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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 02/18/19941 4 :_ C I u 11►l y l_ Febmary 18, 1994 3:00-4:08P.M Water and Wastewater Utility Conference Room 700 Wood Street CC4 Council Water Board Liaison Gerry Horak Members Present Neil Grigg, President, Tom Brown, Ray Herrmann, John Bartholow, Tim Dow, Dave Stewart Staff Mike Smith, Dennis Bode, Wendy Williams, Ben Alexander, Jim Hibbard, Scott Harder, Roger Buffington, Andy Pineda, John Nelson, Beth Voelkel, Molly Nortier Guest Sue Ellen Charlton, League of Women Voters Observer Members Absent MaryLou Smith, Vice President, Paul Clopper, Dave Frick, Howard Goldman, (all excused), Terry Podmore (on sabbatical) President Neil Grigg opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: Roger Buffington introduced new staff member John Nelson who was recently hired to fill the Cross Connection Control Administrator position left vacant by Keith Elliston. Mr. Nelson previously worked for the City of Loveland. He is a certified back -flow device tester, and for the past few years has taught that class at Front Range Community College. It was pointed out that an article about Mr. Nelson appeared on the front page of "Pipelines" distributed at the meeting. Mr. Buffington said that he hopes to bring the cross connection control item to the Water Board in April. Dr. Grigg introduced Sue Ellen Charlton who will attend Water Board meetings as an observer for the League of Women Voters. She is a professor at CSU in Political Science, and has chaired that department. Water Board Minutes February 18, 1994 Page 2 Minutes Ray Herrmann had two minor corrections on p. 4, paragraph 5, sentence 2 where he was quoted. He asked that the sentence be changed to: "The whole concept that the City should recover only 20% of the real cost of growth is stupid," he insisted, "because that just means that you and I are going to pay." In the second to last sentence he wanted to include "education" preceding "fire and police." Mr. Hem-nann moved that the minutes be revised as stated. Tim Dow seconded the motion to revise the minutes and the Board agreed unanimously. Tim Dow moved that the minutes of January 21, 1994 be approved as revised. After a second from Dave Stewart, the motion passed unanimously. 1MA s I A representative from the District was not present, so there was no report. Dr. Grigg asked when would be a good time to invite the new NCWCD Director Eric Wilkinson to a Water Board meeting. Mike Smith said that staff would contact him as soon as possible with either the March or April meeting in mind. IL 10 7 -.1f I"Is [iMNY =0 if . Each year after the irrigation companies have established the annual assessment rates for their water, the Water Board recommends to the City Council the rental rates for the City's surplus water. The Board received background information on the rental rates, a recommendation from staff, and the City of Fort Collins Water Assessments and Rental Rates in their packets. Staff recommends that the following rental rates be adopted: NCWCD Water (CBT) $ 16.00/ac-ft North Poudre Irrigation Co. $ 85.00/share Water Supply and Storage Co. $ 1,800.00/share Pleasant Valley & Lake Canal Co. $ 120.00/share New Mercer Ditch Co. $ 275.00/share Larimer County Canal No. 2 $ 220.00/share Arthur Irrigation Co. $ 10.00/share Warren Lake Reservoir Co. $ 110.00/share Joe Wright Reservoir Water $ 18.00/ac-ft Sherwood Res. Co. $ 5.00/share Sherwood Irrigation Co. $ 330.00/share For late season rentals, rates may be adjusted to reflect the remaining yield or the prevalent market price of the water stock being rented. Water Board Mmutes February 18, 1994 Page 3 Andy Pineda explained that staff tries to follow what the market will bear for various kinds of water. "Typically the biggest ones are CBT water, North Poudre Irrigation, Water Supply & Storage Co., and to a lesser extent, Warren Lake and Pleasant Valley," he said. One of the biggest changes that was made this year was dropping the CBT price to $16.00/ae-ft. Last year the price was $18.00 and it seemed to be somewhat above what everybody else was charging for that water. He continued by saying that in 1993 the Utility leased out a little over 16,000 ac-ft, and brought in about $232,000. "The program went well, and we will try to rent whatever excess we have this year," he concluded. Dave Stewart remarked that, "we certainly don't want to set a precedent by lowering CBT, do we?" Mr. Pineda replied that if we don't, we probably won't be able to rent a lot of it. Tim Dow asked into what fund the revenue goes. "Water rental assessments go into the water fund to pay for O&M costs, because we must pay the assessments, versus cash -in -lieu -of water rights which go for capital kinds of costs," Mike Smith replied. Ray Herrmann moved and Dave Stewart seconded that the Water Board recommend to the City Council, approval of the 1994 proposed surplus water rental rates recommended by staff. Tom Brown noted that the Water Supply Committee discussed the details of this at their meeting prior to the Water Board, and the rental rates met with their approval as well. President Grigg called for the question. The Board unanimously voted in favor of recommending approval of the rates. Dave Stewart wanted a further clarification. "We are trying to stay in the upper quarter of the rental rates, aren't we?" he asked. Mr. Pineda replied, "yes." He explained that the Northern District tries to rent Windy Gap water each year, and that goes for about $15.00/ac-ft. "If memory serves me," Mr. Stewart added, "we have always tried to stay in the upper quarter, so we aren't driving the market down." "That's right," Mr. Pineda, answered. 