R-2024-145 - 6/13/2024 RESOLUTION NO. R-2024-145
WHEREAS,the City of Round Rock("City")desires to approve the City of Round Rock Utility
Profile and Water Conservation Plan June 2024,("Water Conservation Plan")to establish short and long-
term water consumption goals and to develop implementation strategies and processes for achieving these
goals in compliance with the Texas Water Development Board; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to approve the Water Conservation Plan, Now Therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK,TEXAS,
That the City of Round Rock Utility Profile and Water Conservation Plan June 2024, attached
hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein, is hereby approved.
The City Council hereby finds and declares that written notice of the date,hour,place and subject
of the meeting at which this Resolution was adopted was posted and that such meeting was open to the
public as required by law at all times during which this Resolution and the subject matter hereof were
discussed, considered and formally acted upon, all as required by the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551,
Texas Government Code, as amended.
RESOLVED this 13th day of June, 2024.
/, M/
CRA16 ORGA Mayor
City of lound T, Texas
ATTEST:
MEAGAN S KS, ty Clerk
0112.20242;4859-3650-0165
EXHIBIT
«A„
ROUND ROCK TEXAS
UTILITIES ANo ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
City of Round Rock
Utility Profile and Water Conservation Plan
June 13, 2024
T •
�f
3
1�
J
■
1 •J
1 •�{r 1
� � 1
J � 1
J
-ti
'r
•� ti 1.m1.
_ : - L
06
Table of Contents
UtilityProfile..........................................................................................2
Section I Contact Information...............................................................2
A. Population projections & service area data.......................................2
B. System input...........................................................................4
C. Water supply system.................................................................4
D. Projected water demand.............................................................4
Section II Water System Data...............................................................5
A. Retail water supplier connections..................................................5
B. Accounting data......................................................................5
C. Residential water use................................................................5
D. Annual seasonal use.................................................................6
E. Water loss.............................................................................6
F. Peak day use..........................................................................6
G. Summary of historic water use.....................................................7
Section III Wastewater System Data.......................................................7
A. Wastewater collection and treatment.............................................7
B. Reuse data...........................................................................8
Water Conservation Plan...........................................................................
to
1.0 General Information.................................................................. 10
2.0 Conservation Coordinator.......................................................... 10
3.0 3 and 5-Year Water Loss Goals.................................................... 11
4.0 Achieving Targets................................................................... 11
5.0 Tracking Targets..................................................................... 11
6.0 Metering and leak detection........................................................ 12
7.0 Record management................................................................. 14
8.0 Public education and awareness................................................... 15
9.0 Non-promotional rate structure.................................................... 20
10.0 Means of implementation and enforcement...................................... 21
11.0 Coordination with regional water planning groups............................. 21
12.0 Wholesale customer conservation requirements.................................22
13.0 Plan review and update............................................................. 22
AppendixA....................................................................................24
Map of Water Service area.................................................................. 25
Map of Wastewater Service area........................................................... 26
Map of Reuse Service area.................................................................. 27
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-1
CITY OF ROUND ROCK
UTILITY PROFILE & WATER CONSERVATION PLAN
Round Rock prepared this Utility Profile and Water Conservation Plan to comply with Texas Water Code
Section 11.1271 and 30 TAC Section 288.2 and 288.5. The utility profile is used to convey information
about the City of Round Rock's past five years of water use within the water, wastewater, and reuse
water system; as well as our future predictions on how much water we will need over the next fifty years.
This report is required to be submitted to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) at least
once every five years. The city contracted with the engineering firm HDR for an updated Water and
Wastewater Master Plan in 2021 and 2023, many of the water use projections come from this report.
The Water Conservation Plan is a strategy or combination of strategies for reducing the consumption of
water, reducing the loss or waste of water, improving, or maintaining the efficiency in the use of water, or
increasing recycling and reuse of water. The plan that follows provides an overview of Round Rock's
current conservation initiatives and future plans for conservation within our water service area. It is
required to be reviewed, revised as needed, and submitted to the Texas Water Development Board
(TWDB)at least once every five years.
UTILITY PROFILE
Section I Contact Information
Name of Utility: City of Round Rock
Public Water Supply Identification Number(PWS ID): TX2460003
Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) Number: 11047
Wastewater ID Number: 20421
Surface Water Right ID Number: 2350, 2351, 2356, 2430, 12814
Regional Water Planning Group: G
A. Population Projections and Service Area Data
Round Rock's service area is 34 square miles, along with the majority of its ETJ. Current population,
as of first quarter 2024, is estimated at 132,057 residents within the city limits, with direct water
connects to the city's service. We have close to 38,000 active water accounts; of these, the majority
are residential accounts (currently 92% of our customer base). The city also wholesales water to
eleven customers: Tera Vista Municipal Utility District (MUD), Williams County MUD 10 and 11,
Paloma Lake MUDs 1 and 2, Vista Oaks, Walsh Ranch, Fern Bluff, Aqua Water, Round Rock Ranch
Public Utility District, Aqua Texas, and R& R Mobile. Most of the customers of these wholesale
districts are residential properties.
The City water distribution system is supplied primarily from a surface water treatment plant
(WTP)that can produce up to 52 million gallons per day (mgd) of treated water. The WTP is
situated in the northern part of the City, west of 1-35 and south of the Texas Crushed Stone quarry.
There is a total of 6.5-million gallons (mg) of water stored in four clearwells located at the WTP, and a
high service pump station containing 11 pumps.
The City is also a partner in the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority (BCRUA), a joint venture
between the City and the Cities of Cedar Park and Leander. The City of Round Rock has a 26.7%
interest in the water supply, treatment and transmission assets associated with BCRUA. The City's
current share of the treatment capacity is 11.2 mgd, which is supplied into the northwest portion of the
City system.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-2
Last, the City operates the Lake Creek WTP. The Lake Creek WTP is fed from groundwater wells
and has a treatment capacity of 6.0 mgd. However, in drought conditions the available well supply
may be limited.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) issues Certificates of Convenience and Necessity
(CCN)that authorize utilities and local governments to provide water service to specific areas.
Figure 2-1 depicts the existing City of Round Rock CCN (as downloaded from the PUC), the extent of
the existing piping system, and the locations of customer accounts that were mapped from the billing
system data. Neighboring CCN areas are also shown.
The current service area includes most of the City CCN, and limited areas outside the City CCN.
The City service area is essentially locked in by surrounding water providers. The City CCN has
also expanded eastward to CR-110 following an agreement with Jonah Water Special Utility
District (SUD), which is not reflected in the CCN boundary.
A map of the Round Rock water service area can be found in Appendix A.
The future demand projections described in this report are based on land use projections
provided by HDR and were also used for development of the wastewater master plan. The land use
projections were derived based on recently published population projections from the Texas Water
Development Board. Region G Water Plan and supplemented by HDR with actual recent
development proposals in the City. The TWDB plan projected population by utility for each 10-year
period through 2070. However, the City is anticipated to reach buildout by about 2050
Table 1. Historical and projected service area population.
