TX H20 April May HiRes

APRIL/MAY 2011

TEXASH2OThe Official Newsletter of the Texas Section AWWA • THE Water Professionals

Texas Water 2011: WE ROCK!

907638 TAWWA H20.qxp 5/27/11 10:57 AM Page 1

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DAVE SCHOLLER, CHAIR

281-558-8700BRENT LOCKE, CHAIR-ELECT

254-562-5992CHRISTIANNE CASTLEBERRY, VICE-CHAIR

512-751-9272RICHARD TALLEY, IMM. PAST CHAIR

817-392-8203

MIKE HOWE

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/SECRETARY-TREASURER

512-238-9292FAX: 512-238-0496

E-MAIL: [email protected]

This publication is distributed monthly tothe more than 3,500 members and friends of the

Texas Section - American Water Works Association.

Contributing writers can contact the editor:Cliff Avery

GCP Association Services

PO Box 676 Pflugerville, TX 78691

512-251-8101 FAX: 512-251-8152

e-mail: [email protected]

The publication name, TexasH2O: © 1996-2011Texas Section - American Water Works Association, Inc.

© 2011, Texas Section - American Water Works Association, Inc.

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Texas SectionAmerican Water Works Association

P.O. Box 80150Austin, Texas 78708

http://www.tawwa.org

Letter from the Texas Section Chair

Texas Water 2011SM was an overwhelming success. Fort Worth knowshow to throw a party (convention). Not only did we surpass the 3,000attendee mark for the first time…we shattered the mark with a total

attendance of 3,555. Thanks to all the volunteers, many of whom were fromthe City of Fort Worth, for their hard work and commitment. As we moveforward this year there are two things I personally would like to focus on –membership and operators. I will talk about membership now and follow-updiscussing operators in the future.

The past several of years has been difficult for the economy and ourmembership. We have been able to sustain our membership over the last year.But, since 2008, our membership is down. Our chapter involvement has beenthe single-best method of keeping these numbers up. The biggest challengehas been and will continue to be retention of existing members.

The Membership Committee has developed a strategy to increase reten-tion, and the cornerstone of this strategy is to reach out to new members.

The Section is notified by AWWA when a new member joins. I will see toit that the Texas Section notifies the chapter in a timely manner and challengethe chapters to “reach out and touch” these new members within a week. Askthem what their interests are and if they would like to volunteer at the chapterlevel. Let them know we appreciate what they bring to our organization.

Regarding the chapters: They are a major key to the success of the TexasSection. We currently have 9 chapters, including the newly formed chapter inthe Bryan/College Station area. These chapters are a direct connection to ournew members. I challenge all of you to get involved with and support yourlocal chapter.

On a final note, the 82nd Legislature is in session. As usual we are moni-toring the activities at the Capitol and there will be more to come.

I am looking forward to serving as your Chair for the next year. Thanks forthe opportunity.

By Dave Scholler

Reach out!

ON THE COVER (Clockwise from Top Left): Mary Gugliuzza and Buster Fichera rock out atthe Texas Rocks: A Water Celebration event. • EPA Region 6 brought a water drop to TW11.Now if only they could make it rain. • Carole Baker announces the Water ConservationAdvisory Council/TWDB Water Stewardship Awards, a prestigious first for Texas Waterconferences. • The Exhibit Hall packs ’em in for the Tuesday evening Meet-and-Greet. • SAWSMen’s and Women’s Teams celebrate joint victories in the annual pipe tapping competition.


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Mary G realizes she’s receiving an award – not giving one away – as past FullerAward winners converge on her during the TW11 Conference Luncheon.

Texas Section Chair Richard Talley congratulates Melissa Bryant.

Mary G earns Fuller AwardThe lady who writes the Texas Water 2011SM book on

awards took home one of her own.Mary Gugliuzza was named recipient of the prestigious

Fuller Award at the annual event in Fort Worth April 6. Gugliuzza – known familiarly as “Mary G” – has been the

chair of the Texas Section’s Publications Committee since1999 and has been responsible for developing the AwardsProgram presented at each Texas Water Conference. She coor-dinates presentation of awards for TAWWA and for WEAT.

She has participated as a producer in several Texas Sectionteleconferences, which have earned AWWA EducationAwards.

Mary G has been with Fort Worth Water Department for15 years. She oversees the department’s internal and externalcommunications. She is a member of the American WaterWorks Association's Public Affairs Council and is also amember of the Water Environment Federation and the PublicRelations Society of America.

The award recognizes distinguished service to the watersupply field in commemoration of the contributions ofAWWA leader George Warren Fuller.

