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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 07/19/1991u July 19, 1991 3:00 - 4:10 p.m. Water and Wastewater Utility Conference Room 700 Wood Street Members Present Neil Grigg, Interim President, Tim Dow, Tom Sanders, Terry Podmore, Mark Casey, Tom Brown, Dave Frick 519ff Rich Shannon, Mike Smith, Dennis Bode, Ben Alexander, Linda Burger, Curt Miller, Molly Nortier Guests John Bigham, Agency Coordinator, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District George Rees, Fort Collins Citizen Guests Present for Retention City Council: Mayor pro tern Ann Azan Council Liaison Loren Maxey City Staff. City Manager Steve Burkett Assistant City Manager Diane Jones Assistant City Attorney Paul Eckman Former Water Board Members: Ray Anderson Henry Caulfield Bill Elliott Norm Evans Jim Kuiken E. V. Richardson Members Absent Paul Clopper, Ray Herrmann, MaryLou Smith, Dave Stewart Interim President Neil Grigg opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: Welcome to New Member President Grigg welcomed recently appointed new member David Frick. Mr. Frick is a Water Resource Engineer for Resource Consultants, Inc. Board members and staff introduced themselves. Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 2 Minutes The minutes of June 21, 1991 were approved as corrected. In the sentence on the top of page 5 "but" should be "buy," and on p. 6 "Sander's" should be "Sanders'." Dr. Grigg referred to former Board member Tom Moore's remarks about Natural Resources in the minutes. These were included with some parting comments Mr. Moore made during his last Water Board meeting. It should be noted that Mr. Moore's opinion does not reflect the feeling of the entire Board. Neil Grigg will contact Tim Johnson, president of the Natural Resources Board and assure him that the Water Board has a sense of affinity with the Natural Resources Board. "One of the things we want to do on this Board is foster a sense of cooperation and integration of objectives with various City boards," he stressed. Letter to Reg. Tom Redder Last month, at the direction of the Water Board, Neil Grigg prepared a letter which was sent to Rep. Tom Redder inviting him to attend a Water Board meeting in response to a piece of water legislation that Rep. Redder had sponsored. Dr. Grigg has spoken with Rep. Redder and he would like to visit with the Board sometime and talk about his bills and the role of the Water Board. Uodate: Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District John Bigham reported that Granby Reservoir is currently up to 60% of active capacity. Horsetooth has now dropped to 78%; Carter Lake is down to 76%; Boulder Reservoir is at 51%, which means we have a total active capacity within the CBT system of 76%. The native flows in the river drainages are peaking out fast, and there is very little actual run- off. There are a few places where run-off is coming from up high on the west side. Most of the water that is in the rivers now is coming from storage. "Many of the rafters and environmentalists don't realize that the water they are playing in came out of somebody's efforts to create some storage," he remarked. The storage is being used pretty heavily right now, both north and south on the CBT system, he concluded. The Northern District ran Windy Gap water until June 30th at midnight. Then the system was shut down so the District didn't have to pick up the substantial demand charges that come on a month by month basis with eacli of the pumps. They were able to pump 19,291 Ac-ft; their goal was 20,000, so they came very close. They used 2 pumps most of the month of June. For 42 hours they were allowed to use the third pump and that was only because a lightening strike knocked some of the units out for a short time. The one thing that was a plus, besides gaining the captured water, was being able to run the last 3 weeks of June from the Granby pumping plant on a remote basis without any manpower within the Windy Gap plant, as it was- designed to run. "That saved us 720 man hours of labor," he emphasized. There will be a considerable savings in the future now that the data system and control system work at Granby, he concluded. • Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 3 The additional water that was pumped at Windy Gap was sold to the CBT allotees who were short of water. As of June 1lth, there were 11,534 Ac-ft out of the 15,000 Ac-ft of water that the District originally said was available to them. "We suspect that all of the 15,000 Ac-ft will be sold," he said. Those who bought the water were required to pay cash in advance, he stressed, so that transaction was net. Surprisingly, 48'% of the water that was purchased from that transaction is on the north end and only 37'% is at the south end. Normally that would not be the rase, he said. That will change somewhat the flow pattern in the different drainages; only 15 % went into the Thompson area. North Poudre was one of the big accounts, he pointed out, because they didn't get as much storage as they wanted. On September 28th three of the directors' terms will expire; one is from Larimer County. Notices have appeared in area newspapers to inform citizens who may wish to apply. Mr. Bigham reported that prior to the Board meeting he had attended the Water Congress meeting in Denver. "There are a lot of things heating up on potential political legislative activities," he said. A special legislative session is expected to be held in August or September. It looks as if it will be an active session, he observed. Do the water bills coming up fall into any pattern? Mark Casey asked. "Probably the one I'm hearing the most about is re -organization of