HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-08-19 WSB AGENDAWATER& SEWER BOARD
AGENDA
Tuesday, August 19, 2003
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ROOM
1. MINUTES OF THE JULY 8, 2003 MEETING. (ATT . 1)
2 . GUEST -KEN ROSS & TOM BRENNAN -DRAFT OF STORM DRAINAGE
CRITERIA. MANUAL. (ENCLOSED)
3. KENT VILLAGE -MEMO FROM RANDY PIERCE DATED AUGUST 6 ,
2003. (ATT. 2)
4 . ARTICLE FROM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN -BOTTLED TWADDLE."
(ATT. 3)
5. OTHER.
WATER AND SEWER BOARD
MINUTES
JULY 8, 2003
A -1 To I
The meeting was called to order at 5:12 p.m.
Members present:
Members absent:
Also present:
Wolosyn, Moore, Higday, Cassidy,
Bradshaw, Habenicht
Clark, Otis, Kasson
Stewart Fonda, Director of Utilities
1. MINUTES OF THE JUNE 10, 2003 MEETING.
The Englewood Water and Sewer Board approved the minutes from the June 10, 2003
meeting.
Ms. Wolosyn moved;
Mr. Habenicht seconded:
Ayes:
Nays:
Members absent:
Motion carried.
To approve the Minutes from the June 10,
2003 Englewood Water and Sewer Board
Meeting.
Wolosyn, Moore, Higday, Cassidy,
Bradshaw, Habenicht
None
Clark, Otis, Kasson
2 . ENGLEWOOD'S WATERING RESTRICTIONS .
Mr. Fonda reviewed the existing lawn watering policy for Englewood residents. The
Utilities Department will continue to recommend residents voluntarily follow Denver's
lawn watering schedule, which has been increased to three times per week.
3. ILLEGAL DISCHARGE INCIDENT-LONDON MOTEL AT 3325 S. SANTA
FEDR.
The Board received a letter dated June 26, 2003 from the State of Colorado regarding an
incident of an untreated sewage discharge from a lift station located on the property of the
London Motel, 3325 S . Santa Fe Dr. The lift station ceased operation and approximately
500 to 600 gallons of raw sewage was discharged on the ground and flowed onto the
adjacent property, the Cinderella Drive-In in Sheridan, Colorado.
The owners, Mr. Gale Medlin and Ms . Carol Petrash, are required to clean up the site of
the discharge, including removal of any remaining raw sewage and soils contaminated by
the raw sewage. Clean fill is to be placed and compacted where the contaminated soils
are removed. All excavation and fill is to be completed to the satisfaction of the City of
Englewood, the Cinderella Drive-In and the City of Sheridan. Enforcement action by the
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment can include penalties of up to
$10 ,000 per day.
4 . MOSQUITO CONTROL.
The Board received a letter dated June 25, 2003 from Tri-County Health Department
discussing the potential for stormwater quality facilities to breed mosquitoes that may
carry the West Nile Virus. Stu noted measures are already being taken to eliminate
unnecessary standing areas of water.
5. SEWER AND WATER RATE INCREASE.
Mr. Fonda reviewed the background for the proposed water and sewer rate increases.
City Council also received the following information :
The Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant will require a major expansion of
the existing facilities and construction of additional treatment processes . The proposed
rate increase will pay for increased costs resulting from these requirements . The new
construction is necessary to accommodate recent denitrification requirements imposed by
the State Health Department. Additionally, the South Platte River has recently been
reclassified as a Recreational Class I river, which requires increased pathogen destruction.
The plant expansion portion of the project is the result ofrapid growth in the area served
by the plant. Growth has been nearly double the projections used in planning the last
expans10n.
The project is currently being designed by Brown & Caldwell Consulting Engineers. It is
estimated that the total cost of the project will be $110 million, of which Englewood will
be responsible for 50%. Design should be completed by the first quarter of 2004, and at
that time bids should be received for construction. Construction is expected to take about
three years to complete.