Population Served b Population Served by Population Served b
Year p y Wholesale Water p y
Retail Water Service Wastewater Service
Service
2023 1321057 361000 1491383
2022 1281065 361000 1471658
2021 1531007 361000 1451934
2020 1191472 361000 1441209
2019 1161385 361000 1421484
Table 2. Projected service area population for the following decades:
Projected Population Projected Population Projected Population
Year Served by Retail Served by Wholesale Served By
Water Service Water Service Wastewater Service
2030 1521917 191583 1781662
2040 1981417 191583 2361429
2050 2501417 191583 3011029
2060 2501417 191583 3011029
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-3
2070 250,417 191583 301,029
B. System Input
Year Water Produced Purchased/Imported Exported Water Total System Input Total
(gallons) Water(gallons) (gallons) Y GPCD
2023 8,335,019,000 1,219,868,000 2175111881600 6,803,698,400 141
2022 8193411051000 58114691000 2141412281100 7110113451900 152
2021 717'5410381000 107,502,000 1159211761300 6,269,363,700 112
2020 7,813,300,000 91,526,000 1,378,652,000 6152611741000 150
2019 7157614181571 0 1,377,781,227 6,198,647,344 146
Historic
Average 8,082,578,114 400,073,000 1,902,805,245 6,579,845,869 140
C. Water Supply System
Water Treatment and Production
The City water distribution system is supplied primarily from a surface water treatment plant
(WTP)that can produce up to 52 million gallons per day (mgd) of treated water. The WTP is
situated in the northern part of the City, west of 1-35 and south of the Texas Crushed Stone quarry.
There is a total of 6.5-million gallons (mg) of water stored in four clearwells located at the WTP,
and a high service pump station containing 11 pumps.
The City is also a partner in the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority (BCRUA), a joint venture
between the City and the Cities of Cedar Park and Leander. The City of Round Rock has a 26.7%
interest in the water supply, treatment and transmission assets associated with BCRUA. The City's
current share of the treatment capacity is 11.2 mgd, which is supplied into the northwest portion
of the City system.
Last, the City operates the Lake Creek WTP. The Lake Creek WTP is fed from groundwater wells
and has a treatment capacity of 6.0 mgd. However, in drought conditions the available well supply
may be limited.
D. Projected Water Demands
This population projection is the total of retail and wholesale customers from our 2023 Water Masterplan.
Water demand is based on a per capita demand of 140 gallons per person per day. These water demand
estimates include total water demand from Lake Georgetown, Lake Stillhouse Hollow, the Edwards
Aquifer, and Lake Travis.
Year Population Water Demand (gallons)
2025 1611500 22,610,000
2026 1641900 23,086,000
2027 1691000 23,660,000
2028 1701167 23,823,333
2029 1711333 23,986,667
2030 1721000 24,150,000
2031 1731667 24,313,333
2032 1741833 24,476,667
2033 1761000 24,640,000
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-4
2034 11771167 24,803,333
Section II Water System Data
A. Retail Water Supplier Connections
The city is overwhelmingly residential in our water service connections. The utility billing software system
was updated and replaced in March 2018. With that change came changes to how some of our
customers are categorized. Staff continues to revise how to best categorize accounts, which is leading to
data that looks slightly different annually, in terms of how many accounts of each category we have.
Unfortunately, accounts that are irrigation only accounts are being reported as agricultural when they are
not true agricultural uses. This is an on-going problem that still needs to be corrected.
Water Use Category Type Total Retails Connections percent of Total Connections
g Yp (active & inactive)
Residential Single Family 341899 92.10%
Residential Multifamily 455 1.20%
Industrial 0 0%
Commercial 11626 4.29%
Institutional 77 0.20%
Agricultural 837 2.21%
Total 37,894 100%
B. Accounting Data
The following chart shows the breakdown of how much water was consumed in each major use category.
There has been changes to the City's billing software, which changed some of the customer classes as of
2018. Staff is working to ensure that the data is correct among the classes and updates will be made as
needed. The agriculture category is not true agricultural use, it is landscape irrigation at commercial and
multifamily properties.
Year Residential Residential Industrial Commercial Institutional Agricultural Total
Single FamilyMultifamilyg
2023 3,621,092,377 691,713,300 0 1,388,393,100 53,478,800 531,650,000 6,286,327,577
2022 3,615,048,000 559,437,000 0 1137514261000 249,171,000 506,888,000 6,305,970,000
2021 3,161,566,511 618,433,600 0 1,142,213,700 48,992,000 450,208,000 5,421,413,811
2020 3,460,848,348 592,422,500 0 1,003,954,600 43,442,200 555,281,600 5,655,949,248
2019 3,622,349,500 548,409,300 0 1,083,832,500 70,069,000 546,300,300 5,870,962,619
C. Residential Water Use
Historically, the city has not broken down residential GPCD into subcategories for single family and
multifamily, so we did not have this data to provide. Moving forward, the residential GPCD will be
determined to this scale. Currently the residential GPCD includes both single- and multi-family properties.
Year Total Residential
GPCD
2023 89
2022 89
2021 68
2020 93
2019 90
Historic Average 86
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-5
D. Annual and Seasonal Water Use
1. The following charts show the previous five years' gallons of treated water provided to retail
customers. The highlighted months are the summer, seasonal, water use.
Total Gallons of Treated Water
Month 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
January 523,425,000 463,994,000 464,260,000 444,091,000 404,188,000
February 480,700,000 384,973,000 480,938,000 407,869,000 364,958,000
March 616,894,000 541,946,000 524,716,000 470,855,000 471,407,000
April 595,104,000 603,721,000 485,133,000 499,075,000 541,860,000
May 623,260,000 766,625,000 557,903,000 636,770,000 533,861,000
June 830,208,000 936,085,000 665,037,000 7691381 1 000 604,975,000
July 1,056,068,000 1,065,746,000 739,070,000 880,803,000 812,170,000
August 1,076,722,000 935,125,000 813,614,000 952,441,000 1,043,616,000
September 844,737,000 797,793,000 797,664,000 682,047,000 959,987,000
October 744,196,000 834,297,000 637,934,000 752,388,000 756,693,000
November 555,534,000 558,947,000 542,884,000 636,583,000 501,810,000
December 514,486,000 540,860,000 508,499,000 497,678,000 456,240,000
Total 8,461,334,000 8,430,112,000 7,217,602,000 7,629,981,000 7,451,7651 000
2. Summary of Seasonal and Annual Water Use.
Summer Retail Total Retail
2023 2,962,998,000 8,461,334,000
2022 2,936,956,000 8,430,112,000
2021 2121717211000 7121716021000
2020 2160216251000 7162919811000
2019 2,460,761,000 7,451,765,000
Average in Gallons 2,636,212,200 7,838,158,800
E. Water Loss
Water loss data for the previous five years.
Year Total Water Loss Water Loss (GPCD) Water Loss (%)
(gallons)
2023 485,827,789 10 7.14
2022 226,208,231 5 4.25
2021 817,356,533 15 13.04
2020 505,067,157 12 7.74
2019 3,19,238,303 8 5.15
Average 410,73%603.2 10 7.46
F. Peak Day Use
This chart shows the average daily water use and peak day water use for the previous five years.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-6
Year Average Daily Use (gal) Peak Day Use (gal) Ratio (peak/avg)
2023 2311811736 3212061500 1.3893
2022 23,096,197 31,923,434 1.3822
2021 1917741252 2411051663 1.2190
2020 2019041057 2812891402 1.3533
2019 2014151794 2617471402 1.3101
G. Summary of Historic Water Use
Water Use Category Historic Average Percent of Percent of
g g Connections Water Use
Residential Single Family 3142419801947 92.10 58.68
Residential Multifamily 60210861140 1.20 10.32
Industrial 0 0 0
Commercial 1119817631980 4.29 20.54
Institutional 9310301600 0.20 1.59
Agricultural 518,065,580 2.21 8.88
Section III Wastewater System Data
A. Wastewater Collection and Treatment
The City of Round Rock's wastewater collection system is made up of over 450 miles of local collection
lines. These lines ultimately discharge at the Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plants (East
or West) either directly or through larger diameter regional interceptor lines owned by the Brushy Creek
Regional Wastewater Treatment System (BCRWWTS). The wastewater treatment plants, and regional
collection lines are operated by the City of Round Rock. The East Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)
is located southwest of the intersection of U.S. Highway 79 and Red Bud Lane. The West WWTP is
located east of the intersection of Georgetown Avenue and Austin Boulevard, at the termination of Austin
Boulevard. The City of Round Rock's wastewater collection system is currently covered under the
Wastewater Discharge Permit that is held by the BCRWWTS.
