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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/06/2006 INDEX TO MINUTES OF ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY MASTER PLAN PUBLIC WORKSHOP BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DECEMBER 6, 2006 1.CALL TO ORDER........................................................................................ 1 2 2.INVOCATION ............................................................................................... 1 3.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE...................................................................... 2 4.INTRODUCTIONS BY ERIK OLSON ..................................................... 2 5.PROJECT HISTORY ................................................................................... 2 A.NCWTPE .........................................2 ORTH OUNTY ATER REATMENT LANT XPANSION B.CUPA ......................................................................................................2 PPLICATION C.SCW ......................................................................................2 OUTH OUNTY ELLFIELD 6.ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY PLAN .............................................. 3 A.FD .......................................................................................................3 UTURE EMAND B.N-S(5) ...................................................................................3 EARTERM UPPLY YEARS C.L-S(520) .........................................................................3 ONGTERM UPPLY TO YEARS December 6, 2006 1 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY 7.ROLE OF ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT IN WATER SUPPLY ............................................................... 3 8.SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT .................. 4 A.FUECWSPR INDINGS OF PPER AST OAST ATER UPPLY LAN ELATED TO DSLC ...............................................................................................4 EVELOPMENT IN 9.QUESTIONS .................................................................................................. 4 10.PUBLIC COMMENT ................................................................................... 7 11.ADJOURNMENT ....................................................................................... 11 December 6, 2006 2 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY December 6, 2006 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY MASTER PLAN PUBLIC WORKSHOP BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DECEMBER 6, 2006 The Board of County Commissioners of Indian River County, Florida, met in th Special Session at the County Commission Chambers, 1840 25 Street, Vero Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 to discuss current and future water resource issues that affect Indian River County. Present were Chairman Gary C. Wheeler, Vice Chair Sandra L. Bowden, Commissioners Wesley S. Davis, Joseph E. Flescher and Peter D. O’Bryan. Also present were County Administrator Joseph Baird, County Attorney William G. Collins II, Executive Aide to the Board Kimberly Massung and Deputy Clerk Leona Allen. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Wheeler called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. 2. INVOCATION Reverend Jim Newsome of First Baptist Church delivered the Invocation. December 6, 2006 1 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Vice Chair Bowden led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 4. INTRODUCTIONS BY ERIK OLSON Utility Services Director Erik Olson introduced the following speakers: Capital Projects Manager Mike Hotchkiss; Utility Services Engineer Himanshu Mehta; Executive Director of St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Kirby Green; Director Implementation Division, South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Mark Elsner and Dr. Patrick Gleason. Individuals representing City of Vero Beach, Brevard County, St. Lucie County, City of Port St. Lucie, and Fort Pierce Utilities were also present. 5. PROJECT HISTORY A.NCWTPE ORTH OUNTY ATER REATMENT LANT XPANSION B.CUPA PPLICATION C.SCW OUTH OUNTY ELLFIELD Clerk’s Note: All Presentations were made by PowerPoint and are on file in the office of the Clerk to the Board. Michael Hotchkiss, Capital Projects Manager,gave an overview using a Power- Point Presentation (copy on file) on how Indian River County plans to meet future growth. Mr. Hotchkiss explained how the two water treatment plants, Hobart Park and Oslo Road were inter- connected, should one go down, the other would take over. He stated that a capital improvement plan with checks and balances had been developed to ensure that all capital improvements had kept pace with demands. December 6, 2006 2 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Mehta Himanshu, Utilities Services, gave a brief history of the two water treatment plants using a PowerPoint Presentation (copy on file). He discussed expansion plans for the North County Water Treatment Plant and confirmed anticipated demands. 6. ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY PLAN A.FD UTURE EMAND B.N-S(5) EARTERM UPPLY YEARS C.L-S(520) ONGTERM UPPLY TO YEARS Dr. Pat Gleason explained how Indian River County’s demand for additional water over the next five years would expand to the Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA). Originally six wells were proposed for expansion. There are now only three new wells proposed for the next five-year expansion. He reported the new wells would allow the raw water to be applied to the three new treatment skids at the existing facility, which would allow continued use of the existing technology. Since the other three wells were held-off, he said, an alternative still needed to be implemented. He defined the alternatives as: Upper Floridan Aquifer, Surface Water / Reservoirs, Surficial Aquifer or Desalination of Seawater. The implementation would need to be started now in order to have it completed within five years. 7. ROLE OF ST. JOHNS RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT IN WATER SUPPLY Kirby Green, Executive Director of St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) gave a slide presentation that outlined the District’s role in water supply planning, permitting and the development of future water supply projects. He felt Indian River County had adequate Floridan aquifer water sources to meet required needs for the next 20-years based on calculated demands, and it has not been designated as a “water caution area” like Central Florida. December 6, 2006 3 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Further, local Governments are now working together to develop alternative water sources and determine which ones they will use to meet future needs. 8. SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT A.FUECWSPR INDINGS OF PPER AST OAST ATER UPPLY LAN ELATED TO DSLC EVELOPMENT IN Mark Elsner, Implementation Division Director, discussed the Upper East Coast Water Supply Plan and the three counties (Martin, St. Lucie and eastern Okeechobee) that fall into that region. He spoke of future water demands over the next 20-years and the sources that will be used to meet those needs. He reminded the Board that they needed to maximize the development of sources while protecting their resources. Erik Olson, Utility Services Director, recapped the major points from the presentations and encouraged the Board to look beyond the next few years. 9. QUESTIONS Discussion ensued between Commissioner Davis and Mr. Green regarding surface water, the Upper Basin Project, water resources, usage issues, possible connections to the reservoir through C-54 canal, permitting and capturing of the water. Mr. Green responded to several questions posed by Commissioner O’Bryan regarding adequate water flow to the Lagoon. Commissioner O’Bryan was concerned about what surrounding counties were doing to meet future water supplies. Mr. Green mentioned St. Lucie County’s aggressive growth and did not want them tapping ours. December 6, 2006 4 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Barbara Vagara , St. Johns River Water Management District stated that there would definitely be problems meeting certain demands in other Counties and specifically mentioned Melbourne and West Melbourne. Mr. Green explained how the permitting process in both Districts would require existing users and interference with the existing users would be taken into account. If there was interference, then it would have to be decided if the additional wells would be permitted. Bob Ulevich , Administrator for SJRWMD said he had looked into a potential reconnection of St. Johns and Sebastian water districts and as a result they looked at the ability to divert thousands of acre-feed from going into the lagoon (keeping water quality). He mentioned Commissioner Davis’ suggestion with Cloud Grove (regarding the reservoir) saying that it was in the footprint and the idea was to run the water north and south and use it as a repository for time of need. Mr. Ulevich said the project was in the second phase and included western St. Lucie and western Indian River County. Vice Chair Bowden wanted to know if the County would have access to the stored water if it was needed. Mr. Green explained that Indian River County currently had no dibs to that water but to ensure that it would, the County would need to move to an alternative water source, show the need, and get a consumptive use permit. The Chairman called a recess at 4:30 p.m. and he reconvened the meeting at 4:41 p.m. with all members present. Discussion continued regarding desalination, and diversifying sources. December 6, 2006 5 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Mike Slate explained that a large number of wells being applied for are “paper- wells”, meaning they have no water or substance to them. He said that an application could not be made until there was an existing or projected need during the life of that permit. He stressed if the County anticipates future growth needs over the next 20-years, then the application should be submitted promptly. Director Olson believed that with today’s construction, the County has capacity for a few more years. He suggested the Board make a decision by Spring so the next capacity would be in place by 2011 or 2012. Director Olson added, “the key (at that point) would be if we had enough information to submit a consumptive use permit because you cannot bank future water supply allocations”. He anticipates that by summer they will know the amount needed, the direction to go and at that point, be ready to submit the application. Mr. Green reported that they were getting ready to start the next assessment. He explained the planning process to the Board then encouraged the staff to work closely with Barbara Vagara’s staff so certain specifics could be built into the planning process. Chairman Wheeler commented that he felt the County would continue to be in pretty good shape as long as the population and development at build-out was maintained through 2025. Discussion ensued and the Commissioners posed several questions to Mr. Green to learn more about the implementation of a consumption use permit. Commissioner O’Bryan commented that the County did not want to get into a “water-war race” with other Counties. He was concerned that the communities that build-out the fastest could get their consumptive use permits first and get the water. He did not want this County to be penalized because it has better and slower managed growth. December 6, 2006 6 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Director Olson commented that the Board accept the conditions that may exist in 20-years because it continues to be a changing process. 10. PUBLIC COMMENT John Higgs , 45 Wax Myrtle Way, wanted to know if the projections were based upon the property being used as agriculture or if they were based upon the basis of the permitted development under the existing law. Director Olson referred to his graph (on file in the Clerk’s office) then explained that they looked at the existing units, which had come into permit. They looked over the last several years, they looked at today’s circumstances and they projected two-years out. They made no assumption of changes. Discussion ensued as Chairman Wheeler and Mr. Green further explained that Indian River County did not supply water outside the urban service line (except under special circumstances) and they provided details regarding water supply assessments and projections. Bob Swift, 6450 Glendale Road, wanted to see that conservation be looked at and included in the equation. He also hoped the County would establish a leadership role and set a goal of a per capita water consumption reduction by a given year. Chairman Wheeler agreed with Mr. Swift but stated that it needed to be looked at statewide or at least regionally. He told the Board this needed to be added to their list of suggestions. December 6, 2006 7 