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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP. IWRP Presentation Commission Memorandum REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission FROM: Brian Heaston, Project Engineer Lain Leoniak, Water Conservation Specialist Craig Woolard, Director of Public Works SUBJECT: Integrated Water Resources Plan Implementation Activities MEETING DATE: March 23, 2015 AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Special Presentation RECOMMENDED MOTION: Not Applicable. BACKGROUND: The Integrated Water Resources Plan (IWRP) was adopted by the City Commission at a public hearing conducted on September 30, 2013. The Commission’s adopted IWRP recommendation contained an array of new water supply alternatives as well as operations improvements to the city’s water utility and future planning recommendations. The motion approving the recommendation directed staff to return to the Commission to present an implementation plan for approval that provided details concerning the specific manner in which the adopted IWRP recommendations were proposed to be implemented. The Implementation Plan was adopted by the Commission on December 2, 2013 and is attached. The remainder of this memorandum provides activities that have occurred since Implementation Plan adoption. The IWRP identifies water conservation as the single largest source of future water supply for the city and is the foremost consideration of the Implementation Plan. By increasing the efficiency of existing and future water uses, water conservation is the most cost-effective, immediate, and environmentally sound method to generate additional water supply. Immediate effort was made to develop a successful water conservation program and significant progress has occurred. Lain Leoniak, the city’s water conservation specialist, began her work in March, 2014 and has developed a water conservation program initially focused on education, outreach, incentive-based conservation measures, as well as tackling city facilities water use and water utility management issues. Selected accomplishments for the initial year of the water conservation program follow. Water Conservation Program – Education, Outreach and Public Engagement • Water conservation website • Utility bill redesign – in progress 119 • Water conservation curriculum materials development – partnership with Project WET and Bozeman School District • Water conservation program branding and messaging • Completed statistically valid phone survey serving as baseline for water customers’ knowledge, beliefs and behaviors regarding water conservation • Relationship building and partnerships with HOAs, Neighborhood Associations, Community Groups, MSU, Bozeman School District, etc. • Water bottle fill station for public events Water Conservation Program - Incentive Program • Indoor Residential Programs o toilet rebate program: $2,093/AF o clothes washer rebate program: $4,875/AF o city employee shower better challenge • Commercial and Institutional Programs o toilet rebate program: $1,500/AF • Program Savings Totals o residential toilet rebate: 5.1 AF o commercial toilet rebate: 1.75 AF o clothes washer rebate: 1.55 AF Water Conservation Program – Utility Management • Completed a distribution system water loss audit • Developed a GIS-based water demand tracking tool • Utilized a water conservation program forecasting tool • Sponsored a certified landscape irrigation auditor training for city, MSU, and Bozeman School District employees as well as Bozeman area landscape contractors/professionals • Completed a water smart median landscape pilot project at N. 7th Ave. o pilot site: N. 7th medians: 0.1 gallons/sq. ft. Sept 2014 o control site: Valley Center medians: 20 gallons/sq. ft. Sept. 2014 The IWRP calls for significant growth and development of the water conservation program over the next few years in order to meet the water conservation goals identified in the IWRP. The goals for FY 16-18 are as follows: Water Conservation Program – Education, Outreach and Public Engagement • Expand residential education and outreach campaigns • Introduce and grow commercial education and outreach campaigns • Expand student educational programs citywide • Grow public and private partnerships with MSU and others 120 Water Conservation Program - Incentive Program • Expand indoor residential incentive programs including but not limited to bulk retrofits for low income, senior and assisted living facilities and qualifying schools • Introduce indoor commercial incentive programs • Introduce and expand outdoor residential and commercial irrigation survey and rebate programs Water Conservation Program – Utility Management • Implement recommendations from the utility water loss control audit • Develop a drought management plan • Advance potable to non-potable transfer opportunities and develop non-potable supplies for irrigation and associated policy framework • Conduct water audits for city parklands and implement recommendations • Expand water smart irrigation pilot projects on city park and open space lands IWRP Implementation activities have been completed for most of the capital projects and water utility operational improvements outlined in the Implementation Plan. Specific highlights follow: • RFP released for 2015 Water Facility Plan Update. o Preliminary tasks germane to the IWRP Implementation Plan include: developing a non-potable irrigation infrastructure standard; distribution system pressure reduction study to reduce system leakage. • RFP released for Groundwater Investigation. Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology (MBMG) providing technical support for quality assurance/control. Opportunity to evaluate Salar Project potential for groundwater may occur with the investigation. • RFP released for Lyman Creek Water System Preliminary Engineering Report. • RRGL Grant requested from Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) to fund ‘Sourdough Canyon Natural Water Storage Assessment’ project. The grant project successfully made it into the Governor’s recommended biennial budget for 2015-2017. A $125,000 appropriation remains in House Bill 5 for the project currently making its way through the legislative process. Options to augment the natural storage capacity of the Sourdough watershed above the city’s water intake will be assessed (ie wetland expansions, beaver pond storage, etc). • Ten acre-feet of Hyalite Reservoir water purchased from willing seller through a negotiated transaction utilizing a public process to notify Middle Creek Water Users Association (MCWUA) of city’s intent to purchase Hyalite Reservoir shares. • Lyman Creek stream gaging equipment installed. MOU in place with Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology to install gage equipment, as well as operate and maintain gaging site and stream flow data. • Sourdough Creek stream gaging equipment ordered and delivered to DNRC. MOU in place with DNRC to install gage equipment, as well as operate and maintain gaging site and stream flow data. 121 • Discussions with DNRC and MCWUA concerning operations of Hyalite Reservoir water supply system are on-going. • Working towards implementing non-potable water supply systems to irrigate the future Sports Fields Park as well as the Lindley Park/Cemetery complex from un-treated surface water supplies. FISCAL EFFECTS: Budgets to fund activities listed above have been provided by the FY 2014 and FY 2015 capital improvements plans and approved city operations budgets for these fiscal years. Primary funding sources are Water Enterprise Fund and Cash in Lieu of Water Rights Fund. ALTERNATIVES: Not Applicable. This item is intended to be informational only. ATTACHMENTS: Adopted IWRP Implementation Plan Report compiled on: March 12, 2015 122 IWRP Implementation Plan – December 2013 The Integrated Water Resources Plan (IWRP) was adopted by the Bozeman City Commission during a public hearing on September 30, 2013. The IWRP contains a multitude of recommendations determined to best serve the City’s growing water supply needs. Once successfully implemented, these recommendations will ensure Bozeman maintains an adequate water supply to serve the City’s projected water demands over the next 50 years. The City’s 50-year water balance gap, which is the difference between 50-year high-growth projected demands and reliable supply yields, is 17,750 acre-feet. This is the projected annual volume of water that must be secured in order to serve the City’s 50-year high-growth water needs and a population of roughly 140,000. The IWRP provided specific recommendations for new water supply, operations and planning. This implementation plan provides additional detail on how the recommendations adopted with the IWRP will be implemented. The tables on the following pages list specific tasks that will be accomplished to implement IWRP recommendations over the next three years. During that time, new programs to improve water conservation practices and operational efficiency will be implemented and evaluated. The detailed engineering and legal analysis necessary to determine the size, location, and cost of the new water supply capital projects will also be completed. At the end of the first 3 years of IWRP implementation, sufficient data will have been collected for the Commission to evaluate the need for and timing of new water supply projects. For reference, the overall 50 year water supply or conservation goal is also included in the table. Year to year progress toward each overall goal will be communicated to the Commission in annual reports or in the form of formal Commission actions. Reports and milestones for the Commission are also included in the table. Implementation milestones will be posted to the IWRP webpage to provide a separate venue for interested citizens to track implementation progress. In addition to regular updates to the web page, progress on implementation of the IWRP will be communicated to the community via presentations to local civic groups, press releases upon the completion of major milestones, and an annual public outreach and education event similar to the Better Bozeman Project WaterFest conducted this fall. Completion of interrelated tasks is necessary to implement most of the major recommendations in the IWRP. For example, one of the water supply alternatives recommended is construction of small impoundments in the Sourdough drainage to provide additional raw water storage. The ultimate decision to construct this water supply alternative will depend not only on the engineering requirements and costs for construction, but also on the legal availability of water from the Sourdough drainage and the projected need for additional water supply based on the community growth and the effectiveness of water conservation programs. Tables 1 through 3 below respectively summarize implementation of the adopted new supply, operations, and planning recommendations. The first priority for implementing the IWRP is developing a successful water conservation program. Conservation fills the largest proportionate share of the City’s projected 17,750 acre-foot supply gap by providing 10,100 acre-feet of water savings. A water conservation specialist will begin developing the water conservation program in January 2014. The first year of the program will focus on developing effective outreach and education programs targeting voluntary indoor and outdoor water reduction. The conservation specialist will also be tasked with creating a robust water use tracking tool to quantify water savings. In the following years, conservation will be expanded to include multiple incentive-based rebate programs. Code and rate-based conservation tools will only be considered after a thorough evaluation of voluntary and incentive programs. 