'heated Water Production Summary Andy Pineda reported that last month the City's treated water use was a little above average in total use for January. It was a warmer and drier month and there was some outdoor watering. Financial Status Report Scott Harder said that staff continues to work on expenses. It will be another month before there is something to report. Water Board Minutes February 18, 1994 Page 4 Forest Service Special Use Pemrit, etc. Mike Smith said there wasn't much new information to report. The Forest Service has extended the permits for another six months until the end of July. Staff has been meeting with FS representatives trying to negotiate better conditions than what they have offered. "I'm not sure we're going to make any headway," he asserted, "but we're waiting to see what happens." "What is the appeal process should that be necessary?" John Bartholow asked. Mr. Smith wasn't sure about the total process. "Internally it is through the regional supervisor," he said, but he wasn't sure where it goes after that; probably to court. He wasn't aware of the number of cases that had been appealed. Mr. Smith explained that last year when the Utility received the draft pen -nit, staff thought that was going to be the permit, so our attorney the late John Carlson, wrote an appeal. He also stated that there wasn't any new information on the endangered species issue; it's developed into a slow, complicated process. Dr. Grigg referred to a letter on this issue to Gov. Romer from the mayor of Greeley. The letter was included in the Board's packets. He asked if there were any comments about that other than to note that it had been sent. Mr. Smith included the letter because he wanted the Board to be aware of it, and also to note that Greeley invited the Governor to a dinner meeting which is yet to be scheduled. This letter was drafted after the mayors signed the letter which requested that the Governor allow Loveland, Greeley and Fort Collins to be represented on the Front Range Water Forum. Mr. Smith concluded that hopefully a joint meeting can be scheduled soon, and "with any luck," the Governor may be present. Flynt Range Water Fonnn Update Mike Smith reported that Mayor Azari sent the Governor's office a letter she and the mayors of Loveland and Greeley signed requesting representation on the water forum. The letter also invited the Governor to one of the joint regional board meetings. A date for the meeting will be arranged through the Govemor's office. Regarding the Front Range Forum, it appears that the Governor will permit one or all of the mayors to join. Water Court Rules for Kansas in Arkramas River Water Compact Lawsuit Board members received copies of an article from the Denver Post which summarized a water court ruling in favor of Kansas in a 9-year-old water compact lawsuit filed by Kansas. On Thursday evening Dr. Grigg attended a meeting in Denver where he talked to David Robbins the attorney who has been handling the case on behalf of the Colorado attorney general's office. Dr. Grigg is concerned about this ruling because it has implications for similar situations in the future. Mr. Robbins thinks it may take until the year 2000 until this case is finally settled. Dr. Grigg observed that, if the court rules negatively on our South Platte water rights, and if we have already been impacted because of the endangered species issue, the water picture in the future could change significantly. 0 Water Board Minutes February 18, 1994 Page 5 Dave Stewart commented that the compact with Kansas on the Arkansas is somewhat different from the South Platte. ""There are a lot of things to keep our eyes on," he concluded. At the same Denver meeting, Dr. Grigg also spoke with Chuck Lyle, the director of the Water Conservation Board. Mr. Lyle thinks that the Water Conservation Board ought to be working with water users to "soften them up" on the endangered species issues. Dr. Grigg told him that Fort Collins was taking a position of generally trying to support the basin -wide recovery plan for endangered species. Mr. Lyle said that was also what the Conservation Board wanted to do as state policy. Mike Smith attended a meeting recently where this issue was discussed; the Govemor's office, State Natural Resources Director Ken Salazar, and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt were very supportive. Water Board 1993 