Administration fees paid by the Littleton/Englewood Wastewater Treatment Plant were
reviewed by a consultant and it was determined that an increase was appropriate. The
City of Englewood Finance Department therefore recommends an increase in the existing
administration fees . The additional administration fees result in an increase of 14 % in
2008 instead of an increase of 10 %.
In order to finance this construction, the firm of Black & Veatch was retained to analyze
financing alternatives . Bond covenants require that the City of Englewood maintain a
certain minimum debt ratio. In 2002 Englewood fell below the minimum requirement.
The rate increase presented should insure that bond covenants are met through 2008
unless there are unanticipated shortfalls in revenues or unanticipated expenses.
The Sewer Fund increases are necessary to fund Englewood's share of the upgrade and
expansion of the Bi-City Wastewater Treatment Plant. Sewer rates were raised 20%
January 1, 2003 and the last rate increase before that was in 1982 .
It was determined that a bond issue in the range of $55 to 60 million dollars would need
to be issued. It is proposed that this issue be concurrent with the receipt of the bid.
Sewer rates will need to be increased to pay the princ ipal and interest on the new bonds.
The proposed rate increases would be 15 % January 1, 2004, 15% January 1, 2005, 15 %
January 1, 2006 , 15 % January 1, 2007 and 14 % January 1, 2008 to meet coverage
requirements of the bond issue .
The proposed water rate increase is deemed necessary to cover increasing expenses due to
inflation and capital improvements . Capital items include additional deep wells for a
stable water supply in drought conditions, a powdered activated carbon system to
improve water quality, City Ditch piping and ditch improvements for providing an
improved water supply on a year-round basis and an emergency generator for more
frequently occurring power outages. The two 3-million gallon overhead storage tanks
located at Clarkson and Belleview are 50 years old and resulting cracks and repairs are
indicating these tanks are approaching the end of their projected service life . Major
renovations to these tanks will be necessary in the near future. Funds are included to
repair these tanks , but not to replace them in the next five years. In addition, major
mechanical equipment at the Allen Plant is 20 plus years old and may require replacement
due to obsolescence.
Administration fees paid by the Utilities Department were reviewed by a consultant and it
was determined that an increase was appropriate. The City of Englewood Finance
Department therefore recommends an increase in the Utilities ' administration fees. The
increased administration fees result in an increase of 16 % in October 2003 instead of an
increase of 8%.
In order to finance these capital impro v ements and the admin istration fee increase, the
firm of Black & Veatch was retained to analyze financing alternatives. It was determined
that no additional bonding is required in the Water Fund, but increases are necessary to
meet bond coverage requirements and adjust revenues for inflation. It is proposed that a
rate increase of 16 % be made effective October 1, 2003 and another increase of 6% be
made effective on January 1, 2005 .
Bond covenants require that the City of Englewood maintain a certain minimum debt
ratio . In 2002 Englewood fell below the minimum requirement. The rate increases
presented are projected to insure bond covenants are met until 2008 unless there are
unexpected revenue shortfalls or unanticipated expenses.
Mr. Higday moved;
Mr. Habenicht seconded:
Ayes:
Nays:
Members absent:
Motion carried.
To recommend Council approval of the
water and sewer rate increases.
Wolosyn, Moore, Higday, Cassidy,
Bradshaw, Habenicht
None
Clark, Otis, Kasson
6 . ALLEN PLANT GENERATOR.
Stu discussed purchasing a stand-by generator for the Zone II pump for the Allen Filter
Plant. Plant personnel feel that in the event of a power outage, which appears to be
occurring with greater frequency, the overhead tank would partially drain, lowering the
pressure in Zone II. An adequate generator is estimated at $100,000. The Board agreed
to the generator purchase for Zone II
7. KENT VILLAGE.
Kent Village is in the process of installing a blow-off valve to flush a dead-end service
line .
The meeting adjourned at 6:52 p.m.
The next Water and Sewer Board meeting will be Tuesday, August 19, 2003 in the
Community Development Conference Room.
