Chuck Gillette introduced Aaron Anderson, a consultant from Bowen-Collins to present the Irrigation and Culinary Water Master Plan. Some of the original irrigation master plan never had a real level of study done there. They re-did the culinary at the same time they worked on our irrigation master plan. We have a lot of information here and need some guidance from Council and the Planning Commission. Aaron Anderson stated that purpose of this meeting is that we are at a crossroads for future water sources for the City of Ivins and where we want to be headed. The City is growing relatively rapidly and there are an estimated 8400 people living here. Population at buildout using your current zoning and land use plans is at approximately 20k residents. Chuck Gillette stated that the Land Use Plan impacts our buildout number. When we change from Low Density to High Density, it affects the buildout numbers and studies. When people are presenting, remember that we do planning based on our Land Use Plan and we use our plan because that is what it says it is going to be. If we don't like what our Land Use Plan shows we should change it while we revise our studies. We should make those changes now, sooner rather than when a developer asks for them. Aaron Anderson stated based on the projections, typical water usage uses the ERU (Equivalent Residential Unit) as a common unit for measuring it. We are almost a primarily residential community. We look at two different things, annual and peak day demand. A graph from 2010 to current shows cyclical pattern of water use. Annual demand per a typical ERU is .75 acre feet per year. That number is lower than what the state assigns a typical ERU. The state assigns .89 ERU. Ivins uses significantly less water than that. The average day demand per ERU is 670 gallons, peak month is 1126 and peak day demands is approximately 1400 gallons per day. That is our basis in the Master Plan. This is total use. Jeff Loris inquired if this is total use divided by the number of residents? Chuck Gillette stated no this is total use, with parks and everything. Aaron Anderson stated like Tuacahn represents 10 ERU uses-almost 10 residential units. Chuck Gillette stated on Rocky Vista University, we assigned 20 ERUs. Aaron Anderson stated that the Master Plan outlines how we get to these numbers. Looking at our current system and our annual demand is approximately 2700 acre ft per year with a peak say demand of 3500 gallons per minute. Comparing that with our current source capacity we get 3700 acre ft and total source capacity during peak day is 4750 but if the largest source went offline, that reliable yield would go down. Chuck Gillette stated this does not include Kayenta Water. Aaron Anderson stated the Gunlock wells are operated by St George, they are designing a new arsenic treatment plant to increase the capacity in those wells. Ivins has an agreement with St George for about 614 acre ft of water out of the Gunlock wells. Chuck Gillette stated we have been drawing more than that because it is not regulated and St George has been allowing it more than that. We asked for a modification of our agreement, and asked for more water out of the wells, and St George said no. They need that water for their growth. Aaron Anderson stated another source is the Ence well that the City is not currently utilizing. It runs into our system and we have a connection but we haven't used it since 2002 or 2003. Aaron Anderson said that the majority of Ivins water comes from the Snow Canyon wells and from WCWCD regional water treatment plant over by Quail Creek Reservoir. Ivins pulls from two taps right at the intersection of Tuacahn at Snow Canyon Drive and Snow Canyon Parkway. Chuck Gillette stated we pulled approximately 2000 acre feet out of those two or three taps. Aaron Anderson stated that the issue is that all the water is to the East and Ivins has a geological disadvantage because all of the source locations and it takes money to get the water from all the way over there to you. How does Ivins approach future source needs? We can continue to provide all needs through the treated culinary water system or implement the secondary irrigation system, which is a plan about 15 years old and since then the developers put in dry irrigation lines in anticipation of that coming on line one day. Culinary sources are fully allotted. The City of Ivins has a water supply agreement with the WCWCD to provide culinary water through buildout but point of delivery is not specified in the agreement. They could say it is in Quail Creek Reservoir and it would be our responsibility to go get it. Chuck Gillette stated they should help us pipe it here. They have pipeline projects in place in the Capital Facilities Plan and they would possibly help us to do that. Aaron Anderson stated that it is 18 miles to Quail Creek. It would be along the same pipeline alignment. It follows the parkway all the way to Ivins. It would cost upwards of 35 million dollars to do something of that magnitude. Others may participate in it, but this gives you an idea. It is a big undertaking and not ideal. The other option is implementing the irrigation system. A good portion of the City already has them in place. The blue lines on the map show areas where we already have dry secondary irrigation lines in place. The green lines are the Ivins Irrigation Company distribution system. They are old lines from back when Ivins was agricultural and we recommend that we don't use those irrigation company lines for a municipal system. It is a low quality pipe. Chuck Gillette stated since we preserved such a large front yard easement we have an area in the old township and we ran irrigation lines where we could. This could be rolled out in phases. Some orange lines showing are owned by HOAs and they would probably allow us to hook into those. First phase of this project would connect everything that is fairly simple to connect and a new transmission line. Sources for the irrigation system are still uncertain but would more than likely connect to an existing Gunlock pipeline. Hook up to a new tank and pipe the networks to everything in blue color for the first phase. The cost for that would be approximately $6.7 million over a 3 year period to put the pipes in the ground and hook up to users. Chuck Gillette stated that also assumes that we are