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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 11/20/1987MINUTES Water Board November 20, 1987 Members Present Norm Evans, President, Tom Sanders, John Scott, Ray Herrmann, Jo Boyd, Mary Lou Smith, Tom Moore, Tom Sanders, Dave Stewart, Jim Kuiken (alt.), Chester Watson (alt.) Staff Mike Smith, Dennis Bode, Webb Jones, Ben Alexander, Andy Pineda, Paul Eckman, Assistant City Attorney Guests John Bigham, Agency Coordinator Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Members Absent Henry Caulfield, Vice President, Neil Grigg President Norm Evans opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: Minutes The minutes of October 16, 1987 were approved as distributed. John Bigham announced that the District held its fall water users meeting on Thursday, November 10. There were over 150 in attendance. He also related that he and six other District representatives are looking forward to meeting with the Fort Collins City Council, Water Board and staff on Tuesday, Decem- ber 8. The Water Board secretary distributed a memo to Water Board members with details about the Dec. 8 meeting. It will be held at the Ludlow Rooms of the Lincoln Center from 5:30 - 8:00. A light meal will be served at 5:30. Suggested agenda items include: background about the NCWCD and Sub -district; the District's response to metro Denver's water acquisition plans in Northern Colorado; Minimum stream flow in Fort Collins; integration of Windy Gap and CBT operations; Update on the Poudre Project; NCWCD and the Bureau of Recla- mation. Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 2 Out -of -City Service Request Webb Jones explained that the Utility has received a request for an Out -of -City water service for a single family home located at 3930 Bingham Hill Rd. A copy of the letter and a map indicating the location of the property were sent in Water Board packets. Reid D. Pope, the owner of the property, plans to construct one home on a 20 acre site. A 10" City water main exists immediately adjacent to the property in Bingham Hill Rd. The City currently provides water service to several properties along Bingham Hill Rd. No other water utility is able to provide water service to the site. Mr. Pope's property is located outside the Urban Growth Area and is not eligible for annexation into the City. Staff doesn't see any problem with granting Mr. Pope's request provided that he signs an Out -of -City service agreement which permits the City to annex eligible property receiving City utility service. After a very brief discussion, Tom Moore moved that the Water Board recommend approval of the request. Ray Herrmann seconded the motion. The vote for approval of the motion was unanimous. Consideration of Water Board Goals Chairman Evans pointed out the memo from Mike Smith included in the packets. Attached to the memo was a summary of the goals and general notes that were generated at the recent Water Board/staff workshop. These were in draft forrt and are in need of some refining. The following three alternatives for finalizing the goals were suggested: A subcommittee of the Water Board, with assistance from the staff, could finalize the goals for review and approval by the Water Board at one of their regular meetings. The staff could finalize the goals for review and approval by the Water Board at one of their regular meetings. 3. The Water Board, at either a regular meeting or a special meeting, could finalize the goals. Marylou Smith stated that her preference would be to have a subcommittee of the Water Board work on that, possibly with one or two staff members. Ray Herrmann wants the whole Board to discuss it at some point for complete review and approval, following the Committee's work. There was agreement to proceed in this manner. Norm Evans proposed that the task be delegated to the Program Evaluation Com- mittee. However, only three members on that committee are still on the Board: MaryLou Smith, Henry Caulfield and Dave Stewart, so others will be appointed. MaryLou Smith suggested that Neil Grigg be one of those appointed since he is particularly good at phrasing things from a long range perspective. Water Board M• tes • November 20, 1987 Page 3 Staff Reports Treated Water Production Summary Dennis Bode reported that in October the City used approximately 2,000 AF which remains above average. Since October was warm, the demands were fairly high. For the year through October, the use was 23,313 AF. "We expect that we will end up using about 25,000 AF for the year," Mr. Bode concluded. Committee Reports Marylou Smith stated that the Bylaws Committee is pleased to announce that there will be no further reports since the bylaws have been officially approved. Copies of the revised and approved bylaws were sent to Board mem- bers to include in their notebooks. Dr. Evans thanked the Bylaws Committee for the good work which ended up taking more than two years