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Home My WebLink AboutMemo - Mail Packet - 2/21/2023 - 07 - Memorandum From Jason Graham Re: 2022 Cameron Peak Wildfire Recovery Update M E M O R A N D U M DATE: February 13, 2023 TO: Mayor Arndt and Councilmembers FROM: Jason Graham, Utilities Water Director THROUGH: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager Kendall Minor, Utilities Executive Director RE: 2022 Cameron Peak Wildfire Recovery Update Bottom Line: In response to the 2020 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. 2022 Emergency Watershed Recovery Activity Summary  In 2022, Fort Collins Utilities continued to work with regional recovery partners including local water providers, state and federal agencies, consultants, and the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW) to address post-fire restoration needs as detailed in the 2022-2023 Cameron Peak Recovery workplan. o Aerial mulching was completed on 4,150 acres in the Poudre Watershed from July through August, bringing the 2021-2022 total to approximately 10,000 acres. o Utilities staff provided approximately 60 hours of on-the-ground support for mulching inspections in July & August. o Five additional erosion control and stream stabilization projects were completed in 2022 to protect private property and downstream water quality values at risk, bringing the total number of projects to nine. Two additional projects are expected to be completed Spring of 2023, when weather conditions allow. Recovery Funding Update  To date, the Fort Collins Utilities has contributed approximately $1.23M towards post-fire watershed recovery for grant match requirements and project management services. An additional $500,000 in City matching funds are anticipated to be needed in 2023 for projects that were designed but not yet completed, bringing the City’s total expected expenditures to approximately $1.68M.  Independently, Utilities also completed sediment removal and stream channel realignment work at the Poudre River water supply intake in early 2022. The cost of this work was approximately $750,000. DocuSign Envelope ID: 36EC4628-F014-4C0B-AE54-1D4B13DA7A76  Beyond this limited remaining scope of work, emergency phase of watershed recovery work is anticipated to wrap-up by mid- to late 2023.  Table 1. Provides a funding summary for post-fire watershed recovery work completed through 2022. Table 1. Estimated Post-Fire Emergency Recovery Funding by Source, 2020-2022. Funding Source Amount Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) $13,570,618 Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS-EWP) $8,617,059 United States Forest Service (USFS) $6,000,000 Colorado Dept of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) $865,278 1City of Fort Collins (Cost Match) $1,235,211 1,2Other Local Recovery Partners (Cost Match) $1,078,358 Total $31,366,523 1 Does not include in-kind contributions of staff time and project management. 2 CPRW, City of Greeley and the East Larimer County, North Weld, and Fort Collins-Loveland Water Districts Post-Fire Water Quality Impacts and Ongoing Monitoring  Localized, high-intensity rainfall events that occur over the Cameron Peak Fire burn scar during the summer months may continue to create excessive runoff and debris, causing degradation of downstream water quality in the Poudre sufficiently improves within a few hours or, in more extreme cases, it may take up to a few days. The frequency and severity of these events is expected to diminish in the coming years as watershed recovery progresses.  In total, the Water Treatment Facility shut off water seven (7) days in 2022 due to post-fire erosion impacts on water quality. This was significantly fewer than 2021, during which the intake was shut down for thirty-nine (39) days. It should be noted that twenty-two (22) of those days were due directly to the Black Hollow flood event on July 19, 2021. In a normal year, the number of days off the river is typically zero to 1 days for the summer months.  Utilities will continue to operate the Upper Poudre Water Quality Surveillance System during the summer and fall months, which provides automated, real-time alerts in response to changes in upstream water quality. This system enables water treatment operators to bypass fire- impacted water in the Poudre River until conditions improve, thereby protecting the water treatment process and quality of finished drinking water.  Technical support for the installation, configuration and maintenance of this system is provided by the Utilities Watershed Program and Stormwater department. Long-Term Watershed Recovery  The majority of remaining wildfire recovery needs are on USFS lands. In 2023 and beyond, the US Forest Service (USFS) will utilize allocated agency funding for addressing longer -term watershed recovery and other post-wildfire priorities.  Implementation of projects on USFS lands will be, in part, facilitated by partnership agreements with City of Greeley and CPRW.  The City of Fort Collins will continue to work with CPRW and other partners to improve watershed health and resilience to protect our water supplies. Financial support for this future DocuSign Envelope ID: 36EC4628-F014-4C0B-AE54-1D4B13DA7A76 work will come from Utilities Watershed Program budgets for Watershed Protection, marking a return to practices that were in place prior to the Cameron Peak Wildfire.  Summaries of ongoing watershed recovery work and post-fire water quality reports can be found at https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/water-status. CC: Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager Gretchen Stanford, Utilities Deputy Director, Customer Connections Jill Oropeza, Utilities Water Quality Services Division Director Jen Dial, Utilities Water Resources Division Manager Mariel Miller, Water Conservation Manager, Utilities Customer Connections City of Fort Collins Water Commission DocuSign Envelope ID: 36EC4628-F014-4C0B-AE54-1D4B13DA7A76 Attachment A Watershed & Water Treatment Recovery Activity Timeline DocuSign Envelope ID: 36EC4628-F014-4C0B-AE54-1D4B13DA7A76 TIMELINE August 2020-Januray 2021 October 2021-February 2022 March-April 2022 September-December 2022 July-October 2021 February-June 2021 • Came ron Pe ak Fi re burned 208,000 acres • US Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Report provided initial damage assessment • Prioritization and planning of post-fire restoration projects • Structure/reservoir protection and flood control projects • Spring runoff • Water Shortage Watch • Flash flood/erosion events on river • Post-treatment evaluation of 2021 completed projects • Additional State and Federal funding requests • Sediment removal upstream of the Poudre River intake began in January • 2022 treatment design plan completed • Permitting for mulch staging and helicopter landing sites on US Forest Service lands • Deployed Poudre River water quality alert system • Sediment removal project completed in March May-August 2022 • Completed phase 2 of aerial mulching on highest priority acres • Continued work on ground erosion control projects • Flash flood/erosion events on river • Phase 1 aerial mulching completed • Structure/reservoir protection and flood control projects • Water Shortage Watch • Flash flood/erosion events on river Auxiliary aids and services are available for persons with disabilities. 10/22 POST-WILDFIRE WATERSHED RECOVERY • Complete ground erosion control projects, weather permitting • Identify remaining treatment needs and available funding for 2023 and beyond DocuSign Envelope ID: 36EC4628-F014-4C0B-AE54-1D4B13DA7A76