1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,860 Okay, it is nine o'clock and we have a virtual quorum, so we'll call to order the Public 2 00:00:09,860 --> 00:00:14,560 Utilities Board meeting of June 8, 2020. 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:21,120 The first item on the agenda is to approve consent items A through G. Does any board 4 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,440 member wish to pull one of the items? 5 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:24,440 Yes, Karen. 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:31,760 I'd like to pull A and D, please. 7 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:39,840 And a reminder, we should probably all mute and then just raise your hand so that we're 8 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,040 not talking over each other. 9 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:45,880 Any other board members wish to pull any items? 10 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:54,800 All right, so do we have a motion to approve B, C, E, F, and G? 11 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:56,320 I so move. 12 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:57,320 Second. 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,720 All in favor say, "aye." 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:01,720 Aye. 15 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:02,720 Opposed? 16 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:03,720 Serious. 17 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:09,040 Okay, item A. Go ahead, Karen. 18 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:14,360 She's muted, you're muted. 19 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:18,760 You need to unmute. 20 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,800 I unmuted to vote. 21 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:28,800 Anyway, I remember when this item first came up, I was on the PUB just for a few months, 22 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:34,280 and I was really impressed with the staff trying to accommodate the landowner and cut 23 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:35,280 down the sound. 24 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,720 I mean, they really just went above and beyond, so congrats staff. 25 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:44,800 Anyway, at the time there was a discussion of putting in a berm to cut down the noise, 26 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,080 and I was wondering if that had been considered. 27 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:52,400 And then my second question is, is there any evidence that we're gonna get acceptable bids 28 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:53,400 on this? 29 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:59,760 I agree we don't need to spend a million dollars on landowners. 30 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:06,040 Nice complaint, but is there any other solution that we can go to for this? 31 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:11,240 Karen, I'm sorry, Karen, we have Chris Lutrik from Ditton Municipal Electric that can answer 32 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:12,240 the questions for you. 33 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:13,240 Hi, Chris. 34 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,640 Hello, how are you doing? 35 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:21,400 I think your first question was about the berm, something that we proposed with the 36 00:02:21,400 --> 00:02:27,560 initial presentation, but if you remember that that berm in the sound modeling was only 37 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:34,760 gonna provide 0.2 dBs of attenuation, that was not worth the cost. 38 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:40,480 We did get the landscaping berm in in the trees, so that's been done, but that berm 39 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:43,280 is not really a viable option for us. 40 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:53,960 So the second part of that is we had to extend the RFP two times just to get one bid in, 41 00:02:53,960 --> 00:03:00,640 and the presentation we gave to you when you first got on PEB was based off a sound study. 42 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:04,420 That engineering company elected not even to submit a bid. 43 00:03:04,420 --> 00:03:09,960 So our engineering estimate we had for the first presentation was based off of their 44 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,440 information, and then they did not propose a bid. 45 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,880 So at this time, we think part of it is the liability. 46 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:21,200 So these guys are gonna be working aerial above our engines. 47 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:26,480 So in the RFP, there was language where they had to take responsibility for damage to the 48 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:27,480 engines. 49 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:28,480 So. 50 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:29,480 Okay. 51 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,720 And we're kind of out of sync here, and we can't mention it here, but there is a closed 52 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:38,720 session item later in this show, and we'll have some other options for you. 53 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:39,720 Yeah. 54 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:40,720 All right. 55 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:41,720 Thank you. 56 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:42,720 You're welcome. 57 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:43,720 That's it for me. 58 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:44,720 On the A. 59 00:03:44,720 --> 00:03:46,280 Do we have a motion to approve? 60 00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:47,280 Sure. 61 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:48,280 I'll move. 62 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:49,280 I'll second. 63 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,360 All in favor, say aye. 64 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:52,360 Aye. 65 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:53,360 Aye. 66 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:54,360 Motion carries. 67 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:55,360 Okay. 68 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:56,360 Item D. 69 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:09,920 I was curious if this indemnity escrow account was a new thing with DMPA, and if we knew 70 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,040 how much it was gonna cost us. 71 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,640 I realize it's an escrow, but. 72 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:24,100 Karen, we have a Smith Day from Determinus Ball Electric on the line who will be able 73 00:04:24,100 --> 00:04:28,240 to explain the details. 74 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:31,920 Smith. 75 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:44,440 Smith, you're muted. 76 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:50,680 Hello. 77 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:52,080 Can you hear me now? 78 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:53,080 Yes. 79 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:55,240 All right, sorry. 80 00:04:55,240 --> 00:05:01,200 The Zoom has an independent mute feature other than the phone. 81 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,520 This is Smith Day. 82 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:09,000 I'm with the municipal electric, the regulatory and risk manager, and I speak a little bit 83 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:14,720 about the, to answer your question on the agreement, this indemnity agreement actually 84 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:22,800 is a creature from the joint operating agreement for TMPA, and the joint operating agreement 85 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:32,120 is, was put together just a ways back, a couple years at least, and this was from schedule 86 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:33,560 H of that agreement. 87 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:40,240 So all the cities at the time agreed that they would create this fund. 88 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,880 And so this is a, this is actually, like I said, a creature of fulfilling the promise 89 00:05:44,880 --> 00:05:48,860 of that original obligation, and the amount is already funded. 90 00:05:48,860 --> 00:06:04,280 It was $5 million, TMPA already has it. 91 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:07,400 Are you satisfied, Karen? 