Annual Report President Grigg commented that there is a lot of good information in the report. John Bartholow said that he remembered wondering, as he read last year's annual report, about the feedback mechanism between the City Council and the Water Board. With the exception of the joint Council(Water Board committees, what are the ways in which this board gets feed -back from the Council? How do we know whether they think the Board is looking at the right issues, and doing a timely job, etc.? Dr. Grigg responded that the Board's former liaison Loren Maxey attended meetings occasionally and kept the Board informed about Council issues. In years past the Council and Board also met in joint work sessions from time to time when there was a need to discuss a pressing issue. He anticipates that there will be more of those coming up. He expects that a session might be devoted to rate issues, for example. Dr. Grigg pointed out that Council members read the Board's minutes. He also said that Board members as individuals are free to contact Council members at any time. "In addition, we always have the option to invite Council members to our meetings, particularly our liaison, or we can request an agenda item for a work session. There are a number of ways we can maintain contact," he said. Mr. Bartholow said he didn't bring this up because he isn't comfortable with it; he just doesn't see the mechanism in operation. Dr. Grigg explained that the Council has about 20 boards and commissions that they oversee, so their communication, coordination and feedback demands are very high. "Over the years, I've been impressed with how well the Council stays abreast of water issues," he remarked. Dr. Grigg concluded that the Water Board annual report is good; it connects with the work plan, and is a good review of what the Board has done. Water Board Minutes February 18, 1994 Page 6 John Bartholow pointed out that the portion on the NCWCD fixed quota doesn't indicate that it has been implemented. Dennis Bode explained that it was adopted near the end of the year, after the Board discussed it. Molly Nortier will include the adoption date in the annual report. Dr. Grigg asked if the Water Board Annual report is connected with the Utility Annual Report. Ms. Nortier replied that it is printed in its entirety in the Utility Annual Report, so any corrections that are made now will be reflected in that report. March Water Board Meeting The regular Board meeting for March falls in the week of spring break, which affects a number of Board members. President Grigg asked if an alternate date would work, but several people had conflicts. Staff said there was nothing critical for the Board to take up in March. The Board decided to cancel the regular meeting, but keep Friday the 11th open in the event that an urgent item comes up for the Board to consider. Committee Reports Water Supply Tom Brown, chair of the Committee, reported that they met prior to the Board meeting at 2:00. They discussed the rental rates, which the Board approved earlier, and Sheep Creek Reservoir, an issue on which the City needs to make a decision sometime in the spring. Staff continues to gather information on Sheep Creek. The Committee hopes to present a full report to the Board in April. President Grigg asked what the issue is going to be so Board members can think about it. Sheep Creek is a reservoir the City acquired in the early 1950s, Mr. Brown explained. It held water from 1910 to 1930, he continued. The dam has been defunct, and it hasn't held water since then. The reservoir is located not far from Colorado 14 near Sleeping Elephant Mountain. The immediate question is should the City make an effort to prove diligence on water rights for that reservoir. The larger question is "what do we really have here that's worth protecting or pursuing in terms of a storage right or an easement?" Dr. Grigg announced that he received a letter from Marylou Smith in which she has requested that she be excused from serving on the Water Supply Committee. She already serves on the Council/Water Board Water Planning Committee and chairs the Water Conservation and Public Education Committee, both of which require considerable time. The Board reluctantly accepted Ms. Smith's request to be removed from the Committee. Dr. Grigg asked Tom Brown if he wants to replace Ms. Smith on the Committee. "The number seems adequate at this point," Mr. Brown responded. Water Board Mmutes February 18, 1994 Page 7 Legislative and Finance Chair Tim Dow referred to the Legislative Summary included in the packets. The Committee met on February 7th with Tom Gallier to review the current proposed water related bills. "The status report dated Feb. 9th is as current as we have," he said. SB 95 is another basin of origin bill, he explained, and very similar to bills introduced in the last several years. "We don't think it's going to go anywhere, but we think it should be opposed," he contends, "because it basically puts the burden of proof on the proponent of the project." The applicants have to