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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-13 Min - Board SPECIAL MEETING November 13, 2007 In accordance with District Code Section 2.08.010, the TDPUD minutes are action only minutes. All Board meetings are recorded on audio tapes which are preserved perpetually and made available for listening to any interested party upon their request. The special meeting of the Board of Directors of the Truckee Donner Public Utility District was called to order at 6:02 PM in the TDPUD Board room by President Taylor. ROLL CALL: TDPUD Directors Joe Aguera, Ron Hemig, Patricia Sutton, Tim Taylor and Bill Thoma- son were present. Town of Truckee councilmembers Richard Andersen, Barbara Green, Josh Sus- man, Mark Brown and Carolyn Dee were present. EMPLOYEES PRESENT: John Ulrich, Ed Taylor, Alan Harry, Mary Chapman, Neil Kaufman and Barbara Cahill CONSULTANTS PRESENT: Steve Gross and Dennis Crabb OTHERS PRESENT: Frank & Juanita Schneider, Dan Warren, Karen Furtado, Carol Pauli, Marcia Beals, Denny Dickensen, Martha Frantz, Nancy Porges, Sandy Korth, Jodi Smith, Justin Smith, Dwight Smith, Lisa Johns, Josh Rabow, Robert Dair, Penny Fink, Bob Fink, Jim Wirgler, Bob Bush, Lauren Schaake, Carol Tomasil, Michael Bernard, Mike Geary, Jim Englesby, Mike Staudermayer, Cadie Olsen, Jeff Butterworth, Julie Vietor, Marshall Anderson, Bob Blount, Nancy Richards, Jacque Zink, Tom Murry and other members of the public. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE PUBLIC COMMENT There was no comment. WORKSHOP Dennis Crabb, Town of Truckee Counsel, gave a presentation of the Town legal responsibilities with regard to water supply and development: • Framework: General Plan, Development code, Ca. Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), limitation on restricting new development • General Plan: current plan adopted in 2006 and has water supply &conservation policies • Town follows State Law Standards requirements Steve Gross, Truckee Donner PUD Counsel, gave a presentation: • Formed according to the Public Utility District Act of State of Ca. • Legal entity owned by registered voters who elect 5 member board • Mission: provide adequate, reliable and high quality water& electric power services • District operates in a water basin &complies with Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA) • District complies with: o Ca. Water Regulations: water quality &system operations standards o Department of Water Resources regarding wells o Department of Health Services: Sate Drinking Water Act, water quality standards, adequate quality of water supply o Ca. legislation: SB221 (Sufficient Water), SB610 (Water Supply Planning, AB2572 (water meters) 1 Minutes: Nov. 13, 2007-joint meeting Public input: • Is there a 20-year estimate on an assumption for water availability for existing homes? • When a "will serve" is provided, are other customers and impact on private wells considered? • Could there be a retrofit for water meters on all customers so there could be a charge by amount of use? • Is there a water supply analysis for large subdivisions? • Isn't it state law to provide adequate fire protection? • Where are District boundaries and where is the water taken from? • What is the TROA limit on groundwater withdrawal from the Truckee River? TDPUD Board and Town Council discussion: • SB221 covers residential units only- EDU • After a home runs out of water, how long does the process take to drill a new well? • What is the number of private wells in Truckee? • Does each project have to have a will serve? • Once a party has a building permit in a subdivision, they should be entitled to have water service based on that approval. • The District did an Urban Water Management Plan, which was required by the Department of Water Resources and is updated every five years. There are steps and policies to deal with water shortages. Tony Lashbrook, Town General Manager, began the presentation on planned growth and relevant general plan policies: • Non-residential development: 64% built, 11% approved, 25% remaining buildout • Residential development: 58% built, 4%approved, 38% remaining buildout • Map showing future major development areas: PC1, Royal Ridge, Downtown rail yard, Hilltop, PC3/Aspen Meadows and east of Glenshire • Chart of growth trend-residential unit building permits: 2002-317permits, 2005-385, 2007-200 • General Plan policies related to water: o Ensure all proposed development can be adequately served by water supplies o Support water conservation o Strengthen development review process relative to water needs & availability o Work with PUD to prepare study to analyze long term water availability o Prohibit new golf courses • General Plan Environmental Impact Review relied on the TPUD 2005 Urban Water Management plan and the TDPUD 2004 Water System Master Plan Ed Taylor, TDPUD Water Utility Manager, continued the presentation with • PUD percents of buildout are based on water use: residential 66%and commercial 75% • Local water supply agencies: Truckee Donner PUD (buildout capacity 23mgd), Placer County Water Agency- PCWA(3.50 mgd), Northstar Community Service District- NCSD (2.5 mgd) • Map of the Martis Valley basin watershed boundary and the groundwater basin • Geologic formations: bowl and layers of Alluvium (sands/clays), Lousetown formation (basalt), Truckee Formation (sands/gravels), and basement • Martis Valley basin water balance: recharge to basin, basin full-water flows out The Truckee River is not a recharge for the basin • Use of Nimbus study: locating future wells and performance of wells • Water availability versus demand o Buildout demand: TDPUD 17,000 AF (acre feet), PCWA 4,000 AF, NCSD 2,000 AF = Total 23,000 AF 2 Minutes: Nov. 13, 2007-joint meeting o Current buildout projected demand: TDPUD 12,000 AF, PCWA 2,700 AF, NCSD 2,000 AF =Total 16,700 AF o Nimbus Report stated 24,700 AF and Kennedy/Jenks review stated 34,000 AF in the basin • TROA requirements: Ca part of Truckee River basin 32,000 AF, water must stay in Truckee River basin, TPUD has surface water rights, TTSA effluent must return to the Truckee River Public input: • When were the Nimbus and Kennedy/Jenks studies done? And who paid for them? • What are Ed Taylor's qualifications? • Are the Urban Water Management Plan and the Water Master Plan based on the Nimbus study? • Page 14 of the Nimbus study says existing data used- there was no field evaluation- a lot of the report is based on models and simulations- but no ground proofing • Mr. Carlson said could not guarantee leakage from the upper zone to the lower zone. • Have had trust in the Town and PUD- now I have none. • Water usage on golf course not in the report • PUD wells are deep & not a leading indicator- residential wells and meadows are an indicator • If more water source is needed to achieve buildout, where is this going to come from? • Where will new wells be drilled? • If wells are regenerating, why is there so much air in the water? • What about the integrity of Martis Dam —what is the impact on the water from the basin? • My well has not recovered- all private wells need to be tested. • What is the average depth of a PUD well, a test well. What does the PUD do with a test well? • Why wasn't the term impermeable or impervious used for the clay layer tonight? • What is the definition of adequate water supply- enough for 20, 50 years- does it consider community and development impacts? • Do the studies consider global warming/ climate change? What if snow pack is lost over the next 50 years? • If the clay layer is impervious, how do the lower aquifers recharge? • If golf courses use 1 million gallons per day, wouldn't this use up our buffer? • According to Nimbus, 60%of the aquifer is underground, 40%surface • Look at climate modeling- planning agencies freak out about having only 1/2 the yield they were lead to believe. • What are the long term plans to get water down Prosser Dam Road? How long would the process take, need an agreement and the cost? • What happens if more wells go dry? • Did previous PUD boards have enough information? • Have been here a long time and never had water issues. • Water chemistry can track where water comes from, how long there. • Are there any additional studies or investigations for the Martis Valley? TDPUD Board and Town Council discussion: • Aren't the PUD buildout figures using water faster than the Town projections? • Water flow and recharge- is there no effect from the Truckee River? • Does the PUD pump water to other agencies? • What about the water use of the golf courses in Tahoe Donner? ^ • How often does the PUD monitor the recover rate and drawdown for the wells? • What about sustainable yield, are active wells adequate and are any wells abandoned? • What about the water tank at Sierra College? • How were the reports paid for? 3 Minutes: Nov. 13, 2007-joint meeting • Quotes in Kennedy/Jenks study: independent basin, flows, groundwater discharge underesti- mated- these all reflect the need for more data and studies. • Three to four private wells that go dry send up a red flag. • If no snow pack and early melt, what happens? • Need a better handle on what have and what need in the future. • Do all future developments hook up to the water system? • Reports were standard in terms of methodology used. • Impression is that even though there are a lot of straws into the basin, what remains of sustainable yield flows into