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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 12/16/1994WATER BOARD MINUTES December 16, 1994 3:00 - 4:55 P.M. light and Power Training Room 700 Wood Street COUNCIL/WATER BOARD LIAISON Alan Apt MEMBERS PRESENT Tim Dow, President, MaryLou Smith, Vice President, Neil Grigg, Ray Herrmann, Terry Podmore, John Bartholow, Tom Brown, Paul Clopper, Dave Frick STAFF Rich Shannon, Mike Smith, Dennis Bode, Scott Harder, Molly Nortier GUESTS John Bigham, Northem Colorado Water Conservancy District Sue Ellen Charlton, Larimer County League of Women Voters George Reed, Citizen Observer Fortner Water Board Members Former Presidents Ward Fischer, Norm Evans and Henry Caulfield Ray Anderson, Karl Carson, Bill Elliott, Jim Kuiken, Tom Moore, Peggy Reeves, E.V. Richardson, Tom Sanders, George Wallace MEMBERS ABSENT Dave Stewart (excused), Howard Goldman (unexcused) President Tim Dow opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: MINUTES Ray Herrmann moved that the minutes of November 18, 1994 be approved as distributed. Terry Podmore seconded the motion, and the Board passed the motion unanimously. NORTHERN COLORADO WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT UPDATE John Bigham distributed the Snow/Precipitation update as of December 16, 1994, the Preliminary Colorado Water Congress Convention Program for January 25, 1995, and the NCWCD Board of Directors list. Water Board Minutes December 16, 1994 Page 2 Mr. Bigham reported that as of December 15, 1994 the storage in the Big Thompson project was almost 61% of active capacity. Granby is up to 285,000 which is about 6% less than the 38-year average. "It's down somewhat from what we would like to see, but it's early in the season," he said. The snow reports are beginning to come in from the different basins: The upper Colorado River is at 105%, and the South Platte is at 66% of average, which is the lowest percentage. He broke down some of the deliveries by class: 76% of the deliveries go to agriculture, 24% go to municipal and industrial users. The ownership is 54% by ag. and 46% by M&I, so M&I is gradually increasing. He said he could provide some exact numbers by years if anyone was interested. He pointed out that the list of directors is now complete. The last appointment was Ruth Wright from Boulder. On the handout of the preliminary Colorado Water Congress Convention Program he said that there appear to be some very interesting sessions, particularly on Friday January 27th. All seven states involved in Colorado River issues will be represented in those presentations. Neil Grigg asked if the pipeline is completed yet. "It's not finished yet, but they are making good progress," Mr. Bigham replied. It is scheduled to be completed the fall of 1995. Between 1998 and '99 the section to Fort Morgan should be finished. Dr. Grigg also asked if the District is concerned about the South Platte runoff next year because of low supplies in the basin. "Yes, particularly out east there is some concern. Some of the reservoirs are in pretty good shape, but others aren't." Dr. Grigg commented that there has been some discussion about an effort in the State Engineer's office to develop a South Platte Water Rights Management System. "Do you know anything about that?" "You are probably aware of the system of computer satellites on the Colorado River," Mr. Bigham began. That same process is being developed for the South Platte. "The data for some of the programs have been entered, but it's not updated, so it needs to be corrected and re-entered." STAFF REPORTS Treated Water Production Summary Dennis Bode reported that the month of November was 91% of what was projected. Year to date through November we have used 26,539 Ac-ft which is 99% of the projection. "It's pretty close to an average year," he said. Financial Status Report Scott Harder reported that November water and wastewater operating revenue dropped a bit, so we are within 6% of where we were last year. We are also witnessing a slackening in the collection of water Plant Investment Fees over the past quarter. "We may be seeing the effects • Water Board Minutes December 16, 1994 Page 3 of rising interest rates, but it may be 3-6 months before we begin to see a decline in home sales." PIFs are a leading indicator of new home sales. Neil Grigg asked if there are any consolidated projections run by the City where you can compare PIFs and building permits (the whole thing) and get annual projections. "Planning Department staff prepare projections, but we don't usually get involved in that process," Mr. Harder replied. "Do you have a financial forecast model, and would it be useful to do that?" Dr. Grigg asked. "We would like to project revenue using an econometric model but it's likely to be on the back burner for awhile until we address the rate issues coming up," Mr. Harder responded. Forest Service Update Mike Smith stated that "we are getting closer" to reaching a conclusion on this issue. It looks like we are going to get an easement instead of a special use permit. We were supposed to renew by November, now it's December. When it gets down to the fine legal print, "we are caught by a standard clause regarding liability. Tim Dow remarked that maybe the Utility's legal staff could help with that. With the governmental immunity limitations, those can apply, and you would have a statutory ceiling anyway where you wouldn't need $10 million of insurance. MaryLou Smith asked if this is a new requirement that wasn't in the old contract, or is it because of the easement instead of the special use permit? "I think it's been there consistently