Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 06/19/2008Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes Special Meeting Thursday, June 19, 2008 Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison Doug Yadon, 484-3611 David Roy, 217-5506 Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison Gina Janett, 493-4677 Robin Pierce, 221-6702 Roll Call Board Present Vice Chairperson Gina Janett, John Bartholow, Mike Connor, Eileen Dornfest, Johannes Gessler and Phil Phelan Board Absent Chairperson Doug Yadon, Reagan Waskom and Gary Wockner Staff Present Brian Janonis, Dennis Bode, Bob Smith, Keith Elmund, Kevin Gettig, Patty Bigner, Donnie Dustin, Carol Webb, Judy Billica, Susan Strong, Katy Bigner, Carrie Daggett, Jennifer Shanahan and Robin Pierce Meeting Convened Vice Chairperson Gina Janett called the meeting to order at 3:37 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to receive preliminary information from staff's technical review of the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Vice Chairperson Janett received a request from Board Member Gary Wockner asking the Board to refrain from voting at this meeting to allow missing members the opportunity to participate in the vote. Board members present agreed to vote at the June 26 regular meeting. Citizen Participation None Staff Presentation Water Resources and Treatment Operations Manager Kevin Gettig introduced the staff presentation and the process used by the cross -functional technical review team to review the NISP DEIS. Utilities staff are collaborating with over 30 disciplines, representing expertise in areas such as geomorphology, hydrology, aquatics and standards of the Cache la Poudre (CLP or Poudre) River. All information shared at this meeting is preliminary. Utilities and Natural Resources staff are preparing a response to be presented to Council on July 1 (date changed following meeting to September 2). Staff generally focused their response on the proposed action, Alternative 2. If the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) chooses a different action, staff may need to revisit some of this work. Source Water and Water Treatment (Dr. Judy Billica, Senior Process Engineer) Fort Collins Utilities Water Treatment Facility treats water from Horsetooth Reservoir and the Upper CLP River. Glade Reservoir is designed to take water from the Upper CLP River, and will not have an impact on water treatment and source water. However, the proposed pipeline between the Glade and Horsetooth Reservoirs will impact our water treatment operation. If the pipeline is not constructed, roughly 40,000 acre feet less water will be coming into Horsetooth Reservoir. The flow through the reservoir could be altered and residence time increased, increasing algae growth and possibly changing the aquatic system in Horsetooth Reservoir. Total Organic Content (TOC) increases every year during spring runoff. Glade Reservoir will store high TOC water, which can also develop from high algae content in the reservoir. The treatment process is required to remove a portion of TOC above certain levels of concentration. The residual exiting the plant reacts with chlorine and forms disinfection byproducts, which are potential carcinogens. This poses a significant water treatment and human health issue. Issue: The discussion in the DEIS does not address the issue of TOC and disinfection byproducts formation. The Corps used one year of data (2000) for the Poudre River to reflect average annual condition. There is insufficient information for staff to analyze the quality of water coming from Glade Reservoir into Horsetooth Reservoir. Issue: The DEIS underestimates the TOC concentration coming from Glade, and the assessment does not accurately reflect temperature issues that impact consistent mixing of water sources. Many operational scenarios were not provided, making it difficult for staff to analyze. Staff will request additional modeling be done. Flow Regime (Dennis Bode, Water Resources Mana er) The DEIS notes flow reductions at the Lincoln Street gage from the NISP project. Average annual reductions are estimated to be about 33,000 acre feet per year at Lincoln Street when NISP is operating at full demand levels. In addition to the diversions due to the Glade Reservoir storage right, exchanges will take place on the river during most years that result in water being pumped into Glade Reservoir. These diversions will result in significant reductions of flow to the river below the mouth of the canyon. A number of mitigation strategies are suggested in the DEIS to address the impact of the diversions, such as working with the Colorado Division of Wildlife to enhance flows for the fisheries, construction of low -flow bypass structures and working with local irrigation companies to re -time movement of water. Issue: Flow reductions in the river affect many other aspects, including water quality, riparian habitat, fisheries, recreation and aesthetics. Issue: The DEIS does not define flow reduction impacts under the No Action Alternative. The Corps needs to clearly define what the future looks like without the project through the logical progression of changes as dictated by water right scenarios. Flow Impacts (Bob Smith, Water Planning and Development Manager) The DEIS mentions an impact to reduced flows and velocities through Fort Collins. Flood control for Fort Collins speaks to the capacity of the river