- I certainly support conservation, reuse, and innovative approaches to using our existing water supply and would want to ensure that we maintain those healthy levels of our aquifers. Water is a critical resource however, and I would also want to examine all options and determine what’s best for our City including but not limited to:
- Downstream neighbors depend on water from the River so there has to be a balance with how much is used. Rice Farmers downstream require a significant amount of water for submerging their fields. During drought, this is a competing interest.
- Water restrictions during drought
- More reclaimed water, one interesting method and is used in San Antonio is Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR). Excess water is returned to underground aquifers for storage until needed.
- We should incentivize industry plants to treat and reuse their own water on site, reducing the demand of drinking water.
- New landscaping strategies (xeriscaping), etc.
- Reducing the amount of water lost in the water system due to aging infrastructure and old water meters, the Statesman reported that up to 4 billion gallons are lost. Austin is below the national average in that category, but there are significant gains to be made. Austin has a current program to replace existing mechanical water meters with digital smart meters. This will both help with water loss at meters and help educate customers about their water usage.
- During significant floods plants are impacted (flooded) with the potential for flowing wastewater into streams, plants must prepare for increased flooding conditions.
- Increase penalties for construction projects that rupture water lines because they did not practice due diligence to identify the dig area.
- Reward good actors who exercise best practices and conserve water, and penalize bad actors who ignore conservation efforts and wastewater.
- Update the building code to require dual-flush toilets, no flush urinals, motion-sensing faucets, recycled water, and other conservation tools.
- Update the city’s drainage plan every 3 years to make certain we are identifying problem areas and keeping the Capital Improvements Plan up to date.