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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2 - Draft Minutes - Water Resources - 6/17/2002 2?$ WATER RESOURCES ADVISORY BOARD FINAL MEETING MINUTES June 17, 2002 BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Robert Fiehweg, Jeannette Hillery, Gil Barth, Vicki Naber, Ken Wilson STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Ned Williams, Chris Rudkin, Carol Ellinghouse, Curry Rosato, Paul Lander, Bob Harberg, Carol Linn, Robin Madel, secretary AGENDA ITEM 1. Call to Order Bob Fiehweg called the meeting to order at 7:09 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 2 Approval of April 15, 2002 Meeting Minutes Ken Wilson motioned to approve the minutes from April 15, 2002. Jeanette Hillery seconded. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the motion. AGENDA ITEM 3 General Citizen Participation Peter Richards, 470 University Ave., Boulder, 80302, spoke about the unavailability of water use records, especially for large water users such as the Green Hill Cemetery and White Wave Tofu. Richards said he has asked about getting copies of water use records and was told that they are unavailable. He appealed to the WRAB to encourage the staff to make those records available to the public, similar to the manner in which energy use records are available to the public. Ned Williams said that the reason that information is not available is because of the way the data is stored, however the city is compiling a list of the 10 largest water users in the city that will be made available to the public. General Citizen Participation was closed. Water Resources Advisory Board Full Minutes June 17, 2002 Page I AGENDA ITEM 4 Staff presentation and update on the 2002 drought, including information about city of Boulder water supplies, water restrictions, enforcement and goal. Chris Rudkin said that because we live in a semi-arid climate, a drought is just a matter of time. He said that we need to prepare and use water wisely and develop strategies for dry years. Rudkin discussed the prediction for stream flow based on snow pack. The certainty is only 20% in April but climbs to 50% in May. The city will not know until May 2003 whether the drought will continue. He said that there are already measures in place to respond to a low snowfall next year. Carol Ellin hg ouse discussed using dendrohydrology (tree ring studies) as a tool to reconstruct historical stream flows based on where trees have been stressed. Ellinghouse discussed the probability of having a severe drought for 2 years in a row. The probability is that in every 100 years, there will be a multi-year drought every 20-30 years. The current conservation program will ensure that the city's water needs would be met until April 2003. The staff is evaluating whether additional water use restrictions will be necessary. There will be no carry over in the reservoirs next year. This year's carryover is being used this year to manage the drought. The city's goal is to reduce water demand by 25%. The city has made strides to significantly reduce its own water use and the citizens have responded well to the city staff requests. Additional restrictions may be necessary and could include banning outdoor irrigation. Curry Rosato gave a PowerPoint presentation that she has prepared for citizen groups about the drought situation. The presentation will be taken to a wider audience including citizen groups and neighborhood groups. Rosato spoke about where the city gets its water, what the city is doing in response to the drought, what individuals can do about the drought and what the city's goal for water conservation is. The city has established a Web site for information about the drought located at www.boulderdrought.net. The WRAB complimented the staff for the program that has been established so far and commended them for the public information campaign that has been conducted. The staff noted that the Boulder community has been quick to respond to the city's water conservation requirements and has exceeded all requirements so far. Chris Rudkin said that the city has never had to launch such a restrictive program in such a short time. In the long run, the city will convene citizen groups to continue evaluating the drought situation and the appropriate response. Gil Barth asked where the water savings are coming from and how much is due to city efforts. Ned Williams said that analysis will be prepared during the winter. Williams said that the city only uses five to six percent of water in the city but it is trying to set an example. Ken Wilson asked about the in-stream flow program. Ellinghouse said that the city is letting the obligatory minimal amount of stream flow pass through Barker Dam and the city is currently Water Resources Advisory Board Full Minutes June 17, 2002 Page 2 meeting the in-stream flow program needs but may have to change that if diversions to Boulder Creek change. Ellinghouse said that some fish would die in the late summer if the stream flows go as low as predicted. Ken Wilson asked if the city if looking at proposals for conservation methods other than those currently in use by the city. Chris Rudkin said that the staff is evaluating what is going on across the country and mentioned that there are several water conservation experts here in Boulder. Paul Lander said that his office would be convening citizen groups at the end of the summer to evaluate the situation and they are open to all suggestions. Ned Williams and Bob Harberg discussed the integrity of the water storage and delivery system. The city is undertaking a program to fix existing leaks. Harberg said that the system is in pretty good shape and that the percentage