Council Study Session

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL, IN SPECIAL MEETING FOR A STUDY SESSION, OF TUESDAY, MARCH 7, 2023 AT 4:30 PM, MUNICIPAL CENTER I, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 50 E. CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL Mayor Brigette PRESENT: Peterson Mayor Brigette Peterson, Vice Mayor Kathy Tilque, Councilmembers Scott Anderson, Chuck Bongiovanni, Bobbi Buchli, Yung Koprowski, and Jim Torgeson COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera. CALL TO ORDER OF SPECIAL MEETING Mayor Peterson called the meeting to order at 4:31 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 1. Presentation and discussion by Terry Goddard, Board President for Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) with Central Arizona Project (CAP). Terry Goddard, Board President for Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CAWCD) with Central Arizona Project (CAP), provided a presentation and recognized April Pinger-Tornquist, an elected board member of CAP stating she was from Gilbert. He gave kudos to the Town stating they were a leader in conservation and complimented the Town Council on their shortage management and said Gilbert's staff was among the best in the state. He discussed the Central Arizona Project (CAP) stating it was 336 miles of aqueducts from Parker and the Colorado River to South of Tucson. He spoke of the service area in three counties and that they had 80% of the population and 80% of the economy served by CAP Colorado River water. He said Gilbert had diversified their water futures with 1/3 from the CAP, 1/3 from Salt River, and 1/3 from other sources including recharged and reclaimed water. He spoke of the 1 CAWCD Governance stating it was governed by an elected board of directors with 15 members. He gave some history on the Colorado River Basin Compact stating in 1922 seven men agreed to divide seven basin states into two separate basins; an upper and lower basin. He stated that Arizona refused to ratify the Compact until 1944, because it was unclear if the waters from the Gila River, the Salt, and Verde Rivers were part of the Arizona allotment or separate from it. He stated that in 1968 they came together and approved the Basin Project Act and Arizona had to agree to be last in priority on the river. He shared the Colorado River Water Supply Report and discussed the concerns about the two lakes being hydro producers and stated if their levels were too low it could damage the infrastructure of the hydropower and they would not be able to produce hydroelectricity. e spoke about the Lower Basin Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) Contributions to Lake Mead and said it was a plan for handling the lower basin in times of shortages. He discussed the different tiers in the plan and what the water levels were at each tier. He spoke about the 24-month Lake Mead Study from February 2023 and stated the current status was Tier 2a shortage and said in August 2023 there would be a Tier 3 shortage. He discussed the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) stating the Bureau of Reclamation told them to find more cuts. He said that they were told in May of 2022 an additional 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water was needed from the lower basin and they had not been able to meet that demand. He discussed and compared the Consensus-Based Modeling Alternative and the California Alternative which showed how water would be allocated to the states within each model. He said the bottom line was how would they manage that shortage under the California Alternative model. He shared a slide that showed what they had done so far it included the 2007 guidelines, the Minute 323 collaboration, the Drought Contingency Plan, and the 500+ Plan. He said because the 2007 guidelines would expire in 2026 the seven states would need to adopt a new set of allocations for the river. Gilbert had done a great job with their long-term solutions of augmentation, conservation, reuse, and recovery. Mayor Peterson said she appreciated the information and thanked President Goddard and Board Member Tornquist for coming out and giving the presentation. 2 Councilmember Anderson asked if Mexico was on board with the allocation numbers. President Goddard responded stating Mexico had been cooperative with international treaties that gave them 1.5 million acre-feet of assured water at a level they could use that would not kill their crops. He said Minute 323 was an amendment to the treaty which called for a proportional cut to the amount of water that went to Mexico changing from 1.5 to 1.3. He stated their General Manager would be discussing the changes with them next week. Councilmember Bongiovanni thanked him for his service to the state of Arizona and said he appreciated the presentation. He stated he wished it wasn’t needed but was thankful for the information. Mayor Peterson thanked him for coming to Gilbert and for giving the presentation. ADJOURN Mayor Peterson adjourned the meeting at 5:10 p.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Brigette Peterson, Mayor Chaveli Herrera, MMC, Town Clerk 3 CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Study Session of the Town Council of the Town of Gilbert held on the 7th day of March, 2023. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________2023. ___________________________________ Chaveli Herrera, Town Clerk 4