Texas Water Development Board Update

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Texas Water Development Board Update

Bech Bruun – Chairman

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Drought UpdateOctober 4, 2011 June 9, 2015

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Reservoir Conservation Storage DataStorage for June 11, 2015: 24.6 Million acre-ft (83.7%)

Conservation capacity: 31.5 Million acre-ft

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Statewide Reservoir ConditionsJune 9, 2015

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Lake Arrowhead – Wichita FallsJanuary 22, 2014 - 27% Full May 1, 2015 - 20% Full

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Lake Arrowhead – Recent Rains

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Source: NPR StateImpact

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SWIFT Applications• Received 48 abridged apps for over $5.2B

• Invited 39 projects in for full application– Totaling approx. $4B over 10 years– Multi-year commitments – Approx. $1B in projects for 2015 invited to apply

• July 23, 2015 – Target for board commitments

• Fall 2015 – Bond Sale

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SWIFT Timeline

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84th Legislative Session Budget Riders

• $1 million for Water Conservation Education Grants for 2016

• $1 million for Demonstration Projects for Alternative Water Supplies for 2016 (Groundwater Conservation Districts)

• $1.125 million for both 2016 and 2017 for Quantifying and Installing Water Conservation Strategies

• $2 million contingency rider for HB 30 or HB 1232 plus 2 FTEs (Groundwater Division)

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84th Legislative Session Impacts

• HB 1224 (Lucio):

– Allows cross-collateralization of Drinking Water SRF with Clean Water SRF to strengthen the credit rating of the DWSRF.

– Demand for the DWSRF has increased in past several years, with commitments increasing from $6.7 million in 2010 to $230 million in 2014, due in part to greater outreach efforts.

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84th Legislative Session Impacts

• HB 949 (Lucio):

– HB 3605 last session directed that a portion of TWDB financial assistance be used to mitigate a utility’s system water loss if the water loss meets or exceeds threshold established by board rule.

– HB 949 allows TWDB to provide flexibility in addressing water loss if the applicant is already addressing its water loss issues.

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84th Legislative Session Impacts • HB 30 (Larson):

– Encourages and facilitates development of brackish groundwater

– Expedites TWDB BRACS program

– $1.7 million appropriated in fiscal year 2016 for contract studies for designating priority zones in Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer between the Colorado and Rio Grande Rivers, and Gulf Coast, Blaine, Rustler, or other appropriate aquifers

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84th Legislative Session Impacts

• HB 200 (Keffer):

– Establishes an appeal process to challenge reasonableness of aquifer desired future conditions

– TWDB will provide technical analyses and expert witness type function

– Requires revisions to TWDB Ch. 356 rules for Appealing Adoption of Desired Future Conditions

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84th Legislative Session Impacts

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Interregional Conflict Rulemaking• Expand the definition to include the situation where a

recommended strategy is located in another region; and that region has studied the impacts on its economic, agricultural and natural resources.

• Require a RWPG to send a copy of their IPP to other regions that contain a location or site of one of the recommended strategies.

• Clarify that a RWPG that objects to a strategy from another region must notify the EA & provide info on the impacts on the economic, agricultural or natural resources.

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Interregional Conflict Rulemaking• Require the Board to decide if the issue rises to the level of

having a potential for a substantial adverse effect on the region.

• Interregional conflicts are attempted to be resolved after IPPs are submitted to the EA in time for the resolution of the conflict to be incorporated into the revised & adopted regional water plans.

• Mechanism for handling the situation where an interregional conflict is not resolved before the statutory deadline for submittal of the final adopted regional water plans.

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@twdb_bech

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Texas Water Development Board

Bech Bruun, [email protected]

512-463-7384 @twdb_bech