[00:00:19]
SO I'LL CALL THIS ORDER TO ORDER THIS, UH, UH, THIS WORK SESSION OF THE BAYTOWN CITY COUNCIL.
UH, WE HAVE ITEM ONE A, RECEIVE AND
[a. Receive and discuss a presentation from the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District on their 2020 Groundwater Report.]
DISCUSS A PRESENTATION FROM THE HARRIS COUNTY SUB SUBSIDENCE DISTRICT ON THEIR 2020 GROUNDWATER REPORT, MR. WOODERY.ALRIGHT, SO WE, UH, HAD RECEIVED THE PHYSICAL REPORT AND, UH, WOULD'VE NORMALLY JUST EMAILED IT TO YOU ALL, BUT KIND OF THOUGHT, UM, WITH SOME NEWER COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHEN THE LAST IN-PERSON REPORT WAS MADE.
SO THERE'S SOME, SOME GOOD NEWS TO SHARE.
SO I WANTED TO INVITE THEM OUT TO NOT ONLY PRESENT THE REPORT, BUT TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SUBSIDENCE DISTRICT AND A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORY.
SO, UM, I'M GONNA INTRODUCE, UH, FIRST PETE COTE, WHO IS BAY TOWN'S REPRESENTATIVE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND HE WILL, UH, INTRODUCE THE STAFF.
I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE MIKE TURKO, WHO'S THE GENERAL MANAGER, AND DR.
TINA PETERSON, WHO'S THE DEPUTY MANAGER OF THE SUBSIDE DISTRICT.
AND I'LL BE GIVE GIVING YOU A, A BRIEF REPORT ON THE SUBSIDE DISTRICT, AND THEN WE'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
AND, UH, THANKS FOR, FOR HAVING US TODAY.
I'M THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE HARRIS GALVESTON SUBSIDENCE DISTRICT.
TINA PETERSON WITH ME, WHO'S A DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER.
AND, UH, JUST, UH, APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME, GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OVERVIEW OF, OF, OF THE CURRENT STATE OF SUBSIDENCE, REALLY IN THE REGION, UM, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR Y'ALL BECAUSE ACTUALLY BAYTOWN IS THE EPICENTER OF, OF WHERE SUBSIDENCE OCCURRED HISTORICALLY.
UM, SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO GO OVER SOME OF THAT HISTORY, AND THEN I'LL GIVE YOU SOME IDEA OF WHAT'S GOING ON TODAY AND TALK ABOUT A FEW OTHER THINGS.
SO, UM, REALLY KIND OF QUICKLY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE DISTRICT.
WE WERE CREATED IN 1975 BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE TO PREVENT SUBSIDENCE.
UH, SUBSIDENCE, UH, CONTRIBUTES TO FLOODING INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE FAULTING, AND REALLY THREATENS THE ECONOMIC HEALTH OF, OF THE AREA.
UM, EFFORTS TO PREVENT SUBSIDENCE, WHICH WE'LL GO ABOUT HERE IN A LITTLE, WHICH WE'LL LEARN MORE ABOUT HERE IN A LITTLE BIT, UM, BY THE REGULATED COMMUNITY AND THE DISTRICT, REALLY CREATE A MORE RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE TO MITIGATE FLOODING AND SECURING RELIABLE WATER RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE.
WHEN WE LOOK AT, UH, WHAT IS SUBSIDENCE, IT'S KIND OF A WEIRD NAME YOU DON'T HEAR A LOT, BUT, UH, SUBSIDENCE IS A LOWERING OF THE LAND SURFACE ELEVATION.
NOW, AROUND HERE, UH, ON THE COAST, THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT THING TO BE, TO CONSIDER, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE'RE REALLY CLOSE TO THE, TO GALVESTON BAY.
WE HAVE TROPICAL STORMS THAT COME THROUGH HERE THAT CAN, THAT CAN, THAT CAN RAISE THE TIDE.
UM, SO ANY LOSS OF LAND SURFACE ELEVATION AROUND HERE IS, IS REALLY, REALLY PROBLEMATIC.
UM, SO THE, THE CONSEQUENCES CAN BE WIDE, LIKE I TALKED ABOUT BEFORE.
