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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 07/08/1977i WATER BOARD Regular Meeting July 8, 1977 — 3:30 P.M. Present: Ward Fischer Raymond Anderson Bernard Cain, Jr. Henry Caulfield Norman Evans Glen Johnson Harvey Johnson Peggy Reeves Everett Richardson Paul Lanspery Absent: Ronald Fulkrod Staff members present: Hays, Kaplan, Krempel, and Liquin Also: City Attorney March Chairman Fischer introduced Peggy Reeves and Glen Johnson, newly appointed members of the Water Board, and welcomed Bernard Cain back on his reappointment to the Board. He stated that he had requested Peggy Reeves to be Chairman of a Water Conservation Committee. He stated that on matters of water rationing, the whole Board would be involved in the discussion, but that this committee would make recommendations to the Water Board and ultimately to the City Council on ordinances requiring water conservation measures, such as water —saving shower heads, smaller water closets, etc. Glen Johnson and Bernard Cain were also appointed to serve on this committee. Mr. Roger Krempel, Water Utilities Director, introduced Paul Lanspery, Interim City Manager, to the Board. Minutes of Regular Meetings of March 11, 1977 and May 13, 1977, Approved Chairman Fischer opened the meeting by inquiring if there were any corrections to the minutes. Hearing none, he declared the minutes approved as published. Report on Current Water Situation Mr. Krempel stated that early in the year, it appeared as though the City did not have a serious water problem. The Board had directed the staff to attempt to achieve about 4,000 acre feet of storage for the year, and this looked like quite an achievable goal. The City began a water conservation education program for the public, with a goal of achieving a 10% to 15% savings. The first four months of the year, a water savings of 16% was achieved. But in June, there was only a 4% savings, and it was obvious that a 10% to 15% savings could not be achieved on a voluntary education program. Mr. Krempel further stated that because of construction at the Poudre Water Treatment Plant, where there has been extensive modification, the plant could only operate at a minimum capacity. There were some stringent time limitations on the construction which the contractor failed to meet. This has caused the City to lose nearly 700 acre-feet of decreed water in the river. Ile stated the plant capacity is now back up and the City is able to use the river decrees at this time. Mr. Charles Liquin, Water Project Engineer, spoke to his memo dated June 30, 1977, regarding raw water recap and stated that there is no additional water to transfer to storage other than the 2,000 acre feet already transferred. He further stated that there is approximately 3,000 acre feet of Horsetooth water left to run the Soldier Canyon Plant to make up the difference between the river decrees and the consumptive use of the City, of which 253 acre feet is reserved for Collindale Golf Course. Chairman Fischer stated that to start with, the City would have had sufficient waters to not have to institute water restrictions, but for the fact that some water was leased to the agricultural users. This was done because the agricultural users needed to know what their water supply was so they could plant their crops, and the City tried to cooperate with them. He inquired as to how much water was leased to agricultural users. Mr. Liquin advised him that including the South Side Ditch water, about 10,000 acre-feet of water was leased, of which approximately 2,700 acre-feet was Horsetooth water. Referring to Mr. Liquin's memo, Chairman Fischer inquired as to why the City used 2,600 acre-feet more Horsetooth water than was anticipated. He stated he could understand the 700 acre-feet that was lost due to the construction at Plant No. 1, but why couldn't the City anticipate the additional 1,900 acre-feet. Mr. Liquin advised him that due to the low flow in the river, 755 acre-feet of Horsetooth water was used prior to May 1, 1977, compared to a usage of 0.3 acre-feet prior to May 1, 1976. He further stated that an additional 250 acre-feet was allocated to the Southside Ditches, 12 acre-feet to YMCA of the Rockies, 18 acre-feet to Platte River Power and an additional 110 acre-feet was leased to old basin customers. The remaining 755 acre-feet was due to additional consumption, which was higher than anticipated because precipitation was 50% of normal for the first 6 months of this year, hot weather, the breakdown of Plant No. 1, etc. Mr. Krempel stated that the conservation education program was less effective than was planned because of this peculiar situation where the City actually had enough water to get through this year without restrictions. So this became the headline that the City has adequate water and the people disregarded conservation. But the concern is not the amount of water that was leased for agriculture, or that the amount of water available for this year was misanalyzed. The concern is that, looking into the future, particularly next year, the drought will continue, and the City should try to get closer to the reserve of. 4,000 acre feet that was requested by the Board. Board member Caulfield inquired as to whether letters had been sent to customers with lease -back agreements and other customers notifying them that they may not be able to lease any water from the City next year. Mr. Liquin advised him that notices did go out in the Spring, but felt that a more formal attorney -approved notice should be sent to those people with lease -back agreements. City Attorney March felt that an actual study analysis and determination would also be required, to be sure that there won't be any surplus water to lease next year. -2- Board member Anderson inquired a;; t.o how chls reserve wus going; to he stored. Mr. Liquin advised him that it is anticipated that this water would be transferred into Chambers Lake or Long Draw, of the Water Supply and Storage Company. Board member Harvey Johnson stated that 2,000 acre-feet has been set aside in addition to the 2,000 acre-feet already transferred, but he must know in the immediate future the extent to which the City can transfer to take advantage of any or all of the additional 2,000 acre-feet. Mr. Liquin stated that the City will have to supply water to the three districts while the Soldier. Canyon Outlet is down this fall and they are getting their Big "T" water together now. He further stated that we will take another look at our surplus. Board member Caulfield