for quite awhile; it's just that it's been almost 20 years now since we've had a permit renewed," Mr. Smith replied. "And we're in a different environment about the risk liability," MaryLou Smith added. Mr. Smith commented that the Forest Service attorney is being very subjective about the issue and says: "If we've got to do it, we've got to do it." COMMITTEE REPORTS President Dow noted that Committee appointments will be made in January. A notice was placed in the packets about that. If anybody wants to volunteer for a particular committee please let Mr. Dow know in January. Water Supply Tom Brown said that the Water Supply and Engineering Committees met jointly on Dec. 9th. Dennis Bode and Andy Pineda presented the results of an analysis they prepared focusing on the proposed additional pipeline, a part of the Water Treatment Facilities Master Plan. An additional pipeline from the Poudre is proposed in that plan. The analysis showed the additional amounts of water that could be transported for an additional diameter of a pipeline. It was a non -linear relationship, and the committees spent some time discussing the benefits of increasing the size of the pipeline. The analysis was based on three major assumptions: (1) the demand projection for the year 2045 of 50,000 Ac-ft per year; (2) the Southside Ditches; and (3) the hydrologic trace that was used to do the analysis. The Committee spent considerable time discussing additional reasons for Water Board Minutes December 16, 1994 Page 4 increasing the size of the pipeline, aside from the ones that were incorporated in the analysis itself. The analysis looked at 5 different sizes between 48" on the low end to 72" on the high end. Some of the additional reasons for favoring a larger and more expensive pipeline included the security it would bring if the existing smaller pipeline were to fail. Also the security to be able to hold a larger demand than is currently projected for the year 2045, or a pipeline that would serve beyond that year if the City continues to grow. Furthermore, a larger pipeline would help transport additional water acquisitions the City may acquire over the years that aren't included in the analysis. Mr. Brown added that the Committee left the meeting without a specific recommendation, the reason being that more time is needed to think about all the details. He asked if other committee members wanted to add anything. "That was a good summary," Paul Clopper stated. He wanted to add that another opportunity the Committee saw with the pipeline options was with regionalization down the road, particularly with the Tri-district. Having additional capacity there would allow us to consider some other relationships we could take advantage of with those districts. He also pointed out that, according to the discussions the committee has had concerning the pipeline, it seems there are a number of good reasons to justify considering larger diameter options that would result in a longer planning horizon than indicated for the rest of the Master Plan items. Tim Dow asked if there is anything being pursued on a possible joint venture type approach with the other districts to put a larger capacity line in. "We've had some very preliminary discussions," Mike Smith replied. Legislative and Finance Chair Tim Dow had no report, but anticipates that there will be one in January after the legislative session begins. Conservation and Public Education Chair MaryLou Smith reported that Ray Herrmann, Terry Podmore and she met and began discussing some exciting ideas with staff about constructing mobile displays that could be used for educational purposes. "It's something we need to plan for and request budget dollars for," she said. The Committee will be meeting again at 2:00 before the January Board meeting when staff will be giving a report on the progress of the Demand Management. Resolution measures. Water Board members will receive copies of the Demand Management Annual Report. Water Board Minutes December 16, 1994 Page 5 Engineering The Engineering report was combined with the Water Supply report. REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY STRATEGY UPDATE No report REGIONAL WASTEWATER SERVICE ISSUES UPDATE No additional report OTHER BUSINESS Update on Boxelder Sanitation District Item Mike Smith announced that the Boxelder Ordinance was adopted on first reading by Council at their last session. The second reading of the Ordinance will be on December 20th. "One of the whereases reads that the Boxelder Board agrees to meet with the Fort Collins Water Board prior to July 1, 1995 to discuss regional issues," he stated, "and that the District will also keep interested parties apprised of the process of their site application, and when the public meetings will begin." "And staff will be continuing their communication with the State as that application goes through, I assume?" Tim Dow asked. "Yes," Mr. Smith replied. As the site application goes through, the County Health Dept. will defer to Utility staff who will be given the opportunity to comment during the 208 meetings. President Dow suggested that the Water Board schedule a meeting with the Boxelder Board, "perhaps a separate meeting from our regular Board meeting. However, if we happen to have a very light agenda some month, it might be possible then." Mr. Smith said it would help if the Board proposed a couple of strategies with regard to the meeting. "Do you want the meeting before the site application is conducted by the State or afterwards?" MaryLou Smith said she would prefer to do it after. "That's my gut reaction too," Tim Dow remarked. He added that the Boards