Melissa Bryant namedMaverick Award winnerMelissa Bryant was named winner of the Maverick Award at Texas

Water 2011SM.The Maverick Award recognizes up-and-coming leaders of Texas

AWWA who display exceptional qualities in volunteerism, commu-nity involvement, leadership and service.

Bryant, who grew up in Lubbock, earned a degree in AgriculturalEngineering from Texas A&M. After work in Portland and Dallas,she joined SAWS and is a supervisor in the Water Resources andCommunity Development Dept. She is active in the South TexasChapter and serves as vice president.

State Water Plan tries to avertdisaster from strains on resource

By Liz DavidsonTEXASH2O

AUSTIN – Faced with the challenges of drought, popula-tion increase and decreasing water supplies, Texas could beheading toward a statewide disaster if nothing changes.

But Texas’s plan to meet these challenges – if implemented– could stave off the disaster, according to Robert Mace,deputy executive administrator of Water Science andConservation at the Texas Water Development Board. Macediscussed the state water plan at Texas Water Day at the

PLEASE SEE WATER PLAN, PAGE 19

May 10 chart shows how dry we are.


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By Mike HoweTAWWA Executive Director

Water professionals from all over Texas met atthe Capitol in Austin for Texas Water Day,sponsored by the Texas Water Foundation,Texas AWWA and a number of other watergroups. I was honored to be the final speakerat this event. My thanks to Carole Baker for inviting me to be part ofthis event. Below are some of my remarks.

Safe drinking water is considered one of the top ten achieve-ments in the history of civilization. But how we allocatewater and set the price is a mess of tradition, wishful

thinking and poor planning. We made decisions that no matterwhere and no matter how much water was available, we wouldprovide as much water as you wanted and it would be cheap. Itdidn’t seem to matter how much was used because it was cheapand seemingly abundant.

When water was around $1 or so per 1,000 gallons, price wasnot an incentive to save water. But, when retail water jumped toover $3 per 1,000 gallons, customers started to pay attention. Welearned we could control consumption to some degree withincreasing block pricing.

For a long time, utilities enjoyed being the “silent service.”

They wanted to be out of the limelight and just wanted to bethought of as a reliable source of clean, abundant tap water. Thewater industry didn’t want anyone to pay attention to the water,where it came from, or the distribution system itself. Utilitymanagers successfully lulled policy makers and the public intocomplacency. In fact, to some, it was bad form to have anyonepay attention to the utility, and it was a point of pride to be leftalone to just get ‘er done.

When we had lot of water in all the right places, and it wassafe and nearly free, we never cared how much was used orwhether we should conserve it. We even thought it was okay touse treated drinking water on the ground to grow water-thirstyplants and grasses! Are we sure this is the legacy we want to leaveto our children and grandchildren?

Because we engineered a system that provided “free water”from surface and ground water sources, many utilities then andnow just charge for the cost of treating and delivering the water tothe tap. We just didn’t place enough value on the water becausethe source was “free”. Even though it is absolutely essential to life,because it was everywhere, safe and easy to distribute, it was easyto ignore the economics of water. It was hardly worth the effort tothink of water as having real value like money. And besides, it ishard to carry water in your pocket like money. Truth is, you reallycouldn’t do much with it – except quench your thirst, sustain life,

Executive Director Report

We can’t afford to wait

PLEASE SEE HOWE, PAGE 21

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AWWA Vice Pres. Jim Chaffee congratulates Jim Parks of North TexasMunicipal Water District (above) and Brian Sebesta of Fort BendCounty MUD No. 25 on their Water Stewardship Awards.

TW11 plays host to first state Water Stewardship Awards

In a first for Texas Water conferences, the state’s WaterConservation Advisory Council and the Texas WaterDevelopment Board recognized two water districts with a newaward at TW11 conference in Fort Worth.

The North Texas Municipal Water District and Fort BendCounty MUD No. 25 were both honored with the first-everWater Stewardship Awards.

This award was created from the Water ConservationAdvisory Council, which was formed out of Senate Bill 3 andHouse Bill 4 during the 80th Regular Session of the TexasLegislature in 2007.

The Council, whose 23 members were appointed by TWDB,was created to provide a resource in conservation to the Texasgovernment, agencies and the public.

One of the duties of the Council is to develop and implementa public recognition program for water conservation. To accom-plish this, the Council partnered with TCEQ on its TexasEnvironmental Excellence Awards for the Water ConservationAward and developed a program to present water conservationawards at existing events across the state.

This includes partnering with Texas Section AWWA to

PLEASE SEE WCAC, PAGE 14


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Top teams: CH2M Hill and Austin Water Utility

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Tourney spikes it for WFPMore than 100 TAWWA and WEAT members attended the

inaugural Texas Water For People Volleyball Tournament at Aussie’sGrill & Beach Bar in Austin April 16.