the way the directors of the boards are selected in the conservation and conservancy districts," he replied. Another may be a push to combine several related departments into a Natural Resources Dept., which could be a cumbersome change, he added. Minimum stream flows, water quality bills as far as basic standards, including well standards, surface standards, etc., will probably be considered. Neil Grigg asked if an interim water committee was appointed. Representative Williams and Senator Bishop were pressured to call both the house and senate interim committees together, and they are already meeting, he responded. They are beginning to discuss some of the potential bills. Dr. Grigg also asked the status of the regional report. Mr. Bigham said he saw a copy of the report that morning, "so it is out." He wasn't certain if the executive summary is available yet, and when either copy will be released. Staff Reports ` Treated Water Production Summary Dennis Bode reported that for the month of June the City delivered 2,657 Ac-ft which was only about 74% of what had been projected. "That was primarily because we had 3.59 inches of precipitation in June, which is about 2 inches above average." For July, that has turned around somewhat. There have been fairly high demands, "so we are running a little above average at this point." Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 4 Demand Management Committee Ups Committee member Terry Podmore reported that the Committee had a meeting on July l lth at which they discussed a summary report and the proposed resolution for Council. The report summarized the Committee's efforts during the time they have been meeting. Two of the three Council members on the Committee were not able to attend. If they have no further additions or substantive suggestions, staff will finalize the report and the resolution and send them on to Council. Review Memhershin and Assignments of Standing Committees Neil Grigg said this topic was added to the agenda because he thought this would be an appropriate time to assess the work of the standing committees and of the Water Board; and try to "get ourselves programmed before we move into the future work of the Board." Some of the work of the Water Board has taken place through the committees, and other work has been taken up by the Board as a committee of the whole. In addition to the committees Dr. Grigg wanted to know about the goal -setting and work plan for the coming year. Part of the re -assessment would be to review what the standing committees are doing. "We need to determine what issues we are going to deal with and get our work organized," he stressed. Molly Nortier explained that the Board approved their work plan for 1991 in November, and it was forwarded to the City Clerk's Office on November 20th. All City boards and commissions are required to file a work plan with the City Clerk's office by November of each year. She will send copies of the work plan to Board members in the packets for the next meeting. Part of the work plan is the committee work and the current standing committees are: Engineering, Dave Stewart, Chairman Conservation and Public Education, MaryLou Smith, Chairman Legislative and Finance, Tim Dow, Chairman Water Supply, Neil Grigg, Chairman It is time to review the membership and the committees' work, Dr. Grigg said. As the committee reports are given, he asked the chair or someone from that committee to discuss where the committee has been and what they anticipate it will be doing. Conservation and Public Education Terry Podmore reported that the Committee has been involved with the Ad hoc Couitcil/Water Board Demand Management Committee for essentially the last year. In talking with the Chairperson MaryLou Smith after the last meeting, he learned that what she is proposing is that Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 5 the Committee take the summary report and the resolution which the DMC has proposed, and assuming that they are accepted, look at them in terms of implementation. Other members of the Committee are Ray Herrmann and Dave Stewart. Legislative and Finance Chairman Tim Dow said the main work of his committee is done by staff member Linda Burger in terms of tracking legislation, summarizing it, reviewing it with the committee, and discussing positions that they might recommend to the Board, which the Board, in turn, will recommend to the City Council Legislative Committee. That seems to be a very efficient way to track a lot of legislative activity in Denver, he said. The concern that Mr. Dow has lies primarily with the relationship between the Board and Council in terms of ongoing legislation, lobbying activity, recommended positions, etc., so that things are communicated properly. "I don't think that's necessarily the way it is now," he said. "I think it could be a better situation," he asserted. "We need to discuss those alignments in the relationship role of that committee," Neil Grigg summarized, "and with that get some level of communication from Council as to what it wants or doesn't want in terms of ongoing legislative interests." Since Loren Maxey, the Council liaison was present, Dr. Grigg suggested that he enlighten the Board on Council's expectations. "How might the Board effectively work on that level where we are following the legislative water issues and the Council is following all the legislative issues?" "It's an area that needs to be focused a little better," Mr. Maxey began. "I would see water matters followed by other boards and commissions as well as the Water Board, and by the legislative committee of the Council," he said. "It's not a matter of protecting turf or territory — it's a matter of working together