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Minutes 11-27-90MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION MEETING HELD IN COMMISSION CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1990 AT 5:00 P.M. PRESENT Gene Moore, Mayor Lee Wische, Vice Mayor Liltian Artis, Commissioner Denys "Sam" DeLong, Commissioner Arline Weiner, Commissioner J. Scott Miller, City Manager Sue Kruse, City Clerk Jim Cherof, City Attorney Mayor Moore called the meeting to order at 5:00 P. M. City Manager Miller said the purpose of the meeting was to interview three Engineering Consultants for the Aquifer Storage Recovery Program. The Utilities Department received approximately six or seven proposals, and they had narrowed the field to these three. The Consultants had been informed their presentations would be limited to 20 minutes. City Manager Miller advised the City Commission could then make its selection or hold off the selection for further studies. Presentation by CH2M Hill, Engineers, Planners, Economists, Scientists J. I. Garcia-Bengochea, Ph.D., P.E., 7201 N. W. llth Place, P. O. Box 1647, Gainesville, FL, Director of Ground Water Resources for CH2M~Hill, stated they have about 40 ground water Engineers, Geologists and Specialists in Florida. There are 14 in Deerfield Beach. Mr. Garcia-Bengochea is responsible for their work. He has been dealing with water resources for 31 years and has been involved in the develop- ment of well fields, wells, injection wells, and just recently Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR). Mr. Garcia- Bengochea introduced the project team and commented about the experience of each person on the team. R. David G. Pyne, P. E., Water Resources Engineer, from the Gainesville office, would be the City's Project Director. He stated the City has an insufficient well water supply to meet peak amounts. That was why the City had discussions with the County Health Department about whether the City would have sufficient water to enable it to continue issuing building permits. Right now, the City has limited treatment capacity. Improvements are underway at the East Water Treatment Plant that should upgrade that capacity to 20.5 mgd this summer. The West Water Treatment Plant will come on line presumably about mid-1993. 1 MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIUA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 Mr. Pyne emphasized that increasing the treatment capacity did not get around the fact that the City has an insufficient raw water supply. Compounding the problem is the fact that the City has a declining capacity in many of its existing wells. Two of the existing wells have already been lost to salt water iqtrusion, which is a severe problem. In an effort to inqrease the City's raw water supply, some of the wells were d~ePened. When they were deepened, the City got more water, ~ut some of the water had naturally high ammo- nia concentrations. This is a significant challenge to the City because|the ammonia makes it difficult for the City to maintain a ch bution system peak months, peaks was to not a good lo utility reven has a lower s makes it hard lorine residual out to the ends of the distri- Compounding that is the. fact that in the ~art of the approach the City used to meet the ~educe system pressures. Mr. Pyne said this is ~g-term practice. It reduces the City's ues and because of reducing pressures, the City peed of water moving t~rough the pipes, which mr to maintain a chlorine residual. Those were the challenges, but Mr. Pyne said ASR could assist the City to meet the challenges. He explained that ASR is a storage reservoir underground. When water is available, water is stored about 1,000 feet in the ground and recovered during peak demands. Mr. Pyne said hundreds of millions of gallons of water may be stored at each well. He stated this is not an emergency backup but something the City should do routinely, every year. By doing that, Mr. Pyne told the City Commission the City would reduce the cost of water system expansion by at least 50% and sometimes as much as 90%. It would be a tremendous cost savings for the City and would enable the City to defer major investments in capital facilities. In 1995, when it comes time to add Phase 2 of the City's West Water Treatment Plant, ASR should enable the City to defer that and save those millions of dollars. Mr. Pyne showed how ASR would work in the City. He said the City would have the opportunity to pump its wells at their capacity without pulling aquifer levels down. The City would also have the opportunity to treat the water up to the design capacity of its treatment facilities. This is an efficient way of conserving water that would otherwise be lost to the ocean. To approach ASR in Boynton Beach, Mr. Pyne said a sure bet wOuld be a Florida aquifer ASR well. It would be the same MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 as the four ASR installations CH2M Hill has developed in Florida. They go down about 1,000 to 1,200 feet. Mr. Pyne referred to a storage zone they identified in Marathon which was down about 600 feet. CH2M Hill believes that zone is probably in Boynton Beach and will probably be appropri- ate for ASR purposes in the City. During the course of constructing the ASR well, Mr. Pyne stated they would collect data on the way down. If the zone is present, CH2M Hill will make a cost correction and reduce the cost of constructing the City's ASR facilities by 20% to 30%. The City now gets all of its water supplies from a shallow aquifer. Mr. Pyne told the Commission that CH2M Hill believes