The event raised more than $4,500 (after expenses) for sustain-able water, sanitation and hygiene projects around the world.

Organizers thanked the sponsors:Community Level: KFriese and Associates and CH2M HILL;Hand Pump Level: Steve Walden, CP&Y, KBR, Carollo, andCDM/WSA; Latrine Level: Employees at Austin Water Utility,Freese & Nichols, and LAN; Other: John McLeod.


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EPA Region 6 made a special presentation to Texas Water2011SM for efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the event.

TW11 eliminated printing and mailing of its annual AttendeeBrochure by creating an on-line version of the 12-page docu-ment. Even without the mailing, the event set a record for TexasWater attendance with more than 3,500 participants.

The EPA award recognized TAWWA and WEAT, the partnersin Texas Water conferences, for “leadership, commitment andachievement in reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emis-sions.”

Allison Watanabe of EPA’s Sustainable Systems Team inWashington addressed the Opening Session of TW11.

EPA honors Texas Waterfor its green initiatives

Opening Session Speaker Allison Watanabe of EPA in Washington andMiguel Flores of EPA Region 6 present commendations to Texas ChairRichard Talley and WEAT Pres. Jody Zabolio.


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Members receivelongevity awards

Twenty-five Texas Section members were honored for their dedication to AWWA at Texas Water 2011SM in Fort Worth.

Five Texas Section members received Gold Water Drop Awardsfrom AWWA in recognition of 50 years of AWWA membership.They are Lee Freese of Fort Worth; Lester Hash of San Antonio;George Lee of Snyder; Pat Luckett of Austin; and Fredrick Stone ofDallas.

Twenty Texas Section members received Life MembershipAwards from AWWA in recognition of 30 years of being involvedin the organization.

Life Membership honorees are Betty Blaschkeof Tomball; Timothy Brown of Houston; RichardBrowning of Arlington; Mike Cavalier ofHumble; Jackie Chance Sr. of Spring; RichardCloutier of Houston; C.D. Cooke of Borger;Russell Hamilton of Austin; Joe Harle ofLongview; Gale Henslee of Amarillo; DonaldIllingworth of Arlington; James Johnson ofWellington; Samuel Kruse Jr. of Sugar Land;Robert McKinnon of Copperas Cove; RonNeighbors of Friendswood; Jim Parks of Wylie;Joe Rodriguez of Cypress; Billy Sims of Lufkin;Jimmy VanSchuyver of Houston; and AshokVarma of Dallas.

Present to receive their awards at TW11 were (above) Gold Water Drop honorees LeeFreese of Fort Worth and Pat Luckett of Austin and (below) Life Membership recipientsAshok Varma of Dallas, Tim Brown of Houston, Richard Browning of Arlington, MikeCavalier of Humble, and Jim Parks of Wylie.


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Each year at the Texas Water conference, TAWWA recog-nizes those who have demonstrated excellence in waterconservation and reuse practices. Winners from Texas Water2011SM in Fort Worth were:

Large Utility Direct Program: City of Austin, InnovativeCommercial Landscape

The Innovative Commercial Landscape Ordinance isaimed at using stormwater to offset supplemental potable irri-gation in Austin by requiring all institutional projects todirect stormwater to at least 50% of their landscape. Apreliminary calculation has estimated 0.18 to 0.31 MGD willbe saved after ten years of building under the new ordinance.

Small Utility Direct Program: City of College Station, Parks& City Facilities Irrigation Conservation

To practice more efficient landscape water use, the City ofCollege Station compares predicted vs. actual water use atCity facilities each month. For sites that have high waterusage, the Water Services and Parks and Recreation depart-ments determine the cause and repair any irrigation systemleaks. A new Irrigation Division was also created to focus oninspecting, repairing and managing the irrigation systems.

TW11 awards laudconservation efforts

Continued on the following page


Large Utility Indirect Program: City of Austin, 3C ChallengeCampaign

To help reach Austin’s goal of lowering the total per capitapotable water use, Austin Water launched the 3C Challengeawareness campaign. The campaign encourages residents tocommit to a water-wise lifestyle, calculate daily water use andconserve water now and in the future. The City also added newfeatures to its website, such as an online water calculator thatprovides customers with an estimate of their daily water use andtips on how to conserve.

Small Utility Indirect Program: WellsBranch MUD, Water Conservationfor School Children Initiative

The Water Conservation for SchoolChildren Initiative is a conservationeducation project for public schoolelementary students and their parentsin the Wells Branch Municipal UtilityDistrict. Each second and fourth gradestudent receives a copy of the bookBuckley T. Fuller and the Bucket Brigadeto take home, and teachers receive afive-lesson curriculum covering waterconservation and a class project to reinforce the theme of the book.

