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Home My WebLink AboutWater Board - Minutes - 01/21/20161 Water Board Minutes January 21, 2016 Fort Collins Utilities Water Board Minutes Thursday, January 21, 2016 Water Board Chairperson City Council Liaison Steve Malers, 970-484-1954 Wade Troxell, 970-219-8940 Water Board Vice Chairperson Staff Liaisons Rebecca Hill, 970-402-1713 Jon Haukaas, 970-221-6671 Carol Webb, 970-221-6231 ROLL CALL Board Present: Chairperson Steve Malers, Vice Chairperson Rebecca Hill, Board Members Michael Brown, Alexander Maas, Phyllis Ortman, Andrew McKinley, Lori Brunswig, Kent Bruxvoort, Duncan Eccleston, Jason Tarry, Brett Bovee OTHERS PRESENT Staff: Jon Haukaas, Carol Webb, Donnie Dustin, Lance Smith, Randy Reuscher, Lisa Rosintoski, Bonnie Pierce, Pete Iengo, Chris Donegon, Travis Paige, Eric Potyondy, Cyril Vidergar, Kevin Gertig Members of the Public: None Meeting Convened Chairperson Malers called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Public Comment None Approval of December 17, 2015 Board Meeting Minutes Board Member Kent Bruxvoort moved to approve the minutes of the December 17 meeting. Board Member Michael Brown seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: It passed unanimously, 11-0, with 1 abstention.* *New Board Member Jason Tarry abstained Staff Reports (Attachments available upon request) Monthly Water Resources Report Water Resources Manager Donnie Dustin reported water demand was 97 % of projected. December was below average on temperature and above average on precipitation. Stream flows were high despite a dry autumn. Snowpack is decent. South Platte Basin was 110% of average; 2 Water Board Minutes January 21, 2016 Joe Wright Reservoir was below average; Colorado-Big Thompson Project storage and Horsetooth Reservoir storage are still in good shape. Water supply outlook is good; no need for restrictions. Utilities Low Income Assistance Program Evaluation Recommendations (Attachments available upon request) Utilities Customer Connections Manager Lisa Rosintoski gave a summary of the Fort Collins Utilities (Utilities) Low Income Assistance program evaluation recommendations. Utilities staff evaluated existing low income utility customer assistance programs to redesign a program portfolio incorporating elements of energy efficiency, education, income criteria, convenience, as well as collaboration with other City programs and local non-profits. The goal is to implement a Low Income Assistance rate effective January 2017. Staff seeks Water Board’s support of the concept of an income-qualified rate. The presentation focused on program evaluation and suggested implementation strategy. Utilities Rate Analyst Randy Reuscher summarized utility customers’ costs as a percentage of income and criteria for customers to qualify for an income-qualified rate. Customers would be required to apply for the discount and meet qualifications. For customers at 165% of Federal Poverty Level (FPL): Electric, 35% discount; Water, 45% discount; Wastewater, 50% discount. Discussion Highlights Board members inquired about how the program could grow, based on the fact that Fort Collins has a higher level of poverty than that of the state, and inquired why Fort Collins’ is higher. Staff replied they hadn’t researched the statistics to that level. Rather, they focused on the community’s needs. Board members also inquired why Utilities researched offering this kind of reduced rate, and whether the amount of money requested for the income-qualified program will cover costs. Staff replied poverty exists in Fort Collins and 35% of students in Poudre School District qualify for free or reduced meals; requested funding for an income qualified rate (IQR) would cover program costs and come in part from Medical Assistance Program (MAP) reduced rate program funding, which will be phased out, and from the estimated $388,000 in unclaimed credits that would be rolled into the new program. (Note: Unclaimed credits dollar amount will likely decrease with the implementation of a thorough public noticing system.) Water Reclamation and Biosolids Discharge Permit Renewal (Attachments Available Upon Request) Water Reclamation and Biosolids Manager Jason Graham and Environmental Regulatory Specialist Bonnie Pierce summarized the permit and renewal process. City wastewater treatment facilities are issued discharge permits through the Colorado Discharge Permit System (CDPS), which is the state equivalent to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program, a Clean Water Act program. The Colorado Water Quality Control Division issues, and re-issues, the permits every five years to ensure local water quality standards and goals are met. 3 Water Board Minutes January 21, 2016 Staff described main issues and implications. The City submitted its permit application on April 19, 2013, and permits were public noticed on October 16, 2015 for a 30-day comment period. The City submitted comments and is operating on an administrative extension, and staff was told the state is reviewing the comments. Staff will provide updates at future meetings. Discussion Highlights Board members asked various questions about the permit process and regulations, and staff replied with insights about current issues, potential future issues, and opportunities. Michigan Ditch Tunnel Appropriation (Attachments Available Upon Request) Utilities Financial Strategic Planning Manager Lance Smith summarized the project, which must be completed in 2016 during the short construction season to ensure adequate water supplies exist for all obligations in 2017. Funds are required for repair of a piped section of the Michigan Ditch near Cameron Pass in eastern Jackson County, on state land. The Ditch is a critical part of the City’s water portfolio. It includes both open and piped sections, is approximately six miles long, and captures water from the upper part of the Michigan River basin. The Ditch transports water over Cameron Pass and into the Poudre River basin. Michigan Ditch diversions are stored in Joe Wright Reservoir for future release. The Ditch experienced a catastrophic failure in June 2015, when the mountainside on which the Ditch is constructed slid downhill several feet. As a result, the Ditch is not able to deliver the majority of the decreed water to Joe Wright Reservoir, which are released to meet City water supply needs either directly or by exchange. Repairing the Ditch and restoring deliveries to Joe Wright Reservoir is essential to ensure that the City fully utilizes its valuable Michigan Ditch supplies (value of $180 million in water rights). Engineering assessments have been completed; recommended mitigation is to construct a tunnel because it has the lowest risk of failure than other options. Cost of construction and associated activities is $7,540,000. Some money was appropriated in 2015 and 2016 for Michigan Ditch repairs with a remaining balance of $1.25 million to be applied toward construction. This appropriation ordinance is for the remaining $6.3 million of necessary funds. Tunnel boring is scheduled to begin in mid-June and will last approximately 40 days, to prepare for installation of a 60-inch carrier pipe. Staff recommends that the Water Board support this appropriation ordinance to be presented to the City Council for first reading on February 2, 2016. Discussion Highlights Board members inquired about various aspects of the project, including the cost of renting the tunnel boring machine ($1 million to rent, compared to $1.8 million to purchase a machine the City would not use again), and staff explained Water Fund Reserves appropriations. Staff clarified that many discussions have occurred among City leaders about where the project funds should come from. Board members also inquired about the future outlook for Water Funds