BUT IN THE GULF COAST, BECAUSE OF THE WAY OUR AQUIFER IS SITUATED, IT'S REALLY GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWAL OR ANY SHALLOW FLUID WITHDRAWAL THAT, UH, RESULTS IN THE DEPRESSURIZATION OF THE AQUIFER.
AND THAT DEPRESSURIZATION CAUSES COMPACTION IN THE AQUIFER THAT WE SEE AS SUBSIDENCE IN, IN THE SURFACE.
AND THERE'S A SCHEMATIC ON THIS SLIDE THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR PACKET THAT SHOWS HOW THE USGS DESCRIBES THAT MECHANISM.
UM, AND THEN SOME EXAMPLES, UH, THERE IN, IN THOSE PICTURES BELOW OF SOME OF THE IMPACTS OF SUBSIDENCE THAT WE'VE SEEN.
AND TWO OF THOSE ARE ACTUALLY RIGHT DOWN THE STREET.
THE, THE, THE, WELL, THERE IS ACTUALLY A OLD AGRICULTURAL WORLD, WELL, THAT WAS HERE IN BAYTOWN.
IT'S NO LONGER, IT'S BEEN ABANDONED SINCE THEN.
BUT ALSO THE GOOSE CREEK OIL FIELD AND THE GOOSE CREEK OIL FIELD WAS ACTUALLY THE FIRST DOCUMENTED CASE IN THE, IN, IN THE WORLD REALLY, WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO LINK THE USGS ANYWAY, IT WAS ABLE TO LINK SHALLOW FLUID WITHDRAWAL AND COMPACTION AND SURFACE DEFORMATION.
UM, SO IT WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, PLACE AS FAR AS SUBSIDENCE IS CONCERNED.
THREE FEET OF SUBSIDENCE OCCURRED THERE IN ABOUT EIGHT YEARS, WHICH IN OUR AREA IS A VERY FAST RATE OF SUBSIDENCE.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE SOME OLD PICTURES THERE OF, OF GENTLEMEN, UH, STANDING ALONG ON EARTH FISSURE, THAT IF YOU THINK ABOUT HOW COMPACTION WORKS AND SUBSIDENCE, YOU END UP CREATING THESE EARTH FISSURES AND FAULTINGS ALONG THE MARGINS OF THAT SUBSIDENCE AREA.
AND THEN YOU SEE SOME OF THE OIL DERRICKS THAT WE SEE YOU CAN GO DOWN AND SEE TODAY, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE BAY, RIGHT DOWN THE STREET THERE.
SO, UM, REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW WE GOT TO THE POINT TO UNDERSTAND THAT USING TOO MUCH GROUNDWATER CAN RESULT IN SUBSIDENCE, AND SUBSIDENCE HAS CONSEQUENCES, AND THAT'S WHY THE DISTRICT WAS CREATED.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE RIGHT HERE IN THIS AREA IS THE BROWNWOOD SUBDIVISION.
HERE'S A PICTURE OF BROWNWOOD IN 1953.
UM, YOU LOOK FORWARD, THIS WAS A, A DEVELOPMENT IN THE, IN THIS AREA THAT WAS, THAT WAS A VERY NICE DEVELOPMENT, HAD A LOT OF LOVELY NICE HOMES.
UM, BUT BY 19, LATE 1970S, EARLY 1980S, IT HAD BEEN INUNDATED BY GALVESTON BAY, AGAIN, CAUSED BY SUBSIDENCE, CAUSED BY,
[00:05:01]
UH, COMPACTION OF THE AQUIFER DUE TO GROUNDWATER WITHDRAWAL.AND THEN THERE'S SOME NICE LITTLE VIDEO OUT THERE THAT SHOWS SOME OF THAT IMPACT, UM, IN THE AREA.
UM, I GOT A LINK IN THERE IN THE, IN THE PACKET, SO YOU CAN GO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
I'M SURE MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE OF THIS.
THIS IS REALLY IN YOUR BACKYARD.
UM, BUT ALL, REALLY ALL EXAMPLES OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN, WHEN SUBSIDENCE IS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE.
WE WERE CREATED IN 1975 AND BEGAN REGULATING IMMEDIATELY THE USE OF GROUNDWATER IN THE REGION.
UH, THIS AREA WAS ACTUALLY IN THE ORIGINAL AREA OF CONCENTRATED EMPHASIS WHERE WE BASICALLY SAID, YOU NEED TO GET OFF GROUNDWATER AS FAST AS YOU CAN.