The Brushy Creek East WWTP currently has a treatment capacity of 21.5 million gallons of wastewater
per day from the plant's regional customers. In 2023-2024 it is undergoing an expansion, with the final
treatment capacity to reach 30 MGD. The regional customers include the cities of Round Rock, Cedar
Park, Leander and Austin, and the sub-regional customers include Fern Bluff MUD and Brushy Creek
MUD. The West WWTP is rated for a maximum flow of 3 MGD.
Because approximately 60 percent of the city is located over the Edwards Aquifer, the city has a
collection system rehabilitation program that includes cleaning and videoing the collection system located
in this area every five years. The Edwards Aquifer Protection Program is mandated by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). This program also includes inspecting and correcting
"problem" areas that require regular maintenance. This program is funded through the self-funded
wastewater utility fund.
A map of the wastewater service area can be found in Appendix A.
1. List of active wastewater connections by major water use category. The city does not generally meter
individual customer's wastewater lines.
Water Use Metered Unmetered Total Percent of Total
Category Connections Connections
Municipal 0 341799 341799 94.80
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-7
Industrial 1 0 1 0.0
Commercial 1 11626 1627 4.43
Institutional 0 77 77 0.21
Agricultural 0 205 205 0.56
F- Total 1 2 36,707 36,709 100%
2. Gallons of wastewater that were treated in our facilities for the previous five years.
Total Gallons of Treated Water
Month
2023 2022 2021 2020 2019
January 776,849,000 677,648,000 532,850,000 533,086,000 634,253,000
February 749,723,000 661,310,000 536,720,000 514,270,000 487,102,000
March 738,023,000 701,269,000 543,020,000 587,500,000 517,840,000
April 765,778,000 662,875,000 565,770,000 565,770,000 535,800,000
May 824,479,000 920,134,000 706,294,000 561,020,000 563,090,000
June 716,452,000 749,661,000 752,687,000 557,370,000 519,680,000
July 709,888,000 739,052,000 704,900,000 557,070,000 488,230,000
August 684,987,000 712,830,000 676,156,000 563,571,000 506,990,000
September 691,030,000 678,330,000 614,690,000 594,380,000 479,010,000
October 742,369,000 736,081,000 681,224,000 551,340,000 491,990,000
November 728,668,000 804,976,000 675,570,000 524,950,000 487,200,000
December 707,570,000 791,860,000 680,627,000 548,630,000 498,980,000
Total 78,83517951 000 8,836,026,000 7,670,508,000 6,658,957,000 6,210,165,000
B. Reuse Data
1. Reuse System description
The City of Round Rock wastewater reuse treatment facility is located at the East WWTP and can
produce up to six million gallons per day. An expansion project is underway durin 2023-2024 to
provide additional capacity to produce of up to ten million gallons per day. The City began using
Type II wastewater reuse in 1997 with a project that provides irrigation water to Forest Creek Golf
Course. As of 2015, Round Rock converted all reuse water to Type I reuse. An elevated storage
tank was completed the same year, with a holding capacity of 1.25 MG. It is located in the northeast
portion of town, near University Boulevard.
Treatment, pumping, chlorination, and storage facilities are located at the East WWTP. OSP has
been irrigating trees and sports facilities with reuse water since the completion of these facilities in
2012. Additional storage and pumping facilities along with 22,900 linear feet of 8-inch and 16-inch
transmission main to the Higher Education Center, Texas State University, Austin Community
College, St. David's Hospital, and other parks and schools in the northeast part of the city was
completed in November 2014. The largest water customer, Kalahari Waterpark, was added in 2020.
Numerous subdivisions irrigating common areas and parks have been added since 2013.
A map of the reuse water distribution system can be found in Appendix A.
2. The chart below shows data by type of recycling and reuse activities implemented during 2023. The
number in the "Industrial" category indicates reuse water that is provided free of charge to commercial
or industrial customers for irrigation or construction use through our reuse system. The city has two
free reuse water filling stations located in different parts of Old Settlers Park. It is metered and read
monthly. Plant wash down water is used at our water treatment plant.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-8
Type of Reuse Total Annual Volume
(gallons)
On-site irrigation 0
Plant wash down 36510001000
Chlorination/de-chlorination 0
Industrial 55616081053
Landscape irrigation 55414701000
Agricultural 0
Discharge to surface water 0
Evaporation pond 0
Other 0
Total 1,476,078,053
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-9
CITY OF ROUND ROCK
WATER CONSERVATION PLAN
Section 1: General Information
1.1 Declaration of Policy, Purpose, and Intent
Although the city's long-range water supply plan indicates that additional water supplies will not be
needed to satisfy the projected water demand once the city is built out, the plan also states that an
aggressive water conservation program could substantially reduce the average per capita day
consumption, prolonging the life of existing water sources and postponing the need to develop new
resources. The purpose of the Water Conservation Plan is to establish long-term consumption
goals and develop implementation strategies and processes for achieving these goals.
1.2 Goals
Develop and implement conservation programs that will:
• Reduce seasonal peak demands due to landscape irrigation use,
• Reduce water loss from unmetered water, water waste and water leaks on both the
distribution side and the retail (private)side of the meter,
• Decrease per capita consumption,
• Maintain the community's quality of life while continuing to enhance economic growth,
• Establish a heightened public awareness of water use and water conservation measures in
Round Rock,
• Audit and retrofit city facilities with water efficient fixtures, native and low water use
landscapes and efficient irrigation systems wherever possible.
1.3 Applicability
This plan and Chapter 10, Section 10.800 of the City of Round Rock Code of Ordinances 2018
edition shall apply to all persons, customers and owners of property who use or allow the use of
city water, wherever situated.
1.4 Public Involvement
Opportunity for the public to provide input into the continued development of the Plan or any
modifications is accepted by attending City Council meetings, held the second and fourth Thursday
of each month or contacting City conservation staff.
Emails are occasionally sent out by conservation staff to previous participants in city conservation
programs to ask what program they may like to see, or what interests them in terms of
conservation programs. Input is welcome by directly contacting the Water Conservation
Coordinator as well.
Section 2: Conservation Coordinator
Since 2009, the water conservation program has been managed by a full-time, dedicated conservation
coordinator. A full-time conservation technician was added in 2023; summer interns are utilized when
available.
These staff are responsible for implementing this Water Conservation Plan and maintaining open
communications with the general public in matters pertaining to rebate programs, drought restrictions,
educational programs to residents, conducting irrigation system checkups and coordinating with local and
regional like-minded groups on conservation and efficiency related activities (such as conferences and
workshops).