would probably get sidetracked on issues that they can't do anything about anyway that "are in somebody else's arena." Rich Shannon explained that the only potential reason for doing it before, (and after may be just as good) is if the Boxelder Board members are interested in a dialogue about what options the City would consider. They might be saying, "this is too expensive for us, and they haven't heard us say that we might be willing to cost share in some of these options." However, after the site application process they might perhaps change their minds later. Mr. Dow said that those are communications that staff could share with the Boxelder Board as the process goes forward. "I would like to keep our Board's process on a board to board policy planning kind of a level," he stressed. He suggested that the Water Board and staff think about this and decide at the January meeting. "We have seven months to schedule it," he said. Water Board Minutes December 16, 1994 Page 6 MaryLou Smith asked Mr. Shannon if he is saying that, as the Boxelder Board goes through the process, if they begin to get feelings or indications that they may not be approved, would that give us a chance to help them see some other options that might work in terms of cooperative efforts? "Yes," Mr. Shannon replied, "but at the same time, the negative part of that is if they are locked into an option, they probably are not going to want to be distracted by a lot 'what ifs' from us. I was just offering some pros and cons," he added. "Is there any reason to believe that their board may not have all the information that their staff has?" John Bartholow wondered. "I would guess that their Board has been given information that we have provided to the District," Mr. Shannon replied. President Dow proposed that this item be placed on the January agenda, and that the Board make a decision at that time. Update on Horsetooth Intake Valve Repairs Mike Smith reported that the repairs are completed, but not without considerable frustration and "close calls." "It got a little tight a couple of times," he admitted. Some of the guests had not heard about the problem and asked for background on the situation. Mr. Smith explained that the NCWCD had scheduled maintenance for the first of November on the outlet tunnel, "and that doesn't occur very often," he remarked. They ran into some problems with divers and equipment, etc., so they delayed the project a week. Once they began, the weather turned cold, and the River froze, so we had trouble getting water. "Of course with the outlet to Horsetooth out of use, we were dependent entirely on Poudre River water for our needs, and we were also supplying the Districts," Mr. Smith explained. Fortunately, with the help of Greeley, the Water Supply & Storage Co. and the River Commissioner, we made it through the crisis. An unfortunate incident occurred while the divers were removing the bulkhead. A giant air bubble, caused by air escaping all at once from the underneath the bulkhead, damaged the barge belonging to one of the divers. Several pieces of equipment were thrown overboard. Thankfully, there were no injuries, and they were able to recover some of their equipment. "We have all breathed a big sigh of relief now that the repairs have been made, and we're back into service." Mr. Smith concluded. Item of International Interest Tim Dow mentioned an article in a recent Time Magazine which described what China is doing for water and power. "They are building about a 600 ft. high dam on the Yangtze River --the largest dam ever conceived --flooding three major canyons, and displacing 150-300,000 people in 20-30 towns and villages, to generate 5,000 megawatts of power, store water and control flooding," he related. ll Water Board Minutes December 16, 1994 Page 7 Former Water Board president Henry Caulfield said he was familiar with the project. "Since 1986 and before, this has generated a big controversy inside China, with the environmentalists there condemning it --they don't have much "EPA" power," he said. The need for power is the primary impetus for the project. Former board member Ray Anderson commented that they have so little power in China that they really need something like this. Former board member E. V. Richardson also commented that Colorado State University staff have been involved with that project and a number of Chinese students who were at CSU in the 1950s have had a big hand in designing it. Mr. Dow concluded that it would be an interesting article for those who haven't had a chance to read it. INTRODUCTION OF CURRENT AND FORMER WATER BOARD MEMBERS President Dow asked current members and staff to introduce themselves. He suggested that former members tell when they were on the Board and a brief summary of what they are currently doing. RECOGNITION OF NEIL GRIGG FOR CONTRIBUTIONS AS PRESIDENT Neil S. Grigg, who will reach his three -term limit in June of 1995, was honored for his outstanding contributions as Water Board President for more than three years. He was presented with a plaque containing a gavel and was given an ovation from the group. MEETING AND SOCIAL TIME WITH FORMER WATER BOARD MEMBERS After a social time and refreshments, Neil Grigg gave a brief overview of what the current board members have been grappling with for the past year or two. Following Dr. Grigg's update, former members asked questions and expressed their views on a number of items that were of particular interest to them. It was an interesting and informative exchange. ADJOURNMENT Since there was no further business the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 P.M. Water Boar4 Secretary