THEN OVER TIME, WE BEGAN TO WORK FURTHER TO THE WEST, INTO THE NORTH.
AS POPULATION GREW, UM, AS WATER DEMAND INCREASE IN THOSE AREAS, WE BEGAN TO WORK TO CONVERT THEM FROM GROUNDWATER TO AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF WATER.
UM, AND FOR US, ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF WATER IS ANY SOURCE THAT DOESN'T CAUSE SUBSIDENCE.
THAT'S BASICALLY ANY, ANYTHING BUT GROUNDWATER, WASTEWATER TREATED SURFACE WATER, WHICH IS THE PRIMARY ALTERNATIVE SOURCE.
AND THEN IN 2013, WE'VE KIND OF, WE JUST RECENTLY UPDATED OUR REGULATORY PLAN THEN, AND WE HAVE THREE REGULATORY AREAS, UM, AREAS ONE, WHICH IS WHERE WE'RE AT RIGHT HERE.
AND AREA TWO, WHICH IS JUST A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INLAND, THEY'RE FULLY CONVERTED RIGHT NOW IN AREA ONE, YOU CAN ONLY USE GROUNDWATER FOR 10% OF YOUR TOTAL WATER DEMAND.
AND IN AREA TWO YOU CAN USE 20% GROUNDWATER.
UM, BUT AS YOU MOVE OUT FURTHER TO THE WEST, TO THE NORTH, WHERE YOU'LL SEE LATER ON WHERE MOST OF THE SUBSIDE IS OCCURRING TODAY IN OUR REGION, UM, THEY'RE ALLOWED TO USE 70% TODAY, BUT THEY'RE WORKING TOWARDS A 20% GROUNDWATER AS A, AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL WATER DEMAND IN 2035.
WE WERE FORTUNATE HERE IN THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ALTERNATIVE WATER ALREADY EXISTED AND WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE ALTERNATIVE WATER IN PLACE FAIRLY QUICKLY TO THE NORTH AND NORTHERN AND WESTERN HARRIS COUNTY.
THEY'RE DEVELOPING THOSE PROJECTS TODAY, AND RIGHT NOW NEARLY A $5 BILLION WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT.
THE LARGEST ONE IN NORTH AMERICA IS GOING ON TODAY TO MOVE WATER FROM THE TRINITY RIVER INTO LAKE HOUSTON, TREAT IT, AND THEN CONVEY IT ALL THE WAY ACROSS NORTHERN WESTERN HARRIS COUNTY INTO NORTHERN FORT BEND COUNTY.
BIG PROJECT, A LOT OF FOLKS INVOLVED IN THAT.
SO I'M GONNA TAKE THAT KIND OF HISTORY AND BACKGROUND AND KIND OF MOVE INTO THINGS THAT WE DISCUSSED IN OUR GROUNDWATER REPORT.
UM, WE ARE REQUIRED BY STATUTE, UM, ANNUALLY TO PROVIDE A, A, UH, ANNUAL REPORT THAT WE PRESENT AT A PUBLIC HEARING AT OUR OFFICE, TYPICALLY IN THE SPRINGTIME.
AND THEN, UH, PRESENT THAT TO OUR BOARD, UM, SHORTLY AFTER THERE.
IT'S ALWAYS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE.
UM, SO IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WANNA HEAR MORE ABOUT IT, YOU CAN ALWAYS BE DROPPED TO THE DISTRICT.
WE LOOK AT CLIMATE, WE LOOK AT GROUNDWATER LEVELS IN THE AQUIFER BECAUSE IN GROUNDWATER USE IN THE AQUIFER.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE LOOK AT THE SUBSIDENT STATE BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL KIND OF TIED TOGETHER AS IN OUR AREA WHEN IT, WHEN IT RAINS A LOT, PEOPLE USE LESS WATER AND WATER LEVELS IN THE AQUIFER COME UP.
IT'S NOT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF INFILTRATION OF RAINWATER THAT JUST KIND OF RUNS OFF.
IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE USING LESS GROUNDWATER BECAUSE IT'S WET WHEN IT'S DRY.
WE SEE WATER LEVELS DECLINE MORE, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE USING MORE WATER TO KEEP THEIR LAWNS IRRIGATED AND WASH THEIR CARS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
SO CLIMATE'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THIS.
