To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Mark Marlowe, P.E., Utilities Director
Title
Discussion/Direction: Chatfield Watershed Authority Governance
Body
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Executive Summary
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide an update on the Chatfield Watershed Authority’s (“Authority”) initiative to change the governance structure of the Authority, membership voting process, and the roll of various committees. The genesis for this initiative is the thinking by the current leadership that we need to get elected officials more engaged with providing guidance on the overall policy direction of the Authority.
The Authority is a designated water quality management agency, established in 1984 under the authority of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), whose mission is to promote protection of water quality in the Chatfield Watershed for recreation, fisheries, drinking water supplies and other beneficial uses through Chatfield Reservoir Control Regulation No. 73 (paraphrased from Chatfield Watershed Authority Website, 2013). The Authority is made up of 22 paying membership entities including counties, municipalities, water and sanitation districts and other public and private entities that have a material impact on the watershed or otherwise have a vested interest in the Authority. Membership entities financially contribute to the Authority and receive a weighted vote based on level of contribution. The Town has been involved with the Authority for over 25 years and continues to participate as a member by paying annual dues, attending monthly board and technical review committee meetings, and implementing point source, nonpoint source and stormwater controls.
This review of the governance structure of the Authority is a continuation of a process that began in 2014 to better evaluate the long-term funding needs to address the concerns in the watershed and subsequently identify strategies for meeting those funding needs.
Current member dues in the Chatfield Watershed Authority are around $173,000 of which the Town accounts for roughly 32%. It is important to note that the Town has a comprehensive watershed protection program in place for its portion of the Chatfield Watershed including a robust funding source through the stormwater enterprise fund. Other portions of the Chatfield Watershed may have less developed programs in place and less robust funding mechanisms.
The proposed process for reviewing the governance structure will be through a newly formed committee (Chatfield IGA Committee) that includes member representatives and elected officials from Douglas County, Jefferson County, Denver Water, Centennial Water & Sanitation District, Dominion Water & Sanitation District and Town of Castle Rock. The committee will review the existing Chatfield Intergovernmental Agreement (see Attachment A), discuss what the end goal is with respect to how the Authority will function going forward, review policy issues affecting funding, direction of organization to meet water quality mandates and decision-making on use of funds, and will ultimately consider creating a new governance structure and IGA. The committee had its first meeting on July 1, 2015. The next meeting will likely be in August of 2015.
Key items that staff believes should be addressed as a part of any change to the governance structure of the Authority include:
• Board should provide equal representation of the citizens within the watershed.
• Board should be locally controlled and drive solutions to address water quality issues based on the benefits and costs of those solutions.
• Board should establish funding levels which meet a specific need and provide a real benefit.
• Board should ensure equity across the watershed and especially to the Town’s stormwater customers.
Staff recommends that the Town take a very active role in this process to protect our interests in water resources in the watershed as well as our utilities’ customers.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
The Council was updated on the Authority in 2009 after new water quality standards were adopted by the Water Quality Control Commission (WQCC).
Council was again updated on the Authority and its initiative to pass legislation for funding in January 2014 and November 2014.
Water Resources Committee was updated on the importance of this Authority to the Town’s water resources and stormwater utility on July 7, 2015.
On July 22, 2015, the Chatfield Watershed Authority governance was presented to the Utilities Commission.
Discussion
Background
The Authority is a designated water quality management agency, established in 1984 under the authority of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), whose mission is to promote protection of water quality in the Chatfield Watershed for recreation, fisheries, drinking water supplies and other beneficial uses through Chatfield Reservoir Control Regulation No. 73 (paraphrased from Chatfield Watershed Authority Website, 2013). The Chatfield Watershed is comprised of three major drainage systems including the South Platte River, Plum Creek and Deer Creek and includes portions of Douglas and Jefferson County (see Attachment B). The Authority operates under the jurisdiction of land use agencies, Douglas and Jefferson Counties, local municipalities and CDPHE. As such, enforcement of state, county and municipal regulations is under the control of the governing jurisdictions. (Draft Chatfield Watershed Plan, 2013)
The Authority is made up of 22 paying membership entities including counties, municipalities, water and sanitation districts and other public and private entities that have a material impact on the watershed or otherwise have a vested interest in the Authority. Membership entities financially contribute to the Authority and receive a weighted vote based on level of contribution. Board members are approved by majority vote of the Board and are generally directors, managers or manager designees of an organization. Officers include two co-chairs, four financial officers and a Technical Review Committee chair (currently held by Town of Castle Rock). The total annual member dues are $172,951 for 2015 (see Attachment C). Dues are calculated based on a member entity’s theoretical impact on the watershed using factors developed by the Authority such as population, urbanized area and wastewater discharge as discussed in the Authority By-Laws (see Attachment A). Recalculation of dues currently is being considered by the Technical Review Committee and a recommendation is expected in August 2015.
The Authority By-Laws were last updated in 2007 and the last intergovernmental agreement for continuation of the Chatfield Watershed Authority was signed in 1997 (see Attachment C). For the last 30 plus years, the Authority has hired a consultant to serve as the Authority Manager. The current Manager is Julie Vlier, who works for TetraTech. She was reappointed as part of the 2015 annual budgeting process in 2014. Development of the 2016 budget will begin in August.
