City of San Antonio - File #: 17-6378

• File #: 17-6378
• Type: Miscellaneous Item
• In control: City Council A Session
• On agenda: 12/14/2017
• Posting Language: An Ordinance authorizing funding agreements with the University of Texas at San Antonio in an amount not to exceed $1,057,401.00, and Southwest Research Institute in an amount not to exceed $530,398.00, for water quality demonstration projects under the Proposition 1 Edwards Aquifer Protection Program. [María Villagómez, Assistant City Manager; Xavier D. Urrutia, Director, Parks and Recreation]

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
12/14/2017	1	City Council A Session	adopted	Pass

DEPARTMENT: Parks and Recreation


DEPARTMENT HEAD: Xavier D. Urrutia


COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide


SUBJECT:

Edwards Aquifer Protection Program - Demonstration Projects


SUMMARY:

This ordinance authorizes funding agreements with the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in an amount not to exceed $1,057,401.00, and Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in an amount not to exceed $530,398.00, for water quality demonstration projects under the Proposition 1 Edwards Aquifer Protection Program for a period of two years. This ordinance also authorizes the execution of necessary documents by the Director of Parks and Recreation.


BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

In May 2015, voters renewed for the third time the Proposition 1 Edwards Aquifer Protection Program, funded through a portion of a 1/8-cent sales tax in the amount of $100 million. Previous elections set the initiative at $90 million and included Edwards Aquifer protection efforts beyond Bexar County. The current voter-approved program includes $10 million dedicated for aquifer water quality projects within urbanized areas of Bexar County over the Recharge and Contributing Zones of the Edwards Aquifer. These projects have come to be known as "demonstration projects" which the City is pioneering in coordination with San Antonio River Authority, Edwards Aquifer Authority and San Antonio Water System. A solicitation ran from April through September 2017 and yielded ten (10) demonstration project submissions. Two projects are recommended for consideration under two categories: New Construction/Retrofit (University of Texas at San Antonio) and Research/Data (Southwest Research Institute) and were endorsed for recommendation to City Council by the Conservation Advisory Board on November 29, 2017.

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) demonstration project was selected for the New Construction/Retrofit category. UTSA will retrofit a 14 acre watershed consisting of rooftops, parking, roadw...