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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 09/25/1997WATER UTILITIES BOARD MINUTES September 25, 1997 3:10 - 5:15 p.m. Light and Power Training Room 700 Wood Street CITY COUNCIL LIAISON Chuck Wanner - Arrived at 4:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Paul Clopper, Chairman; Alison Adams, Vice Chair, Tom Sanders, George Reed, David Lauer, John Moms, Joe Bergquist, Dave Frick, Robert Ward STAFF Mike Smith, Wendy Williams, Gale McGaha Miller, Dennis Bode, Bob Smith, Molly Nortier GUEST John Bigham, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District MEMBERS ABSENT Howard Goldman, Tom Brown, Dave Rau Chairman Paul Clopper opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: MINUTES Alison Adams moved, and Tom Sanders seconded the motion that the minutes of August 28, 1997 be approved as distributed with the following corrections: John Bigham with the NCWCD pointed out under his report, the first paragraph, line 3, 4300 should be 43,000 ac-ft. George Reed referred to p. 5 under "Which Approach?" the first line "than" should be "then." On p. 8 David Lauer noted in the second to the last paragraph, last line "an" should be omitted. On page 16, in Tom Sanders' statement, in the 4th paragraph, 2nd line, "compromising" should be changed to "optimizing." The Board voted unanimous approval of the minutes with the corrections. John Bigham didn't have handouts this time because there was not much change from last month. "We continue to be ahead on precipitation. Granby is still less than a foot from being full, that's about 97-98% of full," he reported. The deliveries the District is making are minimal. The District Board instructed that the non -charge be shut off on September 24th. There were three sets of non -charge deliveries that the Board declared and the District delivered 96,000 acre feet of noncharge water, the Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 2 equivalent to a quota of 1989, plus carryover and what would be normal quota delivery. The carryover this fall is going to be between 50 and 55%. It's not very hard to determine what next year's quota will be. "It should be less than 50%, but the Board has never declared less than 50%," he said, " and I don't see them changing that position." "Do you have an approximate date for the Fall Water Users meeting?" George Reed asked. "It will probably be the third week ofNovember," Mr. Bigham replied. "Do you have an inside scoop on the long range weather forecast?" Mr. Reed continued. The meteorologist who advises the Cattlemen's Association., and has close to an 85% accuracy rate, says that `El Nino' will be tough on the West Coast. "He said we could have precipitation that's 120-130% of normal, and he's been relatively accurate." "Has our weather this summer been connected with `EI Nino'?" Paul Clopper asked. "Apparently it has," Mr. Bigham concluded. ' ; • 11' M ► M 10 "1 •1�7s According to the background information included in Board packets, when satisfying the City's raw water requirements, developers have the option of paying cash instead of turning over water rights to the Utility. The cash rate, in -lieu -of water rights, is periodically adjusted to reflect the market price of water rights in this area. The price of Colorado -Big Thompson (CBT) units normally sets the trend in prices, and there is enough market activity to establish the going rate. In the last year, CBT prices have increased significantly from about $1,800 per unit to approximately $2,700 or $2,800 per unit. Each unit of CBT water yields from .5 to 1.0 acre foot per unit; however, the City accepts CBT water on the basis of 1.0 acre foot per unit which is typically the yield during a dry year. It went on to say that the last adjustment in the City's in -lieu -of rate was in September 1996 when it was adjusted from $1,500 to $1,800 per acre foot. Other communities and water districts in this area also set their cash in -lieu -of water rights based primarily on CBT prices. Other entities in this area presently have cash rates ranging from $2,700 to $3,700 per acre foot. There was a graph attached that illustrated the changes in the price of CBT units and the City's cash in -lieu -of rate. Dennis Bode emphasized that historically, the City has lagged the CBT price in order to minimize any effect it may have on the market. Discussion W. Bode referred to the graph attached to the background information. He said it was interesting to look at the nearly 25 years of history there. It is somewhat amazing that during the last year or so, the price of CBT water has risen rather dramatically. Surcharge Mr. Bode explained that the City Code provides that nonresidential customers pay a surcharge on any amount of water used in excess of their annual allotment, which is determined by the amount of raw water they provide to the City. This charge is based on the in -lieu -of cash rate and needs to be Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 3 increased proportionally to the increase of the in -lieu -of rate. "For example, if a customer turns over one acre-foot of water their annual allotment is 326,000 gallons. The charge is based on the concept that if they were to continue to use more than their annual allotment, the surcharge would pay the City enough cash to buy water to meet their needs over a long period of time," he explained. "That rate has fluctuated in proportion to the in -lieu -of rate." "Is that a one-time charge?" Tom Sanders asked. "It's a charge that would be assessed every month after they exceed that annual allotment," Mr. Bode replied. Dr. Sanders wondered if that is the value of that water for one year. "Isn't it much less than that because it must be amortized over several years to pay for it?" "That's right, and the theory is that it would be amortized over a long period of time," Mr. Bode responded. "Do we buy water that we rent back to the farmers?" Joe Bergquist asked. "We've done some of that," Mr. Bode replied. "For water that is turned over, we tend to not have long term contracts, but we make available, on a year-to-year basis, any water that is surplus to our needs." Staff Recommendation Staff recommends that the Water Utilities Board recommend to City Council, a change in the cash -in - lieu -of water rights from $1,800 to $2,700 per acre foot, and change the surcharge from $.85 to $1.27 per thousand gallons. "Is staff's recommendation to increase the surcharge as well?" David Lauer asked. "The recommendation is to increase both of those, primarily the cash