it may be possible to redo the two wells that were lost through salt water intrusion, put them into an ASR mode, and gain some life from them. He alluded to permitting and asked that this be considered as a parallel rather than a substitute effort. After expounding about ASR, Mr. Pyne said the City's objective is to take water, store it in a brackish aquifer, get it out, and drink it. If the City designs a well like a regular production well, the City will stand a chance of having brackish water no one can drink when it is pumped out. If it is designed like a deep injection system on the brackish aquifer, the City will not get much water back out. Albert Muniz, P. E., Division Manager, Water Resources and Civil Engineering, CH2M Hill, Hillsboro Executive Center North, 800 Fairway Drive, Suite 350, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441, has managed five ASR projects. Two of the projects he managed are Lake Okeechobee and Marathon. Mr. Muniz said the ASR facility should be located at the east plant. He confirmed Mayor Moore's understanding that salt water intrusion is now there, but he added what they were proposing would be at a much deeper interval. Mayor Moore wondered whether there could be salt water intrusion at some point in the future. Mr. Muniz answered "No", and he explained why. He added that when they construct this well, they will have a pipe line to the raw water supply going into the plant and instead of wasting that water, they will use that to initially augment the City's raw water supply through ASR. Mr. Muniz explained that the water would be coming from the well. It will be brackish and it cannot be put through the distribution system without treat- ment, but it can be blended and allow another 1 mgd or 2 mgds. MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 Mayor Moore inquired why they could not go further west and avoid any possibility of salt water intrusion. Mr. Muniz explained they are creating an underground reservoir, so they are not concerned with salt water there. He indicated the two wells that are not being used. CH2M Hill talked to the Water Management District, and permitting is a real concern. The District is trying to control the salt water coming into the east coast of Florida, and they want to limit pumping in this area. The City now does not have the extra well water capacity to leave a buffer. The permitting is not as simple as using a Floridan or Hawthorne aquifer. Mr. Muniz told Mayor Moore it is not because of location. It is salt water intrusion. If they go further west, there will be the addi- tional cost of piping. One option would be to install an ASR well when the City's membrane plant comes on line. He reiterated the City would be going 600 to 1,000 feet deeper than the surficial, so the City should not worry about the salt water. The water is already brackish. Mr. Muniz showed pictures of well facilities in Cocoa Beach and other locations which CH2M Hill constructed. He explained the systems. Mr. Muniz stated they will get water to the City as soon as possible. The first phase will be design and permitting. Mr. Muniz estimated the permitting would take about 90 days. Based on their experience, they will design the well in two months or less and prepare the permits. Simultaneously, before they begin construction, they will go out to bid, but they will not issue a notice to proceed to the Contractor until they have the permit. That will allow the Contractor to begin construction imme- diately. This will take about 3 or 4 months. Most of the work will be 24 hours a day. During the first phase and testing, Mr. Muniz said they plan to take whatever water they draw and go directly to the City's plant to give the City more capacity. The water supply will increase the City's capacity and let the City return to its normal distribution pressures. With storage underground, especially in the Floridan aquifer, chemical processes occur that reduce the ammonia naturally. The City's capacity can also be increased through blending. The salt water intrusion will be pushed back because the stress of the surficial zone that is salty will be reduced. With ASR and the schedule they have, Mr. Muniz felt CH2M Hill could meet the City's near term demands. Mayor Moore asked What the cost of the project would be. Depending on which zone they find, Mr. Muniz said the total MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 construction cost and everything would probably be in the order of $600,000 to $750,000. Mr. Guidry informed Mayor Moore they would be funds that were automatically earmarked out of the $600,000 to $650,000 programmed for the East Water Treatment Plant. Mr. Pyne elaborated about CH2M Hill's experience. They designed and constructed four operational ASR facilities in the State of Florida (Manatee County, Peace River, Cocoa, and Port Malabar). In development, they have projects in Marathon, Lake Okeechobee, and Tampa. The Lake Okeechobee project is the concept that would apply to the City's West Well field. It is a concept of taking water out of one of the canals contributory to the lake, storing it in the Floridan aquifer, and recovering it to replenish the aquifer in the vicinity of the well field with no treatment what- soever. Mayor Moore asked what the difference would be between aquifer recovery and an injection well. Mr. Pyne replied if you try to store water in an injection well, you do not get any back. He expounded on CH2M's familiarity with the City's needs and told of what they have done for the City. Mr. Muniz stressed this is not a simple concept. It