02-04-09 La Porte Area Water Authority

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E. SYSTEM AUDIT I PROBLEMS 1. System Audit: a. Average, seasonal, peak use patterns. Figures 1 through 4 best illustrates average, seasonal, and peak use patterns. Figures 1 through 3 are for individual entities, with Figure 4 representing the total Authority. These figures indicate that the La Porte Area Water Authority follows most cities in having higher average water use in the summer months from lawn watering. The peak to average use ratio (average daily summer use divided by average annual daily use) is 1.32 for the Authority. This ratio is relatively low because of the very humid climate and high average rainfall the area receives. b. Unaccounted water volumes and likely causes. Figures 1 through 4 illustrates the relationship between water production and sales for each individual entity and the Authority as a whole. The difference between production and sales can typically be attributed to all or some of the following: 1. Flushing of water mains 2. Fire fighting 3. Inaccurate metering 4. System leaks 5. Unauthorized water use 6. Unmetered water sales c. Adequacy of treatment, storage, and distribution system. The cities of La Porte, Morgan's Point, and Shoreacres presently obtain 90% of their water supply from surface water supplied by the La Porte Area Water Authority. The surface water is purchased by the Authority from the City of Houston's Southeast Water Purification Plant. The remaining 10% of their water needs are supplied from groundwater wells. The water is tested on a regular basis in accordance with all state and federal regulations. The Cities of La Porte, Morgan's Point and Shoreacres currently have adequate storage facilities required to meet the state's "Minimum Water Quantity Requirements for Public Water Supply Systems". d. Limit of existing supply/potential new sources. It is apparent from the systems audit that all three (3) entities are very capable of providing water to their customers from groundwater sources. In addition, the distribution and transmission systems are adequate to supply their needs for several years. With the conversion to surface water, the adequacy of groundwater supplies to meet peak load demands in any drought contingencies that might occur are apparent. However, due to the constraints imposed by the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District on groundwater withdrawal, these sources will only be used to supply peak demand in possible drought contingencies. 4