City staff report drop in water loss and say they are monitoring House Bill 31 45 for manufactured-housing funding

City staff provided updates on public works projects and state legislation at the Aug. 26 council meeting, including a reported reduction in system water loss and preliminary monitoring of a state housing bill. The city manager (staff) told the council that a water-loss survey is underway and that operations staff have reduced apparent loss to about "12 to 13%" from roughly 20% through leak repairs and other maintenance work. "That is a significant change and that is due to our public works folks fixing water leaks, placing heaters, and doing repairs," the city manager said. The manager also briefed councilors on the Corvallis Road waterline project (100% plans and specs in development, with bidding in the fall) and geotechnical work at the water treatment plant site expected to begin within a month. On state policy, staff said they performed a preliminary review of "House Bill 31 45," which the manager described as proposing money to fund low-income housing projects using manufactured housing and prioritizing innovation with approximately $50 million and possibly five pilot projects. "There's a lot of background work that we'll have to do," staff said; they reported they will reach out to stakeholders and continue monitoring the bill. Why it matters: lowered water loss can reduce operational costs and help water supply reliability; HB 31 45, if enacted and if the city pursues funding, could provide capital for local affordable housing or pilot projects but the program details were not yet available. No council action was taken on funding or program commitment at the meeting; staff said they would return to the council if the city decided to apply or participate in pilots once program parameters are clarified.