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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 03/27/2008Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes Thursday, March 27, 2008 Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison Doug Yadon, 484-3611 David Roy Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison Gina Janett, 493-4677 Robin Pierce, 221-6702 Roll Call Board Present Chairperson Doug Yadon, Reagan Waskom, Johannes Gessler, David Pillard, John Bartholow, Mike Connor, Gary Wockner, Phil Phelan, Steve Balderson and Eileen Dornfest Board Absent Vice Chairperson Gina Janett Staff Present Brian Janonis, Patty Bigner, Laurie D'Audney, Dennis Bode, Jenny Lopez Filkins, Terri Bryant, Kevin Gertig, DeEtta Carr, Robin Pierce and Olivia Brown Meeting Convened Chairperson Doug Yadon called the meeting to order at 5:18 p.m. Utilities Executive Director Brian Janonis introduced Robin Pierce, his new Executive Administrative Assistant. He encouraged the members of the Water Board to communicate their needs for staff support through Ms. Pierce. Citizen Participation None Minutes of February 28, 2008 Board Member Reagan Waskom motioned to approve the minutes from the February 28, 2008, meeting. Board Member David Pillard seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Watershed Protection Program Update Kevin Gertig, Water Production Manager, presented a routine yearly update of the City of Fort Collins Watershed Program on behalf of Judy Billica, Senior Process Engineer with the Utilities, who could not attend the Water Board meeting. The program objectives are to work with the City of Greeley and Tri-Districts staff on common water quality issues in watersheds of the Upper Cache La Poudre (CLP) river, Horsetooth Reservoir and associated components of the Colorado -Big Thompson (C-BT); design and maintain ongoing water quality monitoring in both watersheds; maintain a focus on the monitoring of our drinking water supplies; and share costs where feasible. The Watershed Program is part of the Water Resources and Treatment budget. The program's adopted budget for 2008 is $324,054, a 72 percent increase over the 2007 adopted budget of $188,683. The increase is due to the hiring of a new full time Watershed Specialist, special projects such as the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) Characterization Study and implementation of the Upper CLP Monitoring Program. The Collaborative Water Quality Monitoring Program on the Upper CLP is being designed by Dr. Jim Loftis, a well known expert in the field. There will be 19 sites and 11 sampling events each year. The program design will be completed and implemented by April 2008, with costs shared equally between the City of Fort Collins, City of Greeley and Tri-Districts. Fort Collins will manage the program and the Fort Collins Water Quality Laboratory will do the analysis. Monitoring sites include nine on the main stem, eight on the North Fork and North Fork tributaries, one on the South Fork and one on Seaman Reservoir. There is fairly high water quality in the Upper CLP River, but it is no longer considered pristine. This program will provide a baseline for monitoring efforts in order to measure any changes in water quality over time. Future potential projects for the Upper CLP include working with the USGS to install and maintain three flow gauging stations that will provide real time information using satellite technology. USGS will also be hired to conduct low level mercury sampling and analysis every three to five years, and the City will work with USGS to update the Collins and Sprague 2005 study on the presence of endocrine disrupters (ECD) and personal care products (PCP) in the watershed. This is an important emerging issue but there are few laboratories in the world that can test for pharmaceuticals and the cost is quite high. The City wants to continue to collaborate with USGS on this study, even if the costs mean it cannot be done on an annual basis. Finally, the watershed program will refine and verify work conducted by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment in the 2004 City of Fort Collins Source Water Assessment Report. The City of Fort Collins Water Production staff has seven water sampling missions scheduled in 2008 at the Horsetooth Reservoir. The City has a decade worth of data and statistical analysis from Horsetooth, so the frequency of sampling there can be reduced to save funds. The City is communicating closely with Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD), which has increased water quality monitoring at Horsetooth Reservoir. The City of Fort Collins is an active participant in the Big Thompson Watershed Forum (BTWF), which monitors water quality within the Big Thompson River and east -slope components of the C-BT project. Judy Billica serves on the Board of Directors. The Fort Collins Water Quality Laboratory is conducting TOC and chlorophyll -a analyses as an in -kind contribution in 2008 for the BTWF Cooperative Monitoring Program. The City of Fort Collins has made a $42,949 cash contribution to the BTWF in 2008. The Total Organic Carbon (TOC) study will characterize the nature of TOC in the watershed and in