Conservation staff are continuing to enhance their education and expertise on subjects pertaining to lawn
irrigation, landscapes, soils, plants, beneficial insects, pesticides and herbicides, and more. The program
coordinator holds a TCEQ Licensed Irrigator license since 2002 and has undergone Texas Master
Gardener and Master Naturalist training. The conservation technician has completed the Texas Master
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-10
Naturalist and has plans to obtain the Water class D license. Both attend regular meetings regionally and
have presented at conferences.
Section 3: 5- and 10-Year Water Goals
Water Savings Targets
Round Rock has experienced high population growth over the last five years. We have had growth in the
sheer number of single family and multifamily homes built, along with new businesses opening, and
people moving into the area from across the state and from out of state. The water targets have changed
to reflect this large growth.
Five-Year Target
• Over the last five years, 2018-2022, Round Rock's total gallons per capita per day (gpcd)
have averaged 146 gallons. Our goal is to reduce the total per capita day consumption each
year with a target of achieving 139 gpcd. The goal being a 1% reduction in usage each year.
• Over the last five years, 2018-2022, Round Rock's residential gpcd has averaged 88 gallons.
Our goal is to maintain, and ideally, reduce the residential gpcd consumption each year with
a target of achieving 84 gpcd. The goal here being nearly 1% reduction each year.
• Reduce and maintain the actual water loss over the five-year period so that actual water loss
is no more than 10% of the total amount of water treated.
Ten-Year Target
• Maintain the total per capita per day consumption each year until the average per capita day
consumption is 136 gpcd or less.
• Reduce and maintain the residential per capita day consumption each year with a target of
achieving 79 gpcd.
• Reduce and maintain the actual water loss until it is no more than 9% of the total amount of
water treated.
Section 4: Achieving Targets
There is a not a set schedule for implementation of the Water Conservation Plan. It is always in effect.
The targeted GPCD is checked annually, while gathering data and submitting the Water Conservation
Annual Report to the TWDB.
Section 5: Tracking Targets and Goals
The staff shall track targets and goals by utilizing the following procedures:
1. Logs are maintained by City meter staff for meter calibration, meter testing and meter
replacement.
2. Progress made in achieving our water reduction goals are tracked annually, as part of our Water
Conservation Annual Report sent to the TWDB. At minimum, staff can see if the GPCD has
increased or decreased from each following year. Weather conditions are considered—drought,
high rainfall amounts. Increased population is a contributing factor to higher amounts of water
being used, however GPCD is remaining relatively steady, meaning not increasing.
3. Annual water audits conducted by internal staff are documented and kept in the Utility and
Environmental Services Department files. A consulting firm will be hired to conduct system-wide
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-11
water audits every three years. Water loss audits have been requested to be validated by TWDB
water loss staff in 2024 or 2025.
4. Records of all distributed rebates are maintained by water conservation and finance account
payable staff. These records include the type of rebate, number of participants, and dollar amount
distributed by calendar year and fiscal year.
5. Rates are tracked and monitored by the City's Finance Department. A hired consulting firm
conducts reviews of the rates every three years. Rates will be adjusted as recommended by the
results of the rate study.
6. Logs of the leak detection program are maintained by designated utility staff. These records
include inspections and soundings of water main fittings and connections and night flow
measurements. A consulting firm is hired to conduct periodic leak detection audits.
7. Rebate programs will be evaluated at least every two years to determine effectiveness for water
reductions and participation. Rebate programs are judged for effectiveness and usefulness by
participation rates (are people utilizing it?) or plumbing codes and city ordinance. Questions
considered include do we already have other rules about this and is this program necessary.
Rebate programs are revised or retired as needed.
8. The TWDB's conservation planning tool has been used minorly to determine what area (i.e. a
commercial or residential program) may be most effective for a new program to maximize water
reductions. We need to make more use of it to plan for new programs.
9. As determined necessary, targeted outreach will be conducted to help reduce the water use of
specific demographics. In 2023, we have mailed out postcards to older neighborhoods (homes
built before the 1990s)to increase participation in our Better Bathroom rebate program.
Replacing older plumbing fixtures with new WaterSense labeled fixtures would help reduce water
use daily at these homes. Targeted outreach has also been conducted on irrigation only water
accounts seasonally to provide reminders of the water restriction schedule or to ask to turn off
during winter months.
Section 6: Metering and Leak Detection
6.1 Metering Devices
Diversion and Production Meters
The Round Rock Water System has six American Water Works Association (AWWA) approved meters.
Two ultrasonic strap-on meters are used to measure water diverted from the lake, two venturi meters are
used to measure water entering the water treatment plant and the remaining two, one venturi and one
insertion magnetic meter, are used to measure treated water leaving the water treatment plant. Per TCEQ
requirements, the meters at the water treatment plant are calibrated at least once per year to an accuracy
of plus or minus one percent. Records of water diverted and produced are collected continuously via a
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System and compiled monthly.
Additionally, the City's Lake Travis water source is metered by the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority
(BCRUA) by two meters. A strap-on ultrasonic meter is at Lake Travis, measuring what is drawn from the
lake. The other is a venturi insertion meter, which meters what enters into the City of Round Rock's water
system. The testing of these meters is managed by BCRUA.
Delivery Meters
Round Rock meters all water connections per the TWDB BMP for universal metering. This includes retail
connections, city non-billed connections, and all known reuse and potable connections. The City of
Round Rock's ordinance requires all connections to be metered. All wholesale meters are regularly
monitored through monthly meter readings and verified. All new water meters are tested and calibrated to
AWWA standards. Most water meters are read via our AMI metering system, with reads taken each hour
(there are a few meters within the water system that do not have AMI meters, so remote readings are not
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-12
possible). The readings are transmitted to our utility dashboard twice daily. Meter readings are verified
by the utility billing office for accuracy annually. Meters are replaced and/or repaired as necessary, per
criteria detailed in the next section.
The utility facing water metering portal flags meter registers that indicate low or dead battery every day.
These are replaced as soon as able. Service requests are created, and utility meter staff are tasked with
replacing batteries or registers as applicable. Meters that do not transmit data due to dead or low battery,
are read manually for the monthly billing meter read, until they are replaced.
Residential meters and commercial meters smaller than 1-inch are replaced at a minimum every 2 million
gallons metered or every fifteen years, whichever is sooner. Commercial meters that are 1-1/2 inch to 2-
inch are replaced at a minimum of 10 million gallons metered or every 10 years, whichever is sooner.
Meters 3-inch or larger are repaired or replaced on-site after failure or unusual meter reads. AMR/AMI
registers and meter signal boosters are replaced after failure or 15 years.
The city has replaced traditional, manual read meters with Master Meter's Allegro 2-way meters since
2015. Round Rock upgraded from an AMR metering system to an AMI system which has reduced meter
read time, increased meter accuracy, reduced water loss, assumed to increase revenues and reduced
staff by four persons. By the end of 2023, the city had replaced all residential meters and 52% of all
larger meters in the city. In 2023, the city tested 100 of the meters installed in 2015 to ensure they were
still reading accurately. All resulted with a 100% accuracy rate, showcasing the program's
success. The AMI upgrade has provided a wealth of information for utility conservation and utility billing
staff to assist water customers regarding high bill complaints, irrigation system usage, compliance with
drought restrictions, and identifying water leaks.
