKE AN ROV IS HELPFUL, AGAIN, TO ALLOW US TO DO THE CRITICAL THINGS THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO, YOU KNOW, ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AND A FREQUENT BASIS, BUT STILL NOT INTERRUPT OUR OPERATION OR OUR CAPACITY.
SO THAT THE ROV IS SOMETHING ACTUALLY WE'VE ALREADY BEEN USING AT THE, AT THE PLANTS ON OUR, UM, ON OUR RAW WATER LINES, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T STOP, WE CAN'T STOP PRODUCTION ON OUR PLANT, BUT IT ALLOWS US TO DO THE INSPECTIONS WE NEED AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN GOOD SHAPE.
UM, AND I GUESS THE ONLY OTHER THING I WANTED TO ADD IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE DOING CURRENTLY, AND I THINK KIND OF MOVING FORWARD, THIS IS GONNA CONTINUE TO BE SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA, UM, IMPROVE UPON AND, AND DEVELOP MORE STRATEGIES AROUND.
I THINK FROM AN OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT STANDPOINT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THIS TYPE OF INNOVATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE TO ALLOW US TO, TO DO THESE TYPES OF THINGS AND, AND BALANCE A LOT BETTER.
AND I THINK ALSO FROM A CAPITAL STANDPOINT, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE INVESTMENTS IN OUR PLANTS TO MAKE SURE AGAIN, THAT, THAT WE'RE GONNA, WE HAVE THE RIGHT, UM, EQUIPMENT AND, AND, AND, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO ALLOW US TO DO THE MAINTENANCE WE NEED, BUT ALSO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE SYSTEM WITH THAT.
ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE A FEW, IF I'M OKAY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND PROCEED.
IF, IF ANYONE ELSE HAS A QUESTION, JUST RAISE YOUR HAND.
SO, UM, I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS FOR YOU, UH, FIRST OFF, WHAT, UM, WELL, LET ME JUST SAY FIRST, IT'S EXCITING TO HEAR ABOUT THE, THE EFFORTS TO, UH, TO CONTINUE TO USE INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY.
I MEAN, REALLY, THAT'S, THAT'S A FORCE MULTIPLIER IN TERMS OF YOUR STAFFING.
AND, UM, AND THE IDEA THERE I, YOU KNOW, IS TO, IS TO DETECT PROBLEMS QUICKER, UM, AND TO GET INTO PLACES THAT IS DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO GET INTO.
SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT.
SO MY QUESTION IS, UM, TWO THINGS AT THE BEGINNING, YOU HAD TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE INSTALLATION AND WINTERIZATION OF PIPING AND EQUIPMENT.
SO, UH, DID I UNDERSTAND YOU TO SAY THAT, THAT IT HAS ALL OF THAT BEEN COMPLETED AT THIS POINT OR WHAT'S LEFT TO BE DONE, I GUESS IS MY QUESTION.
SO I CAN DEFINITELY SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE WATER, WATER TREATMENT PLANTS.
UM, BUT YES, UH, AT THE, BY THE END OF LAST YEAR, WE WERE COMPLETE WITH THE REPAIRS NEEDED AND INSTALLATION THAT, THAT NEEDED TO BE INSTALLED ON OUR EQUIPMENT.
IS THERE ANY MORE WINTERIZATION TYPES OF, UM, UM, ACTIVITIES THAT NEED TO OCCUR WINTERIZATION IN THE SENSE OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ON OUR EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE? NOT AT THIS TIME, HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, AS I MENTIONED, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO WORK ON AND, YOU KNOW,
[00:50:01]
AS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, AS TIME GOES BY WE'LL, WE'LL, YOU KNOW, LEARN MORE AND, AND ACT ACCORDINGLY.UH, YOU HAD MENTIONED A SECOND THING WAS YOU HAD MENTIONED, UM, CAPITAL INVESTMENTS.
UM, CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU MEANT BY THAT? YEAH, AND I KNOW THAT SHAY IS GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, UH, OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS AND WHATNOT, BUT I THINK SOME OF WHAT CAME OUT OF THE AFTER ACTION, UH, DISCUSSIONS WAS, YOU KNOW, THIS NOTION OF, UM, HAVING MAINTAINING A CERTAIN CAPACITY WHILE STILL, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE STILL HAVE TO TAKE BASINS OFFLINE FOR PERIODIC, UM, CLEANING OR, OR, OR MAINTENANCE OR CORRECTIVE MAINTENANCE THAT, THAT POPS UP KINDA ANY, ANY GIVEN MOMENT.
SO I THINK THE THOUGHT WOULD BE, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO STILL MEET OUR CAPACITY NEEDS AND, YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT COULD MEAN IS ADDING ANOTHER BASIN SO THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN TAKE ANOTHER BASE ON OFFLINE BASICALLY.
SO ARE Y'ALL IN THE PROCESS OF ANALYZING THE EXTENT TO WHICH YOU MIGHT NEED ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS IN ORDER TO BALANCE YOUR MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE AND CAPACITY? YES, MA'AM.
DO Y'ALL HAVE A TIMELINE FOR THAT? I DON'T KNOW IF THE DIRECTOR NEEDS TO SPEAK TO THAT OR SOMEONE ELSE DOES.
I THINK SHEA WILL PROBABLY TALK MORE ABOUT THAT.
MAYBE YOU'RE GOING TO GET TO THAT OKAY.
UH, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE REDUNDANCY OF ELECTRIFICATION? I KNOW THERE WERE JUST, UH, UM, AT LEAST ONE ISSUE LAST, UH, LAST WINTER ABOUT, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THE POWER IS STAYING ON OR THAT THERE'S BACKUP GENERATORS OR SOME SORT OF REDUNDANT POWER TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT THE SITUATION THAT TAKES A WHOLE TREATMENT PLANT OFFLINE, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.
SO THAT, THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING I KNOW SHE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT.
I KNOW THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ON, ON THAT TYPE OF FORTIFICATION, BUT I'LL LET SHEA COVER THAT IF THAT'S OKAY.
LET'S MOVE ON TO THE NEXT SEGMENT.
I AM ANA BRIAN ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS SERVICES AT AUSTIN WATER.
I'M GOING TO DESCRIBE IMPROVEMENTS TO OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES SINCE WINTER STORM YURI.
THESE IMPROVEMENTS ALLOW US TO RESPOND TO WINTER WEATHER AS WELL AS TO INCREASE OUR READINESS TO RESPOND TO ANY TYPE OF INCIDENT.
FIRST, I'LL TALK ABOUT OUR UPDATED EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN.
THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN OR ERP IS REQUIRED UNDER, UH, AMERICA'S WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT IN 2020 AUSTIN WATER PUBLISHED AN ERP IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAW IN 2021, WE UNDERTOOK SIGNIFICANT REVISIONS OF THE ERP TO INCORPORATE THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM WINTER STORM URI, AND TO INCORPORATE A DIFF ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE BEYOND THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW.
