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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 5/5/2020 - Memorandum From Eileen Dornfest Re: Halligan Water Supply Project Status Update: Second Quarter, 2020Utilities electric · stormwater · wastewater · water 700 Wood Street PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.212.2900 V/TDD 711 utilities@fcgov.com fcgov.com/utilities M E M O R A N D U M DATE: April 21, 2020 TO: Mayor Troxell and Councilmembers FROM: Eileen Dornfest, Special Projects Manager THROUGH: Darin Atteberry, City Manager Jeff Mihelich, Deputy City Manager Kevin R. Gertig, Utilities Executive Director Carol Webb, Deputy Director – Water Resources and Treatment Operations RE: Halligan Water Supply Project Status Update: Second Quarter, 2020 Bottom Line Please find attached a quarterly Status Update on the Halligan Water Supply Project. This report provides a summary of work in progress and recent accomplishments. CC: Water Board DocuSign Envelope ID: 50B4BAC0-24E6-43DA-A671-DDEA48332EF0 HALLIGAN WATER SUPPLY UPDATE PROJECT April 2020 BACKGROUND If approved, the Halligan Water Supply Project would enlarge Halligan Reservoir, an existing reservoir on the North Fork of the Poudre River, to meet the demand of future Fort Collins Utilities’ water customers and provide increased reliability for existing customers in the event of emergencies, drought and climate- change uncertainties. The project would expand the reservoir by about 8,100 acre-feet by increasing the height of the existing 70-foot dam by 25 feet. For context, an average single-family home uses almost a third of an acre-foot of water each year (about 108,000 gallons). The project is anticipated to be completed in 2026. Permits are required from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and other federal, state and county agencies to enlarge Halligan Reservoir. Before issuing permits, the Corps produces a draft and final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for public review and comment. The EIS describes environmental impacts of the project, along with environmental impacts of projects identified as alternatives to enlarging the reservoir. The draft EIS was released in November 2019. PROGRESS UPDATE Draft EIS – Approximately 60 comment letters were received. They are being reviewed by the Corps and Fort Collins Utilities and responses to comments are being developed. Land acquisition and easements – Staff worked with several landowners to develop easement agreements. Preliminary design – Preliminary design is slated to begin this year. Onboarding of the design team is ongoing. State permits – Formal consultation will begin with Colorado Parks and Wildlife this year for the Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan. Preliminary work also is being conducted to support the Section 401 Colorado Water Quality Certification. Community engagement and communication – Public outreach has been scaled back slightly after the draft EIS release. Outreach continues to educate customers. Outreach and engagement over the first quarter of 2020 is shown below: 437 733 Social Media (reach) Website (pageviews) Events (booth visitors) Presentations (attendees) Meetings (attendees) 2,888 222 128 Media (articles/ads) 1 PROJECT SCHEDULE The draft EIS was released in 2019. Construction could begin as early as 2024. Other project milestones are shown below. For more information, visit fcgov.com/halligan Eileen Dornfest, Special Projects Manager • 970-416-4296 • halligan@fcgov.com Auxiliary aids and services are available for persons with disabilities, V/TDD 711. Esta información puede ser traducida, sin costo para usted, 970-212-2900. Utilities Project schedule is dependent on the permitting schedule and subject to change. ‘06 ‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ‘18 ‘19 ‘20 ‘21 ‘22 ‘23 ‘24 ‘25 ‘26 Federal Permitting Other Federal & State Permitting Preliminary Design Final Design Construction Enlarged Halligan Operations — Record of Decision Purpose & Need — Notice of Intent Baseline Environmental Studies Alternatives Environmental Impact Studies — — Develop & Issue Draft EIS — Draft EIS Comment Period — Prepare & Release Final EIS WE ARE HERE — Purpose/Need Figure 1: Cost Range Figure 2: $ Spent vs. Projected Costs ANTICIPATED COSTS Project costs were updated in 2019 pending the release of the draft EIS and with information learned over the previous two years. The estimate is presented as a range due to the long-term nature of the project, the conceptual nature of the current design and the uncertainty associated with a complex water supply project. As noted in previous quarterly updates, costs are anticipated to change and likely grow as the scope is refined and permitting requirements and design are better understood. However, the “probable cost” range is intended to capture future cost changes. Costs will be evaluated again in 2021 after preliminary design is complete and more is known about the project design and permitting and mitigation requirements. Costs will continue to be updated as new information is obtained. Updated cost estimates and other decision factors will be evaluated regularly to verify that the project remains the most cost-effective water supply solution for our customers. Currently, the Halligan Project is anticipated to provide firm yield at about $15,000 per acre-foot and is the most cost-effective project to meet the City’s water supply needs. For comparison, the market rate for firm yield from the Colorado- Big Thompson (CBT) Project is approximately $60,000. Also, the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) and Windy Gap Firming Project unit costs are currently $30,000 and $20,000 per acre-foot, respectively. Figure 3: Regional Water Supply Projects Unit Cost through Time Windy Gap NISP Halligan 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 $5K $10K $15K $20K $25K $30K $35K $0 Moffat Collection DEIS Released All permitting & design complete DEIS in Preparation FEIS Complete DEIS Released All permitting & design complete DEIS in Preparation $33,143 $30,000 $20,000 $15,000 2019 costs shown for other projects were published information at that time and may not represent actual 2019 cost estimates. Unit Cost of Water (Per Acre-Foot of Firm Yield) Spent to date: $18.4M Projected future costs Appropriated funds remaining: $18.9M $100M $120M $150M Range of Probable Cost Range of Possible Cost 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 PERMITTING PROPERTY ACQUISITION PUBLIC OUTREACH DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION MITIGATION $28M $5M $1M $70M $16M Cost in Millions DocuSign Envelope ID: 50B4BAC0-24E6-43DA-A671-DDEA48332EF0 Poudre River Forum, February 2020 DocuSign Envelope ID: 50B4BAC0-24E6-43DA-A671-DDEA48332EF0