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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022 - Water Commission - Annual Report C:\Users\dlau\Downloads\2022 WC Annual Report.docx Page 1 of 3 ANNUAL REPORT 2022 City of Fort Collins Water Commission Annual Report 2022 Water Commission Members Jason Tarry (Chairperson) Greg Steed (Vice Chairperson) Kent Bruxvoort Tyler Eldridge Paul Herman Richard Kahn Randy Kenyon John Primsky Jordan Radin This annual report summarizes the activities of the Water Commission during 2022. The formatting of this Annual Report is consistent with the Annual Work Plan. Alignment of Water Commission activities with the City’s Strategic Plan and Key Outcome Areas is achieved through the Annual Work Plan. Water Commission activities listed below are organized by the major responsibilities of Fort Collins Utilities related to water (“Water”, “Wastewater”, and “Stormwater”). Within each heading are listed Water Commission activities and the month of the meeting in which they occurred. Additionally, the “General” category includes general topics that span Utilities or the City. Regular Water Commission meetings are held each month and work sessions are held in even months. With respect to this annual report, work sessions are indicated to help understand chronology of discussion. A summary of work session discussion typically can be found in the minutes of the regular meeting following the work session; however, no actions are voted on at work session meetings and minutes are only recorded for regular meetings. Meeting minutes for regular meetings are available on the Fort Collins website (https://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/boards/water) General • US Forest Service and CPW Poudre Headwater Project - The use of Rotenone to re-establish native greenback cutthroat trout (May) • Introduction to new Utilities Executive Director, Kendall Minor (March). • Introduction to new Water Utilities Executive Director, Jason Graham (April Work Session) • Introduction of Jen Dial as Water Resources Manager • Meter Data Management Upgrades Off-Cycle Appropriation Request – Water Commission voted unanimously to recommend City Council support the request (April) • Discussion of Council priorities and City staff resource allocation (May) C:\Users\dlau\Downloads\2022 WC Annual Report.docx Page 2 of 3 • 1041 Regulations Updates - to allow the City to regulate areas and activates of state interest within their jurisdiction (August and November) • 2022 Budget Update (August) • Review of BFO offers proposed by City Staff with discussion of BFO offer prioritization • The water commission prepared a memo requesting that BFO offer 4.47, an FTE intended to manage linear asset replacement, be funded in this cycle due to the current replacement schedule. • Introduction of an update to and ordinance amending chapter 26 of the City Code addressing unexpected challenges to nonresidential redevelopment customers from Ordinance 119, 2021. • 2023 Utility Rate and Fees – The water commission recommended to City Council approve the proposed changes to the Utility’s water, wastewater and stormwater rates and fees as proposed (Passed 6-0) (October) • Income-Qualified Assistance Program (IQAP) – The Water Commission recommended City Council approve to support the IQAP becoming an adopted utility program (Passed 5-1) (October) • Water Allotment Management Program Update and Extension – The Water Commission recommended to City Council to approve an ordinance to extend the Allotment Management Program by one year. (Passed 6-0) (October) • Discussions of PFAs regulations and the City’s actions (October Work Session) Water • Halligan Water Supply Project (Reservoir) Updates o Critical path with permitting is related to state and county permits, not Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (February) o Discussions regarding revising the project delivery and City’s management of the project o Round table discussion to discuss project messaging o City is working to hire a new Project Manager • Water Supply Monthly Report Updates o Introduction to staff and explanation of WSMR (April) o The City’s Water Resources are being affected by the Camp Fire burn scar. Resulting in use of more Horsetooth Reservoir (Colorado-Big Thompson Project)(CBT) water at certain times of the year. (https://www.northernwater.org/what-we-do/deliver-water/colorado-big- thompson-project) o The projected quota for CBT shares is 40% in 2023. The City is planning for this condition, but the quota this low is an estimate. The City will know more in April of 2023 before water restrictions are proposed. • Water Conservation Annual Report – progress towards 130 Gallons Per Capita Day (GPCD) by 2030 (April) • Graywater Ordinance – Water Commission recommended to not recommend (1-6) City Council approve a local graywater ordinance. Water Commission provided a June 16 memo to City Council justifying the reasons the ordinance was not supported. • Xeriscape and Soil Amendment Future Policies Direction Discussion (Dec) o Can the City model the effective use of Xeriscape for existing non-active turf areas and R.O.W. (right-of-way) tree lawns? C:\Users\dlau\Downloads\2022 WC Annual Report.docx Page 3 of 3 o Messaging the effective use of Xeriscape is required to change the culture to change the ugly “zero-scape” perspective or a green lawn equating to luxury in an arid climate. o Water Commission encouraged assistance – financial and plans – for community members in developing their own xeriscaping projects. o Develop policy to discourage turf grass in new development (Larimer County Urban Area Street Standards)(LCUASS)(https://www.larimer.gov/engineering/standards- and-guides/urban-area-street-standards) Wastewater • Nutrient Regulations and Impacts on the City’s Wastewater Treatment Plants (April Work Session) Stormwater • Beneficial use of water treatment residuals (WTRs) in stormwater treatment (Bioretention) – A study adding a wastewater treatment biproduct to filtration media in Low Impact Development (LID) systems to remove phosphorus (January) (https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/what-we-do/stormwater/stormwater-quality/low- impact-development/) • E. Coli in Stormwater Study and recommendations – The City is evaluating E. Coli control measures that will be required for future MS4 permitting renewals (February) • Floodplain Additions and substantial improvement code changes – Commission unanimously recommended that City Council adopt the proposed changes to Chapter 10 of City Code regarding additions and substantial improvements in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) floodplains • Floodplain Variance for Advanced Energy – Variance based to the anticipated floodplain because of updated, unpublished Risk MAP (https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/tools- resources/risk-map) Motion to approve variance passed 6-0.