WHAT YOU SEE HERE ARE THUMBNAILS OF SOME OF THE ENHANCED COMPONENTS OF THIS PLAN AND EXTREME COLD RESPONSE PLAN PROVIDES GUIDANCE ON MONITORING COLD WEATHER FORECASTS AND ACTIVATING OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM BASED ON ANTICIPATED TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION DECISION MATRICES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO GUIDE ACTIVATION OF OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM, BOTH IN EXTREME COLD CONDITIONS AND DURING GENERAL OPERATING CONDITIONS.
THE COMMUNICATIONS SECTION OF OUR ERP HAS BEEN ENHANCED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS, EXTERNAL, UH, PARTNERS AND CRITICAL CUSTOMERS.
EMERGENCY DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED INFORMATION ON WASTEWATER FACILITIES IS CAPTURED AND A PROCEDURE FOR EMERGENCY WATER USE RESTRICTIONS HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED.
EARLIER YOU HEARD STEPHANIE SPEAK TO THE ENHANCED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AT OUR PLANTS.
THE UPDATED ERP ALSO PROMOTES ENHANCED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FOR THE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM, WHICH INCLUDES REPRESENTATIVES FROM ACROSS THE UTILITY STAFF, THE DECISION MATRICES FOR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM, OR I CONSIDER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS FOR EXTREME WEATHER, AUSTIN WATERS, OPERATIONAL STATUS, AND ANY IMPAIRMENTS TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND EXTERNAL EVENTS TAKING PLACE IN THE COMMUNITY, SUCH AS OTHER
[00:55:01]
NON-WATER EMERGENCIES OR OTHER KNOWN EVENTS AS CONDITIONS WORSEN.THE GRAPHIC YOU SEE HERE DEPICTS THE FOUR OPERATING CONDITION LEVELS THAT WE HAVE IDENTIFIED.
WE CALL THESE OUR OPCON LEVELS DURING OPCON ONE SHOWN IN GREEN, WE ARE IN NORMAL OPERATIONS AND THE IMT IS NOT ACTIVATED DURING OPCON TWO SHOWN IN YELLOW.
WE ARE IN INCREASED AWARENESS AND THE IMT HAS POTENTIALLY PLACED ON STANDBY.
THIS WOULD TAKE PLACE, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH ENHANCED RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER, AS THE SEVERITY OF THE WEATHER FORECAST INCREASES, WE WILL ELEVATE THE OPCON LEVEL ACCORDINGLY.
DURING OPCON THREE SHOWN IN BLUE, WE ARE EXPERIENCING A LIMITED SCOPE INCIDENT.
THE IMT WILL BE PLACED ON STANDBY AND WILL POSSIBLY BE ACTIVATED.
AND DURING OPCON FOUR SHOWN IN RED, WE ARE IN A UTILITY WIDE INCIDENT.
THIS WOULD OCCUR FOR EXAMPLE, WITH A HIGH RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER AS THE OPCON CONDITION ESCALATES, THERE ARE SPECIFIC, SPECIFIC RESPONSE ACTIVITIES TAKING PLACE IN OUR OPERATIONS RELATED TO STAFFING PRE-INCIDENT CHECKLISTS NOTIFICATIONS AND FREQUENCY OF OPERATIONAL UPDATES.
HAVING THESE PREDETERMINED ACTIVATION TRIGGERS ALLOWS US TO PREPARE FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF TYPES OF WEATHER, AS WELL AS INCIDENTS THAT ARE NOT WEATHER RELATED.
THIS PROCESS ALLOWS US TO BE READY TO ACTIVATE QUICKLY AND TO LEAN INTO RESPONDING TO THE CONDITIONS ON THE GROUND.
NOW I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT STAFFING AND TRAINING.
AUSTIN WATER MAINTAINS A FULL-TIME EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION, AND WE ALSO ACTIVATE OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM WITH, UH, WITH EMPLOYEES FROM ACROSS THE UTILITY DURING EMERGENCIES, THE PHOTOS YOU SEE HERE SHOW OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM WORKING IN OUR DEPARTMENTAL OPERATIONS CENTER IN 2018, WHEN MASKS WERE NOT REQUIRED IN FISCAL YEAR 22, WE HAVE ADDED THREE NEW POSITIONS TO THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION.
AND THE HIRING PROCESS IS WELL UNDERWAY FOR ALL THREE.
THESE THREE POSITIONS ARE PART OF AUSTIN.
WATER'S ONGOING EFFORT TO BUILD UP OUR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT STAFFING.
WE HAVE STEADILY GROWN THIS TEAM FROM ONE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE IN 2016 TO SIX FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES.
TODAY, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THE EMERGENCY PLANS.
OFFICER SENIOR, THIS NEW POSITION WILL BE CO LOCATED AT HAYSOM TWO DAYS PER WEEK, AND WILL SERVE AS AN ON-SITE LIAISON BETWEEN AUSTIN WATER.
AND HE SOME THE EMERGENCY PLANS, OFFICER SENIOR WILL LEAD UTILITY EFFORTS TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, SUCH AS ORGANIZING AND FACILITATING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND ENGAGEMENT MEETINGS WITH DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AND BUILDING AND CULTIVATING STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL AND DIVERSE COMMUNITY PARTNERS, VOLUNTEERS, OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND THE PUBLIC BASED ON THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM WINTER STORM URI.
WE HAVE ALSO REVISED OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM STRUCTURE AND STAFF ASSIGNMENTS TO BUILD DEPTH.
WE HAVE ENHANCED THE ROLE OF OUR PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER WITHIN THE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM TO ENSURE THAT OPERATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS ARE ALIGNED DURING AN INCIDENT DURING EMERGENCIES, THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER WILL SCHEDULE AND PREPARE REGULAR UPDATES BASED ON A PLAN TRANSPARENCY APPROACH TO RELEASING INFORMATION TO THE MEDIA AND THE PUBLIC SYNCHRONIZED WITH THE NEWS CYCLE.
AS RANDY PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, WE MAINTAIN THREE ROTATING SHIFTS ON OUR INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM.
WE HAVE INSTITUTED REAL-TIME TRACKING AND QUARTERLY REPORTING TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM POSITIONS ARE FILLED AUSTIN WATER ALSO TRAINS OUR EMPLOYEES ON THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM.
OUR EMPLOYEES TAKE ONLINE COURSES THROUGH FEMA AND WE HAVE RELAUNCHED OUR IN-PERSON TRAINING AS OF NOVEMBER, 2021.
WE HAVE INSTITUTED REAL-TIME TRACKING AND REGULAR REPORTING TO PROVIDE VISIBILITY INTO EMPLOYEES, COMPLETION OF THEIR ICS TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.
[01:00:01]
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.FINALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT OUR EMERGENCY SUPPLIES.
WE'VE DESIGNATED A WAREHOUSE TO SERVE AS OUR HUB FOR INCIDENTS AND EMERGENCY SUPPLIES.
WE HAVE STORED SHELTER IN PLACE SUPPLIES FOR STAFF, WHICH CAN BE DEPLOYED TO ANY OF OUR FACILITIES, INCLUDING COTS, BLANKETS, MEALS, WATER, AND HYGIENE KITS.