in -lieu -of rate and then the surcharge follows along with that," Mr. Bode answered. "When does this go into effect?" Tom Sanders asked. "It will go to Council as an ordinance. Normally what we've done in the past is start at the beginning of the following month of when the ordinance was adopted. Realistically, it will be at least December 1st before it goes into effect," Mr. Bode explained. ACTION: Motion and Second Tom Sanders moved that the Water Utilities Board recommend to the Council that the Raw Water Requirement - Cash In -Lieu -of Rate be raised from $1,800 to $2,700 per acre foot, and to change the surcharge from $.85 to $1.27. Alison Adams seconded the motion. Continued Discussion Dave Frick asked what the market looks like for North Poudre Irrigation. "North Poudre hasn't increased as rapidly," Mr. Bode answered. "Even though it contains CBT water, there are a number of other restrictions that go along with the use of North Poudre shares. For that reason, there is not as much pressure to buy North Poudre," he continued. "Is that basically the case with other ditch water?" Mr. Frick wondered. "With other ditch water it is difficult to gauge the price; it's hard to get data on it. I think that locally, much of the other water is, and always has been, lower than CBT," Mr. Bode responded. Mr. Frick wondered if their stocks are going up like this is or whether CBT has become a premium because municipalities can use it more readily, "and that's what's driving the price Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 4 up to some extent." Mr. Bode thinks they tend to lag that change and it depends on what the demand is. "What is the reason other than that it appears that the metro area and northern cities are going to have access to it?" Dr. Sanders asked. "Actually it's because many of the smaller towns in the District are buying additional CBT water, and part of it is possibly due to the Northern District's new southern pipeline," Mr. Bode explained. Mr. Sanders thought that Fort Collins having less access to CBT water might drive the price down, but it hasn't impacted the price at all, he said. "What happened a couple of years ago that keeps it on its upward trend?" he wondered. "I think the southern pipeline had something to do with it. It opened up the market somewhat," Mr. Bode replied. Entities like Broomfield and Fort Lupton bought quite a lot of CBT water, "and I think some of the smaller towns are seeing more growth and are having the need to increase their supplies," he added. Mr. Reed asked if CBT is still turning over at the rate of about 1300-1500 units a year; that seemed to be the annual market. John Bigham thinks that it's that or a little more. Mr. Reed continued by saying that he talked to somebody from the North Poudre area who claims that he sold two shares of North Poudre water, which includes a small quantity of CBT water, at $7,200 per share. "When you look at that rate of escalation, what would be the adverse consequences of our going right to $3,700 an acre foot?" Mr. Reed asked. "I think it would be primarily the local consequences of the developers having to pay that kind of cash price. It would probably force more people to go out and look for other sources like City water certificates or some of the local stock," Mr. Bode replied. He thinks it would probably decrease the amount of cash that the City would receive. There tends to be some relationship between the price and the amount of cash that is turned in. Joe Bergquist asked how that relationship is determined. "We have always looked at a mix of water and cash being desirable, so we can have some funds to either purchase water or develop new water supplies," Mr. Bode explained. "What was the ratio of the mix that you have been getting for the last year or two?"someone asked. "Last year it was around 35% with cash. Historically it's been lower than that; more in the range of 15-20%. As the price of CBT and other waters has risen, we have received a higher percentage of cash," Mr. Bode replied. "With the restrictions that are imposed on the City by the District, does that affect us when a developer turns in CBT shares?" Dr. Sanders asked. "The District will allow us to do that," Mr. Bode replied. "There is an advantage to make the cost $3,700 so we can get CBT water," Tom Sanders contends. "I think if it causes developers to go out and get CBT water is not the issue," Mr. Bode responded. "The problem is that we have too many other sources that are considerably lower in price, and most developers would go after that," he explained. "I don't think it would really help in that regard," he added. "That's the only way we'll get CBT water now, isn't it?" Mr. Bergquist asked. "Yes it is, unless we dropped below the District's criteria that is in place now, or unless the policy changed," Mr. Bode answered. Tom Sanders suggested a two -tiered system. If developers provide CBT water they would get some kind of break. Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 5 Mr. Reed recalls that the City has several million dollars in a fund for buying water. "Is that sufficient, or are you trying to increase that fund?" "That's hard to answer," Mr. Bode said. "Certainly there are some uses out there for the $3 million. I'm not sure it's sufficient for the long term. It's still not a large amount of water when you are looking at water rights and particularly, making the water useable," he stated. "Do you consider the buying power of that money going down?' Mr. Frick asked. "Yes, that is likely," Mr. Bode replied. Paul Clopper informed W. Reed that he just provided a natural link to agenda item no. 7, Report on Water Supply Policy White Paper. Mr. Clopper asked Robert Ward to lead a discussion on his report called, "A Ten -Year Review and Recommendations." The document is the result of discussions the Water Supply and Liaison Issues Committees have had the last few months. "We are coming to the point that we are ready to use the white paper to update the Water Supply Policy. We can inject this topic into that discussion as well," he added. Mr. Clopper observed that staffs proposal to raise the in-Geu-of rate is in keeping with the past policy of the Board of not trying to lead the market activities, but rather trying to lag them. He noticed from the Loveland minutes in the packets, that they just raised their rate to $2,750 and Greeley's minutes announced a rate of $3,700. With staffs recommendation of $2,700, we continue to lag the market. Mr. Lauer asked Tom Sanders if he came up with the $3,700 figure after seeing