Water Resources

Description

• Water Resources manages the city’s municipal raw water supplies and hydroelectric facilities. This group manages the diversion, storage, and delivery of raw water and completes water rights accounting. This workgroup also manages the water conservation program, leasing of raw water supplies to agricultural users, protects the city’s water rights in water court proceedings, acts as a liaison with ditch companies, and manages the instream flow program for Boulder Creek. Performance metrics tracked and evaluated includes the year-over-year increase in hydro-electric power generation.



Summary of 2024 Budget Enhancements/Realignments:

• Realignment From CIP Project Funding - Northern Water Pipeline Operations & Maintenance (O&M) Portion (Realignment; $450,000; Ongoing). This proposal is to support necessary operation and maintenance of a critical raw water supply pipeline, owned by the Northern Water Conservancy District. The City of Boulder is the major user of the pipeline, and this budget is to fund Boulder’s portion of the operation and maintenance to ensure pipeline reliability. Previously, this expense was part of the capital project budget, and this proposal is to move that funding to an operating account within water resources for improved alignment with budget allocation and type of use.
• Water/Ditch Assessments and Other (Base Cost Increase; $47,000; Ongoing). This proposal addresses annual increases in multiple ditch companies’ maintenance costs and other small increases in annual costs within the water resources operating budget. Adequate funding for ditch assessments supports water supply reliability for users, including the City of Boulder, and ultimately supports a safe and thriving community.

Sustainability, Equity and Resilience (SER) Goals & Objectives: Environmentally Sustainable

• Objectives
  • Ensures the efficient use of natural resources in a manner that does not deplete them over time while reducing the proliferation of non-reusable materials, toxins, and hazardous products.
  • Supports the natural environment and its ecosystems so they are better able to resist damage and recover quickly.

Program Outcomes

• Reinvestment in critical source water infrastructure to ensure reliability.
• Increased ability to manage water sources to optimize water supply operations and hydroelectric energy generation.
• Improved reliability of municipal water supply for the community.
• Ongoing participation and partnership with other area water users to support ditch operations, municipal needs, and leasing for agricultural uses.
• Continued benefit to Boulder Creek aquatic habitat.

Measurements

• # of days of unplanned hydro outages.
• Projected Storage Index (PSI) value, drought response index and whether we meet reliability goal.
• # of days streamflows met flow targets and how much municipal water was used to meet the flow targets.
• Water Conservation:
  • Annual, aggregated area of turf replacement
  • Average reduction in water use relative to previous 5 years and standard deviation of reduction in water use
  • # of annual program participants