AND THEN THE GROUNDWATER USE THE PUMP IN THE AQUIFER DIRECTLY RELATES TO THE WATER LEVELS.
AND THE WATER LEVELS ARE OUR BEST MEASURE OF PRESSURE IN THE SYSTEM, WHICH TELLS US WHEN DEPRESSURIZATION IS GOING ON, COMPACTION IS OCCURRING AND WE'RE, WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE SUBSIDENCE IN THOSE AREAS.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CLIMATE FOR A LITTLE BIT LAST YEAR.
UM, I WAS KIND OF SURPRISED BY THIS GRAPH 'CAUSE IT FELT LIKE LAST YEAR WAS A PRETTY NORMAL YEAR.
AND I GUESS IF YOU TOOK ALL OF THE DIFFERENT AIRPORTS THAT WE LOOK AT, MAYBE IT KIND OF WAS, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, REALLY THE ONLY AREA THAT WE SAW THAT ENDED UP, UM, A ABOVE NORMAL WAS, WAS A HOBBY.
EVERYBODY ELSE WAS A LITTLE BIT BELOW NORMAL AND IN FACT, THE HOST OF THE COAST, YOU GOT THE LESS WATER THERE WAS.
SO IT WAS A LITTLE INTERESTING TO ME TO SEE THAT.
BUT, UH, WE'D LOOK AT THIS INFORMATION EVERY YEAR TO KINDA GIVE US A GAUGE ON WHAT MIGHT, WELL, WHAT WE MIGHT EXPECT TO SEE IN THE GROUNDWATER USE AND IN THE WATER LEVELS.
AND THEN WE LOOK AT THE GROUNDWATER USE.
IT REALLY TELLS A GREAT STORY ABOUT HOW THE CHANGES IN WATER USE HAVE IMPACTED SUBSIDENCE AND, AND, AND THE STRESS ON THE AQUIFER OVER TIME.
UM, THIS GRAPH RIGHT HERE SHOWS THE VARIOUS REGULATORY AREAS.
REMEMBER AREA, AREA ONE IS WHERE WE'RE AT TODAY.
AREA TWO IS JUST A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INLAND THAN AREA THREE IS THAT LARGE AREA IN NORTHERN AND WESTERN HARRIS COUNTY, UM, AREA ONE, UH, THAT GOLD COLOR AT THE BOTTOM, THEY THAT'S HERE.
AND WE BEGAN REDUCING HERE RIGHT AWAY.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE BEEN PRETTY SMALL AMOUNT OF GROUNDWATER FOR QUITE A LONG TIME.
UM, HARDLY REGISTERS ON THIS GRAPH AND THAT'S GREAT.
UH, 'CAUSE YOU'LL SEE IN THE SUBSIDENCE STATE OF THAT'S, THAT'S BENEFITED YOU ALL REALLY, REALLY WELL IN THIS AREA.
AREA TWO, YOU CAN SEE HOW THEY BEGAN TO COME OFF OF GROUNDWATER OVER TIME.
THEY ACTUALLY FINISHED THEIR CONVERSION RIGHT AROUND THE YEAR 2000.
AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THEIR WATER USE IN GROUNDWATER HAS LEVELED OFF.
AREA THREE, THEY'RE STILL GROWING.
[00:10:01]
UM, THEY WENT THROUGH A, A, A CONVERSION IN 2010.IT TOOK OVER FROM A HUNDRED PERCENT GROUNDWATER TO 70%, BUT THEY HAVE MORE WORK TO DO OUT THERE.
AND WE'LL SEE THAT THE AMOUNT OF GROUNDWATER USE OUT THERE SLOWLY COME DOWN OVER THE NEXT 15 YEARS AS THOSE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS BECOME IN PLACE.
IF YOU LOOK AT OUR TOTAL WATER DEMAND, EVEN THOUGH OUR GROUNDWATER USE HAS GONE UP, OUR TOTAL WATER DEMAND HAS INCREASED OVER THAT PERIOD OF TIME FROM JUST SHY OF 800 MILLION GALLONS A DAY TO OVER A BILLION GALLONS A DAY, UM, OF WATER USE IN HARRISON, GALVESTON COUNTY.
MOST OF THAT WATER, UH, COMES FROM THE TRINITY RIVER.
