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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 04/19/1991WATER BOARD MINUTES April 19, 1991 3:00 - 4:58 p.m. Water and Wastewater Utility Conference Room 700 Wood Street Members Present Henry Caulfield, President, Tom Brown, Tom Moore, Terry Podmore, Mark Casey, Paul Clopper, Tom Sanders, Ray Herrmann, MaryLou Smith Staff Mike Smith, Dennis Bode, Linda Burger, Andy Pineda, Molly Nortier Guests John Bigham, Agency Coordinator, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Dorothy Huff, Observer, League of Women Voters of Larimer County Members Absenr Neil Grigg, Vice President, Tim Dow, Dave Stewart President Henry Caulfield opened the meeting. The following items were discussed: Minute The minutes of March 15, 1991 were approved as distributed. Process for Renting City's Surplus Water Mr. Caulfield referred the Board to a portion of Council member Loren Maxey's report recorded in the minutes, concerning how the Utility handles the question of renting the City's surplus water. Mr. Caulfield believes the Water Board should follow up on this. His suggestion was that the Water Supply Committee, headed by Neil Grigg, review this issue with staff and find out exactly what the procedures are, including the pricing of the water, and prepare a report for the Board. Besides Neil Grigg, current members are Tom Moore, Tom Brown, MaryLou Smith and Mark Casey, Paul Clopper asked to be included also. Tom Moore asked if the farmers who rent the water are basically the same people year after year. "Basically, that's right," Dennis Bode replied. "We try to give preference to those people who have been renting from us for some time," he said. Mr. Caulfield went on to say that apparently the situation was very tight last year, one of the reasons being the 50% quota. It could be that some person or persons made it known to a council member that they didn't get the water they wanted. Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 2 Tom Moore related that staff has always done an admirable job of renting the water. This is the first time that anyone has raised any objections. There were no objections from the Board to have the Water Supply Committee review the process for renting water. II�date: Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Agency Coordinator John Bigham commented that the District's 50% quota last year may have resulted in some complaints because there wasn't enough water available to rent. As was reported at the March meeting, only .03 of an inch of moisture was recorded in the Northern District boundaries for the month of February. In March the precipitation was .46 which was still significantly below the normal of 1.04 for March, and is less than 50% of our normal precipitation. Lake Granby is down to about 24% of active capacity; Horsetooth is at 82%; Carter is 97%, and Boulder Reservoir is down to about 50%, which makes the total system storage less than 47% of active capacity. If we had 100%, we would have 736,000 ac-ft of water in the CBT system, plus what is in local storage, he explained. The District Board met on April 12, and at that time issued a 60% quota. There was considerable discussion on the question of the quota which resulted in a split vote. By issuing the 50% quota last year, the District believes we saved about 12-15,000 ac-ft which is now in storage. Of course there were some timely rains which also helped. The 12-15,000 ac-ft is in addition to the 40,000 ac-ft that is from the carryover program. It is not known how much of that will go out; hopefully, it won't all be used. In essence, the supply is at 73 %, he said. The 40,000 ac-ft of carryover storage is the equivalent of a 13% additional quota, he explained. "Those in the carryover program can draw on that up through July 15th." As of midnight, the precipitation to date, as indicated by SCS for the upper Colorado River Basin is about 95% of average; on the South Platte system it is 84%. However, the District anticipates that those figures are from 5-7% above what they actually will produce. The St. Vrain system is down to about 55%. The Big Thompson is not much better; Boulder Creek is somewhat better, and the Poudre is considerably better than the rest. The mountains in the southwestern part of the state are much better off than we are on the eastern slope, he concluded. The Windy Gap participants committee met prior to the Board meeting on April 12th. The Board of Directors of the Sub -district voted to pump the Windy Gap project with one pump for one month. They will use all four pumps by using each one for a week. They will only pump between 9 and 10,000 ac-ft of water that will be sub -district water, and that will be Windy Gap water stored in Granby. The Windy Gap committee voted to recommend to the board of 11 Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 3 directors of the Sub -district to advance up to $500,000 to be used to begin the study and design of the outlet works at Carter Lake for a potential pipeline. Those involved with that project would pay back the money. In other words, it is basically a front end advancement so the project can begin. The District anticipates that the study on the Carter Lake outlet will be done soon because the demand for water delivered to some of the water districts and rural domestics near by, is close to the maximum that can be released out of the old system. The study will be undertaken as soon as the Broomfield/Boulder situation is settled. Within the next few weeks, some