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Home My WebLink About01.22.24 WRAB MinutesWRAB Minutes 01/22/2024 Page No. 1 CITY OF BOULDER, COLORADO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS MEETING MINUTES Name of Board / Commission: Water Resources Advisory Board Date of Meeting: 22 January 2024 Contact Information for Person Preparing Minutes: Karen Sheridan, 303-441-3208 Board Members Present: Gordon McCurry, John Berggren, Amy Broughton, Steve Maxwell, Lauren Koopman Staff Present: Joe Taddeucci, Director of Utilities Joanna Bloom, Utilities Deputy Director of Policy and Planning Chris Douville, Utilities Deputy Director of Operations Chris Douglass, Utilities Engineering Manager Christopher Marks, Treatment Process Engineer Cole Sigmon, Wastewater Treatment Manager Kim Hutton, Water Resources Manager Christopher Olson, Wastewater Engineering Supervisor Meghan Wilson Outcalt, Water Quality Manager Steph Klingeman, Principal Budget Analyst Karen Sheridan, Board Secretary Agenda Item 1 – Call to Order [6:02 p.m.] Agenda Item 2 – Approval of 18 September 2023 Meeting Minutes [6:04 p.m.] Motion to approve: Maxwell Seconded by: Berggren Vote: 5:0 Agenda Item 3 – Public Participation and Comment [6:05 p.m.] Lynn Segal: I can’t take these $100 water bills. These bills have to go down . I know you have stormwater and wastewater and everything else, but you know who needs to pay for it? The developers in this town need to pay for it. This is much too hard on the consumer in Boulder. $100 water bill and I don’t even irrigate at all. So, what is the story going on here? This is ridiculous. I am a very low user, and I heard last week someone has a $35 water bill in a surrounding community. You have a lot of things you have to do about flooding and everything in Boulder, but the more that people live here, I guess some people’s logic with the economics of it is then you’ll have more income. But that isn’t the way it works. The more people that you have, the more demands on an unsustainable system of water in this arid region. I am not telling you anything that you don’t already know, but this is hitting the consumer really hard. I am not going to stand for it. $100 a month water bill. I have got $3,000 a year more property tax that I have to fight. My whole life is spent going from taxes to the board of equalization to the board of assessment appeals and everything in between, which is my water bill and my CenturyLink. There isn’t anything left for anyone anymore. It is just too much inflation, and what you people need to do in your positions is expand them into planning so that we aren’t developing the craziness. I mean this is outrageous. At the Meridian, 900 people. Renting by the bedroom. Boulder is not a subsidiary of CU, and we’re funding all of this and the water is key. And why are we doing this? Why don’t we have some controls on the growth in this place? You know, Jared wants to grow grow grow, and it’s not sustainable and it’s not okay. It increases wealth inequity and dive rsion, equity, inclusion, and it is unsustainable and it’s an inelastic market. More people will come the more you build. Staff Response to Public Comment: • The budget process is May through July and input is always welcome during this process. The utility has several billion dollars of infrastructure. Condition assessments are closely reviewed, and we try to avoid spikes in setting rates. In the last several years, a lot of emphasis has been placed on bill assistance for customers who have trouble paying. Federal funds through ARPA also provided support to community members. Agenda Item 4 – 2023 Utilities Year in Review [6:10 p.m.] Christopher Marks, Treatment Process Engineer, and Joe Taddeucci, Director of Utilities, presented this item. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY WRAB Minutes 01/22/2024 Page No. 2 This memo provides the Water Resources Advisory Board (WRAB) with an overview of Utilities’ accomplishments and challenges in 2023, and describes major infrastructure projects, policy initiatives, and significant efforts anticipated for 2024. Included are summaries of operations, maintenance, construction, and administration to provide information on capital improvement programs and significant policy issues to help inform future WRAB recommendations. This memo is generally structured to address the water, wastewater, and stormwater/flood utilities in sequence under each of the following focus areas: • Staffing Overview and Budget • Ongoing Operations and Maintenance • 2023 Project and Programs • Regulatory Updates • 2024 Upcoming Projects and Developments WRAB Board Discussion Included: • Question how much of available funds for utility bill assistance was spent. • Request to identify new Utilities Budget Analyst. • Question if potable water includes irrigation water. • Question if the Barker gravity pipeline will be rehabilitated in its entirety. • Question about the life-expectancy of slip lining material used in pipeline rehabilitation. • Question about source of cost increase for Betasso storage tanks. • Question about timing of the 60% design report for South Boulder Creek flood mitigation project. • Request for update on Upper Goose Creek Reach 6 and timeline of consultant report. • Question about role of Utilities in Safe and Managed Public Spaces (SAMPS) Program. • Question about coordination with police when dispatching utilities crews. • Question which other departments are involved in SAMPS program. • Question how much of Utilities budget goes to SAMPS. • Question regarding change in the SAMPS metrics over three years. • Question regarding total city budget for SAMPS. • Question about the nitrate permit limit being higher than federal standard limit. • Question if nonrevenue water is tracked and what current percentage is. • Request for confirmation that no lead service lines have currently been identified. • Question if state funding for the lead service line inventory project has been discussed. • Request for update on biogas project. • Question regarding timeline and SRF funding of phosphorus project. • Question about maximum daily water usage and analysis of per capita conservation trends. • Question about regional/national comparisons during same time period. • Request for update on COVID-tracking. • Suggestion that presentation content be accessible to the public. Agenda Item 5 – Matters from Board [7:33 p.m.] • Board Member Broughton asked if meetings will go back to public in-person meetings. • Board Member McCurry commented on the insert in utility bill advertising 2024 utility rates and asked if customers are providing feedback. Agenda Item 6 – Matters from Staff [7:36 p.m.] • Boards and Commissions Program Update - Role clarity - Training tools - Onboarding - Racial Equity Plan • Finance Update - City received AAA bond rating (highest) from S&P Global in December. - Recent bond sale of 20-year, $96.7 million, for 2024 bonds at 3.44%. - Last water and sewer bond for near term. - State revolving fund (SRF) loan is 3.05%. • Deep Freeze - Main breaks tend to show up during the thaw after the deep freeze. WRAB Minutes 01/22/2024 Page No. 3 - Main breaks number around 60 per year. • E. coli/TMDL Update, presented by Meghan Wilson Outcalt - Most activities are routine. - MS4 permit compliance activities contribute to mitigation of E. coli reaching the creek. - Spill response. - Education and targeted outreach to specific industries known to contribute. - Creek cleanups part of SAMPS work. - Storm sewer cleaning and maintenance. - Investigations of sub sewer sheds. - Actively working to better manage irrigation water from ditch with University of Colorado. • COVID Wastewater Sampling - Fewer community members testing and reporting. - Public health officials relying heavily on wastewater testing. - Uptick in COVID appears in September and early November. - Turnaround from sample to results is approximately two days. Agenda Item 7 – Discussion of Future Schedule [7:48 p.m.] • February: Retreat in lieu of regular meeting. • March: No meeting. • April: Water Supply Update; Election of Officers and Swearing in of New Board Member • May through July: Budget process. • August: No meeting. • September through December: Water Quality Updates; Area 3 Urban Services Study; Flood Mitigation Plans. Agenda Item 8 – Adjournment [7:53 p.m.] Motion to adjourn by: Broughton Seconded by: Koopman Motion Passes 5:0 Date, Time, and Location of Next Meeting: The next WRAB meeting will be the WRAB Retreat, held in hybrid format on Monday, February 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Public may attend virtually but public comment is not taken during the retreat. 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 via the Access Meeting Agendas and Materials link. Water Resources Advisory Board | City of Boulder (bouldercolorado.gov) 4.15.244/16/24