what Greeley did. "No, I didn't," Mr. Sanders replied. "Things have changed. The last time we raised the rate, we could buy all the CBT we wanted, now we can't," he said. "If we are looking out for our best interests, I don't think we have time to come up with a viable plan today, e.g. tiered rates. As long as we aren't breaking any laws or rules, I don't see the harm in doing that," he believes. "We have an artificial lid on one source of water, and yet we have a legal way to get it; by a developer bringing it in," he asserted. Mr. Clopper said Mr. Sanders' proposal is a perfect topic for the Water Supply and Liaison Issues Committees to look at. ACTION: Vote Chairman Clopper reminded the Board that there was a motion and a second on the floor. He asked if there were further comments or questions. Mr. Lauer wondered if other members of the Board think the tiered system would be fairer to the purchaser of water. "That's where I am in terms of trying to look at it from the point of view of equity if we had a two-tier system." "I think we could make it even fairer to the purchaser if they purchased CBT water and received a bonus for it," Mr. Sanders suggested. "But you are mainly suggesting this to protect the interests of the City?" Mr. Lauer clarified. "Yes, I think the City has received the shaft on this, and this is an opportunity to get CBT water and to do something positive to make it come in a little faster," he persisted. He said he has always been worried that the City Council will use the money in that fund when they run up against a deficit. Mr. Smith said they would violate the Charter if they did. "They could fix the Charter," Dr. Sanders asserted. "Any changes in the Charter must be voted on by City voters," Mr. Smith pointed out. "What are you proposing?" Mr. Frick asked. "Would they get a cash rebate?" Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 6 "We would put our cost at $2,700 and they would get $200 back, for example," Mr. Sanders said. "Let's start specifying a water source we prefer," he added. Mr. Clopper reiterated that it is an interesting question that should be taken to the joint committee. Mr. Clopper called for the question. The motion passed 7-1. George Reed voted no because he thinks a vote should be taken after the Water Policy discussion. He was not ready to make a decision because he didn't have enough information. Robert Ward had not yet arrived for the meeting. "MRIGNIMN 014ftwKIIAZIN 1 •• •• '• ►!•: Paul Clopper reminded the Board that they had discussed the City Council's 1997-99 Policy Agenda at the August meeting. The Council's Policy Agenda consisted of six themes: Planning for Land Use, the Environment and Transportation; Sense of Community; Intergovernmental Cooperation; Utilities and Telecommunications; Economic Vitality and Sustainability. The City Manager requested that each board and commission indicate how their work plans fit into those six themes. The WUB asked Paul Clopper to respond to the City Manager's request and suggested some areas in the Board's work plan that fit into the policy themes. With the help of Wendy Williams, Mr. Clopper prepared a response which was included in the packets. He attached a copy of the WUB's work plan. The Board liked the format and appreciated Mr. Clopper's and Ms. Williams' efforts. Chair Paul Clopper, Vice Chair Alison Adams and Mike Smith attended a City Council Work Session to discuss adding to the City Code, a list of WUB Functions which the Board had prepared. Mr. Clopper indicated that the Council seemed to be supportive of the Board's efforts to define their functions. They suggested two minor changes which will be incorporated into the final list: Item 1-- "such as" replaced "related to," and Item 3 now reads: "Providing advice and citizen input regarding proposed policies and actions affecting Utility customers." Mr. Clopper and Ms. Adams agreed with the suggested changes, but wanted to bring them to the Board for their concurrence. Mr. Clopper said he came away from the meeting feeling that the Council was very much in agreement with the Board's proceeding on the regional path that the Water Supply and Liaison Issues Committees have been discussing the past few months. They were very interested in the Robert Ward's draft white paper relating to these issues. ACTION: Motion and Vote Alison Adams moved that the Board approve the list of Functions with the Council's suggested changes and for staff to proceed with the draft for the Code. George Reed seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. (9-0) The next step will be for the City Attorney's Office to draft language for the City Code. (Note: Robert Ward arrived prior to this vote.) Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 7 Change of Board's Name - Motion and Vote David Lauer, for quite some time, has been uncomfortable with the name Water Utilities Board. Other members have felt the same way. He thinks that the name Water Resources Board would be a broader reflection of the Board. "What about just Water Board?" Tom Sanders suggested. "When the Storm Drainage Board merged with the Water Board, we felt we needed a more holistic approach to looking at things," Mr. Clopper recalled. "Coming from the former Storm Drainage Board, I have a hard time fitting stormwater in a water resources board," George Reed observed. He suggests either Water Utilities Board or Water Board. Mike Smith pointed out that when the Stormwater Utility joined the Water & Wastewater Utility, they discussed calling it the Water Resources Utilities. Some people felt it was very limiting and others felt it was too encompassing. Some said that water resources was just a small section of the whole water picture. David Lauer moved that the name of the Board be changed to Water Board. Robert Ward seconded the motion. Joe Bergquist wanted to keep the name Water Utilities Board. The motion passed 7-1-1. Joe Bergquist voted against the motion and John Morris abstained. Mr. Clopper asked that the name change be included when the functions are drafted as part of the Code. Note: (City Council Liaison Chuck Wanner arrived at 4:00.) Paul Clopper reminded the Board that the "White Paper" had been put on hold until the issue of the functions was resolved. Since the Board has voted on the final draft of the functions today, the Board is now ready to discuss how to proceed with a review of the the Water Supply Policy. Board members received the latest version of Robert Ward's "White Paper" in their packets. Mr. Ward prefaced his summary of what is contained in the document