6.2 Leak Detection, Repair and Control of Non-Revenue Water
In 2012, the City of Round Rock had a 9.67% total water loss. The following year, central Texas
experienced an extreme drought, and Lake Travis reached its third lowest level in history. Reacting to
these extremes, the city developed a comprehensive utility-wide strategy to control and reduce water
loss. This approach includes many programs that promote water conservation, four specific programs are
highlighted for their significant impact on the City's overall water loss percentage. These innovative
programs encompass operations, maintenance, engineering, and public outreach, reflecting a utility-wide
strategy to address water loss.
Operations (Flow/Pressure Monitoring and Optimization):
The City's water loss reduction philosophy starts at the water treatment plant. Water treatment operators
utilize recently upgraded SCADA software to monitor flows and pressures throughout the plant and
distribution system. At the water treatment plant, staff monitor twenty-two onsite flow meters to ensure the
most efficient treatment process possible. This follows criteria of the TWDB BMP for a water loss control
program.
Operations staff also continually work to improve the water treatment process. In 2023, the city optimized
the coagulant chemical dosages, which led to an increase in Unit Filter Run Volume. This change
reduced chemical costs, backwash water production, and solids removal through pretreatment, which
helped with water loss, pumping costs, and sludge discharge. The plant's total annual average for
backwash water recycled is approximately 1.92%, compared to the national yearly average of 2-5%.
In the distribution system, the city recently added eleven stand-alone pressure monitoring points at critical
locations. These monitoring points provide rapid detection of water loss and other distribution system
issues, including main breaks. By catching water main breaks immediately, the city saves large quantities
of water that would otherwise be lost.
Maintenance (Leak Detection)
Utilizing another TWDB BMP, the city has employed an aggressive leak detection program. In 2014, the
city initiated a leak detection program to locate leaks in the distribution system that were undetectable
from the surface. Leak detection technology and expertise are tools whereby a water system can
effectively detect and locate non-evident leaks as well as cost effectively locate those hard-to-locate
visible leaks that challenge the best repair crews.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-13
Utilizing experienced contractors, sensitive electronic leak sounding instruments are used to monitor all
accessible fire hydrants, selected valves and the water mains between them. Leak detection equipment
included use of a microprocessor-based correlator and electro-acoustic leak detector.
In the first year, the program surveyed 103,800 feet of water mains, identifying and repairing 19
previously undetectable leaks, preventing a loss of approximately 18.4 million gallons annually. With an
annual budget of$30,000 over the past eight years, the program has evaluated 1,264,515 feet of water
mains, detected 157 leaks and averted a potential yearly loss of 164 million gallons.
Engineering (Water Main Replacement Program)
The city enacted an aggressive Water Main Replacement Program to reduce water loss through main
breaks. During the 1970's and early 1980's the city installed approximately 100 miles of
asbestos/concrete (A/C)waterline pipe in the ground during its growth. This pipe's design lifespan in
Round Rock's soil conditions was estimated at 40 to 50 years. The shrinking and expanding clay
conditions cause rigid and brittle A/C pipe to crack and leak or rupture. Many main breaks in Round Rock
can be attributed to the A/C pipe. Beginning in 2007, the city pursued a yearly project of replacing the
A/C pipe by the construction process of pre-chlorinated pipe bursting. The City now budgets and funds
an annual $2,000,000 A/C Waterline Replacement Project to help reduce the number of leaks. To date,
the city has replaced almost 15 of the 100 miles with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe designed to
last 100 years.
Starting in 2006 and ramping up in 2017, the city has set aside $2,000,000 annually to replace aging
water mains. To determine where to target pipe replacements, city staff utilizes its asset management
program to locate areas with the highest number of main breaks. Each project then consists of
approximately 15,000 feet of water main replacement. The program replaces aging water mains through
a process called pre-chlorinated pipe bursting. This process pulls a new water main through the existing
one, effectively bursting the old main. This minimally invasive trenchless technology allows for installing
300 to 500 feet of water main in one day, minimizing the time citizens are without water.
The city finished its latest water main replacement project in December 2023 and has replaced 23.7 miles
of water mains over the life of the program. By targeting problematic areas, the City's Water Main
Replacement Program effectively reduces the number of water main breaks and the associated water
loss.
Public Outreach (Courtesy Leak Alert Program)
Since 2017, a Courtesy Leak Alert Program has been implemented to enforce the city's Water Waste
ordinance. Leveraging the city's advanced metering infrastructure, this program identifies potential water
leaks on the customer's side of the water meter by analyzing daily and hourly water usage reports. The
AMI system automatically flags water accounts that register continuous flows of over 24 hours. Staff use
this list to reach out to customers with the largest continuous water flows, generally 40 gallons per hour or
larger. This proactive approach helps identify potential leaks or instances of water left running, often
unknowingly. Water Conservation staff utilizes various outreach methods, including email, phone calls,
mail, and door hangers, to notify customers of abnormal consumption.
Conservation staff also aid customers in determining their first steps after receiving a notice, by
continuing to monitor and follow up, ensuring that additional outreach is provided as needed. In 2023,
staff alerted 819 residential and 323 commercial customers of continuous flow issues. The majority of
cases involved water leaks, malfunctioning fixtures, and human error, highlighting the program's
effectiveness in addressing and resolving water loss within our community.
In November 2023, the city launched a new water consumption feature on the customer payment portal.
This feature allows customers to view water usage, monitor consumption, and receive automatic alerts for
leaks and usage thresholds. Promotion of the new features on the customer portal continues into 2024,
to encourage customers to sign up for these automatic notifications.
The utility-wide strategy resulted in a remarkable transformation, reducing water loss from 9.67% in 2012
to an impressive 3.38% in 2022. With a total production of 8.9 billion gallons of water, the collective
impact of these measures saved 562 million gallons of water in 2022 alone, contributing over$1.5 million
in revenue from saved water. These tangible water savings result in a myriad of benefits, including lower
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-14
water rates for Round Rock citizens, reduced energy usage, and safeguarding Round Rock's raw water
sources.
Section 7: Record Management
The City's metering portal receives hourly water meter reads twice a day from all AMI meters within the
service area. These are received into our Harmony database. Harmony is used extensively by utility staff
to view meter issues (non-reads, dead meters, tampered with meters, leak alerts) and when providing
usage information to our customers. The city desegregates water records monthly through our utility
billing system, Munis, in the following manner:
• Water diverted from water sources.
• Water pumped into the distribution system.
• Water sales include residential, commercial, public/institutional, bulk water, industrial, irrigation,
government, wholesale, and reuse water.
• Non-revenue water.
• Actual water losses.
• Water records are also kept for non-billed water uses, such as firefighting, or water loss due to
mainline breaks. Staff across a variety of departments are asked to report that non-billed number
each month. This is not kept up with well, many departments do not understand the importance
of keeping these records and do not report to us. Staff turnover also hampers the efforts, as we
are not told when folks leave, and this small task is usually not reassigned to someone else.
Section 8: Public Education Awareness Programs
Water conservation strategies are implemented using Best Management Practices (BMPs) prepared by
the TWDB and other agencies.
8.1 Education and Outreach Methods
Conservation staff works with a variety of outlets and groups to keep the conservation message in the
public eye. Typical avenues include:
1. The Communications Department produces an electronic newsletter that is typically sent out
twice per month. It may include seasonal irrigation information and relevant program information,
such as promoting rebates, rain barrels sales, education classes, and drought updates. This
enewsletter must be subscribed to, to receive it.
2. The utility bill contains a newsletter insert at least six times over the course of a year. This
newsletter may provide the same information in terms of rebate program information, seasonal
irrigation advice, and program promotions, as the enewsletter. This bill insert is sent to every
customer.