92 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,920 Yeah. 93 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,720 My mute button seems to be going on and off. 94 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,720 Yeah, that's fine for me. 95 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:16,720 Thank you. 96 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:17,720 All right. 97 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,480 Motion for item D. 98 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:20,480 Move approval. 99 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:21,480 I second. 100 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:24,480 All in favor say aye. 101 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:25,480 Aye. 102 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:26,480 Opposed? 103 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,140 Okay, motion carries. 104 00:06:29,140 --> 00:06:34,160 Next item is consider the approval of the minutes of May 11th, 2020. 105 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,120 Do we have a motion to approve? 106 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:40,640 I move we approve. 107 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:41,640 Second. 108 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:45,440 All in favor say aye. 109 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:46,440 Aye. 110 00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:53,520 Okay, next item B consider recommending the adoption of an ordinance for the City of Denton 111 00:06:53,520 --> 00:07:00,040 with JDK Associates for the installation of a gravity retaining wall in the Brinker substation 112 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:09,480 for the amount of $755,296.68. 113 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:10,480 Good morning. 114 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:11,880 Do we have a presentation on that? 115 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:16,720 Yes, Terry Nolte, DME. 116 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:17,720 Let's see. 117 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:18,720 Hello, Terry. 118 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:20,400 Can you see that presentation? 119 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:21,400 Nope. 120 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:22,400 Not yet. 121 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:23,400 All right, hold on a second. 122 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:24,400 I've got to share. 123 00:07:24,400 --> 00:07:25,400 There we go. 124 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:42,160 Now can you see it? 125 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,920 Now we can. 126 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:45,920 Yes. 127 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:46,920 Okay. 128 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,600 Good morning, Terry Nolte, DME, Assistant General Manager. 129 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:56,200 This is a presentation about a gravity wall that we're proposing to build at the Brinker 130 00:07:56,200 --> 00:08:01,960 substation. 131 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:09,480 This site has about a 30-foot elevation change which requires some sort of a wall to keep 132 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:16,660 the soil from eroding into the substation site itself. 133 00:08:16,660 --> 00:08:20,200 Two options that were considered, one was the gravity retaining walls. 134 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:26,760 We have good experience with those and then a standard concrete wall. 135 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:32,920 This is a photo of the, or a print of the site itself and as you can see, this whole 136 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:39,360 entire corner on the lower left is where the wall goes. 137 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:49,120 It's 728-foot long and it has a 22-foot maximum height that needs to be retained. 138 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,080 This is just a diagram of the retaining wall. 139 00:08:52,080 --> 00:09:00,680 I think everybody's pretty familiar with how these blocks work and we use a geotechnical 140 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:10,200 geotextile fabric and, you know, the blocks are placed inside, the fabrics and the fill 141 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:17,840 is placed inside the blocks and all the blocks are anchored together and provide the rigidity 142 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:22,320 necessary. 143 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,560 Here is a breakdown of the costs. 144 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:35,240 Total is $755,296.68. 145 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:39,880 And we're recommending that we award this to JDK Associates. 146 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:47,480 They did receive the highest evaluated score and also, interestingly, had the lowest price. 147 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:51,200 With that, I will answer any questions you might have. 148 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:57,440 Could you go back to a couple of slides? 149 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:02,960 Yeah, right there. 150 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:09,400 Is there any reason why this, I'm just curious, that you use, let me ask this way, does a 151 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:16,440 Bermuda solid sod require a lot of watering or is it? 152 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:17,440 No. 153 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:18,440 Okay. 154 00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:24,520 And I'm wondering, and the temporary irrigation system, is that for the sod? 155 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:25,520 Yes sir. 156 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:26,520 Yes sir. 157 00:10:26,520 --> 00:10:32,240 Is there any way that could use indigenous plants there, buffalo grass, anything like 158 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:42,720 that that would not require a $13,000 temporary irrigation system? 159 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:53,240 I think this grass is a native grass that really doesn't require a lot of maintenance. 160 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:55,320 So then why does it have an irrigation system? 161 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,760 Oh, that's to make sure that it gets established. 162 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:06,280 Because if it doesn't get established, then the soil will erode and we'll have a area 163 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:07,960 behind the wall. 164 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:08,960 Okay. 165 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:13,000 Thank you. 166 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,720 Any other questions? 167 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:17,720 Billy? 168 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:26,160 I noticed the disparity in prices from the different vendors and I know that happens. 169 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:31,320 Was there different designs offered by different people or was it all just the one design? 170 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:33,960 No, we specified the design. 171 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:39,080 We were quite surprised as well in the variation of the bids. 172 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:44,640 You saw the summary sheet, we had significantly higher bids than this one. 173 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:49,980 This contractor actually had very good references and has done quite a few projects similar 174 00:11:49,980 --> 00:11:50,980 to this. 175 00:11:50,980 --> 00:11:53,480 Yeah, I'm familiar with them. 176 00:11:53,480 --> 00:11:56,200 I don't have anything bad to say at all about them. 177 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:02,440 So just curious as we knew by the difference in pricing across the board. 178 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,840 It happens though, I get it. 179 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:07,720 Maybe they needed to work. 180 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:08,720 Yeah. 181 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:09,720 Okay. 182 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:10,720 That's good. 183 00:12:10,720 --> 00:12:11,720 Thank you. 184 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:12,720 And Russ? 185 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:13,720 Go ahead, Russ. 186 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:17,820 Yeah, this is just a comment, Terry. 