has technology. Over the years, they have learned the pitfalls and will not repeat them at the City's expense. Mr. Muniz stated this will minimize the City's risk of having a moratorium. Mr. Garcia-Bengochea introduced Gregory T. McIntyre, P.E., Vice President and Regional Manager, from the Deerfield Beach office. Vice Mayor Wische asked how many ASR projects the proposed Project Manager has managed. Mr. Muniz answered that he has managed five thusfar in southeast Florida. Vice Mayor Wische inquired whether the Project Manager specified in the booklets would still be heading the team. Mr. Muniz answered affirmatively. Presentation by Geraghty & Miller, Inc., Environmental Services, 11382 Prosperity Farms Road, Suite 125, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410, and Reese, Macon & Associates, Inc., 3003 S. Congress Ave., Suite 1E, Palm Springs, FL Vincent P. A~y, Vice Chairman of the Board, Geraghty & Miller, stated Geraghty & Miller (G & M) have four offices 5 MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 and approximately 175 people in Florida. He stated he would be the principal in charge of the project, and William D. Vogelsong will be the Project Manager. Thomas L. Tessier, Vice President and Senior Consultant, has been with the company for 20 years, the last 13 of which have been in the Palm Beach area doing exploration develop- ment of ground water from the shallow surficial aquifer and the Floridan aquifers. James Wheatley, Senior Associate and Senior Project Advisor, had extensive experience in injec- tion well design, water supply well design, and permitting. Mr. Amy elaborated on the experience of other key persons anticipated for the project. Mr. Amy had a chart showing what they could do, and he explained. They focused their attention on the eastern well field because they believed it would be in the City's best interest to take every step possible to utilize an ASR program that will (1) provide storage of water in the shallow aquifer and (2) prevent further encroachment of salt water into the eastern well field. If nothing is done and pumpage continues, Mr. Amy said eventually there will be a degradation of the quality of water in the eastern well field to a point where the wells would literally have to be taken out of service or some other form of treatment would be required. A model study was performed to determine what the status of fresh and salty ground water relationships would be in the vicinity of the eastern well field. Mr. Amy informed the Commission their conclusion was there is a threat to the well field, but the concept they devised will prevent that from happening. He stated the eastern well field is the major source of water to the City, and it will be needed in the future. Mr. Tessier, Project Advisor, did a lot of work in the shallow aquifer in the Boynton Beach area. He advised that the eastern well field has to continue to operate until the western water plant comes on line, and it has to continue to operate at or very close to its capacity well into the future. Even when the western water plant comes on line and the western well field is operating, the City will need the total capacity of both well fields and both water plants to supply its future needs. The eastern well field consists of five smaller well fields. Well field ~2 was taken out of service many years ago. Water is supplied principally by well fields ~s 3, 4 and 5. Well field ~1 has three wells that are not operating frequently because they are the closest to salt water, and they have shown some indication 6 MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, PLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 of a rise in chloride concentration, indicative of salt water intrusion. Before any wells were in place, Mr. Tessier said the salt water intrusion front was rather stable. Salt water is heavier than fresh water, so it sits thicker at the bottom of the aquifer. As a result of the well field operations, the salt,water intrusion front has moved inland, and there is a little salt water intrusion, probably coming from the Intracoastal Waterway, at the shallow depth. Without any water being put back into the eastern well field, Mr. Tessier stated eventually the salt water front will extend all the way through the well field in the lower producing zone and in the upper producing zone. In a model being done by G & M, they are recharging water into the eastern well field area, thereby holding back the salt Water front. Their ASR approach places a priority on protecting the eastern well field. Mr. Tessier clarified he was talking about a system that will push the salt water out of the aquifer and closer to its original position. In order to hold back salt water intrusion, Mr. Tessier said a portion of that water will have to stay in the ground, but a portion would still be available to meet the City's peak n!eeds. Mr. Tessier explained the difference in a tradi- tional ASR program, where the water is stored in the Floridan a~uifer and brought up, versus this program is that in addition to reducing the peak demands of the City's water system, they are also protecting the well field from salt w~ter intrusion. Mr. Tessier stated they have been working in southeast F~orida since 1958 and have maintained an office in Palm B~ach County since 1974. He outlined the experience of the p~oject team. Mr. Tessier said they have worked for coastal utilities in Palm Beach County, who have had salt water intrusion. They are now working with the Village of Tequesta, Seacoast Utilities, and Delray Beach. They just f~nished