to complete. The Committee is hereby dissolved. Other Business John Scott inquired about the status of Water Treatment Plant No. 1. Mike Smith confirmed that the plant has been completely shut down as of September 18. Mr. Scott also asked if all the expansion work is completed at WTP #2. Mr. Smith replied, "Not totally." The diversion work at Plant 1 is in prog- ress. It won't be completed until March. The tunnel is finished and the expanded plant should be operational in a few weeks when we will have a full 64 mgd, he assured. Norm Evans requested that the Water Board be given a tour of Plant 2 when the expansion is completed. He commented on the "inter- esting looking" domes which were recently erected there. Tom Sanders asked what the domes will accomplish. Ben Alexander explained that staff believes they will prevent interference from temperature differences. With the domes security will be far better. In the past during the winter months, when the primary sedimentation basins were de -watered, there has been significant dam- age to the tube settling units that are suspended in there. The ultraviolet light from the sun causes the tubes to deteriorate making them very fragile. Because they are light and fragile the wind lifts them out of their racks and causes further damage. The domes will prevent this from happening. Tom Sanders wanted to discuss the Rocky Mountain News article which was included in Water Board packets on the so called "super slab," a private toll road that is planned along the front range. To quote from the article: "Since preliminary plans for the road were announced in July 1986, the focus of the road has changed from a toll road to a transportation corridor. Rough plans include an eight -lane highway - four lanes each way - a railway and water and power lines." It is the plan for water and power lines that disturbs Dr. Sanders. "This will be the mechanism for Northern Colorado water to be transported to the Denver -metro area," he contends. He requested that staff "keep a close eye" on this project. Mike Smith assured Dr. Sanders that Rich Shannon is following it very closely. Ray Herrmann asked if they would require them to get condemnation authority. Jim Kuiken responded: "That's why they want to make it a highway, because they can get away with condemnation." Jo Boyd remarked: "Even if it is a toll road and privately owned highway?" Dr. Sanders reiterated that it is going to be a problem for us if it is built! Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 4 Mike Smith reported that the staff met with the Boxelder Sanitation District Board about two weeks ago. They have asked the City of Fort Collins to give them a proposal to manage the District if the City would be agreeable to that. They currently have a management contract with East Larimer County Water District (ELCO). Neither District is particularly happy with that arrangement. Fort Collins is giving the proposal some thought and may draft something to take back to Boxelder for their review. Staff will keep the Water Board advised on this matter. Tom Sanders wonders what the City gains from this. Mr. Smith stated that we want to see the pretreatment program put into effect; we want to see the discharge cleaned up, and we want to make some further improvements in the system. Dr. Evans added that it would help to eliminate some of the inter -governmental overlaps. It sounds like it would be a good idea, he concluded. Jo Boyd asked if it would pay its own way or will it be an additional cost to the City? Mr. Smith replied that it is important that it pays its own way. "I don't think it is fair to have City rate -payers subsidize the District." "What would be the role of the District board if the City staff is managing the District," Jim Kuiken wanted to know. Mr. Smith answered that the Box - elder Board would still exist and they would set their own rates as well as their budget. The City would merely be a management agency. Mr. Smith said, the City would not enter into such an agreement unless we had a clause which addressed the future relationship between the City and the District. "To be fair, we must show them that we know how to manage a district," he added. Dave Stewart asked what they are paying per 1000 gal. "Their rates are fairly close to ours," Mr. Smith responded. "How long has ELCO worked with Boxelder," John Scott asked. To Mr. Smith's knowledge they have maintained a partnership for a very long time. Mr. Smith assured the Board that staff will keep them apprised of the situation. Mike Smith reported on a filing on the Michigan River by an organization called Excalibur. He had just received an update from the City's special legal counsel. Mr. Smith explained that this is one of the most serious situations the Water Utility has had to contend with for a long time. He explained that Excalibur is going to claim abandonment of the Michigan Ditch up to a certain point. They are very serious about what they are doing and it may cost the City a substantial amount of money to defend our case. "Our attorney feels we have a good case, but you never know what judges are going to do." Mr. Smith emphasized that there could be considerable impact on several entities. Ward Fischer is representing North Park interests. The reuse agreement could be affected, so PRPA is involved, which impacts WSSC, which impacts Anheuser-Busch. Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 5 Tom Moore brought up another issue concerning a Federal Reserve Rights case. He related that the Water Supply & Storage Co. is also involved in the Excal- ibur problem. Last Wednesday the next problem involving a Federal Reserve Rights case surfaced. The Forest Service would like to control the Poudre River so they could control the minimum flows. The impact of something like that on Joe Wright Reservoir is great, Mr. Moore emphasized. The Cache La Poudre Water Users are going to fight this by taking it to court. Obviously WSSC is significantly impacted by this. Anything in the Poudre Canyon would be affected, he said. Chester Watson asked if this is the case against the Federal government which the state Attorney General has been working on. "It must be, but I'm not an attorney," Mr. Moore responded. Dr. Watson said that his firm is the technical overview for the contractor that is working for the Attorney General on the case. Jim Kuiken related that the State has been involved in this for about two years. Mary Lou Smith confirmed that there has been some press about this from time to time. Chester Watson said he would check with the Attorney General's Office about it to make certain it is the same case. It appears to be the same act. Tom Moore's reason for bringing this up was so the City of Fort Collins would stay aware of this and support the Cache La Poudre Water Users in the issue with the Federal Reserve Rights as well as the Excalibur problem. John Scott announced that a meeting is scheduled for Monday November 23 at the NCWCD about the Federal Reserve Rights issue. Paul Eckman said that he is planning to attend. Ray Herrmann said that the Forest Service is the lead federal agency on this. He explained that it is a general adjudication in Division 1. It wouldn't get to the state attorney general until it has passed through the water mas- ter, he said. If the attorney general is involved, they are already thinking appeals. Mike Smith explained that the case was tried a long time ago and it came out in our favor. It was appealed, and when it was appealed, the court said the case had to be tried on its merits. It went back to trial and that is where it is now. There is the issue of where it is going to be tried. Attorney John Carlson explained that they have been talking about combining the cases or keeping them separate and also deciding which one should come first. We are involved in two sides. We are inclined to think we want to participate with the Cache La Poudre Water Users, but our special use permit for Joe Wright Reservoir is up for renewal as well. "More than likely we will be fighting that issue the same time everyone else is fighting the reserve rights issues, because the Forest Service will probably want to put those special rights and minimum stream flows in our special use permit," Mr. Smith said apprehensively. Jim Kuiken affirmed that this has gone through trial before. The Forest Ser- vice at that time wanted to claim water for every possible use in the forest. As Mr. Kuiken understands the ruling, they went back to the act that created the National Forest. It says in that act that the only claims to stream flows are to secure favorable conditions. That has been interpreted by the Court as either growing trees or keeping channels open. They can't claim they Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 6 need stream flows for anything else. The state's case is based strictly along those lines. Chester Watson added, first you need to define what a channel is. Mike Smith said that the Forest Service has developed the unique philosophy or theory of having to purge the channel of material in the spring so you must allow the natural flows to come down and clean everything out. Mr. Kuiken contends that "it's unique alright, because it is based on mid - western rivers and has nothing to do with mountain rivers!" Mike Smith proposed that staff could prepare a short report on what is hap- pening with federal reserve rights and how it all fits together. Jim Kuiken thinks it would be worthwhile to address where the state's case fits in and "whether this is a different problem or we are just part of the same one." Norm Evans thinks an important point to be addressed is support for the CLP Water Users. It is evident that they think there is jeopardy for members, including Fort Collins. Tom Moore's suggestion that we should stand with them in the action should be taken since we are a member. Paul