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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 07/15/1988WATER BOARD MINUTES July 15, 1988 Members Present Henry Caulfield (Interim President), Neil Grigg, Jim Kuiken, Dave Stewart New Members Observing Tim Dow, Terry Podmore, Mark Casey (alt.) Staff Mike Smith, Andy Pineda, Molly Nortier, Paul Eckman, Assistant City Attorney Guest John Bigham, Agency Coordinator, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) Members Absent Marylou Smith, Tom Moore, Ray Herrmann, Tom Sanders, Chester Watson (alt.) Interim President Henry Caulfield opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: Welcome to New Members Henry Caulfield welcomed Terry Podmore and Tim Dow who have been selected to serve four year terms on the Water Board and Mark Casey who will become the Junior Alternate, serving a two year term. Background information on each of them was distributed with the Water Board packets. Mr. Caulfield reported that Marylou Smith has been re -appointed to the Board and that Jim Kuiken has been advanced from an alternate to a regular member. Chester Watson will become the Senior alternate. All of these appointments are subject to the final approval of the City Council on July 19. Thus, new members can not vote today, but were invited to attend and observe. Mr. Caulfield explained the reason for the designation of junior and senior alternates. The Water Board consists of 10 regular members and two alternates. If one regular member is absent only the senior alternate votes. If two or more regular members are absent, both alternates vote. Other than voting, alternate members participate on the same level as regular members. Mr. Caulfield announced that there will be an orientation for the new members later this month. A date will be selected after consulting with Mr. Dow, Mr. Podmore, and Mr. Casey. He reviewed some items that should be covered during that session. Notebooks with information on these and other subjects will be distributed to the new members. Mr. Caulfield mentioned Water Board Minutes July 15, 1988 Page 2 that a date will be selected in the near future when the entire Board will be invited to tour the new and expanded Water and Wastewater Utility facilities. He also announced that the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District has scheduled tours of the District's East Slope and West Slope facilities. New members can call the District to indicate which dates would be convenient. Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Update John Bigham passed out two information charts: -one with 31 years of the NCWCD quotas with delivery comparisons, and the other listing East Slope stream flows, West Slope stream flows, project deliveries and project reservoir storage as of July 13, 1988. Mr. Bigham reported that the District Board recently voted to increase the quota from 70 to 80%, so an additional 10% was issued. This puts 30,000 AF of water that potentially will be there either for direct use or for rental. It is hoped that this water will allow the farmers to produce extra crops by taking advantage of the extra water. The CST system is slightly above average in overall storage; therefore, the District Board was not particularly apprehensive about issuing that additional 10%, Mr. Bigham assured the Water Board. Mr. Bigham reported that last month the District was able to pump fairly heavily at Windy Gap. They were able to run for the entire month. In fact for 16 1/4 hours they ran all four of the 12,000 HP pumps. "We hope that the amount of water we pumped, which should be approximately 610 CFS for the 16+ hours, may allow us to go to court and firm up and make that decree absolute," he said. "However, if we don't, we'll apply for whatever we can get, to make that absolute and hope for the next year to pump the differential," he added. He went on to .say that they pumped slightly over 19,000 AF which is about three years of what the participants had actually asked for. There is an enormous demand charge just for starting those pumps. It costs $11,000 to start each of the motors. Therefore, they thought once they started them it was prudent, under potential drought conditions, that they could be cycling it. The more you pump in a given year, the more the cost per acre foot goes down, he explained. Secondly, it's in the system and the system can hold the water. Hence, it is there for the participants to draw on. Furthermore, the Board and management chose to set up a block account for the water, so the participants are able to draw on it as they see fit, since there is more water than they actually ordered. Mr. Caulfield and Mr. Bigham explained the quota system to the new members. Mr. Caulfield referred to the June 10 Municipal Sub -district minutes, p. 2: "Mr. Simpson said that at least two Windy Gap participants are talking to cities north of Denver. Mr. Wheeler from Boulder said that the cities of Boulder and Longmont are very serious about selling their Windy Gap water." Mr. Caulfield said that the Water Board has discussed often this question of Water Board Minutes July 15, 1988 Page 3 selling water outside the District boundaries. "We have been reconciled to the idea that if they want to lease the water outside the District boundaries --Windy Gap water only, not CBT--that we wouldn't object because this is high cost water. Boulder, Longmont, Loveland and Greeley haven't needed that water, so it's costing them money to make the long term contracts, and they aren't getting any benefit from it." Mr. Caulfield commented that in Gov. Romer's Two Forks speech, he indicated that he had been talking with Larry Simpson from the District. He sees 40,000 AF of Windy Gap water as being a stop -gap measure for the Denver -metro area. "I think it's fair to say that the cities that are burdened by this water, and the metropolitan area that would like the water" will probably come to some terms. "Whether we like it or not, it will probably gn in that direction, "Mr. Caulfield contends. He went on to explain