Respectfully submitted ,
Cathy Burrage
Recording Secretary
Message A TTo 2
Cathy Burrage
From: Randy Pierce
Sent: Wednesday, August 06 , 2003 2:42 PM
To: Stu Fonda
Cc: John Bock ; Bill McCorm ick; Tom Brennan; Cathy Burrage
Subject: Kent Village Update
August8 ,2003
I spoke to the property manger for Kent Village today about what was decided in the Board of Directors Meeting a
week ago .
The Village Board has decided to leave things the way they are at th is time . They received bids for putting blow-
offs on all the dead end water ma ins at a cost of $15K -$20K .
One of the residents thought the better way to flush out the mains was , to open up the outside hose bibs on the
last unit, and th is will take care of the problem !
The Village Board thought it might be good to look at putting in water filters at the main service line in each unit.
Ms Steel has installed a house fi lter at th is time and is happy for now!
81712 003
A IT . 3 Skeptic
Bottled Twaddle
Is bottled water tapped out? By MICHAEL SHERMER
In 1979 I star t ed drink ing bottled water . My bottles, however,
contained rap water and were nestled in small cages on the
frame of my racing bicycle.
Tap water was good enough then because we did nor know
how much healthier and tastier bottled water is. Ir must be, be-
cause Americans today spend more than $7 billion a year on it,
paying 120 to 7,500 rimes as much per gallon for bottled wa-
ter as for rap. Bottled prices range from 75 cents to $6 a gallon,
versus tap prices that vary from about 80 cents to $6.40 per
1,000 gallons. We wouldn't invest that for nothing, would we?
Apparently we would. In March 1999 the Natural Re-
sources Defense Council (NRDC) published the results of a four-
year study in which they rested more than 1,000 samples of 103
brands of bottled water, finding that "an estimated 25 percent
study corroborated the general findings of the NRDC), then
surely it tastes better? It does ... as long as you believe in your
brand. Enter the water-wars hype. Pepsi introduced Aquafina,
so Coke countered with Dasani , a brand that included a "Well-
ness Team" (meet Susie, Jonny and Ellie, the "stress relief facil-
itator," "fitness trainer" and "lifestyle counselor," respectively )
on its Web site. Both companies charge more for their plain wa-
ter than for their sugar water.
When the test is blind, however, the hype falls on deaf taste
buds. In May 2001 ABC's Good Morning America found view-
er s' preferences to be Evian (12 percent ), 0-2 (19 percent ),
Poland Spring (24 percent ) and good old New York City tap (45
percent ). In July 2001 the Cincinnati Enquirer discovered that
on a 1-to-10 scale, that city's rap water rared an 8.2, compared
or more of bottled water is really just tap water in
a bottle-sometimes further treated, sometimes
not." If the label says "from a municipal source" or
"from a community water system," it's tap water.
Even more disturbing, the NRDC found that 18
of the 103 brands tested had, in at least one sample,
Some bott led
water is rea lly
just t ap wa t er
with Dannon's 8.3 and Evian's 7.2. In 2001 the
Yorkshire, England, wa ter company found that 60
percent of 2,800 people surve yed could not tell the
difference between the local rap water and the
U.K.'s bottled waters. in a bottle.
The most telling taste test was conducted by
the Showrime television series Penn & Teller: Bullshit! The hosts
began with a blind comparison in which 7 5 percent of New York-
ers preferred city tap to bottled waters. They then went to the
Left Coast and set up a hidden camera at a trendy southern Cal-
ifornia restaurant that featured a water sommelier who dis-
pensed elegant water menus to the patrons . All bottles were filled
out of the same hose in the back of the res t aurant; nevertheless,
Angelenos were willing to p lunk down nearly $7 a bo ttle for
L'eau Du Robinet (French for "faucet water"), Agua de Culo
(Spanish for "ass wa ter") a nd Amazone ("filtered through the
Brazilian rain forest 's natural filtration sys t em"), decla r ing them
all to be far superior to tap water. There's no accounting for taste.