Eckman explained that what Ward Fischer wants to do is precipitate as quickly as possible, the trial in Greeley on our case before it gets to trial in another division. Dr. Evans stated that we ought to have our own legal counsel involved so we would have a voice in the settlement. Mike Smith thinks our option is to go along with the CLP Water Users and contribute to their action and attack it at that front, but also watch very closely with our own legal counsel -- especially on Joe Wright. It is hoped that the Joe Wright issue can be solved separately. Tom Moore asked Paul Eckman if he thinks a concerted effort needs to be made to get a trial going in Greeley. Mr. Eckman replied that he hasn't studied the case, but as he recalls there was a motion for summary judgement in that case which went to the Supreme Court on appeal. The Supreme Court sent it back for trial in Division 5. Ward Fisher's contention is that the facts aren't as favorable to us in Division 5. If it is tried again and brought to the Supreme Court it should be tried in our Division where we have and can make a better record. Mr. Eckman believes that any case is going to be appealed. "Any appeal in our division would be more sustainable than one in Division 5." He stressed that the principal parties need to meet to decide who is going to represent us and how we are going to proceed. Mike Smith commented that when this case was being tried before and Ward Fischer was involved with the CLP Water Users, the City of Fort Collins was contributing extra money regularly for this. Tom Moore moved that the Water Board express agreement that the City should support the Cache La Poudre Water Users in the Federal Reserve Rights Case. After Tom Sander's second, the motion passed with two abstentions: Ray Herr- mann because he is employed with the National Park Service and Chester Watson because of a possible conflict. Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 7 Tom Sanders believes that the City and the Water Board need to do some major planning and ascertain where our weaknesses are and be ready for the next intrusion. Mike Smith emphasized that Excalibur is a serious matter and we must prepare to deal with them. One of the other things we need to start doing immedi- ately is going to Court and changing the points of diversion and the use of the Southside Ditches, he stressed. Mike Smith brought the Board up to date on the status of Fort Collins' instream flow filing. Court action instigated from the opposing side has been delayed until June or July because the City has other exchange programs that the CLP Water Users and the District have agreed to look at. Dennis Bode is working with the District on some possible exchange programs that may put"real" water in the river. Also, the Conservation Board was contem- plating making an instream flow filing and the City asked them to delay that until we complete the other effort. The CLP Water Users and others are opposed to the Conservation Board making instream flow filings. Mr. Smith repeated that the main effort now is investigating exchange possibilities. Norm Evans related that he had attended a Conservation Board meeting. It was his understanding that the general staff recommendation in the case was that it did not meet their general criteria of a minimum amount of water flowing some of the time which is 55 second feet and we only have about 2 second feet at times. The Board accepted the staff recommendation that they not proceed with the filing. Mike Smith agreed that the staff recommended not to file because there was not an environment there to protect. The staff concluded that the only environment to protect was a cold water fishery. The Division of Wildlife and the City contend there are many environments to protect there that already exist. The Board directed the staff to review the concept that there are other environments to protect and try to accommodate Fort Collins. That's what the Water Conservation Board staff is doing. Jim Kuiken suggested something that has worked in the past. You actually donate a water right in trust to the Water Conservation Board and say that you want this water in the stream and they are the agency that will adminis- ter that request. "If they don't administer it, you say you will take it back." Mr. Smith agrees that the City does have that option "but we haven't pursued that because we didn't believe we were in the position to use the City's water solely for instream flow when the water flows on to Nebraska -- we aren't in a position to do that." However, if the Council and the Board authorized that option, we would pursue it, Mr. Smith added. Paul Eckman remarked: "You would be mixing the interests of the rate -payers with the interests of the taxpayers." MaryLou Smith was interested in hearing the plans for implementing the water metering plan that was approved by Council. Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 8 Mike Smith explained that the first reading of the ordinance that will implement the metering of new houses will be on December 1; the second read- ing will be two weeks later. It goes into effect on January 1. Will the staff be preparing information to go out in the water bills, etc.? Mr. Smith admitted that staff is not in a hurry to get people to volunteer for a meter immediately until there has been an opportunity to look thorough- ly at the process. "We will also put a budget limit on installing a certain number per year," he said. Also, as a part of the ordinance, there will be a limit of $500 for installation costs for those who volunteer. Marylou Smith asked if there will be public comment again when the ordinance comes up for first and second readings. Will the Council vote again? Yes, Mr. Smith answered. The Council passed a resolution stating what they want to do; that is the City policy. The ordinance implements that policy. Can Council members change their minds? "Yes, they can," Mr. Smith responded and "the ordinance can be referred." With the implementation of this, Tom Sanders asked, does the Council have to come back to the Water Board for a recommendation on the number of acre feet to bring in for the new houses or has that already been decided? "No, the policy stated that that will be looked at over the next five years." The existing policy will continue to apply. Norm Evans reported that he had received a call from the Utilities Director at Northglenn. He called to inform us that Westminster had invited them to join with them on the Windy Gap proposition and they declined to do so. He also talked about the plans of Westminster to extend their boundary to the Weld County line in order to get closer to make joining in the District more feasible. Northglenn had been offered Windy Gap water some time ago. The Utilities Director also related that Thornton was willing to share in the Water Supply and Storage Co. project with Westminster, Northglenn and oth- ers. "Most of those things we already knew, but I thought it was interesting that they would call," Dr. Evans remarked. Chairman Evans also referred to a letter from Boulder regarding the Westmin- ster proposal for Windy Gap water. Copies of the letter had been distrib- uted to Water Board members at the last meeting. The letter emphasized that Boulder would not support allowing Westminster into the CBT District. They also suggested that it would probably be a good idea for the Water Boards from Fort Collins and Boulder to have a joint meeting. As a matter of information, Ray Herrmann gave a report on the World Wilder- ness Conference held this past summer in Denver and Estes Park. He was a participant in that conference and gave a brief summary of what he considered to be two important facts of the Conference. One very important strategy presented at the conference was the involvement of the World Bank in the pro- tection of wilderness, particularly in tropical and Third World areas. In essence they are buying wilderness through trading back debt. He explained that a private organization is buying the debt from a country and then trad- ing it back to them for certain activities. It apparently is working quite well. There have been successful test cases in Brazil. He emphasized that Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 9 there can be innovative ways to preserve wilderness areas in the world. He also reported that there were papers and posters presented on various aspects of wilderness. There were about 30 posters on water resources related aspects of wilderness. Some of it actually gets into the areas of Forest Service filings which we talked about earlier, he said. How much water is needed to maintain biological systems and ecosystems, defining what is necessary and how much of it needs to be maintained in the channel, and what that means in general to the overall resources were some of the ques- tions for panel discussions. Jim Kuiken mentioned that during the Water Board/staff workshop we talked about the need for increasing treated water in the future. Is there anything happening with the Districts relating to discussions on regionalization? Mike Smith said there are discussions, but at this point there hasn't been much progress. The City has had a meeting with East Larimer County, Fort Collins - Loveland and North Weld County Water Districts. They own and operate the Tri- district Plant. They are anticipating an expansion of that facility soon. We have discussed the possibility of the City of Fort Collins participating in that expansion with them by forming some kind of an authority or joint entity or something like that, he explained. ELCO and Fort Collins -Loveland think it is a good idea; North Weld is strongly opposed. "We continue to pursue that but it is going to be difficult," he concluded. Jo Boyd asked why North Weld County opposes it. Mr. Smith explained that their facility is sized ultimately for 60 mgd. It