Connecting Us - Sustaining Progress (CUSP)

Environment & Sustainability Committee City of Idaho Falls February 12, 2020 Environment & Sustainability 10:30 a.m. CUSP Committee Meeting Activity Center Chair: Kris Millgate 1575 N. Skyline Dr. Vice-Chair: Stephanie Austad Idaho Falls, ID 83402 MINUTES Roll Call: Adams C. Evaly, J. X Millgate K. Silverman H. X X Austad S. Haney, C. Morales K. Vazhnik V. X Cherry B. Lepler K. Sehlke G. X X X Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:35 am by committee chair Kris Millgate. Approval of Minutes: Bob Cherry motioned to approve the 01/29/20 minutes. Gerry Sehlke seconded the motion. All in Favor. Speaker: David Richards, City of Idaho Falls Water Superintendent See attached Water presentation. History of water in Idaho Falls aka Eagle Rock 1888 city water works had 2 35,000-gallon reservoirs. Started drilling wells and found aquifer (River) Surface water – accessible since 1800s but high cost of treatment and supply and freezes plus inconsistent flow. (Aquifer) Ground water - low treatment cost and doesn’t freeze, consistent Idaho Falls sits on one of largest groundwater sources in the nation. Goes 1 mile deep. Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer is – 10,8000 square miles 170 miles long (Ashton to King Hill) 60 miles wide 200-300 million acre feet on top  Environment & Sustainability Committee Lake Erie – 10,800 square miles 240 miles long 57 miles wide 3.4 million acre feet Most city wells go 400 ft deep. Two of the oldest wells in town are more than 2k feet deep (half mile). Aquifer is source of city water, but it is depleting New in 2019 Sand Creek Recharge Site – by Sandy Downs First private managed aquifer recharge site in state is in IF Storage water for IF in Pali is diverted to pit and sinks into the ground Water is tested for contamination. Idaho Irrigation District put in also 2k acre feet of recharge in 2019 Idaho Falls is supposed to recharge 3k acre feet annually City wants to add 1-2 more recharge sites Gerry Sehlke suggested fencing and security around recharge. City is working on that. Dawn of the replacement era Red and white tower - Built in 1937 – $2-$3 million to fix so looking at replace 21 wells plus 325 miles of underground pipe $1 million a mile to replace pipe City public works doesn’t use tax money to replace pipes. Need to replace 3 miles of pipe a year, but been doing 2 miles a year. The bulk of money goes to wells. Once wells are fixed, more money will go to pipes. Heather Silverman suggested public education component. ie: If city is replacing pipe by your house, you probably need to replace pipes to your house. Save money ahead for that. Gallons per person per day comparison of Pocatello (metered) Rexburg (metered) Idaho Falls (not metered) Gallons per person per day 653 Idaho Falls 358 Pocatello 376 Rexburg Peak season (July) Gerry Sehlke suggested committee review Las Vegas water plan  Environment & Sustainability Committee Prior to 2006 city developments don’t have meter pit area. Have to dig down 5-6 feet to install a pit then put the meter in. $200-$300 meter only but $2500-$3000 for meter and pit. Drinking water goes on residential lawns now. Using gray water instead would require new piping. No shortage of water, but all water is attached to a piece of paper which is a water right. More growth but not more water. Use surface for parks and recharge to buy us time. City uses 2 wells in winter and 19 wells in summer (watering lawns) Metering citywide water would cost $87.03 million $21 a month would go to $52.26 to pay for metering. Since 2015 Retrofitting non residential with metering and being metered. All new non residential are metered. All new residential has meter pit for future meter. Replacement parts have meter pit added for future meter. Added 3,000-4,000 meter pits since 2015 Gerry Sehlke suggested city review of INL climate change report Katrin Keplar suggested committee members look at other climate action plans already shared as committee resources. Q&A session with speaker ran long. Rest of agenda bumped to next committee meeting. 1. Finalize Targets 2. Assign Target Mini Committees 3. Discuss Vision Statement Call for Agenda/Action Items Continue water theme with water quality speakers at next meeting. Announce Next Meeting Date/Time: February 26, 2020; 10:30 am Adjourn: Adjourned: 12:00pm END NOTES Recorded by: Kris Millgate Committee chair CITY OF IDAHO FALLS WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY CUSP PRESENTATION – FEBRUARY 2020 By: David Richards, PE Water Superintendent  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY The Beginnings of a City in Eastern Idaho 1865 – Taylor’s Bridge built City of Eagle Rock pumped surface water from Snake River to two 35,000 1878 – Railroad gallon water tanks City of Eagle Rock – June1888 reached Eagle Rock (Sanborn Map & Publishing Co. Ltd.)  