clarified that the target is still to have a 4,000 acre- foot carryover, and that the Board is now talking about measures in addition to those measures that were set before in order to restore that 4,000 acre-foot target for next year plus the freedom to use the City's water supplies next year rather than for agricultural use. Chairman Fischer stated that at the time this 4,000 acre-foot reserve was talked about, it was not known whether it would be possible to carry it over. But through the good offers of Water Supply and Storage Company, this water can be transferred to their reservoirs to supply the plant this winter. Board member Johnson warned the Board that the Bureau of Reclamation has announced that there is a possibility the Colorado River will not deliver more than 25% next year. Chairman Fischer stated that the t ity-does not have storage capacity to store large quantities of water to take care of the drought years, and this is exactly what Joe Wright is designed to do. If this were 5 years from now, there would be substantial reserve in Joe Wright Reservoir'to use this year or next year. Mr. Krempel referred to Section 112-22 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, Sprinkling; Waste Prohibited. He introduced Marlene Nortier, the Water Conservation Representative, and stated that she is enforcing this ordinance, and she is also working on the conservation education program. City Attorney March spoke to Section 112-24, Restrictions on Sprinkling, and stated that this would require a recommendation from the Water Board, approved by City Council, a notice in the paper, and then the restrictions will go into effect. Mr. Krempel stated that in deciding what type of restrictions should be recommended, certain things needed to be considered: 1. The restrictions must be fair to all users.. 2. The City is obligated to demonstrate leadership, and an order should be put out from the City Manager's office stating that the City will abide by the ordinance as well as the restrictions. 3. The restrictions must be easily understood by everyone. 4. They must be easily regulated and easily policed. 5. There should be a means of exception in hardship cases, i.e. new sod. 6. It should be recognized that this will be highly controversial. Ism Ile further stated that from studies that have been made, a 107, savings can be achieved by allowing watering on alternate days. However, it was felt that a 25Z savings needed to be achieved. He stated that by restricting water use from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. which is during the peak of the day when a large amount of water is lost during evaporation, and by restricting water use at night from 1.0:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m., a 15% savings could be achieved. This could be a very minimum restriction. The next step would be restricting water use to one day a week. One way of doing this would be to divide the City into the following 4 areas: the area north of LaPorte Avenue, between LaPorte and Prospect, between Prospect and Drake, and south of Drake Road, and assign one watering day to each area. Mr. Krempel stated that some turf people recommend watering fairly heavy one day a week, while some say to water every fourth day. He stated that another alternative would be to use the above method, but to also let one half the City water on Saturday and the other half water on Sunday. City Attorney lurch stated that a special Council meeting could be called and it would be possible to have the water restrictions in force by Wednesday, July 13. Chairman Tischer stated that he was very much inclined to restricting water use between the hours of 10:00 and 4:00 both morning and night only. He stated, "I feel a sense of embarrassment that we have confidently assumed that we would have adequate supplies, and I recognize that things change. It is difficult, and I hope that people do understand that when you are dealing with a fluid substance like this, things do change. I would rather approach it this way. Request the pecple's cooperation which I really think we could get and hope that our water supplies last. If we were really going to have to go to something harsh, do it at the first of next year rather than in the middle of this year, like you say, it is going to be controversial. So that is my inclination at this moment." After some additional discussion, Board member Caulfield made a motion, seconded by Harvey Johnson, that the Water Board recommend to the City Council that under Section 112-24 of the Code of the City of Port Collins, that water restrictions be placed upon sprinkling between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and between the hours of 10:00 p.m, and 4:00 a.m. The Water Board also advises the Council that the intent of this restriction is to achieve a 15% water savings and the Board requests the Council to delegate the authority to the Board to institute further restrictions as may be deemed necessary by the Board in the event the 15% savings is not effective, which would then require a special meeting of the Water Board. The motion also contemplates that the administration will make every effort in cooperation with the press to get people to immediately institute as a voluntary measure all conservation measures. The Chair put the motion, which was unanimously adopted. The Board tentatively decided to meet July 29 at 4:00 p.m. to determine if a 15% water savings was achieved, have an executive meeting on August 5 to discuss the raw water acquisition program, and then have the regular Water Board meeting on August 19. Vice Chairman Evans then took over the Chair. -4- Review of COG 208 Study Mr. F. A. Eidsness, Jr. stated that tie was with the Larimer-Weld Council of. Governments, and he is administering a federally funded but locally administered Water Quality Management Program for the Larimer.