Notice of Anticipated Fees

The Authority’s Board of Directors anticipates increasing its fees in order to fund the massive water supply projects that are needed to meet the Harris Galveston Subsidence District (“HGSD”) groundwater reduction regulations and to avoid the $9.00 per 1,000 gallons fine that the HGSD imposes for non-compliance. The HGSD regulations require reduction of groundwater pumpage to no more than 40% of water demand by 2025 and no more than 20% of water demand by 2035.

The water supply projects to achieve compliance with these HGSD regulations include design and construction of: (i) the 320 million gallon per day Northeast Water Purification Plant expansion at Lake Houston in northeast Harris County, (ii) the approximately 40 mile long 96’’ transmission line to transport water from Lake Houston to the Authority, and (iii) the approximate 75 miles of internal distribution lines to be constructed within the boundaries of the Authority to deliver this water.

To build these water supply projects, the Board of Directors anticipates increasing its fees by $0.25 per 1,000 gallons effective January 1, 2020, as follows: (i) the Groundwater Reduction Plan Fee to increase from $2.95 per 1,000 gallons of groundwater pumped to $3.20 per 1,000 gallons of groundwater pumped, and (ii) the Surface Water Fee to increase from $3.35 per 1,000 gallons of water delivered by the Authority to $3.60 per 1,000 gallons of water delivered by the Authority. Such increase would correspondingly increase the Imported Water Fee.

At the Authority’s Board of Directors meeting scheduled for November 13, 2019, 6:00 p.m., at 20111 Saums Road, Katy, Texas 77449, the Board intends to consider adoption of the proposed fees.

Notice of Anticipated Fees (PDF)

June 2019 Inframark Customer First Newsletter

Special Edition

It’s hard to believe that two years ago we were dealing with Harvey. As time passes, the devastation becomes a memory. It’s important that we don’t forget the lessons learned so that we are prepared for the next one. At Inframark, we continually strive to refine our emergency plans specifically centered around hurricanes. We would like to take the opportunity in our June newsletter to share with you the steps we have taken to prepare in the event we are confronted with another storm.

Overall lessons learned:

1. “Hide from the wind; run from the rain”- the catchphrase used by storm experts:

Wind events typically have great destructive force for a limited amount of time. We secure items or hide them in secure areas. The wind passes and they are put back in service.

Rain events, as we all know, can be events that are just the opposite – depending on duration, they can appear normal, but can cause great destruction over a long period of time.

2. Assume nothing: Routes that have been safe for 50 years during Harvey were unavailable. Facilities that have been in operation for 50 years without any loss of service were 8 feet under water.

3. Social media: The fastest and most efficient manner for Communication. Just make sure you are listening to known, reliable sources.

4. Preparation is crucial, but recovery is critical: we work diligently to prepare for catastrophic events, yet we must have recovery plans as well.

Action Items:

1. All electrical generation devices have been load bank tested. This provides an accurate assessment as to the devices ability to supply electricity in an emergency. Deficiencies have been addressed.

2. While we have secured multiple fuel suppliers, we only have a limited number of portable electric generation devices. To ensure your facilities are able to run in a power outage, speak to your Account Manager about a dedicated generator standby contract.

3. We are investing in survival equipment which is strategically located throughout our service area to support our dedicated employees. This will allow our staff to serve you and not worry about their fundamental food and shelter needs.

4. We have established both Facebook and Twitter accounts that we will utilize to communicate emergency situations to our clients and customers.

5. We have been in contact with all the Offices of Emergency Management (OEM) departments of each county we serve. We have participated and registered with Fort Bend County as certified Emergency responders. This is not an option Harris, Brazoria or Montgomery counties offer.

6. All our communication systems are IP based; and, in the event of a catastrophic event in Houston, we can be up and running in either our Austin or Dallas operation centers within minutes.

7. In addition to the 350 Texas MUD employees that currently service you in the Houston area, Inframark has operations in Austin, El Paso, Dallas, Beeville, Kingwood, Pasadena, Oklahoma, Florida and Louisiana. If the need arises, we can mobilize an additional 200 operations staff to the Houston area for assistance.

We know many of our communities are still feeling and dealing with the effects of Harvey and the thought of having another storm is disheartening. We also know that during a catastrophic event, the safety and security of your loved ones are of paramount importance. While we can’t control the weather, we pledge all our resources to take care of your communities to the best of our abilities. That’s what neighbors do.

As always, please reach out and let Inframark know how we can assist you ( MUDCustomerService@inframark.com ).

 

WHCRWA Shutdown

Two weeks ago The City of Houston had to shut down the surface water feed to the West Harris County Regional Water Authority to repair a break on their 54” distribution line. At that time all Utility Districts in the WHCRWA service area started using their ground water wells as the sole source of potable water. As of Monday evening the City had completed their repairs and all testing required putting their line back in service. As of this morning the WHCRWA began distributing surface water to their service area again. Customers may notice a change in the taste and/or smell of their drinking water as Surface and Groundwater have very different mineral and organic compositions.