only has twenty currently. North Weld's opinion is if the City joins in with them to expand the facil- ity, we would use up some of that ultimate capacity which North Weld thinks they may need someday. "They don't want Fort Collins to do that," Mr. Smith stressed. Is the quality of the water an issue, Mr. Kuiken asked. The quality of the water is certainly an issue, Mr. Smith said, but what they are doing with their expansion is improving their capability of treating water at a higher level. Eventually, they basically will have the same kind of facility that we have, he added. Mary Lou Smith asked staff to present an educational program to the Water Board about the Districts. For example, she understands that our strategy with the Districts appears to be different from Loveland's according to their utility director. Her intention for the staff report would be to get an overall picture including some history and background information. Chairman Evans agreed that such an educational presentation would certainly be worth- while. Ms. Smith suggested that about a 30 minute presentation with a hand- out at a regular Water Board meeting would be sufficient. This would also lead the Water Board into a discussion of some of the issues including what our thinking is on strategy. Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 10 Jim Kuiken asked if there was anything the Water Board could do to move the regional concept ahead. Should we contact people in North Weld? "If you know or feel comfortable with any of the Board members, it might be good to estab- lish some kind of rapport or relationship with them. Trying to find out what their ideas and concerns are, would be helpful," Mike Smith suggested. Jo Boyd asked if there was any validity to their concern about losing 40 mgd of capacity. "What the North Weld manager is saying is that the plant will reach its potential sooner, which would require building another plant," Mr. Smith explained. Jim Kuiken believes that regionalization is an idea that is in our best int- erest and there are things that Water Board members should and could be doing in promoting that effort and aiding City staff in their discussions. Mr. Smith is not certain what the opinions are on the North Weld Board. The City's dealings have been with the North Weld manager to this point. President Evans said that Jim Kuiken's point is a good one. Any of us who know anyone from the board are urged to make a contact, but he would also caution that it is imperative to be careful and judicious about it because a word poorly spoken might have bad effects. That has happened in the past, he added. Mr. Smith reported that things are proceeding better with the Fort Collins - Loveland Water District regarding the possible joint use of a large transmis- sion pipeline in southwest Fort Collins. Some of the problems are getting closer to being worked out, he said. Mary Lou Smith reminded the Board and staff that Dave Stewart had requested that conflicts of interest be discussed at a meeting as soon as possible. Has a time been set? Molly Nortier explained that it had been scheduled for today's meeting but Paul Eckman was not expected to be here due to a conflict. It will be on the agenda for the December meeting. Attorney Paul Eckman agreed to be there to participate in the discussion and interpret some of the legal language. Jim Kuiken introduced another subject. It has come to his attention that perhaps some of our more talented water and wastewater technicians may be lured away by attractive firms such as Anheuser-Busch or U.S. West. They require the same basic skills but salaries are better. Should Water Board members go on record before the Council supporting higher salaries for these people? Mike Smith said he isn't sure there is a role for the Board at this point. It is an issue that we are concerned about because it is difficult to get good operators in the first place. There is no record of our losing any yet. It is a tough issue because the City's philosophy on pay is what's at stake. Having one department in the City getting exception from that would be a very touchy issue. Basically, the pay philosophy is arrived at by surveying com- munities in Northern Colorado for each benchmark position. Then the City sets their pay at the 50 percentile of that survey. Half the survey makes Water Board Minutes November 20, 1987 Page 11 higher salaries and half make lower salaries. It is Jo Boyd's observation that Fort Colins has such an abundance of quali- fied technicians that if someone "stole" one we would not be hurt as badly as some other cities. Nevertheless, it is a concern. Norm Evans concurred with Jim Kuiken that this could be a cause for concern. "We would ask staff to keep a sharp eye for the Water Board and inform us if we can be of any help." "We will," Mr. Smith assured the Board. Since there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m. 1�[ 4 nt-?� Water Board Sec etary