on positions and following the direction and the goals that are set up. It seems within the last few months, there have been several areas where we have started out indifferent directions," he observed. "We need to coordinate better in those areas," he said. Perhaps the Council Legislative Committee should only take action after consulting with the Water Board, he suggested. Tim Dow pointed out that sometimes timing is important and difficult to coordinate if a bill is coming up for hearing, and a position needs to be taken. By the time the Water Board committee can meet and relate their position to the Board and then communicate it to the Council, "the horse is gone and the bam's burned down." Loren Maxey said that Utility staff is following water legislation very carefully, but "I'm not feeling assured that we are getting some communication with the Council. Perhaps we need to re-establish the guidelines about getting input and guidance before a position is taken," he said. Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 6 If the early indications are right, there are going to be a large number of water issues in the legislature this year, Dr. Grigg said. "It's probably going to take a lot of effort from several of us to stay up with it," he said. He asked for comments from staff on the coordination with the Council Legislative Committee. Mike Smith remarked that "it needs some fine tuning." First Linda Burger clarified that it had been Wendy Williams' responsibility to follow water legislation for the Utility last year, but her job has changed so she no longer does that. If anyone has questions or comments about legislative matters, they should contact Ms. Burger. Loren Maxey suggested that Tim Dow's committee meet with the Council Legislative Committee whose members are Susan Kirkpatrick, Ann Azari and Gerry Horak. As the Water Board Liaison, Loren Maxey would like to be involved in that meeting as well. The other member of the Legislative and Finance Committee is Tom Sanders. Dr. Grigg asked Linda Burger if she gets a sense that this will be a very active session in terms of water legislation. "They have all seemed pretty active to me," she replied. Last year was the only exception she has seen. Although there were a large number of water related bills introduced, most of them died by February, so there really wasn't anything to be actively involved in after the first of the year, she related. Neil Grigg announced that the Chamber of Commerce Water Committee has scheduled a Northern Colorado water conference for October 21st. The name has not been finalized, but the emphasis will be economic development in northern Colorado. Ward Fischer has organized a panel representing water users, someone from Thornton, the NCWCD, and one other group. Bill Farr will be the luncheon speaker and he will give a regional perspective to water development, as well as background on northern Colorado water. There will be presentations on the Northern District's recent plan, and the corridor issue. It's kind of an educational session with the idea of generating some public input, he continued. The conference will be a one day session at a local hotel, he concluded. Related to this, there is a lot of activity in the Chambers of Commerce in the Denver area in water. There is a group being formed called "The Colorado Water Education Foundation." Dr. Grigg has been attending their meetings. They will probably be having a breakfast in Denver sometime in September to notify everybody about the function and direction of the foundation. The Water Congress is involved, and different groups that are in the provider organizations; also environmental groups and different business groups. It appears to be quite broad based, he said. Water Supply Committee Neil Grigg informed the Board that he has just resigned as chairman of the Water Supply Committee since he is now the interim president of the Board. As president, he is an ex-officio Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 7 member of all the committees. That put two questions on the table: (1) What is the Committee going to do and, (2) Who is going to be the chairperson? Current members are: Mark Casey, Marylou Smith and Tom Brown. As far as work for the committee, there is one item that needs to be completed. The Committee was given the charge to assess the rental rates recently. That needs to be done when we get a little closer to the time when the City will be renting water again, Dr. Grigg said. What other things does the Board think the Committee should be doing? he asked. Tom Brown suggested trying to get a better understanding of the Poudre River projects that have been proposed by the NCWCD. "It would be good if the Committee were more knowledgeable of the details." Mark Casey asked if there is a relationship between the Water Board Water Supply Committee and the Chamber water committee. Neil Grigg explained that the first assignment when the Water Supply Committee was formed was to work on a water supply policy and a drought plan. "We studied about how much water we should have to respond to drought emergencies, and out of that evolved the Water Supply Policy, which was primarily done by staff." It was periodically reviewed by the Water Board and eventually accepted by the Board and the City Council. The City then want on to purchase water rights to meet the recommendations of the policy, and water is still being purchased on a case by case basis. The Chamber Water Committee is separate from that, Dr. Grigg said. That was formed at the direction of a former chamber president. Mark Casey suggested that the issue of water certificates, discussed at length at two or three Board meetings, could be taken up by