replacing all areas of asphalt. Aaron Anderson stated the next phase 2 are in gray and those two areas it may be best to keep them on the culinary water system that exists now. The remaining improvements is approximately 8 million dollars over a 6 year period. So a total of 15 million dollars over a 10 year period to get this to the majority if not all users in Ivins. Lance Anderson inquired how many ERUs we would then be serving? Aaron Anderson stated that would be the whole 10 year growth projection. There are also ramifications that tie back into impact fees. Mike Scott inquired if we would have ample access to wastewater, or reuse water? Aaron Anderson stated that Ivins currently has approximately 350 acre ft on Ivins combined irrigation companies' shares. The WCWCD in the Santa Clara formation near the Ence wells has approximately 400 acre ft that are not being used that could be potentially contribute to the City. The most plausible is the St. George treatment facility for reusewater. The issue with reusewater is you need a place to store it. In the winter you can't run that system, because you don't have a demand so it sits there unused but if you have a storage reservoir then you can pump that water and fill the reservoir during the winter and use it in the summer, then you can use it more efficiently. There is still uncertainty on these sources and how much Ivins would pay. Other cities would benefit from storage in Ivins. For storage, two potential reservoir locations for that reuse pipeline could be the Dry Wash Reservoir, a 6000 acre ft reservoir with a cost estimate of $16.5 million or near the Santa Clara Graveyard Wash with a cost estimate of approximately $11.2 million. Aaron Anderson stated that the most ideal scenario is to exchange reuse shares with Gunlock water shares. We could more efficiently tier the water down where it makes the most sense to use it. Whether or not they would consider that exchange is not certain. Funding for the improvements would be to treat all the improvements as source acquisition. The entire secondary system would be an impact fee eligible improvement because the water need is driven by future development, future development pays their appropriate share. We have not completed the impact fee study, but there will be a significant increase to secondary water impact fees and a moderate increase to culinary water rates. There could be some municipal bonds paid back as impact fees come in. There could be some cost share between different entities benefiting from the projects. This is a qualitative not quantitative discussion. Wally Ritchie stated we could go to CIB for bonding but you can't pledge impact fees as collateral. Having a secondary rate structure will help repay this. We have no water bonds out so we have full bonding available. Dennis Mehr if the growth doesn't come, we are left holding the cost of the system. Chuck Gillette stated we don't have a choice. We either build a $35 million pipeline and improve our culinary or we hook up our second irrigation system. Aaron Anderson stated that there are a lot of factors and entities involved now. Chuck Gillette stated it is a source acquisition cost and part of our WCWCD residential water fees, because we will get no benefit from the Lake Powell pipeline. Aaron Anderson WCWCD collects impact fees for an entire service area. Chuck Gillette stated yes, but they need to have projects over on our side. We need to take our numbers and go back to the WCWCD on how we are paying for it. Mayor Hart the WCWCD has pledged to get us water now and in the future to us and all of its partners. However they need to do that. They historically do reasonable things. West side water makes sense and more cost effective. Chuck Gillette stated Ron Thompson has spoken to the need for a West side regional project. Ivins Irrigation Company has agricultural fields that provide water to residents what happens to those shares if those fields develop? There are some places that say if your field develops, you are obligated to sell your shares to the City at the market rate. We need water and then as we build, we need more water. Mayor Hart stated if they tap into our system that is a reasonable request. Jeff Loris inquired who is in charge of the irrigation company now? Chuck Gillette stated Robert Ence is president, Don Morwood, David Hafen, Ron Densley, and Steve Roberts. Aaron Anderson stated that this discussion is to get a feel of which option is most sensible to the City. Lance Anderson stated using the irrigation system means having it in operation and ready to go. Ron Densley stated subdivisions now have a meter on each home. Lance Anderson stated unless the HOA that has one meter. Mayor Hart inquired do we all here agree to pursue this? Chuck Gillette stated we should make the same presentation to the irrigation board. Mayor Hart stated we will send out the professionals to design the most cost effective system. Dennis Mehr inquired on what is the role of the WCWCD? If they have an obligation to provide water to the County, why are they not at this table? Mayor Hart stated they will be. No question. Now is the time to get with them to tell them that we are moving forward with a plan and get a West side water study done. Aaron Anderson stated that WCWCD is willing to work with you and they are on the same team. Mayor Hart stated we are vulnerable. The District and the cities within the county are a very cooperative group and a long history of those types of agreements. Every city has their anticipated growth and are going to try and protect their future needs. Chuck Gillette stated he has the power point that was presented. He will send it to all Planning Commission and City Council. Aaron Anderson stated you would adopt the Master Plan then do impact fee rates. Chuck Gillette stated finish draft of master plan for adoption and then impact fee and rate studies. Jeff Loris these numbers are based off the Land Use Plan, and when we increase the density, we increase the amount of water we use in this area. We need to have that always in the back of our mind. Mayor Hart stated that is why there is a consensus to review the Master Plan, the Land Use plan and have attentive zoning. It is a disadvantage to our current residents when they look at that and see one home for every 5 acres, then it gets rezoned and it seems