187 00:12:17,820 --> 00:12:22,600 I looked at this package, the background material over pretty close and looked at the comparison 188 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:28,480 of the bids and the way the purchasing group here did the evaluation and it was the process 189 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:33,800 was very impressive to me, looked like you guys did a good job in putting this together. 190 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:40,560 The work is well-defined and you took more than just a cursory look at the bids that 191 00:12:40,560 --> 00:12:45,280 were submitted and I was impressed with the process here. 192 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,280 It looks like you did the right thing. 193 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,480 I totally agree with your recommendation. 194 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:57,920 We appreciate that our engineers and purchasing have a long established procedure to make 195 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:03,960 sure that we're trying to get the best value for our ratepayers. 196 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:09,280 Barbara, you're muted. 197 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,280 Did you have a question? 198 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:13,840 Okay. 199 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:15,720 It shows that I'm muted. 200 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:18,600 Oh, you're muted again, Barbara. 201 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:19,840 Okay. 202 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:27,640 It's showing up mute for me, but are the brick that, not the brick, the walls. 203 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:32,480 Does that look anything like what's around the landfill? 204 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:37,400 Yeah, it's very similar, very similar. 205 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,920 Thank you. 206 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:41,920 Any others? 207 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:42,920 All right. 208 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,680 Do we have a motion to approve item B? 209 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:46,680 Approve. 210 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:47,680 Move. 211 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:53,160 In a second, I guess we have many approving. 212 00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:54,160 Second? 213 00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:55,160 I second. 214 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:58,320 Okay. 215 00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:00,240 All in favor say aye. 216 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:01,240 Aye. 217 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:02,240 Okay. 218 00:14:02,240 --> 00:14:03,240 Opposed? 219 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:05,280 Motion carries. 220 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:10,420 Management update. 221 00:14:10,420 --> 00:14:12,960 Madam Chair, members of the board, good morning. 222 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:14,000 Not a whole lot to say. 223 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:21,680 We do have the management study that was conducted for the utility, water utilities and for municipal 224 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:22,680 electric. 225 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:23,680 It's attached. 226 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:24,680 It's quite lengthy. 227 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:29,880 We do have on the line, Ken Banks, if you have any questions specific to that. 228 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:34,920 Looking ahead in your future agenda items, as you can see, we'll be having a lot of budget 229 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:41,320 discussions over the coming weeks, so we'll get back on schedule with those items. 230 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:45,720 And then on the new business action items that we'll be bringing forward at your next 231 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:48,480 meeting, the environmental purchasing policy. 232 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:54,040 And then lastly, just as a reminder, month of May we met just for the one time, but starting 233 00:14:54,040 --> 00:14:57,880 this month we'll be meeting on our regular schedule twice a month, so we'll get back 234 00:14:57,880 --> 00:14:58,880 on track. 235 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:02,420 Thank you, Mario. 236 00:15:02,420 --> 00:15:03,420 Concluding items. 237 00:15:03,420 --> 00:15:05,320 Does any board member -- oh, go ahead, Ed. 238 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:12,380 I just -- I asked a couple of questions at February 24th's meeting, and they're not crucial 239 00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:17,280 and they probably got lost in the shuffle with what's been happening with COVID. 240 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:27,680 But just to repeat, I asked for a copy of the 2015 clean fleet ordinance, and I asked 241 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:35,080 what percentage of our current city fleet is hybrid or EV electric. 242 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:41,840 So at some point if somebody could get back to me from staff about that clean fleet ordinance 243 00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:50,200 and the percentage of current hybrid and EV in the fleet, I'd appreciate it. 244 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:51,200 Thank you. 245 00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:52,200 Yes, sir, will do. 246 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:53,200 Thank you. 247 00:15:53,200 --> 00:16:01,400 I have a question, maybe just a comment, about the management study. 248 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:05,880 It doesn't require an answer now, but it's something I'd like the appropriate person 249 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:11,660 to think about and respond when it comes time to make their budget presentation. 250 00:16:11,660 --> 00:16:20,800 And that is, on about slide 88 or 89 in this 260-some slide presentation, they showed the 251 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:30,080 number by each year, the number of capital -- approved capital dollars for projects that 252 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:37,980 were not spent, and that number grew over the last three or four years. 253 00:16:37,980 --> 00:16:46,080 So if I'm understanding this right, we're -- the city is approving more capital expenditures 254 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:51,600 than the respective utility is able to accomplish. 255 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:57,180 And I wonder is -- what I wonder is, what's being done to address that? 256 00:16:57,180 --> 00:17:00,040 Are we getting further behind? 257 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,200 Is any of that going to be made up? 258 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:03,760 Are we -- what are we letting go? 259 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:07,640 What are we left -- what's being left undone that should be done? 260 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:12,180 That's the nature of my question. 261 00:17:12,180 --> 00:17:14,840 We can certainly cover that in a bunch of discussions. 262 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:15,840 Okay. 263 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:20,680 Yes, Karen, go ahead. 264 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:27,000 Just wanted to know -- this doesn't need to be a formal report or anything, but I'm just 265 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,480 curious about the status of the landfill expansion. 266 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:36,640 I know that's in public comment at this point, I think, but we had a -- I have a note from 267 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:43,080 the January 13th meeting that council was receiving a report, and we would receive information 268 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:49,080 later, and I'm not remembering hearing about it, although I might have slept. 269 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:50,080 Correct. 270 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,520 And we can give you an update in the next meeting or even through an informal staff 271 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:54,520 report. 