of loss in the system is 7 or 8%. Typical loss is around 10%. Past efforts to correct leakage to the raw water delivery system were discussed. Lo vis w" he Bob Fiehweg asked whether the sale of Windy Gap water rights to Rfeei kl would continue. Williams said that it would because Windy Gap carried junior water rights and the city of Boulder would not receive water from the operation during a drought unless they built a storage reservoir. The 37 Windy Gap units held by the city of Boulder have yielded nothing this year. Ned Williams discussed the enforcement program. He said it is going well and that most of the violations are from the water patrol and not from neighbor complaints. Chris Rudkin said that the call handling system that the staff has initiated seems to be fairly effective and provides a clear sense of dialogue for the residents. Ken Wilson asked if there had been any requests for exemptions and Rudkin said that the city is not allowing any exemptions. AGENDA ITEM 5 Public hearing and WRAB recommendation to the Planning Board and City Council on the proposed 2003 Budget, including the proposed rate increases to the monthly utility bill (water, wastewater and flood control) and the 2003-2008 Capital Improvement Program. Carol Linn reviewed the specifics of the water, wastewater and stormwater and flood management funds for 2001 and 2002. There were some additional sources of revenue that were reported that had not been discussed before. Linn discussed the proposed fee for testing of water meters. The staff has proposed this because it is time consuming and 99% of the time the meters test accurately. The $50 fee will be assessed if the meter assesses accurately. Linn also discussed the utility contribution to the engineering service telecommunications network infrastructure to install telecommunications conduit in conjunction with energy company installations. The transportation budget also contributes to this effort. Installing conduit when the energy-company installs lines eliminates multiple diggings of the city's right of way. Water Resources Advisory Board Fu[! Minutes June 17, 2002 Page 3 Bob Harberg discussed the specifics of the Capital Improvement Program for 2003. Harberg said that the priorities differ for water, wastewater and stormwater and flood management. Harber g reviewed the highlights of each utility. Harberg said that the leak repair program is consistent with the master plan for water. Also, many of the projects in the CIP are not part of the CEAP process because they do not require much of a public process. Finally, Harberg said that there is a portion of the budget dedicated to water security that is spread throughout the CEP so it isn't indicated as a line item in the budget. Bob Fiehweg asked if the utility infrastructure is paid for by general revenue (which comes from sales tax) or by utility rates. Williams said that the infrastructure has been paid for by rates over the last 20 years. Jeannette Hillery motioned to approve the water, wastewater and stormwater and flood management budgets as presented. Vicki Naber seconded. Ned Williams asked if the motion includes WRAB support for the proposed rate increases of 3% for water, 12% for wastewater and 6% for stotmwater and flood management. The board discussed the rate increases and voiced their support for the increases. Jeannette Hillery said that the 12% wastewater rate increase is high but it is not unexpected and it goes toward allowing the city to meet standards. Williams said that the City Council is anticipating the rate increase since it is the second of two years only where the increase will be as large. Carol Linn said that Boulder's wastewater rates are still among the lowest on the Front Range. Bob Harberg said that the rate for stormwater and flood management is appropriately high because Boulder has the highest flood risk in the state. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the motion. Ken Wilson asked if there would be any issues with this budget when it goes to the Planning Board. Bob Harberg said that the Planning Boards function is to review the budget to ensure for consistency with the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan and there shouldn't be any issues. Ken Wilson asked what percentage of the wastewater from the city is reused by downstream users. Williams said that all of it is reused seven times by the time it gets to the border and most of that reuse is for agriculture. Wilson said that some of the City Council members have been talking about gray water use. Williams said that there are three problems with that concept in the city. The water is already reused, Boulder doesn't have the rights to keep the water and Boulder is 99% built out and the infrastructure to support water reuse would be burdensome. Water Resources Advisory Board Full Minutes June 17, 2002 Page 4 AGENDA ITEM 6 A. Matters from the Board Jeannette Hillery announced the formation of a Barr Lake stakeholders group forming through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The group will contain downstream ditch users and will examine water quality issues in the Barr Lake area. There will be a tour of Barr Lake on July 11. • Bob Fiehweg announced that the state has published a list of impaired waters in the state. It is the 303d list. B. Matters from Staff Ned Williams said that Lakewood Pipeline construction is underway. AGENDA ITEM 7 Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 9:46 p.m. Date, Time, and Location of Next Meeting: The next regular meeting will be July 15, 2002, 7:00 p.m., at the City Municipal Services Center, 5050 East Pearl. Minutes approved b Date Y /So Z~ o~ Water Resources Advisory Board Full Minutes June 17, 2002 Page 5