like more of a default. It is silly to base all of this information on numbers that are not realistic. Chuck Gillette stated we don't use highest density on the zone for planning. Ron Densley stated we could do a moratorium on growth until we get the study back. Mayor Hart stated we have some room and don't get into trouble for a while. Chuck Gillette stated we are good for 3 years but when we make the decision, we need to run with it. Jeff Loris stated we like the open space and we really don't want to have a mass swell. Adel Murphy stated typically we don't do the highest zone choice, but we need to make sure we keep thinking about that. Tom Jorgensen stated that irrigation rates may be the same cost as culinary. Chuck Gillette stated that irrigation has to be less than the cost of culinary, but if we have to pump it from the reuse system we know the pumping cost alone is .80 or .90 cents per thousand gallons. If we can't produce irrigation water for less than $1.00 per thousand gallons, so we may have to raise culinary rates so it gives people an incentive to purchase irrigation water. Dennis Mehr stated we want to incentivize people to not use water. But we need water to live, so should irrigation water be more costly? Mayor Hart stated that through conservation we save, because every gallon saved is a gallon we don't have to plan on. Given the advance of technology we want to review this and what we require. Adel Murphy stated new subdivisions could be xeriscape. Lance Anderson stated a little water brings down the temperature. We need to look at the big picture overall. Chuck Gillette stated other cities are monitoring water usage and penalizing when they are overusing. They are creating water budgets for each meter and there is a penalty if they exceed usage on their water bill. Mayor Hart stated conservation needs to be fair. If people have been here 50 years they are built out with trees and grass, and if it was a budget for each individual house then it is punitive if you go above the water budget. Based on the individual. This needs to be part of our conversation. Chuck Gillette stated there is technology to monitor usage and getting real-time data using antennas. Mayor Hart stated we potentially could go through the land use plan etc and then know the ultimate volume of water we are able to get, and we may need to say that is it. We are done. No more growth. Ron Densley stated he would suggest we move forward with the water company on secondary water asap. Lance Anderson stated as we go through it we want to be part of any WCWCD meetings. Mayor Hart stated yes we will bring them in and also the irrigation water company. Wally Ritchie stated that the irrigation system is really important. The irrigation stretches our culinary system which is a huge benefit for us.
Mayor Hart stated we have three projects in a row that had serious consequences for some of our residents. The City will not and cannot guarantee views. Take a drive and look at a couple of these projects. Craig Flowers is on 300 North. Rob Roush is north of Palisades. This discussion is about sloped terrain. We have a lot of the City that is 2% grade or lower. Chuck Gillette stated Rob Roush is 6%. Mayor Hart drew a diagram as an example with a 5% slope with a developed project down below. We require roads to be at or below existing grade. The road gets cut in with curb and gutter and then we require that lots are a foot above road. Suncrest West was the first one he remembers that had residents really impacted. In the case of the Roush project they took detention dams material, which we allow, so that we save removing that sediment ourselves. But for the last two to three weeks, they have come in and created a flat lot at the higher grade. We have to do something so that this does not continue. Engineers like the developments this way to cover the developer for insurance anytime they go below grade so you can't drain to the street. There has to be another way to pick up the water. The accusation is that the City doesn't care. That is not the case. Jeff Loris stated that all developments are that way, but this is the top row. Mayor Hart inquired can we come down and across so that we don't have an optimum elevation that just annihilates the privacy of anyone below? He encouraged them all to go look to see firsthand. Chuck Gillette has stated that there is a way to do it, but it is riskier and then water collection happens down lower. We have invited the representatives from engineering firms that do projects in Ivins to a meeting to discuss possible alternatives and solutions. The Mayor will be there. It cannot be a quorum, so Jeff Loris, Ron Densley, Lance Anderson can come and bring them all together. We need to come up with a plan to satisfy insurance companies, that engineers can work with, and mitigate this problem. We would have to determine what slope this begins to apply to. There are a lot of considerations. Let's start with that conversation and ask them to help us get something codified. Mayor Hart inquired if they all sense the problem? Should we do something about it? It won't help people that have been affected previously, but let's get it started and come back to the Planning Commission with recommendations and create some language. Ron Densley inquired if this could be incorporated in the land use plan? Mayor Hart stated it would be in the subdivision ordinance and then grading section. When plans come to TRC, the cross-section of the land that shows elevation needs to be a focused topic of discussion. Planning Commission need to address that thoroughly when it comes before them. When there is a plan coming to either body we scrutinize those. Chuck Gillette stated on preliminary plans we have always shown elevations are to adjacent property around it and staff needs to carefully review these elevation changes. Mayor Hart stated that the meeting with engineers will not have a quorum so it wouldn't be noticed. It is just fact finding. It would eventually go through the whole Public Hearing process. We will be the bad guy to some potential developers and this will affect their cost. Mayor Hart stated we just want to say we have done the best we can. There will always be a new development coming in against existing development. Jeff Loris stated we need to follow the natural slope between the developments.