the water treatment plant influent and effluent. Sources of TOC are terrestrial such as snowmelt runoff seeping through vegetative debris, in situ such as algae, and soluble products from wastewater treatment. Up to 65 percent of the TOC is removed during treatment, but the remaining fraction of it combines with chlorine to create disinfection byproducts. All treatment facilities have as a fundamental objective to reduce this fraction because some disinfection byproducts are possible carcinogens and have known adverse health effects for humans. The standard is 80 micrograms per liter. The City's mean is well below 40 mg/l, but staff will continue to work to improve it. This study is funded jointly by the City of Fort Collins, City of Greeley, Tri-Districts and NCWCD and is being managed by the City of Fort Collins. Monthly watershed meetings are being held with staff from the City of Greeley, Tri-Districts and NCWCD. The City also participates in the Front Range Watershed Protection Working Group which is organized by the Colorado State Forest Service and the US Forest Service. This group is dedicated to the protection of drinking water supply watersheds from high -severity fires. Finally, the City's watershed program is monitoring the progress of the Northern Integrated Supply Project. Together with staff -from the City's Natural Resources Department, they plan to assist with the comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, now scheduled to be released on April 30. Board Member John Bartholow asked if the watershed program puts the information they gather into the Colorado data sharing network. Mr. Gettig said the program data is being converted into a database that is uniform and can be used by anyone. They hope to have this conversion complete within the next six months. Chairperson Yadon asked Mr. Gertig to describe the job of the new watershed employee. Jill Oropeza has a Masters degree from Colorado State University in Ecology with an emphasis on watershed monitoring. The position will be a combination of field work, laboratory work, analysis and report writing. Board Member Waskom asked if the new position will have an educational role. Brian Janonis explained there are customer service staff members whose focus is public education. They do river water sampling, ecological projects and other watershed monitoring activities with local students. Chairperson Yadon thanked Mr. Gettig for the Watershed Program update. Water Conservation Annual Report Update Laurie D'Audney, Water Conservation Specialist, presented the 2007 update of the Water Conservation Annual Report. A draft of the City's updated Water Conservation Plan was released last October. An open house was held and public comments were received. Staff has been evaluating the impacts of implementing this plan on water storage, rates, treatment plants, distribution and wastewater. The revised plan is expected to be taken to the Water Board and City Council for approval in 2008. Staff coordinated presentations and tours at the City's Xeriscape Demonstration Garden located in front of City Hall at 300 LaPorte Avenue. The garden has new labels for the 160 xeriscape species and new brochures for self -guided tours. A garden party and guided tour will be offered on July 10. Board Member Mike Connor said he has had a difficult time finding many of the Xeriscape plants at local nurseries. Ms. D'Audney said they are currently compiling a recommended plant list and will share it with the nurseries. The City co -sponsored the fourth annual High Plains Landscape Workshop, which continues to grow and attract people from all over Colorado. There is a daily lawn watering guide published in the Coloradoan newspaper that advises people how much to water a lawn based on recent precipitation and average water needs. The Utilities has a very active local youth education program based on Dr. WaterWise conservation curriculum. The Utilities co -sponsored the 2007 Children's Water Festival, during which 1,600 third graders go to CSU for a day of water education. Utilities offers several incentive programs, including clothes washer and dishwasher rebates, sprinkler system audits and zero -interest loans for conservation upgrades. Facility water audits are conducted for businesses in conjunction with Natural Resources' Climate Wise program. Board Member Bartholow suggested post audits be performed to gauge how many participants implement the recommendations. Approximately 1,000 Utilities customers take advantage of the clothes washer rebate program each year. A dishwasher rebate program for ENERGY STAR® qualified models was started in 2007. City staff works closely with appliance retailers to ensure the rebate applications are available at the stores to make it easy for customers to apply. The Utilities staff has seen about a 15 percent decline in indoor water use in the last five years, and this can be attributed in part to these more efficient appliances. As part of the Utilities' participation in the City's Sustainability Team, a multi -departmental Water Policy Team was started in 2006 to review the City's policies and regulations that affect water efficiency. Ms. D'Audney highlighted the water conservation