272 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,960 But we were on track prior to COVID to have those public meetings earlier this spring. 273 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,960 All those were postponed until later in June. 274 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:04,000 So we'll give you an update on that. 275 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,840 We provided council with an informal staff report; we can resurrect that and send it 276 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:08,840 to the PUB. 277 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:09,840 All right. 278 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:10,840 Thanks, Mario. 279 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:11,840 You bet. 280 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:12,840 All right. 281 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:17,640 So did we do concluding items? 282 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:18,640 I'm sorry. 283 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,780 This virtual is -- gets me a little off. 284 00:18:21,780 --> 00:18:24,680 Any concluding items from the board? 285 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:31,360 Something you want added to the agenda or -- okay. 286 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:32,360 I guess not. 287 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:34,920 Then we'll go into work sessions. 288 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:39,520 We're going to receive a report and hold a discussion regarding the 2019 Water Loss Audit 289 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:40,520 Report. 290 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:45,800 Good morning, board members. 291 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:47,080 This is Tyler Dawson. 292 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:48,360 I'm with Water Utilities. 293 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:55,240 I'm the manager of asset management. 294 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:58,680 And I have a report for you here on the Water Loss Audit for 2019. 295 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:05,080 This is a regulatory report that we do annually through the Texas Water Development Board. 296 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,340 We submitted this in April ahead of our May 1st deadline, so this is a report on the findings 297 00:19:09,340 --> 00:19:12,880 of that report. 298 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,720 For those of you who are new to the Water Loss Audit -- I know we typically talk about 299 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,600 this once a year, but that's a long time between reports -- it's essentially a formula. 300 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:25,200 We look at where all of our water goes, and we try to fill out this formula. 301 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,840 We have our authorized water consumption, apparent losses, real losses, and that should 302 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,880 add up to total water supplied. 303 00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:38,920 The crux of this are these two in the middle, apparent losses and real losses, which we'll 304 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,080 define here in a few slides. 305 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:48,640 The bigger picture, aside from this simpler formula, is more like this. 306 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:52,500 If you look from left to right, we're looking at where our water comes from and where it 307 00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:53,500 goes. 308 00:19:53,500 --> 00:19:59,080 I'll say real quick that these arrows, these shapes, are not exactly sized with the volumes. 309 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:00,760 They're made to be readable. 310 00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,400 But if you go from left to right, you can see we start with the water produced. 311 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:07,840 This is drinking water that's treated at our two water production plants and pumped out 312 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:09,320 into our system. 313 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:14,320 We have this gray area at the top, a little bit that's exported for use by Crum and Sanger. 314 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:16,000 The rest is supplied to Denton. 315 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:20,000 You can see the vast majority of the rest is authorized consumption that is billed to 316 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,120 our customers. 317 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:25,160 So aside from these, we try to identify the rest. 318 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,400 What is our unbilled authorized volumes? 319 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:32,380 That's primarily fire protection and system operations. 320 00:20:32,380 --> 00:20:38,740 And then we have our water loss category that's split into apparent losses and real losses. 321 00:20:38,740 --> 00:20:41,760 So I'll start defining those terms for you. 322 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:46,940 Real loss, water loss through distribution system leakage and excessive pressure. 323 00:20:46,940 --> 00:20:50,800 This is called real loss because it is water that is actually lost out of the pipes. 324 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,300 We treat it, we pump it out, but it does not reach its destination. 325 00:20:55,300 --> 00:21:00,160 So this can be our main breaks that we actually discover and we repair. 326 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:04,120 This can be undiscovered leakage, that small leakage through the pipes that just hasn't 327 00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:06,240 been found yet. 328 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,480 This could be background leakage, which is essentially if you've ever done home plumbing 329 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:14,080 and have a fitting that just won't stop dripping, that's what background leakage is. 330 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:19,480 So across our 600 or so miles of main, we do have a little bit of a dripping pipe. 331 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,340 And then this is also the catchall category, that when we go through the work of identifying 332 00:21:23,340 --> 00:21:27,560 where all of our water goes, there's going to be some leftover and we have to assume 333 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:31,960 that as some form of real loss. 334 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:41,480 In 2019, we had total real loss of 607 million gallons or about 9.4% of our total production. 335 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:46,080 So we see this as an indicator of our system health, our physical system health. 336 00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:48,780 We want to minimize that within economic reason. 337 00:21:48,780 --> 00:21:53,520 We have some financial figures for you later to help put that into perspective. 338 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:59,480 And we price out those real losses at the marginal cost of water acquisition and treatment. 339 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:04,400 The vast, vast majority of our cost in water utilities are fixed costs. 340 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:09,400 So we filter out the marginal cost and see what those additional gallons actually cost 341 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,000 us. 342 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,340 We also look at our apparent losses. 343 00:22:15,340 --> 00:22:20,840 This one's a little fuzzier of a definition, but it's water that was not read accurately 344 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:24,640 by a meter or was not read by a meter at all. 345 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:28,740 Our biggest contributor to this is water meter inaccuracy. 346 00:22:28,740 --> 00:22:33,840 We have about 35 to 40,000 meters out in the city. 347 00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:39,480 And unfortunately, the day those meters are placed, they start to slowly lose accuracy. 348 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:45,960 So on average, our meters are about 97 to 98% accurate. 349 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,120 And we look at trying to estimate what's the rest of that. 350 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:49,500 We know a certain amount of that water. 351 00:22:49,500 --> 00:22:52,640 What's the amount that's not being read through those meters? 352 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,000 This also includes a little bit of consideration for unauthorized consumptions. 