prove that they have analyzed every conceivable alternative to the project. As a practical matter it's almost impossible to meet, so it's kind of "a hidden agenda way" to kill any additional trans -mountain diversion projects. He said that the rest of the proposed bills don't need any special action from us other than monitoring. The Committee decided that as a general proposition, they were going to focus their attention on state legislative proposals as opposed to federal because they felt that there was very little chance of their having effective input, but there might be on the state level. He pointed out on the bottom of page two that there is a proposed constitutional initiative to have the directors of state conservancy districts elected. It appears that the initiative may secure enough signatures to make it to the ballot. "It will be interesting to watch." Dr. Grigg asked staff if there are any issues at the federal level that may be important to us in Fort Collins, that we ought to be working on through our usual channels and associations. On the drinking water side there are a couple of proposals from Washington that haven't been sorted out yet and are rather controversial, Mike Smith began. There has recently been a major revision of the Clean Water Act; copies of which should be available soon. The other one, the Endangered Species Act, probably won't make it to the floor this year. Tim Dow pointed out that there is a potential project on the western slope to convert the water rights application from the Shell Oil Co. into a large reservoir to supply water to Las Vegas. He didn't think it had progressed to the status of a proposal yet, but it certainly bears watching. "I think there's a better chance of leasing CAP (Central Arizona Project) water to Nevada," Dave Stewart commented. Mr. Smith agreed that it seems Nevada and California want to take advantage of Arizona's generosity in the past. Mike Smith has been hearing discussion about the issue of leasing water from Colorado to lower basin states. "It's a very sensitive issue to many folks," he stressed. There is particular concern that those projects may use conditional rights that aren't developed that may be senior to some already developed rights like Windy Gap, which would have considerable impact on that project. There is going to be a lot of attention paid to the Colorado River System in the years ahead, Dr. Grigg remarked. Water Board Minutes February 18, 1994 Page 8 Dr. Grigg mentioned that people from CSU and a local firm called Riverside Technology, Inc., will be doing considerable work on the Decision Support System of the Colorado River, a large Water Conservation Board project. If possible, at a later time, the Board may want Riverside to give a demonstration of some of their equipment, or the Board could visit their office and study the maps of all the basin projects. Mike Smith also suggested that we may ask a former Utility employee, Steve Olson, who now works for the Arizona Dept. of Natural Resources, to come and talk to the Board about this subject. Getting back to the Basin of Origin Bill, John Bartholow wanted to know if there was anything positive about that bill. Tim Dow replied that it depends on your viewpoint. At nearly every legislative session, some western slope representative submits one variety or another of a basin of origin bill directed to anyone who tries to develop a project on the western slope and transfer water to the eastern slope. "If you are from the western slope, you might think it's good." In the long term, if Las Vegas or other entities attempt to capture as much western slope water as they can, maybe it would benefit Colorado to try to obtain some of that water "if it's going to go down the tube anyway." Mr. Dow will have further legislative updates in March. Conservation and Public Education No report Engineering Committee No report Cost of Service Ad Hoc Comndttee No report Repair of Soldier Canyon Outlet to Horsetooth Reservoir After Mike Smith reported that the NCWCD held a meeting recently with a number of water users to discuss the repair of the Soldier Canyon outlet to Horsetooth Reservoir, Board members had a number of questions about the ramifications of having the outlet out of service for up to two weeks. Ben Alexander provided the following summary of what transpired at the meeting and the anticipated problems the affected agencies could encounter when the Soldier Canyon outlet is out of service for maintenance on the outlet works sometime next fall or winter. The NCWCD called a meeting of users of the outlet on February 17th. Attending the meeting were representatives from the City of Fort Collins W & WW Utility, Tri-District Water Treatment Plant (ELCO Water District, Fort Collins -Loveland Water District and North Weld Water District), Platte River Power Authority, and CSU Engineering Research Facilities. Water Board Minutes February 18, 1994 Page 9 Northern District representatives explained that they discovered damage to the interior pipe lining when they inspected the