SECTION 357.10. Definitions and Acronyms

The following words, used in this chapter, have the following meanings.

(1) Agricultural Water Conservation--Defined in §363.1302 of this title (relating to Definition of Terms).

(2) Alternative Water Management Strategy--A fully evaluated Water Management Strategy that may be substituted into a Regional Water Plan in the event that a recommended Water Management Strategy is no longer recommended.

(3) Availability--Maximum amount of raw water that could be produced by a source during a repeat of the Drought of Record, regardless of whether the supply is physically connected to or legally accessible by Water User Groups.

(4) Board--The Texas Water Development Board.

(5) Collective Reporting Unit--A grouping of utilities located in the Regional Water Planning Area. Utilities within a Collective Reporting Unit must have a logical relationship, such as being served by common Wholesale Water Providers, having common sources, or other appropriate associations.

(6) Commission--The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

(7) County-Other--An aggregation of utilities and individual water users within a county and not included in paragraph (43)(A) - (D) of this section.

(8) Drought Contingency Plan--A plan required from wholesale and retail public water suppliers and irrigation districts pursuant to Texas Water Code §11.1272 (relating to Drought Contingency Plans for Certain Applicants and Water Right Holders). The plan may consist of one or more strategies for temporary supply and demand management and demand management responses to temporary and potentially recurring water supply shortages and other water supply emergencies as required by the Commission.

(9) Drought Management Measures--Demand management activities to be implemented during drought that may be evaluated and included as Water Management Strategies.

(10) Drought Management Water Management Strategy--A drought management measure or measures evaluated and/or recommended in a State or Regional Water Plan that quantifies temporary reductions in demand during drought conditions.

(11) Drought of Record--The period of time when historical records indicate that natural hydrological conditions would have provided the least amount of water supply.

(12) Executive Administrator (EA)--The Executive Administrator of the Board or a designated representative.

(13) Existing Water Supply--Maximum amount of water that is physically and legally accessible from existing sources for immediate use by a Water User Group under a repeat of Drought of Record conditions.

(14) Firm Yield--Maximum water volume a reservoir can provide each year under a repeat of the Drought of Record using anticipated sedimentation rates and assuming that all senior water rights will be totally utilized and all applicable permit conditions met.

(15) Interbasin Transfer of Surface Water--Defined and governed in Texas Water Code §11.085 (relating to Interbasin Transfers) as the diverting of any state water from a river basin and transfer of that water to any other river basin.

(16) Interregional Conflict--An interregional conflict exists when:

(A) more than one Regional Water Plan includes the same source of water supply for identified and quantified recommended Water Management Strategies and there is insufficient water available to implement such Water Management Strategies; or

(B) in the instance of a recommended Water Management Strategy proposed to be supplied from a different Regional Water Planning Area, the Regional Water Planning Group with the location of the strategy has studied the impacts of the recommended Water Management Strategy on its economic, agricultural, and natural resources, and demonstrates to the Board that there is a potential for a substantial adverse effect on the region as a result of those impacts.

(17) Intraregional Conflict--A conflict between two or more identified, quantified, and recommended Water Management Strategies in the same Initially Prepared Plan that rely upon the same water source, so that there is not sufficient water available to fully implement all Water Management Strategies and thereby creating an over-allocation of that source.

(18) Initially Prepared Plan (IPP)--Draft Regional Water Plan that is presented at a public hearing in accordance with §357.21(h) of this title (relating to Notice and Public Participation) and submitted for Board review and comment.

(19) Major Water Provider (MWP)--A Water User Group or a Wholesale Water Provider of particular significance to the region's water supply as determined by the Regional Water Planning Group. This may include public or private entities that provide water for any water use category.

(20) Modeled Available Groundwater (MAG) Peak Factor--A percentage (e.g., greater than 100 percent) that is applied to a modeled available groundwater value reflecting the annual groundwater availability that, for planning purposes, shall be considered temporarily available for pumping consistent with desired future conditions. The approval of a MAG Peak Factor is not intended as a limit to permits or as guaranteed approval or pre-approval of any future permit application.

(21) Planning Decades--Temporal snapshots of conditions anticipated to occur and presented at even intervals over the planning horizon used to present simultaneous demands, supplies, needs, and strategy volume data. A Water Management Strategy that is shown as providing a supply in the 2040 decade, for example, is assumed to come online in or prior to the year 2040.

(22) Political Subdivision--City, county, district, or authority created under the Texas Constitution, Article III, §52, or Article XVI, §59, any other Political Subdivision of the state, any interstate compact commission to which the state is a party, and any nonprofit water supply corporation created and operating under Texas Water Code Chapter 67 (relating to Nonprofit Water Supply or Sewer Service Corporations).

(23) Regional Water Plan (RWP)--The plan adopted or amended by a Regional Water Planning Group pursuant to Texas Water Code §16.053 (relating to Regional Water Plans) and this chapter.

(24) Regional Water Planning Area (RWPA)--Area designated pursuant to Texas Water Code §16.053.

(25) Regional Water Planning Gallons Per Capita Per Day--For Regional Water Planning purposes, Gallons Per Capita Per Day is the annual volume of water pumped, diverted, or purchased minus the volume exported (sold) to other water systems or large industrial facilities divided by 365 and divided by the permanent resident population of the Municipal Water User Group in the regional water planning process. Coastal saline and reused/recycled water is not included in this volume.