to the new members, the reason the City of Fort Collins is not involved directly in the Windy Gap Project. John Bigham explained that minutes state what is said at the meeting but they don't necessarily reflect what will occur. "Boulder and Longmont said they are serious about selling, but whether they will be allowed to move the water outside of the boundaries of the District is another story." This is not permissible under he Water Conservancy Act. Mr. Caulfield added, "whether they sell it or lease it is the question here." Mr. Bigham agreed that a lease could be short term and would not necessarily put a burden on anyone. "I can assure you that the Board will not allow water to move out of the District or Sub -district boundaries unless inclusions take place," he stressed. If those inclusions occur, other principles and policies would be involved. Mr. Caulfield asked about a comment from Attorney Hobbs in the District minutes of June 10 as follows: "Mr. Hobbs reported on the Fort Collins instream application. Fort Collins had filed an amended application which may (make) moot the pending motion for summary judgement. However, the amended application contains legal issues of serious concern." Assistant Attorney Paul Eckman remarked that he wished that Mr. Hobbs were here to explain that. He asked Mike Smith to review for the Board what the City's exchange was. Mr. Smith said that about 2 years ago the City filed for an instream flow through Fort Collins from basically Overland Trail down through I-25. Among the purposes for doing this, "first and foremost was to make certain Thornton wouldn't dry up the stream with their applications, which were filed at the same time." Secondly, the City began working on a fishery program to provide fishing for warm water and cold water species through the Fort Collins area. That was a joint project with Trout Unlimited, the Poudre River Trust and others. The instream flow filing caused repercussions with a number of people, particularly the Colorado Water Conservation Board. That Board believes they are the only entity that can file instream flows. "What we have done Water Board Minutes July 15, 1988 Page 4 since then, Mr. Smith continued, "is modify or amend our application so that it's not an instream flow per se. It's a water right on two different points both upstream and downstream for a diversion through a structure. The water stays in the stream, but we are diverting it, controlling it and letting it go down the stream. At those two points we have applied for a water right," he added. The Conservation Board seemed to favor that option, as well as the State Engineer. They both agreed that it looked like a water right. "At that point we amended our application and it is now back in court." He concluded that they hope this will alleviate some of the problems because, basically it accomplishes the same thing. "Mr. Hobbs may have a different opinion about that," Mr. Smith added. Mr. Caulfield clarified for the Board that Greg Hobbs is counsel for the Northern District and "is very active in these affairs." Mr. Caulfield believes the City has another reason for this action. "This helps our flows in connection with our sewage treatment," he said. It helps our NPDES permit because it provides a mixture or dilution. Mr. Smith explained that additional flows could provide the City with relief in treatment costs. "If it is more economical to leave more water in the river than providing tertiary treatment, perhaps that is the way we should look at it. The berefits to the people in town and to the environment, etc. are also considerations. This is something we need to keep looking at, he concluded. Staff Reports Treated Water Production Summary Andy Pineda reported that a little over 4,000 AF were delivered to the City during the month of June. The max day for June was 53.8 mgd. which occurred on the 20th. "We averaged 43 1/2 mgd.," he said. It was a very warm month with the average temperature at 70.2 degrees. Looking back at the records, that's the second warmest June in the last 36 years. Coupled with that was somewhat below average precipitation. Henry Caulfield asked about rental water. Mr. Pineda replied that the City has rented a few shares of North Poudre water. "However," he said, "we usually see a pick up for North Poudre rental in August." Water Supply & Storage has rented most of the shares there. No CST water has been rented this year. Mike Smith explained that the City has been holding off on renting CST water because of "our water plant project. Because of our conversion from Plant 1 to Plant 2, we were not able to divert any river water for 6 to 7 months. This year we needed all of our CST water ourselves," he stressed. Henry Caulfield explained to new members that Water Treatment Plant No. 1 in the Poudre Canyon is no longer operating. It was officially closed several months ago. The expanded plant at Soldier Canyon is now meeting all of our water requirements. The line that we have for taking Poudre River water over to the expanded facility wasn't in service from September of 1987 through April of 1988, but is now operating, so we are using both river water and Water Board Minutes July 15, 1988 Page 5 CBT water. Mr. Caulfield explained for.the benefit of the new members that the City has a significant supply of water that it doesn't use and is there for drought reserves. Therefore, we are able to rent water to the farmers at essentially a cost of the annual assessment fee. "Our policy is whatever the market will bear," he stated. Other Business Mike Smith announced that the County has agreed to the amendment to the septage waste transfer station agreement, proposed at the last Water Board meeting. That will go to the Council on Tuesday, July 19 for approval of the amendment. A copy of the agreement with the proposed amendment was included in Water Board packets. The transfer station project will be bid next Wednesday, the 20th. Dave Stewart asked what happens if the odor becomes a problem and we shut the facility down. Mr. Smith replied that