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).

Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 595 , Sec. 2, eff. June 17, 2011.