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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 09/25/2003City Council Liaison David Roy Staff Liaison DeEtta Carr 221 6702 Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes Thursday September 25 2003 Water Board Chairman Water Board Vice Chairman Tom Sanders 491 5448 John Morris 491 0185 Secretary Leslie Mooney 416 2703 Roll Call Board Present Tom Brown David Lauer, John Moms Rami Naddy Tom Sanders and Doug Yadon Board Absent Bill Fischer Ted Borstad Jim Finley and Robert Ward Staff Patty Bigner, DeEtta Carr Donnie Dustin, Matt Fater Susan Hayes Marsha Hilmes-Robinson Jim Hibbard, Brian Janonis Kevin McBride, Gale McGaha Miller, Keith Meyer Leslie Mooney Sue Paquette Bob Smith Dennis Sumner and Wendy Williams Guests Nancy Eckardt Gene Schleiger and Larry Storms Meeting Convened Chairman Tom Sanders called the meeting to order at 3 06p in Approval of Minutes Board member Doug Yadon made a motion, seconded by Board member David Lauer to approve the minutes of the August 28 2003 meeting The motion was unanimously adopted Gene Schleiger of NCWCD stated they have moved into their new building and are having an open house on October 10 2003 and invited the Board to attend He stated that currently that NCWCD is at approximately 54% of capacity As of today the District has only delivered around 27% of the 50% quota of water that was issued for the year and he anticipated that only 15 000 more acre feet will be delivered by the end of the year This will be the lowest ever delivery of water from the system This is largely due to the District establishing a 30% quota at the beginning of the season as many of the agricultural water users could not produce a crop on that amount they leased their water to cities He reported that there is a federal lawsuit pending regarding the Green Mountain Reservoir located between Dillon and Kremmlmg The Colorado River District on the west slope has filed suit in federal Water Board Meeting Minutes September 25 2003 Page 2 court against the Bureau of Reclamation and ultimately the NCWCD regarding the operation of Green Mountain Reservoir The Green Mountain Reservoir was built for the purpose of supplying water for power for both the east and west slopes Floodnlam Regulations & Stormwater Master Plans — Jim Hibbard and Bob Smith Bob Smith, Water Planning Manager presented the Stormwater Master Plan to the Board Board member Tom Brown asked about the large disparity between the estimated damage reductions of the 100 year protection plan and the 50 year protection plan Bob responded that some areas may not be damaged at all in a 50 year flood but would be damaged a great deal in a 100 year flood Jim Hibbard explained that it also has to do with the economies of scale while many of the same projects would be implemented, they would be on a smaller scale Board member John Bartholow asked if these projects would create more opportunity for growth Jim responded that the regulations are more restrictive in residential areas but it may increase the value of undeveloped land and improve the opportunity for commercial use Board member David Lauer asked if the plan prioritized the critical projects Jim replied that a project priontization system was used to rank the projects based on the number of structures that would be taken out of the floodplain their cost benefit ratios and their impact on critical street over toppings Prioritizing projects are those that offer the greatest benefit for the lowest cost He added that the pnontization process served as the basis for the capital improvements budgets for the next five years All of the projects were prioritized on an individual basis and not on a basin basis Board member Lauer asked about the relative importance of using population density in the criteria for prioritizing projects Jim responded it is indirectly accounted for in the cost -benefit ratio which includes reduced damages and the numerical count of structures David stated that his concern was that the priorities were focused on the number of buildings rather than number of people who might be affected in a flood Jim responded that loss of human life is not used as a factor because it is difficult to put a value on Structures are more representative of population and can be given an estimated value Chairman Sanders stated that he thought the Board generally agreed with staffs approach to the Master Planning Philosophy but he was concerned that more should be done to decrease the possibility of the storm water system becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes Kevin McBride Senior Stormwater Engineer responded that applying larvicide is a solution but at the present time there are very few contractors who provide that service Chairman Sanders asked how the Board felt about providing a lower level of protection than the 100 year design storm Board member Yadon responded that he approved continuing the 100 year design protection because it is more cost effective Board member Bartholow stated that he felt the staff had done an excellent job over a long period of time and has produced a very rational plan that will benefit the City Jim Hibbard thanked staff for doing an excellentjob Water Board Meeting Minutes September 25 2003 Page 3 Floodalam Regulations — Bob Smith Bob Smith Water Planning Manager presented the Board with a table of regulations and how they will be affected by the proposed changes Many of the changes result in less restrictive regulations which should reduce the number of requests for variances Marsha Hilmes Robinson Floodplam Administrator stated that the proposed regulations are for all basins except for the Poudre River They still have the higher freeboard and dry land access requirements The Board asked how the reduction in requirements will affect citizen s flood insurance Marsha replied that the way that it is proposed now we could lose our class 4 rating resulting in a 5% reduction in the discount given to customers who purchase flood insurance Currently the discount given to customers is 30% so it could be reduced to a 25% discount after the new regulations are in effect There are approximately 300 property owners in the City that have flood insurance Board member Lauer stated that he was really impressed with the amount of work and commitment that staff has put into this project He moved that the Board recommend to City Council that the regulations be adopted Board member John Morris seconded the motion The motion was unanimously adopted Treated Water Production Summary Brian Janonis Water Resources & Treatment Services Manager updated the Board on the current City water supply He stated that the watering restrictions were lifted on September 2 nd We are still at 77% of projected demand and will carry over an excess of 10 000 acre feet of water next year Other Business Update on Halligan Reservoir — Brian Janoms Bnan Janoms provided an update on the Preble Jumping Mouse survey recently completed in the Halligan Reservoir area Only three mice were found by the firm doing the survey November Meeting Scheduled Chairman Sanders suggested that rather than having the scheduled meeting on Thanksgiving Day and in December the November and December meetings be combined They agreed to meet on November 20 2003 (The meeting was re scheduled for November 19 2003) Adiournment The meeting adjourned at 5 02 p in Leslie Mooney Water r Boar ecretary