3. The Water Spot blog, published on the city's website, provides more in-depth information on
seasonal water conservation information to water customers. It has included information on
landscaping (plant selection, soils), water leak detection and next steps after detecting a leak,
winter preparations, drought, and home appliance water use. Conservation staff write and
produce this blog.
4. Printed material is available to water customers at the Utility Billing office, where a table is set up
permanently in the lobby to provide seasonal conservation tips (such as irrigation schedules),
leak checklists, or rebate program information. Much of this information is from the EPA
WaterSense program or TWDB conservation materials. The table is also kept stocked with useful
items to help water customers find leaks at their homes, such as dye tablets to check toilets for
leaks, plumbers tape, and easy to read plumbing repair books. We also include rebate program
information, and the Austin Watershed Department's Grow Green plant book. Other freebies are
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-15
given out throughout the year, such as showerheads, rain gauges, soil moisture meters, hose
shut-off nozzles, and other water saving devices.
5. Social media outlets, such as the Facebook, X, Nextdoor, and Instagram are utilized to promote
special events, such as rain barrel sales, or Fix-a-Leak Week, or a necessary action, such as
turning off irrigation systems during winter months or not to water during the heat of the day in
summer. The social media accounts are managed by the City's communications department,
who can create and post content.
6. The city website (www.roundrocktexas.gov) has the most comprehensive water conservation
information on it. It is updated continuously as program information changes, as well as
seasonally. Residents can find tips on purchasing water efficient appliances; a lot of irrigation
scheduling and troubleshooting information, all rebate programs and applications. There is also
Information about our water sources, drought updates and restriction notices. Videos on leak
detections, irrigation controller setting, and how-tos on irrigation troubleshooting.
7. We partner with the Williamson County Master Garden program and their Green Thumbs Up
Landscaping classes which occur once per month at the public library, free of charge. Anyone
can attend to learn lawn maintenance tips, gardening information, native trees, landscaping, and
more! Classes are taught monthly by horticulture experts that are Master Gardeners. We
provide a verbal welcome to the event and provide take items to give away to attendees. We
recently (in 2024) have started this same relationship with Round Rock Gardens and their
Saturday morning classes.
8. When a new water account is opened, conservation program information is provided to the
customer, along with rates, and payment information. The customer is also given information on
the water customer portal (www.RRTXwater.com)that re-launched in 2022. Customers can view
hourly, daily, and monthly water use as displayed in gallons or in dollars. The customer can also
compare their own water use annually. The customer portal also allows the customer to sign up
to receive a water leak alert by email or text, if continuous water flow is registering on the meter,
and set a water budget.
9. Presentations at local service organizations and homeowner associations are conducted as
requested, and as staff time allows. Staff are generally booked for one presentation per month.
10. Outreach with other city departments and city events is instrumental in conservation messaging.
We work with the Arts and Culture staff to have outreach materials at their Music on Main events
and with Parks for Earth Day. Neighborhood Services staff are helpful to get the work out to
HOAs about events and Code Enforcement staff assist with water leaks and water restriction
messaging.
11. We created a DIY Water Saving Tool Kit that can be checked out from the public library. It
contains a guidebook on conservation program information, water source information, information
on how to read the water bill and the water meter and plenty of tools to be used around the home
to make it more efficient and fix minor leaks (like leaking toilet flappers).
12. Continuous water flow and leak notifications are conducted manually by staff. The customer
water portal added a feature to send out automatic notifications of continuous water flow via text
or email, but that only started in November 2023. Customers do have to register for that
notification, and no large marketing campaign has yet happened to promote the feature. The
utility facing water portal automatically generates a list of accounts that have water flowing
through the meter for 24-hours without stopping. That list is used to contact the account holder
about the flow.
8.2 Rebate programs
We offer multiple rebate programs to all direct city water customers. All property types qualify. They are
outlined below.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-16
1. Better Bathroom Rebate - Bathrooms are the highest water using rooms of the house, accounting
for half of indoor water use! This rebate is for the purchase and installation of new WaterSense
labeled toilets, showerheads, and bath faucets. The rebate is 50% of the cost of the device, up to
$600.
2. Smart Irrigation Rebate - Outdoor watering accounts for 60-70% of the City's total water use in
the summer! By making irrigation systems more efficient, we can reduce water use, water waste,
and improve the health of landscapes. Available to customers with existing irrigation systems,
not for new installations or additions. Rebates provided on WaterSense controllers, pressure
reducing equipment, converting areas to drip, weather sensors (rain, freeze, or soil), and more.
Property must have a working rain sensor at each controller to qualify. Rebates are up to $500
per residential account and $1000 for commercial accounts.
3. Efficient Clothes Washer Rebate - Clothes washers account for 22% of water used inside our
homes. New front-loading efficient washers use 15-40% less water, depending on the age of the
previous washer. Energy Star labeled washers use 20% less energy, 35% less water, and have
larger washtubs, which means fewer loads. This rebate is for new clothes washers that are on
the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE)Washer List. The rebate is $100 per washer.
ENERGY STAR designation does not mean the new washer will automatically qualify. It must be
WATER efficient too.
4. Rain Water Harvesting Rebate - Rainwater can be used for watering plants, trees, filling bird
baths and ponds. Rainwater is better for plants than treated potable water, due to higher nitrogen
levels. Collecting rainwater also reduces soil erosion and helps conserve our drinking water
supply. This rebate is the purchase and installation of water collection materials; this could be
rainwater or air conditioner condensate. Purchased barrels or tanks must be designed
specifically to collect and store liquid. Rebate is 50 cents per gallon of storage capacity of the
tank/barrel. Rebate is also 50% of pad material, pump, and pipes for the collection project. Total
rebate is up to $600 per water account.
5. Lawn Aeration and Compost Rebate - Core aeration and a compost layer help in reducing soil
compaction, promotes deep root growth, and reduces water runoff. This rebate is for having a
lawn core aerated and compost application. Work may be completed by a professional, or DIY.
Aeration must be core aeration. Liquid aeration will not qualify. The rebate is up to $150 per
residential account and $400 per commercial account.
6. Flow Sensor Rebate -This rebate is for the purchase and installation of an approved water flow
sensor. Water flow sensor devices record your water use and identify potential leaks in your
system and alert you to unusual usage. The rebate is 50% of the cost and installation of the flow
sensor device, up to $200.
8.3 Special Events
1. Rain barrel sales occur twice per year, in the fall and spring. These 50-gallons capacity barrels
are manufactured and shipped to us from Rain Water Solutions and are offered at a discounted
price as a pre-sale. The city has been offering rain barrels for sale for over ten years now. We
have a great relationship with the vendor. They take all payments for the barrels, provide
outreach to the customers, give us the lists of purchasers and respond to calls about problems
with the customer. They remain very popular, with between 700-800 being distributed each year.
2. Go and Grow plant box sales have been offered four times now in spring. This is a box of 24 pre-
selected, native plants that are sold as a set at$80 each. They also come with information about
each plant and landscape designs for planting. We have worked with Rooted In on this venture.
The plant boxes are extremely popular and sell out quickly.
3. Public seminars or workshops are offered periodically to residents. The last several Julys,
conservation staff has held Irrigation 101 classes for residents, as July is Smart Irrigation Month.