to carry flood flows. Bank to bank flow in Fort Collins is roughly 5,000 cfs, representing a third of the flows expected during a major flood. Two potential areas exist for excess water that cannot fit into the channel. The flood flows for the 100-year project design criteria do not change due to this project. The NISP project results in reduced flows and velocities coming through town over time, resulting in increased 2 sedimentation and vegetation in the channel. With the loss of capacity in the river, floodplains increase and more properties will be required to comply with floodplain regulations. Issue: The DEIS identified adaptive management as the primary response to address this issue. The DEIS lacks a sensitivity analysis to make projections, identify impacts and locations of impacts. Staff does not think adaptive management is an acceptable approach. Permitting Relationship (Mr. Bode. Water Resources Manager) The EIS review process for the Halligan -Seaman project is about a year behind NISP. The two projects (Halligan -Seaman and NISP) involve separate EIS reviews, different purposes and needs, separate participants and different water rights. The Halligan -Seaman project is a joint project among the Cities of Fort Collins and Greeley, the Tri-Districts and North Poudre Irrigation Company, and is designed primarily for drought supply storage. It will have very little effect on future flows through Fort Collins. In general, water from NISP will be used for smaller developing communities, while water from the Halligan -Seaman project is supplementing the water needs of older more established communities TCE Plume (Dr. Keith Elmund, Environmental Services Manager) Dr. Elmund provided background on the location of the TCE plume using satellite maps of the area. The trichloroethylene (TCE) plume is located at former Missile Site 13 near Ted's Place northwest of Laporte. The volume of water at the TCE-contaminated plume is approximately 5.3 million gallons. The highest concentration of TCE has been detected at approximately 140 micrograms per liter. The drinking water standard is set not to exceed 5 micrograms per liter. The TCE accumulated there due to the process of loading missiles with liquid oxygen and refined kerosene as rocket propellants. When the missile went into "stand down" mode, the liquid oxygen lines were cleaned with TCE. Each time the lines were cleaned, 25 gallons of TCE were used. If a missile activation exercise took place once a week from between the early 1950s to 1965 for approximately ten years, 13,000 gallons of TCE would have been used. Consultants project the plume is migrating southeast toward the Poudre River. Dr. Elmund pointed out the Poudre River route through Fort Collins on the satellite map. Starting in the late 1970s, a US Geologic Survey (USGS) site was established at Shields Street and the Poudre River for monitoring monthly water quality and instantaneous flow information. The site was operational for about 20 years and was discontinued due to increasing costs. Information from our gaging station at Lincoln Street on the river is sent via satellite to the Federal Center in Denver. Monthly water quality data at the site is available dating back to 1977. This is a key site for Fort Collins in terms of water quality and flow monitoring. The Mulberry Water Reclamation Facility (MWRF) is rated to discharge treated wastewater to the Poudre River at 6 million gallons per day (mgd). There is a water right where some MWRF effluent flow is picked up below Mulberry Street and then goes into Timnath Reservoir, approximately 4.5mgd. The Drake Water Reclamation Facility (DWRF) is rated at 23mgd. However, the current average volume of wastewater treated is about 10mgd. The DWRF has three possible discharge points: the Poudre River, Fossil Creek Ditch and the Rawhide substation. In addition to the USGS gage station monitoring work at Lincoln St and above Boxelder Creek, Utilities' Pollution Control Lab staff go to Lincoln Street Gage, Prospect Street and Boxelder Gage sites weekly to collect nutrients and metals information as part of the Poudre Monitoring Alliance with Kodak Colorado Division, Boxelder Sanitation District, the Town of Windsor, South Fort Collins Sanitation District and the City of Greeley. 3 Board Member Bartholow asked why the Northern District seems to have reported a redundant gage at the Boxelder site. Dr. Elmund responded that the DEIS Water Quality Technical Report used USGS data from the Poudre at Prospect Street Site (06752270) rather than the nearby but downstream Boxelder Gage (06752280) on the Poudre just upstream of Boxelder Creek. The NISP DEIS predicts a decrease in TOC downstream primarily due to dilution and biological activity. Unlike the drinking water side, TOC is a desired parameter when doing effluent metals discharge calculations. The humic substances or TOC in river water can tie up metals like copper and in a chemically bound form that is no longer toxic to fish. The Poudre River upstream of Shields Street is already classified cold water "Class 2" and also falls under the 305b regulations for "monitoring and evaluation." The Water Quality Control Division is keeping a close eye on that section of the Poudre River due an accidental discharge on the North Fork of the river about 15 years ago that resulted in a substantial fish kill. The DEIS reports that there will be an increased frequency and duration of warmer