Bob Derrington Water ReclamationAward: City of Round Rock,Williamson County WaterReclamation & Reuse Project – Phases1A & 1B

The City of Round Rock is devel-oping a new water reuse system atBrushy Creek Regional WastewaterTreatment Plant that will produce highquality reuse water. The reuse waterwill be used for landscape irrigation tohelp offset growing demands on theCity’s potable water supplies. Theprojected ultimate demand of thesystem is about 13,400 acre-feet a year,or 12 MGD.

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TEXASH2OYou’re reading an ad here.

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From the preceding page


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FeaturingKeynote Speaker SteveClouse, COO SAWS

The 2011 President ofthe InternationalWater Association(IWA) Glen Daigger

SAVE THE DATE!DATE: July 28, 2011 LOCATION: SAWS Customer Service Bldg. TIME: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

San Antonio, TX

SOUTHTEXASCHAPTER

Summer Seminar Emerging Issues in the Water/Wastewater Industry

Online registration coming soon at: www.weat.org

Bruce Curtis was recognized as the firstrecipient of the newly created JohnLechner Award of Excellence at the TexasWater 2011SM conference in Fort Worth.

This award is presented to a TexasSection Manufacturers/AssociatesCommittee member or other individualservice provider who has demonstratedexemplary service to the Texas Section, thedrinking water community and toAWWA’s mission and goals.

In a surprise announcement, Curtis willreceive a similar national award atAWWA’s ACE in June.

A member since 1982, Curtis has beenactive in AWWA as a Service Providermember and employee of the MuellerCompany, Smith-Blair, Inc. and currentlyEBAA Iron, Inc. He has served on variousSection- and Association-level committees.

Curtis has provided sponsorships andvolunteered time to the pipe tappingcompetitions since they began in 1986,

often serving as a judge. He has alsosupported the international World WaterCup of Drilling and Tapping with spon-sorships and other support.

At the Section level, Curtis hassupported the operators’ competitions, aswell as the Section golf tournaments,which help send the operator competition

teams to the AWWA annual conferences.He served on the AWWA

Manufacturers/Associates Council from2004-2010 and on several committees insupport of the goals of the MAC andAWWA, including the ConferenceManagement and Ad Hoc ARRAImplementation Review committees.

Curtis honoredfor contributionsto Section, AWWA

AWWA Vice Pres. Jim Chaffee presents the first-ever John Lechner Award to EBAA Iron’sBruce Curtis.


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Images from Texas Water 2011SM

ABOVE: Newly installed Section leaders are Immediate Past Chair Richard Talley,Vice Chair Christianne Castleberry; Chair-Elect Brent Locke, Chair Dave Schollerand Section Director to the AWWA Board Charlie Maddox. For a complete list ofTrustees, Section Division and Committee Chairs, go to tawwa.org. RIGHT:Meera Victor of Carollo Engineers receives the Ken Miller Water For PeopleFounder’s Award, recognizing her contributions to the Water For People effort.She chaired the WFP auction at Texas Water 2007SM and Texas Water 2011SM.

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din

LEFT: AWWA Vice President Jim Chaffee congratulatesRhonda Harris, who received a special award from TAWWAand WEAT honoring her contributions as chair of the TexasWater Exhibits Committee. ABOVE: Local ArrangementsChairs Charly Angadicheril and Buster Fichera of the FortWorth Water Dept. go over details. BELOW: Top OpsContestants await the next question.


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present Water Stewardship Awards annually at the Texas Waterconferences.

The award recognizes water suppliers that have demon-strated outstanding and innovative commitment to the state’smission of promoting responsible management of waterresources.

North Texas Municipal Water District was presented withthis award because of its success in informing the public aboutwater conservation through TWDB’s Water IQ campaign since2006. It was the first water supplier in Texas to use the WaterIQ research-based brand, and since its implementation thepublic has continued to reduce wasteful water practices, shownby the lower-than-expected water consumption reported eachsubsequent year.

Fort Bend County MUD No. 25, located in Sugar Land,serves about 3,600 water and wastewater connections. It wasawarded with a Water Stewardship Award for its wastewatereffluent re-use program, which consists of capturing the treatedeffluent from the wastewater treatment plant and reusing it inlandscaping and amenity pond applications.

From March 2008 through December 2010, the Districtreclaimed more than 423.5 million gallons of water. Its goal isto eliminate the use of groundwater or potable water in amenityponds and significantly reduce potable water uses in landscapeirrigation.


