Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 05/08/2012 - 2012 WATER SUPPLY OUTLOOKDATE: May 8, 2012 STAFF: Donnie Dustin Kevin Gertig Brian Janonis WORK SESSION ITEM FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION 2012 Water Supply Outlook EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Due to very low mountain snowpack this year, runoff from the Poudre River is expected to be well below average and will reduce the amount of water available to the City from its Poudre River water supplies. However, allocations from the Colorado-Big Thompson Project have been set high giving the City more than adequate supplies from Horsetooth Reservoir. The City does not own or control Horsetooth Reservoir and has a limited ability to hold water in that reservoir for subsequent years. In addition, the City owns very little other storage that can hold conserved water. The Water Utility is already prepared to maintain these reserves for next year’s use, while also meeting higher than average demands. Since water savings will not improve the City’s water supplies for next year, mandatory restrictions are not required. Water savings could provide additional water to local irrigators, but would result in lower revenues and the potential for rate increases. GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED Staff will address any questions regarding the City’s water supplies and demands. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Utilities’ Water Resources Division manages the City’s water supplies to help provide reliable water services to its customers. The Water Supply and Demand Management Policy (Resolution 2003- 104) states that, “the reliability of the Fort Collins water supply should be maintained to meet at least the 1-in-50 year drought event in the Cache la Poudre River Basin”. As a result, the City has acquired a water supply system that can provide adequate supplies in most years. The Division constantly monitors the City’s water supply system by following snowpack conditions, reservoir levels and water demands. If water supplies are anticipated to be less than projected demands, the City can use the Water Supply Shortage Response Plan (Ordinance No. 048, 2003) to impose restrictions to obtain necessary demand reductions. Due to very dry and warm conditions in March and April, snowpack in the Poudre Basin is 23 percent of average according to the May 1, 2012 Colorado Division of Water Resources snow course survey. These compare with 30 percent of average for May 1, 2002, which coincided with the lowest May 8, 2012 Page 2 runoff year in recorded history for the Poudre River. Although these snowpack conditions are concerning, the City is very fortunate to have several senior direct flow rights on the Poudre River that provide a stable source of water for the City’s use regardless of runoff conditions. However, the low runoff conditions will significantly reduce the amount of water available to the City from some of its other Poudre River water rights. Given these factors, the City is anticipating the yield of its Poudre River water supplies to be similar to 2002 levels. The City is most concerned about having enough water from its Michigan Ditch and Joe Wright Reservoir system to meet its obligation to the Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) as part of the Reuse Plan, which benefits the City with around 2,000 acre-feet of additional supplies. The City may not have adequate supplies to meet the Reuse Plan in 2012. If drought conditions continue next winter, the City will have increased difficulties meeting its obligations in 2013. For this reason, the City is working with PRPA to reduce its obligation this year and possibly in 2013. As a result of the last few years of abundant snowpack, levels in the Colorado-Big Thompson Project (CBT) reservoirs are above average. Given the dry conditions, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD) Board of Directors allocated a 90 percent quota to CBT unit owners at its April 13, 2012 meeting. Although the City of Fort Collins requested a lower quota in order to maintain CBT system reservoir levels, the larger quota results in the City’s total supplies being more than its anticipated dry-year demands. The City currently has little storage capacity it can use to hold water that is saved through conservation and/or restrictions. The City does not own or control Horsetooth Reservoir and has a limited ability to hold water in that reservoir for subsequent years. The NCWCD has an Annual Carryover Program (ACP) that allows the City to hold water in Horsetooth, but only for its unused CBT water and only for use in the following year. The City can reserve up to 3,771 acre-feet from one year to the next in Horsetooth Reservoir through the ACP and its ownership of CBT units. The only storage owned and controlled by the City is Joe Wright Reservoir, which has an active capacity of approximately 6,500 acre-feet. However, Joe Wright is mostly used for the Reuse Plan and has a limited ability to hold water in reserve from one year to the next. The Water Utility is already prepared to maintain these reserves for next year’s use, while also being able to meet potentially higher (dry-year) demands. As always, the City advocates the wise use of our water resources. Water Utility customers have demonstrated an excellent conservation ethic by reducing their total per capita water use by around 25 percent over the last decade. Utilities will continue to provide education and resources to its customers that help them reduce their water use. Given our customer’s strong conservation ethic and the fact that water savings will not improve the City’s water supplies for next year, mandatory restrictions are not required. The Water Resources Division will continue to the monitor the City’s water supplies and demands and make adjustments as necessary. Although restrictions are not required, water savings might allow the Water Utility to rent additional supplies to local irrigation users. The City would not be able to provide additional rentals until savings are achieved, which would likely be in late summer. The additional rental revenue would be much less than the potential loss of water sale revenues. These revenues have been low in the past few years due to wet conditions and continued low revenues will likely result in the need for water rate increases. May 8, 2012 Page 3 Unlike other water providers such as Denver Water and Colorado Springs Utilities, which have around 0.50 acre-feet of storage per capita that they own and control, Fort Collins only owns and controls about 0.05 acre-feet of storage per capita. Although the City has associated storage through the CBT project, it has little control over how that storage is allocated and cannot store its Poudre River supplies in Horsetooth Reservoir. The City has been pursuing the enlargement of Halligan Reservoir to provide additional storage capacity that will not only help meet projected demands by being able to manage and utilize junior water rights it has been acquiring for many years, but will also provide a place to store some of what is conserved in years like this. A presentation on water storage to the City’s Futures Committee is planned in the near future. In addition, staff will discuss an update to the City’s Water Supply and Demand Management Policy during a City Council work session in late August 2012.