(26) Regional Water Planning Group (RWPG)--Group designated pursuant to Texas Water Code §16.053.

(27) RWPG-Estimated Groundwater Availability--The groundwater Availability used for planning purposes as determined by RWPGs to which §357.32(d)(2) of this title (relating to Water Supply Analysis) is applicable or where no desired future condition has been adopted.

(28) Retail Public Utility--Defined in Texas Water Code §13.002 (relating to Water Rates and Services) as "any person, corporation, public utility, water supply or sewer service corporation, municipality, Political Subdivision or agency operating, maintaining, or controlling in this state facilities for providing potable water service or sewer service, or both, for compensation."

(29) Reuse--Defined in §363.1302 of this title (relating to Definition of Terms).

(30) State Drought Preparedness Plan--A plan, separate from the State Water Plan, that is developed by the Drought Preparedness Council for the purpose of mitigating the effects of drought pursuant to Texas Water Code §16.0551 (relating to State Drought Preparedness Plan).

(31) State Drought Response Plan--A plan prepared and directed by the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management for the purpose of managing and coordinating the drought response component of the State Water Plan and the State Drought Preparedness Plan pursuant to Texas Water Code §16.055 (relating to Drought Response Plan).

(32) State Water Plan--The most recent state water plan adopted by the Board under the Texas Water Code §16.051 (relating to State Water Plan).

(33) State Water Planning Database--Database maintained by TWDB that stores data related to population and Water Demand projections, water Availability, Existing Water Supplies, Water Management Strategy supplies, and Water Management Strategy Projects. It is used to collect, analyze, and disseminate regional and statewide water planning data.

(34) Technical Memorandum--Documentation of the RWPG's preliminary analysis of Water Demand projections, water Availability, Existing Water Supplies, and Water Needs and declaration of the RWPG's intent of whether or not to pursue simplified planning.

(35) Unmet Water Need--The portion of an identified Water Need that is not met by recommended Water Management Strategies.

(36) Water Conservation Measures--Practices, techniques, programs, and technologies that will protect water resources, reduce the consumption of water, reduce the loss or waste of water, or improve the efficiency in the use of water that may be presented as Water Management Strategies, so that a water supply is made available for future or alternative uses. For planning purposes, Water Conservation Measures do not include reservoirs, aquifer storage and recovery, or other types of projects that develop new water supplies.

(37) Water Conservation Plan--The most current plan required by Texas Water Code §11.1271 (relating to Water Conservation Plans) from an applicant for a new or amended water rights permit and from any holder of a permit, certificate, etc. who is authorized to appropriate 1,000 acre-feet per year or more for municipal, industrial, and other non-irrigation uses and for those who are authorized to appropriate 10,000 acre-feet per year or more for irrigation, and the most current plan required by Texas Water Code §13.146 from a Retail Public Utility that provides potable water service to 3,300 or more connections. These plans must include specific, quantified 5-year and 10-year targets for water savings.

(38) Water Conservation Strategy--A Water Management Strategy with quantified volumes of water associated with Water Conservation Measures.

(39) Water Demand--Volume of water required to carry out the anticipated domestic, public, and/or economic activities of a Water User Group during drought conditions.

(40) Water Management Strategy (WMS)--A plan to meet a need for additional water by a discrete Water User Group, which can mean increasing the total water supply or maximizing an existing supply, including through reducing demands. A Water Management Strategy may or may not require associated Water Management Strategy Projects to be implemented.

(41) Water Management Strategy Project (WMSP)--Water project that has a non-zero capital costs and that when implemented, would develop, deliver, or treat additional water supply volumes, or conserve water for Water User Groups or Wholesale Water Providers. One WMSP may be associated with multiple WMSs.

(42) Water Need--A potential water supply shortage based on the difference between projected Water Demands and Existing Water Supplies.

(43) Water User Group (WUG)--Identified user or group of users for which Water Demands and Existing Water Supplies have been identified and analyzed and plans developed to meet Water Needs. These include:

(A) Privately-owned utilities that provide an average of more than 100 acre-feet per year for municipal use for all owned water systems;

(B) Water systems serving institutions or facilities owned by the state or federal government that provide more than 100 acre-feet per year for municipal use;

(C) All other Retail Public Utilities not covered in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph that provide more than 100 acre-feet per year for municipal use;

(D) Collective Reporting Units, or groups of Retail Public Utilities that have a common association and are requested for inclusion by the RWPG;

(E) Municipal and domestic water use, referred to as County-Other, not included in subparagraphs (A) - (D) of this paragraph; and

(F) Non-municipal water use including manufacturing, irrigation, steam electric power generation, mining, and livestock for each county or portion of a county in an RWPA.

(44) Wholesale Water Provider (WWP)--Any person or entity, including river authorities and irrigation districts, that delivers or sells water wholesale (treated or raw) to WUGs or other WWPs or that the RWPG expects or recommends to deliver or sell water wholesale to WUGs or other WWPs during the period covered by the plan. The RWPGs shall identify the WWPs within each region to be evaluated for plan development.

Source Note: The provisions of this §357.10 adopted to be effective August 12, 2012, 37 TexReg 5797; amended to be effective November 30, 2015, 40 TexReg 8648; amended to be effective December 8, 2016, 41 TexReg 9589; amended to be effective April 11, 2018, 43 TexReg 2158; amended to be effective June 28, 2020, 45 TexReg 4211; amended to be effective May 1, 2022, 47 Tex Reg 2527