Lake County staff said during a work session that the county is close to finalizing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the City of Aurora that would allow the county to start contracting and selling portions of its water.

"Once we have that IGA finalized, obviously, it'll come before you to approve and sign, and I can basically start contracting water the next day," said Bryce, a county staff member who presented the update.

The IGA is the last outstanding element for the county's proposed water enterprise, a new administrative structure intended to let Lake County sell contracts for some of its water, collect revenue and administer county-owned natural resources. Bryce said lawyers are reviewing the agreement after staff-level negotiations and that the county is seeking several operational flexibilities inside the IGA, including year-round (365-day) use and additional diversion points beyond Turquoise Lake and Twin Lakes, such as Hayden Pond and the Mount Massive Golf Course, to improve delivery options.

Why it matters: County officials said the enterprise could create a new revenue stream, reduce the golf course's reliance on valuable augmentation water and give county managers more agency over long-term natural-resource planning. "There's so much pent up demand," Bryce said, adding that "10 folks [are] already ready to apply on day 1." Bryce also told commissioners that delayed finalization of the IGA affected this year's revenue and budget figures.

Most important facts first

• IGA as gatekeeper: County staff described the IGA with Aurora as the critical document required to operate the water enterprise. Staff said the agreement will be returned to the board for approval once lawyers finalize language.

• Operational changes sought: Bryce said the county is seeking permission to use some county water year-round, to add more diversion points within the county (for example, Hayden Pond and the golf course) and to allow Aurora to deliver previously promised water at locations most advantageous to the county.

• Studies and grants: Staff reported ongoing state reporting and grant work tied to the Water Supply Reserve Fund (WSRF) grant. A Dulap Ditch feasibility study — which analyzes the ditch's condition where it cuts through the golf course and whether it can again convey water — was expected to produce results in the coming quarter and tied into the county's water development plan and the water-marketing policy adopted last year.

• Golf-course supply and exchanges: The county is pursuing a suite of technical and legal options to supply the Mount Massive Golf Course while freeing augmentation water. Staff described a Parkville Water District right (Empire Gulch) that the county paid for in the 1980s but never used; staff said an exchange could let consumptive use occur on the golf course while the overall return flows still reach the Arkansas River. Staff also said state Division of Water Resources has indicated the possible existence of a 1 cubic-foot-per-second (1 CFS) water right for irrigating the golf course; engineers advised pursuing use of that right "until we're told otherwise." Bryce said another option would be a straightforward court application to change point of diversion so the same water could be pulled from the golf-course well instead of conveyed through the Dilap (Dulap) Ditch.

• Storage options: Staff outlined multiple near-term storage ideas that would avoid building a large reservoir, including using a county-owned recreation pond for storage (with monthly accounting of evaporative losses shared with Aurora), rehabilitating smaller fire-suppression ponds to serve as storage, and measuring a beaver pond adjacent to the old highway that staff estimated could hold roughly "5 to 10 acre-feet." Bryce said the Forest Service (Pat Mercer) is in preliminary discussions about special-use permits to add control mechanisms to existing beaver ponds.

• Partnerships and engineering: Bryce highlighted continuing relationship-building with other water providers and state engineers. He said Rachel Zancunella, described in the meeting as a top state engineer, attended a meeting in person to help discuss water-for-fire-suppression conditions and had reviewed and signed off on accounting related to the county's plan.

• County natural-resources reorganization: Staff proposed a modest reorganization to place open-space management and county-owned natural-resources responsibilities, including water, under a single office to support strategic decision-making on forest, open space and water assets. The reorganization would fold some open-space duties into the water program and create a smaller department focused on county-owned natural resources.

• Mining-claim review and tax roll options: Brycediscussed a historical portfolio of mining claims the county owns (in many cases acquired via tax liens). He said ownership arrangements vary — some claims with 2%, 5% or 50% county interests and others where the county owns both surface and mineral rights — and proposed studying which fractional or full interests might be appropriate to dispose of and return to the tax rolls, noting state statutes exist that can require property to be put back on the tax roll.

What commissioners and staff asked

Commissioners asked for clarifications on department placement and staffing. One commissioner asked, "Rachel, is Bryce gonna be under you?" and received an affirmative response in the room. Bryce acknowledged budget numbers were "out of whack" this year because he expected to make revenue on the enterprise that did not materialize; he asked for the board's patience while the IGA is finalized.

Direct quotations and attributions in this article come from the meeting transcript and are limited to the speakers listed in the record.

Formal actions and next steps

The discussion took place in a work session; staff said the IGA will be brought back to the board for approval and signature once legal review is finished. No motions or votes were taken during the presentation. Staff also said it will continue grant reporting tied to WSRF, complete the Dulap Ditch feasibility study, pursue potential exchanges with Parkville Water District, and prepare a report on county-owned mining-claim options for the board.

Ending

County staff characterized the next milestone as the legal completion of the Aurora IGA and emphasized that many of the technical steps — accounting sign-off, grant reporting and water-right feasibility work — are already underway. Commissioners and staff said they plan additional work sessions after the budget season to discuss partnership options and specific reservoir or storage proposals.