-Weld County Region. Ile spoke to the 208 Areawide Water Quality Management Plan Interim Report, "Impacts of Land Use Alternatives on Wastewater Treatment Facilities, Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland Triangle", and stated that the purpose of this document is to try to help bring the governing board of the Larimer-Weld Council of Governments and the City Councils, etc. to a concensus on what a service area will be for the future, in this case, for the City of Fort Collins, for wastewater treatment facilities. He stated that this group has to delineate a service area on a map, and that service area has to relate to potential growth for this region to the year 2000. It is a very significant thing for them to be doing, because once that service area is delineated and once those major trunk lines are indicated and the capacity of the facility that serves that service area is indicated, the Federal Government or the State of Colorado cannot and will not fund for expansions of facilities unless it is in conformance with the service areas indicated in the 208 plan. He further stated that this group is doing alot more than this study, and perhaps he can come back at a later date and talk to the Board about some things that were found out about pollution stemming from urban runoff, problems of flood potential from future growth in this region due to urban runoff, more impervious surfaces, and what the federal law may require in terms of controlling some of that sort of thing. In addition, they are in the middle of a fairly exhaustive study on how water might be conserved in the future and statistics as far as consumption rates, etc. He stated that he would be glad to help the Water Board on any of these things. Mr. Eidsness further stated that the Larimer-Weld COG has a large committee which will present a document that has alternatives in it to the elected officials to review. There will be public hearings and following these hearings, the local elected officials represented on the COG Governing Board will adopt one of these schemes. The only problem is that there has to be some form of ratification. This means that the city and county governments affected would have to then individually adopt or reject that which the COG as a whole has adopted, as this is the only way the plan can go to the State for State and Federal review. Board member Caulfield stated that he would like the Board to request Mr. Krempel and his staff to study this matter in time for the Board's August meeting. Assuming that there are no technical difficulties with the report and the report is satisfactory, he felt the Board should refer this report to the Planning and Zoning Board and the City Council for the reason that he felt the efficient use of public facilities should be one of the goals and objectives of the City, which are now before the City Council. Mr. Eidsness added that he had been asked by Councilman Bowling to go before the City Council on this matter. -5- Out -of -City Utility Requests Mr. Krempel stated that Deines Homes has requested water and sewer service to the Saddleback Subdivision, which is west of North Taft Hill Road and north of Vine Drive, Le stated that a 16 inch steel water main runs diagonally through the property, but that the subdivision was layed out with complete disregard for the routing of this water main. The subdivision layout should be redesigned so as the 16 inch water main will always be on a property line, in the street, or in open space. He stated that because of this, he was prepared to recommend that sewer and water service be denied, except that the first phase has already been platted. He further stated that the first phase does not involve that portion of the subdivision that needs to be redesigned, so he recommended that sewer and water service be provided for the first phase, and ask Deines Homes that they reconsider the plan on the balance of the land. Board member Reeves made a motion, seconded by Everett Richardson, to recommend to the City Council to approve the request for water and sewer service to the first phase only of the Saddleback Subdivision. The Chair put the motion, which was unanimously adopted. Mr. Krempel stated that Mr. William F. Vigor has requested permission to extend the City sanitary sewer to serve the Lindenmeier Subdivision, which consists of 17 lots directly south of Lindenwood Estates and Lindenmeier Lake. City Attorney March stated that Mr. Vigor had planned to receive water service from the East Larimer County Water District, sewer service from Cherry Hills Sanitation District, electric service from Public Service and had planned to meet the subdivision requirements of the County. All of the approvals had been made through Latimer County in the various subdivisions and agencies in the County. Mr. Vessey, manager of the Cherry Hills Sanitation District, signed the sewer extension, however, this sewer service is on the part of the line that was acquired by the City in 1975. Therefore, this comes under the jurisdiction of the City's utility extension regulations and in accordance with Ordinance No. 96, would require that Mr. Vigor take water service as well as sewer service, that he be prepared to take electric service when available, that he agree to annex to the City when annexation is possible, and that he meet the City subdivision requirements. He stated that this had come before the City Council, because it was somewhat of an emergency situation, and Mr. Vigor presented it in a way that somehow the City was at .fault. The Council felt that this was a hardship situation and they directed to pursue it on the basis of furnishing sewer service without requiring water service, that he convert to the City electric utility, that annexation be provided for in the immediate future, and to allow the development to proceed with meeting County subdivision requirements. Mr. March further stated that this also needed Water Board recommendation before any final action is taken. After a lengthy discussion, Board member Richardson made a motion, seconded by Peggy Peeves, that the Water Board recommend to the City Council that the City require the subdivision to take both water and sewer service from the City. The Chair put the motion, which was unanimously adopted. Staff Reports Mr. Krempel reported on the Warren Lake Trunk, and stated that this has gone to Council and they had directed proceeding with the installation of. the Warren Lake Trunk. The administration has met with all of the developers that the sewer traverses through. He stated it will be a 21 inch, 24 inch, and 27 inch line costing around $450,000, with the developers paying about 50%. The balance is oversizing and will be paid out of plant investment fees. All of the developers have signed the agreement. Other Business Board member Evans stated that the Class "C" for the Poudre River has been established with exceptions and the conditions have been established. They call for Fort Collins to form a certain study with the expectations that the 208 Agency will assist and that there may be some 208 planning monies yet to be allocated and available to the City. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting adjourned. Charles Liquin Kays Imel -7-