outlet, and that they plan to have the outlet out of service for up to two weeks when they repair the damage. They wanted to give the users who would be affected, the opportunity for input into the schedule, and to make alternate water supply arrangements. NCWCD is willing to schedule the maintenance at a time that would least inconvenience the users, but repairs must be made sometime during the next year or two. The users will study the alternatives available, and then select an acceptable date for the maintenance. Mr. Alexander stressed that the issue is "ticklish" because the City of Fort Collins is the only user of the outlet that has another supply, the Poudre River, readily available. He said that the last time the Horsetooth supply was out of service for any length of time was when a land slide blocked the Soldier Canyon outlet in the mid-1970s. For most of the winter when the repairs were made, Fort Collins was able to supply all of the Tri-District Plants customers. Currently, both the City and Tri-District plants are serving many more customers, but the City's Poudre River Supply system is still limited to the pipeline capacity from the Poudre Intake: approximately 20 MGD. The City's projected average wintertime demand is approximately 16 MGD, the Tri-District's is about 6 to 7 MGD, and Platte River's is 0.43 MGD. CSU thinks they can schedule around the outage. It should be noted that several inter -connections between the different entities will be needed to provide service to all the customers. Mr.Alexander went on to say that the issue is further complicated by the fact that there is seldom 20 MGD available in the Poudre River in the coldest part of winter, so some water will likely have to be exchanged out of storage starting in the fall before the river is frozen in. During that time of year, the water to be released from storage will probably have to come out of reservoirs owned by the City of Greeley, so some cooperative agreement will have to be made with them. Similar arrangements have been make in the past. The Tri-Districts hope that they can take delivery of treated water through system inter -connects they have with Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland to help them through the squeeze. PRPA will have to try to get treated water to their system from a connection that they have with North Weld Water District via ELCO Water District. If ELCO can't get enough flow to North Weld, PRPA's delivery may have to come from the well fields at the extreme northern end of North Weld Water District's system. Mr. Alexander said that experience has shown PRPA that water from those wells requires some expensive treatment before it is suitable for boiler feed water. He concluded that all users at the meeting were expressing their concern with having only one source of supply for such a critical need. The Board will be kept informed of developments on this situation. Water Board Minutes February 18, 1994 Page 10 Other Business EPA Certificates for Board Members Pres. Grigg noted that all Board members should have received certificates from the EPA Regional Director commending them for their part in the national fast place awards that DWRF and Industrial Pretreatment recently earned. Environmental Action Awards Dr. Grigg received a letter from the Natural Resources Division asking the Water Board to submit nominations for the Environmental Action Awards. There are two categories: (1) Schools or student groups and (2) General Public. "they also asked if the Board would like to participate in the selection process. The nine categories for the awards were: Air, Environmental education, Land use, Recycling, Wildlife, Natural areas, Water, Energy and Hazardous materials. It looks like a good opportunity to nominate someone who is deserving of an award in one of these areas, Dr. Grigg remarked. The nominations for the student group will be accepted February 15th through April 15th; the NRD will accept public nominations June through August. Mike Smith asked if Jim Clark might be aware of anyone eligible through the schools in the area of environmental education; for xeriscaping, for example. Diana Royval, Russ Stone and Gale McGaha-Miller also give presentations to the schools and might be aware of eligible groups. Ray Herrmann moved that the Water Board endorse staffs nomination and submit it to the Natural Resources Division selection committee; Dave Stewart seconded the motion, and the Board voted unanimous support. Staff will check into the possibilities of appropriate groups to nominate. City Provides Slides for Convention in Mexico Dr. Grigg thanked Ben Alexander and Wendy Williams for lending him the excellent slides about the City's water supply and treatment. He showed the slides in Mexico at a Civil Engineering Student convention. He explained that Mexico is trying to decide what to do about water treatment, because they currently do not have good treatment capabilities. Adjourn Since there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:08 P.M Water Board S6cretary