Quench 2023 - Issue 3

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS CROSS CONNECTION CONTROL

LEGISLATIVE RECAP

Established in 1969, the Texas Rural Water Association (TRWA) is a statewide nonprofit trade association with an active membership consisting of nearly 900 nonprofit water supply corporations, water districts, small-town water departments and investor-owned utilities. In addition, more than 150 water industry suppliers participate in TRWA activities as associate members. TRWA members provide water and wastewater service to 3.5 million customers throughout Texas.

TRWA is dedicated to helping directors, managers, operators and office professionals provide efficient service and clean, safe drinking water to their customers. Through on-site technical assistance, education and information exchange, TRWA helps its members better meet their needs as well as the needs of their customers.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS

President Bruce Alexander Medina (District 2)

Vice-President Robert Nettles Walker (District 13) Secretary Mark Gardenhire Shackelford (District 1)

Treasurer Steve Adams Brown (District 4)

DISTRICT DIRECTORS

Dennis Donoho Denton (District 3)

Dave McMurry Bastrop (District 5)

Brian Macmanus Cameron (District 6)

Allen Knight North Collin (District 7)

Charles Beseda Hill (District 8)

Pat Allen Guadalupe (District 9)

Kent Watson Brazos (District 10)

Rachel Webb South Rains (District 11)

T. Chad Wilson Kaufman (District 12)

Matthew Barrett Swift (District 14)

TRWA STAFF

OFFICE STAFF

FIELD STAFF

President's Message

I hope everyone is doing well.

Thanks again to everyone in our rural water community for what you do each day to provide a safe and reliable source of drinking water to rural Texas! And thank you to Lara and her team at TRWA for all of their efforts working through the recent legislative session. They were successful in getting some priority legislation for TRWA members passed while protecting members from legislation that would have had a negative effect on rural water systems.

As we move into the summer, we need to all keep in mind the safety of our field crews and the often-stifling heat that is part of living in Texas. We’ve already had multiple days of 100+ degree heat. Combined with the humidity, many of us are already experiencing heat indexes greater than 115 degrees. We need to all know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and do what we can to protect our employees from these dangerous situations.

Some suggestions to help minimize a heat-related illness would be to start work earlier in the day and

complete as many of the more labor-intensive tasks first, saving the lighter work loads for the afternoon whenever possible. Try to provide more breaks as needed, and always remember to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

These seem like simple things that we should all know and understand. Unfortunately, we often forget them in our eagerness to get the job done. If you have ever called EMS for one of your employees working in the heat, you will know exactly where I’m coming from. While we have a responsibility to our customers to provide the best service possible, remember that no service or job is so important that we cannot take the time to do it safely. We owe it to our employees, the public and to ourselves to provide the safest work environment we can.

Lastly, please take the time to read about the scholarship recipients in this edition of Quench. We at TRWA and the Texas Rural Water Foundation are proud to offer these scholarships and look forward to providing many more scholarship opportunities in the future.

Be safe,

Bruce Alexander President TRWA

Hello Texas Rural Water!

Letter from the TRWA Executive Director

Dear TRWA Members,

The regular Legislative Session concluded on Memorial Day, May 29. TRWA’s success at the Legislature is thanks to you, our members, who are working hard every day to deliver the best possible services to your communities. It’s because of you that we have legislators who support rural water and listen to our legislative team when we have concerns. When you call or email your legislators on an issue, they listen. There are so many examples of “bad” bills that do not become law because of the important relationships the legislators involved had with their local water systems.

I want to give a big shout out to our TRWA legislative team that, although new working together, functioned as a well-oiled machine this session! First, Mary Alice Boehm-McKaughan, our Assistant General Counsel, who joined the team last October. Mary Alice and I worked together daily to ensure that we were staying abreast of what was happening at the Legislature that would impact our members. It was her first session working with us and she did a great job reviewing bills every day, identifying issues we needed to engage with, formulating arguments and testifying in front of legislators.

Destany Brown, our Paralegal, joined in March right before Convention and Rural Water Day at the Capitol. She jumped right in, was integral to the success of Rural Water Day and has kept us on track ever since.

She has also been invaluable in assisting Mary Alice with answering members’ legal questions.

Eric Betts, our talented and hard-working Communications Director, joined our team in December 2021. In addition to Quench and our weekly eNewsletters, Eric handles all communications for TRWA. During the legislative session, this included our weekly Capitol Pipeline and special calls to action.

Jason Knobloch, who was promoted to Deputy ED last August, is not new to our TRWA team, but is new to working on legislative issues. He provided excellent testimony on key issues for us.

Finally, we rely heavily on our long-standing relationship with our contract lobbyists, the team of former State Senator Buster Brown and his daughter Jennifer Brown. They are both attorneys who bring a wealth of experience and knowledge in water policy; and are respected leaders who have cultivated key relationships with legislators and staff members in the Texas Senate, Texas House and at the Governor’s Office.

In this issue of Quench, we include an article covering this 88th Texas Legislative Session. We will also be presenting this information at our upcoming Tech Conference and at area meetings.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer, stay cool and I look forward to seeing you soon!

My best,

Lara Zent Executive Director & General Counsel TRWA

Keep It Legal

Answers to Members’ Questions by TRWA Assistant General Counsel Mary Alice Boehm-McKaughan

Happy Summer y’all! We had a successful 88th Legislative Session, please see my 88th Legislative Update article in this magazine. Now we are gearing up for the TRWA Training and Technical Conference in Galveston on July 12-13, 2023. I hope to see you there!

Q:When, and how, can our Board go into a Closed Meeting/ Executive Session? Can we vote on things in Executive Session?

A: Under the Open Meetings Act (Act), there are very few things that can be discussed in Executive Session/ Closed Meeting.

A. Executive Session May Only be Called for One of the Following Six Reasons:

1: Private Consultation with Legal Counsel to Receive Legal Advice. (Texas Government Code § 551.071)

2: Real Property- Confidential deliberations regarding the purchase, exchange, lease or value of real property. (Texas Government Code § 551.072)

3: Personnel Matters- Confidential deliberations regarding a complaint against, the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal of a public officer or employee. (Texas Government Code § 551.074)

4: Security- Discussions regarding deployment, or implementation, of security personnel or devices or a security audit. (Texas Government Code § 551.076)

5: Economic Development Negotiations (Texas Government Code § 551.087)

6: IT Security- Security assessments or deployments relating to information resources technology; network security information as described by Section 2059.055(b); or the deployment, or implementation, of security personnel, critical infrastructure, or security devices. (Texas Government Code § 551.089)

B. There Must be at Least 72-Hour Written Notice of Items to be Considered in Executive Session.

The Act requires at least 72 hours of written notice of all meetings. Section 551.041 of the Act requires a governmental body (includes WSC boards) to give written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of each meeting held by the governmental body. Posting the meeting agenda is the best way to provide notice of the meeting because a governmental body must give

the public advance notice of the subjects it will consider in an open meeting or a closed executive session. Listing only general topics such as “litigation” and “personnel” are not sufficient and items of special interest to the community must be described in more detail. Counsel for the governing body should be consulted if any doubt exists concerning the specificity of notice required for a particular matter.

In order to put the public on notice regarding items that will be considered in executive session, systems may include an “executive session” section of the notice, a note next to relevant agenda items that this item may be discussed in executive session, citing the relevant provision in Section 551, and/or include a catch-all sentence such as, “The Board reserves the right to adjourn into executive session on any of the items listed on this Agenda, if an item meets the criteria which allows for executive session under Texas Government Code, Chapter 55, Subchapter D.” The notice/ agenda must also include notice of the public comment session (see further discussion of this requirement below).

C. Before a Closed Meeting There Must First be a Meeting in Open Session.

Prior to meeting in executive/closed session, Section 551.101 of the Act requires a quorum of the governmental body to assemble in the meeting room, the meeting to first convene as an open meeting pursuant to proper notice, and the presiding officer to announce that a closed session will be held identifying the sections of the Act authorizing the closed session.

D. Opportunity for Public Comment.

Before going into closed meeting/executive session, the public must be given an opportunity to comment on the noticed items. Subsection 551.007(b) of the Act requires a governmental body to allow each member of the public, who desires to address the body regarding an item on the agenda, to address the body regarding the item at the meeting before, or during, the body’s consideration of the item. Therefore, TRWA recommends that the public comment period be the first item on the agenda.

