Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Commission - Minutes - 01/20/2022 WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING January 20, 2022, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Online via Zoom 01/20/202 2 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 5:30 p.m. 2. INTRODUCTION OF NEW COMMISSIONERS a. Commissioners Jordan Radin and Richard Kahn 3. ROLL CALL • Commissioners Present: Kent Bruxvoort (Chairperson), Greg Steed (Vice Chairperson), Tyler Eldridge, John Primsky, Jason Tarry, Paul Herman, Jordan Radin, Richard Kahn • Commissioners Absent - Excused: Randy Kenyon • Staff Members Present: John Song, Mark Kempton, Basil Hamdan, Gregg Stonecipher • Members of the Public: None 4. AGENDA REVIEW • Chairperson Kent Bruxvoort briefly summarized items on the agenda 5. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION • None 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES CHAIRPERSON BRUXVOORT ASKED FOR COMMENTS AND REVISIONS ON THE MONTH DAY MINUTES. Commissioner Eldridge moved to approve the December 16 minutes. Commissioner Tarry seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: it passed unanimously, 8-0 7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • None WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 01/20/2022 – MINUTES Page 2 8. NEW BUSINESS a. Staff Reports (Attachments available upon request) i. Water Resources Monthly Report (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights A Commissioner noted that the titled month for the report was January, but there was only about 10 days of January reported. Staff Liaison Mark Kempton will follow up. Another Commissioner pointed out that 63% of the City’s water over the year came from the Horsetooth Reservoir, rather than 50/50 with the Cache la Poudre River, and wondered if was due to the prior wildfire, to which Mr. Kempton confirmed that this was the case. ii. Memo: 2021 Fall Water Quality Update – Upper Cache la Poudre Watershed (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights A Commissioner inquired about the City’s anticipation this year in light of the elevated readings for total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS) from last year. Mr. Kempton responded that the City anticipates a normal year until precipitation occurs over areas affected by the fire. That’s when there is seen a dramatic increase of turbidity in the river. There seems to be a baseload of solids this year; for example, after about a 20-minute rainstorm in July, there followed a 10- to 12-day shut off due to sediment. He assured that this will diminish over time, but it may persist for several years, and they are in the process of lobbying for further funds for watershed restoration efforts this summer. In response to a question about the Horsetooth Reservoir and Poudre River split, Mr. Kempton responded that the City will rely more on Horsetooth’s reserves again, noting that the Poudre River’s intake was closed today for four weeks for a sediment mitigation project, namely to force the sediment away from the intake pipe. He also sees the intake closing after each normal summer rainstorm. The City will have a much better understanding of its water supply in March after snowpack reports, Northern Colorado’s reports, and the Colorado River’s impacts are all considered. Another Commissioner commented that, considering the impact of the fires, they’d expected to see much higher readings of conductivity and turbidity in the river. Mr. Kempton responded that this is only really due to the fact that there was only one major rainstorm this past summer, which is not indicative of the norm. WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 01/20/2022 – MINUTES Page 3 iii. Halligan Water Supply Project Briefing Book (meeting packet only) Discussion Highlights A Commissioner inquired about the reason for the delay of the Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of an Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD), permitting the construction of the Halligan Dam. They noted the inevitable rise in costs for construction for every year it delays, which already seems to have risen from the ~$1M estimate to ~$1.5M, and wouldn’t be surprised if it continued to rise to nearly $2M by the time of consent. Another Commissioner recalled that it at least partially had to do with the fact that the plans changed from rehabilitating to relocating the Halligan Dam, but Mr. Kempton assured that he will follow up with Project Manager Eileen Dornfest. Another Commissioner inquired about the 5 cubic feet per second (CFS) that was being negotiated down the north fork and whether the negotiations are still ongoing or if the figure is set. Mr. Kempton will follow up regarding this as well. iv. Beneficial Use of Water Treatment Residuals (WTRs) in Stormwater Treatment Basil