8.20.2018 WRAB Final Draft MinutesWRAB Minutes
8/20/2018
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CITY OF BOULDER, COLORADO
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING MINUTES
Name of Board / Commission: Water Resources Advisory Board
Date of Meeting: 20 August, 2018
Contact Information for Person Preparing Minutes: Kaaren Davis, 303-441-3233
Board Members Present: Kate Ryan, Kirk Vincent, Lesley Smith, Ted Rose, Trisha Oeth
Board Members Absent: none
Staff Present: Jeff Arthur, Director of Public Works for Utilities
Bret Linenfelser, Water Quality and Environmental Services Manager
Joe Taddeucci, Water Resources Manager
Douglas Sullivan, Utilities Principal Engineer
Kate Dunlap, Source Water Quality Program Coordinator
Michelle Wind, Drinking Water Program Supervisor
Katie Knapp, Engineering Project Manager
Kaaren Davis, Board Secretary
Erika Lowe, Administrative Specialist II
Agenda Item 1 – Call to Order [6:00 p.m.]
Agenda Item 2 – Approval of the 16 July 2018 Meeting Minutes [6:01 p.m.]
Motion to approve minutes from 16 July 2018 as presented.
Moved by: Ryan Seconded by: Vincent
Vote: 4-1-0 (Smith abstains as she was not present for the meeting.)
Agenda Item 3 – Public Participation and Comment [6:02 p.m.]
Public Comment:
• John Gerstle: Member of Planning Board. The Planning Board is trying to improve
communications with other boards in an attempt to coordinate advice to City Council. He has
been asked to be the liaison to the WRAB. He is here to answer any Planning Board related
questions for the WRAB.
Agenda Item 4 – Information Item – Update on Skunk Creek, Bluebell Canyon Creek, and King’s
Gulch Floodplain Mitigation Study [6:03 p.m.]
Katie Knapp presented this item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The city has a comprehensive floodplain management program designed to identify flood risks, mitigate
those risks and support community recovery following a major flood. A flood mitigation plan identifies
and evaluates the benefits and costs of potential i mprovement projects. Feasible projects from the plan
are then prioritized and programmed into the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for design and
construction. Additional information about the city’s floodplain management program, floodplain
regulations and flood insurance can be found at: Floodplain Management Overview.
This memorandum provides background information and a summary of conceptual alternatives currently
being evaluated to reduce flooding impacts from Skunk Creek, Bluebell Canyon Creek an d King’s
Gulch. An overview map showing the different mitigation alternatives is included in Attachment A. For
clarity, the creeks were broken into different reaches. Maps of each reach are included in Attachment B
along with descriptions of the alternatives and the associated costs, benefits and issues.
Staff has gathered community input on these conceptual alternatives and will use this input along with
other factors such as technical feasibility, financial analysis and environmental impacts to develop
recommendations for a flood mitigation plan. This memorandum is intended to be informational and
does not require WRAB action. However, staff are interested in feedback from the WRAB to help with
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the assessment of the mitigation alternatives and the evalua tion criteria that will help determine final
recommendations for the flood mitigation plan.
WRAB Board Discussion Included:
• Question regarding the “shelf life” of a mitigation plan and how long a project can sit on the
shelf waiting for funding before it needs to be reexamined and updated .
• Clarification requested for timeline on public workshops and visits to WRAB before the item
moves on to Council.
• Questions regarding public workshops and whether there will be opportunities for the public to
see the entire plan, as opposed to the reach by reach approach of the individual workshops.
• Clarification requested on which options must be used together and which could be used together
or as stand-alone options.
• Questions regarding the nature of the channel near the cemetery on Reach 5 of Skunk Creek and
how this affected flooding in 2013 and in less extreme event s.
• Questions around option B for Skunk Creek Reach 6.
• Question as to how options in Skunk Creek Reach 8 relate to each other. Whether any options
are stand alone (not requiring any of the others), and questions on the cost of different options.
• Suggestion regarding life safety criteria, that the difference between the 100-year flood and the
high hazard zones be clearly delineated when discussi ng options with the public during the
public input phase.