AND IN THIS AREA, THE TRINITY RIVER IS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF WATER, UH, FOR EVERYBODY.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT, SO THAT WE LOOK AT THE GROUND, THE CLIMATE, AND THEN THE GROUNDWATER USE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, LET'S LOOK AT THE WATER LEVELS IN THE AQUIFER.
AND THIS IS A MAP THAT'S PUT TOGETHER BY THE USGS.
THE DISTRICT HAS WORKED WITH THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SINCE ITS INCEPTION, AND THEY GO OUT AND THEY MEASURE, UH, WATER LEVELS IN, IN WELLS ABOUT 800 WELLS EACH YEAR THROUGHOUT THE REGION.
AND THE NUMBERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS MAP AREN'T THAT IMPORTANT.
JUST KNOW THAT THE COOLER COLORS ARE AREAS OF GROUNDWATER LEVEL RISE.
THE WARMER COLORS ARE THE AREAS OF GROUNDWATER LEVEL DECLINE.
SO YOU WANT TO SEE RISE WHEN YOU WANT TO PREVENT SUBSIDENCE.
WATER LEVELS THAT COME UP MEANS THAT DEPRESSURIZATION OF THE AQUIFER HAS BEEN STOPPED, AND YOU SHOULD BEGIN TO SEE THE SUBSIDENCE RATES SLOW DOWN IN THE AREAS THAT ARE WARMER, WHERE WATER LEVELS HAVE BEEN DECLINED OVER THAT HISTORICAL BENCHMARK.
UM, THERE'S STILL DEPRESSURIZATION GOING ON AND YOU WOULD EXPECT TO SEE COMPACTION AND SUBSIDENCE OCCURRING THERE.
SO WHAT WE SEE HERE IS THAT IN AREAS ONE AND TWO, WHERE WE'VE GONE THROUGH THIS FULL CONVERSION, WATER LEVELS ARE UP FROM THAT 1975 BENCHMARK AND THAT'S GREAT.
BUT IN AREAS OUT TO THE WEST, THEY'RE STILL BELOW THAT BENCHMARK.
SO WE'RE WATCHING THAT AREA VERY CLOSELY AS WELL.
SO WE LOOK AT THE SUBSIDENCE DATA, UM, WE CAN LOOK AT HISTORICAL LIKE WHERE, WHERE HAVE MOST OF THE SUBSIDENCE OCCURRED OVER SINCE 1906.
PEOPLE ASK ME ALL THE TIME, REALLY, YOU CAN GO BACK TO 1906.
YEAH, THERE WERE PEOPLE OUT HERE ACTUALLY SURVEYING WAY BACK THEN.
AND THEY WERE ABLE, THE, THE DISTRICT WAS ABLE TO, TO GATHER THAT INFORMATION AND COMPARE IT TO BENCHMARKS THAT WE'VE MEASURED HERE RECENTLY AS RECENTLY AS 2000.
AND THEN WE HAVE GPS DATA THAT THAT'S MEASURED, THAT DATA SINCE THEN, WE'RE ABLE TO CREATE THIS MAP AT LEAST THROUGH 2016, THAT LOOKS AT HOW MUCH SUBSIDENCE HAS OCCURRED BASICALLY SINCE THE DEVELOPMENT.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THIS AREA RIGHT AROUND EIGHT, NINE FEET HAS OCCURRED HISTORICALLY, MOST OF THAT OCCURRED PRIOR TO THE DISTRICT'S CREATION.
UM, BUT YOU SEE THE BROAD AREA OF SUBSIDENCE THAT WE SEE IN THE AREA.
UM, AND THEN WE LOOK AT THE NEXT BIT OF INFORMATION.
YOU CAN SEE WHERE THINGS ARE MOVING TODAY.
SO VERY SIMILARLY, UM, TO THE LAST MAP, THE WARMER COLORS, THE BIGGER DOTS, THAT'S A HIGHER SUBSIDENCE RATE.
UM, THE, THE, UH, COOLER COLORS OR THE NO COLOR AND JUST AN EMPTY DOT BASICALLY NO MOVEMENT.
UM, SO IN THE AREAS WHERE WE'VE HISTORICALLY SEEN MOST OF THE SUBSIDENCE OCCUR, NOT A LOT GOING ON THERE TODAY.