WE HAVE ALSO GREATLY INCREASED OUR EMERGENCY WATER DISTRIBUTION SUPPLIES FOR THE COMMUNITY USING OUR MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH, WHICH INCLUDES BOTTLED WATER, WATER, TOTES FIRE HYDRANT, ADAPTER KITS.
AND NOW POTTABLE WATER TRUCKS.
PRIOR TO WINTER STORM URI, WE KEPT ABOUT SIX PALLETS OF BOTTLED WATER ON HAND.
AND WE CURRENTLY HAVE A TOTAL OF 65 PALLETS OF BOTTLED WATER ON HAND, INCLUDING SOME CARTONS WITH A 10 YEAR SHELF LIFE.
WE CURRENTLY ALSO HAVE A SUPPLY OF 56 WATER TOTES.
THESE ARE OUR PORTABLE 275 GALLON WATER TANKS THAT CAN BE DEPLOYED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE PROCURING AN ADDITIONAL 60 TOTES WITH DELIVERY EXPECTED WITHIN A FEW WEEKS, WE HAVE MAINTAINED A SUPPLY OF ABOUT 55 FIRE HYDRANT ADAPTER KITS IN THE WAREHOUSE AS WELL.
NOW, THE PICTURE THAT YOU SEE HERE IS ONE OF OUR TWO NEW POTTABLE WATER TRUCKS.
WE HAVE RECEIVED ONE TRUCK WITH A 2,500 GALLON CAPACITY AND A SECOND TRUCK WITH AN 1800 GALLON CAPACITY.
THESE TRUCKS ARE OUTFITTED WITH SPIGOTS AND CONNECTORS THAT CAN BE DEPLOYED IN A VARIETY OF CIRCUMSTANCES TO MEET THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS FOR DRINKING WATER, AND THEY CAN BE DEPLOYED RELATIVELY QUICKLY.
FINALLY, WE DO MAINTAIN CONTRACTS FOR BOTTLED WATER.
WE HAVE A LOCAL VENDOR WHO IS REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN AN ADDITIONAL 19 PALLETS FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY AND A SECOND VENDOR WHO IS UNDER CONTRACT TO PROVIDE MULTIPLE TRUCKLOAD SHIPMENTS.
THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION ON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? UM, I HAVE ONE QUESTION NOT SEEING ANY QUESTIONS FROM OTHERS.
I HAVE ONE QUESTION I, UM, I WANTED TO SAY, UM, THANK YOU FOR, UH, RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE IN TAKING STEPS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FOCUSING ON COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, UM, AND DESIGNATE AS DESIGNATING AND HIRING A STAFF PERSON AT A SENIOR LEVEL TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE ALL LEARNED, UM, IS THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTING TO THE COMMUNITY AND ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY AND PARTNERING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND RESPONSE.
SO, UM, CAN YOU SPEAK FOR A MOMENT TO THIS PERSON'S RESPONSIBILITY, UM, DURING AN EMERGENCY, I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT, UH, AND THE REALLY, REALLY KEY IS THE PREPARATIONS, UM, AND, AND CREATING THOSE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AS YOU MENTIONED, BUT, UM, HAVE, CAN YOU TALK ANY FURTHER ABOUT WHAT THIS PERSON'S ROLE WOULD BE DURING AN EMERGENCY AN EMERGENCY? YES.
FOR THAT QUESTION, WE, AS, AS YOU MENTIONED, THE PLANNING THAT THIS POSITION WILL DO YEAR ROUND DURING NON-EMERGENCY TIMES, WE'LL LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR HOW THEY WILL OPERATE, UH, DURING EMERGENCY EVENTS, WE ARE WORKING WITH, UH, HASTEN TO, UM, DESIGN THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THIS POSITION.
THAT INCLUDES THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, UH, BOTH DURING AN EVENT, UM, AND YEAR ROUND.
SO WHILE I CAN'T PROVIDE FOR YOU THE SPECIFICS TODAY, WE WILL HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF THAT, UH, EMERGENCY PLANS, OFFICER'S ROLE.
WE KNOW THAT THEY WILL SERVE AS A LIAISON BETWEEN AUSTIN WATER AND HE SOME, UM, YEAR ROUND, WE ALREADY, DURING, DURING EMERGENCIES, WE ALREADY HAVE CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION THAT ARE ESTABLISHED AND WORKING WITH .
SO WE ARE, UM, IDENTIFYING WHAT IS THE BEST VALUE THAT THIS ROLE CAN BRING.
I'D BE HAPPY TO REPORT BACK AS THAT POSITION EVOLVES, AND THAT, UH, PLAN IS DOCUMENTED ON THE SPECIFICS OF THE ROLE.
THE EMERGENCY PLANS OFFICER WILL PLAY DURING AN EMERGENCY.
SO I THINK WE CAN MOVE ON NOW TO THE NEXT SECTION.
COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION
[01:05:02]
ASH? I DID, BUT I FORGOTTEN IT.UM, WELL, WE CAN COME BACK TO YOU WHEN YOU REMEMBER, AND I NEED TO, IT WAS EARLIER IN THE POWERPOINT AND I DON'T HAVE THE POWERPOINT.
SO ONCE I, ONCE I GET ONE OF THOSE, I'LL REMIND MYSELF WHAT MY QUESTION WAS.
OKAY, WELL, WE'LL MOVE ON RIGHT NOW, THEN ACTUALLY, AND I HAVE A QUESTION, UM, I WAS WONDERING, YOU KNOW, I APPRECIATE ALL THE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE WATER THAT, UM, AUSTIN WATER HAS ON HAND.
UM, BUT WITHIN THE SCHEME OF THE OVERALL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, YOU KNOW, WHEN IS IT AUSTIN WATER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO DISTRIBUTE THAT WATER? AND WHEN IS IT HE AND HOW TO, HOW DOES THAT FUNCTION IN TERMS OF, UH, OR RESPONSIBILITY CHAIN? THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM.
UM, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT QUESTION.
AND WE ARE WORKING WITH ON THE CITYWIDE DISASTER FOOD AND WATER PLAN.
AND SO WE WILL CERTAINLY HAVE AN INTEGRATED APPROACH DURING, DURING AN EMERGENCY WITH THAT PLAN.
UM, THE WATER SUPPLIES THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW REALLY ALLOW US TO PROVIDE A RAPID DEPLOYMENT AND A RAPID RESPONSE TO BRIDGE THROUGH, UH, THE INITIAL DAYS OF A LARGE SCALE EMERGENCY.
AS I MENTIONED, THE, UM, SECOND CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE PROVIDES TRUCKLOAD SHIPMENTS.
AND SO WHEN WE HAVE EXPERIENCED, UH, DAYS LONG, UH, EMERGENCIES, THE CITY HAS ENGAGED THOSE TRUCKLOAD SHIPMENTS AND HE SOME HAS COORDINATED POINTS OF DISTRIBUTION.