Hamdan, Stormwater Quality Engineer, presented regarding Water Treatment Residuals (WTRs), which are solids that are byproducts of the drinking water treatment process. The WTRs are normally removed during the treatment process, dried, and then sent to the landfill for disposal. WTRs, however, have a large amount of Aluminum Sulfate (AlSO4) that can capture phosphorous. A study was done in collaboration with Colorado State University to use the WTRs as a source material that can be added to the soil mix typically used in stormwater treatment facilities to capture more phosphorus out of stormwater, thus improving the water quality of the runoff that reaches natural streams while reducing the amount of waste sent to the Larimer County landfill. Discussion Highlights A Commissioner sought elaboration regarding the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE)’s approval for a pilot study and location. Mr. Hamdan responded that they conducted the study to a field at the Utilities Service Center at 700 Wood Street where they applied the material to the top and made measurements for every storm that exceeded a quarter inch of total precipitation. The lab study was conducted in 2019, the field study was completed in the summer of 2020, the results were compiled at the end of 2020, and a report was finalized in 2021. What they are now waiting on is approval from the State for City-wide applications. The CDPHE WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 01/20/2022 – MINUTES Page 4 was very encouraged by the preliminary results, and the team is now seeking full approval in their next steps. Another Commissioner inquired about the source of the phosphorous in the filtered media. Mr. Hamdan answered that the main source was from leaf organic compounds, essentially dead leaves, which they were able to reduce and remove for mixed media in further trials. The downside is that the reduction of organic material lowers the ability to grow grass, etc., so Mr. Hamdan emphasized that there is an optimal mixture that the City is trying to achieve. The Commissioner continued by asking if Aluminum Sulfate has an adverse effect on plant life. Mr. Hamdan responded that there weren’t any that they’d observed so far, and the system is very stable and can last nearly 40-50 years according to research before needing replacement. The Commissioner then asked whether the goal was to standardize this for new developments, to which Mr. Hamdan responded that the hope is to introduce it into City standards, laying it as a mix media or bottom layer for new developments and spreading it across the top for retrofits; Hageman is the company that will prepare the mix to make it readily available to the community. Mr. Kempton clarified that the WTRs are a byproduct of the drinking water facility and not the wastewater treatment facility. Gregg Stonecipher, Technical Services Supervisor, added that the State found the results very encouraging; what started as a hope to divert about 20% of the waste stream evolved into the reality that they likely won’t be able to keep up with the demand for it, especially because there are no other municipalities that are exploring and implementing this kind of innovation, thus setting up the City as a model for the State. Some applications for the WTRs are stormwater detention basins, typically rain gardens and bioretention cells; they could use it in bioswales, but it’s better if there is longer contact time, so it may be more effective to limit application to bioretention cells. Finally, the study highly encouraged the use of WTRs in mixed media, but if possible, the study also indicated that the WTRs materials could be used to dress up existing rain gardens with a top application as a retrofit for existing developments, which would produce some benefits but not to the same extent. Mr. Hamdan then clarified for a Commissioner the benefits of adding a modification to the system, namely making the stormwater go through an inverted elbow outfall from the detention pond, which would greatly improve treatment effectiveness with respect to Phosphorus removal by increasing contact time and encouraging additional infiltration and evapotranspiration. Finally, Mr. Hamdan recognized the contributions of different teams and organizations to the study, such as Colorado State University, the City’s water treatment team, the City’s climate team, and CDPHE, and highlighted the fact that this effort brought together teams from Water, Stormwater, and Wastewater divisions to achieve the results. WATER COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING 01/20/2022 – MINUTES Page 5 9. COMMISSIONER REPORTS None 10. OTHER BUSINESS a. Approve 2021 Annual Report b. Discussion of Elections of New Officers 11. ADJOURNMENT 7:00 p.m. These minutes were approved by the Water Commission on February 17, 2022.