AND IN THE AREAS WHERE WE'RE SEEING TO SEE DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH AND WE'RE WORKING TO GET THAT INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE AND THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THAT CONVERSION PROCESS, THAT'S WHERE THE SUBSIDENCE IS OCCURRING.
IF YOU WANNA ZOOM IN ON, UH, THE BAYTOWN AREA, UM, THERE'S SEVERAL SITES IN HERE, UH, THAT HAVE, THAT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THEM, BUT THERE'S JUST NOT A WHOLE LOT GOING ON HERE BECAUSE YOU DON'T USE A LOT OF GROUNDWATER.
AND THAT'S, AND THAT'S, THAT'S HOW WE GET TO THAT POINT.
UM, SO THIS AREA IS A SUCCESS STORY WHEN IT COMES TO HOW YOU STOP SUBSIDENCE AND IT'S REALLY A MODEL FOR HOW WE'RE DEALING WITH THE ISSUE ELSEWHERE IN HARRIS COUNTY.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I WANT TO MOVE ON JUST REALLY QUICKLY AND TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WATER CONSERVATION.
SO AS WE MOVE THIS AREA OFF OF GROUNDWATER, WHICH IS A RELATIVELY ABUNDANT, FAIRLY CHEAP, HIGH QUALITY SOURCE OF WATER TO A LESS ABUNDANT, MORE EXPENSIVE SOURCE OF WATER, WATER CONSERVATION BECOMES AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PUZZLE AS WE DEAL WITH THE WATER SUPPLY CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE WITH THE GROWING AREA.
SO WATER CONSERVATION HAS BEEN A MISSION OF THE DISTRICT SINCE ITS INCEPTION TO EDUCATE AND INFORM AND, AND TRY TO GET MORE FOLKS TO UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF THINKING ABOUT HOW EFFICIENTLY WE UTILIZE OUR WATER RESOURCES.
UM, THE DISTRICT HAS CREATED A SMARTER ABOUT WATER, UM, WEBSITE THAT REALLY ENCAPSULATES ALL OF OUR WATER CONSERVATION EDUCATION, BUT IT'S REALLY DESIGNED TO BE A ONE STOP SHOP FOR THE REGION TO GET, GET, GET ADDITIONAL WATER CONSERVATION INFORMATION.
SO NOT ONLY IS IT OUR INFORMATION OUT HERE, BUT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES.
IF YOU ALL HAVE INFORMATION THAT, THAT YOU THINK WOULD BE WORTHWHILE TO GET OUT TO A LARGER GROUP OF PEOPLE, WE CAN WORK WITH YOU ON THAT.
AND CERTAINLY ANY OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE ON HERE, YOU CAN TAKE AND SERVE ON YOUR OWN WEBSITE OR YOUR OWN SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, UH, METHODS TO GET INFORMATION OUT ABOUT WATER
[00:15:01]
CONSERVATION.UH, THERE'S INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EDUCATION PROGRAM IN HERE ABOUT OUR CURRENT, OUR CURRENT, UH, UM, INCENTIVES THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT OR, OR, OR, UH, PROJECTS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT.
UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE WATER, MY YARD PROGRAM, WATER MY YARD IS A, UH, IS A, IS A WEB APPLICATION THAT WAS DEVELOPED BY TEXAS A AND M AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION.
YOU CAN PUT IT ON YOUR PHONE, IT'LL, IT'LL TELL YOU HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD WATER YOUR LAWN THAT DAY BASED ON REAL DATA IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
IF YOU LIKE THAT, YOU CAN PUT IN YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND IT WILL ACTUALLY SEND YOU THAT EVERY MONDAY SO YOU CAN UPDATE YOUR THING EVERY MONDAY.
SO IT'S A PRETTY COOL DEAL THERE.
UM, EVERY TIME I TALK THEY TELL ME IF I GET FIVE PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR IT, I GET A FREE HAT.
SO HELP ME OUT, YOU KNOW, HOP ONTO THE HAT, IT'D BE GREAT.
BUT, UH, ANYWAY, WATER, WATER CONSERVATION'S IMPORTANT, WATER, MY YARD'S, ONE OF THOSE THINGS.
WE ALSO DO, WE ALSO HAVE GRANTS THAT WE WORK WITH ENTITIES, UM, THAT ARE INTERESTED IN DOING WATER CONSERVATION, LIKE, LIKE ON THE GROUND WATER CONSERVATION PROJECTS.