water temperatures in the Poudre River through the City due to reduced flow. Regulatory and Government Affairs Manager Carol Webb noted the temperature standard has already been decreased to 17°C. Old temperature standards were used in compiling the DEIS. The temperature standards have been updated since 2007 and are more stringent now. For a cold water Class 2 segment, the summer temperature chronic standard is now set at 17°C (over a 7 day average). Staff will request in the response document that the data be compared to the new standard to determine if water quality standards are being exceeded. Water temperature also affects discharge ammonia limits from the City's water reclamation facilities. There are both chronic and acute standards for total ammonia in treated effluent. The chronic standard is pH dependent, and the acute standard is both pH and temperature dependent. Warmer water temperatures make the acute ammonia standard more stringent. In summary, Dr. Elmund compiled information taken from the NISP DEIS, noting the language used, and which parameters would be impacted by reduced flows in the Poudre River. Issue: Water temperature increases are noted, but the DEIS does not provide any detail or modeling on related water quality properties (conductivity, hardness or alkalinity). Many metals limits in our wastewater discharge permits are set based on hardness and flow. Issue: A standard of 20°C for cold water stream segments from two years ago was used. The new standard is 17°C (chronic standard over 7 day average). Issue: The Corps anticipates potential for more algal blooms in the river, but the discussion stops there. The DEIS does not address the effect of the algal blooms or the potential for algal toxins, lower dissolved oxygen or fish kills. They only note that there may be more algal blooms. In response to a question from Vice Chairperson Janett, Dr. Elmund noted that these quantifiable changes could alter wastewater treatment permit limits and may ultimately force the Utility into Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT). In AWT, coagulation steps are added to remove phosphorus and metals, and also a filtration step to further reduce the solids content in the treated effluent. This is a very expensive proposition. As the flows would be reduced in the Poudre rd River, definitely from the MWRF and potentially from the DWRF, the effluent must achieve the most stringent application of stream standards for that segment of the river. All of our effluent limits are dilution based, so if there is more flow in the Poudre River, a greater margin exists of what is allowed for discharge. As the flow decreases, very strict standards apply. The Water Quality Technical Report includes 12 tables containing information on mass balance calculations, flow and concentration of the river and discharge. The mass balance part of calculations are used to allocate discharges and set limits between Fort Collins and the Boxelder and South Fort Collins Sanitation Districts. However, flows and concentrations used for the calculations were omitted from the tables. Issue: The DEIS did not identify what river flows, effluent flows or concentrations values were used in the mass balance calculations. Therefore, Dr. Elmund was not able to derive the same results stated in the DEIS Water Quality Technical Report. Issue: The DEIS used data from Prospect Road (monthly water quality data and instantaneous flow measurements) for calculating the mass balance figures for the South Fort Collins Sanitation District (SFCSD). The Water Quality Technical Report states the SFCSD discharges to the Poudre River in the vicinity of Prospect Road, an error repeated throughout the report. There is no table of mass balance calculations presented for the DWRF, leading Dr. Elmund to believe that the Corps overlooked the DWRF. They may have mistook the South Fort Collins Sanitation District for the DWRF. Issue: There are errors or omissions related to remediation of the TCE plume at the missile site. There was no seasonal monitoring performed at the wells. There may be five different levels of groundwater at the site. Sampling during one mission to the site did not include any depth to groundwater measurements. Board Member Bartholow asked if processes would be available to the City if the impact of the project requires Fort Collins to upgrade its wastewater treatment processes. Various processes exist to address such issues, i.e. Water Court, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process and 1041 regulations with the County. The Corps will be required to obtain a 401 Water Quality Certification, which is part of the record of decision. The certification looks at water quality impacts and standards. The applicant has an obligation to prevent, reduce or mitigate water quality impacts, and the applicant is required to avoid injury to water rights. The Corps is required to respond to substantive comments and may require amendments to the DEIS or issue a supplemental DEIS. Once a direction is charted, a fair amount of discussion and negotiation still occurs about some of these issues. Vice Chairperson Janett requested a possible Executive Session be included on the agenda for the Board's next regular meeting on June 26 in the event discussion is necessary on any of the legal issues. Adiournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:40 p.m. Robin Pierce, Water Board Staff Liaison