engineering studies will probably begin. City Council Actions Related to the Water Board President Caulfield briefed the Board on items pertaining to the Water Board which were enacted at the last City Council meeting. The Council, in a new ordinance, eliminated alternates, reduced the Water Board to 11 regular members, and limited Water Board terms to 3, or 12 years. In addition, at the last election, voters removed provisions in the City Charter referring to the Water Board. He also reminded members whose terms will be expiring in July, that they should have received a notice form the City Clerk's Office. The terms of the following four members expire: Henry Caulfield, who will not seek re -appointment, Tom Moore, who will not be re -appointed because he has reached the 3-term limit, Neil Grigg, who has re -applied, and alternate Paul Clopper, who has also re -applied. Staff Reports A. Treated Water Production Summary Dennis Bode reported that water use for the first three months of 1991 has been slightly below average. "To date we are about 95% of what had been projected," he said. What has been interesting about the last 3 months, in terms of precipitation, is that last year in March we received 5.63 inches; whereas this year, we only had .15. A year ago at this time we had 6.79 inches in contrast to .51 inches this year. "As you can see, it has been very dry so far," he added. The temperatures have also been warmer than normal through March. "I understand the snow levels on the Poudre are fairly good up high," Mr. Caulfield remarked. John Bigham explained that the last 2 storms have been fairly wet, but that some of the earlier ones were much drier. Mr. Bode added that the supply on the Poudre will probably be pretty tight this year, and is probably lower than the initial snotel sites are indicating. B. Update on Fort Collins -Loveland District Agreement Mike Smith reported that the Fort Collins -Loveland District Agreement to buy treated water Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 4 from Fort Collins, has been adopted by the City Council. He said that the District is now in the process of designing pump stations to be installed between Horsetooth and Harmony on Taft Hill. They will tie into the City's large waterline from which they will pump water into their system. They expect to have the pump stations completed this summer and will then begin using water from our system. C. Discussion of Impact of District Quota Dennis Bode began by saying that along with a discussion of the impact of the District quota, this is a good time to bring the Board up to date on our current supplies, demands, rental requests, etc. He reported that our projected treated water demand is just under 30,000 ac-ft, but there is the potential in a very dry year as this has been, of going as high as 34,500 ac-ft. The water surplus to that is what is being rented. There have been over 150 rental requests to date, representing about 21,000 ac-ft. Right not it appears that the City can satisfy, or at least partially satisfy, about 120 of those requests, which would be about 16,000 ac-ft of water. He explained that we are obliged to satisfy some of those requests under lease -back agreements. Basically, as a result of the quota, some of the people who are requesting rental water will not get it from the City, he continued. With the units that the City owns and also with the CBT water that is part of the North Poudre shares, it amounts to about 3,000 ac-ft of supply per 10% quota. The fact that some people won't get their water from the City, impacts the Utility revenues by about $50,000 for each 10% of the quota. Not being able to rent water to as many people who request it and the impact on revenues are two of the major impacts of the quota, he concluded. "However, with storage down, it is wise to look to the next year as well as trying to do what you can this year," he stressed. Mr. Caulfield wanted to know if any of the rental requests come from water districts. "We haven't had any at this point," Mr. Bode replied. Does the quota affect the Fort Collins - Loveland Water District? "I think with the 60% quota, they will just be able to get by with their raw water," Mr. Bode said. He added that Fort Collins -Loveland bought a number of CBT units this past year. Mike Smith recalled that they ran a little short of water last year. Tom Sanders asked if 35,000 ac-ft is an optimistic projection. "We try to make a conservative estimate of what we could get, and we base it on our experience and past records," Mr. Bode responded. He went on to say that basically, it's an estimate of what staff would expect to get from the different sources; including the Michigan Ditch and any runoff that could be stored in Joe Wright, with the hope of leaving Joe Wright this fall at about the same point as it was last year, he replied. Dr. Sanders asked the percentage of snow pack at Joe Wright. At the snotel site it is 92% of average, Mr. Bode answered. Ll Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 5 Update on Lease of Water Treatment Plant No 1 Site Linda Burger reported that she has met with representatives of the state parks & recreation division and the state highway dept. a number of times since February. She believes that a final agreement is close. She explained that it is a 10-year agreement; 5 years with the ability to continue with an additional 5. The first 5 years are guaranteed, and after that either side can terminate the agreement. Mike Smith explained that the first agreement was