A governmental body may also cap the total amount of time a speaker has to address all agenda items if the amount of time given is reasonable. The TRWA has posted recommended Public Comment Policies which are guidelines/templates for how, and when, to allow the public to address the board about things on the agenda or other topics not included on the agenda. A copy of these recommended policies may be found at trwa.org/publiccommentpolicy.

E. Executive Session Attendance Needs to be Limited

A governmental body must not admit to an executive session a person whose presence is contrary to the governmental interest protected by the provision authorizing the session. For example, a person who wishes to sell real estate to a city may not attend an executive session regarding purchasing the property held under section 551.072 (Property Matters), a provision designed to protect the city’s bargaining position in negotiations with a third party. Nor may a governmental body admit the opposing party in litigation to an executive session under section 551.071 (Legal Advice).

F. A Certified Record Must be Kept.

The governmental body must make and keep either a certified agenda (similar to minutes) or a recording of each executive session, except for an executive session held by the governmental body to consult with its attorney in accordance with section 551.071 of the Government Code. If a certified agenda is kept, the presiding officer must certify that the agenda is a true and correct record of the executive session. The certified agenda must include “(1) a statement of the subject matter of each deliberation, (2) a record of any further action taken, and (3) an announcement by the presiding officer at the beginning and the end of the closed meeting indicating the date and time.” While the agenda does not have to be a verbatim transcript of the meeting, it must at least provide a summary of each deliberation. Any member of a governmental body participating in a closed session knowing that an agenda, or recording, is not being made commits a Class C misdemeanor. The certified agenda, or recording, of an executive session must be kept for a minimum of two years after the date of the session. Only current board members may access them. A person who knowingly, and without lawful authority, makes these records public commits a Class B misdemeanor and may be held liable for actual damages, court costs, reasonable attorney fees and exemplary or punitive damages.

G. Final Vote Must be in an Open Meeting.

Some deliberations may occur in executive session, but the final resolution/vote on any matter must occur in open session. Members of a governmental body deliberating in a permissible executive session may express their opinions or indicate how they will vote in the open session. However, the actual vote must occur in an open session.

Is it legal to host a fund raising event where proceeds go to other local water systems to help them with improvements? Generally, what are acceptable causes water systems can give to?

A: An Investor-Owned Utility (IOU) can make donations under PUC rules 16 TAC Section 24.41(b)(1)(E)&(F) which allows for “reasonable expenditures for ordinary advertising, contributions, and donations;” and “funds expended in support of membership in professional or trade associations, provided such associations contribute toward the professionalism of their membership.” However, except in very limited situations, any donation, and the following expenses, cannot be included as a component of the IOU’s cost of service: (1) legislative advocacy expenses; (2) funds expended in support of political candidates; (3) funds expended in support of any political movement; (4) funds expended in promotion of political or religious causes; and (5) funds expended in support of or membership in social, recreational, fraternal, or religious clubs or organizations.

The law doesn’t specifically address what a Water Supply Corporation (WSC) can donate to, but we recommend they proceed with caution on any expenditure that does not squarely fit within the purpose or function of a WSC as set forth in Chapter 67 of the Water Code. When providing legal advice on this issue, TRWA looks to the PUC’s rules for IOUs (discussed above) and what the courts have said regarding what is supportable for districts/ political subdivisions (discussed below), for guidance. Therefore, we advise that reasonable expenditures for advertising, donations and membership in professional or trade associations that contribute toward the professionalism of their membership should be ok, if challenged. However, a WSC(s) should not donate to, or include in their cost of service, political or religious contributions or membership in social, recreational, fraternal or religious clubs or organizations. A WSC should also be careful to ensure that any donation does not jeopardize its tax-exempt status. For instance, a WSC should not contribute funds for political campaigns. Any donations by a WSC should be related to its taxexempt purposes (nonprofit water or wastewater service functions). Any benefit to private interests should be incidental to the WSC’s tax exempt purposes. To ensure that the expenditures are used for proper corporate purposes, our advice is the same as it is for districts/political subdivisions- a board should execute a written agreement or pass a resolution articulating the public purpose of the donation, how the WSC will retain control over the expenditure to ensure the public purpose will be met and what return benefit the WSC is receiving. The return benefit may be tangible or intangible, such as community good will or positive public relations.

A WSC can also include a “voluntary contribution” option in its utility bill to provide money to an organization that is providing emergency services, which includes fire-fighting and emergency medical services as specified by Texas Water Code Section 67.017. Texas Water Code Section 67.017 requires every WSC that collects contributions to provide each customer, when the customer first subscribes to the water or sewer service and annually thereafter, with a written statement that: (1) describes how the customer may make a contribution through the customer's bill payment; (2) designates the VFD or emergency medical service to which the Continued on next page

WSC will deliver the contribution; (3) informs the customer that a contribution is voluntary and (4) describes whether the donation is tax deductible. Further, any WSC bill that includes a voluntary contribution must clearly state that the contribution is voluntary and that it may be deducted from the customer’s billed amount.

Political Subdivision/Districts, as a rule, should not participate in fundraising for charitable causes or make charitable donations because it would constitute an unconstitutional donation of public funds to a private organization under Art. III, Section 52 of the Texas Constitution. However, the Texas Supreme Court has determined that payments to individuals, corporations or associations are not prohibited as long as the payments: (1) serve a legitimate public purpose; and (2) afford a clear public benefit received in return.

Edgewood Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Meno, 917 S.W.2d 717, 740 (Tex. 1995); See also, Texas Mun. League Intergovernmental Risk Pool v. Texas Workers' Comp. Comm'n, 74 S.W.3d 377, 383 (Tex. 2002). Therefore, a political subdivision can make an expenditure of public money that benefits a private person or entity if the appropriate governing body of the political subdivision (i) determines in good faith that the expenditure serves a public purpose and (ii) places sufficient controls on the transaction to ensure that the public purpose is carried out.

The best way to do this is through a resolution articulating the public purpose and executing a written agreement with the donation recipient that specifically spells out: 1) the public purpose of the donation, 2) how the political subdivision is retaining control over

the donation to ensure the public purpose is accomplished; and 3) what return benefit the political subdivision is receiving. For example, a written agreement/resolution regarding a donation to a volunteer fire department (VFD) should state that the donation is for the public purpose of provision of fire protection for the community, the water district can rescind the funds if the money is not used for fire protection and the VFD agrees to provide fire suppression services to the water district in exchange for the donation. For other types of donations, however, it’s very important that a water district/political subdivision be able to specifically describe what return benefit it receives in return for the donation. For example, a contribution to the local 4-H Club could be described as giving the political subdivision the benefit of increased public goodwill and positive public relations in the community.

As with WSCs, districts should not donate to, or include in their cost of service, political or religious contributions or membership in social, recreational, fraternal, or religious clubs or organizations.

TRWA Members can submit their legal inquiries by emailing legal@trwa.org or by using the form on the bottom of the Legal page. They can also search the archive at https://www.trwa.org/page/KILHome.

Mary Alice Boehm-McKaughan is TRWA's Assistant General Counsel.

Ask Larry

A Q&A column with TRWA Technical Assistance Director Larry Bell

Q:We have a board member who was appointed to the board in Year 1 who planned to run for the seat they were appointed to when it came up for re-election in Year 2. However, that same board member was then rotated to become the Secretary Treasurer during Year 2, and the board member who previously held that position wasn’t up for re-election until Year 3. When does this board member’s term expire now?

A: The key thing to remember in this scenario is that officer positions are not tied to any particular three-year term.

Board Members don’t run for President. They run for a position on the board, without any titles attached. Officer positions are typically chosen by the newly-elected board of directors at the first Business Meeting after the Annual Membership Meeting.

These officer positions are re-appointed or elected each year at the first Business Meeting of the Board. They are not tied to a particular board member for their whole three-year term. Some WSC Boards elect new or different officers each year, while other WSC Boards re-elect the same board members each year to the same officer positions, allowing those board members to hold their positions for several years in a row.

