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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWater Board - Minutes - 06/21/2012Water Board Minutes June 21, 2012 1 Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes Thursday, June 21, 2012 Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison Steve Balderson, 223-7915 Wade Troxell, 219-8940 Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaison Steve Malers, 484-1954 Brian Janonis, 221-6702 Roll Call Board Present Chairperson Steve Balderson, Vice Chairperson Steve Malers, Board Members Becky Goldbach, Phil Phelan, Duncan Eccleston, Brian Brown, and Brett Bovee Board Absent Board Members Eric Garner, Liesel Hans, and Lori Brunswig Staff Present Brian Janonis, Kevin Gertig, Jon Haukaas, Lisa Voytko, Lindsay Kuntz, Laurie D’Audney, Donnie Dustin, Lance Smith, and Harriet Davis Guests Darwin Williams (ELCO) and Lucy Dipboye Meeting Convened Chairperson Balderson called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. Public Comment Lucy Dipboye stated she is attending the meeting because she is interested in the subject of water rights. Approval of May 17, 2012 Minutes Chairperson Malers moved to approve the minutes of the May 17, 2012 meeting. Board Member Bovee seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously. * Board Member Phelan abstained from voting due to his absence at the May meeting. Committee Reports Conservation and Public Education Committee (Board Member Phelan): The June meeting was cancelled and will be rescheduled for a later time. Engineering Committee (Board Member Brown): The June meeting was cancelled and will be rescheduled for July 11. The topic will include Michigan Ditch. Legislative, Finance, and Liaison Committee (Board Member Goldbach): No report. Water Supply Committee (Board Member Bovee): No report. A meeting will be scheduled for July. The topic will be agricultural water sharing. Water Board Minutes June 21, 2012 2 Staff Reports Monthly Water Resources Report Water Resources Manager Donnie Dustin provided this report for the agenda packet. Water use is currently above average. This is typical due to the hot conditions. Update on High Park Fire Water Production Manager Lisa Voytko gave a brief update on the High Park Fire. She also gave an update on the first rain event after the Hewlett Fire. This rain event occurred on June 6, 2012. The Hewlett Fire was a low-intensity fire. Mitigation is currently in place. The City of Greeley is taking the lead with this project. Ms. Voytko presented graphs showing precipitation after the fire and water quality parameters. Samples will be evaluated. She also presented a graph showing turbidity and conductivity after the storm event in Poudre Canyon. Utilities is currently working with other entities to study the watershed. Rain gauges will be installed at the intake and by Hewlett Gulch. In response to a board member’s concerns about flooding, Water Engineering and Field Operations Manager Jon Haukaas stated the flood warning system is robust due to the density of gauges in the Poudre watershed. Currently, there are no plans to change the response plans. Easement Request from East Larimer County Water District/North Weld County Water District on Water Treatment Facility Property (Attachments available upon request). Water Production Manager Lisa Voytko introduced the item and introduced Real Estate Specialist Lindsay Kuntz. The easement is for a proposed waterline agreement at the Water Treatment Facility on Laporte Avenue for the North Weld – ELCO Water Transmission Pipeline (NEWT) project. The project involves the installation of a 42” diameter water pipeline from the Soldier Canyon Filter Plant near Horsetooth Reservoir to the two districts’ distribution systems. Ms. Voytko presented a map showing the proposed waterline easement. Highlights from the discussion: • A board member feels this is a great opportunity to take advantage of existing systems since there is an existing water share agreement with North Weld. • The board members and staff discussed the connections at Timberline Road, and the connections with Fort Collins Loveland Water District (FCLWD). • In response to a question about expansion plans for the Water Treatment Facility, Ms. Voytko stated there is adequate capacity with the existing water projections. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously. In response to a question about compensation, Ms. Kuntz stated the City will be compensated by the districts for the easement. Vice Chairperson Malers moved that the Water Board recommend that the City Council consider approval of an Ordinance authorizing the conveyance of a permanent waterline easement and temporary construction easement on the City property to the North Weld County Water District and East Larimer County Water District. Board Member Brown seconded the motion. Water Board Minutes June 21, 2012 3 Drinking Water Quality and Annual Consumer Confidence Reports (Attachments available upon request). Ms. Voytko presented information on these items. Annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) The CCR is required by the EPA to be mailed to ratepayers no later than July 1 every year. The EPA stipulates what should be included in the report. The report includes information about water quality, fluoridation, watersheds, facility data, and contact information. Highlights from the discussion: • The EPA states what kind of technical information should be included in the report. • A board member suggested the report should highlight the quality of our water versus that of bottled water. • The City conducts proactive watershed monitoring to meet and exceed local, state, and federal regulations. • The requirements are on finished water delivery, not raw water. • The City’s internal standards are more stringent than the state and federal standards. • The impact of the fire on the City’s budget and rates has not been analyzed; however, if Utilities is required to treat for high manganese levels, high Total Organic Carbon (TOC) levels, and high taste and odor problems, this would translate to increased costs. 