the WSC. "That falls into the general category of how we manage our resources," Dr. Grigg responded, "and it also falls in the category of water rights." He stated further that with all of the issues that have been brought up, there appears to be a definite need for the committee. Tom Sanders proposed that the Committee and the Board pursue more fully the idea of water banking, "and get ahead of Thornton." In the next 30 years, in his opinion, all of the water will be controlled by the metro area "since the laws are being loosened somewhat on this." He went on to say that "the best thing that could happen is that Northern Colorado could control its own water similar to the Denver Water Board." "That's an excellent suggestion," Dr. Grigg said. He added that the WSC should be a liaison with the Chamber activity as it is looking at water supplies. Dr. Grigg asked about an ad hoc committee that was organized earlier called the Thornton Strategy Committee. Mike Smith recalled that the Committee was set up to review the issues Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 8 related to the Thornton filings. "The Committee hasn't met because there hasn't been a lot of information available since then." He said that if the filings issue is ever brought to a settlement posture, the Committee might want to be involved in advising the Board and Council on the options related to that. For now, that Committee should remain assembled in the event that it is needed, Mr. Smith concluded. Paul Clapper is the Chairman, and the other two regular members are Tom Brown and Neil Grigg. Ray Herrmann is an alternate. Mark Casey agreed to be the new chairman of the Water Supply Committee. Engineering Committee Tom Sanders brought the Board up to date on what the Engineering Committee has been involved in within the last year. They have looked into sharing a pipeline with the Fort Collins - Loveland Water district and they reviewed the new wastewater treatment plant expansion plans, he recalled. Neil Grigg has been a member of that committee for a number of years and he acknowledged that it has been a very busy, active group, so there is definitely a need for them to continue also. Dave Stewart is the chairman, and other members are Tom Sanders and Paul Clopper. Dr. Grigg asked new Water Board member David Frick which committee or committees appealed to him. He said he was interested in both the Water Supply and the Legislative and Finance Committees. Neil Grigg determined that there was more of a need for additional people on the Water Supply Committee because of their work load, so David Frick was appointed to serve there. Dr. Grigg suggested that Mark Casey arrange a WSC meeting to formulate an agenda for the Committee and discuss some of the issues that have been raised. He emphasized that it would definitely be a good idea for the Board to have a briefing about the Poudre project sometime over the next year. Halligan Reservoir will be another item for discussion. President Grigg summarized that the secretary will provide copies of the work plan for the August Water Board packets, so 4he Board can review their 1991 goals. One thing Dr. Grigg would like to do is get some reports scheduled for the Water Board, spread out over the year, "so we can understand these complex issues better, and grapple with them and take positions." Water Board Minutes July 19, 1991 Page 9 Other Business Tim Dow announced that Judge Behrman has scheduled the Thornton trial to begin on August 5th. Phase I, which will be Thornton's presentation, will be approximately 4 weeks in length. Phase 11, which will be the opposition, includes the City of Fort Collins, other water user groups, and other interested parties, begins November 12th for 4 or 5 weeks. The judge wants to try to conclude the case by the end of the year, "although I suspect it may spill into the first half of January," he said. It should be a very lengthy, interesting trial, he added. He invited Board members to attend some of the sessions. It will be held in Greeley Water Court. Dr. Grigg suggested that the Water Board secretary send out some information to Board members about what's involved in this court case and the schedules for the procedures, etc. Tom Dow said details aren't available now, but as the trial progresses, more information can be obtained. He also pointed out that when some of the key experts are testifying, would probably be of interest to Board members. Neil Grigg said he has had contact with the City staff from the drought plagued City of Santa Barbara, Calif. The staff there has experienced significant distrust from City residents after they had cut down drastically on their water use, and then were faced with a substantial raise in their water rates. It's been quite a dilemma for that City as well as other California cities, Dr. Grigg observed. President Grigg asked if there was a need for an August meeting. It might be a good time to take an end of the summer break, he said. Tom Sanders pointed out that the Thornton court case starts August 5th, so there might be something worthwhile for Board to know related to that. It was determined that the decision would be made the first week of August. Dr. Grigg concluded that we will plan to have a meeting unless there is an announcement otherwise. Tom Sanders would like staff to arrange a tour of the Sludge Farm before winter, and also a trip up to Joe Wright Reservoir and the Michigan Ditch. "That would again be part of our work plan and agenda -setting for the year," Dr. Grigg responded. The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 p.m. to begin the reception to honor former Board members Henry Caulfield and Tom Moore. 7yJo`��y 'i%i2� Water BoaY6 Secretary