353 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,600 Once in a while, we find people who have attempted to bypass our metering system. 354 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:06,080 Of course, we correct those as they happen and we try to estimate how much of our water 355 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:07,880 was used in those times. 356 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,040 And occasionally, we have systematic data errors that is handled through our billing 357 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:16,920 system and we account for those here as well. 358 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,660 So these apparent losses are indicators of fiscal health. 359 00:23:20,660 --> 00:23:22,760 It's not a physical health issue like the real losses. 360 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,760 It's not leakage through a pipe. 361 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:26,820 This is uncollected revenue. 362 00:23:26,820 --> 00:23:31,840 So inaccurate meters in theft reduce our revenue and we price out these volumes at the retail 363 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:33,340 volume cost of water. 364 00:23:33,340 --> 00:23:38,200 So what would we have recovered if that water had gone through a meter? 365 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:44,600 And in 2019, we calculate those volumes as 197 million gallons or about 3% of our total 366 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:48,340 water production. 367 00:23:48,340 --> 00:23:54,040 And to define one more category here before we get back to the figures, our unbilled authorized 368 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:58,980 is two components primarily, fire protection and system operation. 369 00:23:58,980 --> 00:24:01,040 So fire protection is an unbilled service. 370 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:05,440 We do not meter or bill water used for fire protection. 371 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,120 Some of that use is for fire sprinkler systems. 372 00:24:08,120 --> 00:24:12,560 So any commercial property you go to, you can probably look up and see fire sprinklers 373 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:13,560 in the ceiling. 374 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:14,960 Those don't pass through our meter. 375 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:19,240 So if the systems are activated, we don't bill for that water, but it is authorized 376 00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:20,920 use. 377 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,080 And then the same for fire engine use. 378 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,660 Any water that passes through an apparatus for the fire department is unbilled. 379 00:24:27,660 --> 00:24:33,920 That includes both fire response for actually putting out fires and training time on the 380 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:36,240 engines. 381 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:41,920 The system operations category includes several things that we do here in water utilities. 382 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,280 One of the biggest is cleaning new pipes after installation. 383 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:51,480 If you've ever seen a water line construction site, you'll see a stack of blue PVC sitting 384 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:52,760 on the ground. 385 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,680 And you can imagine if that's been sitting up for a few weeks, you probably don't want 386 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:56,820 to drink out of it. 387 00:24:56,820 --> 00:25:00,760 So part of our procedure when we install those pipes is we load them with chlorine to kill 388 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:03,960 out any undesirable material in that pipe. 389 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:07,580 And then we flush a lot of water through that pipe and we flush it until it's drinking water 390 00:25:07,580 --> 00:25:08,580 quality. 391 00:25:08,580 --> 00:25:12,040 So there's a lot of volume that goes through that to ensure those new pipes are clean enough 392 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,120 to drink out of. 393 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:19,020 We also have water used for removing old water from low flow pipes. 394 00:25:19,020 --> 00:25:22,300 These are areas where we know we don't get a lot of water circulation. 395 00:25:22,300 --> 00:25:26,700 So to prevent that water from getting stagnant in the pipes, we flush the water out and let 396 00:25:26,700 --> 00:25:28,400 the new water come in. 397 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:32,240 That tends to be a pretty big user of water for operations. 398 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,920 And then we have kind of a grab bag of other operational usage. 399 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:40,000 We have flow rate testing to validate that what we're putting in the ground is the right 400 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,000 size. 401 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,440 We have water quality sampling and a handful of other things. 402 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:51,460 So to come back to the graphic from slide three, we filled in the volumes here. 403 00:25:51,460 --> 00:25:56,760 So you can see on the far left side, we produced $6,476,000,000. 404 00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:59,140 These numbers are in million gallons. 405 00:25:59,140 --> 00:26:02,800 This is for the full year fiscal 2019. 406 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:05,520 We exported $76,000,000. 407 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,320 We billed $5.5 billion gallons. 408 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:12,240 And you can see toward the bottom right of your screen where we've accounted for our 409 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:16,360 unbilled authorized consumptions and our losses. 410 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:21,560 So for instance, we used about $77,000,000 gallons in 2019 for various system operations 411 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:26,160 to keep the distribution system clean and healthy. 412 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:30,880 Our $197,000,000 gallons of apparent losses, the biggest category, meter inaccuracy was 413 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,180 $176,000,000 of that. 414 00:26:33,180 --> 00:26:35,000 And then we get down to our real losses. 415 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,800 Out of $607,000,000 gallons, $40,000,000 was accounted for in main breaks, which I'm 416 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,720 going to get into the details a few slides down the road here on that. 417 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:48,560 And then after all the work we put into this, we had $567,000,000 that was not accounted 418 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:55,160 for in any of our known uses of water, so that's our unaccounted for real losses. 419 00:26:55,160 --> 00:27:03,200 And looking at the fiscal side of this, real losses, we said were $607,000,000 gallons 420 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,160 of our total real losses for fiscal 2019. 421 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:10,380 The cost of that is $209,000. 422 00:27:10,380 --> 00:27:14,680 We priced that out again at the variable cost of treating water, so per thousand gallons 423 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:16,520 that's only $0.35. 424 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:22,280 Again, the vast majority of our costs and water utilities are fixed costs, either capital 425 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:26,120 or staff that's used for maintenance or operations. 426 00:27:26,120 --> 00:27:29,100 Treating an additional thousand gallons of water just isn't very expensive. 427 00:27:29,100 --> 00:27:34,560 So while the volumes are higher, the cost is actually much lower than our apparent losses. 428 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:39,740 In the future, we don't know exactly how far a decade or two down the road, we're looking 429 00:27:39,740 --> 00:27:44,800 at when we may use our water supply rights that we have. 430 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,520 And at that point, those costs would go up because we would be buying water from Dallas. 431 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:53,960 So in the future, those variable costs could go higher than that $0.35. 432 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:58,320 The apparent losses, again, the volumes are about a third of our real losses at 197 million 433 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:02,840 gallons, but the cost is much higher, $947,000. 