HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 6/7/2022 - Memorandum From Donnie Dustin And Mike Calhoon Re: May 24, 2022 Work Session On Halligan Water Supply Project Update: Follow Up On Parks Water Use
Utilities
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700 Wood Street
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6700
970.221.6619 fax
970.224.6003 TDD
utilities@fcgov.com
fcgov.com/utilities
Parks Department
413 South Bryan Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6600
970.221.6849 fax
fcgov.com/parks
M E M O R A N D U M
DATE: June 1, 2022
TO: Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Donnie Dustin, Water Resources Engineer
Mike Calhoon, Parks Director
THROUGH: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Kendall Minor, Utilities Executive Director
Jason Graham, Director of Water Utilities
Seve Ghose, Community Services Director
RE: May 24, 2022 Work Session on Halligan Water Supply Project Update: Follow
Up on Parks Water Use
During the May 24, 2022 work session on an update of the Halligan Water Supply Project, a
Councilmember asked for a one-page follow up memorandum regarding the 3,000 acre-feet/year
of water used on parks, golf courses, and cemeteries that was mentioned on page 2 of the Agenda
Item Summary.
The Parks Department oversees approximately 1,100 acres of parkland, 300 acres of golf courses,
and 65 acres of cemeteries. This totals about 1,465 acres of which about 80% are irrigated lands.
Typical irrigation requirements for our semi-arid region are about 29-inches of water for turfgrass
over the entire irrigation season. Approximately 3,000 acre-feet of water is required to provide
irrigation to the sites in the Parks portfolio.
Parks raw water is delivered via ownership and use of shares in the various ditch company systems
that run through and around Fort Collins. The amount of water available from the yield of these
ditch company shares can vary significantly from year to year depending on the amount of flows
in the Poudre River, which is driven by mountain snowpack. Also
the raw water delivery that can range from 15% in normal years to 50% in dry years. During these
drier years, Parks must cut back their water use to match the available supply from these ditch
company shares (which can be less than the 3,000 acre-feet/year). In addition, Parks follows the
Council approved Water Shortage Action Plan (https://www.fcgov.com/utilities/water-shortage-
planning) and has site plans for directing limited water supplies to the critical amenities (e.g., trees,
playing fields, golf greens, etc.).
2
Parks is committed to water conservation through the application of irrigation based on
evapotranspiration (ET). The team monitors and irrigates to 90% of ET (plant need). If a site
exceeds this threshold, it triggers a water audit which is performed by one of the several Irrigation
Association Water Auditors that are on staff to ascertain the reason for the overage and recommend
corrections. This system provides the assurance of the judicious use of one of the most valuable
and limited resources that the team manages.
Please let us know if you have any questions.