Water Quality

Environmentally Sustainable

Utilities

FY2024 Budget

Program Budget Overview

Description

  • Water Quality serves as a technical resource and provides regulatory support for Utilities and other city departments. Services include implementation of and support for regulatory permits, monitoring to meet regulations, evaluating performance of wastewater and drinking water treatment processes, and implementation of programs to protect public and environmental health, including the city’s source water and stormwater systems. The group also provides project management services in support of integrating water quality enhancement and regulatory compliance into the city’s capital projects. Performance metrics tracked and evaluated include the number of water quality compliance issues identified and corrected.

Summary of 2024 Budget Enhancements/Realignments:

  • Hazardous Materials Management Facility (Base Cost Increase; $92,000; Ongoing). The Hazardous Materials Management Facility is operated by Boulder County on behalf of the City of Boulder and surrounding communities. This facility receives hazardous materials from residents and businesses, and properly handles and disposes of the materials in accordance with best practices that support environmental and community health. This facility and program are vital to supporting a reduction in environmental pollution and ultimately a safer community. This proposal is specifically to address increasing costs to operate the facility and represents Boulder’s share of the facility use.
  • Marshall Landfill Operations from Wastewater Treatment (Realignment; $45,000; Ongoing). The Marshall Landfill is a closed landfill and Superfund site located south of Boulder that requires ongoing city involvement due to historical use of the landfill and associated environmental concerns with the landfill and surrounding area. The duties and responsibilities of the city with the landfill are based in regulatory compliance and monitoring of the site with other obligated parties, which are functions that the city’s Water Quality team is best equipped to provide. This budget proposal effectively transfers operational funding from the Wastewater Treatment team to the Water Quality team, so that expenditures and oversight can be coordinated more efficiently.

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

  • Increased protection of environmental system health.
  • Reduction in direct pollutant discharge into waterways and ecosystems.
  • Improved permit oversight and compliance that supports public health and community safety.

Measurements

  • Backflow device tracking and compliance.
  • # of sanitary sewer overflows.
  • # of days in compliance with drinking water and wastewater standards.
  • Utilization of hazardous waste management facility.
  • Stable water quality based on sampling at the Marshall Landfill and compliance with EPA and state regulations.