82R2240 TRH-F
By: Laubenberg H.B. No. 1319
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the calculation and reporting of water usage and
conservation by municipalities and water utilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter K, Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 16.403 to read as follows:
Sec. 16.403. WATER USE AND CONSERVATION CALCULATION AND
REPORTING. (a) The board and the commission, in consultation with
the Water Conservation Advisory Council, shall develop a uniform
system for calculating water use and conservation to be used by a
municipality or water utility in developing water conservation
plans and preparing reports required under this code. At a minimum,
the system must include:
(1) a method of calculating water use for each sector
of water users served by a municipality or water utility;
(2) a method of classifying water users within
sectors;
(3) a method of calculating water use in the
residential sector that includes both single-family and
multifamily residences, in gallons per capita per day;
(4) a method of calculating water use in the
commercial and institutional sectors that is dependent on a
municipality's population or the number of customers served by a
water utility;
(5) a method of calculating water use in the
industrial and agricultural sectors that is not dependent on a
municipality's population or the number of customers served by a
water utility; and
(6) guidelines on the use of service populations by a
municipality or water utility in developing a per-capita-based
method of calculation, including guidance on the use of permanent
and temporary populations in making calculations.
(b) The board or the commission, as appropriate, shall use
the system developed under Subsection (a) in evaluating a water
conservation plan, program of water conservation, survey, or other
report relating to water conservation submitted to the board or the
commission under:
(1) Section 11.1271;
(2) Section 13.146;
(3) Section 15.106;
(4) Section 15.995;
(5) Section 16.012(m);
(6) Section 17.125(b); or
(7) Section 17.857(b).
(c) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
board shall submit to the legislature a report that includes the
most recent data relating to statewide water usage in each major
water use sector described by Subsections (a)(3) and (4).
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than January 1, 2013, the Texas
Water Development Board and the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality, in consultation with the Water Conservation Advisory
Council, shall develop the water use and conservation calculation
system required by Section 16.403(a), Water Code, as added by this
Act.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2015, the Texas Water
Development Board shall submit to the legislature the first report
required by Section 16.403(c), Water Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.