SO I EXPECT AS WE ARE DEVELOPING THESE NEW, UH, APPROACHES FOR RAPID DEPLOYMENT, AS WELL AS RELYING ON THE, THE PAST EXPERIENCE WITH THE LARGE TRUCKLOAD SHIPMENTS, WE WILL REFINE THAT PLAN SO THAT THERE IS A, UM, I GUESS WHAT I WOULD SAY, A CONTINUITY OF EMERGENCY WATER THAT'S PROVIDED.
COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION.
CAN YOU GO INTO A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE DISTRIBUTION PLANS THEMSELVES? WE KNOW SINCE THERE'S BEEN GRAPHICS SHARED AFTER LAST FEBRUARY, THAT SHOW THAT CERTAIN PARTS OF TOWN WILL BE OFFLINE FOR WATER, MUCH LONGER THAN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN.
SO ARE YOU PRIORITIZING THE FOLKS WHO WILL RUN OUT OF WATER FIRST DURING AN INCIDENT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS, WE WOULD ASSESS THE AREAS OF NEED, AND THOSE CAN BE DIFFERENT BASED ON THE TYPE OF INCIDENT OR IF WE'RE HAVING PARTICULAR INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S BEING IMPACTED.
SO WE WOULD ASSESS THAT AND THEN DEPLOY THE, THE EMERGENCY WATER TO THOSE LOCATIONS AS THE NEED DICTATES, WE WOULD COORDINATE THAT THROUGH HAYSOM.
AND I KNOW THAT DIRECTOR OR SPOKE YESTERDAY TO COORDINATION WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, UM, TO MEET NEEDS DURING AN EMERGENCY.
SO I WOULD SAY IT'S LIKELY TO BE A SITUATION BY SITUATION WHERE WE'RE ASSESSING, WHERE IS THE NEED FOR THE WATER, AND THEN DEPLOYING THOSE SUPPLIES.
BUT WHAT I WILL SAY IS WITH THE VARIOUS TYPES, THE MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH THAT WE HAVE GIVES US VARIOUS WAYS TO RESPOND WITHIN A COMMUNITY.
SO WE HAVE THE, THE TOTES THAT WE USE SUCCESSFULLY, UM, IN APARTMENT COMPLEXES, WE HAVE THE FIRE HYDRANT, ADAPTERS AND THE BOTTLED WATER.
SO WE CAN REALLY CUSTOMIZE WHICH SOLUTION WE'RE DEPLOYING DEPENDING ON THE NEEDS OF THAT INCIDENT.
AND I JUST WILL MENTION, AGAIN, I KNOW WE'VE HEARD PRESENTATIONS ABOUT THIS FROM A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ALONG THE WAY, BUT THERE ARE SOME PARTS OF TOWN WHERE THE ROADS AREN'T BEING CLEARED AS EASILY AS OTHERS.
AND SOME OF THOSE PLACES LIKE DISTRICT DATE AND DISTRICT SIX AND LIKELY PARTS OF DISTRICT 10 AS WELL, YOU CAN'T GET TO SOME OF THOSE PLACES IF YOU DEPLOY TOO LATE IN THE GAME.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M COMMUNICATING THAT THAT'S A BIG CONCERN FOR SOME OF THE FARTHER REACHES OF OUR CITY, AND IT'S PROBABLY HAPPENING ON THE OUTSKIRTS AS WELL, WHERE YOU MAY ACTUALLY SEE MORE OF A WILDFIRE OR THE FLOODING RISK AS WELL.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S ON YOUR RADAR AS WE TALK ABOUT THESE PLANS.
OKAY, SO LET'S MOVE ONTO THE LAST SECTION AND THEN WE CAN, WE'LL HAVE QUESTIONS AT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TOPO, IS YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THIS
[01:10:01]
SECTION? IT SURE IS.YEAH, I REMEMBER MY QUIT AND IT IS A VERY QUICK ONE.
UM, ON THE SLIDE THAT TALKED ABOUT VENDORS, UM, THE ONE WAS NOTED AS A LOCAL VENDOR WITH SUPPLIES ON HAND, AND THEN THERE WAS A SECOND VENDOR DIRECTOR.
WILSON, IS THAT A VENDOR LOCALLY OR A VENDOR, UM, ELSEWHERE.
AND THEN HAVE YOU HAVE YOU, UM, SET UP OR COORDINATED RELATIONSHIPS WITH VENDORS OUTSIDE THE AREA AND IN THE EVENT THAT WE'RE EVER IN A CIRCUMSTANCE AS WE WERE LAST TIME WHERE WE'RE SUPPLIES ARE, ARE VERY LIMITED IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY? YES.
THE, THE SECOND VENDOR THAT I MENTIONED THAT PROVIDES TRUCKLOAD SHIPMENTS IS A NATIONAL VENDOR THAT THE CITY HAS A CONTRACT WITH.
AND SO DEPENDING ON, UH, THE NATURE OF THE EMERGENCY, WHEN WE PLACED THE ORDER, THEY WOULD BE TRUCKING IN SHIPMENTS FROM, FROM THEIR, UH, LET'S SAY, WAREHOUSE LOCATIONS.
AND THAT COULD COME FROM A VARIETY OF, UH, LOCATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON ROAD CONDITIONS AND THAT TYPE OF CIRCUMSTANCE WOULD AFFECT THE DELIVERY TIMES.
I APOLOGIZE, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHY I SAID DR.
I THINK IT WAS BECAUSE THE NEXT SLIDE WAS UP.
SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE LAST SEGMENT NOW.
GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS, I'M SHEA ROLLS, ROLSON ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES, AND I'LL BE TALKING TO YOU TODAY ABOUT SOME OF OUR PRIORITIES AS IT RELATES TO INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS.
FOLLOWING WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE WINTER STORM.
WE TAKE AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH TO CAPITAL PLANNING, PRIORITIZING THE PROJECTS THAT BEST POSITION US TO WITHSTAND A VARIETY OF RISKS.
ALMOST EVERYTHING WE DO CAN BE CATEGORIZED AS RESILIENCY OR RELIABILITY, BUT I'LL BE HIGHLIGHTING A FEW OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO WEATHERING FUTURE WINTER STORMS. THERE ARE A FEW PROJECTS THAT WE ACCELERATED SPECIFICALLY DUE TO WINTER STORM URI, AND SOME REALLY CONSTRUCTIVE COLLABORATION WITH AUSTIN ENERGY CAME OUT OF THE WINTER STORM, AND I'LL ALSO BE DISCUSSING THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN THAT'S REQUIRED BY SENATE BILL THREE.
