By: Shapiro, et al. S.B. No. 181
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the calculation and reporting of water usage by
  municipalities and water utilities for state water planning and
  other purposes.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subsection (e), Section 16.053, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (e)  Each regional water planning group shall submit to the
  development board a regional water plan that:
               (1)  is consistent with the guidance principles for the
  state water plan adopted by the development board under Section
  16.051(d);
               (2)  provides information based on data provided or
  approved by the development board in a format consistent with the
  guidelines provided by the development board under Subsection (d);
               (3)  identifies:
                     (A)  each source of water supply in the regional
  water planning area, including information supplied by the
  executive administrator on the amount of managed available
  groundwater in accordance with the guidelines provided by the
  development board under Subsections (d) and (f);
                     (B)  factors specific to each source of water
  supply to be considered in determining whether to initiate a
  drought response;
                     (C)  actions to be taken as part of the response;
  and
                     (D)  existing major water infrastructure
  facilities that may be used for interconnections in the event of an
  emergency shortage of water;
               (4)  has specific provisions for water management
  strategies to be used during a drought of record;
               (5)  includes but is not limited to consideration of
  the following:
                     (A)  any existing water or drought planning
  efforts addressing all or a portion of the region;
                     (B)  approved groundwater conservation district
  management plans and other plans submitted under Section 16.054;
                     (C)  all potentially feasible water management
  strategies, including but not limited to improved conservation,
  reuse, and management of existing water supplies, conjunctive use,
  acquisition of available existing water supplies, and development
  of new water supplies;
                     (D)  protection of existing water rights in the
  region;
                     (E)  opportunities for and the benefits of
  developing regional water supply facilities or providing regional
  management of water supply facilities;
                     (F)  appropriate provision for environmental
  water needs and for the effect of upstream development on the bays,
  estuaries, and arms of the Gulf of Mexico and the effect of plans on
  navigation;
                     (G)  provisions in Section 11.085(k)(1) if
  interbasin transfers are contemplated;
                     (H)  voluntary transfer of water within the region
  using, but not limited to, regional water banks, sales, leases,
  options, subordination agreements, and financing agreements; and
                     (I)  emergency transfer of water under Section
  11.139, including information on the part of each permit, certified
  filing, or certificate of adjudication for nonmunicipal use in the
  region that may be transferred without causing unreasonable damage
  to the property of the nonmunicipal water rights holder;
               (6)  identifies river and stream segments of unique
  ecological value and sites of unique value for the construction of
  reservoirs that the regional water planning group recommends for
  protection under Section 16.051;
               (7)  assesses the impact of the plan on unique river and
  stream segments identified in Subdivision (6) if the regional water
  planning group or the legislature determines that a site of unique
  ecological value exists; [and]
               (8)  describes the impact of proposed water projects on
  water quality; and
               (9)  includes information on:
                     (A)  projected water use and conservation in the
  regional water planning area; and
                     (B)  the implementation of state and regional
  water plan projects, including water conservation strategies,
  necessary to meet the state's projected water demands.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter K, Chapter 16, Water Code, is amended
  by adding Sections 16.403 and 16.404 to read as follows:
         Sec. 16.403.  WATER USE REPORTING. (a)  The legislature
  finds that:
               (1)  tracking water use over time and evaluating the
  effects of water conservation programs or strategies are vital
  components of planning for and managing the state's water resources
  to estimate and meet future water demand requirements;
               (2)  gallons per capita per day, the common metric used
  by municipalities and water utilities for water supply planning and
  the calculation of water use, is not an accurate measure of water
  use or water conservation because a uniform, consistent methodology
  for the calculation of gallons per capita per day has not been
  established;
               (3)  using a single gallons per capita per day metric to
  compare the water use of municipalities and water utilities does
  not produce a reliable comparison because water use is dependent on
  several variables, including differences in the amount of water
  used for commercial and industrial sector activities, power
  production, permanent versus temporary service populations, and
  agricultural sector production;
               (4)  if valid water use comparisons and evaluations of
  a municipality's or water utility's water conservation programs are
  to be made over time for statewide resource management and water
  supply planning and permitting purposes, the methodology used to
  calculate gallons per capita per day must be uniform for all water
  suppliers;
               (5)  a municipality's or water utility's industrial and
  agricultural sector's gallons per capita per day figures are not an
  accurate measure of actual water use and conservation by entities
  within those sectors because water use in the industrial and
  agricultural sectors is not population-dependent and therefore not
  accurately calculated using a population-based metric; and
               (6)  a sector-based water use metric, adjusted for
  variables in water use by municipalities and water utilities, is
  necessary in order to provide an accurate comparison of water use
  and water conservation among municipalities and water utilities.
