City of Moab 217 East Center Street Moab, Utah 84532 Main Number (435) 259-5121 Fax Number (435) 259-4135 www.moabcity.org Moab City Water Conservation and Drought Management Advisory Board Regular Meeting 217 E. Center Street Wednesday, March 14, 2018 REGULAR MEETING AGENDA 2:00 PM City Council Chambers 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes of meeting 3. Board Member and Staff Reports 4. Citizens to be Heard 5. Discussion with Ken Kolm regarding his report 6. Debrief of Council action on Water Rights Resolution 7. Consideration of a Recommendation to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Utah Division of Water Rights for stream gauge 8. Debrief of the Water Conservation Workshop 9. Amending Bylaws to include the option for one board member to not be a City Resident 10. Other Business 11. Future Agenda Items 12. Adjournment In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, individuals needing special accommodations during this meeting should notify the Recorder s Office at 217 East Center Street, Moab, Utah 84532; or phone (435) 259-5121 at least three (3) working days prior to the meeting. Check our website for updates at: www.moabcity.org
MOAB CITY WATER CONSERVATION AND DROUGHT MANAGEMENT ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES -- DRAFT Regular Meeting & Attendance: The Moab City Water Conservation and Drought Management Advisory Board held its Regular Meeting on the above date in the Council Chambers at the Moab City Center, located at 217 East Center Street, Moab, Utah. A recording of the meeting is archived at http://www.utah.gov/pmn/index.html. In attendance were board members Kara Dohrenwend, Arne Hultquist, Jeremy Lynch and Kyle Bailey. Board member Mike Duncan was absent. Also in attendance were Sustainability Director Rosemarie Russo, Assistant City Engineer Eric Johanson and Records/Project Specialist Eve Tallman. Also in attendance were Jeffrey Adams, Executive Director of the Canyonlands Watershed Council and one member of the press. Regular Meeting Called to Order: Chairperson Hultquist called the Meeting to order at 2:03 PM. Approval of Minutes: Hultquist began by requesting a clarification from Adams regarding his memo regarding wells in Spanish Valley. Bailey moved to approve the minutes of the January 10, 2018 meeting. Lynch seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0 aye, with Board members Dohrenwend, Hultquist, Lynch and Bailey voting aye. Bailey moved to amend the January 10 minutes with one correction and to approve the minutes of the January 17, 2018 meeting with one clarification. Lynch seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0 aye, with Board members Dohrenwend, Hultquist, Lynch and Bailey voting aye. Citizens to be Heard: There were no citizens to be heard. Board member and staff reports: Johanson reported the engineering staff was not yet ready to report on the upcoming adjudication process and he urged Water Board members to attend Marc Stilson s presentation to the City Council on February 27. Discussion included City and County wells located at Swanny Park. Tallman requested Board members to notify her in advance of public meetings at which there may be a quorum of Board members so that she could property notice the meetings in accordance with open meetings law. Discussion ensued about the Board vacancies and pursuing applicants for the two open positions. It was agreed by the Board that Tallman should explore amending the bylaws to allow one non-city resident to serve on the Board. Bailey reported on the annual meeting of the Moab Irrigation Company (MIC), and explained bylaw changes the MIC made regarding arbitration and litigation. Water Rights Allocations Approved Dohrenwend moved to approve the Resolution Requesting the Utah Division of Water Rights to Limit New Allocations Within Spanish Valley, prepared for and recommended to the City Council. Bailey seconded the motion. Several modifications were made to the draft presented in the Board packets, and Dohrenwend moved to revise the draft Resolution. Bailey seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-0 aye, with Board members Dohrenwend, Hultquist, Lynch and Bailey voting aye. It was agreed that the Council should be provided with the Quick Reference Guide in addition to the proposed Resolution. The edited text of the proposed Resolution follows: Page 1 of 3
A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE UTAH DIVISION OF WATER RIGHTS TO LIMIT NEW ALLOCATIONS WITHIN SPANISH VALLEY WHEREAS, Moab s municipal government is responsible for the promotion of the public health and safety of its residents, including access to clean air, clean water and a livable environment; and WHEREAS, the Moab Water Conservation and Drought Management Advisory Board, which is responsible for providing recommendations to protect water quality and quantity for present and future generations, advocates for this request; and WHEREAS, Utah Code Title 73 requires indefinitely sustainable groundwater resources; and WHEREAS, the recent study of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) shows a substantial reduction of safe yield (the quantity of sustainable groundwater) from 20,000 Acre Feet (AF) to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 AF, which could be further reduced by climate change, which reflects the quantity of sustainable groundwater; and WHEREAS, climate change, including its human-activity-driven impacts, predicts more frequent drought conditions in decades to come, and on January 16, 