with a few observations and a broader context of what he thinks the Board may be getting into. He said that the Water Issues Group the Mayor set up has moved over into talking about a number of issues. He thinks that group will be doing some things that will be very useful to the Board as the Board continues to look at what their involvement will be. He pointed out that the regional water coalition, which Alison Adams attends, will also influence what the Board does in terms of water policy. Ms. Adams will give an update later on what that group is doing. "I'm getting the feeling that, around the State, there are a number of efforts to use the old `four letter word' plan when it comes to water." Apparently 29 entities in the Arkansas Valley have combined efforts with $180,000 and developed a contract with the DOI in Denver to examine some of the options they have for that watershed and dealing with some of their water problems. Furthermore, the State of Wyoming has just authorized, and is in the planning stage of developing a state water plan. "For a long time, in Colorado, we haven't been thinking along these lines," he said. He then cast Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 8 these thoughts in the context of the Coalition and the Water Issues Group. Mr. Ward is a member of the latter group. "At the last meeting," he said, "they were planning 5 upcoming meetings, all at 4:30 at the County Commissioner's Hearing Room: October 9 A Review of Water Studies from the last 10-15 years November 13 Jim Sullivan, County Commissioner from Douglas County - will discuss water forum in that county where they are dealing with severe water issues December 4 Will invite State Senator Don Ament to talk about the interim committee on water and give an update on upcoming water legislation January 8 Eric Wilkinson and Bill Brown, from the NCWCD, to give an update on the status of the Thornton project February 5 Talking about having Margaret Carpenter (Mayor of Thornton) and Ann Azari undertake a "dueling mayors" type of forum Alison Adams reported that, during the summer, the Coalition developed a mission statement and a set of objectives. Ms. Adams made minutes of that meeting available to Board members. The mission of the Coalition, as they have created it, is to identify, develop and implement strategies, through cooperation, that will enhance water management, conservation, and development and preserve unique water resources, thereby protecting the region's water resources for the benefit of existing and future inhabitants of the region. The three objectives are: A - Establish communications and organization B - Promote water resources management, development and conservation C - Address other issues associated with water resources Fundamentally, the Coalition is at a the point of trying to identify what the issues are and trying to decide how best to communicate internally what the concerns of the Coalition members are, as well as trying to determine the best way to communicate those concerns and issues externally. One study that the NCWCD is going to do is a demand study. They are currently interviewing consultants, and hope to select one sometime in October. The District is setting up the scope of the study and they will manage the project. The Coalition will not be involved in the study, but it will be kept apprised. At a November meeting, which will follow the District's Fall Water Users meeting, the Coalition decided to begin presenting information. The City of Fort Collins Water Utilities will be the first group to participate in this information -gathering stage. Someone would also report what the Water Board is interested in. The purpose of this is to let each entity know what the others' major concerns are. "From there, hopefully, we will be able to put more meat to the objective bones," Ms. Adams concluded. Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 9 Mr. Ward said that as Fort Collins is asked to express what its current water supply policy is, a number of issues come up. "The primary purpose of the White Paper was to summarize the Committee's water supply situation and the Board's role in protecting and enhancing the City's water supply. We are using water supply here in the very broadest sense. There is a current Water Supply Policy which was developed in 1987. What the Water Supply and Liaison Issues Committees are suggesting is that we would like to undertake a ten-year review of that policy. The reasons for that are: Most Goals of Current Policy Have Been Met If you look at the current policy, it talks in terms of acquiring new water as opportunities arise. At the time the Policy was adopted, there was an effort to achieve certain goals. That policy brought new criteria into play, and those criteria were met. Mr. Bode commented that there were some general items in the policy that are still applicable and there were also some very specific objectives that staff was directed to meet, and those have been achieved. Need to Address Water Supply Liaison Issues "The Policy is there, and as far as I can see, it's working," Mr. Ward observed. The situation is that the City is now pursuing efforts for regional liaison. "We see a number of cooperative efforts evolving, and we see ourselves being pushed into the need to do that because our own Utility service area is bumping up against the water and sanitation districts around us. As a result, we need to be very clear about what our water supply policy is," he advised. "I see the cooperative efforts of the Coalition, the Mayor's Water Issues Group and the Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation, which makes it clear that we need to take on the role that we created with the new Liaison Issues Committee." Need to Address Raw Water Supply Quality A third point that was brought out in terms of revising the Water Supply Policy is the quality of the City's water supply, particularly the raw water supply. The 1990s are captured by the concept of sustainable development and integrated watershed management, and the City is dealing with a situation where its raw water supply is showing some stress. "I think it is incumbent upon us to not talk just in terms of the water quantity, but also think about raw water quality. Are we prepared to not worry about the watershed and keep paying increased treatment costs?" Mr. Ward asserted, "or can we look at cooperative arrangements that might be worked out to protect the quality of that water supply?" Other Issues Beginning to Command Water, e.g. Endangered Species Mr. Ward pointed out that the Water Supply Policy tends to deal with domestic beneficial uses. There are a number of issues pertaining to endangered species, ecosystems issues, minimum streamflows, ecosystem protection, that are beginning to command water. In other words, water is going to have to be provided for them. "We've had the U.S. Forest Service wanting water released from some of our projects in order to have bypass flows," he said. Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 10 "The question is, how do we integrate that demand on our water supply into a water supply policy? That's a demand that is being placed on our water supply." Desire to Maintain Agriculture in the Area There has been a desire, probably best expressed by our Mayor, to maintain an agricultural setting in Northern Colorado. The question becomes, what obligation does the Board have to assist in this preservation effort? When you think about it, that's a water supply demand. If you want to protect agriculture, somebody has to make sure they have water. Of course, they aren't interested in our tampering in that market. "We've had our hands slapped a number of times over that issue. I prefer to approach this in a partnership way and work it out. I think that's where the Mayor's group is finally beginning to reach a point of dialogue among the different groups that are associated with some of the broader environmental and land use issues that are associated with the way that water is used in Northern Colorado," he concluded. "The Joint Committee decided, with those five issues, it would be helpful to know where we came from with our current water policy, where we are now in terms of meeting our obligations, including those associated with water quality, recreation, ecosystem needs, "build -out" population needs, and where we should go in the future. Those discussions need to be held relative to an assessment of our current water supply policy," Mr. Ward explained. He said that Dennis Bode provided some history for the White Paper document. He also included information on our current water resources. Recommendations In order to spur discussion, Mr. Ward provided some recommendations at the end of the document. He chose not to discuss each one, but pointed them out for Board members to read: A. Define the IQW (i.e. domestic and non -domestic) water needs of the citizens of Fort Collins. B. Meet the water needs of the "citizens" of Fort Collins in both quantity and quality (realizing that some citizens are not in the Fort Collins water utilities service area). C. Maintain a strong conservation ethic. D. Acquire water rights as they become available. E. Reuse wastewater where ecologically and economically feasible. F. Plan for new and/or augmented surface water storage. G. Cooperate with surrounding municipalities, water and sanitation districts, conservancy districts and agricultural water users. H. Define and implement a watershed protection program to protect the quality of raw water supplies to the City. I. Monitor and participate in activities of regional water coordination groups. J. Define in -stream flows needed to sustain the Poudre River ecosystem, local recreation interests, and a river walk development. Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 11 In the long-term, Fort Collins will use the following policies to guide its water management efforts A. Produce the final acre-feet needed for build -out B. Maintain flexibility in developing major projects. C. Define and implement the concept of"sustainable development" in the Poudre River Valley as it relates to Fort Collins' water management efforts. The whole effort of the Water Supply Committee has been to develop the background documentation so the Board could discuss some of the issues of the current Water Supply Policy and how they might be dealing with some of the broader ones. "Once we started doing this, we realized that this was beyond the mission we had set initially, yet these are issues we are seeming to be pushed into. Now that we have finalized the Function statement, I think we feel more comfortable talking about these issues. I would assume that we would seek to revise our current policy, and take something back to the Board that expresses how we see the future regarding water supply policy." Mr. Ward went on to say that producing this kind of information, and producing an evaluation of our current policy, cannot be done without investing time, effort and money on the part of somebody. "That's an issue that staff and the Board are going to have to come to grips with. We are going to have to determine how we are going to go about doing this; to what extent, into how much depth, what kind of time frame, etc. to revise our current policy." Paul Clopper thanked Mr. Ward for his summary. He said that it's clear that the Council has given the Board a green light to move forward with this. The next step is to get the joint committee back together to finalize this document. "The intent of the White Paper was for the Water Board to submit it to the Council as a summary, and use that as the vehicle to launch the revision of the Water Supply Policy," Mr. Clopper stated. Mr. Ward clarified that it was his idea that the Water Supply and Liaison Issues Committees use the White Paper to initiate discussion among Board members. "We were also thinking in terms of evaluating the current Water Supply Policy in light of these issues, and that will involve a considerable expenditure of time and money. He asked how staff time was used to develop the original policy. "It was a major policy that needed to be adopted by Council. It's one of those things you schedule time for and do it," Mike Smith responded. City Manager John Fischbach has told Mr. Smith, after reading the 10-year old Water Supply Policy, that he would like to see it updated. Staff agreed. "Do you see an interim step?" Mr. Clopper asked. "I think they expect us to do that," Mr. Smith replied. Alison Adams said the White Paper that Mr. Ward has produced, certainly will become part of the overall analysis. "I think this will become part of the information that accompanies the new policy." Mr. Smith expects that there will be a study session with the Council to examine a draft of the document. "We need to decide among ourselves how we are going to accomplish what is going to be a major effort. Dennis Bode and his staff will be the key players. That means that the Joint Committee will be working with him and his staff." Mr. Ward suggested that the recommendations from the White Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 