• Question as to why evaluation criteria and their weighting may change from project to project.
• Question regarding how the water quality enhancement criteria would factor into evaluating
alternatives.
• Suggestion to include a criterion for resiliency to climate change and/or uncertainty in conditions
such as rainfall, topography changes, etc.
• Suggestion to broaden the Vulnerable Population Protection criterion to be something more like
“equity”, or to provide an equity criterion if this concept does not match the Vulnerable
Population criterion.
• Suggestion to add a criterion around the speed with which an alternative can be enacted.
• Questions regarding how decisions will be made on which alternatives move forward for further
evaluation.
• Questions around the total number of high hazard zone properties along the reaches discussed,
and whether the presence of these structures creates limitations on what can be done for
mitigation.
• Questions regarding whether when advancing options, there could be a 10-year protection plan,
as well as a 100-year protection plan, a comparison between them rather than a large menu of
options for each reach, some of which may not be particularly feasible.
• Questions around when prioritization of options will commence.
Agenda Item 5 – Information Item – Wildfire Planning for Source Water Protection [7:14 p.m.]
Kate Dunlap presented the item.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This Information Item provides an update on the city’s wildfire planning efforts to protect water
supplies, including the development of a Wildfire Erosion and Sediment Transport Tool. The tool
predicts pre- and post-fire erosion and sediment transport to water supply diversions and reservoirs and
will be used to help proactively inform management actions to protect the source water quality and
quantity. This topic relates to the Water Utility Master Plan and the Source Water Protection Plan, which
identified wildfire planning as one of the highest priority watershed management issues. This
memorandum and subsequent presentation are informational and do not require WRAB a ction.
WRAB Board Discussion Included:
• Question regarding how the Eldora ski area affects potential erosion and sediment values.
• Question regarding how widespread use of the tool is.
• Question regarding how much work is being done with other communities on use of the tool and
planning that it aids.
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• Questions regarding plans for disseminating information about the tool.
• Questions regarding fire fighting strategies and prioritization.
• Question regarding whether there is a plan to go full circle and allow people who have used the
tool and done evaluation after events, to have input to refine the tool.
Agenda Item 6 – Matters from the Board [7:49 p.m.]
• None
Agenda Item 7 – Matters from Staff [7:53 p.m.]
• Source water Updates:
o Carter Lake Pipeline update. Construction has begun.
o Stream flows in Boulder Creek are getting low. Source water staff in the
mountains report that streamflow is, on average lower than usual. Previously
donated water rights assure that water remains in the creek for fish and the
ecosystem. Staff is monitoring the situation. Staff will be bringing a related
presentation to the WRAB in October.
• Council South Boulder Creek Discussion: It would be helpful if one member of WRAB
could attend in case Council has questions about WRAB’s recomme ndation.
• Alpine-Balsam Discussion group: Clarifications that any interested WRAB members
would be providing input as residents and not board members, unless something within
their purview comes before the entire WRAB for action.
Agenda Item 8 – Discussion of Future Schedule [8:08 p.m.]
Suggestion to hold September meeting at Betasso. Asset management update. October meeting would be
instream flow item and climate change. Update on Biogas project at the wastewater treatment plant.
November may have an update on the floodplain mitigation plans presented at this meeting.
Agenda Item 9 - Adjournment [8:12 p.m.]
There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, by motion regularly adopted, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:12 p.m.
Motion to adjourn by: Rose Seconded by: Vincent
Motion Passes 5:0
Date, Time, and Location of Next Meeting:
The next WRAB meeting will be Monday, September 17, 2018 at 6:00 p.m., at the Betasso
Treatment Plant, 1094 Betasso Rd, Boulder, CO 80302
APPROVED BY: ATTESTED BY:
Board Chair: _________________________ Board Secretary: ____________________________
Date: _______________________________ Date:______________________________________
An audio recording of the full meeting for which these minutes are a summary is available on the Water
Resources Advisory Board web page.
https://bouldercolorado.gov/boards-commissions/water-resources-advisory-board-next-meeting-agenda-and-packet