We have also held classes in March for Fix a Leak Week and had informational displays at the
public library and utility billing offices during these two months as well.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-17
8.4 Ordinance and Codes
1. Mandatory irrigation inspections for non-residential properties was a new ordinance change in
2022. This involves a property having a licensed Irrigation Inspector come to the property and
check it for efficiency and providing a record of the inspection to conservation staff. The is
required once every three years. This new program was rolled out in 2022, with 2023 being the
first year that properties were asked to have the inspections completed. The city has been
divided by zip code, with each zip code being assigned a different year to have the inspection
completed. If they fail, they are not allowed to operate the system until it has been brought into
compliance. The goal is to reduce water waste from systems operating during and after rain
events, as well as with broken or misdirected components. Results so far are mixed, with
approximately 2/3 of properties complying with the ordinance. Many folks are confused, so these
first years are taking time, and effort to mail out information to the non-residential accounts.
2. The Water Waste Ordinance, Section 44-6 of City Code, prohibits the waste of water due to
improper irrigation application, leaks, or other malfunctions. Staff routinely enforce this through
enforcement of drought restrictions and irrigation usage and leak notifications.
3. The adoption of the 2015 International Plumbing Code, which requires efficient water use fixtures,
this also complies with the State of Texas water efficiency requirements.
4. City landscaping and development code encourages use of native trees, turfgrass, and other
plants. There are a minimum number of plants that are required at new development sites and
that is inspected by a city official. Irrigation systems are not required to be installed at new
development.
8.5 Landscape Programs
1. Free irrigation system evaluations, or checkups, are offered to direct city water customers. This
involves water conservation staff teaching residents about certain water features, such as:
location of water meter; location of homeowner water shut-off; the home irrigation system
(sprinklers) components and how to use the irrigation controller; minor landscape issues (type of
soil, grass, native plants); and determine how many gallons are used with your current watering
schedule; provide a recommended watering schedule; make recommendations if any system
upgrades are needed; and potentially more, depending on questions from the resident.
2. New in 2024 is year-round water use standards. This is an outdoor watering schedule for all
potable water customers, if they choose to irrigate when a specific drought stage is not in effect.
Reuse water users are exempt. This is a no more than two day per week watering schedule for
all irrigation types (automatic, hose end, and drip)with irrigation discouraged between 10am—
7pm, except by hand. The two day per week schedule is based on the house number or property
address and is shown below.
Year-Round Watering Standards
Property Address or
House Number Ends in Water Days
0or3 Monday/Thursday
1, 5, or 9 Wednesday/Saturday
2, 6 or 7 Tuesday/ Friday
4or8 Sunday/Thursday
3. The Water My Yard (WMY) program is offered free to city residents. The WMY program uses
local weather data in sponsored areas to provide free weekly watering advice. This data is
collected from an extensive network of weather stations and rain gauges and along with
research-based understanding of plant water needs, allow experts to send customized weekly
water advice for a specific lawn and irrigation system. The WMY program is managed and
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-18
maintained by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. LCRA provides sponsorship for Round Rock
to participate in this program.
4. Round Rock became a certified Bee City USA in November 2022. This means that the city is
actively working to protect pollinators and well as create pollinator gardens and educate residents
about the importance of pollinators. Water utility staff are helping this initiative by creating
pollinator gardens, or pollinator fields, in stormwater detention ponds that we manage and
maintain. Ponds are planted with seed blends called Bee Happy mix and Pollinator Essential mix
purchased from Native American Seed Company. Signs are placed in these areas, to designate
the area as no mow, pollinator area. We currently have five locations around Round Rock that
we're maintaining.
5. The Utilities and Transportation Building's landscape is slowly being transformed from traditional
builder grade plants to native beds and wildflower pockets. The grass is mowed regularly, but it
is not irrigated. The goal of this slow transformation is to use the property as a demonstration site
for native and low water use landscapes. The building is new (built in 2019), and the highly
variable weather over the last few years has caused many plants to die. We have replaced 34
trees, which are still being irrigated. There is a 5500 gallon rain water collection tank on the
southside of the property, which collects water from a small portion of the roof. This water is used
to irrigate one drip zone around a portion of the building. We have also relocated a 500 gallon
tank from our old office building to the new one to also collect water, to be used for hand watering
beds or pots on the premises, on the north side of the building.
8.6 Future Programs
Plans to continue to enhance the conservation and efficiency message through:
1. Renewed use of a school education program. Prior to COVID-19, the city utilized a 5t" grade
specific water efficiency school program that we provided at no charge to RRISD schools within
the Round Rock water service area. It had stand-alone classroom lessons, as well as a take
home kit for each participating student and was a great success. As of spring 2024, we are
working with a new school education program, Tinker, to provide similar water education tool kits
and curriculum to 5t" graders. We hope to offer this program in the upcoming 2024-25 school
year.
2. More virtual and in person special events, promotions, workshops, and seminars will be offered
as deemed necessary or as able. The city has participated in water promotions over the last
several years, such as Fix-A-Leak Week, Drinking Water Week, Imagine a Day Without Water,
The Wyland Foundation's Mayor's Conservation Challenge, Water Wise Landscaping seminars,
and irrigation education outreach events. While these have been enthusiastically received, they
have not been well attended in the past. Staff hope to find better ways to hold these classes and
events.
3. Collaboration with like-minded entities, such as the Williamson County Master Gardeners, Good
Water Master Naturalists, Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), AgriLife Extension agents, and
our neighboring cities in Williamson County is very important. We have worked with all these
groups over the last few years and would like to expand upon our collaboration with them. This
could mean giving presentations to their members, working an information table at one of their
events,jointly hosting a meeting or event.
4. The creation of a specific institutional, commercial and industrial (ICI)water rebate program. This
could be for any water saving process at an ICI facility reductions at a car wash, laundry facility,
or restaurant kitchen and much more. Staff have been hesitant to introduce a program like this,
as the budget has not allowed a rebate dollar amount to be worth the cost of the ICI retrofit or
new processes would cost. An additional, or increased, budget is needed.
5. As drought conditions become more normal each summer and water restrictions are implemented
more frequently, the request for landscape conversion rebates is being asked more and more.
Staff is hesitant to create a turf-removal program, based on experiences from other cities. There
is a high amount of work that goes into these programs to ensure that water savings is achieved,
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-19
often with low participation rates. We are unsure we have the manpower to provide all the
necessary actions to implement a lawn conversion program—and prove it saves water. Much is
known about native plants being overwatered just as much as turf. Currently, staff are focusing
more on educating newcomers about what native soils and plants are, what their water needs
are, and how to best manage them.
6. Work to potentially amendment the city's current Landscape Development Code is on-going in
2024. Utility and planning staff have been meeting for several months, and continue to meet, to
determine what is the best way to achieve our water goals and keep beneficial aesthetics. We do
not want to see a lot of rocks and cacti. The city code is written well, we are determining if
additional staff are needed to inspect and enforce it, or if other measures are needed.
7. MUD customers continue to apply for our rebate programs and are denied. This is because
direct city water customers water bills help pay for the rebate budget. MUD customers do not
help pay for the program. There is talk of expanding conservation programs to include MUD
water customers, but discussions would need to be held with all the MUDs to determine how they
would also help to finance the rebates. Currently, MUD customers are eligible to apply for the
LCRA's rebate programs, which is a wonderful perk. This may be enough for now. However,
these areas continue to grow and use a lot of water, especially outdoors on landscapes. More
education can be done in and for these areas.