12 Paper be a mechanism to help the Board express what they want to be examined as they go through the revision. He thinks the Board needs to discuss the recommendations in more depth. Ms. Adams wondered if it might not be a good idea for the Board to schedule a Board work session to talk about this. "I don't want anyone to feel that they haven't had a chance to participate. This is leading to some of the things that the Board will be working on." David Lauer pointed out that it's something that most members of the Board have been involved in for months whether it has been through the Committee structure or through discussions with the full Board. "I'm wondering if we aren't making this more complicated than we have to. I think everyone on the Board is aware of the changes that will be needed to establish a revised water supply policy. "Are you comfortable allowing the joint committee to finalize it?" Mr. Clopper asked. "I think, with the two committees, there always seems to be about a 3/4 overlap. Attendance has been very good." Ms. Adams added that, obviously, anyone who was interested could attend any of the meetings. Tom Sanders said, in going through the recommendations, the only ones he sees that might be new are "reuse wastewater where ecologically and economically feasible" and "define and implement a watershed protection program to protect the quality of raw water supplies to the City." The last one, "define in -stream flows needed to sustain the Poudre River ecosystem, local recreation interests, and a river walk development," has been looked at in a peripheral way, but never made an objective, "because we thought it was counter to the best interests of the Water Utilities." Ms. Adams thinks that the first recommendation, "define the tQW (i.e. domestic and non -domestic water needs of the citizens of Fort Collins," has not been a part of how needs have been defined. "As far as the amount of water, we defined that through a drought study," Dr. Sanders said. "That only addresses people's needs," Ms. Adams stated. "I think `A' is expanding that and goes in concert with I It's opening it up to a whole new set of needs," she contends. She clarified that she is talking about environmental needs. "I'm not just talking about planning for a 1-in-50-year drought, but that and what you want to keep in the River as well," she added. Dr. Sanders agreed that we need to look more at the in - stream flow needs. "I think what we are seeing here is just the next step; it's not a radical change," he concluded. Preserving agriculture in the area was brought up in the earlier discussion, Dr. Sanders continued. "I'm not sure that the agricultural interests want to be preserved." "That's absolutely correct," Ms. Adams responded. "What Fort Collins does when they rent water back to agriculture, is one of the best ways to bank our water and still control it," Dr. Sanders believes. "How else can you control agriculture anyway?" he asserted. "There are entities like Piedmont Farms that want to see a long term continuation of their agricultural activity," Mr. Lauer pointed out, "and want to see some support from municipalities." "That's basically an economic reason," Dr. Sanders said. "Unless you are talking about subsidizing" Ms. Adams added. Mr. Lauer believes that one can't attribute "waiting to get the best price for their land and then taking off," as a blanket statement for all of agriculture. "Those are the ones who show up at our Coalition meetings," Mr. Adams laughed. Mike Smith agreed with Mr. Lauer in that the City has had conversations with Piedmont Farms (they may be the Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 13 exception) and they seem to have a true bent toward trying to provide this kind of service to the community. Mr. Lauer mentioned some smaller entities that appear to have the same attitude. He admitted that the fanners who are the most vocal are the ones who are trying to maximize the value of their land, so that when they sell to development interests, they can get the most money out of their land. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's the prevailing attitude. Tom Sanders emphasized that as long as he has been on the Board, which is more than 13 years, the Board has been as pro agriculture as it could be. "The fact that we rent water to them at cost has bothered me somewhat. The City never wanted to make a small profit because they didn't want to hurt agriculture. For the future there may be ways to create policy that could help to sustain viable agriculture, but there is a limit to what we can do," he believes. "The only other thing we can do is to rent it back free," Ms. Adams said. "You can always say you can set aside a certain amount of water for ag."she said. "Unless you have a drought," Dr. Sanders added. Chairman Clopper said that no action is needed on this today. "Let's set a date for another Joint Committee meeting and make sure that anyone else who would like to come is invited." Tom Sanders suggested that when there is a draft of the document, the Board should go over it and decide if that is what they want as the policy. "But I think it's very close," he added. Chuck Wanner agrees that there is substantial information in the White Paper for a policy. "I can see Council supporting this. However, parts of the puzzle I see still missing are how does one part of the system affect the other. The other is, that at some point, when we start talking about build -out, we have to realize that there is a build -out and it may be that the limiting factor in this area is water. At some point when we build out, we are necessarily going to take away from agriculture because that's all we can do. We have to look at water as a finite resource. We can't assume that we can always develop more. That's a policy piece that Council will be looking for. At some time when push comes to shove, and these things happen because we use the supply, we have to recognize that piece of the puzzle as part of the policies. Traditionally, the water community has not recognized that." "The interesting dilemma that we talked about at the Council meeting recently, is that we are going to face build -out as a City, but not as a Water Utility," Mike Smith pointed out. Paul Clopper said they touched on the issue of constituency at the work session. "Council and some members of the community have been asking questions asking about the City's policies for growth. We don't try to limit it, but try to control it and make it take care of itself. But someday there are going to be