HomeMy WebLinkAbout7 - Recommendation on WRAB Goals to City Council
Dear Members of City Council:
Thank you for asking for WRAB's input as you set Council goals for 2010. WRAB
members held a retreat in June 2009 to discuss the board's goals for the next year. As a
result, we identified the following priority areas that the board will take up over the next
year or so. In this letter, we also offer areas for the Council to consider in 2010.
WRAB Priorities
(1) Demand versus supply: Continue to consider issues that are important to the
future of Boulder's water supply and demand, including water from the western
slope (Colorado-Big Thompson and Windy Gap); the city's conservation goals
and program and what we do with conserved water (e.g., instream flows and
agricultural leasing); regional cooperation in water supply and conservation; and
the city's water models.
(2) Water budgets: Continue to monitor the use of water budgets as a tool to manage
Boulder's water, including furthering the study of industrial and commercial
customers' water use to better understand the budgets that can be applied. This
includes city departments, which use the ICI budget option.
(3) Drought plan: Continue to integrate water budgets into the city's drought plan as
the prominent tool for managing water supply and use under drought conditions.
Pursue water monitoring as a tool for individuals to monitor and manage their
water use, in particular for managing during drought.
(4) Sustainability of water infrastructure and utility properties: Continue to monitor
the city's 20-year capital plan to identify efficiencies and potential opportunities
for savings, while at the same time, advocating for sufficient resources to
maintain the city's extensive water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
Also, consider long-term solutions for utility properties such as Valmont Butte
and wastewater treatment solids.
(5) Water quality issues: Pursue information on emerging contaminants and invasive
species to understand cost and other issues facing the city in dealing with these
new issues. Continue to discuss known areas of contamination, including fecal
contaminants and stormwater sources, and discuss ways to manage these sources
of pollution, including low-impact development options. Continue to discuss
source water protection and compatible uses (e.g., nonmotorized boating)
(6) Role of WRAB: WRAB will spend less time on strategic and flood-plain studies
and will use a consent agenda where appropriate. This will free up time to focus
on larger policy issues that can be forwarded to the Council as appropriate. Areas
of specific interest added to the WRAB 2010 calendar are: Town of Nederland
IGA; Drought Response Plan; Water Conservation Program; Colorado Water
Conservation Board water availability studies; Boulder's water yields, operation
models, and reliability criteria; and the Gross Reservoir expansion and South
Boulder Creek instream flows.
Agenda Item # VI Pagel
Areas for Council Consideration
--Ensure implementation of the 20-year CIP plan and consider ways to ensure its
implementation, such as creating a stabilization fund for bad budget years.
--Identify city's larger water conservation goals in the context of development and build-
out goals. Consider long-term source protection goals for Boulder and Barker
Reservoirs-e.g., invasive species issues (boating uses) and water quality concerns (other
recreational uses).
--Consider long-term water supply issues and sources of city water, in particular, Windy
Gap rights.
--Prior to annual budget process, provide Council targets on budget/utility increases so
that WRAB can take these into consideration.
We welcome Council input into WRAB's goals for 2010 and are happy to help Council
on any matters it determines are critical to the city the water utility.
Best regards,
Water Resources Advisory Board Members
Robin Byers, Chair
Kelly DiNatale, Vice Chair
Bill DeOreo
Susan Iott, Secretary
Charles Howe
Agenda Item 4 VI Page2