123 The capital intensive water supply alternatives are recommended in the IWRP (e.g. expansion and optimization of the Lyman Creek supply, installation of groundwater wells, and construction of Sourdough impoundment(s)) all require additional detailed engineering analysis to define specific construction details and costs associated with these alternatives before a decision to fully implement is made. The engineering required to evaluate the Lyman Creek and groundwater alternatives will be initiated with the 2014 Water Facility Plan Update. Coupling the evaluation of these alternatives with the Facility Plan Update is important because these alternatives must be analyzed in terms of how they interact and connect with the City’s existing water distribution infrastructure. The facility plan update is anticipated to take up to two years to complete and will include these detailed engineering investigations as well as update the current water distribution system model, proposed distribution system models, and analyze options for additional treated water storage. A separate detailed engineering investigation is proposed for the Sourdough impoundment(s) alternative to be completed in conjunction with efforts to legally secure supplies for storage behind the impoundment(s). Legal supply options to be explored include preparing a draft Department of Natural Resources Conservation (DNRC) Change Application for the existing Mystic Lake water rights, utilization of existing Water Reservation 41H-70118, and/or additional surface water sources. The change application will only be submitted to DNRC after sufficient details concerning the size, type, and location of the proposed sourdough impoundment(s) are obtained from the detailed engineering investigation. The engineering investigation phase of the implementation plan is anticipated to take 3 years to complete. An administrative update to the IWRP is proposed to capture information acquired with the detailed engineering investigations, as well as update population projections and the water supply and water demand analysis. Staff suggests reconvening the TAC to screen the updated alternatives against the qualitative screening criteria initially developed for the IWRP as well as generally guide the update process. The IWRP update will culminate with a recommendation concerning selection and implementation of capital projects for construction. The implementation plan presented is intended to be dynamic and should be revisited annually to capture project milestones and project specific information acquired over the course of the year. Table – 1: Implementation of Adopted New Supply Alternatives New Supply Alternative 50-year Volume Target (AF) 1 2014 Implementation Highlights 2015-2016 Implementation Highlights Commission Actions and Reports Water Conservation 10,100 1. Hire FTE water conservation specialist. 2. Develop water conservation program with an initial focus on education, outreach, and demand tracking. 3. Prepare year-end conservation program progress report to City Commission. 1. Expand incentive programs for indoor fixture replacements and smart-irrigation controllers. 2. Evaluate suitability of code- and rate- based conservation measures. 3. Conduct cost of service and water rate study to revise rate structure. 1. City Commission (CC) and community notice of FTE hire. 2. Year-end conservation program progress reports providing overall and per capita water use reductions and evaluation of program effectiveness. 3. Commission approval for cost of service and rate study. Hyalite Res. Share Purchase 650 1. Notify Hyalite reservoir shareholders of City’s intent to purchase limited number of shares over a period of 2 years through a competitive sale process. 2. Negotiate for purchase of shares with sellers who approach the City on a case-by- case basis. 1. Repeat limited share purchase every 2 years. 2. Continue to negotiated purchase of shares with sellers who approach the City on a case- by-case basis. 1. Consent Agenda items for share purchase agreement(s) 124 Optimize Lyman Creek Source 3,165 1. Initiate a detailed engineering investigation in the 2014 Water Facility Plan Update. Engineering report will include data on location, size, and construction costs for new diversion, treatment and storage facilities. 1. Complete detailed engineering investigation for Lyman upgrades. 2. Determine if construction of facility is warranted based on quantified water demands and community growth projections. 1. Commission authorization of professional services agreement (PSA) for 2014 Water Facility Plan Update. 2. Accept completed water facility plan. 3. Determine need for and timing of Lyman Creek construction. Non-Potable Irrigation 1,200 1. Implement cash-in-lieu credit program (as defined in the Administrative Policy Manual) for installation of non-potable irrigation systems. 2. Develop design standards for non-potable irrigation systems in cooperation with developers. 3. Work with developments in progress to construct at least one non-potable irrigation system in 2014 per the developed standard. 1. Continue to implement voluntary non- potable irrigation projects as development opportunities become available. 