HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 4/5/2022 - Memorandum From Mark Kempton Re: 2022 1St Quarter - Post-Fire Water Status UpdateM E M O R A N D U M
DATE: March 25, 2022
TO: Mayor Arndt and Councilmembers
FROM: Mark Kempton, Interim Utilities Deputy Director
THROUGH: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Kendall Minor, Utilities Executive Director
RE: 2022 1st quarter - Post-Fire Water Status Update
Bottom Line:
In response to the Cameron Peak Fire, Fort Collins Utilities continues to coordinate water
infrastructure, water supply, water quality, and post-fire watershed recovery strategies to ensure a
holistic and thoughtful approach to best serve our community's water needs.
2021 Key Accomplishments
In 2021, Fort Collins worked in collaboration with numerous regional recovery partners
including local water providers, state and federal agencies and the Coalition for the Poudre
River Watershed (CPRW) to accomplish the following:
o Developed a Cameron Peak Fire Recovery Plan that identified and prioritized watershed
areas at highest risk from post-fire erosion;
o Completed and inspected aerial wood mulching on 5,805 acres, and
o Completed four erosion control and stream stabilization projects to protect private
property and downstream water quality values at risk.
2021 wildfire recovery expenditures totaled approximately $12.75M. Approximately $11.25M
was funded from State and Federal assistance programs and $1.5M from combined cost-match
from City of Fort Collins, City of Greeley, and the Tri-Districts. Fort Collins has contributed
$880,605, to date.
Fort Collins Utilities also independently conducted work at the Poudre River water supply
intake to protect raw water quality and the physical infrastructure, including:
o Removed accumulated rock and sediment from the intake structure channel and
modified the structure and installed a submerged concrete barrier in front of the intake
opening to prevent rocks and sediment from entering the raw water pipe,
o Repositioned the river channel immediately upstream of the intake structure to allow
more effective transport of sediment downstream, and
o Removed approximately 1,250 cubic yards of accumulated sediment from the Poudre
River channel upstream of the water supply intake, about half of which was deposited
after the Black Hollow debris flow that occurred on July 20, 2021.
o The cost of this work was approximately $750,000.
In total, Fort Collins has spent approximately $1.63M, or 33% of the original $5M appropriation
for Watershed Wildfire Recovery. Additional expenditures are expected in 2022 and 2023, as
additional recovery projects are completed.
The 2021 voluntary Water Shortage Watch (Watch) ended on Oct. 1, 2021, pursuant to Fort
Collins City Code Section 26-167(a) and the Water Shortage Action Plan, due to improving
water resource conditions and less demand on water supplies with irrigation season ending.
o Estimated water use during the Watch was 21 million gallons lower than the five-year
average and a weather normalized analysis estimated that water use was 156 million
gallons lower than expected given 2021 temperature and precipitation.
Planned Work in 2022
In January, a revised Cameron Peak Recovery workplan for 2022-2023 was prepared by Ayres
Associates and JW Associates on behalf of recovery partners. This updated workplan identifies
the need for mulching on an additional 18,000 high-priority acres at an anticipated cost of
$45M. This workplan is currently in-review by the US Forest Service (USFS), as most of the
proposed work is on USFS lands.
In addition, four erosion control projects started in 2021 will also be completed once work sites
are snow-free. Additional on-the-ground projects have been identified, and if permitted and
funded, will be completed in tandem with aerial mulching to maximize treatment effectiveness.
Even with remaining funds awarded in 2021 and anticipated new funds in 2022, an approximate
$25M funding gap remains to address even the highest priority needs. The City of Fort Collins,
City of Greeley, and Northern Water continue to advocate to our federal and state delegations
for timely and adequate funding for the wildfire recovery work, as our drinking water supplies
and infrastructure remain vulnerable to debris flows and flooding from the untreated areas of the
burn scar.
In accordance with the Water Shortage Action Plan and following Northern Water’s issuance of
the Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) quota on April 13 th, staff will meet on April 18, 2022, to
develop a recommendation for a water shortage response (i.e., water restrictions) to the City
Manager after evaluating water availability and the potential for a water shortage in spring and
summer of 2022.
o The recommendation will be based on water shortage indicators including drought
conditions, basin snowpack, reservoir storage levels, C-BT quota, and water quality.
While water quality is challenging to forecast, it is also expected to influence water
availability to some degree, especially during the monsoon season.
o The March 9 memo to the Water Commission includes additional details about the most
recent water resource conditions. Monthly memos can be found at fcgov.com/water-
availability-demand.
Please see Attachment A for a timeline of planned recovery actions and continue to visit the Fort
Collins Utilities Water Status website (fcgov.com/water-status) for the most up to date information
on water supply status.
CC:Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager
Theresa Connor, Interim Utilities Deputy Director, Water Resources & Treatment
Gretchen Stanford, Utilities Deputy Director, Customer Connections
Jill Oropeza, Utilities Water Quality Services Manager
Donnie Dustin, Utilities Water Resources Engineer II
Mariel Miller, Water Conservation Specialist, Water Conservation
City of Fort Collins Water Commission
Attachment A
Watershed & Water Treatment Recovery Activity Timeline
August 2020-Januray 2021
October 2021-January 2022
March-April 2022
February 2022
July-October 2021
February-June 2021
• Cameron Peak Fire burned 208,000 acres
• US Forest Service Burned Area Emergency
Response (BAER) Report
• Prioritization and planning of post-fire
restoration projects
• Assessments, design and planning
• Structure/reservoir protection and flood
control projects
• Spring runoff
• Water Shortage Watch
• Flash flood/erosion events on river
• 2022 treatment design plan completed
• Sediment removal project continued
• Treatment evaluation
• 2022 planning
• Funding requests
• Sediment removal upstream of the Poudre River
intake began
• Permitting for mulch staging and helicopter
landing sites on US Forest Service lands
• Deploy Poudre River water quality alert system
• Sediment removal project completed in March
May-August 2022 • Complete aerial mulching on highest priority acres
• Complete 2021 ground erosion control projects
• Start additional new projects as funding allows
• Aerial mulching
• Structure/reservoir protection and flood
control projects
• Water Shortage Watch
• Flash flood/erosion events on river
• 2022 design begins
Auxiliary aids and services are available
for persons with disabilities. 3/22