HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012 - Water Board - Annual Report1
2012 Fort Collins Water Board Annual Report
January 2013
2012 Board Members
Steve Balderson, Chair* Lori Brunswig Liesel Hans
Steve Malers, Vice Chair Duncan Eccleston Eric Garner
Phil Phelan Becky Goldbach Meagan Smith1 1through May
Brian Brown Brett Bovee *retiring members
This annual report summarizes the activities of the Water Board during 2012. The formatting of this
2012 Annual Report is consistent with the 2013 Annual Work Plan, which was restructured from
previous years. Water Board activities listed below are organized by the major responsibilities of Fort
Collins Utilities related to water (“Water”, “Wastewater”, and “Stormwater”). The “Regional Issues”
category includes topics related to maintaining a dialogue on regional water issues. Within each
heading are listed Water Board activities and the month of the meeting in which they occurred. Refer to
the meeting minutes for the indicated month for additional information. Minutes are available on the
Fort Collins website
In addition to changing the format of the Annual Work Plan and this Annual Report, the Water Board in
September of 2012 began holding monthly work sessions on the first Thursday of each month as an
alternative to committee meetings. Whereas committee meetings involved a subset of the Board, the
work session format helps ensure that all Water Board members participate in all meetings, allows staff
to engage the Board in preparatory discussions outside of normal meetings, and decreases demands for
staff support. The Water Board and staff will continue to evaluate the work session format during 2013,
monitor benefits and limitations of this approach, and make adjustments as appropriate. With respect
to this annual report, work sessions (and committee meetings prior to September) are indicated to help
understand chronology of discussion. A summary of work session discussion typically can be found in
the minutes of the normal meeting following the work session; however, no actions are voted on at
work session meetings and minutes are not published.
Water
Input on planning and policies related to raw and treated water supply:
o Recommended approval of the updated Water Supply and Demand Management Policy
(Aug)
Input on annual business:
o Recommended Maxwell Farm raw water purchase and transfer to Natural Areas for
conservation easement (Jan)
o Recommended acceptance of surplus water rental rates proposed by staff (Feb)
o Presentation by staff on drinking water quality and annual customer confidence reports
(Jun)
o Recommended an increase of water rates by 4 percent in 2013, due to unexpected costs
of the High Park Fire (Sep)
2
Educational topics:
o Presentation by staff on meeting conduct and Water Board role (Feb), with additional
staff presentation on adopting council rules of procedure (May)
o Presentation by staff on landscape preference survey as input to Water Supply and
Demand Management Policy (Mar)
o Presentation by staff on the Asset Management System, which is used to track Fort
Collins infrastructure (May)
o Presentation by staff on plans and opportunities to develop operational storage via
gravel pits (Aug)
o Presentation by staff on Fort Collins budget (Sep work session)
o Presentation by staff and Aaron Lien of the University of Arizona on the Conserve to
Enhance Program (Sep Conservation and Public Education Committee)
o Presentation by staff on the Poudre watershed (Nov work session)
o Presentation by staff on High Park Fire restoration (Dec work session)
Other specific topics:
o Recommended that City Council adopt the On‐Bill Utility Financing Pilot Program to
encourage water and energy efficiency improvements by customers (Mar)
o Recommended that City Council approve the Intergovernmental Agreement for Interim
Water Services between Fort Collins Utilities and Fort Collins‐Loveland Water District
(Mar)
o Recommended that City Council consider approval of an ordinance authorizing the
conveyance of a permanent waterline easement and temporary construction easement
on the City property to the North Weld County Water District and East Larimer County
Water District (Jun)
o Chair Balderson and Vice Chair Malers participated in periodic review of boards and
commissions and provided information the Board (Apr, Jun)
o Recommended addition of work session meeting on first Thursday of each month,
subject to schedule changes (Aug)
o Recommended that the City Manager’s budget be adopted by City Council (Sep)
o Recommended that the Water Board size remain at 11 members (Oct)
Wastewater
Input on planning and policies related to wastewater:
o Recommended to City Council that City Code be changed to approve the water and
sewer services for carriage houses to connect to the principal dwelling on the property
(Feb)
Input on annual business:
o No wastewater rate changes were recommended in 2012
Educational topics:
o Topics relevant to wastewater are included above (e.g., budget presentation)
Other specific topics:
o Recommended that City Council consider approval of an ordinance authorizing
conveyance of an easement for the Nunn Telephone Company on the Meadow Springs
Ranch (Oct)
3
Stormwater
Input on planning and policies related to stormwater:
o Stormwater Master Plan:
Provided input to staff on Stormwater master plan revisions (Jan)
Passed motion approving of staff efforts on master plan related to evaluating
and prioritizing stream restoration projects and funding capital improvement
projects for flood protection and mitigation, stream restoration and health, and
unplanned opportunistic projects (Apr)
Recommended approval and adoption of the Stormwater Master Plan update
(Sep)
o Recommended approval by City Council of the Fort Collins Low Impact Development
(LID) Policy and adopting LID criteria into the City Code and Stormwater Criteria Manual
for new development and redevelopment (Nov)
o Recommended approval by City Council of amendments to the Fort Collins Stormwater
Criteria Manual relating to the exception for implementation of erosion control
structures for emergency work (Nov)
Input on annual business:
o No stormwater rate changes were recommended in 2012
o Presentation by staff on annual Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
Stormwater Permit Annual Update (Oct)
Educational topics:
o Presentation by staff on Poudre River ecosystem modeling progress (Feb)
o Presentation by staff on mosquito control policies (Dec work session)
Other specific topics:
o Recommended approval of a variance for expansion of basement in a floodplain for 912
West Magnolia (Apr)
o Recommended authorization to convey a portion of a tract of stormwater utility
property to Coby S. and Linda C. Hughey (Aug)
o Recommended City Council approval of utility easement for Public Service Company of
Colorado on stormwater property (Dec)
Regional Issues
Input on planning and policies related to regional issues:
o Oil and gas regulations:
Board members Brown and Brunswig participated in a committee representing
multiple boards and commissions to discuss oil and gas regulations (starting in
Jun)
Recommended support for the standard and expedited review process
presented by staff for permitting of new oil and gas development within the City
(Oct)
Recommended support for the proposed requirements for water quality and
water resources protection outlined in the draft land use code regulations for oil
and gas development (Oct)
4
Participate in regional dialogue:
o Members of the Board and staff attended the annual Tri‐City meeting in Greeley (May)
Educational topics:
o Presentation by George Wallace and Lew Grant from the Larimer County Agricultural
Advisory Board related to water‐sharing for agriculture (Jul Water Supply
Subcommittee, Nov work session)
Other specific topics:
o Graywater bill discussion (Jan Legislative, Finance, and Liaison committee)
Report prepared by Steve Malers, Water Board Vice Chair