The mission of the Authority is to promote protection of water quality in the Chatfield Watershed for recreation, fisheries, drinking water supplies and other beneficial uses. To protect these beneficial uses, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Control Commission, adopted Control Regulation No. 73 which includes water quality standards for phosphorus and chlorophyll-a (Authority Website, 2013). Phosphorus is a nutrient found naturally in sediment and also in manmade products such as fertilizers and detergents and has the potential to contribute to algae blooms in the reservoir. Chlorophyll-a is the measurable substance in algae and is an indicator of water quality in the reservoir.
The Town has been involved with the Authority for over 25 years and continues to participate as a member by paying annual dues, attending monthly board and technical review committee meetings, and implementing point source, nonpoint source and stormwater controls. Total financial contribution to the Authority in 2015 included the Town of Castle Rock dues at $37,853 and, through the Town’s membership in the Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority (PCWRA), the Town contributed approximately $18,045 in additional dues for a total of $55,898. This accounts for approximately 32% of the total annual membership dues. The Town represents the largest point source discharge, and PCWRA owns the largest wasteload allocation in the Chatfield Watershed and has a vested interest in regulatory issues.
Why is the Authority Important to the Town?
Water quality standards have the potential to impact publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) such as the Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority, regulated stormwater dischargers such as the Town and other non-point source discharges in the Chatfield Basin. Given the current standards that are in place, there is very little room for variability in the annual growing season averages for total phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. This can be seen in the compliance record of the reservoir since 2009 where both phosphorus and chlorophyll-a concentrations indicate exceedances at or above the allowable frequencies.
The control regulation states the Authority and its members must develop and implement nonpoint source control programs to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the reservoir. It is important to note that the Town has a comprehensive program in place for its portion of the watershed including a robust funding source through the stormwater enterprise fund. Other portions of the watershed have less developed programs in place and less robust funding mechanisms. The control regulation states that if nonpoint source control programs are not implemented, the Commission may adjust the phosphorus total maximum annual load (TMAL), alter water quality monitoring requirements and specify a nonpoint source management program (Control Regulation No. 73, 2009).
Directives such as these make it clear that action must be taken in the near term in order for the Authority to remain in good standing with the control regulation. As the water quality management agency, Chatfield Watershed Authority has the responsibility of protecting the beneficial uses in the watershed and maintaining compliance with the control regulation. It is desirable that this control remains at the local level and that the Authority maintain flexibility to address water quality issues as deemed appropriate for the watershed. The implications of non-compliance with the control regulation could have direct financial impacts on the Town and Plum Creek Water Reclamation Authority through more stringent standards, required controls, enhanced treatment processes and increased water quality monitoring.
Status of the Authority and Activities since 2014
There has been a feeling by many on the board of the Authority that adequate funding was not in place for the Authority to complete its mission. The process of developing a Chatfield Watershed Plan only increased this feeling as the draft plan identified $100,000 annual funding shortfall for the next three years to complete the necessary data collection and modeling identified in the watershed plan. As another point of comparison, the annual budget of the Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority (CCBWQA) is on the order of $1.75 million.
It is important to note that the CCBWQA as well as the CWA were both put in place prior to the development of Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit requirements and stormwater utilities like the Town’s which have changed the landscape from a funding and responsibility standpoint. Still for the reasons stated, the Authority board began a process in 2014 to draft legislation that would provide a toolbox of funding opportunities for all watershed authorities in the State which could then be applied to the Chatfield Watershed Authority to increase funding. Ultimately, the draft legislation was not moved forward during the 2015 legislative session and was subsequently put on hold.
The Authority completed development and the Board approved the Chatfield Watershed Plan that focuses on nonpoint source controls in the Watershed. The plan still needs to be approved by the State and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The plan identifies five priority efforts for water quality protection.
1. Development and implementation of a long-term funding strategy to promote water quality protection in the watershed and its reservoir.
2. Investigations or studies that identify and prioritize implementation activities or best management practices in target areas of the watershed to reduce nonpoint source pollution.
3. Implementation of select pilot projects, to ensure that cost effective nonpoint source reduction projects are implemented.
4. Education and outreach.
5. Development of watershed and reservoir modeling tools.
The Watershed Plan will be a road map and guidance document for the Authority in setting priorities and allocating expenditures over the next three to five years. The Authority’s primary goal over the next 2-3 years is to collect accurate data and information to provide technical and scientific basis to:
• Protect beneficial uses including drinking water supply, recreation, aquatic life and agricultural uses in the reservoir;
• Understand Total Phosphorus sources and controls in the watershed;
• Understand fate and transport of pollutants in the watershed;
• Develop reservoir and watershed models; and
• Understand the nutrient and chlorophyll-a relationship, if any, in Chatfield Reservoir.
To this end, the Authority issued a request for proposals and ultimately awarded a contract for a watershed model to Leonard Rice Engineers. This work is underway and scheduled to be complete in early 2016. The Town along with other key members of the Authority provided additional funding for the modeling / monitoring efforts with the Town’s portion being $25,000.
Budget Impact
Any change to the governance structure for the Authority could have an impact on the funding mechanisms and the budget for the Town. Based on the information currently available, there is no way to evaluate what that impact will be. As the Authority’s process moves along, the Utilities Department staff will evaluate potential impacts regarding potential new governance structures and incorporate these into any recommendations.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Town fully engage in and monitor the Authority’s evaluation process. Staff will provide Council periodic updates and seek input from Council. If Council desires to appoint a Council Member to take part in the process, staff will provide the necessary support.
Proposed Motion
I move to appoint ______________________ as the Council representative to the Governance Committee of the Chatfield Watershed Authority.
Attachments
Attachment A: Bylaws
Attachment B: Location Map
Attachment C: Dues