several projects for Jupiter. They have worked for Riviera Beach utilities and put an emergency well field in f~r West Palm Beach. For the last five years, they have worked for the City of Boynton Beach. Mr. Tessier told of the work they have done for the City. Vice Mayor Wische noted Mr. Tessier talked about injection and well fields, and he asked whether they apply to ASR. Mr. Tessier answered affirmatively. He added that an ASR 7 MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 program has two elements: (1) an injection element, and (2) a withdrawal element. Mr. Tessier continued by saying they have not worked on that many ASR projects in which you put the water down the well and take it out of the same well. Vice Mayor Wische inquired how many operating ASR systems G & M has in Florida. Mr. Tessier replied they do not have any operating systems in Florida where the water goes down the well and comes back out the same well. They have the only two permitted systems in Palm Beach County that are shallow injection systems of wastewater, which is a unique situation. Vice Mayor Wische asked how many ASR projects the proposed Project Manager had managed. Mr. Tessier answered that the Project Manager is a resident of Boynton Beach, but he has not managed ASR projects because the firm does not have ASR projects. The Project Manager specified is still head of the team. Mayor Moore asked how much their proposal would cost. Mr. Tessier replied what they were proposing would cost in the range of $150,000 to $200,000 to get a system in and Operating with wells and everything. That would be engi- neering, consulting, and the estimated cost of construction. Mr. Tessier added they were focusing on getting water into the shallow aquifer. Presentation by James M. Montgomery Consulting Engineers, I~nc., 2328 - 10th Avenue North, Lake Worth, FL Edward D. Wetzel, Ph.D., P.E., Vice President and Project Manager, introduced the members of the team, who were present. Mr. Wetzel told about the firm (JMM) and said they wrote a t~ext book on water treatment. He stated they are experts in the area of the new drinking water regulations. They have been in Florida for 20 years and opened their Lake Worth oiffice in 1984. _About 85 Engineers, Geologists, and Hydro- gieologists are in their two south Florida locations (Lake WOrth and Fort Lauderdale). All of the water resources p!eople on this project are located in Lake Worth, and the engineers on the project team are located in the Fort Lauderdale office. Their regional design center is in the Plantation office. Mr. Wetzel noted the City was in a tenuous position of having just enough well water supply to fill the demands of the community. He elaborated about the peak and dry seasons. MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 Patrick J. Gleason, Ph.D., P.G., JMM's Technical Review Committee Chairman, is knowledgeable about permitting issues and is responsible for the Water Resources Technology Center. He stated water conservation is the answer to the City's problem. ASR is water conservation. Boynton Beach has been in the lead as one of the utilities that has been conserving water. Mr. Gleason told how the City has con- served water. Mr. Gleason apprised the Commission that the Water Management District has mandated a strong water conservation program. He showed a diagram and explained ASR. The Floridan aquifer was the aquifer they were considering as the zone in which to store water. Vice Mayor Wische asked how deep it would be. Mr. Gleason answered~it is about 900 feet below the floor of City Hall. The zone he was talking about may go down to 1,200 feet. Mr. Gleason said they would draw water from the surficial aquifer and send it to the aquifer storage and recovery well, which penetrates to the Floridan aquifer. Vice Mayor Wische asked whether Mr. Gleason had experience with the recovery of water. Mr. Gleason answered affirma- tively and added ASR is a water management concept. He was talking about the construction of a well in which the City could inject water down into a deep aquifer and pull the water'back up. Mr. Gleason pointed out that ASR can be utilized in the surficial aquifer. The reason it was not proposed was because it would be difficult to implement in Boynton Beach. It would be more effective to go with the deep aquifer. Mr. Gleason told Mayor Moore at this time, they did not believe it would be effective to return the salt water interface, utilizing this technique. Mr. Gleason felt permitting was a key issue. In their Lake Worth office, they have all of the disciplines to accomplish that. Mr. Gleason explained the roles of the members of the team. He stated they have a variety of ASR projects. For 25 years, they have been involved in aquifer injection storage and recovery projects. Mr. Gleason alluded to Las Vegas, which is a project similar to the one in Boynton Beach. He concluded by saying Boynton Beach is confronted with some serious water quality issues that may impact the program. T. Clay Blanton, Project Engineer, a resident of Boynton Beach, has had 20 years of experience in the design of water sUpply and treatment. He named water quality issues that are involved with an ASR well. Mr. Blanton said Boynton Beach has a situation where the ammonia concentration in 9 MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 the surficial aquifer is high. There have been claims that the ammonia can be treated in the Floridan aquifer, but JMM's philosophy is that should not be done. Mr. Blanton explained that when you remove ammonia in the Floridan aquifer, you are