IN THE WEEKS AFTER THE WINTER STORM, WE ACCELERATED THE SCHEDULE ON THREE PROJECTS THAT WERE ALREADY IN OUR CIP AND THESE PROJECTS ADDRESS AREAS OF VULNERABILITY AND OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM THAT WE OBSERVED DURING OUR RESPONSE TO THE WINTER STORM, NEW ELEVATED STORAGE AND TRANSMISSION MAIN TO SERVE THE SOUTHWEST PRESSURE ZONES, A NEW TRANSMISSION MAIN IN THE NORTH TO ALLEVIATE A BOTTLENECK AND HELP US BETTER USE THE WATER COMING OUT OF HANCOCK'S WATERFIELD ON PLANT AND A RE REHABILITATION AND ELECTRICAL RESILIENCY PROJECT FOR ONE OF OUR KEY PUMP STATIONS THAT MOVES WATER FROM THE CENTRAL ZONE TO THE SOUTH.
UH, WE KICKED OFF THE PLANNING FOR THESE PROJECTS LAST YEAR.
OTHER NEAR TERM PROJECTS THAT ARE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON RESILIENCY AND ARE CURRENTLY UNDERWAY, INCLUDE THE NORTH AUSTIN RESERVOIR, WHICH IS IN CONSTRUCTION AND REPLACES A RESERVOIR ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED IN 1913.
UH, THAT TANK WILL GO INTO SERVICE, UM, IN THE COMING MONTHS AND IMPROVE RELIABILITY FOR ONE OF OUR KEY PUMP STATIONS THAT MOVES WATER FROM THE CENTRAL ZONE TO THE NORTH.
WE ARE ALSO WELL INTO OUR ADVANCED METERING, UH, PROJECT, WHICH RANDY MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WILL REPLACE NEARLY 250,000 WATER METERS WITH SMART METERS.
WE HAD A FEW THOUSAND OF THESE METERS IN SERVICE DURING THE WINTER STORM.
AND THE DATA THAT CAME FROM THOSE METERS WAS INVALUABLE IN HELPING US IDENTIFY LEAKS AND BREAKS ON PRIVATE PREMISE PLUMBING AND COMMUNICATE WITH OUR CUSTOMERS THROUGH OUR, THE, MY ATX WATER PORTAL.
WE WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR RENEWING AUSTIN PROGRAM, WHICH SMALL DIAMETER, POOR PERFORMING PIPES.
WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS WORK FOR A LITTLE OVER 10 YEARS, AND WE'VE SEEN SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN OUR BREAK RATES, WHICH ARE NOW BELOW INDUSTRY AVERAGES.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE ABOUT 37 MILES OF NEW WATER PIPELINE IN THE WORKS, UM, AS WELL AS ASSOCIATED WASTEWATER PIPELINE AND THAT SAME, THOSE SAME CORRIDORS THAT INCLUDES NINE PROJECTS AND CONSTRUCTION AND 30 PROJECTS AND DESIGN.
SO YOU'LL CONSIDER, CONTINUE TO SEE THOSE PROJECTS COMING THROUGH ON COUNCIL AGENDAS.
AS WE MOVE THEM INTO CONSTRUCTION WORK ALSO CONTINUES ON THE AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT, WHICH IS A LONG-TERM WATER SUPPLY PROJECT THAT CAME OUT OF THE WATER FORWARD PLAN.
UM, THAT PROJECT IS CURRENTLY IN THE PILOT PHASE.
UH, AND JUST AS AN EXAMPLE, WE'LL CONTINUE TO INVEST IN
[01:15:01]
WATER STORAGE AND TRANSMISSION INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDED TO SERVE AUSTIN'S GROWING POPULATION.UM, AND STEPHANIE MENTIONED THE PLANT IMPROVEMENTS THAT WILL ALLOW US TO DO MAINTENANCE, UM, MORE EFFECTIVELY AT THE PLANTS WHILE MINIMIZING THE IMPACT TO TREATMENT CAPACITY.
I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC BULLET FOR THAT, BUT THAT'S IN OUR, IN OUR AFTER ACTION ITEM AS WELL TO BEGIN WORKING ON THE PLANNING FOR THOSE, UM, IDENTIFY WHAT THOSE IMPROVEMENTS ARE AND BEGIN WORKING ON THOSE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO AS OUR WATER AND WASTEWATER PLANTS AGE, WE'VE BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY ADDRESSING THE ELECTRICAL AND POWER GEAR, UM, TO BRING THEM UP TO MODERN STANDARDS.
AND I REPORTED ON THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, THOROUGHLY IN A PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, BUT HERE ARE A FEW OF THE KEY, UH, PROJECTS, UM, AS THEY RELATE TO WINTER WEATHER RESILIENCY.
SO THE DAVIS WATER PLANT POWER DISTRIBUTION UPGRADE IS JUST FINISHING CONSTRUCTION.
AND ALONG WITH, UM, THE REPLACEMENT OF THE SECOND POWER FEE TO THAT PLANT FROM AUSTIN ENERGY, THE POWER SERVICE TO THAT PLAN IS NOW SIGNIFICANTLY MORE ROBUST, A SIMILAR PROJECT TO REPLACE ELECTRICAL GEAR FOR THE INCOMING POWER AT THE ALRICK WATER TREATMENT PLANT LOW SERVICE PUMP STATION IS IN CONSTRUCTION.
WE'RE WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO IMPLEMENT A SECONDARY POWER FEED FOR ONE OF OUR CRITICAL PUMP STATIONS AT DAVIS LANE.
AND ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE, WE'RE IN CONSTRUCTION ON THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ELECTRICAL GEAR FOR THE INCOMING POWER AT THE SOUTH AUSTIN REGIONAL WASTEWATER PLANT.
UH, WE'VE IDENTIFIED OUR PRIORITY LIST OF LIFT STATIONS THAT SHOULD HAVE PERMANENT GENERATORS.
UM, AND WE ALSO CONTINUE TO MANAGE A VERY ROBUST FLEET OF PORTABLE GENERATORS THAT CAN BE MOVED AROUND AS NEEDED TO LIFT STATIONS.
ONE OF THE REALLY POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF OUR AFTER-ACTION EFFORTS ALONGSIDE AUSTIN ENERGY'S AFTER ACTION WORK HAS BEEN AN ONGOING COLLABORATION BETWEEN OUR DEPARTMENTS.
UM, HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES OF HOW WE'RE ACTIVELY WORKING TOGETHER.
WE'VE WORKED OUT AN AGREEMENT THAT OUR FLEXIBILITY TO TRANSFER LOADS, UM, BETWEEN THE POWER FEEDS AT THE DAVIS WATER TREATMENT PLANT ON THE AUSTIN WATER SIDE.
UM, AND AUSTIN ENERGY IS ACTIVELY MAKING IMPROVEMENTS AT THE ORRICK WATER TREATMENT PLANT AT THE BEE CREEK SUBSTATION THAT WILL ALLOW AUTOMATIC TRANSFER CAPABILITY BETWEEN THE FEEDS ON THEIR SIDE, AND ALSO IMPLEMENT A THIRD FEED THAT BACKS UP THE TWO PRIMARIES AND THAT WORK IS, IS, UM, CURRENTLY UNDERWAY.
A LOT OF IT'S BEEN DONE ALREADY IN, UH, SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF 22.
WE'VE BEEN REVIEWING AND UPDATING OUR CRITICAL LOAD LISTS, INCLUDING ADDING OUR KEY PUMP STATIONS AND ADDING OUR DATA CENTERS.
