The City Council last met on May 3rd to review several important steps in our long-term water planning process.  First, the Council heard about the updated Urban Water Management Plan, to be completed by June 30th. This plan includes population and water demand projections for the next 20 years then compares that information to available water supplies.  I will provide a summary of this report in the next Friday Update.  The Council also got a sneak peak at the forthcoming water and wastewater master plans (see above for more info) and talked about the forthcoming water rate study.  As we have mentioned previously, a major challenge we face with our water utility fund is that the large majority of our costs are fixed, that is, they don't vary by the amount of water we provide.  Whether we provide a little water or a lot of water, we still have to maintain the water plant, distribution pipelines, etc.  However, the revenues we receive from users (you!) are highly variable, and drop off considerably during drought (because you conserved - thank you).  It's quite a quandary we need to resolve.  You can see the reports or watch the meeting video here.