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Municipal Water Supply – Groundwater vs. Surface Water SURFACE WATER Vs. GROUNDWATER Accessible Since Settlement More Accessible Since 1950’s High Cost of Treatment Low Cost of Treatment Less Consistent Supply More Consistent Supply More Susceptible to Freezing Less Susceptible to Freezing  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY The Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) Lake Erie Surface Area: 10,800 square miles Surface Area: 10,800 square miles Length: 170 miles (Ashton to King Hill) Length: 241 miles Width: 60 miles (at widest spot) Width: 57 miles Volume: 200-300 million acre-ft (top 500 ft) Volume: 3.4 million acre-ft  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY ESPA Statistics Maximum Thickness of Aquifer: 5,000 ft Estimated Total Volume: 1 billion acre-ft Idaho Falls’ Wells Average Depth: Approximately 400 ft Majority of Water is in Top 300-500 ft Maximum Well Depth: Approximately 2,000 ft Aquifer Depths Vary Along Cross Section  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Source Water Sustainability – Managed Aquifer Recharge Eagle Scout Project First Fill Diversion Gate Sand Creek Recharge Site – First Private MAR Site in Idaho CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Water Facility Plan – August 2015 Major Sections • Executive Summary • Existing System Description • Population and Demand Projections • Distribution and Supply Analysis • Operations and Maintenance • System Condition and Code Evaluation • Capital Improvement Program • Financial Plan • Financial Impacts of City-wide Meter Implementation • Alternative Rates Appendices • Water Conservation Plan • Water Rights Plan • CIP Pipeline Summary • CIP Detailed Cost Sheets CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Water Facility Plan – Well Site Sustainability KEY • Size of circle indicates relative cost of improvements • Black outer bands indicate wells used year-round • Color of circle indicates well facility risk of failure  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Water Facility Plan – Well Site Sustainability Elevated Tower – Constructed in 1937  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Distribution Main Lines “Wave” 100 Yrs Anticipated Life Expectancy Based on “Dawn of the Replacement Era” Report 75 Yrs 100 Yrs 120 Yrs  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS – WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Distribution Main Lines “Wave” Current average cost of water distribution main line replacement: Over $1 Million/Mile Require over $3.25 Million/year for 1% 100 Yrs water distribution main line replacement 75 Yrs (currently) Ductile Iron 100 Yrs 120 Yrs CITY OF IDAHO FALLS - WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Water Distribution Main Replacement Priorities Evaluation Results • High Priority ➢ 19.58 Miles • Medium Priority ➢ 20.48 Miles Does not consider factors such as: • Pipe Diameter • Joint Type • Installation • Break History • Valves • Fittings KEY • Red – High Priority; Yellow – Medium Priority; Green – Low Priority CITY OF IDAHO FALLS - WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Water Consumption Statistics – A Comparison of Cities 2014 City Comparison of Per Capita Water Use (gallons per person per day) +78% +73% +36% Note: Both Rexburg and Pocatello Meter Water Use  CITY OF IDAHO FALLS - WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Water Conservation – To Meter Or Not To Meter? City-wide Meter Implementation • Estimated, conceptual cost of $87.03 million to install water meters city- wide over 20-year forecast period ▪ Implementation would require debt financing and rate increases ▪ 2015 residential rate of $21/month would increase to $52.26 by 2020 ▪ Residential rate increase of 148.9% over 5 years. • Consumption reduction due to metering ▪ Reduced capital expenditures of $27.76 million over 20 years ▪ Reduced water use means lowered capital project needs • Net cost of metering program: $59.27 million over 20 years Changes Since 2015 • In 2015, City Council authorized Water Division to convert existing, non-residential customers to water meters, beginning with the largest users first • All new non-residential customers are required to install water meters • All new residential customers are required (by State regulation) to install water meter pits • All water service replacements by the Water Division are retrofitted with water meter pits CITY OF IDAHO FALLS - WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Groundwater Use Statistics in Idaho (USGS Circular 1405, 2010) 2010 Statistic Amount %- age Total Daily Groundwater Use 4,250 MG/Day Total Annual Groundwater Use 1,551,250 MG Municipal Annual Groundwater Use 77,380 MG 5.0% Idaho Falls Annual Groundwater Use 8,380 MG 0.5% Annual Savings from Metering (40%) 3,352 MG 0.2% Agricultural uses account for nearly 90 % of Idaho’s groundwater use Full meter implementation for Idaho Falls y Results in a maximum reduction of about 0.2% of Idaho’s groundwater use y Would cost City approximately $87 Million Idaho Falls is a part of the problem, albeit a small part Idaho Falls is willing to be a part of a municipal solution y In addition to meter installations, City is pursuing alternatives for groundwater recharge as well as investigating options for surface water irrigation of parks and reuse of treated effluent CITY OF IDAHO FALLS - WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY Water Consumption Statistics – A Comparison of Cities 7.2% Reduction in Annual Water Production from 2017 to 2019 CITY OF IDAHO FALLS - WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY CITY OF IDAHO FALLS WATER SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY CUSP PRESENTATION – FEBRUARY 2020 ANY QUESTIONS???