Q:We have a property that has a past-due balance consisting of a penalty/fine for meter tampering and stealing water that was sold to another person without full disclosure of the money owed. Now that the new owner is requesting water service, who is responsible for the past due balance of that property?

A: The new property owner cannot be held responsible for any previous property owner’s/member’s delinquent water bills or fines/charges.

The language in your tariff should determine how your system handles both tampering and non-payment incidents. Tampering or theft of service policies must be enforced by the WSC every time it has been determined that the member’s meter has been tampered with or a lock was illegally removed. If your tariff calls for it, then the original customer’s meter should have been cut off or removed when the original violation occurred, at least until the fee was collected.

TRWA’s model tariff, the latest version of which is now available to download for free for members, states if the WSC determines that tampering has occurred, the WSC shall disconnect service without notice and charge the person who committed the tampering the total actual loss to the corporation, including the cost of repairs, replacement of damaged facilities, and lost water revenues. It also provides that in addition to damages, the Corporation may assess a penalty against the offending party which shall not exceed six (6) times the base rate.

The WSC should have also notified the local law enforcement department and provided proof of the tampering in the form of photographic evidence, sworn affidavits, or other credible evidence so that the offender could be prosecuted under the Texas Penal Code for theft of service.

Depending on the amount due, it’s possible that entering into a legal or collections process could turn out to be more expensive than the original loss to the system, so it’s up to your board and management staff as to whether that’s something they wish to pursue. However, some WSCs and other types of utilities do not want to press charges against anyone regardless of how much water they stole or damage they caused. The system following its policies and state law is the best way to discourage other people from stealing water or damaging the water system’s property.

Q:

We’ve had multiple situations where someone has subdivided their property and now there are two landowners needing meters. In one case, the house where the original owner lives is no longer on the same lot where the meter is located, so how do we provide service both to the owner and to the new resident?

A: The person with the land where the meter is located should be considered to have control of that meter, not the original owners of the property, who are now on an independent tract of land. Therefore, the now-stranded property owner should be notified that they are required to apply for service for their “new” tract of land and be disconnected from their old meter and service line, which is often leads to these issues.

Ideally these stranded meters serving remote or independent properties should have been relocated prior to the land being divided and independent deeds being issued

or filed. People don’t think of checking with their water providers prior to dividing property, which often leads to the issues mentioned above.

Referring to the TCEQ and PUCT rules, water service meters are to be installed on the property to be served and not on the adjacent property or a property down the road a half mile away. The well-meaning landowners selling or giving ownership of some of their land often don’t think of signing an easement and recording it for the sake of the private service line that might now be crossing property that now belongs to someone else. Not having an easement on file but having a water meter or meter service line that crosses property not owned by the ultimate user of the meter service is trespassing.

Larry Bell is TRWA's Technical Assistance Director, with more than 30 years experience at the association.

If you have a Technical Question, please email larry.bell@trwa.org or search the archive at https:// trwa.org/qualityontap/

Legislative Wrap-up of Issues Relevant to TRWA Members

by Mary Alice Boehm-McKaughan

Texas saw its 88th Legislature gaveled in on January 10, 2023. The leadership in both chambers remained unchanged. Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) was re-elected to the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives on the session's first day. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick won statewide re-election to take charge of the Texas Senate again. The Senate Water, Agriculture & Rural Affairs committee was again chaired by Senator Charles Perry (Lubbock). Rep. Tracy King (Batesville) returned as chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.

More bills were filed during the 88th Legislature than any other session, which ended on Memorial Day, May 29, 2023. The Legislature passed only 1,222 (15.2 %) of the filed bills and 4,028 (34.3 %) of the resolutions out of over 8,000 bills and 11,700 resolutions filed. Governor Abbott had until June 18 to veto, sign or allow bills to automatically become law. He vetoed 76 bills.

This session was defined by a $33 billion budget surplus and a focus on water infrastructure issues. Water infrastructure made it into both the Lt. Governor’s and the Speaker of the House’s legislative priorities. Senator Perry authored a generational bill (SB 28) to create the new Texas Water Fund and dedicate $1 billion in funding for water issues, including replacing and upgrading Texas’ aging water infrastructure.

On January 13, the new Texas House Water Caucus was formed, with over 70 state representatives signing on. The goals of this new caucus are to cultivate, inform and inspire the next generation of water champions at the Texas Legislature.

The three water agencies, the Public Utility Commission (PUC), The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) underwent sunset review this session. All three agencies’ sunset bills passed, reaffirming their existence and re-setting their sunset date.

TRWA’s Board of Directors adopted the following legislative priorities for this session: 1) To fund technical assistance to help rural systems obtain state funding and fund the TWDB’s Rural Water Assistance Fund; and 2) To resolve the Recreational Vehicle (RV) park capacity issue by supporting a bill that requires TCEQ to count eight RVs as one residential connection. Under the leadership of Executive Director

Lara Zent, TRWA met its legislative priorities for this Session.

Below is a summary of the bills that passed and were signed by the Governor which are relevant to rural water and wastewater utilities. Unless otherwise noted, all bills will become law on September 1, 2023. Following this list is a summary of bills that failed to pass that would have impacted our members. TRWA worked hard to ensure that legislation that would harm rural water systems did not become law or was modified to be less harmful.

Rural Water Infrastructure and Technical Assistance

HB 1 (Bonnen) is the biennial state budget bill, which the legislature is required to pass each session. As noted above, there was a historic budget surplus of $33 billion, mainly due to sales tax revenue and severance taxes. Many stakeholders were interested in how the surplus would be spent. TRWA advocated for using a portion of the surplus for upgrading our state’s rural water infrastructure and for technical assistance to help rural systems apply for funding. Others advocated for road infrastructure, education, health care, tax cuts and many other priority items. In the end, HB 1 provides for roughly $300 billion in spending for the 2024-2025 budget cycle.

TRWA testified before both the Senate and House budget committees in support of infrastructure and technical assistance funding; and engaged our members to reach out to their legislators to ask for their support. In the end, the budget includes $3,145,492 in funding for technical assistance through the TWDB. Funding for new TWDB staff to implement the Rural Water Assistance Fund was also included.

SB 28 and SJR 75 (Perry) SB 28, which pairs with SJR 75, creates a dedicated Texas Water Fund, outside the general revenue fund, to secure new sources of drinking water and to replace aging water infrastructure throughout the state. TRWA and other legislative stakeholders advocated for the passage of this legislation, which includes funding for rural systems as a priority item. SJR 75 contains a proposed constitutional amendment creating the Texas Water Fund that will be on the ballot for Texans to vote on in the November 2023 elections. If it passes, the legislature has set aside $1 billion for this new Fund. TWDB plans to allocate $150 million of these funds for the Rural Water Assistance Fund.

SB 469 (Springer) redefines, and makes consistently applicable, the term Rural Political Subdivision across TWDB funding programs. TRWA worked with Senator Springer’s office, TWDB staff and others in revising this definition. Our primary interest was to ensure that the Rural Water Assistance Fund would be available to serve rural water systems, while excluding entities it was not created to serve.

RV Parks

SB 594 (Zaffirini) An RV uses less water than a single-family residence/ connection; however, TCEQ has counted each RV pad the same as a residence for purposes of calculating the amount of capacity a public water system (PWS) is required to maintain. In many parts of the state, this has placed a strain on small systems, requiring them to acquire, and maintain, a much greater water capacity than needed to serve RV parks. Some PWS’s passed this extra capacity cost onto RV park owners as an additional “site” fee. The additional site fees prompted the RV park association to get engaged on this issue.

SB 594 requires TCEQ to count eight RVs as one connection for capacity purposes, allows TCEQ to issue variances if actual usage is less and provides that WSCs, like districts, can only bill RV parks for their actual usage with no additional per site surcharge.

This was one of TRWA’ s legislative priorities for this session. TRWA members testified before both the House and Senate Committees. The TRWA legislative team met with various legislators and stakeholders to promote the bill and address concerns that arose along the way. Thank you to each of our members who traveled to Austin to testify for this bill.

