The Board also directed staff to develop a proposal to extend surface water to the western Travis and northern Hays County area, in line with LCRA’s mission to provide reliable, low-cost water utility service.

Following is a status report on action items contained in an LCRA Board resolution adopted May 19.

• Board Resolution Action Item: “The Board directs staff to prepare and submit for Board consideration a water utility service plan for the western Travis and northern Hays counties, including the Lake Austin and Lake Travis watersheds, after having received and addressed meaningful public input on the plan, and taking into due consideration other providers of service.”

  Status: LCRA staff has developed a proposed 30-year plan for providing water utility services while also protecting water quality in western Travis and northern Hays counties. The draft plan is based on long-term population projections, on patterns of growth that already has occurred in recent years, on the location of other water utility providers in the area, and on existing and potential water quality protection measures in the area.

  LCRA staff has presented the proposed regional plan to regional planning groups, area residents, local and county officials, and at public open houses. Staff also is accepting public comments on the regional plan until Nov. 18 (see related story).

• Board Resolution Action Item: “The Board authorizes the general manager and staff to negotiate final water utility service agreements with the three landowners identified in Agenda Item 13 who have requested service on Hamilton Pool Road, with the additional direction that staff bring final agreements back to the Board for approval in December 2004 in order to give regional planning processes more time to work.”

  Status: LCRA staff has continued to negotiate the terms of a contract to provide water utility services to several of these landowners, as well as several new landowners, and will present a proposed final agreement to the Board for consideration on Dec. 7. The proposed contract will include specific measures that the landowners must comply with to protect water quality and promote water conservation in the area, in the Highland Lakes and in the lower Colorado River basin.

• Board Resolution Action Item: “The Board directs staff to work with homeowners and landowners along Hamilton Pool Road in existing subdivisions to determine how and when LCRA water service could be provided to people who need a reliable source of surface water, and directs staff to present this as part of the plan to be presented to the Board in December 2004.”

  Status: LCRA staff has held meetings with homeowners associations and residents of three existing subdivisions along Hamilton Pool Road to discuss the viability of providing water utility services. LCRA has asked existing homeowners to declare in writing by Dec. 1 if they intend to request water utility service from LCRA. At the Dec. 7 Board meeting, LCRA staff will present information on the level of commitment from existing homeowners and whether it is sufficient to extend service to these subdivisions.

• Board Resolution Action Item: “LCRA intends to offer water service to undeveloped areas of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer region only when proposed development complies with the September 2000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service measures as provided by the May 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), provided that if appropriate jurisdictions adopt a regional plan that calls for more stringent water quality measures, LCRA will consider the adoption of those measures as a substitute for the MOU measures.”

  Status: LCRA has incorporated the Fish and Wildlife Service water quality measures into the proposed final agreement with landowners along Hamilton Pool Road. The measures will apply to new development and cannot be applied retroactively to already built or platted homes in existing subdivisions. However, the proposed contract specifies that landowners will comply with stricter water quality protection measures adopted by local governments if they are in place before development plats have been approved.

• Board Resolution Action Item: “Although LCRA is not, and cannot be, a land-use regulator, LCRA will continue to support the Hays County regional planning effort, and the Board directs staff to offer the Hamilton Pool Road community in-kind assistance in developing a local plan to address traffic, open space, schools and other planning issues.”

  Status: LCRA has provided administrative support, technical expertise and funding for three regional planning processes currently under way. These processes each have a different focus but all are seeking ways to protect the quality of life and natural resources in this region.

• Board Resolution Action Item: “The Board authorizes staff to seek a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to become the water provider in appropriate uncertificated areas in this region, with the understanding that the regulatory process for obtaining the certificate, and the certificate itself, will establish LCRA’s roles and responsibilities for providing surface water to this region.”

  Status: LCRA staff currently is researching the question of whether seeking a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the most appropriate way to provide water utility services while also protecting water quality in this region. Staff also is taking public comment on the proposed plan to provide water service to western Travis and northern Hays counties.

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