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July 8 is the deadline for applying for a Texas SectionScholarship. Some 14 students received scholarships last year.

An applicant must either be a recent high school graduate or havea record of and plan to continue fulltime college attendance. Forundergraduates, “fulltime” means a minimum of 21 credit hoursper 12-month period; for graduate students, a minimum of 12 credithours per 12-month period.

An Applicant must be either a Texas AWWA member or imme-diate family member of a Texas AWWA member, except for thoseapplying for consideration by the Desert Mountain Chapter (El Pasoarea).

While AWWA members in Mexico and New Mexico are noteligible for scholarships from the Texas Section AWWA, they areencouraged to apply through the Texas Section Scholarship Programfor consideration of Desert Mountain Chapter Scholarships.

In all instances, qualified members must be individual Active,Individual Operations/Administrative or Student Members withoutumbrella coverage provided by the applicant’s employer.

For more information and an application form, click towww.tawwa.org.

July 8 application deadlinefor Section scholarships


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Texas Section and WEAT honored members for theirefforts to communicate with the public.During ceremonies at Texas Water 2011SM, the winners of theannual Watermark Awards were:

Category I: Communications programs: internalcampaigns, external campaigns, crisis communications,community relations. Large Utility: El Paso Water Utilities,Get Mad! Report Illegal Dumping Campaign. Non-utility:North Texas Municipal Water District, Water IQ: Bad HabitsCampaign.

Category III: Publications: annual reports, annual waterquality reports, brochures, direct mail materials and othermulti-page publications. Large Utility: San Antonio WaterSystem, 2009 Annual Report. Small Utility: City of WacoWater Utility Services, 2009 Water Quality Report and Year inReview. Non-utility: North Texas Municipal Water District,2008-2009 Annual Report. Honorable Mention: Dallas WaterUtilities, 2010 Messages From a Direct Mail Pilot Project.

Category IV: Online communications: websites,Facebook, Twitter, online newsletters, etc. Large Utility: Cityof Arlington Water Utilities, Online “Go with the Flow” ToiletDistribution Application Form.

Category V: School curriculums. Small Utility: WellsBranch Municipal Utility District, Water Conservation forSchool Children Initiative.

Category VII: Audio and visual: videos, DVDs, slideshows, Power Point presentations, etc. Large Utility: SanAntonio Water System, Video Web Project. Non-utility:Trinity River Authority of Texas, Source to Tap AnimatedPresentation. Honorable Mention: El Paso Water Utilities,Willie the Water Drop Rescue.

Category VIII: Miscellaneous: photography, logos, one-time advertisements, posters, illustrations, invitations. SmallUtility: City of Waco Water Utility Services, Value of WaterPromotional Water Bottle.

Watermark Awardshonor communicationby TAWWA members


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Water and energy are intrinsically linked. You simply can’thave one without the other.

At Texas Water Day at the CapitolApril 27, Michael Webber, associatedirector of UT’s Center forInternational Energy andEnvironmental Policy, described thisnexus, explaining how the water andenergy relationship is already understrain and that trends imply this strainwill increase.

“Energy and water are interrelated,” Webber said. “We useenergy for water and water for energy.”

The thermoelectric power sector — power plants that use heatto generate electricity, such as nuclear, coal, and natural gas — isthe largest user of water in the U.S, accounting for about 48percent of total water withdrawals.

For every kilowatt-hour that is generated, anywhere fromabout 0.2 to 43 gallons of water are withdrawn.

Most of the water is returned back to the source, with a smallamount being consumed due to evaporation. On average, ther-moelectric power plants withdraw 21 gallons of water per kilo-watt-hour, and consume half a gallon, returning the rest to thesource.

Withdrawing such large amounts at a time makes that waterunavailable for other consumers, such as municipalities. Depending on the plant and type of cooling towers used, waterintake structures can be deadly for fish, and the elevated tempera-ture of the return water can also cause thermal pollution,harming aquatic life.

Not only do power plants create a strain on available watersources, but water sources can impact a plant’s ability to generateelectricity. During dry periods, if water levels fall below a powerplant’s intake structure, it can affect the plant’s ability to drawwater and potentially force it to shut down.

Energy and water usage is also linked at the municipal andresidential level. For water to get from its original source to beused in a home, energy is used to move, treat and heat that water.

Electricity is often required to move water through pipelinesor canals to the treatment plants, and pumping water fromunderground aquifers can be energy intensive.

And Texas is only moving toward more energy-intensive water,according to Webber.

Stricter water and wastewater treatment standards, a progres-sion toward deeper aquifer production, long-haul pipelines andinner basin transfers, and new technologies such as desalinationare all more energy-intensive sources.