Certificate of Convenience and Necessity

HB 2442 (Guillen) requires a petitioner seeking a Streamlined Expedited Release of a CCN to submit a copy of the petition to the CCN holder the day after filing by certified mail and allows the CCN holder the opportunity to controvert the petition. It requires the same in a single certification proceeding filed by a city under Section 13.255 of the Water Code. Also under a Sec. 13.255 proceeding, it allows the utility to file a separate appeal to the PUC on the compensation finding within seven calendar days of the decision.

HB 4385 (Guillen) allows a retail public utility to provide sewer service without a CCN if there are less than 15 potential connections and it’s not already in a CCN. This matches what is

currently allowed for water service.

SB 893 (Zaffirini) amends section 13.244 of the Water Code to allow the PUC Executive Director, either unilaterally or upon request by a retail public utility, to correct a CCN clerical, typographical, mapping error or similar nonsubstantive errors; or change the name of the CCN holder, without the necessity of going through a formal CCN amendment procedure. The ED may reissue the corrected certificate or issue an endorsement to the certificate. TRWA supported this bill and advocated for additional streamlined processes at the PUC while engaging on the PUC’s sunset legislation. While this bill passed, the additional measures TRWA was advocating for were not adopted. Effective June 18, 2023.

Water Supply Corporations

SB 317 (Hall) The original wording of this bill would have given PUC regulatory authority over a WSC’s fees to establish water and wastewater service, including membership and tap fees. After TRWA’s meeting with Sen. Hall’s staff, SB 317 instead provides that applicants for water or sewer service may appeal the WSC’s membership and tap fees to the PUC; and the PUC must ensure these are consistent with the WSC’s tariff. Effective June 18, 2023.

SB 2601 (Hinojosa) adds a WSC as an eligible entity to have the State pay for the relocation of their facilities required by improvement to the state highway system if a financial condition would prevent the WSC from paying the relocation cost in full or in part at the time of relocation or, if paid at the time, the payment would adversely affect the WSC’s ability to operate or provide essential services to its customers; and the WSC cannot finance the relocation cost and is unable to receive a state infrastructure bank loan to finance the cost. Effective June 18, 2023.

Districts/ Political Subdivisions

HB 2815 (Jetton) makes several changes to Chapter 49 of the Water Code, many of those specifically for districts with taxing authority. Changes applicable to SUDs and other nontaxing districts include: 1) creates a process whereby a district may be divided to create one or more new districts; 2) replaces the $150 limit on director per diems with the amount set by the Texas Ethics Commission for members of the legislature; 3) allows districts to post notice of a meeting with the county clerk of each county in which the district is located for the counties to post on their internet websites, instead of posting the notice on the district’s website (conflicts with new HB 3440, explained below, which requires, a district to have a website and post their meeting notice and agenda

on there); and 4) allows districts to establish precincts and polling locations outside of the district. Effective June 18, 2023.

HB 3440 (Canales) This bill amends Government Code Section 551.056(b) to require that a notice and agenda of a public meeting held by a district or political subdivision be posted on its internet website; thereby also requiring that these entities have a website.

HB 3507 (Holland) increases the dollar threshold for when districts must advertise in a newspaper for competitive bidding purposes from $75,000 to $150,000. It also increases the value range for purchases that triggers the requirement to solicit written competitive bids from $25,000-$75,000 to $25,000-$150,000.

HB 3514 (Burns) allows a small city (pop 3,000 or less) to annex an area within a water or sewer district if the district’s board consents.

SB 232 (Hinojosa) requires the automatic removal of a director of a political subdivision for pleading guilty, nolo contendre, being convicted of, or receiving deferred adjudication for certain criminal offenses. An appeal doesn't supersede or delay the director’s removal. Effective June 18, 2023.

SB 943 (Kolkhorst) requires a newspaper paid to publish newspaper notice to also publish a governmental entity’s notice on its webpage for free and to deliver the notice to the Texas Press Association to publish on its website.

HB 4559 (Darby) is a 184-page bill that updates population numbers in various Texas statutes relating to political subdivisions, based on the 2020 census.

Investor-Owned Utilities (IOU)

HB 2373 (Harris) repealed TWC Section 13.145, which allowed multiple systems to be consolidated under one tariff. Effective June 2, 2023.

HB 2774 (Thompson) changes the treatment of the inclusion of tax benefits and related expenses in an IOU’s rate base calculations.

SB 1965 (Alvarado) creates an expedited process that allows, and incentivizes a temporary manager of an abandoned IOU, who holds a Class A or B operator license, to apply to acquire the abandoned IOU.

Applicable to all Retail Public Utilities

SB 1778 (Alvarado) allows a retail public utility to initiate, transfer or terminate a customer's retail water or sewer service upon receipt of a customer request by mail, telephone, through

an Internet website or through another electronic transmission.

HB 3232 (Rogers) allows the TCEQ to enter into a compliance agreement with a regional water service entity that acquires another retail public utility, wherein the TCEQ will not initiate enforcement action against the regional water service entity for any of the integrated retail public utility’s existing, or anticipated, violations.

HB 3810 (Landgraf) Initially this bill required all public water systems to notify the TCEQ immediately of any condition that may impact production or delivery of water that could cause a public water supply outage or the public water system to issue a do-not-use advisory, do-not-consume advisory, or boil water notice. TRWA, and its members, worked with Rep. Landgraf’s office to remove the vague “could cause” language.

As passed, HB 3810 requires public water systems to maintain internal procedures to notify the TCEQ immediately of an unplanned condition that has caused a public water supply outage which may negatively impact the production or delivery of safe and adequate drinking water; or that has caused the system to issue a do-not-use advisory, do-not-consume advisory or boil water notice. Currently, a “do-not-use advisory” and a “do-not-consume advisory” are not defined in the law. While TCEQ develops and implements amended rules, they have advised water systems to continue to follow current rules. TRWA will keep our members informed of any changes in requirements due to this bill. Effective June 12, 2023.

SB 471 (Springer) alows the TCEQ to forgo investigating a complaint if: 1) the complaint can be otherwise addressed by the TCEQ, 2) the TCEQ is unlikely to be able to substantiate the complaint and the complaint is the same as an unsubstantiated complaint from a site TCEQ investigated in the preceding 12 months or 3) the complainant has filed at least five unsubstantiated complaints with the TCEQ in the last seven years. Effective June 18, 2023.

Open Government

HB 3033 (Landgraf) makes several amendments to the Public Information Act (PIA). Some of the changes that may impact our members the most are: (1) defines a “business day,” for the purposes of responding to a public information request as Monday through Friday and limits the number of non-business days to 10 per year;* (2) allows the Attorney General (AG) to require a government body’s public officials to complete PIA training within 60

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days if they fail to comply with the PIA; (3) limits the disclosure exception for election information; (4) creates new requirements for requestors who have exceeded the time limits for inspecting public information; (5) amends the law pertaining to submitting a request for an AG opinion electronically; (6) amends the law regarding a governmental body’s responsibilities once an AG opinion is issued, including requirement to notify requestor of information that can be withheld and how to handle the production of voluminous amounts of information and (7) requires the AG to create a searchable database of their PIA opinions by January 1, 2024.

*This language was originally in SB 43 by Sen. Zaffirini, SB 618 by Sen. Johnson, and HB 2135 by Rep. Canales. TRWA met with these offices and provided amendment language to accommodate small water systems that are open less than 5 days per week. These bills did not move forward, but the language resurfaced the last week of the legislative session in HB 3033, and TRWA was not able to convince legislators to amend the language.

HB 1957 (Geren) requires nonprofit businesses, including WSCs, to keep all documents that are required to be made available for inspection at their primary place of business/office.

SB 510 (Perry) amends the PIA to make confidential personal identifier information of persons obtaining a license; however, a person may choose to make this information available. Adds Section 507.161 to the Occupations Code to make a licensee’s home address and phone number confidential.

Licensing

HB 1845 (Metcalf) requires the TCEQ to establish a provisional certification program by which a person who does not yet possess a high school diploma or its equivalent may obtain a provisional Class D water or wastewater license if the person: (1) completes all required training; (2) passes the required examinations; and (3) acts under the direct supervision of a license holder. TRWA supported this bill as an important measure to attract young people to work in our industry.