2018, Grand County Council declared the County a disaster area because of drought; and WHEREAS, current and projected water uses in Moab City and Spanish Valley are anticipated to meet or exceed safe yield in the near future, and according to the State Engineer, the water supply could be reduced by up to 30 percent due to climate change; and WHEREAS, the Spanish Valley aquifer is widely recognized, including by Utah Division of Water Rights (UDWRi), to be substantially over-appropriated which is reflected in the UTWRi initiative to begin an adjudication process and to develop a regional groundwater management plan; and WHEREAS, continuing to perpetuate the impression that abundant groundwater resources are available for unchecked development is misleading and a disservice to valley residents; and WHEREAS, the State of Utah (https://www.waterrights.utah.gov/wrinfo/policy/wateruse.asp) has determined 0.45 AF or 146,633 gallons as an estimated annual need for indoor use of a permanent fulltime single family residence and 0.25 AF or 81,473 gallons for a seasonal family residence; and WHEREAS, unused or underutilized paper water rights currently exist in the Moab and Spanish Valley areas which need to be available for future development; and WHEREAS, the Moab City Council acknowledges that proactively addressing adequate water resources is fundamental to our community s financial stability and livability. THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Moab City Council requests the Utah Division of Water Rights, for a period of time extending to or beyond completion of the Groundwater Management Plan, to either a) close the Moab Spanish Valley aquifer to new appropriations, or b) limit new appropriations to 1/2 an acre foot for permanent residences and 1/4 an acre foot for seasonal residences and require larger appropriations to be obtained from the existing inventory of water rights in the Valley. Page 2 of 3
Discussion regarding March 12 Water Conservation Event (:48 on recording) The Board and staff discussed the upcoming Water Conservation Open House. It was decided that the event would be in an open-house format, to be held Monday, March 12 at 5:15 PM in the Council Chambers. The League of Women Voters were identified as co-sponsors of the event. Hultquist agreed to invite City Council members in person at the February 27 Council meeting. Topics for the meeting, designated hosts, and outreach avenues were discussed. Russo was identified to summarize the plans for follow-up in the coming week. Discussion regarding Groundwater Monitoring Proposal (1:20 on recording) Hultquist spoke about gauges and noted they are required for the groundwater management plan. He proposed the City should pay for the Mill Creek gauge. Tallman noted the engineering staff had been working on this same question and remarked there could be overlap between the Board and staff. She added the Board had made a recommendation for the City to collaborate with other entities to ensure gauges were installed. Johanson stated it is ultimately City Manager Everitt s decision and will likely come in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with other entities. Johanson said Everitt would be apprised by staff regarding steps to take. Discussion ensued regarding locations of the gauges and the City Engineer s desire to install a flood warning system. Complications surrounding installing a gauge in a Wilderness Study Area (WSA) were considered. Discussion of Groundwater Management Plan outline: The special workshop meeting on January 17 regarding the Groundwater Management Plan was discussed. Hultquist noted there was no emphasis on protecting priority water rights at that meeting. He suggested the Board revisit the Moab Area Watershed Partnership table of contents. Discussion regarding the need for a numerical model ensued, and it was expressed that the City should not pay for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) effort. It was suggested that there may need to be more strategically-placed wells in the monitoring plan. Review of Ken Kolm s Hydrologic and Hydrogeologic Report: Hultquist stated he would email his comments regarding Ken Kolm s report. Other Business: A recent open house regarding the San Juan Spanish Valley Area Plan was discussed. Future Agenda Items: Amending bylaws to include the option for one board member to not be a City resident, inviting Chuck Williams, City Engineer, to the next meeting to discuss gauges, discussion regarding groundwater monitoring and possible request for City funding to assist USGS gauge project. Adjournment: Bailey moved to adjourn the meeting. Dohrenwend seconded the motion. By unanimous vote, Hultquist adjourned the meeting at 4:09 PM. Page 3 of 3
Amending Bylaws to exclude the Moab City residency requirement for up to one Board Member Current Text from Bylaws: ARTICLE 2 COMPOSITION OF BOARD, AND APPOINTMENT AND TERMS OF MEMBERS 2.1 The Moab Water Conservation Board shall consist of seven members, who shall be residents of the City of Moab. Applicable section of Ordinance 2017-09: PROPOSED change: At its regularly-scheduled meeting of, the Water Conservation and Drought Management Board requested staff to take steps to alter the Board s bylaws and, by inference, the Board s originating ordinance, 2017-09 to include the following change: The Moab Water Conservation Board shall consist of seven members, six of whom shall be residents of the City of Moab. One member may, but is not required to, reside elsewhere in the Moab Spanish Valley watershed area.