dropped because the state highway department required that state parks improve the entrance to the treatment plant site to make it safe for water recreation activities. Ms. Burger said that the highway dept. is in the process of doing some preliminary design work, and she believes there is an appropriation available for the work to be done. They are hoping to do the work sometime in September, but the boats will continue to launch from the highway until the improvements are completed. River recreators are prohibited from using the site as a parking area until the improvements to the access are made, she stressed. Is the City protected from liability for any accidents or injuries that might occur on our property? Tom Sanders asked. "As well as we possibly can be," Ms. Burger replied. Our attorneys have done everything they can to limit our liability, she added. She pointed out that both the state and the city are subject to the liability limitations for public agencies. You said you have been through 3 or 4 iterations, Paul Clopper began. Is the "sticking point" primarily improvement to the access, or are there other things that are holding up the process? There are a number of concerns, Ms. Burger said. The parks dept. would like the City to put a considerable amount of money into improving the property before they take it over. They also would prefer not to make improvements that the City thinks are necessary in order to separate out from the treatment plant the parts of the site that would be usable by the public. From a liability standpoint, the Utility is concerned about the public having access to the plant area, because of all the open basins, etc. There are also questions about snow removal, etc. When the agreement is finalized, Ms. Burger will bring it to the Board for their review and comments. Committee Reports Legislative & Finance Committee - Report on 1991 Budget Issues The Legislative and Finance Committee met prior to the Water Board meeting with staff member Linda Burger. A 2-page memorandum was drafted by Ms. Burger listing the concerns and requests of the Committee for the review and approval of the Water Board. Tom Sanders moved that the Board approve the budget issues recommendations of the L&F Committee. Tom Brown provided a second. Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 6 Tom Sanders reported that the Committee discussed several issues. He said that the most significant financial issue coming in 1992 will be the need to finance improvements and expansion of the wastewater treatment system through a bond issue. This is something the Board needs to watch, he said. Another major concern of the Committee was to make certain that sufficiept funds are budgeted to provide for the water resources investigations and litigation services necessary to protect the City's water rights and to be able to plan for future water supplies. Funds for this purpose will be included in the budget and the Water Board supports the staff request. The next issue was the need to implement a program to meter and charge all City facilities standard fees for water and wastewater service. It was pointed out that "to the extent that City facilities do not pay for water and wastewater in the amount of approximately $300,000 per year, other customers must pay more for their utility service. "Another concern is that there is no incentive for City facilities to conserve water if it is provided at no cost. The memorandum stated that programs to conserve water need to begin with City government setting an example for citizens through paying for their water and wastewater fees and reducing water usage and cost. In addition, the Water Board supported and the Council adopted in 1990, a change to the City Code that provides a rebate to offset the costs of conversion from treated water to raw water irrigation systems. At the Committee meeting Dr. Sanders requested that staff budget for costs associated with metering in a separate account so that those costs can be tracked. He said that it is appropriate to be able to relate costs of the program to the water efficiencies that are gained through metering. Committee member Tom Moore added that paragraph 4 in the memo related the Water Board's concern that the impacts on the utility have at times been ignored in federal actions such as the wild and Scenic designation of a segment of the Poudre River which, in effect, resulted in the City's losing it's proposed Rockwell Reservoir site. In addition, proposed Wilderness legislation could impact the City's Michigan Ditch and Joe Wright system. Following is a quote from that paragraph in the memo: It is particularly important that consultation with the Water Board and staff occurs where activities may affect the water supply system or the construction of pipelines and treatment facilities. Issues such as federal designations or restrictions in the watershed, federal water rights, or local resource protection efforts can have a dramatic impact on the options available and the costs of options for serving utility customers. Mr. Moore also mentioned with alarm that there are now plans to study the possibility of W&S designation for the North Fork of the Poudre, which could hamper or prevent the City's plans to enlarge Halligan Reservoir. Linda Burger explained that the North Fork was expected to be 0 0 Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 7 studied under the original, or previous legislation, so now the Forest Service is following through with that. "People talk about the Poudre