UM, AND, UH, AND DO IT WITH A COST MATCHING, UM, ABILITY.
AND WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER APPLICATION FOR THAT HERE LATER ON, UH, THIS, UH, FALL.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS GOOD INFORMATION? WELL, GOOD QUESTION, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT INFORMATION.
I KNOW RICK AND I HAVE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT BURNETT, IS IT BURNETT BAY OVER AT OKLAHOMA WHERE IT SEEMED TO HAVE RESI? UH, BLACK DUCK? YEAH, BLACK, BLACK DUCK.
WE COULD HAVE SWORN THAT WAS SUBSIDENCE, RIGHT? YEAH, BECAUSE OF THE, THE WATER DRAINAGE WAS LIKE SUPER LOW AND THE NEIGHBORS WERE TELLING US THAT, OH, BACK IN THE DAY WE USED TO JUMP ON THOSE AND STAND ON 'EM AND NOW YOU CAN'T SEE 'EM.
THEY SAID IT WAS THREE FEET ABOVE THE WATER.
IT'S AN OUTFALL PIPE FOR, FOR DRAINAGE.
AND, UH, HE SAID HE'S 70 SOMETHING YEARS OLD AND HE'S LIVED IN THIS STREET HIS WHOLE LIFE.
AND HE SAID WHEN HE WAS A KID, HE, THEY'D PLAY IN THAT PIPE AND NOW IT'S HALF SUBMERGED, SO MM-HMM
WE JUST CONCLUDED THAT IT WAS, IT WAS SUBED SUBMERGED.
SO THAT WOULD BE THE EIGHT OR NINE FEET THAT YOU DESCRIBED, I'M ASSUMING? YEAH, SO THERE WAS A LOT OF HISTORICAL SUBSIDE THAT OCCURRED THERE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW OLD THE GENTLEMAN IS, MAYBE BETWEEN SEVENTIES, SO WHEN HE WAS IN, WHEN, WHEN HE WAS A KID.
AND IN THERE THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME SUBSIDENCE THAT OCCURRED IN THAT AREA, BUT RECENTLY, UM, IN THIS AREA IN PARTICULAR, WE JUST HAVEN'T SEEN A WHOLE LOT OF MOVEMENT.
UM, WE ARE DOING SOME, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A STRONG SCIENCE AND RESEARCH PROGRAM.
I REALLY DIDN'T BRING THAT IN FRONT OF YOU TODAY, BUT WE'RE WORKING WITH SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY RIGHT NOW TO, TO UTILIZE, UH, UM, WHAT'S CALLED THE INSTAR.
IT'S A SATELLITE WAY TO MONITOR DEFORMATION.
YOU CAN SEE ON THIS MAP, THOSE LITTLE, THOSE DOTS ARE ACTUALLY POINT SPECIFIC GPS SITES.
AND I'M, I'M HOVERING OVER THAT WITH THE, WITH THE, LIKE HERE'S ONE OF THE, HERE'S ONE OF OUR GPS SITES, P 0 5 4.
WE KNOW WE, WE CAN TELL WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT THERE AT THAT POINT, BUT BETWEEN THOSE POINTS WE DON'T HAVE ANY VISIBILITY.
WHAT THE INSTAR DOES IS ALLOWS US TO LOOK IN BETWEEN WITH SATELLITE DATA.
SO IT MAKES, IT'S MUCH MORE RESOLUTE.
IT DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME LEVEL, THE EXACT SAME LEVEL OF ACCURACY, BUT STILL MILLIMETER LEVEL ACCURACY.
UM, AND WHAT WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE IN THIS AREA AND IN CHAMBERS COUNTY AND MONTGOMERY COUNTY, WE'RE, WE'RE COLLECTING NOT ONLY IN HARRIS COUNTY, BUT ALSO ALL THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO PICK UP ANY, ANY INFORMATION, ANY DEF INFORMATION THAT'S OCCURRING IN BETWEEN THOSE POINTS.
AND WE HAVE NOTICED SOME ANOMALIES OUT THERE THAT ARE INSIDE OUR DATA POINTS AND THAT GIVES US DIRECTION TO GO OUT AND MONITOR AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
SO, UH, I GUESS I'LL ASK A FEW QUESTIONS.
