E. • CONSENT AGENDACity of Friendswood (Brazoria County)

Consider authorizing an interlocal agreement with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District to participate in the Water Conservation School Program for the 2026-2027 Academic Year.

Presented in: City of Friendswood City Council on 2026-10-05

Staff Report & Agenda Item Details

The Water Conservation School Program is a specially tailored version of the national WaterWise program in which the City has participated for several years. Council approved the re-adoption of a water conservation plan ordinance in May 2024, as required by TCEQ and TWDB. Title 30, Texas Administrative Code, §288.2 (a)(1)(G) requires participation in a program of continuing education and information regarding water conservation by the water supplier. This program helps the City meet that requirement. The City, through an interlocal agreement with the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District ("HGSD"), sponsors the water conservation program known as "Water Conservation School Program, H2O Lab." This program provides water conservation education to 3rd-6th grade students within the FISD and CCISD school districts within City of Friendswood. The City of Friendswood’s commitment to the program is a sponsorship of up to 510 students. The cost of the program is $40.00 per student with a total amount not to exceed $20,400.00. The total cost amount is and will be accounted for within the forthcoming Public Works annual operational budget. Each student is provided with a water conservation kit. The products in the kit are specifically selected to encourage water efficiency at home and engage families with activities that support and reinforce the lessons taught at school. Partnering with HGSD and the Water Conservation School Program, H2O Lab will not only provide students and teachers with the educational materials they need but will also allow the City of Friendswood to directly impact the preservation of freshwater sources in our area. Through this program, the City earns groundwater ("GW") credits that are good for 20 years and can be used to meet the water demand at times when exceeding the permit allocation is preventable without a penalty. For every student sponsored, HGSD issues a GW Credit Certificate equal to 84,000 gallons per student. Two types of GW Credits have been issued since the initiation of the program in 1994: 1. “Series A” GW Credits Issued from 1994 to 2001. These GW Credits are good for 40 years with no usage restrictions. The City has three (3) of these certificates for a total amount of 56,028,000 gallons. Series A is no longer available. 2. “Series B” GW Credits Issued from 2001 – present. These GW Credits are good for 20 years, and they are restricted to up to 30 percent of the permittee’s water demand for the yearly permit. The City has twenty-seven (27) of these certificates for a total amount of 440,328,000 gallons. To give an example of the importance of these credits, we are permitted to use 400,000,000 gallons of groundwater for the year 2024-2025. Our GW Series B credits will allow us to increase the permitted amount by 30 percent. This will equate to 520,000,000 gal