haulers would have to find another site, but it is inferred in the agreement that lead time would be given and that efforts would be made to work something out. Henry Caulfield referred to an item in the Windy Gap minutes saying that Dennis Bode handed out a chart explaining to the committee the logistics of the reuse plan. What does that refer to? Mike Smith replied, "that is the PRPA plan. We still have some of the participants in Windy Gap who do not understand the PRPA/City agreement," he related. Obviously it is not an easy concept to grasp. Mr. Caulfield explained once again to new members that, in addition to the Water Board minutes, members also receive the District/Sub-district and Windy Gap minutes. "We are very much concerned about what is in those min-utes because of the policy questions that can be decided by the NCWCD. Therefore, we want to be up to date about what goes on in the District," he asserted. That is why a representative from the District gives an update and answers questions at each Water Board meeting. Mike Smith suggested that it might be appropriate to invite Larry Simpson and Darrel Zimbleman to the next meeting to see what their thoughts are on strategy for Northern Colorado in light of what Gov. Romer has proposed with regard to the Two Forts project. At a state water meeting he attended on the Western Slope, Neil Grigg said the chairman of the Denver Water Board stressed that if Two Forks is not built, Denver will not share their water supplies with suburban communities. He contends that they need to have their water supplies for the "build -out" of Denver. Mr. Caulfield said the chairman stated further that Two Forks should be built; otherwise, it will disrupt the agricultural community on the Eastern Slope because the Denver suburbs will be forced to buy water from agriculture as Thornton has done. Water Board Minutes July 15, 1988 Page 6 Dr. Grigg also stated that one of the currents that came from that meeting regarding agriculture water, was the point that once the ag. water is removed from a region, whether it's the Western Slope, the Arkansas Valley or Northern Colorado, a lot of the economic stability of the region leaves. "Several speakers who represent those different regions made that point quite well," he said. Jim Kuiken, who also attended the meeting, commented that it is extremely valuable to gain a perspective on state-wide views of the water issues. "We sit here in Fort Collins and don't quite view how people on the Western Slope view things, or people in Denver." It was a very balanced conference, with representatives from the environmental community as well as the agricultural sector. Also, one of the speakers was a recreational guide for a rafting business. Because you get a good perspective on all sides of the water issues, Mr. Kuiken came away feeling an affinity for the Western Slope. "We face many of the same pressures that they have faced for years." They've had to come to grips with many of the same problems that we are just beginning to recognize. Mr. Caulfield commented that one of the ways the Western Slope has come to grips with it is by asking for compensation. This could be true of any area like ours that might suffer transfers of water out of the region and should receive some regional compensation. As we know, although a bill was introduced, that concept didn't go far in the legislature last session. Dr. Grigg remarked that this is one of the things that the governor has asked the legislature to look into. Mr. Caulfield stated that the Western Slope has carried out that principal and has built several reservoirs with money that has been provided by the Eastern Slope; such as Green Mountain. "This is a principal that we could get involved in too," he believes. Jim Kuiken explained that there is a law on the books that provides a mechanism for the local counties to have a say in that process. It has been used for basin of origin protection on matters of state-wide interest. The concern that many of the Western Slope people have is that law was recenity applied by Eagle County in its effort to deal with the Homestake Project. "Of course they have managed to anger the communities of Colorado Springs and Aurora by applying that law. Denver is certainly not in favor of that law." There is a concern that there may be a major assault on the existing statutes during the next legislative session, he concluded. Henry Caulfield continued to provide background to the new members by saying that the Water Board is obviously concerned with the City's water supply. "We have a substantial water supply as you will learn at your briefing." The City has taken steps to increase that water supply. When the Thornton problem emerged about a year and a half ago, Fort Collins tried to take the lead in getting the region organized in some sense. Fort Collins hosted a meeting inviting all the major water entities of the region to see what they ' Water Board Mines • July 15, 1988 Page 7 wanted to do. "It's fair to say that they didn't want to do anything." There was no positive response about what we should do to jointly consider this question about Thornton taking Water Supply & Storage Co. water. "The point is, except for the Northern District itself, we don't have a regional entity to represent the region; in other words, to think in regional terms and represent the regional interest." The water Board has mixed feelings about representing regional interests. Sometimes the attitude of "as long as we look out for ourselves by acquiring more water, why should we care," is prevalent. This is just some background and you can expect these concerns will come up in one form or another periodically, he emphasized. Due to lack of a quorum, the minutes, the election of officers and the out -of -City service request were postponed. The meeting at this point was called into an executive session in order for Mike Smith to provide an update on the Excalibur situation. Following the update, the meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m. Water Board Secretary