For a summary of other bills of interest that passed in the following areas, please go to our website’s legislative page and click on the link to the 88th Legislative Session Wrap-Up: Sunset bills for the PUC, TCEQ, and TWDB; City/ Municipal; Groundwater Conservation Districts; Broadband; and general bills related to TCEQ and TWDB.

Bills of Significance to TRWA Members that Failed to Pass

Many bills did not make it pass the finish line to become law this session. Here are a few that TRWA successfully worked hard to prevent from passing into law or that we supported but did not quite make it.

HB 4296 (Gates) would have given a petitioner in a CCN streamlined expedited release case the ability to pay off a utility’s federal debt to avoid federal litigation. The TRWA legislative team met with Rep. Gates' staff and expressed our concerns that this approach would interfere with a utility’s contractual relationship with its lender and result in uncertainty regarding the ownership of utility infrastructure purchased with the federal debt.

HB 4133 (Rogers) would have amended the applicability of the CCN streamlined expedited release law from a tract of land that “is not receiving service” to one that “has not received service” and required the appraisal process for decertified area be conducted in compliance with the “Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.” This bill was opposed by the original author of the law and developer groups, which prompted a series of stakeholder meetings that TRWA took part in. There was some consensus on improving the appraisal process and TRWA staff provided draft language to this regard, but ultimately, the bill did not move forward.

HB 2783 (Holland) would have required water supply corporations to timely report the current names of their directors to the PUC or be fined up to $5,000. This bill sought to address problems with one WSC but would have created a new statewide requirement for all WSCs. Although our preference was for the bill to not move forward, we offered alternative language which included restricting the bill’s application to the local system; or if it had to apply statewide, for the PUC to provide WSCs notice and an opportunity to comply before issuing a fine.

HB 1852 (Holland) would have taken away the TCEQ’s authority to create water districts. TRWA fought the bill and submitted proposed language to Representative Holland’s staff that would have allowed the TCEQ to still convert WSCs to SUDs.

HB 2701 (Guillen) would have expanded the powers of a Governmental Utility Authority (“GUA”) allowing it to acquire and consolidate utilities more easily. TRWA met with Representative Guillen’s staff, and the bill’s sponsors, to add language that would ensure a GUA would be subject to the PUC’s appellate rate review.

HB 3002 (Goldman) would have required governmental entities, including districts, to post employee contracts and staff compensation on their website, with a penalty for noncompliance of not being able to apply for state grants for two years. TRWA met with Rep. Goldman’s staff and explained our concerns about the bill.

HB 2496 (Swanson) would have required all public water systems to notify area fire departments within hours of water outage and restoration. TRWA met with Rep. Swanson’s staff and identified problems with the bill’s implementation and provided proposed amended language.

SB 1546 (Bettencourt) would have prohibited districts from exercising rights or powers outside their boundaries. TRWA provided amendment language to exclude districts providing water or wastewater service outside their boundaries.

HB 3225 (Tepper) would have required water districts to make an audio recording of each board meeting, post it on their website within 5 days, and keep it posted for a year; or for districts without websites, make the recording available to the public at their office. TRWA met with Rep. Tepper’s staff expressing our concerns and opposed the bill when it received a hearing.

HB 4184 (Toth) would have allowed any person to file a petition with a district court to remove a district’s board member, and the board member would be removed if the court found that the director was incompetent, engaged in official misconduct or was intoxicated on or off duty caused by drinking an alcoholic beverage. TRWA opposed this bill as being too broad.

HB 2369 (Kitzman) would have allowed the posting notice of NPDES permit actions on a TCEQ-created internet website instead of in a newspaper. TRWA supported this bill.

All told, it was a very successful legislative session. A big thank you to our members that worked hard with us to champion the good bills and work against the bad ones. Your work was instrumental to our success.

Mary-Alice BoehmMcKaughan is TRWA's Assistant General Counsel.

Making the Grade

Consumer Confidence Reports are a valuable tool for building trust with your customers. Here's how to complete them properly.

By Emily Young

It’s time once again for community public water systems to prepare their Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR), a topic our TRWA Financial, Managerial and Technical specialists get asked about all the time. There are many reasons beyond avoiding a CCR violation why your system should provide a CCR to your customers.

A CCR is an annual report card of the drinking water quality for the previous year, with all the annual compliance data in one comprehensive report, due once a year by July 1. Just like a public notice, the CCR is a form of public notification that provides customers with drinking water quality transparency. It includes contact information, source of water, chemical and bacteriological contaminants and their results, compliance of TCEQ and EPA rules, violations, and basic contaminant health information and definitions and abbreviations. For instance, it will indicate violations and information such as if a system has exceeded the Action Level for Lead and Copper, or if the system has reported E. coli positive samples during the year. It will also indicate whether a system has exceeded the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and the ranges of the samples, including the highest level of detection.

While public notifications are required of all types of water systems, only community water systems are required to distribute a CCR to their customers and to TCEQ. NonCommunity systems are not required to provide CCRs. There are different delivery methods based on small and large community public water systems, but the CCR does also have to be submitted to TCEQ, along with the Certificate of Delivery, just like the Public Notice.

Under the CCR Rule, a wholesale system must deliver relevant monitoring and compliance data to all consecutive or receiving community water systems by April 1 of every year. This is so that the consecutive or receiving system has lead time to prepare a CCR. Wholesale systems are not responsible for creating the CCR report for the consecutive or receiving community system, nor are they responsible for providing data on contaminants that the consecutive system monitors. In some cases, however, a consecutive community system will contract with the wholesale system to produce the CCR report. Check with your purchase or wholesale system. Regardless of who produces the report, the consecutive system is still responsible for ensuring that its customers receive a report containing all required content.

If you are a community water system, make sure to create the CCR and submit the Certificate of Delivery. The CCR can be generated online through the TCEQ Drinking Water Watch website at https://dww2.tceq. texas.gov/DWW. Once the report is downloaded, there are a few items you have to fill in manually, such as the contact’s name and phone number, the source of water and the name of the city or county. Review the water quality test results and you’ll notice the Disinfectant Residual table has to be manually filled in for average level, range of levels detected and unit of measurement. This data and information can be pulled from the Disinfectant Level Quarterly Operating Reports.

Once you have completed the CCR generated from the website and filled in the required information, the CCR will need to be distributed in accordance with the requirements based on population of the system. For small community

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water systems, or those serving populations under 500, the CCR has to be mailed, sent door to door or posted in a location available upon request. For large community water systems, or those serving populations over 500, the system must directly deliver a copy of the CCR to each bill paying customer. For both large and small community water systems, a good faith effort must be made to provide this information to consumers who do not receive water bills, such as apartment dwellers; community centers; schools; etc. This means the system attempted some method to reach people that may not get a water bill. This could include posting in public places, posting the CCR on the internet, publicizing it in the news media, or sending it via mail not just to customers that have water bills, but people who receive regular mail in the service area. Large and small water systems must also make the CCR available on request. For a community public water system that serves over 100,000 or more people, you must post the current year's CCR on the internet for the public. The link must go directly to the CCR, it cannot be an indirect link to the page.

The Certificate of Delivery (COD) will need to be filled in, signed, dated and submitted to TCEQ with the completed CCR report. The COD and instructions to complete it are available at the TCEQ website at www.tceq.texas.gov/drinkingwater/ccr/ccr_links.html.

Make sure you download the correct COD form, based on whether you are a small versus large community system. There is also a separate form for the wholesale provider to certify they submitted their CCR to the consecutive community water systems by April 1. The COD will have to be manually filled in by the PWS and cannot be generated like the CCR form. The COD will indicate direct delivery methods used by the PWS to distribute the CCR, along with the date of delivery and good faith delivery methods. Once completed and certified, the PWS will need to submit the CCR and COD by mail to the address on the COD, preferably by certified mail.

If any of these steps or CCR or COD data requirements are missing, the report will be considered incomplete, and a CCR violation from TCEQ can be issued for an inadequate CCR. Make sure to fill in all the necessary information and double check the CCR and COD before mailing the forms to TCEQ. If you miss the July 1 deadline for submitting the CCR and the Certificate of Delivery to TCEQ, try to submit as soon as possible in order to avoid any violations. Send any questions on CCRs: to PWSCCR@tceq.texas.gov.

The EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Revisions will soon add an additional step to the CCR process due to the requirement that all Community and Non-transient noncommunity water systems to fill in and submit a Lead Service Line Inventory (LSLI) to TCEQ (due by October 16, 2024). Under the current rules, Community Water Systems will be required to indicate in their CCR how to access the inventory once it's completed and submitted to TCEQ. Non-lead Community Water Systems must indicate they have no Lead Service Lines in the CCR. These requirements could change under the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, but EPA recommends that systems provide their LSLI information in their CCRs.

Emily Young is TRWA's Assistant Director of Environmental Services.

Building a Successful Cross-Connection Control Program

Follow these eight steps to help keep your supply safe

By Bruce Pearson

Cross Connection Control Programs are vital for protecting the sanitary quality of potable water. These programs involve non-mechanical and mechanical measures to prevent the backflow or reversal of tainted water from private property into potable water service lines and water mains. Successful Cross Connection Programs protect public health, which is the number one objective for water operators.

Cross Connection Control Programs

began to take off in the late 1970’s. As these programs began to emerge, the emphasis was placed on protecting the potable water supply from contamination and pollution. In the 1986 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act, the water purveyor was instructed to develop programs to protect the sanitary quality of potable water. This gave notice to water purveyors in Texas that Cross-Connection Control Programs should be adopted to protect potable water supplies from contamination. In 1996, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC)

through the regulatory requirements of Chapter 290.46 (j) for Customer Service Inspection (CSI), allowed the water purveyor onto private property to inspect the private water distribution facilities. This inspection involved checking for cross connections and backflow prevention measures as well as lead exceedances. This clearly placed a responsibility on the water purveyor from the regulatory perspective. The CSI was to be performed after new construction, if there was a material change to the private distribution facilities or if

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the water purveyor suspected a cross connection on private property.

At this point, the water purveyor was responsible for the internal protection of the customer’s private water distribution facilities while also protecting the potable water supplies, i.e. the water mains. TCEQ regulations state that if an adequate internal protection program is in place, backflow protection at the service meter is not required. Very few, if any, crossconnection control programs utilize internal protection only. Most water purveyors also require a backflow preventer at the meter, known as premises isolation or containment.

With these regulatory requirements in place as of 1996, the water purveyors’ cross connection control programs assumed much more responsibility. Many water purveyors have experienced a tremendous challenge in either expanding their existing programs or in developing a comprehensive program from scratch. The question for many, then and today, is how do we accomplish this in a successful manner?

There are eight steps that all water purveyors can follow to have a successful cross-connection control program:

corporations and districts. The third pathway to legal authority is to have customers sign a Customer Service Agreement whenever a request for service is applied for and granted by the water purveyor that directly addresses cross connection control and backflow prevention.

2. Training water utility personnel and others in protecting the water supply. This involves not only licensing utility personnel as Customer Service Inspectors but also providing training in backflow

3. Educating consumers. Many water purveyors begin the education process at the initial step of a customer requesting new service, informing customers about some of the more common items required to meet the provisions of internal protection. You can use displays in your utility windows or flyers distributed to customers to address such items as swimming pools, private wells, and potable irrigation systems where on-site septic systems provide wastewater collection and disposal, just to name a few.

1. Establishing legal authority. Legal authority can be achieved in one of three ways. First, by establishing a plumbing ordinance, in the case of municipalities, or plumbing regulations, in the case of water supply

prevention measures. TRWA offers a Customer Service Inspection and Cross Connection Control (CSI) course that prepares operators to obtain a CSI license. There’s also a Backflow Testing course that teaches the mechanics of backflow prevention assemblies and how they work in the field, which can assist in obtaining a Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester (BPAT) license. These aren’t just the provenance of operators. Any office personnel involved in the CSI or Cross Connection Control Program could benefit from these courses as well.

4. Establishing standards and specifications for the approval of water supply protection devices and assemblies. An air gap is the most successful way to protect public health, but it's not always physically or economically feasible. Other devices that can serve this function include the hose bibb and atmospheric vacuum breakers. The assemblies include pressure and spill-resistant vacuum breakers, variations of the double check valve assembly and the reduced pressure principle assembly. TCEQ recognizes several approval entities for the above mentioned, however most water purveyors follow the University of Southern California Foundation for Cross Connection Control and Hydraulic Research and its standards and specifications.

5. Compiling an inventory of existing health hazard facilities and setting up an inspection program. This is especially important for those systems that may not have been

complying with the established rules dating back to 1986. These systems are acting in a proactive posture when completing this step, by protecting the people within a particular facility and the potable water main serving the property. This step can be somewhat challenging at times, but educating the customer on why it’s so important can make success more likely. The customer’s compliance is important to protecting public health.

6. Testing and Maintenance. Once a customer has been required to install backflow preventers for internal protection and/or premises isolation, those assemblies must be tested and maintained. All assemblies are to be tested upon installation by a BPAT license holder and the report must be provided to the water purveyor as

required by TCEQ. Those installed where a health hazard (contaminant) is present are to be tested annually thereafter. It must be noted that many water purveyors require an annual test on all assemblies through their plumbing ordinance, plumbing regulation or program manual.

7. Surveying and retrofitting existing facilities to eliminate undesirable plumbing practices. This is an extension of step 5. Even existing facilities which have previously had a CSI performed and were in compliance have had new processes come to bear. These might be new private wells, irrigation systems, swimming pools, rainwater harvesting systems or other changes to the environment that may require another CSI be performed and necessary changes made.

8. Documentation and recordkeeping. CSI certificates are to be maintained for a minimum of ten years and backflow assembly test and maintenance reports are to be maintained a minimum of three years.

Other documentation can also be vital to your program. Customer service agreements can be valuable data points, as are surveys of health hazard facilities and reports on retrofitting existing facilities.

Bruce Pearson is a TRWA instructor with more than 28 years experience in the water utility industry.

MAIN STREET CONTINUES TO BE THE PLACE TO GO.

Every home and business needs water, something CoBank’s finance team understands. As a TRWA member, we can offer special terms at a lower rate. With little paperwork to complete and minimal delays, CoBank can process your application quickly so you can start your projects right away.

Texas Rural Water Foundation

Student Scholarship Recipients

Leighton Jock - Dwayne Jekel Scholarship Recipient

Leighton Jock is a graduate of Mildred High School and Navarro Junior College with honors and is now an undergraduate student at Texas A&M University, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics, Finance and Real Estate. He is currently in his junior year and plans to graduate in the spring of 2024 with hopes of becoming a financial advisor.

Leighton is an active member of his community in College Station; where he has volunteered in various community service projects through his fraternity. He also enjoys attending Texas A&M sporting events and playing golf in his free time.

Abigail Permenter - Legacy Scholarship Recipient

Abigail Permenter has been involved with the National FFA Organization for four years, showing animals, competing in team events and serving as a chapter and district officer. She’s also a member of the National Honor Society and is serving an internship in the district office of State Senator Donna Campbell.

Abigail will attend Texas A&M University this fall, majoring in agricultural economics, which she hopes will help her serve Texans by being an advocate for agriculture and preserving our natural resources. After graduation, Abigail plans to earn a law degree and pursue a legislative career in the Texas government.

Lily Ford

Lily Ford is a graduate of Weslaco High School located in the Rio Grande Valley. Growing up in 4-H and FFA has led her to find the importance of water conservation; especially when it comes to the agricultural industry. She has served in leadership positions in both organizations.

Most importantly, Lily’s time as a Texas 4-H Livestock and Texas 4-H Water Ambassador has developed a passion for and dedication to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Ag Economics and a Master’s in Public Service Administration at Texas A&M University. She hopes to continue being an advocate for water conservation and water rights as they pertain to agriculture.

Cade Stovall

Cade Stovall is a graduate of Alba-Golden High School. He has been involved in various organizations throughout high school including the National FFA Organization, National Honors Society and local church youth groups. Cade is also involved in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, where he races cross-country mountain bikes. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring bike trails or fishing.

After graduation Cade plans to attend Texas A&M University to pursue a degree in agriculture economics.

James Reyes

James Reyes was born in Hoboken, New Jersey and raised in Pearland, Texas. He plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin, to major in human biology as a pre-med student.

