Water Advisory Board

Buena Vista Water Advisory Board Minutes of April 22, 2021 Zoom Format Call to Order Meeting called to order by Chairman Hamilton at 6:04 p.m. on a Zoom format Attendance and Introductions In attendance were: Harley Hamilton, Roy Gertson, Kelly Collins , Reed Dils, Andrew Rice, Tony LaGreca, Rick Bieterman, ( alternate member ) Shawn Williams, Al Smith, , & Joel Benson . Joe Pedrie (BVWater Dept). Agenda Adoption Chairman accepted agenda Approval of Minutes Minutes from March 24, 2021 Motion by andy , 2nd by Reed to approve the minutes. Vote by members approved. Public Comment; none Business Items A. Water Treatment Plant Expansion Project Review , Shawn presented a memo reviewing the process for the engineer selection. JVA, Roaring Fork & Plumber were asked to submit a proposal. Andrew reviewed the propos- als quite extensively, along with other board members. JVA was selected & Town Council approved with a notice of award for engineering services. A kick off meeting will be schedule soon. JVA has proposed a 2 month pilot program to target the surface water snowmelt season. B. Source Water Protection Plan Shawn wants to revisit the plan and evaluate especially for the increased development in the watershed. Involvement with Chaffee County is crucial for effective water shed protection. Shawn asked if the Board members want to review the document? Harley stated the Board has reviewed 2 years ago agreeing to some changes. Shawn wants to look at new standards and water water treatment design. Shawn’s memo has several items for evaluation. Andrew thinks it’s appropriate for the Board to review at our future meetings. Chaffee County should be involved. Tony mentioned the County is revising their Master Plan and should include the Buena Vista Water Shed Protection. Shawn wants Board to look over the existing plan & make comments. Kelly said the Forest Service should be involved along with the County. Roy asked about the watershed signs be installed at several sites. Locations will be dis- cussed at the next meeting. Town of Buena Vista Water Advisory Board Minutes – April 22 2021 C. Chicago Ranch & Arkansas Water Right Ditch Reed asked about the required dry up and did the Town pursue this purcahse? Joel responded with the Town’s attempt to purchase this water right. Negotiations were progressing , when Metro Water Group ( includes several entities including Monu- ment) were successful in a purchasing contract..The water right includes 18 cfs with a junior appropriation date of 1880 and approximately 300 acres of land. Metro water group has communicated with Buena Vista to annex the property and lease long term the land back to The Town for recreational and open space use by the Town. They would pay for the recreational plan design. This annexation would allow The Metro Water Group not to proceed with the County on an Environmental Impact 1041 process . The 1041 process could be quite restrictive and extensive relating to the County impacts of transferring wa- ter out of the County. The water would still be conveyed in Cottonwood Creek to Pueblo Reservoir, which is good for Buena Vista, then pumped to the Metro Group via the Pueblo Reservoir South delivery system. Water Board had several comments including: 1. Keeping the water in Cottonwood Creek is good, But the 1041 EIS would require certain conditions of a land dry up. 2. 1041 would protect the land & require vegetation 3.Annex to the Town and require the 18 CFS. ( this comment suggests the Town should require some water right be included to the Town) 4. Annexation could require environmental conditions 5. Additional recreational land would be good. Cindy mentioned a work session is scheduled for this annexation. Joel said piezometers are being installed to determine recharge route. Metro really wants to annex now. If Metro pays for the land use planning for recreational use , it would be good for Buena Vista and Chaffee County. Board/staff interaction; 1. Tony asked Why does he Town need more water storage? Joel responded with a brief history of Buena Vista’s water rights, which consists mainly as stream flow. Storage al- lows water to be released at any time allowing for more flexibility relating to water de- mand. Joel mentioned the issues with Cottonwood Lake , Rainbow lake and involvement with Upper Ark Water Conservation District. 2. Reed asked for clarification of the extent of Buena Vista’s water portfolio . In recent discussions with the County, Nestle Waters stated BV has enough water for projections to 2050. Is is correct? Shawn & Al responded from their analysis and growth projections , that BV does have water rIghts available up to 2050. Joel stated the Town is proceeding with Wright Water Engineers on updating The Town’s water master Plan , which will include projections of water right availability. 3. Shawn reviewed his staff report dated April 22, 2021. The unaccountable water loss is still high and the Water Dept is aggressively looking for leakage & non -metered water. Ivy League Subdivision still has a high unaccountable water loss at 62 %. Possible master meter billing was mentioned , but their agreement with the Town is to bill from each cus- Town of Buena Vista Water Advisory Board Minutes – April 22 2021 tomers meter. An ongoing leak detection is necessary. Town staff is working with the Ivy League Corp. Shawn is reviewing water usage for different growth areas, such as the Farm as being low/ residents. Shawn is aware of the flow problems for the Airport property and Colorado Central De- velopment. Enlarged water mains are in the future capital improvement plan. 4. Water Dept is conducting analysis of well # 3 for influence of surface water , requested by CDPHE. 5.Well # 4 site on the Farm subdivision is not suitable for well development. Pubic Works is looking at other sites in the River Park. 6. The Master Water Plan being prepared by Wright Water Engineers will be reviewed by the Water Board before it is adopted by the Town Council. Next meeting: May 27, 2021 , 6:00 pm Zoom Seeing that there was no further business, a motion to adjourn was requested Motion by Roy , second by Andrew to adjourn the meeting at 7:30 PM. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Roy Gertson , Board member Town of Buena Vista Water Advisory Board Minutes – April 22 2021