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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Water Services Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 2/3/2016 rA Water Services Advisory G Commission Oasis Water Campus 7070 W.Northern Avenue February 3,2016,6:00 P.M. FINAL MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER—6:00 p.m. IL ROLL CALL: Present: Commissioners Robert Gehl, Robin Berryhill, John Sipple, Ruth Faults, Ron Short,Vice-chair Roger Schwierjohn,and Chairman Jonathan Liebman Staff: Craig Johnson, John Henny, Dr. Doug Kupel, Ron Serio, Amanda McKeever, Dan Hatch, Drew Swieczkowski,Megan Sheldon, Thomas Relucio,and Sally Melling,Recording Secretary III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS Approval of the Final Minutes, January 6, 2016 meeting-Motion for approval made by Vice-chair Schwierjohn, seconded by Comm.Gehl. APPROVED 7-0 IV. DIRECTOR'S REPORT—Craig Johnson,P.E.,Water Services Director Mr. Craig Johnson presented an update to the Commission on several items. He reported the tour held for Councilmember Malnar went very well. Councilmember Malnar was appreciative of the time and effort spent on his behalf and eager to fmish with tours of the Cholla Water Plant and Oasis Water Campus which were postponed due to a Council meeting scheduled after the tour date was arranged. Mr. Johnson reported that the city's new manager, Mr. Kevin Phelps, started on February 1, 2016 and the Leadership Team (composed of all city department directors) looks forward to working with Mr.Phelps. ACTION: NO ACTION REQUIRED,INFORMATION ONLY V. RECHARGE/DIRECT POTABLE REUSE Mr. Drew Swieczkowski, Environmental Program Manager, presented information to the Commission on Glendale Recharge and the future of direct potable reuse. Topics explained included water sources available for recharging, types of facilities and methods used, safeguards and steps to provide oversight for water quality, and future projections and trends for Glendale's and Arizona's recharge in general. City of Glendale Water Services Department•7070 West Northern Avenue•Glendale,AZ 85303•(623)930-4100 February 3,2016 Water Services Advisory Commission Final Minutes Page 2 Mr. Swieczkowski's overview also described direct potable reuse of treated effluent,the challenges (cost, public perception, and current state prohibition), advancements (in technology and public outreach), and probable future needs. Chairman Liebman asked Mr. Swieczkowski to equate the 125,000 acre feet held in reserve to household use. Mr. Swieczkowski and Dr. Kupel explained it equates to approximately 21/2 to 3 year water supply of city-wide use. In response to Vice-chair Schwierjohn question about water credits,Dr.Kupel replied that 4 million acre feet across the state were stored in the total water bank. Comm. Gehl asked how Glendale compares to other cities. Mr. Swieczkowski stated that there are no specific numbers but almost all cities have been recharging for several years. Vice-chair Schwierjohn asked if recharge permits are issued on rainfall amounts. Mr. Swieczkowski clarified that it is based more on a community's water portfolio and"left-over"water supply,but rainfall doesn't really play into it. Comm. Sipple stated he is interested in the El Paso project and questioned how far along it is. Mr. Swieczkowski explained it is in the construction phase currently. In further explanation, Mr. Swieczkowski said Arizona has a way to go with commencement of the process, perhaps 5 years away. He feels the drought process will drive the start of Arizona Department of Environmental Quality establishing rules and regulations, and it will greatly depend on community needs driving the charge forward. Comm. Short asked why Central Arizona Project(CAP)water is used to recharge based on the high cost. Mr. Swieczkowski explained that CAP water is part of the city's water portfolio and is available now but probably won't be available for recharge in the future due to drought conditions. He added that the future value of CAP water outweighs the additional cost today to have it available. Comm. Berryhill stated she has seen television commercials stating that Salt River Project (SRP) has 4 years of water stored underground. Mr. Swieczkowski explained that SRP has the first water storage project in the state (Granite Reef Underground Storage Facility Project located in the far east valley)and has been storing water there since 1986. He added that SRP does recharge into the NAUSP site (here in Glendale) but SRP owns their own water portfolio numbers. He added that SRP's amount is in addition to what Glendale has stored. Mr. Swieczkowski replied the average well depth in Glendale is between 200'-300', roughly averaging 230'-250' in depth, when questioned by Comm.Berryhill. Comm. Berryhill asked how far off the direct potable reuse standards the city's currently produced Class A effluent is. Mr. Swieczkowski said Glendale's effluent is A+ and at the same water standard that El Paso will start treatment with and then further purify it with the advanced treatment stages. Mr. Swieczkowski confirmed for Comm. Berryhill that both of the cities reclamation facilities produce the A+quality effluent. NO ACTION REQUIRED,INFORMATION ONLY VI. CALL TO THE AUDIENCE Mr. Carl Dietzman, W. Morten Avenue, addressed the Commission. He asked if recharge credits were earned through urban irrigation use. Dr. Kupel replied no recharge credits are earned with irrigation or storm water basins. February 3,2016 Water Services Advisory Commission Final Minutes Page 3 Ms. McKeever issued a Point of Order reminder that staff cannot answer questions or address comments from the audience. Comm. Berryhill had further questions about the presentation and the aquifer. She stated she thought each area had an aquifer but that when she received a tour of Water Services sites, she was informed that the whole valley is one giant aquifer. She stated that if the(aquifer) base is bedrock and the basin areas are uneven with some deeper basins and, therefore, deeper water tables, could theoretically the deepest basins(such as Gilbert)be the last areas to use water as water tables drop. Mr. Swieczkowski explained that the valley is separated into the east Salt River Valley and west Salt River Valley and are somewhat connected. He explained that the Department of Water Resources understands the geology and hydrology aspects of future ground water managing and they ran modeling scenarios on how valley water tables will respond over the next 100 years. Mr. Swieczkowski further explained that Glendale belongs to WESTCAPS, an organization of west valley cities, which looks at how west valley cities can better manage aquifer levels through recharge projects. VII. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Budget Briefing(including CIP/Rates) VIII.NEXT MEETING: March 2,2016, 6 p.m. IX. ADJOURNMENT — Motion to adjourn was made by Vice-chair Schwierjohn, seconded by Comm. Sipple. MOTION APPROVED by voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sally 1 ing,Recording S retary