I DON'T, I DON'T WANNA GO DOWN TOO, TOO MUCH OF A TECHNICAL PATH, BUT WHEN'S THE LAST TIME Y'ALL MADE MEASUREMENTS AND HOW OFTEN DO Y'ALL MAKE MEASUREMENTS? I GUESS? SO THESE SITES ARE, THESE SITES, UH, CAN BE ANYTHING FROM CONTINUOUSLY MEASURED TO OC TO THESE, THESE POINTS ARE OCCUPIED AT THE VERY LEAST, ABOUT SIX TIMES A YEAR.
UM, BUT SOME OF 'EM ARE ACTUALLY CONTINUOUS.
THE, THE TXDOT ONE, THE TXB SIX THERE AND, AND I THINK THERE'S TXP FIVE.
THOSE ARE CONTINUOUS MONITORS THAT ARE RUN BY TXDOT.
UM, THE, THE IN A R INFORMATION IS JUST BRAND NEW, BRAND NEW PROJECT, BUT THAT INFORMATION IS FAIRLY REGULAR.
UM, BUT WE'RE EXPECTING TO HAVE AT THE END OF THAT PROJECT BEGIN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A THREE YEAR INTERVAL FOR THAT BECAUSE, UM, THE SUBSIDENCE RATES JUST AREN'T BIG ENOUGH TO SEE OVER A SMALLER TIME WITH THAT METHOD.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE BENCHMARKS IN THE AREA THAT WE LAST VISITED, AND THOSE ARE ACTUAL LIKE NGS BENCHMARKS IN THE GROUND THAT WE VISITED IN 2000.
UM, AND WE'RE BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH NGS TO, TO REVISIT THOSE.
ACTUALLY RIGHT NOW I'M A LITTLE FAMILIAR WITH, WITH, WITH SOME OF THOSE KIND OF BENCHMARKS AND KIND OF THE RATE OF GRAVITY AND SOME OF THOSE POINTS.
SO THAT'S WHY I WAS WONDERING LIKE WHEN, HOW OFTEN DO WE MAKE THOSE MEASUREMENTS FROM THOSE TYPE OF BENCHMARKS AND REFERENCE POINTS?
[00:20:01]
YEAH, SO, SO WE DID IT LAST IN 2000 NGS JUST PUBLISHED SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE VALID, THE, IN ACTUALLY INVALIDATED MANY OF THE BENCH, MOST OF THE BENCHMARKS IN THE AREA.UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM AND THE CHER INSTITUTE DOWN IN CORPUS CHRISTI TO REOCCUPY THOSE SITES.
OTHER THAN THAT, ANY, NOTHING.
AND HOPEFULLY AS YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, BAYTOWN AND THE BAYTOWN AREA AND THE GOOSE CREEK OIL FIELDS WAS PROBABLY LIKE YOU SAID, THE EPICENTER WHEN IT CAME TO SUBSIDENCE.
AND SO HOPEFULLY THAT LIKE ON THIS SIDE, AT LEAST AREA ONE AND TWO, THAT HOPEFULLY THAT WE HAVE THAT UNDER IMAGINABLE CONTROL COMPARED TO I GUESS YOU'D SAY THE KATY PRAIRIE AND OTHER, OTHER, OTHER AREAS.
[b. Discuss any or all of the agenda items on the City Council Regular Meeting Agenda for July 8, 2021, which is attached below.]
WE'LL MOVE ON TO ITEM ONE B, WHICH IS DISCUSS ANY OR ALL AGENDA ITEMS OF THE CITY, OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING, UH, LATER THIS EVENING.SO IF, UNLESS THERE'S ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO PULL AN ITEM FOR DISCUSSION, I REVIEWED, I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING THAT, UH, OTHER THAN MAYBE RICK'S UH, PERFORMANCE EVALUATION.
OTHER THAN THAT, I MEAN, I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE REALLY NEED TO NO.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD.
YOU GOOD? YOU SURE RICK? I'M GOOD.
WELL, BEING THAT WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, BAYTOWN CITY COUNCIL ADDRESSED ALL THE POSTED WORK SESSION, UH, ITEMS. THIS MEETING IS NOW ADJOURNED.
WE'LL, WE'LL COME BACK AT SIX 30.