UM, AND AUSTIN ENERGY HAS BEEN VERY RECEPTIVE TO REVIEWING THOSE LOADS WITH US AND, AND IDENTIFYING ADDITIONAL TIER ONE, UM, UH, CRITERIA LOADS, CRITICAL LOADS, AND THEN TOGETHER WE'RE EVALUATING SOME INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO POWER RESILIENCY, INCLUDING A CONCEPT CALLED ELECTRICAL RELIABILITY AS A SERVICE, WHICH IS WHERE WE WOULD CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY TO INSTALL NATURAL GAS GENERATORS ON OUR SITES.
THIS WOULD BE A THREE WAY CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENT WITH AUSTIN WATER AND AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE THIRD PARTY.
SO THERE'S STILL A LOT OF DETAILS TO WORK OUT, BUT IT LOOKS VERY PROMISING AS ANOTHER TOOL IN OUR TOOLBOX.
FINALLY, A QUICK WORD ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN, WHICH IS REQUIRED BY SENATE BILL THREE, WHICH THE LEGISLATURE PASSED SHORTLY AFTER THE WINTER STORM SENATE BILL THREE REQUIRES WATER UTILITIES TO SUBMIT A PLAN FOR EMERGENCY OPERATION DURING AN EXTENDED POWER OUTAGE AND MULTIPLE OPTIONS ARE ALLOWED TO DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE.
UM, SO THERE ARE SEVERAL DEADLINES ASSOCIATED WITH SB THREE, AND WE HAVE COMPLETED THE FIRST DEADLINE TO NOTIFY OUR POWER PROVIDERS OF OUR CRITICAL LOADS.
AND WE ARE ON TRACK TO MEET THE DEADLINE, TO SUBMIT OUR APP AND IDENTIFY THE OPTIONS WE'RE GOING TO USE AS WELL AS IMPLEMENT OUR APP IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE'VE DONE AN EXTENSIVE SYSTEM WIDE REVIEW OF OUR FACILITIES AND IDENTIFIED THREE KEY AREAS THAT WILL BE ADDRESSED IN OUR PLAN.
THOSE INCLUDE ELECTRICAL HARDENING AND REDUNDANCY AT OUR CRITICAL SITES, UH, WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO UPDATE OUR CRITICAL LOAD DESIGNATION STATUS AND MANAGING THE TREATMENT PUMPING AND STORAGE CAPACITY AS WELL AS DEMAND MANAGEMENT TOOLS.
SO WE CONTINUE TO DEVELOP THOSE OPTIONS, UH, FOR, FOR FIRST OF ALL, SUBMITTING OUR APP AND THEN IMPLEMENTING AS PART OF OUR OVERALL AFTER ACTION WORK.
[01:20:01]
SLIDE, PLEASE.THAT IS THE END OF MY, UM, REPORT OUT.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM AND THEN, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
AND I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHO THIS QUESTION, WHICH DIRECTOR OR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, THIS QUESTION, UM, IS BEST ANSWERED BY.
UM, THIS IS ALL REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THE THOROUGHNESS AND THE CLARITY OF HOW YOU ARE PRESENTING THIS MATERIAL TO US.
UM, YESTERDAY AND ON IN FINANCE, WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT WINTER STORM AFTER ACTION AS WELL.
UM, I AM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE TALK ABOUT THE WINTER STORM AND THAT WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PREPARED FOR COLD WEATHER.
UM, BUT WE AS A CITY NEEDS YOU TO ADOPT AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH.
AND SO IN OUR CONVERSATIONS, I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT HOW WE'RE PREPARED, NOT JUST FOR COLD WEATHER, WHICH WAS OUR LAST WAR, BUT ALL THE OTHER KINDS OF HAZARDS, WHETHER IT'S WILDFIRE FLOODING OR, UM, HEAT, OR, UM, WHO KNOWS WHAT ELSE, UM, THE LORD CAN SEND OUR WAY THESE DAYS.
UM, SO CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE ALL HAZARDS APPROACH? UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE A HAZARD PLAN THAT YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT, I THINK, TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND IN ONE OF THE RECENT ONES, THERE WAS NO COLD WEATHER CONTINGENCY.
SO I JUST WOULD LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE BROADER, UM, ALL HAZARD PLANNING.
I'D BE HAPPY TO, UM, INITIALLY RESPOND TO THAT AND THEN, UM, ALLOW OTHERS TO CHIME IN.
IF THEY'D LIKE TO, UM, AS ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES, MY TEAM HAS A PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY FOR PLANNING AND DELIVERING OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROJECTS.
UH, AND WE ALSO HAVE, UM, THE ABILITY FOR STAFF THROUGHOUT THE ORGANIZATION TO COLLABORATE, TO PUT TOGETHER BUSINESS CASES FOR IMPROVEMENTS THAT THEY THINK ARE NEEDED.
AND WE HAVE A BUSINESS CASE REVIEW COMMITTEE, WHICH CONSISTS OF SEVERAL OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTORS THAT YOU SEE BEFORE YOU TODAY, WHERE WE EVALUATE THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH.
AND ONE OF THE CRITERIA IS HOW DOES THIS MOVE THE NEEDLE ON REDUCING OUR RISK? AND WE DON'T JUST THINK ABOUT A SPECIFIC, UM, FREEZING RISK OR FLOODING RISK OR WILDFIRE RISK.
WE THINK ABOUT, UH, KIND OF AN, ALL OF THE ABOVE, UM, RISK PROFILE.
THERE MAY BE THINGS THAT WE DO SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEY ADDRESS ONE RISK.
LIKE OUR POLYMER FEED SYSTEMS ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE FLOODING RISK, BUT MOST OF EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WE DO JUST MAKES OUR SYSTEMS MORE ROBUST AND THAT MAKES US BETTER ABLE TO WITHSTAND WHATEVER, WHATEVER HAPPENS.
UH I'LL THIS IS DIRECTOR GREG ZARIS, I'LL ADD AN AMPLIFIED TO THAT.
I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, AND, UH, THE ALL HAZARDS APPROACH INTROSPECTION IS A LITTLE HARD TO HEAR YOU.
SO, UH, IN ADDITION TO INFRASTRUCTURE, WE ALSO TAKE THE ALL HAZARDS APPROACH AS WE'VE BEEN COMMUNICATING THINGS LIKE OUR AMI SYSTEM.
IT NOT ONLY HELPS DURING WINTER STORM, BUT IT HELPS US REACH CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNICATE UNDER ALL CONDITIONS, UH, BUILDING OUT OUR EMERGENCY PLANNING GROUP, OUR DIVISION THAT WE'VE, UH, WE'VE DONE NOW WITH SIX EMPLOYEES, HAVING THESE RESOURCES DEDICATED, FULL TIME TO PLANNING FOR EMERGENCIES, ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY, UH, EXECUTING PLANS WHEN THE EMERGENCY OCCURS, TRAINING OUR EMPLOYEES.
