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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013.06.18 CC Minutes - Water WorkshopMINUTES FOR THE HUGO CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP ON WATER CONSERVATION JUNE 18, 2013 Mayor Weidt called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Bronk, Haas, Klein, Petryk, Weidt ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Bryan Bear, City Engineer Jay Kennedy, Finance Director Ron Otkin, Accounting Clerk Anna Wobse, and City Clerk Michele Lindau Staff Presentation City Administrator Bryan Bear began by providing background information on previous water conservation discussions and provided statistics of water usage in Hugo which shows approximately half of the water drawn from municipal wells is used for irrigation purposes. Bryan compared Hugo's water billing rates to surrounding cities and found Hugo could be more aggressive. Bryan also talked about grant money that was available to establish groundwater management areas that would give the DNR more latitude to regulate by using pumping limits, appropriations, and requiring additional conservation measures. Bryan talked about water reuse and sustainability through land use development standards, i.e. Low Impact Development (LID), Minimum Impact Development (MID) and Best Management Practices (BMP). Bryan talked about conservation measures used in Hugo such as the rain barrels at the Hanifl Shelter, rain gardens at City Hall, proposed native prairie plantings at Excel Energy, street reconstruction and private development construction requirements, and a six -City shared municipal system, which is in the initial discussion stage. The City also has regulations on odd/even days for water sprinkling and a requirement for four inches of topsoil on new developments. New regulations could be added such as midday watering ban, rain sensor requirements, budgeting for landscaping by water, requirement for storm water reuse plans, or a water waste ordinance. It was noted that the city does not actively enforce watering resolution. The City has 19 stormwater reuse projects identified in the C.I.P., and new RCWD rules allow for regional systems. To reuse storm water, adequate water storage is necessary. This storage would need to be kept separate from municipal water towers and could be very expensive. The DNR does not regulate storm water and residential reuse of brown water is not allowed by the plumbing code. It was questionable whether there is enough storm water to cover all irrigation needs. An idea presented by Bryan was to do voluntary water audits, and stated the that the City could lead by example by doing an audit on City owned buildings. Other ideas were to offer incentives and rebates, education outreach, promotions, recognitions, etc. Hugo City Council Minutes for June 18, 2013 Water Conservation Workshop Page 2 of 2 Council Discussion The Council agreed the main goal is to protect the City's water resource, and they outlined several possible methods to achieve this. • Irrigation through reuse of storm water. • Build water reuse into the rate structure. • Dual water system, one for drinking and one for storm water. The two systems would have to be separate • Build a water tower to store storm water. • Landscaping requirements could change by requiring shade trees, native landscapes, low water use plantings/turf, or discourage massive unused turf areas. • Review ordinances to allow planting of native vegetation. This may cause problems with neighboring property owners. • Use of artificial turf. • Voluntary water audits to alert residentsibusiness owners on high water usages. City should lead by example by performing a water audit on City facilities. • City rebates as incentive for installation of water conservation systems. Money could be set aside in the water fund to cover this. • Encourage residents to use conservation practices through education outreach, promotion, and recognition. • Send educational letter to known high water users. • Enforce odd/even watering, increase violation penalty amount, print it on the bill or bill envelopes. • Look at other cities water rate structure and make Hugo's more aggressive. • Review of WAC fee. Reduce fees if project is designed to use much less water. Work on the business component; determine how it would affect businesses. • Use of soil monitors/rain sensors • Determine the cost and logistics of storm water reuse • Determine costs on NPDS and other rules, and what would be saved if we kept polluted water. Direction to Staff Council directed staff to gather more information and schedule another meeting in 6-8 weeks. Petryk made motion, Haas seconded, to adjourn at 7:09 p.m. All Ayes. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Michele Lindau City Clerk