H.B. No. 29 amends the Water Code by adding Section 16.0122, which establishes requirements for water audit validation by municipally owned utilities that provide potable water through more than 150,000 service connections. These utilities must complete a validation of their annual water audit within 180 days of filing and develop a water loss mitigation plan within one year. Additionally, every ten years, they are required to conduct a more detailed validation of their water audit and update their mitigation plan accordingly. The validation must be performed by certified individuals and cannot be conducted by board staff or the person who submitted the audit.

The bill also imposes an administrative penalty of $25,000 on utilities that fail to develop and submit the required water loss mitigation plan. The mitigation plan must include specific goals and descriptions of projects aimed at reducing water loss, along with estimated financial and water savings. The act will take effect immediately if it receives a two-thirds vote from both houses; otherwise, it will take effect on September 1, 2025.

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