UM, WE'RE A PART OF THE BIGGER SYSTEM WHERE WE ALL PARTICIPATE IN, UH, DESKTOP EXERCISES, UH, PLANNING FOR, UH, A WILDFIRE CYTOTOXIN RISK.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THE LIST GOES ON AND ON.
WE KIND OF TAKE THAT, THAT SYSTEMATIC, UH, APPROACH, UH, TO THOSE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES, COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU MENTIONED OUR, OUR, UM, OUR, UH, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UH, REQUIRED PLANNING.
AND, UH, THERE ARE CERTAIN DEADLINES THAT, THAT THOSE PLANS ARE UPDATED.
WE EXCEED THOSE WE'RE, WE'RE DOING ANNUAL UPDATES AND, UH, CONSTANTLY REVIEWING PLANS AND UPDATING THEM FOR, FOR NEW INSIGHTS ON HAZARDS AND HOW WE'RE APPROACHING, UH, MULTIPLE DIFFERENT KIND OF HAZARDS.
UM, THINGS LIKE BIGGER LONGER-TERM THINGS LIKE OUR ASR PROJECT.
UH, IT, IT WAS ORIGINALLY ENVISIONED AS A DROUGHT RESPONSE STRATEGY AND STILL IS, BUT IT ALSO SHARES A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS FOR US IN TERMS OF ALL SORTS OF EMERGENCIES.
IT GIVES US ALL KINDS OF OPERATIONAL CAPACITY AND AVAILABILITIES THAT WE WOULDN'T HAVE.
SO THINGS LIKE WATER FORWARD ARE REALLY, UH, IN MANY WAYS, A, AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER YOU'RE MANAGING WATER DEMAND.
[01:25:01]
ACROSS A WIDE RANGE OF RISKS TOO.AND THAT'S A BIG PART OF THINGS LIKE RECLAIMED AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. AND, UH, I MEAN, I COULD ENUMERATE OTHERS, BUT, UH, WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO REALLY LOOK AT A BROADER SET OF RISKS, HONESTLY, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM.
UM, I ALSO WANTED TO ADD THAT AMERICA'S WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ACT DOES REQUIRE THE ALL HAZARDS APPROACH IN THE RISK AND VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT THAT EXTENDS TO, UH, HUMAN MADE THREATS, SUCH AS MALICIOUS ACTS REQUIRES US TO DO ASSESSMENTS OF FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, AND OTHER, UM, SYSTEMS BEYOND THE WATER UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING TODAY.
SO WE ARE ALSO WITHIN THAT PLAN, UH, ADDRESSING THOSE RISKS.
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT AND, AND, AND HOPEFULLY, UM, MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR THIS COMMITTEE TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE OTHER HAZARDS AND SEE HOW, WHERE WE ARE ON THOSE AND WHAT THE STEPS ARE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO PARTICULARLY CALL OUR ATTENTION TO WILDFIRE, HAVING A, HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIT DOWN WITH SOME OF, UM, AWESOME WATER STAFF, AT LEAST ONCE TO TALK ABOUT, UM, OUR WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL, IF NOT ALL OF OUR TREATMENT PLANTS ARE IN HIGH WILDFIRE RISK AREAS.
UM, AND SO THERE'S REAL NEED TO BE PLANNING, UM, FOR THOSE TREATMENT PLANTS AND THEIR RESILIENCE WITH RESPECT TO, TO WILDFIRE.
UM, AND I THINK IT'D BE USEFUL FOR THIS COMMITTEE, UM, TO HEAR ABOUT THOSE EFFORTS AND WHERE THEY ARE, AND FOR US TO SEE PROGRESS ON THOSE.
UM, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HAS THE CHALLENGES ARE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT.
YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE, YOU KNOW, THE WATER TO BE ABLE TO FIGHT THE WILDFIRE.
YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, WHOLE AREAS THAT ARE GOING TO BE, YOU KNOW, SHUT DOWN FROM WATER SERVICE, OR, YOU KNOW, I JUST THINK THAT SOME OF THAT DYNAMICS, UM, MAY BE DIFFERENT.
UM, AND IT WOULD BE, I THINK, USEFUL FOR US TO HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOW AUSTIN WATER IS THINKING ABOUT THEIR ROLE IN PROTECTING US AND BEING RESILIENT IN THE EVENT OF A WILDFIRE.
UM, I SUSPECT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER , WHO'S VERY FOCUSED ON, ON FLOODING, UM, MAY WANT A SIMILAR CONVERSATION FOR FLOODING.
I HAVE BEEN LESS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN TALKING WITH AUSTIN WATER ABOUT THAT.
UM, BUT I KNOW THAT ALSO WATER HAS TAKEN SOME ACTIONS ON THAT, AND IT'S RECOGNIZING THE RISK, UM, BOTH WITH RESPECT TO THE TREATMENT PLANTS, BUT ALSO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES ON, UM, THE, THE WATER QUALITY LANDS.
AND I THINK THAT MIGHT BE A USEFUL TOPIC FOR US TO COVER, UM, IN A FUTURE MEETING AND LESS, UM, LESS STAFF WANT TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT TODAY.
UH, YES, I'D LIKE TO, UH, DIRECTOR MASSARO, AS HE HAD MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING ABOUT PROVIDING REGULAR UPDATES TO THE, THIS COMMITTEE TO EVERY MEETING AT EVERY MEETING.
SO I WOULD SUGGEST THAT, UM, PERHAPS AT OUR NEXT MEETING, YOU COULD DRILL DOWN A BIT OR NOT JUST A BIT, BUT DRILL DOWN AND GIVE US MORE SPECIFICS, UH, WITH REGARD TO, UM, WILDFIRE, UM, AND FLOODING.
I THINK THAT, UM, I THINK WE'RE HEARING THAT, UM, YOUR APPROACH IS AN ALL HAZARDS APPROACH, BUT A CONVERSATION ABOUT THE SPECIFIC AND UNIQUE ASPECTS OF THESE PARTICULAR, UM, UM, RISK OF IN OUR, IN OUR COMMUNITY WOULD BE A HELPFUL CONVERSATION AT A FUTURE MEETING.
SO, UH, CHAIR KITCHEN, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO CLARIFY, LIKE, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN WE CAN, WE CAN DRILL DOWN AND SPEAK SPECIFICALLY ON RISK REDUCTION THAT WE'RE DOING FOR WILDFIRE AT AUSTIN WATER AND HOW AUSTIN WATER, YOU KNOW, PREPARES AND HELPS REDIS REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK.
AND SIMILARLY, WE CAN TALK ABOUT HOW WE'RE PREPARING AND PLANNING FOR FLOOD IMPACTS OF AUSTIN WATER FACILITIES.
BUT IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A SYSTEMATIC WILDFIRE FIRE DEPARTMENT APPROACH, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, FLOODING WITH WATERSHED AND OTHERS, THAT THAT'LL BE A, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT, NO, I UNDERSTAND.
I UNDERSTAND THAT'S A BROADER CONVERSATION.
THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT COVERS HE'S SOME, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, THE, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE AND, AND, AND, AND Y'ALL'S ROLE.