1. Public hearing for approval of subdivisions proposed with non- potable irrigation systems. Sourdough Impoundment(s) 915 1. Initiate a detailed engineering investigation for the Sourdough impoundment(s). Study will include evaluation of sites previously evaluated as well as new impoundment sites entirely on City of Bozeman property. 2. Initiate preparation of change application for Mystic Lake rights and additional water sources. 1. Complete impoundment engineering investigation 2. Submit DNRC change application for review/approval of Mystic Lake water rights, and pursue additional surface water sources for legal storage. 1. Commission authorization of PSA for engineering analysis. 2. Commission resolution authorizing City Manager to submit Change Application. 3. Commission acceptance of engineering report. Groundwater 5,810 1. Initiate detailed engineering investigation of potential well field locations in the 2014 Water Facility Plan Update. 1 .Complete detailed engineering investigation of well field locations. 1. Commission authorization of PSA for 2014 Water Facility Plan Update. 2. Commission acceptance of completed water facility plan. 3. Determine need and timing of construction of groundwater supply. Hyalite Dam Raise Unknown 1. Consult with DNRC to determine feasibility and suitability of raising the existing principal spillway height by 1 – 2 feet. 1. Initiate detailed engineering investigation if determined suitable and feasible. 1. Commission update on consultation with DNRC. 2. Commission approval of PSA for engineering investigation if warranted. Salar Unknown 1. Evaluate Salar development’s offer to City of Bozeman to purchase project once received. 2. Determine feasibility of Salar property for potential groundwater development site 1. Commission review of staff recommendation on Salar project as proposed. 1Volumes achieved through successful implementation of a given new supply alternative may vary significantly from the values listed. 125 Table – 2: Implementation of Adopted Operations Improvements Operations Improvement Operational Goal 2014 Implementation Highlights 2015-2016 Implementation Highlights Progress Milestones Reduce Distribution System Leakage <10% system leakage 1. Complete 2014 Water Renovations project 2. Upgrade leak detection equipment to identify distribution leaks. 3. Track annual distribution system leakage using industry standard procedures and tools. 1. Complete 2015 and 2016 Water Renovations projects. 2. Continue leak detection program. 3. Continue to track annual distribution system leakage using industry standard procedures and tools. 1. Commission approval of contracts for 2014, 2015, and 2016 Water Renovations projects. 2. Document distribution leakage in year-end water conservation program progress reports. MSU Water Conservation Maximize campus water use efficiency 1. Introduce water conservation specialist to MSU Facilities personnel. 2. Conduct MSU/COB staff roundtable discussion to identify areas of cooperation and identify potential campus water conservation projects. 1. Implement campus conservation projects. 2. Provide on-going assistance and cooperation with campus water efficiency efforts. 1. Document cooperative efforts in year-end water conservation program progress report. Optimize Hyalite Res. Operations Gain efficiencies in operations 1. City of Bozeman ‘water team’ to brainstorm optimization specifics followed by consultation with DNRC to determine feasibility and suitability of reducing system shrink factor, modifying 24-hour advanced call requirement, and changing the start of the water year. 1. If feasible and suitable, complete a detailed engineering investigation to define delivery shrink factor for city shares in Hyalite Reservoir. 2. Identify advances in instrumentation and controls to eliminate 24 hour advance call requirement. 3. If feasible, initiate process to modify water year. 1. Commission update on consultation with DNRC. 2. Commission approval of PSA for engineering study. Gauge Lyman and Sourdough Creeks Acquire source flow monitoring data 1. Install new Sourdough Creek stream gauge. 2. Develop monitoring protocol for existing Lyman gauge. 1. Monitor gauges per developed monitoring protocols. 1. Commission approval of gauge purchase. 2. Commission update following successful gauge installation and development of monitoring protocols. 126 Table – 3: Implementation of Adopted Planning Recommendations Planning Recommendation Purpose 2014 Implementation Highlights 2015-2016 Implementation Highlights Progress Milestones CIP Budgeting Budget for capital IWRP 1. Provide capital funding for Hyalite Share Purchases, 2014 Water Facility Plan Update, Sourdough Impoundment Study, and Lyman/Sourdough Creek gauges within proposed 2014 CIP. 1. Provide capital funding for Hyalite dam raise study and Hyalite operations study if suitable and feasible. 1. Commission approval of 2014- 2019 CIP, 2015-2020 CIP, and 2016- 2021 CIP. IWRP Update Update plan assumptions and revisit recommendation 1. Update IWRP webpage with implementation milestones. 2. Summarize annual progress on water conservation. 3. Summarize annual increase in water connections and demand. 1. Update IWRP webpage with implementation milestones. 2. Summarize annual progress on water conservation and demand. 3. Evaluate water supply alternatives using engineering analysis and updated water demand and population data. 1. Annual progress reports to Commission on implementation of IWRP. 2. Formal presentation of Commission at end of 2016 to determine need for and timing of water supply improvements and/or mandatory water conservation policies. 127