the Truckee River • How does the Truckee River receive water from the lower aquifer if upper is impermeable? • What happens in the acquitard and lower layers? • The runoff from Boca and Grey Creek seems like an overestimate of groundwater gain. • A new well starts to bring in water from a cone of depression-what is the impact on the height of the well or the cone of depression and yield. • Comment on golf courses- Tahoe Donner has two of their own wells and Coyote Moon uses an abandoned well. • Ok to build on the original 1975 ground water study with the Nimbus and Kennedy/Jenks • What do the ratepayers want the PUD to do about Prosser Dam? Bring into system and pay their way, serve now and in the future. • Future climate change makes it difficult for the District to plan- need more information to see the future. • Another study would bring value and cost. • Hope tonight will help vision of what the PUD is doing is OK. • Did not hear compelling argument that do not have enough water to buildout. • Reports are models. • Factor the future into planning. • Look at the Town General Plan- work with the PUD jointly to pursue water conservation- meters, plumbing. • Glad for the Nimbus study. • Fire department should be in on figures as to requirements for fire flow. • Get water meters- make a plan, retrofit, new, read by 2010. • Conservation- limit for lighting- start at the building department. • Boards have a diverse charge- PUD to the rate payers, Town- long term overall. Work together to find solutions/ co-operation, ask the audience what to do now to reduce usage, need good data to make informed decisions. • Huge task to review the reports. Council looks forward to working with the PUD on water availability and the concern on Prosser Dam Road. • Little fact is a problem, not many solutions. What about impervious layers. No proof/ no leakage. Nimbus study talked about groundwater transfer between zones/ leakage for recharge. What is the effect of the PUD pulling out water from the aquifer to private wells- ignored existing user. PUD should do a study regarding Prosser Dam Road area. • There are 243 private wells over Truckee. What about huge developers who will use more water and PUD will have to sink more wells- does this take water away from people who live here. What lies beneath the upper aquifer? Develop more data and meet again. • Our job is to question and to be conservative. It seems there is an underestimated supply to demand. It is bad to approve development and run out of water. Comfort level is improved, but still have more questions. Need to understand what happened on Prosser Dam Road- we are not serving them well as policy makers. There may be a range of reasons this has happened. • Consultant who put the Nimbus Report together should be able to respond. It is easy to shoot holes in a report. Have reviewed the report with a technical background- comfortable with the conservatism. For the discharge rate, the report used precipitation data over 30 years, techni- 4 Minutes: Nov. 13, 2007-joint meeting cal evaluation and was more precise than the HydroSearch report on recharge rates. The data is not old- the job was done well. Kennedy/Jenks wrote a book on groundwater hydrology. To say as a Board or Council this is bad data, I do not buy it. The PUD has tried to help analyze the Prosser Dam area. It is not right for Prosser Dam to accuse the PUD of wrongdoing. Prosser Dam has to take responsibility. • Consider a study to determine what is beneath the shallow wells that are drawing from the aquifer. How deep is the aquifer? What can be done to have fire protection in an area?Will the Town still approve large lot subdivisions? Want an accounting of the private wells in the district to put in perspective. Frank Forsgren, Nimbus Study project manager, said the report used information from long time data, new wells and drainage of rock layers in the basin. A lot happens in faulting, topography and volcan- ism. This combination isolates the two aquifers. There is a huge flux of water in the system. Mike Staudenmayer of Northstar Community Services District said NCSD will continue to mainly use a spring supply for its water source, but may now also drill wells. The draw down is doing what they were told. The Nimbus Study and Kennedy/Jenks reports had a good level of expertise. The overall Board and Council consensus is to continue this dialog and schedule another joint meeting. TDPUD staff will keep monitoring the aquifer and inform the Town of Truckee. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 10:15 PM. TRUCKEE DONNER PUBLIC UTILITY DISTRICT Tim F. Taylor, Pr . nt .. Prepared by p Barbara Cahill, Deputy District Clerk bhc 5 Minutes: Nov. 13, 2007-joint meeting