DEPARTMENT: Finance Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Ben Gorzell, Chief Financial Officer
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT: A briefing on the SAWS 2017 Water Management Plan Process and Permanent Stage 1 Water Restrictions.
SUMMARY: A briefing by SAWS on the 2017 Water Management Plan development timeline and an overview of refinements and projections to water supply and demand.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On January 10, 2017, SAWS provided a briefing to their Board of Trustees and on February 8, 2017 to the San Antonio City Council Transportation, Technology and Utilities Committee to kickoff of the 2017 Water Management Plan (WMP) process. SAWS has continued its public outreach with neighborhood and interest groups, business leaders and various individuals to gain their feedback on San Antonio's water future. The 2017 WMP will be the latest iteration of SAWS long term planning process, formally updated every 5 years. The 2017 WMP will include revised population projections, progressive consumption goals, incorporation of recent drought information and its influence on water supply availability. Current 2017 WMP development includes a draft plan in the coming months, with target approval by SAWS Board of Trustees this summer.
Additional focus will be placed on information to fine tune the WMP including, among other things: the potential of regulatory impacts and any long term implications to groundwater supplies, planning for regional and/or additional wholesale water opportunities, review of existing water supply agreements and the efficacy of continuing those agreements beyond existing terms.
A third-party analysis of year round once per week watering also will be presented at this meeting. This study was requested by San Antonio City Council, and SAWS commissioned Freese & Nichols (FNI) to conduct the study. FNI has performed similar analyses for utilities in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and, in the process, developed a multi-variate sta...
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