His ultimate goal is to become a family practitioner who encourages environmental volunteer service, with the incentive of free high-quality medical care provided by his practice.

Shelby Kouba is a graduate of Crosby High School who has been heavily involved in FFA, serving as the president of the FFA Area III Association, President of Crosby FFA and VicePresident of the Lake Houston District FFA. In these roles she hosted service, leadership and advocacy events, inspiring her future career field of public relations.

In Fall 2023, she will attend Texas A&M University to major in agribusiness and minor in agricultural communications. Upon graduating, she intends to work as a public relations manager for the food production industry.

Erin Jones

Erin Jones is a graduate of Central High School in Pollok and will attend Sam Houston State University this fall. She was involved in the National Honor Society, Angelina County Drug-Free All-Stars, HOSA-Future Health Professionals, FFA and served as the boy’s baseball and basketball manager.

Being the manager of these high school teams influenced Erin’s decision to obtain a Bachelors of Sports Medicine degree and a Masters in Kinesiology, as well as enroll in the Athletic Trainer Program. Her ultimate goal is to become an athletic trainer for an NBA team.

Hunter Beasley

Hunter Beasley is a member of the class of 2023 at Jim Ned High School in Tuscola. He participated in football and varsity basketball, as well as many extracurricular activities, such as Student Council and the Peer Assisted Leadership Program (PAL).

Hunter is the recipient of many academic awards, including Super Star Team (93+ in all classes), All-Star Team (90+ in all classes) and induction into the National Honor Society. His other activities include refereeing youth sports, mentoring elementary students, volunteering and working full-time for his dad's landscape company. Hunter plants to attend Texas Tech University and pursue landscape architecture.

Shelby Kouba

Raegyn Villa

Raegyn Villa grew up in Hondo and graduated from Hondo High School. She spent her time playing volleyball, basketball, power lifting, soccer and track. Raegyn also participates in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the National Honor Society, while working and maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She was voted captain of the volleyball and basketball teams, 3A Libero of the Year, and 2023 Prom Queen, as well as playing in the STCA all-star volleyball game.

Raegyn will start her next adventure at UTSA. She'll major in kinesiology, with the hope of pursuing a Doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Isabella Lohr

Isabella Lohr graduated from Guyer High School in Denton. She was an active participant in the Latin Club, the National Honor Society and National English Society. She is also a proud Girl Scout recently awarded the Gold Award for organizing a 5K to raise funds for the #runforDylan Foundation.

Isabella also enjoys playing high school golf. She was recently selected to compete on the national stage at the Pure Insurance Championship in Pebble Beach. She plans to attend Texas A&M University to major in economics and hopes to attend law school.

Landry Masur

Landry Masur is a homeschooled senior who resides in Red Rock in Bastrop County. He and his family raise goats, rabbits and cows and he participated in 4-H throughout his high school years.

He enjoys exploring the outdoors, hiking, and camping in state parks and plans to attend West Texas A&M University in Canyon in the fall to pursue a degree in wildlife biology. Landry has a strong desire to improve human and ecological communities through wildlife conservation and habitat restoration.

Diana Torres-Nieves

A graduate of Oak Ridge High School, Diana TorresNieves was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Texas at age three. Diagnosed with dyslexia at age five, Diana went from being below average in elementary school to being at the top of her class. Being dyslexic influenced her to develop a passion for helping children with disabilities. Starting in 8th grade, Diana became a math peer tutor for children with intellectual disabilities.

Diana will attend the University of Houston and hopes to earn a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s in Biomedical Engineering.

Malachi Coplan

Malachi Coplan graduated from Van High School; where he competed in football, UIL Geography and chess; as well as participated in theater arts. Outside of school, he has participated in the Boy Scouts of America and the Korean War Veterans Association in Tyler. Malachi loves being outdoors and active, either on the field or in the woods.

Malachi plans to obtain a degree in computer sciences and engineering, taking cybersecurity courses so he can become a cybersecurity analyst.

Hana Hussaini graduated from the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin. In her free time, she enjoys photography, reading and hiking. She has won several state awards for nature photography and is interested in minoring in photography. She also leads a Book Club at her school and is a proud plant mom with over 50 plants in her room.

Hana will be studying Environmental Studies with a concentration in Law and Policy at Wellesley College. After getting her bachelor’s degree, Hana plans to get a Ph.D. at the University of Texas’s Marine Science Institute.

Hana Hussaini

Timothy Belicek

Timothy Belicek is the oldest of four children. His family lives on a farm in Seguin; raising cattle, other livestock, and baling hay. Timothy is active in church, school and his community. He enjoys farming, ranching, hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.

Timothy graduated Seguin High School and will begin his college education at Texas State Technical College in Waco, where he will be majoring in instrumentation. He looks forward to earning his degree and has a long-term goal to own land, raise cattle and give back to the community.

Nathan Beard

Nathan Beard is a graduate of Joshua High School, where he held a 3.8 GPA. Throughout high school, he participated in many activities such as the Video Tech Team, National Honors Society, Robotics Club and volunteering at the Joshua Library. He has also self-published two fictional books, all while holding a part-time job.

Nathan is excited to be attending the University of Texas at Dallas this fall, majoring in software engineering. He has his sights set on a master’s degree and is planning to take the accelerated course track to enable him to graduate in five years instead of six.

Payton Ohler

A Houston native, Payton Ohler plans to pursue a degree in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University. She hopes to integrate civil engineering with her passion for sustainability and the environment to mitigate the effects of climate change on cities.

During her senior year, Payton served as Editor-in-Chief of her school’s yearbook, Co-President of the Students for Environmental Action and President of Youth for Juvenile Justice club. Outside of school, she’s also actively working towards her Girl Scout Gold Award, by promoting fashion sustainability through upcycling. Payton loves hiking, music, crossword puzzles, graphic design, photography and water coloring.

Jareer Islam

Jareer Islam is currently a senior at Stephen F. Austin High School and will be attending the University of Texas at Austin as a civil engineering student this fall. His hope is to use his education to help change the world for the better and leave his mark on the world.

For the past eight months, Jareer worked as a tutor at Kumon, and through that has developed a passion for helping others succeed. Jareer also participates in various clubs and extracurricular activities, such as working as an assistant at Fort Bend Habitat for Humanity, playing basketball and video games and traveling.

TRWA would like to thank our sponsors HydroPro Solutions, Hawkins, Inc., and Respec, whose donations to this program helped make many of these scholarships possible.

The Dwayne Jekel scholarship, in the amount of $3,000, is provided by an endowment set up by the family of Dwayne Jekel, who served on the TRWA board for 30 years. The Legacy Scholarship, in the amount of $2,500, is funded by current and past board members of the Texas Rural Water Association.

Know Your Source Water Vulnerabilities

By Jewel Uzquiano

People across Texas rely on groundwater for their everyday needs. More than half of public water systems use wells to supply their customers with drinking water, and many more landowners use private wells to supply their needs on their own property, making the resource one of the primary sources of drinking water.

While these wells are an invaluable source of drinking water, they also represent a potential source of contamination when they are not constructed or maintained properly. Private wells in particular, since they’re not maintained by a utility, can provide a pathway for contaminants to enter the aquifer that serves as your local drinking water source. Common issues include inadequate cement, faulty casings, inadequate covers or lack of concrete pads, all of which allow outside water and any accompanying contaminants to flow into the well and capture zone. Hand-dug wells, generally of large diameter and shallow depth, are usually poorly protected and are commonly polluted by surface runoff flowing into the well, as they are only protected by a screen cover. Contaminants can directly reach source water through abandoned open wells, bypassing the natural infiltration process that removes contaminants from polluted water. The local geology and groundwater characteristics in your area can influence how susceptible your aquifer is to this type of contamination.

State regulations work to prevent source water contamination using construction requirements and minimum setback distances from sources of contamination. Wells are required to be 50 feet or farther from septic tanks, sewer lines and other waste infrastructures. Pesticide and fertilizer storage, leach fields, chemical mixing or loading

sites, fuel and oil products should have a 100-foot minimal setback, while waste lagoon, household waste dumps, manure stockpiles or silage storage should have a 250foot setback. Owners of private wells should have their water quality tested annually, being sure to use a stateapproved, qualified lab. County health departments often have capable labs, and TRWA can assist in identifying a list of labs as well. Owners should also examine wellheads annually for cracks and repair if any appear.