Water, energy link underincreasing pressure

PLEASE SEE WATER & ENERGY, PAGE 18


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Water & Energy from Page 17

At the same time, Webber said we’re heading toward morewater-intensive energy, especially relating to nuclear and solarpower and using biofuels for transportation fuels.

“Biofuels are like the poster child for bad water behavior,”Webber said. “They use six to 12 gallons of water per gallon offuel. But if you include the water used for irrigation and agricul-ture, it can sometimes be more than 1,000 gallons of water. It’sincredibly water-intensive.”

Looking for ways to use both resources more efficiently arecurrently being researched and developed.

The Pecan Street Project in Austin is a smart grid demonstra-tion project that Webber believes is the largest controlled energyefficiency experiment in the world. More than 1,000 householdsand 75 businesses are working together to use smart grids andsmart meters to use electricity and water more efficiently.

Reuse is also an alternative, and is a less intensive energyprocess than turning to seawater desalination, which Webber saidis incredibly energy intensive. Many parts of the world alreadyutilize this concept of “toilet to tap,” with 20 percent ofSingapore’s water coming from reuse.

“We use some of the greatest quality drinking water and flushit down our toilet,” Webber said. “We really need clean water todrink and cook with, but for things like cleaning, washing clothes,and flushing, we don’t need water that clean. It doesn’t have to bethe same standard as our drinking water.”

Other ideas to save both energy and water include swappingout cooling towers that use water to cool systems for dry coolingtowers, which rely on air instead. Webber also mentioned thatenergy created from the intermittent wind sources in West Texascould be used for water treatment.

Conservation is also key. Because of the nexus of water andenergy, conserving one helps conserve the other.

“If you wish to save energy, irrigate less, use less hot water,”Webber said. “If you wish to save water, use less electricity. Wecan achieve goals that share the benefits mutually.”


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Capitol on April 27, sharing how Texas will be affected by thesechallenges and where to expect future water supplies to comefrom.

“Texas needs more water,” Mace said. “The good news is thatthrough the regional planning efforts, Texas does have a plan tocome up with that water. And we need about 9 million acre-feetof it.”

Currently, Texas has about 17 to 18 million acre-feet of wateravailable for use, but with the population expected to double by2060, the state will need to increase that amount to more than22 million acre-feet to meet the growing demand.

“As we go forward and as the population grows, as reservoirsfill with sediment and as water levels in our aquifers go down,we’re seeing that gap between supply and demand increase,”Mace said. “It becomes a more serious problem as we goforward.”

The strategies to meet that future demand are outlined in thestate water plan. Texas is counting on surface water, new majorreservoirs, conservation, reuse, groundwater and numerous otherelements to help the state meet that need.

Implementing the state water plan will not be cheap — atleast an estimated $53 billion will be needed to do so, with $16billion needed by 2020 — but Mace said Texas would sufferserious economic consequences if the water plan is not imple-mented.

If Texas did nothing and we were hit with a drought recordtoday, there would be about $12 billion in losses today, with thatrising to $116 billion by 2060. There would also be a loss ofrevenue in state and local taxes of almost $10 billion by 2060,and more than a million jobs would be lost. If Texas didn’timplement a water plan, a drought of record would affect 83percent of the state’s population by 2060.

“Texas needs water, quite clearly,” Mace said. “And we’regoing to need every tool in the toolbox to ensure that we haveenough water.”

The largest supply of water today, and in 2060, will still besurface water, but various forms of conservation will also helpcreate a large portion of the water supply by 2060, includingmunicipal and agricultural conservation.

“Conservation is envisioned to be an important source ofsupply,” Mace said. “The thing about water conservation is thatit can happen at an institutional level and a household level.”

About 17 percent of future water supplies are expected tocome from agricultural conservation. TWDB and Texas TechUniversity are currently researching ways for farmers to usewater more efficiently, without losing money. Research is alsobeing done on more drought-tolerant plants.

Desalination is projected to be one of the smallest sources ofwater in the future, only about 3.4% of the supply by 2060, butit is a growing concept. TWDB has supported studies inBrownsville and Laguna Madre that have both shown promise.