         (b)  The board and the commission, in consultation with the
  Water Conservation Advisory Council, shall develop a uniform,
  consistent methodology and guidance for calculating water use and
  conservation to be used by a municipality or water utility in
  developing water conservation plans and preparing reports required
  under this code. At a minimum, the methodology and guidance must
  include:
               (1)  a method of calculating total water use by a
  municipality or water utility, including water billed and
  nonrevenue water used, and a method of calculating water use for
  each sector of water users served by a municipality or water
  utility;
               (2)  a method of calculating total water use by a
  municipality or water utility in gallons per capita per day;
               (3)  a method of classifying water users within
  sectors;
               (4)  a method of calculating water use in the
  residential sector that includes both single-family and
  multifamily residences, in gallons per capita per day;
               (5)  a method of calculating water use in the
  industrial, agricultural, commercial, and institutional sectors
  that is not dependent on a municipality's population or the number
  of customers served by a water utility; and
               (6)  guidelines on the use of service populations by a
  municipality or water utility in developing a per-capita-based
  method of calculation, including guidance on the use of permanent
  and temporary populations in making calculations.
         (c)  The board or the commission, as appropriate, shall use
  the methodology and guidance developed under Subsection (b) in
  evaluating a water conservation plan, program of water
  conservation, survey, or other report relating to water
  conservation submitted to the board or the commission under:
               (1)  Section 11.1271;
               (2)  Section 13.146;
               (3)  Section 15.106;
               (4)  Section 15.607;
               (5)  Section 15.975;
               (6)  Section 15.995;
               (7)  Section 16.012(m);
               (8)  Section 16.402;
               (9)  Section 17.125;
               (10)  Section 17.277;
               (11)  Section 17.857; or
               (12)  Section 17.927.
         (d)  The board, in consultation with the commission and the
  Water Conservation Advisory Council, shall develop a data
  collection and reporting program for municipalities and water
  utilities with more than 3,300 connections.
         (e)  Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the
  board shall submit to the legislature a report that includes the
  most recent data relating to:
               (1)  statewide water usage in the residential,
  industrial, agricultural, commercial, and institutional sectors;
  and
               (2)  the data collection and reporting program
  developed under Subsection (d).
         Sec. 16.404.  RULES AND STANDARDS. The commission and the
  board, as appropriate, shall adopt rules and standards as necessary
  to implement this subchapter.  At a minimum, the rules adopted under
  this subchapter must require an entity to report the most detailed
  level of water use data currently available to the entity.  The
  commission may not adopt a rule that requires an entity to report
  water use data that is more detailed than the entity's billing
  system is capable of producing.  The rules may require that billing
  systems purchased after September 1, 2011, be capable of reporting
  detailed water use data described in this subchapter.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Not later than January 1, 2013, the Texas
  Water Development Board and the Texas Commission on Environmental
  Quality, in consultation with the Water Conservation Advisory
  Council, shall develop the water use and conservation calculation
  methodology and guidance and the data collection and reporting
  program required by Subsections (b) and (d), Section 16.403, Water
  Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  Not later than January 1, 2015, the Texas Water
  Development Board shall submit to the legislature the first report
  required by Subsection (e), Section 16.403, Water Code, as added by
  this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2011.