As a water system, keeping track of all these potential vulnerabilities can be daunting. One step you can take to protect your system’s drinking water more holistically is to join TRWA and TCEQ’s Source Water Protection (SWP) Program and adopt a source water protection plan. This is a proactive program intended to assist rural and small systems in minimizing and/or preventing contaminants from entering the system’s water supply sources. It is an extra layer of protection to be used along with TCEQ’s regulations for the safety of your drinking water.

When you join the Source Water Protection Program, your system will receive a plan that includes an inventory of any potential sources of contamination in your area and actions you can take to prevent contamination among other sources in your system. Utilities can use these practices to prevent the introduction of these potential contaminants into the source water before they can reach the treatment plant, since pollution prevention is more cost-effective than treating contaminated water supplies.

With so many possible points of contamination, protecting source water requires the effort of the entire community. Your system’s plan can include outreach events to help drive this message across. This year, TRWA has already participated in events in Gatesville, Guadalupe

TRWA's Source Water Model Annotated

1. Household contaminants include pet waste, fertilizer or pesticide applications, septic system leakage and private or abandoned wells

2. Wastewater treatment plant overflow where untreated effluent has reached a nearby stream

3. Factories and other industrial areas can discharge various chemical byproduct into waterways

4. Litter along roads can end up in waterways when carried off by rainfall runoff

5. Rainfall runoff flows into a source of drinking water

River State Park and more, providing information on water quality, water conservation and source water protection.

The highlight of these events is usually the demonstrations on our surface water model, which illustrate how different kinds of pollution can reach our rivers, lakes and streams. We start off with a look at a watershed and begin to drop “contaminants” onto the surface. Food coloring, non-perishable foods and ordinary soil represent contaminants like herbicides, pesticides, gasoline and wastewater effluent. After the contaminants are added, we demonstrate a rain event by pouring water onto the surface of the model, which flows down towards the water body to illustrate how activities within a watershed can affect local water quality. A clear tray underneath collects the contaminated water to demonstrate groundwater contamination, but TRWA also recently purchased a new groundwater model, which demonstrates a cross section of an aquifer and groundwater system and allows us to demonstrate multiple potential contamination pathways.

After seeing a demonstration, young audience members especially had all kinds of questions for us on the water they drink and how their local water system obtains it. If you’re interested in hosting an event like this, please reach out and TRWA can help you plan something similar. We will also be bringing these models to several Area

Meetings this year, so members can see it in action for themselves.

TRWA can provide technical assistance to public water systems who are interested in updating their previous SWP plan or implementing a new SWP program and plan. For more information, please contact Jewel Uzquiano at Jewel.Uzquiano@trwa.org.

Jewel Uzquiano is TRWA's Source Water Protection Specialist.

6. Agricultural land can be a source of fertilizer or pesticide contamination

Planting New Funding Seeds

Nature-Based Solutions offer an opportunity for utilities to tap into State Revolving Fund money to benefit their communities

By Jean Devlin

It is no secret that rural communities across Texas face some of the most pressing water challenges in the state. Rapid population growth, increasing demands on resources, and extreme weather events such as flooding and drought have kept rural Texans under constant pressure when it comes to maintaining infrastructure and planning for future growth.

If trends continue, existing water supplies across the Lone Star State could decline by 18 percent by 2070, even as Texas' statewide water demand increases by approximately

9 percent. To ensure resiliency, the 2022 Texas State Water Plan estimates that more than $80 billion dollars must be invested in water projects across the state. Statute directs the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to attempt to drive at least 10 percent of funds to rural communities or agricultural conservation projects. Yet rural Texas communities only received 0.17 percent of State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT) funds during the 2016–2020 funding cycles for state water plan projects, according to a report from the Sunset Advisory Commission.

For the next five years, rural Texas water systems have the opportunity to take advantage of an unprecedented amount of funding to pursue nature-based solutions (NBS) projects that improve water quality, sustain watersheds and protect and improve rural drinking water supplies. In 2022, the U.S. Congress allocated $44 billion to State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. Among the many other projects they fund, SRFs are a clear pathway for financing NBS projects that can provide a proactive pathway to address a variety of water issues such as flood mitigation, drought response, groundwater protection, land protection,

stormwater management and agricultural efficiency.

By leveraging this once-in-a-generation funding, Texas water systems can implement multi-purpose watershed health solutions, innovate beyond grey infrastructure approaches and catalyze a new impact model to affect long-term change.

Until now, SRF programs were historically underutilized to develop NBS projects. NBS offers Texas communities, rural and urban, cost-effective long-term water supply solutions that can protect our most vulnerable communities and ecosystems.

NBS includes green infrastructure elements, which is financeable and eligible for subsidy under the SRF programs. Green infrastructure, such as stormwater harvesting and reuse projects; establishment or restoration of permanent riparian buffers and floodplain wetlands; constructed wetlands; sustainable landscape and site design or projects that mimic the natural hydrologic conditions of the watershed, can augment grey infrastructure such as pipes, tunnels and holding tanks to address water quality and quantity issues. Additionally, creating conservation easements, funded by SRF programs, in sensitive areas across Texas watersheds is a cost-effective way to address both aquifer recharge and nonpoint source pollution.

Many Texas communities struggle to qualify for large loans, may lack the internal capacity to stack funding

resources or do not have the expertise required to navigate the complicated SRF processes. Companies and B Corporations like Quantified Ventures have been funded to support those communities and watershed conservation groups by providing additional capacity and expertise in navigating the SRF process, thereby enabling communities to access these crucial dollars.

Principal forgiveness is available for qualifying disadvantaged, small/rural disadvantaged, very small systems and urgent needs projects through the SRF programs. These programs also offer below-market fixed interest rates with a repayment period of up to 30 years. Subsidies of up to 70 percent principal forgiveness are available to communities that qualify as disadvantaged, based on the TWDB criteria provided in the SRF Intended Use Plans.

Outside of the SRF programs, rural communities can now leverage grants listed through Texas Rural Funders (TRF). The mission of TRF is “to mobilize the power of philanthropy to strengthen rural Texas.” They help funders generate

resources and attention toward rural communities across the state and engage in collaborative action. Philanthropic dollars can provide the financial capacity rural communities need to complete pre-planning efforts to prepare them to apply to the SRF programs.

Now is the time for rural Texas to take advantage of the SRF program and other funding mechanisms to develop an NBS portfolio that can support historically underserved communities. It is essential for local watershed groups, public utilities, and state agencies to work together to navigate how to best structure, support and finance these NBS projects so that rural Texans have a reliable and clean water supply for many years to come.

Jean

Devlin is an Associate Director and Texas Watershed Coordinator with Quantified Ventures.

Quantified Ventures designs, capitalizes, and scales investible solutions to address the most pressing challenges facing communities.

2023 Photostream Contest Winners

Get a new perspective on Texas water with the category winners of our 2023 Photostream Contest. Thanks to all who entered.

Operators in Action & Overall Winner Water

Our overall winner comes to us from Dyess Air Force Base in Taylor County, where Christopher Angel, a foreman for water and fuel systems maintenance on base, snapped this shot of Staff Sergeant Ethan Behlers performing a hydrant flow test in a base housing area.

Barbara Crumby first spotted an operator on the tower while he was still on the ground, and stuck around long enough to watch him climb to the top.

Emergency Response Training in Huntsville

TRWA held an Emergency Response Training event May 31-June 1 in Huntsville, providing instruction on valve and hydrant usage in emergency situations, drone assessments in emergencies, line location, leak detection and much more, as well as hands-on demonstrations of key pieces of equipment and techniques.

TRWA's aerial drone captured images of the outdoor portion of the training using both its standard camera and thermal imaging tools.

The Months Ahead

Here's a look at a small sample of the events TRWA has scheduled for the next two months. To see more trainings, regional meetings, conferences and more, visit www.trwa.org/event_calendar

JULY 2023

AUGUST 2023

Production

- San Antonio & Virtual Basic Wastewater

August 1

San Angelo Lead Service Line Workshop