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Vick Demattia, 29 Sailfish Road, supported Mr. Swift and believed the water capacity would triple if we could capture and impound the gray water then use it for outside irrigation and pools. th Bea Gardner, 4480 25 Lane, did not see where Indian River County’s growth management was going to get us in line to get an application and thought that it would be a punishment down the road. She voiced concern that the County did not have a representative sitting on the Water Management District Board and believed assigning someone should be the first step. th Jens Tripson, 2525 14 Street, was glad to hear concern for the environment. He reminded the Board that they needed to remember that reverse osmosis and desalination have the most detrimental impact on the environment; treating surface water was less toxic to the environment and it should factor into the long-range plans. Daivd Cox , 9495 Periwinkle Lane, expressed his concerns regarding the adding of three more skids and thought something needed to be done soon, due to growth projections. He also believed that the critical period from 2011 to 2025 needed to be addressed. nd David Gunter, , 5280 22 StreetChairman of the Board of Supervisors, for Indian River Water Conservation District, mentioned that when his organization found out about the application for the six wells his people notified Director Olson (and his staff) and recommended starting a monitoring program immediately. He mentioned that he was an existing consumptive use permit holder and he wanted to know how someone would mitigate the “take on quality”. He also wanted the Board to understand that getting a consumptive use permit was not simple, there are many issues that come into play and he hoped the Board would make the right decision. December 6, 2006 8 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Mr. Green replied that it would be very hard to mitigate particular impacts. He said if they think they can mitigate an impact at a lesser cost than developing an alternate water source then that becomes an economic decision that the person who interferes with your well would have to look at. Mr. Green said if it is intrusion, then they may try to build a barrier of some other water source to move further inland. He said they would need a mitigation plan that would reduce pumping in one area and increase pumping in another but the plan would have to be flushed-out as part of the permit process. Karen Abell , 909 Seagrape Lane, was concerned that the water management practices would not harm the residents of Indian River County. She told the Board that the COP criteria was faulted and it needed to be modified. Ms. Abell thought the criteria on “fair share” should be predicated on equalized growth rates, not real growth rates because the Counties to the north and south do not have checks and balances. nd Frank Wegel , 8060 142 Street, expressed how bad the reverse osmosis plants are to the environment. He suggested the County might try capping the wells instead of installing new ones and he wanted to know if St. Johns would take that into account and give our County more surface water from the pending reservoir. Mr. Green explained that if he decided to move to another source, and if he had a justifiable quantity from the source he would be moving from (during the permit process) then he would assume the use would be recognized from the new source. Debra Ecker, 550 Riomar Drive, was pleased to hear Mr. Green say that he was going to reexamine the numbers and modify as needed. She commented that Indian River County may not have the comfort in regards to time in dealing with these issues nor the needs for this County’s water. December 6, 2006 9 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY Lex Kromhout , Vero Beach, shared experiences from a farmer’s perspective. He felt that the Board needed to be responsible and maintain the population limits so there would not be too much of a burden on the water supply. He stressed that water will be a critical issue in 30- years and hoped the Water Management District would find a way to place a priority on the residents and their water needs in relation to other areas that are growing fast and acting irresponsibly to the environment. Robert Adair , Vice Chairman, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Division (FWCD), provided additional information regarding permitted wells and expressed that the County’s biggest concern was during periods of droughts and freezes because they diminished the artesian flow. He provided possible solutions to the Board then suggested the County aggressively pursue well plugging. He said this was an imminent decision that needed to be made now to aggressively and expeditiously pursue a surface water program. He suggested the Board work with Mr. Green, the Board of Directors at St. Johns, and to consider getting representation on the Board. Bob Ulevich , agreed with Mr. Kromhout’s comments and informed the Board that the two districts were generally agricultural and that they were primarily on surface water and secondary on wells. He suggested not using a short-term solution to a problem but to consider extra “straws” in the aquifer. Chairman Wheeler said the Board could not take action at that point because it was a workshop so he requested staff to provide a synopsis with a plan of action as to what the Board would pursue. He also indicated that he wanted a potential timetable in regards to what they could expect in the future. Dr. Gleason summarized the meeting and reviewed the suggested alternative water supplies. He emphasized that a decision needed to be made within five or six months December 6, 2006 10 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY because there are many vigorous steps which need to take place in order to have it on line and producing water by 2011. Dr. Gleason confirmed that he would go through the analysis of the four different alternatives and come back with the results of the investigation and provide it to the Board by Spring. Chairman Wheeler remarked that the workshop was very informative and thanked the audience for participating. 11. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, on Motion duly made, seconded and carried, the Board adjourned at 5:59 p.m. ATTEST: _________________________________ ________________________________ Jeffrey K. Barton, Clerk Gary C. Wheeler, Chairman Minutes Approved: _________________ BCC/Alt Water Supply Pub Workshop/LAA/2006 Minutes December 6, 2006 11 ALTERNATIVE WATER SUPPLY