Water Resources Commission Minutes - 10/16/2000u
MINUTES OF WATER RESOURCES COMMISSION MEETING
October 16, 2000
The Water Resources Commission met on October 16, 2000 at 4:00 p.m. at the
Memorial Auditorium, Council Conference Room. Those in attendance were Water
Resource Members Charles Bentley, Charles Barr, Elizabeth Martin, Council Liaison
James Esther, Staff Representative David Lehfeldt, Public Works Secretary Gloria
Dicken, and Times /Record News Reporter Monica Wolfson. Water Resource Members
absent were Chris Neeb and Fred Stangl.
• Charles Bentley opened the meeting by asking the members to review the minutes
from the meeting of September 27, 2000 and make any additions or corrections. Liz
Martin moved that the minutes be accepted as written, James Esther made the
second motion, vote was taken and minutes were approved.
• A poster created by David Lehfeldt was presented to the Commission stating the
concerns and possible restrictions to be presented to the City Council. Those items
are listed as follows:
Discussion Points for Drought Ordinance
- Make it illegal to water between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. every day of the year
even when not in a drought.
- Add bubbler systems to approved irrigation methods (along with drip and soaker
systems).
- Add a new surcharge at 30% with charges of $5.00, $10.00, and $15.00 for each
trigger.
AT 35%
- Prohibit watering of grass and turf except for golf course greens and incidental
watering while watering trees and shrubs.
- Allow watering of trees and shrubs but require methods other than sprinklers and
sprinkler systems.
AT 30%
- Prohibit all outside watering except for watering building foundations.
- Prohibit all washing of motor vehicles except at auto body shops.
- Prohibit the filling of swimming pools, hot tubs, fountains, and ponds.
• Following the poster presentation, there was some discussion on the new
restrictions between the Commission Members.
• Mr. Esther asked Mr. Lehfeldt about the effluent being used on golf courses. Mr.
Lehfeldt replied that we are not ready to do that just yet. However, the Pilot Study
for the effluent water was to start on Monday. The City would receive the needed
data from this Pilot Study as there are a lot of questions that have to be answered
concerning this before asking for a permit. Also, not only the golf courses, but big
industry, and raw water usage could be affected by this study.
• Mr. Esther asked why this was taking so long, when other (smaller) cities were
making faster progress than Wichita Falls. Mr. Lehfeldt replied that it was more
difficult for Wichita Falls than the smaller towns because we were looking at a larger
amount of water than the others. He assured Mr. Esther and the rest of the
Commission that the City was going forward as fast as possible.
• There was some discussion about the number of water main breaks the City has
been experiencing, and the replacement of those mains because of the drought.
WRC Meeting
October 16, 2000
Page 2
• Education again was expressed as the key to water conservation. The public needs
to know about and implement water conservation, not only in times of drought but at
all times
• The Commission asked Mr. Lehfeldt to explain the rate increases in water and how
the general public feels as they have done what the City asked of them, and now
they are being penalized by having higher water bills. Mr. Lehfeldt explained that
the Council decided not to have a rate increase in 1999, putting it off for another
year, even after a rate study had been done stating the need for at least a 10%
increase. Yes, part of the water bill increase was due to less water being used, but
it also had a lot to do with other issues the City had to address.
• Several of the Commission Members stated that they thought all outside watering of
grass and turf should be stopped right away, probably at the 35% lake levels which
at this point we are at 35.2 %. We should not wait until the 30% level.
• If new restrictions are imposed at the 35% level and again at the 30% level, the
Mayor would need to declare these restrictions. Once this is done, say at the 35%
level, the new level declared would stay in effect, even if the percentage were to go
back up and over the 35% level. Everything would stay the same until the Mayor
made another declaration changing it again.
• The Commission discussed meeting with the City Council for a workshop and are
ready for such meeting. They asked if Mr. Lehfeldt and /or Gloria Dicken could
check and see when this meeting could take place, hopefully this week or sometime
next week.
• Meeting was adjourned at approximately 5:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
fZ;harles Bentley, Chairman
CITY CLERK'S OFFICE
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