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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 07/29/1982MEMBERS PRESENT STAFF PRESENT MEDIA MEMBERS ABSENT MINUTES Water Board July 29, 1982 Ward Fischer, Bernie Cain, Tom Moore, Chuck Turner, Ray Glabach, Mort Bittinger (alt.) Mike Smith, Roger Krempel, Dennis Bode, Ben Alexander, Keith Elmund, Fred Jones, Andy Pineda, Paul Eckman Shirley Shoup, Coloradoan Henry Caulfield, Ev Richardson, Norm Evans, Dave Stewart, George Wallace (all excused) Because Chairman Ward Fischer was delayed, Bernie Cain opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: Minutes Approved. Cache La Poudre River Project Alternati Roger Krempel announced that there will be two public meetings conducted by the Water Conservation Board Staff concerning the Cache La Poudre alternatives on Wednesday August llth at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. Water Board members were encouraged to attend. On Thursday, August 12th, the Advisory Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. in the Water Utilities Conference Room, 700 Wood St. Mr. Krempel then introduced Bill Green, Project Manager for the Water Conservation Board who provided some background information on the Cache La Poudre Project and subsequently explained each of the six alternatives. The Colorado General Assembly in 1981 authorized the Colorado Water Conservation Board to conduct an integrated study upstream of the City of Fort Collins to assess the possibility of major dams on ttre-'Cache La Poudre River. $300,000 was appropriated for the year -long study (SB 439). Tudor Engineering was selected to do a reconnaissance level study, the most fundamental level of analysis. Tudor is responsible for performing the technical analyses and for preparing the interim report and the final report on the project. Tudor, in turn, retained Holland & Hart as legal counsel for the water rights analyses, and has also retained as a sub -contractor, Resource Consultants of Fort Collins to assist with the hydrology, water supply and engineering aspects of the project. The initial process is an attempt to answer the threshold question as to whether there appears to be a viable project in the Cache La Poudre Basin based on primar- ily the technical considerations which are economic and engineering. If the answer to this question is yes, then this type of analysis would probably be followed by feasibility level studies, then engineering design studies, and almost certainly, in this case, an environmental impact statement. Page two Water Board Minutes Consistent with the legislative intent of SB 439, and time and budget constraints, the WCB did not include in this study an analysis of non-structural options for meeting future water demands. They also did not look at environmental impacts or attempt to analyze recreational impacts from the various alternatives. The interim report will be reviewed by the Advisory Committee on August 12th. On August 16th the Colorado Water Conservation Board will consider whatever re- commendation is received from the Advisory Committee, the Staff recommendation, and any public comment that has been received at that point. On that date the WCB will make a decision as to which one or two of the six alternatives will be evaluated further. Phase II of the project begins with this selection. Every- thing that has been done up to this point has been pre -reconnaissance level work. Phase II will begin the reconnaissance level study, and concludes in January of- 1983 with the final report. The Board will review again the final report and transmit the report with a recommendation to the State Legislature. In the first phase of the study which began in January, 1982, six alternative projects consisting of a combination of reservoirs, diversion tunnels and hydro- electric turbines have been developed. Bill Green explained each of the alternatives. The cate pries examined with each alternative were: Yield of new water (acre feet per year); Project costs, broken down into total initial investment and total average annual costs; Benefit -cost ratios; Net benefits which consist of average annual before discount, estimated on-line date, discounted to 1982; Cost effectiveness such as dollars per kilowatt and dollars per acre-foot of storage; Geologic considerations as identified major problems and degree of confidence; and finally Impacts from inundation composed of area in acres, stream miles, number of buildings and major facilities and communities. There was also a summary sheet listing the impacts on physical featuresand geologic considerations for each alternative. According to the preliminary data, the second alternative, which provides two reservoirs; Grey Mountain near the mouth of the canyon and Idylwild above Rustic, appears to provide the greatest benefit for its cost. However, Mr. Green emphasized that this is based on very preliminary figures. Roger Krempel related that Councilman Horak has requested that the Water Board make some kind of a recommendation to the City Council prior to the public meetings on Wednesday, August llth. Following a number of questions from the Water Board, Ward Fischer stated that he was very reluctant to have the Water Board, at this time, propose to the City Council the City's position concerning what alternatives would be most worthy of support due to the very preliminary nature of the study as well as exacerbating the already polarized position of the Community with regard to this project. The majority of the Board members concurred with this position. However, only six members of the Board were able to be present. Ev Richardson submitted his ideas to Mike Smith who relayed the information to the Board. George Wallace wrote a letter dated July 29, 1982 from Poudre Valley Hospital. The letter was read and considered by each member. Mr. Wallace informed the Board of a study he completed recently entitled, "The Wild & Scenic River Designation for the Cache La Poudre River: A Public Relations Case Study." The study will be available from Molly Nortier for any member who wishes to read it: 9 0 Water Board Minutes Page three Durdng further discussion, the comment was made that there is currently not even agreement as to the purpose of the project. Mike Smith reiterated that Councilman Horak was merely asking for some direction and guidance from the Board because he is a member of the Steering Committee. As a result, Chuck Turner moved that the Water Board recommend that the two alternatives to be further studied should be the one that offers the greatest economic benefit which is alternative No. 2 and the one with the least impacts which is either No. 4 or a slightly modified No. 5. The motion failed for a lack of a second. No other motion was offered. Hence, the consensus of the Board was not to make a recommendation because the Board did not feel sufficiently well advised to do so. This reason will be passed on to Councilman Horak. Letter of Appreciation for Chuck Turner Chuck Turner will not be completing his term on the Water Board because he has accepted a teaching position at the University of North Dakota. Since this was Mr. Turner's last meeting, the members of the Board and the Staff presented him with a letter of appreciation recognizing his significant contribution to the Water Board during the short time he had been a member. The Board and the staff will miss Mr. Turner's intelligent and insightful viewpoints and regret that he will no longer be a member of the Board. They wished him the very best in his new position. Other Business Chuck Turner suggested that the original water filter plant on Overland Trail be preserved somehow. He said that it is unusual to have the original treatment plant still available for restoration, and that it would be a shame to ignore the opportunity until it becomes too late to do anything. Mike Smith explained that, for the time being, nothing is being done because the Department is trying to conserve some funds. Mr. Krempel stated that he hoped the next time Chuck Turner visits Fort Collins, some progress will have been made. The need for an August meeting was discussed, and it was decided that a meeting will be held only if there is a pressing item that requires immediate consider- ation. Since there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. Water Board Secretary