Water Plan from Page 3


RAW WATER PRODUCTIONFACILITY SUPERVISORJob Description: This position isresponsible for operating and main-taining CRMWD’s Raw WaterProduction Facility in order to ensureproduction of Raw Water in accor-dance with federal, state, and munic-ipal standards.Skills Required: Knowledge ofwater/wastewater treatment, includingpumps, valves and electrical motors.Knowledge of TCEQ rules.Demonstrate effective public relationsand public speaking skills. Forfurther explanation go to:http://www.crmwd.org/rwpfsup.pdfEducation Required: High Schooldiploma or GED equivalent. Basicknowledge of chemistry. Basic knowl-edge of math including arithmeticand algebra. Five years experience inpublic water systems operation.Obtain Class B Surface WaterOperator License within 12 monthsof hire, Class C Texas Driver’s

License.For CRMWD Application, go to:http://www.crmwd.org/personnel/applicationforemployment.pdf. Pleasefax application and resume to 432-267-3121 or mail to PO Box869, Big Spring, TX 79721.

SURFACE WATER PLANTOPERATOR in Pecan Grove, nearRichmond, Texas. 5yrs. experience,Class B Surface Water License. Salarynegotiable. Call Mike Ammel, EDP713-395-3100

UTILITIES SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT MANAGERThe San Antonio River Authority isseeking a Utilities SystemsDepartment Manager to provide lead-ership for the operations, develop-ment, maintenance, administration,and customer service of all SanAntonio River Authority (SARA)water and wastewater utility systems.Min Requirements: Bachelor’s degree

+ 8 yrs of progressively responsibleexperience. Requires a valid Class “B”License in Wastewater and a validClass “C” License in Groundwater. The San Antonio River Authority is acharacter-based government agencyserving the needs of communitiesthroughout the San Antonio RiverBasin. Visit our website at www.sara-tx.org for informationregarding our organization and toobtain a full job description.

Apply:100 E. Guenther St. San Antonio, Texas 78204Fax: 210-302-3687 E-mail: [email protected]. Non-smoking environment

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Laguna Madre Water DistrictDistrict Engineer Vacancy

Responsible for reviewing construction plans and sites,designing infrastructure, and capital projects, developing reso-lutions and providing various administrative functions, coordi-nating and supervising engineering operations of waterdistribution, water treatment, wastewater treatment, sewercollection and lift stations for the Laguna Madre Water District(LMWD). Work involves planning, developing and imple-menting proposals to maintain and expand services and iden-tifying the needs of the LMWD’s service area, and preparingprogress reports on major activities to the General Manager.

Requires a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from accred-ited college or university and registered in the state of Texasplus 5 to 10 years of progressively responsible experience inwater and wastewater treatment operations.“An equal opportunity Employer”

Classified advertising

Faced with severe drought, the TCEQnotified Brazos River Basin junior water-right holders May 18 that their right todivert water is immediately suspended.

Suspended water rights include thosewith a priority date of 1980 or later, term,and temporary water-right permits in themid- and lower- Brazos River Basin.

Water rights with municipal uses or forpower generation have not beensuspended. Land owners with propertyadjacent to the Brazos River may alsocontinue to divert water for domestic andlivestock use as part of their inherentriparian rights.

Water rights are suspended or curtailedby priority date, with the most recentlyissued – or “junior” – priority userssuspended before senior water rights.

TCEQ suspends juniorrights along Brazos River


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Howe from Page 4

cook, clean, build cities, create industry, create jobs, generate elec-tricity, put out fires, raise your children and of course, water yourSaint Augustine grass!

When the population exploded in the south and west, waterstarted to be harder to find and even harder to hold onto. At thesame time costs began to soar for water treatment and otherservices. By the time we in the water industry started trying to getanyone to listen, the utilities found themselves on the outside ofthe policy process looking in. And when water systems started tofail, instead of moving policy-makers to solutions, includingraising rates, the reaction was an erosion of confidence in utilitymanagement and public perception, which, in turn, created moreresistance to increasing prices.

But without question, we have reached the point where we haveto raise rates to fix a problem the public doesn’t even see, much lessunderstand. And our pricing still pretends that those water rightsare “free.” Yes, some utilities have raised rates and replaced infras-tructure as they could, and rates have gone up to help pay thosecosts, but the reality is that it is not enough because we in theindustry have become our own worst enemy.

After wanting to be the silent service for so long, now that weneed someone to pay attention and allow us to raise rates to reflectfull-cost pricing, the public and the policy makers are slow torealize the extent of the problem. I even find myself as conditionedto low rates as anyone else. I am more than willing to pay over$100 for my cell phone, but if my water and sewer bill approaches$100 a month, I wonder why it is so high. I know better, but if myknee-jerk reaction is that water should be cheaper, then whyshould the public’s be any different?

Because water is essential to life, many think that raising pricesmight be considered morally wrong. So, should access to water bebased on your ability to pay? I say the answer is a resounding no.But, access to more water than you need to sustain life is adifferent story. And while this gets into a ‘”squishy” area, waterpricing beyond basic needs should be price sensitive and in somecases, dramatically so. In simple terms, that means higher rates –for everyone.