efforts of the City Parks Department. In 2007, Natural Resources and the Streets Department started a free toilet recycling program. Streets crashes the porcelain toilets and combines them into an aggregate to be used as road base. The City participated with the Northern Colorado Industrial, Commercial and Institutional group of water providers to develop benchmarks for water use for things like restaurants, hotels/motels, schools and nursing homes. The City also became an EPA WaterSense partner, which is a label similar to ENERGY STAR®products that conserve water. Overall water use takes total system water demand divided by service area population and is measured in gallons per capita per day. This is not just residential use; it also takes into account commercial use with a few exceptions. For 2007, water use remained the same as 2006 at 156 gallons per capita per day (gpcd). Since 2003 water use has been consistently lowered. Board Member Waskom asked how much more water conservation is possible. Dennis Bode, Water Resource Manager, said the updated Water Conservation Plan proposes a goal of 140 gpcd. Water use is roughly two-thirds indoor, one-third outdoor. He believes outdoor irrigation is an area where water conservation can continue to bring the gpcd down. Board Member Gessler suggested separate goals for indoor and outdoor use. He said the outdoor water use goal could be tied to climate conditions. Board Member Waskom said water staff has done an outstanding job of implementing their conservation plan. Board Member Pillard pointed out that the Water Supply and Demand Management Policy states that the water use goal is to reach 185 gpcd by 2010, It appears that goal has been met and surpassed. Board Member Waskom asked if the Water Board should recommend to City Council that the water use goal in the policy be updated. Several board members agreed. Board Member Wockner asked if the goal changes, would other things in the policy have to change, too, for example drought criteria and water supply requirements. Chairperson Yadon said there should also be discussion about the financial implications of water conservation. Chairperson Yadon asked what the interval is for formal updates to the Water Supply and Demand Policy, Mr. Janonis responded it is generally updated every five years. He said after staff completes the financial and program evaluations it will be presented to the Water Board. The Water Board will vote on a recommendation to City Council regarding the update of the policy, and then Council will make a decision. Council establishes policy, and staff is charged with implementing programs to meet policy goals. Chairperson Yadon said he would like Council to be aware that it is a policy Water Board and staff will be working on and discussing in the coming months. Strategic Issues Discussion Brian Janonis led a discussion of two of the strategic issues identified in the AWWARF report, Population/Demographics and Health. This is the beginning of a series of strategic issues discussions. Population/Demographics According to the report, by 2025 the South and West will be home to close to two-thirds of the country's population. The West is experiencing huge population growth and planners in this and region worry about future water supply. Fort Collins is fortunate because it has a defined Growth Management Area. With water conservation, the City will never have to build another water treatment facility because there is sufficient treatment capacity for both the projected area population and industrial demands. Chairperson Yadon asked about the City's wastewater capacity. Mr. Janonis explained, unlike water treatment, wastewater is quickly approaching the need for a new facility. In fact, there is work currently being done to replace part of the Mulberry Wastewater Treatment Plant. Board Member Phelan asked if the need for a new facility was necessitated by the illegal dumping into the wastewater system in 2005 that killed the microorganisms at the Mulberry Plant. Mr. Janonis explained that the problems at the Mulberry Plant were caused primarily by degradation over time. The wastewater project will cost $30 million in total and will replace facilities first built in 1948. The demographic makeup of the community has remained largely unchanged over time. Fort Collins has a highly educated population who demand a high level of technical information from the Utilities. These requests are capably handled because the Utilities staff members, like the general population, are highly educated. Fort Collins has seen an increase in retirees who live on a fixed income. This demographic is particularly sensitive to rate increases. There is a constant need for public education because many people move here from other places and do not understand the need for stormwater infrastructure in our climate. Board Member Bartholow said the demographics of the City's watershed, particularly development in the Colorado -Big Thompson watershed, must also be considered from a strategic planning standpoint. Board Member Waskom said as the City approaches build out, development and impact fees decrease. Customers who live on a fixed income will resist rate increases, but