"more bacteria than allowed under microbiological-purity
guidelines." About one fifth of the waters "contained synthetic
organic chemicals-such as industrial chemicals (e.g., toluene or
xylene ) or chemicals used in manufacturing plastic (e.g., phtha-
late, adipare, or styrene )," bur these were "generally at levels be-
low state and federal standards." The International Bottled Wa-
ter Association issued a response to the NRDC study in which
it states, "Close scrutiny of the water quality standards for chem-
ica l contaminants reveals that [the U.S. Food and Drug Admin-
istration's] bottled water quality standards are the same as [the
Environmental Protection Agency 's] rap water standards." Well,
that's a relief, bur in paying exceptional prices one might hope
for exceptional quality.
One problem is rhar bottled water is subject to less rigorous
purity standards and less frequent rests for bacteria and chemi-
cal contaminants than those required of rap water. For exam-
ple, bottled-water plants must test for coliform bacteria once a
week; city tap water must be tested 100 or more times a month.
If bottled water is not safer (a 2001 World Wildlife Fund
w w w .sciam .com
Bottled water does have one advantage over tap: you can
take it with you wherever yo u go . So why not buy one bottle of
each desirable size and refill it with your city 's finest unnatural-
ly filtered yet salubriously delicious rap water? >'f.il
Michael Shermer is publisher of Skeptic (www.skeptic.com)
and author of Why People Believe Weird Things.
SCI ENTIFIC AM ERICAN 33
,-"
TO:
THROUGH:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
MEMORANDUM
Water and Sewer Board
Stu Fonda, Director of Utilities
Ken Ross, Director of Public Wor&
August 7, 2003
DRAFT ENGLEWOOD STORM DRAINAGE CRITERIA MANUAL
Englewood has not previously had an adopted storm drainage criteria manual, but, rather, has
relied on the Urban Drainage Criteria Manual. With the exception of Article 16-5-1 of the
Zoning Ordinance , storm drainage criteria has not been officially adopted by City Council.
Article 16-5-1 states:
No construction shall take place that has the effect of increasing stormwater runoff from the
property unless the applicant presents a written statement signed and sealed by a duly
licensed civil engineer setting forth that the natural surface drainage of the site, in his/her
opinion, is adequate to carry from said site, in a manner reasonably calculated not to cause
damage to properties at a lower level from such site, all water naturally passing across the
premises, together with the additional runoff created by any improvements thereon. The
written statement shall be reviewed by the City Manager or designee. See also Section 16-4-
16 of this Title , Floodpl ain Ordinance.
The Federal Clean Water Act now requires that stormwater discharges be authorized under
stormwater discharge permits. A General Permit issued by the Colorado Department of Health
and Environment , Water Quality Control Division covers stormwater discharges from the City of
Englewood. Construction site storm water runoff control is one of the minimum measures that
Englewood must address in order to be in conformance with the Colorado Discharge Permit
System , or CDPS, under Regulation 61. Any lands that are to be disturbed are subject to the
requirements of this section. Disturbed lands include all property from which vegetation has
been or is to be temporarily or permanently removed. Disturbed lands are subject to erosion and
can be a source of significant discharges of sediment and other pollutants to receiving waters
downstream. According to the Regulation 61, the City of Englewood is responsible for the
quality of the water discharged at our borders.
The proposed Englewood Storm Drainage Criteria Manual is intended to give staff the authority
we need to address the mandates that have come down by the EPA and the United States
Congress . It is important to give design engineers clear direction on what we expect to see, so
that they can get plans and reports approved as painlessly and as timely as possible. But this
Manual is also necessary in order to give staff the authority to require design engineers and
property owners to meet minimum guidelines that will address drainage and water quality issues.
I have elected to have this Manual placed in Title 12 of the Municipal Code, which makes the
Water and Sewer Board responsible for administrative review and appeals.
Other changes the Water and Sewer Board should be aware of are:
1. Grading Permits will now be required.
2. Erosion control will be an important component ofreview.
3 . Storm water detention will now be based upon the 5-year storm versus the 10-year storm
that Urban Drainage uses.
4. Potential impacts to receiving waters downstream that could result from development or
redevelopment will need to be addressed.
Tom Brennan and I will be at the meeting on August 19th to discuss these issues with you.
/lw
c: Tom Brennan
2