Drought Contingency Task Force

Drought Contingency Task Force Agenda Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. Roswell Convention & Civic Center 912 N Main Roswell, New Mexico 88201 Judy Stubbs and Tom Jennings – Residential Customers Rose Duran & Cameron Grimm – Commercial Customer Aron Balok – Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District Sean Benedict – Roswell Independent School District Cristina Arnold - City Councilor Jonathan McGary – Supervising Ranger, Bottomless Lakes State Park- Ex Officio Member Staff Liaison: Chantel Longway - Water Conservation Specialist CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF AGENDA APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM JUNE 19, 2023 MEETING NON-ACTION ITEMS 1. Discuss Findings on Researched Topics from Last Meeting (Drought Monitoring, Vulnerability Assessment, and Mitigation Actions) 2. Obtain Volunteers for Research for Response Action 3. Obtain Volunteers for Research for Operations and Administration Framework 4. Obtain Volunteers for Research for Update Process ACTION ITEMS 5. Discuss Updates and Changes to Communications and Outreach Plan 6. Discuss Updates and Changes to the Work Plan PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ADJOURN Next meeting will be held November 9, 2023 at 6:00 p.m., at the Roswell Convention & Civic Center. Notice of this meeting has been given to the public in compliance with Sections 10-15-1 through 10-15-4 NMSA 1978 and Resolution 23-01. NOTICE OF POTENTIAL QUORUM – A quorum of the City Council may or may not attend, but there will not be debate by the City Council. The Council, acting as attendees to an informational presentation, will not be discussing public business and no action will be taken. If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the hearing or meeting, please contact Human Resources at 575-624-6700 at least one week prior to the meeting or as soon as possible. Public documents including the agenda and minutes can be provided in various accessible formats. Please contact the City Clerk at 575-624-6700 if a summary of other type of accessible format is needed. Printed and posted: Thursday, August 10, 2023 Regular Meeting of the Drought Contingency Task Force Roswell Convention & Civic Center 912 N. Main Monday, June 19, 2023 Notice of this meeting was given to the public in compliance with Section 10-15-1 through 10-15-4 NMSA 1978 and Resolution 23-01. CALL TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:33 p.m. by Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway. ROLL CALL Members present: Judy Stubbs (Residential Consumer), Rose Duran (Commercial Consumer), Aron Balek (Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District), Sean Benedict (Roswell Independent School District), City Councilor Cristina Arnold, Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway, and Jonathon McGary (Supervising Ranger, Bottomless Lakes State Park- Ex Officio Member). Members absent: Tom Jennings (Residential Consumer) and Cameron Grimm (Commercial Consumer) Guest Present: Robert Glenn, WaterSmart Grant Technical Officer Rick Young, and Roswell Daily Record. APPROVAL OF AGENDA There was a motion and a second to approve the agenda for the June 19, 2023 meeting. A voice vote was 5-0, and the motion passed with members Tom Jennings and Cameron Grimm being absent. NON-ACTION ITEMS 1. Project Overview Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway presented a power point, showing the ultimate goal of this project, which is to decrease water use, which will increase the reliability of the water source. The timeline for competition of this project is November 2024, so as it can be submitted to the Roswell City Council for approval December 2024. 2. Drought Contingency Planning Requirements a. Drought Monitoring i. Set up a framework that uses available information and tools to confirm existing drought and to predict the probability of future droughts in the area. The framework will define the signs, thresholds, and stages of drought that will be used to define the mitigation and response actions for the watershed. b. Vulnerability Assessment 1 Regular Meeting of the Drought Contingency Task Force Roswell Convention & Civic Center 912 N. Main Monday, June 19, 2023 i. Evaluate the risks and impacts of drought. Develop a list of priority critical resources for the development of mitigation and response actions that are supported by research, policy makers, and the public. c. Mitigating Actions i. Identify, evaluate, and prioritize mitigation actions, for the critical resources identified during the vulnerability assessment. Mitigation actions conserve water and improve resiliency during non-drought conditions to mitigate risks to assets and resources. d. Response Actions i. Evaluate, and prioritize response actions that focus on the critical resources identified during the vulnerability assessment. Response actions conserve water during drought conditions to reduce risks to assets and resources. e. Operational and Administrative Framework i. Develop a framework to clarify the ongoing roles and responsibilities for the Drought Contingency Plan and to facilitate a quick and efficient response to emergency drought conditions. f. Plan Update Process i. The Roswell DCP shall be evaluated and updated on an ongoing basis to ensure its effectiveness. A specific timeframe for plan updates will be developed. Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway presented a slide show, showing the different components of a Drought Contingency Plan (Sections A-F) to the Task Force. Discussion and examples were given of different ideas that could be considered for each component. 3. Communication and Outreach Plan Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway presented a power point, showing the objectives of the Communication and Outreach Plan. This was to build awareness and understanding of the water-related challenges in the City of Roswell area, build credibility and accountability for the DCP planning process and, build support for implementation of the DCP recommendations. A copy of the Communication and Outreach Plan was given to Task Force Members. 4. Drought Contingency Plan Ground Rules Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway presented a power point, asking the Task Force Members to have attendance at meetings, not to alter documents and to let the Water Conservation Specialist edit the documents as to keep a running record of changes, and remain respectful during meetings. 5. Work Plan A copy of the Work Plan was given to the Task Force Members. Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway presented a power point, showing the steps that needed to be made to the Work Plan. It showed that they would be presented with the Work Plan. 2 Regular Meeting of the Drought Contingency Task Force Roswell Convention & Civic Center 912 N. Main Monday, June 19, 2023 They would need to review the plan and submit any changes to the Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway. ACTION ITEMS 6. Consider approval of Work Plan and Communications and Outreach Plan No action was taken during meeting due to time restraints and to give the task force more time to review the document and submit changes to Water Conservation Specialist Chantel Longway The next three action items were discussed and no vote was taken due to it being volunteers to research ideas pertaining to the assignment: 7. Assignments for the Drought Monitoring Team Two volunteers are needed to research this area to be discussed at the next meeting. Rose Duran and Judy Stubbs both volunteered. 8. Assignments for the Vulnerability Assessment Team Two volunteers are needed to research this area to be discussed at the next meeting. Sean Benedict and Jonathon McGary both volunteered. 9. Assignments for the Mitigation Action Team Two volunteers are needed to research this area to be discussed at the next meeting. Aaron Balek and City Councilor Cristina Arnold both volunteered. 10. Discuss and appoint Chair & Vice Chair. Discussion was made about who to appoint as the Chair and Vice Chair. City Councilor Cristina Arnold moved for Judy Stubbs to be appointed the Chair. Seconded by Sean Benedict. A voice vote was 5-0, and the motion passed, with members Tom Jennings and Cameron Grimm being absent. City Councilor Cristina Arnold volunteered to be the Vice Chair. Seconded by Rose Duran. A voice vote was 5-0, and the motion passed, with members Tom Jennings and Cameron Grimm being absent. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There was no public participation at this meeting. ADJOURN Meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m. with the next meeting to be held tentatively on August 16, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. 3 Attachments Response Actions Purpose: This task will identify, evaluate, and prioritize response actions and activities that can expeditiously mitigate impacts during an ongoing drought. Description: The task will include the following activities: 1) Summarize Water Shortage Contingency Plans – This task involves collecting existing water shortage municipal ordinance in the Roswell area. These water shortage plans identify specific trigger and water cutback requirements based on water supply stages. These response actions will be organized into logical categories to facilitate comparison. 2) Develop Regional Response Actions - Based on a review and summary of existing water shortage stage actions, recommended response actions related to the drought monitoring framework (Subtask 4.1) will be developed. Operational and Administrative Framework Purpose: This task will develop and describe the roles, responsibilities, and procedures for conducting drought monitoring, initiating mitigation and response actions, and updating the RDP. Funding mechanisms for these activities will also be addressed. Anticipated frequencies will be discussed. (NOTE that some activities may be initiated based on a trigger or other event, as opposed to a pre-selected date or timeframe.) Description: • Develop framework meeting facilitation plan, agenda, and other materials. The purpose of this meeting will be to get input on proposed roles, responsibilities, procedures, funding mechanisms, and activity frequencies. • Schedule and conduct framework meeting. • Develop draft Operational and Administrative Framework (based on input received at meeting). Update Process Purpose: This task will develop and describe a process and schedule for monitoring, evaluating, and updating the RDP. Coordination with other ongoing efforts and updates will be addressed (NOTE that some activities may be initiated based on a trigger or other event, as opposed to a pre-selected date or timeframe.) Description: • Develop proposed RDP update process materials for use in Task 4.5 meeting (unless Planning Leads determine a need for a separate meeting on the update process. • Develop draft RDP Update Process (based on input received at Task 4.5 meeting).