434 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:05,640 That's because we priced this at the average retail cost of water. 435 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:10,080 Again, we look at apparent losses as unrecovered revenue. 436 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:16,480 In 2019, our average volume cost of water was $4.80 per thousand. 437 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:21,160 You can compare this to our rate book, we consider all of our different rates, our block 438 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,480 rates and everything, we average those out for the year. 439 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:29,880 So 480 includes both our base rate of $4.15 and all the way up through our commercial 440 00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:33,660 irrigation rates and our residential block rates. 441 00:28:33,660 --> 00:28:39,300 This cost of apparent loss is offset by our proactive meter replacement and calibration 442 00:28:39,300 --> 00:28:40,480 program. 443 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,880 So if you've heard any of our presentations that we replace our small residential meters 444 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:49,060 on a 13-year cycle, this is where we get that number. 445 00:28:49,060 --> 00:28:55,280 So we look at what are we saving by replacing meters at a certain age and then what's the 446 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:57,020 cost of executing that program. 447 00:28:57,020 --> 00:29:01,880 So $947,000 is the remaining cost after we've offset what we could through our meter replacement 448 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:02,880 program. 449 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:03,880 I have a question. 450 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:04,880 Yes, sir. 451 00:29:04,880 --> 00:29:11,480 Under the real loss, I can't see that the second bullet point, cost of real loss will 452 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:16,200 increase in the future when Denton acquires and then I can't see what the rest is because 453 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:17,200 ... 454 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:18,200 Sure. 455 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:23,520 So that says cost of real loss will increase in the future when Denton acquires additions 456 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:24,840 to the water supply. 457 00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:25,840 Okay. 458 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:29,760 And you mentioned that that could possibly be buying water from Dallas? 459 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:30,760 Yes. 460 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:34,600 So that's the long-term plan, currently all of our water rights are fixed costs. 461 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:38,460 We own all of the water in excess of what we use right now. 462 00:29:38,460 --> 00:29:42,320 So whenever we get to the point that we are using all of those rights, then we will buy 463 00:29:42,320 --> 00:29:44,000 water by the volume. 464 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,320 We will have a volume charge on that water if we buy additional water from Dallas. 465 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:55,000 So what are our ... I'm not familiar with what we already own in terms of water rights, 466 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,000 what we have. 467 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:02,800 Can you give me an idea of that, what it's like, is it lakes or creeks or ... 468 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:07,520 So our water rights right now come from Lake Louisville and Lake Ray Roberts. 469 00:30:07,520 --> 00:30:12,680 We share both of those lakes with Dallas or a few other smaller water right holders. 470 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:15,020 Between the two, I'm going to look across the room to make sure I'm close. 471 00:30:15,020 --> 00:30:22,180 We have a little over 20 million gallons per day, daily average throughout the year. 472 00:30:22,180 --> 00:30:23,960 So that's plenty more than we're using now. 473 00:30:23,960 --> 00:30:28,800 Right now we're about in the 17 million gallon per day average ballpark. 474 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:33,840 And then on top of that, we have recently about a year ago had an indirect reuse permit 475 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:38,480 approved through the TCEQ that gives us about 50% more than that. 476 00:30:38,480 --> 00:30:44,680 So roughly when we max out our water rights, we'll be up to about 36 million gallons per 477 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,920 day on average throughout the year. 478 00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,360 And I assume that this would be based upon continued development in our area. 479 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:54,240 Yes, sir. 480 00:30:54,240 --> 00:30:59,160 And the water volume forecast, those presentations will include a lot of that information to 481 00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:03,560 see where we stand in the long range and how long it'll take us to exceed that supply. 482 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:04,560 Okay. 483 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:08,960 Thank you very much. 484 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,600 All right. 485 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:15,640 So these are our water audit results. 486 00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:21,440 We also benchmark these across the Texas Water Development Board's Regency Planning Group 487 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:24,680 to see how we compare to other utilities. 488 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:28,880 The points we benchmark against are real loss, which again are indicators of physical system 489 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:34,600 health, apparent losses, which are indicators of fiscal health, and then a value called 490 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:40,720 infrastructure leakage index, which this is a normalized value that helps us compare our 491 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,840 leakage rates to that of other utilities. 492 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:49,400 And in these charts, just some considerations for benchmarking. 493 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:53,640 We know that no two utilities are exactly equal, no two cities are laid out exactly 494 00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:55,160 the same. 495 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,960 So we have some considerations that'll account for some of the variability between utilities, 496 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:03,680 but we look at across the board roughly where do we stand. 497 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:10,960 And these are normalized values, so it should account roughly for system size. 498 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:16,400 First we have real and apparent loss per connection across Regency, that's per water service connection. 499 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:21,320 To help you see Denton's number, it's marked right here just past the midpoint. 500 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:26,320 So you can see the broad range from Sardis, Lone Elm all the way on the left side to Dallas 501 00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,480 Water Utilities on the right side. 502 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:34,520 We aim to stay somewhere in the middle, ideally a little bit ahead of the middle so that our 503 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:40,880 losses are generally better than the cities around us and still within reason from a fiscal 504 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:45,520 perspective. 505 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:51,840 We also have total losses per capita across Regency, again here's Denton's number. 506 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:55,120 And we get to move up to the left, which is a good thing, it's a little bit less losses, 507 00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:59,480 a little bit tighter system when we look at a per capita perspective. 508 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:04,760 So in the large picture, we are a little bit ahead of the midpoint for the cities in our 509 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:09,160 region. 