WE, WE, WE CAN, I THINK, PREPARE AND PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO THAT.
UM, COULD I JUST GET A SHORT UPDATE ON THE EXPECTED TIMELINE TO COMPLETE THE RATE TREATMENT PLAN, ELECTRIC INFRASTRUCTURE REPLACEMENT? I THINK WE APPROVED THAT GETTING STARTED ABOUT A YEAR AGO, BUT I'M JUST NOT SURE WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, COVID AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT IF, UM, IF IT'S STILL ON TRACK
[01:30:01]
OR WHAT THE EXPECTED TIMELINE IS FOR THAT COMPLETION IT, UM, THANK YOU.THE ORRICK LOW SERVICE COMPENSATION, ELECTRICAL FEED RENEWAL PROJECT DID GO INTO CONSTRUCTION AND FEBRUARY OF 21.
UH, AND IT IS ABOUT A THREE YEAR, UM, THREE TO FOUR YEAR CONSTRUCTION PERIOD.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TWO TO THREE YEARS AWAY FROM THAT GOING INTO OPERATION.
I IMAGINE THERE WERE QUITE A FEW PHASES OF TRYING TO GET IT ALL, ALL TAKEN CARE OF.
SO I APPRECIATE THAT UPDATE COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO.
UH, CHE, UH, DIRECTOR ROSE WILSON.
I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S SUPER EXCITING TO SEE THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE AND THE WORK THAT'S MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I'M REALLY, UM, IN PARTICULARLY EXCITED ABOUT THE AQUIFER STORAGE, BUT THANK YOU FOR KIND OF PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT EFFORTS THAT ARE MOVING FORWARD ON THE SLIDE THAT TALKED ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, THE COLLABORATION WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND THE, UM, YOU DESCRIBED IT AS THE TRANSFER OF POWER BETWEEN FEEDS.
ONE IS, I HOPE I DIDN'T JUST MISS THIS IN YOUR ANSWER TO COUNCIL MEMBER LS.
UM, THE TIMELINE FOR HOW QUICKLY THOSE UPDATES WOULD BE FOR CRITICAL LOAD CHANGES, UM, UPDATES TO THE CRITICAL LOAD MAPPING.
WHAT IS THE TIMELINE THERE? AND THEN TWO, COULD YOU KIND OF PUT IT IN LAYPERSON'S TERMS, WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE TO HAVE THAT WORK DONE WITH AUSTIN ENERGY TO HAVE THAT, UH, TRANSFER OF POWER BETWEEN FEEDS POSSIBLE.
SO IF YOU COULD KIND OF PUT IT IN CONTEXT FOR US OF, OF WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE AND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NOW THAT NOW THAT YOU HAVE THAT NEW CAPABILITY, I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
THE, UM, I THINK FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION WAS THE CRITICAL LOAD LIST.
AND WE HAVE SUBMITTED, UM, OUR FACILITIES TO AUSTIN ENERGY FOR REVIEW THE ONES THAT WE THINK NEED TO BE TIER ONE CRITICAL LOADS, AND THEY'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REVIEWING THOSE.
SO THAT IS UNDERWAY AND, UM, PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE, BUT THEY ARE STILL FINALIZING THEM.
UM, SO THAT'S WHEN THEY MIGHT FINALIZE THAT IMMINENT.
IT SHOULD BE IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SEVERAL WEEKS TO A MONTH, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR ABILITY TO TRANSFER LOADS FROM ONE FIELD TO ANOTHER, OUR PLANTS ALL HAVE TWO FEEDERS COMING IN FROM AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND THEN WE HAVE AUTOMATIC TRANSFER GEAR, BOTH ON THE AUSTIN ENERGY SIDE AND ON THE AUSTIN WATER SIDE.
AND, UH, UP UNTIL NOW, WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO MAKE THAT TRANSFER ON OUR SIDE BECAUSE OF THE RISK THAT IT POSES TO AUSTIN ENERGY'S SYSTEM TO SUDDENLY SWITCH ALL OF OUR LOADS TO ONE FEEDER, BUT WE ARE PUTTING INTO PLACE THE PROTOCOL IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, THAT REALLY JUST MAXIMIZES OUR FLEXIBILITY AND ALLOWS US TO MAKE DECISIONS IN THE MOMENT THAT, UH, THAT, THAT SORT OF BEST PROTECT THE FACILITY AS WELL AS AUSTIN ENERGY'S, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO IT'S, IT'S MORE OF A, UH, PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO HAVE THAT COMMUNICATION IN REAL TIME AND MAKE THOSE CHANGES, UM, THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO BEFORE.
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH, UH, FOR THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
AND, UM, JUST AS A REMINDER TO EVERYONE, AS YOU MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING DIRECTOR MASSARA IS THAT YOU WILL KEEP THIS COMMITTEE UPDATED, UM, ON PROGRESS ON THESE, UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AFTER ACTION REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO WE REALLY DO APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, AND, UM, SO I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM RIGHT NOW, WHICH IS JUST OUR LAST ITEM, WHICH IS
[3. Identify items to discuss at future meetings]
TO IDENTIFY ITEMS, TO DISCUSS AT FUTURE MEETINGS.UH, DOES ANYONE, I MEAN, YOU CAN SEND THEM TO ME, SEND THEM TO ME, UH, AFTERWARDS, BUT YOU MAY WANT TO MENTION SOME, SO, UH, VICE CHAIR POINTERS.
DO YOU WANT TO MENTION ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR? YEAH.
SOME TOPICS THAT I THINK MIGHT BE INTERESTED FOR US TO EXPLORE FURTHER IS THE PROCESS OF SERVICE EXTENSION REQUESTS.
UM, I THINK THIS COMMITTEE MIGHT BE A PATHWAY FOR US TO HAVE A DEEPER CONVERSATION ON SCRS AND, UM, EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO, UH, TO THOSE, UH, REQUESTS, UM, AS WELL AS TO TOUCH BASE ON THE HISTORY AND POTENTIAL CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE.
UM, ALSO LOOKING AT, UM, THE COURSE, HAVING JUST A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE SMART METER PROCESS ROLLOUT AND HOW THAT IS GOING AND GOING CITYWIDE.
UM, AND THE, UM, LOW-INCOME PROGRAM, A BRIEF UPDATE ON THAT MIGHT BE GOOD FOR A FUTURE
[01:35:01]
MEETING.AND THEN I ALSO HAD WINTER PREPAREDNESS, WHICH WE DID TODAY.
SO, ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE APPRECIATE ALL Y'ALL'S EFFORTS AND, UM, AND THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TODAY AND, AND, UH, THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE, THESE ARE LIVE AND THEY'RE ALSO TAPED.
SO, UM, IT'S A WAY FOR US, UM, TO, TO HELP, UM, EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY AND RESPOND TO QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE ALL RECEIVING.
SO APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S EFFORTS.
WITH THAT, UH, THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 1140 I SPEND MY TIME HERE JUST TOKEN TO THE WORLD.