as if it is two forks instead of three," she said. The legislation mentioned the study of both forks. People assumed that meant the main stem and the Little South, and now it is being interpreted as being the main stem and the North Fork. Designation could become a problem because there is forest service land both upstream and downstream of the Halligan Reservoir site, she continued. The City faces a potential situation similar to Rockwell. If the North Fork were given W&S designation down to the existing inlet of Halligan Reservoir, the City wouldn't be able to expand, and in addition, if there were W&S designation downstream, the City wouldn't be able to do the project because it would affect the flows. Mike Smith reminded the Board that it wasn't the W&S designation itself that killed Rockwell, but a designation of a wild river downstream from a reservoir. Tom Sanders expanded upon the concern which Tom Moore alluded to earlier regarding possible wilderness designation on a small portion of land near the Wyoming border. If approved, this could have an effect on the Michigan Ditch and our ability to use Joe Wright Reservoir. Mike Smith explained that there is a group that has developed what is called a compromise bill, and it appears that Senators Wirth and Brown are working towards an agreement on it. "It has some language that could provide some protection, but not total protection." he added. "Don't we have an attorney looking at that?" Mr. Caulfield asked. Mr. John Carlson has provided advice to us but, he is not representing us as our attorney," Mr. Smith replied. "It's very important that we are protected there," Mr. Caulfield asserted. "It would be terrible if we lost that!" Tom Moore commented that the Water Board is appointed to look at thinks like this, "and staff seems to get squeezed in the middle sometimes. " Tom Sanders remarked that at times it appears that the City Council and Water Board are "at cross purposes on some of these issues." MaryLou Smith suggested that the Board approve the document by taking one paragraph (or one issue) at a time. The Board accepted paragraphs 1 through 4 without additional discussion. Under paragraph five there was some discussion about the wording for requiring all City facilities to be metered. Ms. Burger explained that all services in the City of Fort Collins must be metered by the year 2009. Furthermore, the City Attorney has issued an opinion that it is counter to the City Charter for the Utility to provide free water service, and those City facilities that are currently metered and are not paying water fees are in violation of the state metering act, which requires that facilities be charged after they are metered. After further discussion and clarification, it was decided that the language in the paragraph would be left as it is. At the direction of the City's Executive Team, the Utility staff has drafted a specific City metering proposal to be implemented. Mike Smith explained that what staff has suggested is that everything that is metered now, which is 50-60% of all City facilities, will Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 8 begin paying by January 1, 1992. That gives them time to develop a budget to comply. Under the proposal, during the next 2 years, the Utility must identify, meter and bill all of the rest of the facilities. MaryLou Smith remarked that initially she was not in favor of this because she thought it all came out of the same pocket anyway, but she has changed her mind, principally because she believes by doing this, it encourages water conservation. After discussing each of the six paragraphs (issues), the Board voted unanimously to accept the entire document and forward it from the Water Board to the Mayor and City Council, with President Henry Caulfield's signature. Further Discussion and Action on the Wilderness Designation Issue President Caulfield proposed that the Water Board take early action on the concerns about the proposed wilderness designation on the North Platte, in order to alert the Mayor and Council on its possible ramifications. He asked staff to draft a memorandum on this issue from the Water Board to the Mayor and Council, and have it ready for review at the May 17th Board meeting. For what the City has at stake at the Michigan Ditch and Joe Wright in terms of our substantial investment, it is extremely important that we confront the problem immediately, he contends Tom Sanders wants the memo to include the hiring of legal counsel to study the issue and let us know exactly what the implications are so we can make certain that our facilities in the wilderness area are not harmed. Ray Herrmann would like to see the language in the wilderness bill to see what the issue is first. MaryLou Smith proposed that the Water Board write a memo to the Mayor and Council saying that it has just come to our attention that this particular legislation may affect our investment in the Michigan Ditch and Joe Wright Reservoir system to the tune of $17 million. We want to alert the Mayor and Council that we think it needs to be looked into. Staff agreed to draft a memo with that direction. Ms. Smith then put her proposal into a motion which follows: The Water Board requests that the Mayor and City Council look seriously at the Wilderness legislation on the North Platte that is under consideration and which the Water Board believes could affect substantially the City's $17 million investment in the Joe Wright and Michigan Ditch system, and furthermore, that could jeopardize our using about 