Ask the finance staff in any utility and they can provide youwith a great discussion on tiered pricing, peak demand and howthose who drive the expansion of the water system and corre-sponding costs should pay more for the water. Sounds like goodeconomics and very equitable. But, does this go far enough?

For the most part, we build water systems to be demand-driven.We still want to be able to meet the needs of all customers. It isunderstood to be good for the community, attracts new businessand new jobs, and is good for the local economy. But, in the longterm, this is not based on good economics. As demand begins tooutstrip supply, then decisions need to be made about who gets theremaining water and more importantly, who doesn’t. It becomes

Continued on the following page


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not only a question of who owns the water, but also who allocatesthe water and for what purposes. And, who sets those priorities. Ifyou want to see an example of priority setting for key resources,look back at natural disasters like Hurricane Ike. Hospitals getwater. Power generation gets water. Other industries don’t. And inour current drought, junior water rights are at risk. But we aretalking about one of the most essential services – fresh water andcorrespondingly, sanitary sewer systems. We need both to sustainlife as we know it and want it to be.

So what should water cost? This is sometimes hard to deter-mine, but we can thank the bottled water industry for one thing.They have done all of the hard work and heavy lifting to deter-mine what the public is willing to pay for water. And, when youdo the math, it is stunning to know that the public will pay aLOT for small amounts of water. This alone helps us understandthe economics of water beyond the basic needs.

Let’s be clear. From a marketing standpoint, we undervalue themost important product on earth. And for as good as we are atfinding, treating and delivering water, we are not very good atplacing the true value on the water we sell. Our task is to get thepublic to understand that tap water and sewer systems are notmagic. They need to know that they are expensive to build,operate and maintain and, essential to life as we know it. And tosustain these operations, the public should and must pay moreand in some cases, much, much more.

We need to price water at the real value, based on demand andmore importantly, on supply, at full cost pricing. That takes intoaccount the value of the “free” water rights held by many. Onemodel suggests that once we exceed the amount to sustain life andthe environment, then the price should jump to the full costpricing. This means utilities should set a goal to reach full costpricing within a fixed period of time, and then build in regularcost increases until the price point is met.

If we don’t price water based on availability first, and thendemand, then the time will come, and in some places sooner asopposed to later, when demand will outstrip supply and there willbe few choices left. Water will have to be allocated and likely byothers.

So what are the next steps? First, we have to create powerfulmessages that change how people value water and their watersystems. Research shows the public really does trust the utility tobe up-front on what it takes to deliver and price the water.Second, collectively, we need to bring policy makers along to setrates at full-cost pricing. This will be tough in these times, butthere is never going to be good time. And waiting is not anoption. And if we are going to get something out of this newdrought of record, we do have the best platform to make the arguments.

If we are going to leave a legacy to our children and grandchildren, let it be that we understood that anything else thatwe or they may be interested in now and in the future is not goingto happen if we can’t breathe the air or drink the water.

From the preceding page


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Texas Section CalendarWant to share your event with the Texas water community? Contact Mike Howe, 512-238-9292; fax 512-238-0496.

Check the Section’s website — www.tawwa.org — for the latest information on Section activities.

DATE ACTIVITY TIME LOCATION INFORMATION

June 12-16 AWWA Annual Conference & Exhibition (ACE) Washington, D.C. www.awwa.org

June 22 Southeast Texas Chapter Luncheon 11:30am H.E.S.S. Club www.setawwa.orgSpeaker: D. Wayne Klotz, Klotz & Assoc. 5430 Westheimer Rd., Houston

July 8 Deadline for application for TAWWA Scholarships (see Story, Page 15) www.tawwa.org

July 28 South Texas Chapter Summer Seminar 9am-4pm SAWS Customer Service Bldg. www.weat.orgEmerging Issues in Water/Wastewater San Antonio

Water Engineering ServicesProviding comprehensive services for more than 65 years

WastewaterWater ResourcesMunicipal InfrastructureDrinking WaterGeoTech/Hazmat

Austin��Brownsville��Dallas��El Paso��Houston��Plano�� San Antonio

AWWA will launch its first ever virtual event in June.ACE11 Virtual will broadcast Annual Conferenceand Exposition (ACE11) content live from the WalterE. Washington Convention Center in Washington,

D.C. ACE11 Virtual attendees will have access toover nine hours of live broadcast. ACE11 Virtual willalso contain over 15 hours of on-demand content.For more information, go to awwa.org.


TEXAS AWWAc/o Gilleland Creek Press

PO Box 676Pflugerville, TX 78691

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