8. The purchase of a weather station would be a benefit to enhance our reach of the Water My Yard
program that Texas A&M's School of Irrigation and AgriLife Extension offers. The LCRA currently
permits City of Round Rock residents to sign up for the program free of charge. The downside is
that the watering advice given is based off a weather station in Pflugerville. It would be more
beneficial to have a weather station in Round Rock. Rainfall amounts are especially variable.
9. Collaboration has begun in 2024 with NSPOT to find a local nursery vendor for native plant sales.
While Rooted In provides a well-received product, they are located too far away from Round Rock
for quick and easy communication and assistance.
10. Transformation of the Utilities and Transportation building landscape into a demonstration site is
being considered. We would like to remove the current tuft areas and either move to more native
plants, turn into prairie turf, have different turf plots, or something else, to promote less irrigation
on turf, especially non-functional turf.
Section 9: Non-Promotional Rate Structure
The City of Round Rock implemented a year-round, four-tiered water rate structure in 2018 for residential
and irrigation customers to provide incentive to conserve water during peak landscape irrigation season
and discourage water waste. Prior to 2018, the tiers were implemented seasonally during summer
months (May—September).
Each customer is charged a monthly base rate based on the size of the water meter, then an amount per
thousand gallons, based on the meter read. The rate per thousand gallons is determined by property
type and the meter size.
Monthly Base Fee
Meter Size Current Current
(inches) Rates - Rates -
Water Wastewater
5/8 $16.52 $13.27
3/4 $23.00 $17.31
1 $36.32 $24.82
1 1/2 $69.59 $45.26
2 $109.51 $69.79
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-20
3 $202.68 $127.01
4 $335.79 $208.75
6 $11046.86 $615.27
8 $11829.77 $1073.67
10 $21873.67 $1684.85
12 $3,526.11 $2066.84
For a typical household sized meter, 5/8", the first tier is at 15,000 gallons; when 15,000 gallons
are used, a second-tier amount is 125% of tier one, per thousand gallons. For residential meters
larger than 5/8", the volume amount for the lower block is based on the size of the water meter,
then using the number of living unit equivalents for that meter times the 15,000-gallon amount.
Tiers two and three increases in price by 125%. Tier four is a 150% increase over tier three.
For residential and irrigation accounts, the tiers look like this:
Tier Volumes (gallons)
Meter Size Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4
5/8" 0- 151000 15,001 —211000 211001 —271000 271001 +
3/4" 0-221500 22,501 —311500 311501 —401500 441501 +
1" 0-371500 37,501 —521500 521501 —671500 671501 +
$2.56 $3.20 $3.85 $5.77
These rates and tiers are reviewed on a regular basis, typically every three years.
Commercial, industrial, and multifamily customers pay a monthly base fee according to meter
size (see above), as well as a volume rate of$2.80 per 1000 gallons. There are no usage tiers.
Future action may be to institute usage tiers in this customer category. Prior to 2018, there were
four tiers. Those were removed with a rate change we had at that time.
Reuse water rate structure is a flat rate of 75% of the potable water rate; currently $1.92 per 1000
gallons. There are no usage tiers.
Section 10: Means of Implementation and Enforcement
1. The City of Round Rock will enforce necessary portions of this plan through ordinances and
signed contracts.
2. The City's water conservation staff, code enforcement officers and other designated personnel
will ensure compliance with the water conservation and drought contingency regulations.
3. Violations will be handled according to the 2018 City Code of Ordinances, Sec. 44-240.
4. The plan will be implemented immediately upon adoption by City Council.
Section 11: Coordination with Regional Water Planning Groups
The service area of the City of Round Rock is located within Brazos G Regional Water Planning Group
(RWPG). The City of Round Rock will provide a copy of this Plan to the RWPG, the TWDB and TECQ
once it has been approved, as required.
The approved Plan will also be sent to the City's water providers, BRA and LCRA, to keep them apprised
of our conservation goals and intentions.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-21
Section 12: Wholesale Customer Conservation Requirements
All wholesale water contracts require compliance with the city's Drought Contingency and Water
Conservation Plans. Each contract specifies that the water supplied to the wholesale customer may be
reasonably limited by the city on the same basis and to the same extent as the supply of water to any
other customers within the city.
All wholesale contracts entered, renewed, or extended after the adoption of this plan will include
provisions for distributing water to the wholesale customers in accordance with the Texas Water Code
Section 11.039. Customer entities that intend to resell water provided by the City of Round Rock shall
require that all successive customers implement conservation measures in accordance with the
provisions stated in Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 288.
Section 13: Plan Review and Update
The City of Round Rock will review and update the Water Conservation Plan as appropriate based on an
assessment of the five- and ten-year goals. At a minimum, the Water Conservation Plan will be updated
and adopted no later than May 1, 2029, and every five years thereafter, per TCEQ requirements in Title
30 TAC, Chapter 288.30.
The Water Conservation plan and annual Utility Profile will be maintained and submitted by the City of
Round Rock Water Conservation Coordinator.
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-22
Appendix A
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-23
Figure 1-Water Service Area
Water CCN Service Areas
r
Southwest
gional Park
d Preserves
� rn
a
y U3
L'
Q
_
Silverado 11047 -- - -
Springs Par 79
North
$a
ass F,
a
Forest Cr
LO
Golf Club
Brushy Creek
Round Rock
Avery Ranch
Brushy Creek Golf Club
Greenbelt �l �; Ri
S
a ' Cr
ty Greenridge
g Me
Turkey Hollow — s pringbroo / BI
k
/
--'yl96waY..45,- -- .� Enclave Highland Park `-Falcon Pointe
M eadows'a N orth
1 ; Cambridge
Heights Springbrook
1
1 Park Place&
West Park
l
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-24
Figure rService Area
Sewer CCN Service Areas
Southwest
gional Park
Preserves
20421
-Springs Pa.
North
Forest Cr
Golf Club
Brushy Creek
Avery Ranch
Brushy Creek Golf Club
Greenbelt Rid6eat'
Steeds
Crossing
Greenridge
Commons at
Rowe Lane
Turkey Hollow
Springbrook
Enclave Highland Park
4 -Falcon Pointe Lakeside a
Meadows at North
Avalon
Park Place& V!
West Park
North Park
City ofRound Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan 2024
Figure 3-Reuse Water Distribution area
_Leander Rd
i.
Reuse Lines
0*41
Uj Q e Pd
G
G
thwest
nal Park �. V co'''y t
•reserves
m o
e E Old ttlers Blvd a °
47
Mayfield Park 0
Ofd 5e�ti}ars Blvd
=: Wood Glen
Greenbelt OI ttlers
y f r diger art Pa At Palm
alley C,,fn%y Road
B rightwater ;
Greenbelt 79 Ip§
m
s = Forest Creek
d�' a• Golf Club
Brushy Creek Brushy Creek _--- a�u5`'�'Ay
Greenbelt
Round;,Rock
J m l:r• p a
o m i1 E Logan
0 o w c ' ` Ridge at
Brushy Creek ° g k��� aro `° Rd. r r Steeds
v w Gattis 5ch00% Crossing
Community Park �c N
®�� o Greenridge
egriat,�a4 7s�ceq� � a;) hway 4.5.---- Commo
]� '_.. Rowe L
us•
Meadows of
TurkeyHollow ! a 4, - Blackhawk
o ,r' `'.` ( Springbrook
HrEnclave
9h.rR`aY 4,5. `�°
,.. ,
Ajr
Z Meadows at Falcon Pointe
City of Round Rock PWS 2460003
Water Conservation Plan-2024
Page-26