10% of our water. It may also be necessary for the Mayor and Council to seek further legal assistance to look specifically into the matter. Tom Sanders seconded the motion. Ray Herrmann accepted the motion after Ms. Smith agreed to change the • Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 9 "shoulds" to "coulds." The Board voted unanimously to direct staff to draft a memo from the Water Board with Henry Caulfield's signature and forward it to the Mayor and Council. Staff will get copies of the proposed legislation to the Board members. National Wetlands Bill Tom Moore said there is one more legislative issue that came to his attention after the Committee met. There is a National House Bill, HR 1330, which relates to wetlands, and modifies the previous language and makes it, in his opinion, more of a reasonable approach for wetlands legislation. He would like to discuss it at the next Board meeting. Linda Burger said she has a copy of the bill and has reviewed it, but hasn't had a.chance to study it thoroughly. Copies of the bill will be sent with the packets. Other Business Water and Wastewater Annual Report Each Board member received a copy of the Utility Annual report. The Board agreed that it is a very good report and that staff is to be complimented for their efforts. President Caulfield remarked that in going through the report, a number of questions came to mind that he would like to ask staff. He therefore, suggested that before the next meeting,each Board member submit questions to staff to be discussed and answered at the next Board meeting. He made it clear that he is not advocating reversing anything. "It's just a matter of information and interpretation of certain items," he concluded. The Board agreed that it was a good idea. Tom Sanders suggested that staff make arrangements to have a picture taken of the entire Board, perhaps at the next meeting. Review of Natural Heritage Policy Plan Each Board member received a draft document from the Natural Resources Division for their review in anticipation of a discussion at either the May or June meeting, when the Board will be asked to take an official position on the finalized document. Natural Resources has scheduled a tour of the River on Saturday, April 20th. After the tour, those attending will have lunch at the El Burrito Restaurant where they will discuss the policy plan. Mr. Caulfield plans to attend. Metered Water Service Brochure Copies of a metered water service brochure were sent in Water Board packets. These brochures are being used to explain the new metering program. Linda Burger said that the Utility set up a display at the Foothills Fashion Mall for the Home and Garden Show. She was pleased to report that people picked up at least 1200 copies of the brochures. "This is a very fine publication," Mr. Caulfield said. "Once again, please congratulate your staff." Water Board Minutes April 19, 1991 Page 10 MaryLou Smith said she was impressed that the Utility had included in the Utility bills, a coupon for 15 % off at several local nurseries, for Xeriscape plants. Linda Burger gave credit to staff members, Wendy Williams, Diana Royval, Webb Jones and Jim Clark for their public information efforts. Regional Water Study Presentation Mr. Caulfield reminded the Board of the presentation by Karl Dreher of the NCWCD, on the Regional Study, on Friday, April 26th at 3:00 at the Chamber of Commerce office. Charter Change for Water Board Tom Sanders began by saying that two days before the City election, he learned that one of the items on the ballot among the proposed changes in the City Charter, was an item to remove all sections referring to the Water Board from the Charter. He was extremely disturbed that he had not been informed about it ahead of time. Had he known it was going to be on the ballot he would have been adamant about trying to influence its defeat. "Why wasn't the Water Board informed that this was going to be on the ballot?" he asked. Mr. Caulfield explained that Council Liaison Loren Maxey had talked to him about an 11- member Board with no alternates, and that Water Board terms would be limited to 3. The fact that they were going to take all mention of the Water Board out of the Charter and put it into an ordinance, Mr. Caulfield did not know. Several years ago, he said, they talked about taking it out of the Charter, and the Water Board objected on the ground that this enables the City Council by its own fiat, without going to the voters, to abolish the Water Board. Dr. Sanders requested that his remarks about this issue be included as part of the record in the minutes. He recalled that several years ago, the Council tried to limit the Board to two terms, and some members of the Board fought the proposal and won. "Now they are trying to do it again," he insisted. "They are diminishing the entire significance and importance of the Water Board," he claims. In his opinion, the voters were unaware of the significance of this change. Mr. Caulfield remarked that frankly he believes the Council thought this was a non -issue. Most of them probably perceived it as only a house -keeping item. Tom Sanders countered that, "Making the terms shorter, and because of all the other changes, there will be no history on things like this. That was what made us effective, and now we won't be! They are giving up expertise on the Water Board that has been available free all of these years," he concluded. Since there was no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:58 p.m. 277 Water Board Secretary