510 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:13,720 And before I show our last chart, this Infrastructure Leakage Index, just to give a better definition 511 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:18,960 here, it's an engineering calculation used to normalize our real losses. 512 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:23,920 We compare our identified real losses over a theoretical minimum leakage through an engineering 513 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:24,920 calculation. 514 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:31,960 Denton's for fiscal 2019 was 2.13 and here's how we compare to Regency. 515 00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:37,760 Here's Denton's number, again ahead of midpoint to the left. 516 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:43,200 The color coding here we put in here is, this is important because there are recommended 517 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,020 target ranges for your ILI. 518 00:33:46,020 --> 00:33:51,040 So if we start all the way on the right side in the purple, greater than 8 is not recommended 519 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:53,240 by the Water Development Board. 520 00:33:53,240 --> 00:34:01,720 And then the orange, 5 to 8, this is where there is abundant water supply where your 521 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,400 organization is not sensitive to rate increases, rate increases are fine. 522 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,340 And as we start to move to the left is when you want a tighter and tighter system. 523 00:34:09,340 --> 00:34:16,000 So the lowest recommended range for ILI is from 1 to 3 and we are well within that range 524 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:23,200 and actually have been since 2003 when we started the water audit and its current format. 525 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:28,660 And I'll touch on one more component of the audit itself before I get into the results 526 00:34:28,660 --> 00:34:33,040 of the audit or the after effects of the audit. 527 00:34:33,040 --> 00:34:36,960 The biggest improvement we've made in the last several years or one of the biggest improvements 528 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:42,160 is how we identify our water main breaks and account for those water losses. 529 00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:47,520 If you remember from a few slides back we showed 40 million gallons in loss from main 530 00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:48,760 breaks. 531 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:52,660 This is based on a new system where each main break is identified individually. 532 00:34:52,660 --> 00:34:57,280 We look at the type of break, we look at the size of that break, length, width, diameter 533 00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:03,040 of hole, the size of the pipe, and when necessary on larger breaks we use our hydraulic model 534 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,800 to better calculate how much water came out of each individual break. 535 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:09,080 We were not doing this in prior years. 536 00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:11,540 We were assuming every main break was created equal. 537 00:35:11,540 --> 00:35:12,960 They all flowed at the same rate. 538 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:18,120 They all flowed for the same amount of time and in 2018 compared to our 40 million gallons 539 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:24,000 of main break water loss identified in 2019, in 2018 we only identified 3 million gallons. 540 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:28,840 There was no significant difference in the number of breaks or even the types of breaks. 541 00:35:28,840 --> 00:35:33,880 So we count that difference going from 3 million to 40 million gallons. 542 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:37,720 That's based on us better identifying what is actually coming out of our system. 543 00:35:37,720 --> 00:35:42,800 So for example we can look at the pictures of this main break and by estimating the size 544 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:47,600 of this break we can say this is about 1.5 million gallons on its own. 545 00:35:47,600 --> 00:35:52,240 So by better identifying the water coming out of these breaks we have a tighter audit 546 00:35:52,240 --> 00:35:59,040 and we have a better understanding of where all of our water goes once it's treated. 547 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:00,840 So implementation steps. 548 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:01,840 This is important here. 549 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:06,600 We don't want to do this audit just as a regulatory requirement or just as a formality. 550 00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:09,560 We want this to have an impact on our organization. 551 00:36:09,560 --> 00:36:12,120 We want to use these results to continually improve. 552 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,240 So some of our implementation steps. 553 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:18,160 The first three, you can see the check marks, these are things we've been doing for some 554 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:19,960 amount of time. 555 00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:23,120 Our media replacement program, we want to continue that. 556 00:36:23,120 --> 00:36:25,880 That offsets those very expensive apparent losses. 557 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:27,120 We want to continue that as is. 558 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:31,880 We don't have any recommended changes to that program this year. 559 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:34,720 We also want to continue our leak detection program. 560 00:36:34,720 --> 00:36:40,440 We purchased some new leak detection equipment about a year ago last June and that's helped 561 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:44,520 us identify some leaks better and we want to continue to use that to offset our real 562 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:46,000 losses. 563 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,720 And then we want to continue to use our improved main break water loss estimates that we saw 564 00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:52,960 on the previous side to keep that tighter audit. 565 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:57,720 A couple of new items, we want to improve our volume estimates for new line flushing. 566 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:01,920 Again, that's part of our operational use to make sure our newly installed water mains 567 00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:04,520 are drinking water clean. 568 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:09,380 Those tend to be tough to measure based on how much water comes out of them and how many 569 00:37:09,380 --> 00:37:11,120 connections we tend to flush through. 570 00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:14,040 It's hard to put metering points on all those. 571 00:37:14,040 --> 00:37:17,820 We're looking through some ideas to better capture that information. 572 00:37:17,820 --> 00:37:24,160 We expect that we may show an increase in water volumes once we implement a more accurate 573 00:37:24,160 --> 00:37:31,000 tool for this that will shift some of our volume calculations from real losses up to 574 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,000 operational. 575 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:35,960 And if we can consider those approved, then that will show better real losses and a more 576 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,960 realistic picture of our system. 577 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,700 And finally, we want to create and implement mass balance worksheets for our two water 578 00:37:43,700 --> 00:37:45,600 production plants. 579 00:37:45,600 --> 00:37:48,600 This helps with the metering from the water production plants. 580 00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:54,480 And this is critical because meters of that size, when they go out of calibration, they 581 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:58,400 tend to overestimate water rather than underestimate water. 582 00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:01,880 And when we overestimate water coming from our plants and can't account for anywhere 583 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,840 else on our system, we assume those are losses on the backside. 584 00:38:05,840 --> 00:38:10,160 So again, to have a clearer picture of what our system looks like and where our water 585 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:15,200 goes, a mass balance worksheet would help us better account for the water within the plants 586 00:38:15,200 --> 00:38:19,440 and the water leaving the plants. 587 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:23,240 And at this time, I'll take any questions or comments. 