some real limitations to growth." "Are you suggesting that whatever policy we come up with, to anticipate that?" David Lauer asked. "Somewhere recognize that that is one of the possibilities, and really recognize the tradeoffs among the different parts," Mr. Wanner replied. "I get the idea that there is some new thinking coming into water resources planning," Robert Ward began. "In the past we've always had to project what the population was going to be, and then we worked the plan around it. For example, in the Wyoming plan, they projected that the coal-fired Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 14 power industry was going to be huge by the year 2000. Of course it's about a third of what they projected. That tends to make the plan useless. The new thinking seems to be that you put this information into a GIS and you try to create a plan that is dynamic, so you really don't have to project where you are going. You tend to let society make those decisions and you have the mechanism to constantly run out scenarios; it's an on -going effort as opposed to waiting for 20 years and then do it again." "It's not necessarily difficult to make a plan like that. The problem is how you implement it," Ms. Adams stated. "At some point you realize you need to build some new supply, and your plan is flexible, it's dynamic and things are changing. Then you have to decide how you are going to implement it, who's going to pay for it, and what if those dynamics change. Things seem to break down when you start talking about money." She thinks it's important to have a dynamic plan where you look at it every 2-3 to 5 years, and it is constantly revised and dealt with, instead of waiting for 20 years. "Somehow our structural improvements have to deal with that frequency of change and perhaps have smaller structural plans," she suggested. "One of the things that the Poudre Basin Study brought is that you are not structure limited, the non - structure elements must be considered with that too," Mr. Wanner observed. He thinks what Ms. Adams is saying is maybe every six months or so, there is a new component to the system that figures into the model. "You're giving tools to the decision -makers to make a decision where they want to spend the money," Joe Bergquist stated. "One thing we have picked up through the years is the concept of quality of life. Talking about limiting growth in this area in comparison to Mexico City, for example, this area could support a lot more." "As I read this," John Morris began, "I think we need to take the word draft off the White Paper and start to work on the policy itself. I don't think the Joint Committee has that much more to say about the White Paper. I think it's a fairly complete document that lays out the framework for things that we have concerns about. We can say that we recommend that the Water Supply Policy be reviewed and revised with certain concerns. I believe we need to begin working on the Policy itself," he suggested. "If the Board feels comfortable with what's here, I would go with that," Mr. Ward said. Mr. Frick stated that if the Board is ready to revise the Policy, the White Paper is going to provide direction to staff. He thinks more time should be spent focusing on the recommendations and making sure that the guidance and recommendations the Board is getting from staff on policy issues is an all-inclusive Est. "Essentially, that would be where we would put our focus. All the background information that Mr. Ward has put together is pretty comprehensive. George Reed suggested that another approach might be to ask staff to take the White Paper and the Water Supply Policy and at least give the Board some input on what they think the next step might be as far as a future approach to updating the Policy. Mr. Clapper remembered the last meeting on this subject before things came to a stop. The Joint Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 15 Committee had a number of questions that hadn't been answered, and there was no sense of closure. It was left that way for the next few months until the functions situation was resolved. "I think the resolution of the functions has taken care of many of the uncertainties that I had," Mr. Ward said. Mr. Clopper asked if staff would be willing, at the next meeting, to give any recommendations they might have. Mr. Reed thinks the recommendations also need to be clarified by the joint committee. "Who could look into revising the water policy?" Mr. Bergquist asked. "Probably staff should," Mr. Smith replied. "The Board would then keep editing until Board members were comfortable with it. The basic process is to review the current policy, what has to be updated and processed and what has to be edited, and then develop the support for each one of those. That is what will take time. How much water do we need now and in the future is a basic question. Other things that we may want to get into, may require some research, so the Board can make informed decisions." Mr. Clopper concluded that staff can be prepared to give a report on possible recommendations for revision of the Water Supply Policy. When asked about a time line, Mr. Smith replied that that would depend on how much detail will be required to pursue some of the recommendations on the list. Treated Water Production Summary Dennis Bode reported that, for the month of August, the City used about 67% of what would be projected for an average year. "As for the year to date, we are at about 91%. In September we made somewhat of a recovery, although the last few days have reduced our demands somewhat," he said, "so we will probably be slightly below average again for September." He pointed out the official CSU precipitation numbers. "You can see we are headed for a banner year for total precip." Dave Frick asked what has been the total max. precip. "I know that one year we had 28 inches," Mr. Bode replied. "We may get close to that." Tom Sanders observed when looking at the graph, "that that was one of the biggest drops in demand that he remembers seeing. "That was pretty major," Mr. Bode responded. "We normally don't see that kind of drop." "Is that affecting the revenue?" someone asked. "It will as soon as we get to that billing cycle; we're about a month behind," Mr. Smith replied. Report on Proposed Water Treatment Storage Tank A September 13th article in the Coloradoan related that the construction of a 2-million gallon treated water storage tank near the top of Goat Hill has concerned some residents in the area. Mike Smith reported that a public meeting had been scheduled prior to the article. "When the people who were concerned went to the public meeting and learned the factual information about the project, they changed their minds," he said. "This is a case where the rumor mill made people nervous." He pointed out that the Utility inadvertently found itself in the middle of a dispute among some of the neighbors in that area. "The City's policy is to work with all the neighbors one-on-one, and we have been doing that. People have been understanding about what we are doing and why we are doing it. Also, the district is very supportive of what we are doing, because it helps them too." Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 16 Mr. Smith said the project is scheduled to begin next spring. The underground storage tank is needed to improve the reliability of the area's drinking water supply. It will be made of concrete and the roof line will be level with the top of the ground. It has an extremely good foundation because it is mostly rock. David Lauer asked what is going to happen with the old tank. "It belongs to the District and it's empty now. We hope they plan to remove it; I think they are just holding it in reserve now," Mr. Smith replied. "Once our tank is in service, they may not have a use for it." Mr. Smith stressed that our new underground tank will not be seen unless you are in an airplane overhead. Report on Mandatory Metering Program Wendy Williams reported that Council adopted the Mandatory Metering Program on second reading, and it is now in effect. "We have about a 7-week backlog of volunteers," she said. "We anticipate starting the mandatory metering program in early December. We will begin installations west of Taft Hill and move east." Update on Post Flood Activities Mike Smith said that he and Bob Smith continue to work with the some of the flood -impacted neighborhoods. People seem to be getting more reasonable and understanding, he said. "They are beginning to get past their emotional responses." "We are still waiting to hear from FEMA and HUD. We don't expect HUD to respond until mid - November, and FEMA probably after the first of the year. The longer it takes the dimmer the prospects of getting much money. In the meantime, our strategy is to finish reviewing the design criteria for Stormwater. Once that is completed, we need to look at the master plans and determine if any adjustments need to be made, and look at some options for speeding up some of the processes." Tom Sanders asked if there is a dollar amount from the estimates for the damage that was sustained. "Initial estimates for just the storm drainage system were about $1 million," Mike Smith replied. "That includes some funding for mitigation, like buying some property and removing some of the structures from the floodplain or floodway areas. A high priority is to speed up some of the improvements, e.g. a warning system. The big thing the neighborhoods are asking is to speed up everything. They want the 20-year improvements done in 6 years. Obviously, we don't have the money to do that." "Is there a goal to give everyone uniform protection?" Robert Ward asked. "The goal is to have the Stormwater system designed and operating so it can handle a 1-in-100-year flood," Mr. Smith answered. "That's what the master plans are designed for, and it will take from 10 years to 15-20 years to complete. This is uniform across the City." "Even with this uniform protection for the 100- year flood, could what happened on July 28th happen again?" Mr. Ward asked. "Some people understand the statistics and some people don't. Some people don't even want to think about it. There are those who don't even think we had a 500-year type flood," Mr. Smith responded. 0 Water Utilities Board Minutes September 25, 1997 Page 17 Mr. Clopper asked Dave Frick what the status is of some of the efforts to reconstruct what happened; i.e. the actual event. "I'm not sure," he said. Mr. Clopper said he watched the P&Z Board, and there were some rather gross and arbitrary statistics quoted, and misunderstanding of what I understand that event to be." "Sometimes you can't tie a frequency to it, but it is done to try to apply an annual damage type analysis for economic reasons," Mr. Frick explained. "I know that there are those who are interested in pining a frequency on it, but I think that is being done more by the climatologists. They basically pin the frequency to the rainfall." "Various consultants have volunteered to help staff compile the flood data," Mr. Smith related. "We are getting close to completing the information. There was an incredible amount of water that night," he stressed. "Down at the lower end of Spring Creek there were some unbelievable numbers." Mr. Clopper said that the Conservation and Public Education Committee's topic for its next meeting later this fall, is flood related stormwater management. "As far as public education goes, I see a real need for an unambiguous declaration of what actually happened. It needs to be clear as to how the statistics are to be interpreted and what they mean in terms of policies and design, etc.," he emphasized. David Lauer thinks that kind of education process ought to have some impact also on the tendency to build new construction in floodplains, "which we seem to have very little hesitation to do in spite of this flood." Mr. Moms said that some of that can be attributed to some of the descriptions of the frequency of the 100-year flood. "Sometimes, explaining some of these statistics to the public, does more damage than good," Ms. Adams contends. "It just depends on how you sell it," Dr. Sanders remarked. "You must explain that it could happen again next year," Ms. Adams said. "It doesn't mean that it's going to happen once in a hundred years." "Could any WUB members be of help with the neighborhood situations?" Mr. Bergquist asked. "We try to keep them just among the flood victims," Mr. Smith replied, "but we appreciate that offer." Mr. Smith reiterated that getting the public to understand some of the statistics is difficult, because they don't understand probability. Regional 201 Study Mr. Smith said that Gale McGaha Miller did not have an update. OTHER BUSINESS November and December Meetings Mr. Clopper pointed out that both the November and December meetings fall on holidays. He suggested that the Board not meet in November and combine the November and December meetings on Thursday, December 4th. The Board agreed to do that. ADJOURNMENT Since there was no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m. Water Utilitie Board Secretary