soon the Utilities will be based solely on a rate structure. Mr. Janonis said this has significant implications for replacement of aging infrastructure. The bond market traditionally helped finance this type of work, but it has suffered in recent years. Public water utilities in many countries have turned to privatization in the face of this dilemma. Board Member Connor suggested rate increases to create reserves to tackle these infrastructure projects. Mr. Janonis explained that rate increases, particularly to build up reserves, are politically very unpopular. Chairperson Yadon said it is important for the Water Board to be in agreement with staff in conveying this message to Council. He said he would like the Water Board to further study the idea of considering rate increases over time as a mechanism to build reserves for the purposes of infrastructure maintenance. Health Trends Fort Collins has a population that is very sensitive to water quality issues. There are a large number of immunocompromised individuals living in this community. The cost of spraying for West Nile Virus mosquitoes has been high because of the City's stormwater facilities. Because it relates to the issues of water supply and health, Mr. Janonis asked Kevin Gettig to inform the Water Board about the situation in Alamosa. On March 19, the Colorado Department of Health issued an advisory due to a salmonella outbreak in the water supply in Alamosa. Over 250 cases of salmonella have been confirmed. The origin has not been identified, but investigation is continuing. There have only been 15 documented cases of water supply contamination of this sort since salmonella has been tracked in water supplies, so it is quite unusual. Their source is ground water, and because of high sulfur and arsenic levels, bottled water was preferred to boiling. There were not high degrees of fecal or other contaminants in the water supply, but it was not chlorinated. Alamosa is flushing the entire system with 25 parts per million of chlorine. Although the population is only about 8,500, they have a few hundred miles of distribution. It will take approximately three weeks to move through the whole system. Right now the need for wastewater operators is great because the highly chlorinated water is going to an active sludge plant and it has to be de -chlorinated. They have a treatment plant that was scheduled to go on line in June, so that may be accelerated. The first window of time is very critical in a crisis of this type. Because the Governor declared a State of Emergency, they were able to secure assistance from the National Guard. Within 48 hours of the alert, Fort Collins sent a 6,000 gallon water tanker. Fort Collins Utilities also sent a mobile chlorinator and provided technical assistance by telephone, The City Manager and City Attorneys are working to develop a Mutual Aid Agreement so further staff support and materials may be provided. The City is also working to become a member of Colorado's Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (CoWARN), an online network where utilities can share information and get resources for this type of situation. This will entail entering into an agreement that ensures that each entity in the network is responsible for any liability that results from their own actions, just as they would be in the normal course of business. Board Member Gessler asked if Fort Collins would be prepared if something similar were to happen here. Mr. Janonis said the Utilities work regularly on the issue of emergency preparedness. While it is not exactly like the situation in Alamosa, the Utilities are scheduled to participate in a pandemic preparedness exercise with the County on May 2. Mr. Gertig added that the City has a progressive Office of Emergency Management and a great network for emergency response in Northern Colorado. Utilities must be considered an issue of public health in the Budgeting for Outcomes process the City has adopted. Board Member Steve Balderson applauded the efforts of Utilities staff in assisting with the salmonella contamination of Alamosa's water supply. Committee Reports A. Water Supply —Reagan Waskom, Chair Committee Meeting, Thursday, April 10, 5 p.m., Utility Service Center. B. Legislative, Finance, Liaison Issues — David Pillard, Chair Committee Meeting Thursday, April 10, 4 p.m., Utility Service Center. C. Conservation and Public Education — Phil Phelan, Chair The Committee met on Tuesday, March 25. The agenda topic of the meeting was Commercial Landscape Conservation Standards. Next month the committee may schedule a tour of Halligan Reservoir rather than hold a meeting. All Water Board members will be notified if a tour is scheduled. D. Engineering — Steve Balderson, Chair Committee Meeting Tuesday, April 15, 3:30 p.m., Utility Service Center. The agenda topic will be Chronic Wasting Disease. - E. In -stream Flow Committee — Gary Wockner, Chair Committee Meeting Friday, March 28, 3:30 p.m., Utility Service Center. Staff Reports Treated Water Production Summary and Outlook reports are in the board packet. Other Business None Future Agenda Items None Adiournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m. Olivia Brown, Water Board Secretary