588 00:38:23,240 --> 00:38:28,320 Does anyone have a – oh, go ahead, Russ. 589 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:35,400 I have a question about what kind of technology are you using for your leak detection, what 590 00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:39,840 you've used in the past, you're using now, and what you anticipate using? 591 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:40,840 Sure. 592 00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:46,080 Our new system, it's from a company called Gutterman, it's called ZoneScan. 593 00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:52,320 We have correlating loggers and leak correlators essentially send acoustic signals through the 594 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:58,400 pipe wall, and they find abnormalities in those signals to identify where there is a 595 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:01,720 break in that pipe wall. 596 00:39:01,720 --> 00:39:04,400 The new technology we have is a set of 10 loggers. 597 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:06,520 It's actually deployed overnight. 598 00:39:06,520 --> 00:39:13,560 Our older technology did use correlators, but we had to go on site, and spot by spot 599 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:20,680 we had to be on site to collect all the information and to set up and run the equipment. 600 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:24,320 These instead, we deploy them overnight, we come back the next morning and we collect 601 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:26,120 all that data. 602 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:32,480 Those loggers will run four increments, about 15 minutes apart, of these acoustic signals, 603 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:36,560 and they run in the middle of the night, where since they're listening, they're looking 604 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:38,040 for low traffic hours. 605 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:41,960 Typically, they're set to run 2 a.m. when the roads are the quietest, and it gets the 606 00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:46,040 best signal, and it runs four rounds of this and gives us the result. 607 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:47,040 Okay. 608 00:39:47,040 --> 00:39:48,040 Thank you. 609 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:49,040 Go ahead, Ed. 610 00:39:49,040 --> 00:40:02,360 Yeah, I was just curious, is there any audit or report done on water savings through conservation 611 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:04,120 methods in the city? 612 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:09,160 Do you work with the sustainability department on anything like that? 613 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:10,800 We do. 614 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,680 Sustainability does the more hands-on work with that, but we do have a water conservation 615 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:19,440 plan that's updated every five years, also through the Texas Water Development Board. 616 00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:24,520 A year ago, we had the updates to that report approved through council, and we have annual 617 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,280 reports on estimates to that. 618 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:31,480 Would it be possible to receive the latest version of that report? 619 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:32,720 Yes, sir. 620 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:36,680 It's actually on the water utilities website. 621 00:40:36,680 --> 00:40:37,680 Okay. 622 00:40:37,680 --> 00:40:42,320 I'm sure we can get a copy to the board, though. 623 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:47,000 And along with that, I wondered if there were any thought in the future, with all the development 624 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:56,720 that's coming in, that the water department could be proactive in promoting less water-intensive 625 00:40:56,720 --> 00:41:05,080 landscaping, giving ideas for xeriscapes, things like that, that would cut back on what 626 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:10,600 will probably become a scarcer and scarcer resource. 627 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:19,560 I didn't know if there was anything in pipeline, no pun intended, regarding possible guidelines 628 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,800 for that, or if that would go through the development, folks. 629 00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:27,040 But just curious, has any thought been given to that? 630 00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:28,040 Sure. 631 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:33,440 Again, our sustainability department does run programs for that. 632 00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:38,640 They have a lot of educational and outreach programs about things like xeriscaping, specifically, 633 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,460 and native landscaping practices. 634 00:41:41,460 --> 00:41:46,000 I don't know of any requirements going to developments. 635 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:52,120 Yeah, I'm told those could be in the Denton Development Code, but that's not currently 636 00:41:52,120 --> 00:41:54,000 addressed as part of it. 637 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:55,000 Okay, thanks. 638 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:59,800 And thanks for that report. 639 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:01,800 Anyone else? 640 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:02,880 Barbara? 641 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:03,880 No? 642 00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:04,880 Good. 643 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:08,120 All right. 644 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:13,320 I guess then, Larry, do we need to adjourn to go into closed session so that we don't 645 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:16,800 need to come back in? 646 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:17,800 Yes, please. 647 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:18,800 Okay. 648 00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:21,800 And you want me to read what we're going into closed session for? 649 00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:22,800 Okay. 650 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:23,800 All right. 651 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:31,560 "Deliberate regarding real property under Texas Government Code Section 551.072, consultation 652 00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:38,040 with attorneys under Texas Government Code Section 551.071, discuss, deliberate, receive 653 00:42:38,040 --> 00:42:42,640 information from staff, and provide staff with direction pertaining to the potential 654 00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:48,520 purchase of real property located southeast of the corner of Thomas J. Egan Road and Jim 655 00:42:48,520 --> 00:42:55,200 Crystal Road in Denton, Denton County, Texas, where the deliberation of the same in an open 656 00:42:55,200 --> 00:43:00,560 meeting would have a detrimental effect on the position of the government body in negotiations 657 00:43:00,560 --> 00:43:06,080 with the third party or potential litigation, consultation with the city's attorneys regarding 658 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:11,040 legal issues associated with the potential claims against the city associated with the 659 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:16,000 property where the public discussion of these legal matters could conflict with the duty 660 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:21,800 of the city attorneys to the City of Denton and the Denton City Council under Texas disciplinary 661 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:28,320 rules of professional conduct, the state bar of taxes, or would jeopardize the city's legal 662 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:31,040 position in negotiation of potential litigation." 663 00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:34,960 So before we go into closed session, do we have a motion to adjourn? 664 00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:36,960 So moved. 665 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:37,960 Second? 666 00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:38,960 I second. 667 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:39,960 Okay. 668 00:43:39,960 --> 00:43:40,960 We are adjourned. 669 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:41,960 I'm going into closed. 670 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:51,960 [BLANK_AUDIO]