encouraging biological growth in the aquifer, and that has a tendency to plug the aquifer. JMM's approach was to maintain the quality in the Floridan aquifer. Mr. Blanton said the recovered water would contribute about 5% to 10% of the total flow coming out of the plant in full capacity. That would not be a significant impact on the water quality, but it would be a significant impact on the amount of water the City could give its customers. Mr. Blanton did not believe the aquifer should be used for the treatment of ammonia or other contaminants. Mr. Gleason apprised the Commission that the Water Manage- ment District indicated there is money to construct ASR systems. JMM talked to a number of people at the District, and the people indicated there is money in at least three different sources in the Water Management District. The Water Management District has allocated $250,000 in this year's budget for an east coast utility to construct an ASR project. JMM thinks the facility will be Boynton Beach. J~ talked to the District about Boynton Beach specifically, and everything they heard was very positive. If JMM is selected, Mr. Gleason stated they will attempt to obtain those funds to assist the City. Mayor Moore asked what the estimated cost of the project would be, including engineering and construction. Mr. W~tzel suspected it would be $400,000. Mr. Blanton thought the key was the protection of the aquifer. A lot of money is being invested in the well. The most economical way to use it is to preserve the quality of the water, bring it back, and put it directly into the distribution system. If the aquifer deteriorates in quality, the same facility can still be used and it can come back for a retreatment process for a particular removal and for disinfection. The Floridan aquifer has significant fair water quality. That water can be blended with the City's water treatment plant water to produce a quality of water and increase the quantity of water the City can sell in its distribution center. If the quality of the aquifer i~ maintained, the City can keep it from plugging. It can be used in combination with reverse osmosis (r.o.) to produce a very high quality water that can be blended with the existing water treatment plant water. 10 MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 Vice Mayor Wische asked how many operating ASR systems JMM now has in Florida. Mr. Gleason replied they have none in Florida, but they have a number of them across the country. He thought that was a benefit because they have experienced a number of different aquifer systems across the country with different kinds of variations. Vice Mayor Wische noted Mr. Wetzel would be the Project Manager, and he wondered how many ASR projects Mr. Wetzel had managed. Mr. Wetzel had not managed any projects of that type. He and Vice Mayor Wische further commented about project management. Vice Mayor Wische preferred to go with experienced people in this type of work. Procedure for Voting and Vote City Manager Miller had prepared ballots. After discussion, it was decided the first choice of each person on the Commission should be shown as 91 on his or her ballot. The second firm chosen should be shown as ~2 on the ballots, and the third firm should be shown as ~3. Mr. Guidry preferred they follow the above procedure because if negotiations should fail with the firm chosen as ~1, the City can swing to ~2. Commissioner DeLong wished the record to reflect her appreciation of the time given her by the three firms. There was discussion about what the firms had recommended and the difference in costs. Mayor Moore thought they should go out west and store the water, where there would be no possibility of salt water intrusion. Four or five years from now, he predicted the firms would come back and say they should go out west. None of the firms suggested going west. Mr. Guidry interjected they were talking about two totally different aquifer systems. After further comments, Vice Mayor Wische stated the City is at a critical point with water. He thought they had procrastinated enough. Mr. Guidry informed Mayor Moore the difference in costs were because the lower cost would be for a more shallow aquifer. He elaborated. Mayor Moore asked who recommended the three firms. City Manager Miller answered the Utilities Department, and he was also involved. Mayor Moore questioned whether there was any indication of t~ime. Mr. Guidry thought the construction would take about 11 MINUTES - SPECIAL CITY COMMISSION BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA NOVEMBER 27, 1990 six months. The testing period for one cycle would probably be one year. Mr. Guidry confirmed Mayor Moore's understand- ing that when the water gets into the reservoir, it will not have to be treated~~ Mayor Moore inquired why they would need a plant. Peter Mazzella, Assistant to the Director of Utilities, replied because the water has been treated and is being pumped into the reservoir. Mr. Guidry advised chlori- nation will have to be added, because the aquifer will take out the chlorine. City Manager Miller announced there was a tie in the votes between CH2M Hill and James M. Montgomery Consulting Engineers, Inc. The Commission again marked ballots to indicate their choice between these two firms. CH2M Hill received the most votes and was the #1 choice. JMM came in second. The firms were called back into the Chambers and informed of the Commission's decision. ADJOURNMENT The meeting properly adjourned at 6:3~M. CITY,ON BEACH Vice MayoY~-~ ATTEST: Commissioner Ci%y~Clerk (Two Tapes) ~L~x JCd'mmis s ioner 12