By: Shapiro, Watson, Seliger S.B. No. 181
(In the Senate - Filed November 8, 2010; January 31, 2011,
read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
March 17, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 11, Nays 0; March 17, 2011,
sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 181 By: Estes
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the calculation and reporting of water usage by
municipalities and water utilities for state water planning and
other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (e), Section 16.053, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) Each regional water planning group shall submit to the
development board a regional water plan that:
(1) is consistent with the guidance principles for the
state water plan adopted by the development board under Section
16.051(d);
(2) provides information based on data provided or
approved by the development board in a format consistent with the
guidelines provided by the development board under Subsection (d);
(3) identifies:
(A) each source of water supply in the regional
water planning area, including information supplied by the
executive administrator on the amount of managed available
groundwater in accordance with the guidelines provided by the
development board under Subsections (d) and (f);
(B) factors specific to each source of water
supply to be considered in determining whether to initiate a
drought response;
(C) actions to be taken as part of the response;
and
(D) existing major water infrastructure
facilities that may be used for interconnections in the event of an
emergency shortage of water;
(4) has specific provisions for water management
strategies to be used during a drought of record;
(5) includes but is not limited to consideration of
the following:
(A) any existing water or drought planning
efforts addressing all or a portion of the region;
(B) approved groundwater conservation district
management plans and other plans submitted under Section 16.054;
(C) all potentially feasible water management
strategies, including but not limited to improved conservation,
reuse, and management of existing water supplies, conjunctive use,
acquisition of available existing water supplies, and development
of new water supplies;
(D) protection of existing water rights in the
region;
(E) opportunities for and the benefits of
developing regional water supply facilities or providing regional
management of water supply facilities;
(F) appropriate provision for environmental
water needs and for the effect of upstream development on the bays,
estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of plans on
navigation;
(G) provisions in Section 11.085(k)(1) if
interbasin transfers are contemplated;
(H) voluntary transfer of water within the region
using, but not limited to, regional water banks, sales, leases,
options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements; and
(I) emergency transfer of water under Section
11.139, including information on the part of each permit, certified
filing, or certificate of adjudication for nonmunicipal use in the
region that may be transferred without causing unreasonable damage
to the property of the nonmunicipal water rights holder;
(6) identifies river and stream segments of unique
ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of
reservoirs that the regional water planning group recommends for
protection under Section 16.051;
(7) assesses the impact of the plan on unique river and
stream segments identified in Subdivision (6) if the regional water
planning group or the legislature determines that a site of unique
ecological value exists; [and]
(8) describes the impact of proposed water projects on
water quality; and
(9) includes information on:
(A) projected water use and conservation in the
regional water planning area; and
(B) the implementation of state and regional
water plan projects, including water conservation strategies,
necessary to meet the state's projected water demands.
SECTION 2. Subchapter K, Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended
by adding Sections 16.403 and 16.404 to read as follows:
Sec. 16.403. WATER USE REPORTING. (a) The legislature
finds that:
(1) tracking water use over time and evaluating the
effects of water conservation programs or strategies are vital
components of planning for and managing the state's water resources
to estimate and meet future water demand requirements;
(2) gallons per capita per day, the common metric used
by municipalities and water utilities for water supply planning and
the calculation of water use, is not an accurate measure of water
use or water conservation because a uniform, consistent methodology
for the calculation of gallons per capita per day has not been
established;
(3) using a single gallons per capita per day metric to
compare the water use of municipalities and water utilities does
not produce a reliable comparison because water use is dependent on
several variables, including differences in the amount of water
used for commercial and industrial sector activities, power
production, permanent versus temporary service populations, and
agricultural sector production;
(4) if valid water use comparisons and evaluations of
a municipality's or water utility's water conservation programs are
to be made over time for statewide resource management and water
supply planning and permitting purposes, the methodology used to
calculate gallons per capita per day must be uniform for all water
suppliers;
(5) a municipality's or water utility's industrial and
agricultural sector's gallons per capita per day figures are not an
accurate measure of actual water use and conservation by entities
within those sectors because water use in the industrial and
agricultural sectors is not population-dependent and therefore not
accurately calculated using a population-based metric; and
(6) a sector-based water use metric, adjusted for
variables in water use by municipalities and water utilities, is
necessary in order to provide an accurate comparison of water use
and water conservation among municipalities and water utilities.
(b) The board and the commission, in consultation with the
Water Conservation Advisory Council, shall develop a uniform,
consistent methodology and guidance 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 methodology and guidance 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
industrial, agricultural, commercial, and institutional sectors
that is not dependent on a municipality's population or the number
of customers served by a water utility; and
(5) 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.
(c) The board or the commission, as appropriate, shall use
the methodology and guidance developed under Subsection (b) 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 15.607;
(5) Section 15.975;
(6) Section 15.995;
(7) Section 16.012(m);
(8) Section 16.402;
(9) Section 17.125;
(10) Section 17.277;
(11) Section 17.857; or
(12) Section 17.927.
(d) The board, in consultation with the commission and the
Water Conservation Advisory Council, shall develop a data
collection and reporting program for municipalities and water
utilities with more than 3,300 connections.
(e) 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:
(1) statewide water usage in the residential,
industrial, agricultural, commercial, and institutional sectors;
and
(2) the data collection and reporting program
developed under Subsection (d).
Sec. 16.404. RULES AND STANDARDS. The commission and the
board, as appropriate, shall adopt rules and standards as necessary
to implement this subchapter. At a minimum, the rules adopted under
this subchapter must require an entity to report the most detailed
level of water use data currently available to the entity. The
commission may not adopt a rule that requires an entity to report
water use data that is more detailed than the entity's billing
system is capable of producing. The rules may require that billing
systems purchased after September 1, 2011, be capable of reporting
detailed water use data described in this subchapter.
SECTION 3. (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
methodology and guidance and the data collection and reporting
program required by Subsections (b) and (d), Section 16.403, 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 Subsection (e), Section 16.403, Water Code, as added by
this Act.
SECTION 4. 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.
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