2011 Drinking Water Quality Policy Annual Report This document is provided by Council Resolution 93-144. The purpose of the policy is to ensure the continuous delivery of high quality drinking water to Fort Collins Utilities’ customers. The report summarizes the actions taken in support of the policy goals during 2011. Highlights from the discussion: • A board member questioned if any of the breweries have expressed interest in cost sharing for mitigation efforts for the High Park fire. There are discussions surrounding this topic. Currently, Utilities has not approached any key accounts on cost sharing. • A board member questioned geosmin levels. Monitoring for geosmin has been increased on the Poudre. Update on Status of Fort Collins Loveland Water District (FCLWD) 24” Waterline Agreement Mr. Haukaas gave an update on this item. This item was originally presented to the board at the March meeting. A meeting with FCLWD is scheduled for June 22. Some key items in the water sharing agreement should be changed, and this will be part of the discussion. The new agreement will be presented to the Water Board at a later time. Highlights from the discussion: • This waterline connection would be located at Harmony Road and Ziegler Road. • Utilities will recover production costs, chemical costs, staff time, etc. • A board member stated the Conservation and Public Education Committee would be interested in a presentation on fixed versus variable costs for the water fund. This will be scheduled for a future committee meeting. Water Board Minutes June 21, 2012 4 Follow-up from City Council Work Session – Boards and Commissions Periodic Review Chairperson Balderson and Vice Chairperson Malers attended the Work Session on June 12, 2012. The chairs presented information on what the Water Board does as a board and how they are structured. The chairs also received feedback on how to best communicate with Council. This item is presented to the Water Board for discussion. Highlights from the discussion: • Brief summary memos are appropriate and should outline the board’s recommendations. • The board members discussed the process for getting memos to Council. The memos can be included in the Council packet each week as applicable. • The board members were encouraged to contact Council Liaison Wade Troxell to discuss the concept of memos with him. • The board members discussed the possibility of meeting with staff and the City Manager to discuss board resources. • The board members discussed the possibility of receiving more information during staff reports versus receiving this information during committee meetings. • A board member feels there should be more discussion about items with less presentation from staff members. There should not be duplication of information presented to both the committees and to the full board. • A board member stated the Water Board should be a policy review group. The board member feels the board has expanded beyond this scope. • The board members discussed the possibility of conducting a Work Session as an all- committee meeting. • The board members discussed the possibility of a master calendar detailing action and informational items. • A board member feels there is value in subcommittees, and perhaps these should not be replaced by Work Sessions. • The board members discussed how to identify items where their feedback will matter to Council. They also discussed attending the Council Work Sessions where applicable topics will be discussed. • A board member felt that three or four items should be presented to each of the four committees each year. The board members discussed which items should be presented at the board level and the subcommittee level. • Chairperson Balderson will contact Council Liaison Wade Troxell for a discussion on the best way to communicate with Council. • A board member expressed the board should focus on policy issues, i.e. direction- focused issues. Other Business Utilities Executive Director Brian Janonis stated the newly created Oil and Gas Committee is seeking members. This committee is being formed to discuss oil and gas leases inside the City limits in an effort to make a recommendation to Council. Board Members Brown and Bovee expressed interest in this committee. Vice Chairperson Malers also expressed interest as an alternate. Future Agenda Items The board members discussed items scheduled for the July meeting. The Water Supply and Demand Management Policy Update is scheduled for the July meeting. Also scheduled is an update on Low Impact Development (LID) for new and redevelopment in the City. This item is scheduled for a Council Work Session on August 14, 2012. This item will also be presented to the Engineering Committee. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 7:39 p.m. Submitted by Harriet Davis, Administrative Assistant, Fort Collins Utilities Approved by the Board on ZY. 4 I I Cl , 2012 Signed: iI1i Board Secretary Date Water Board Minutes 5 June 21, 2012