Champlain Water District outlines system scope, usage trends and capital approach

Joe Duncan, general manager of Champlain Water District, told the Junction City Council on March 26 that the district is a wholesale water supplier that draws from Shelburne Bay in Lake Champlain, treats water at a plant on Queen City Park Road in South Burlington and delivers it to nine member municipalities, including Essex Junction.

Duncan said Champlain Water District has provided treated water since the early 1970s and that Essex Junction is the district’s largest municipal customer by volume primarily because of GlobalFoundries’ industrial use. “They use around 3,000,000 gallons a day,” Duncan said. He said Essex Junction’s municipal demand is about “0.6 to 0.7[ ]000,000 gallons a day,” and that combined with GlobalFoundries brings system flow in the area to roughly 4,000,000 gallons per day.

Duncan placed those numbers in the context of a multi-decade pattern: removing GlobalFoundries/IBM industrial usage, the district has sold roughly 6,000,000 gallons per day for about 30 years. He described conservation, shifting business patterns and more-efficient buildings as contributors to that long-term flat demand. “One of the challenges that does come with running a water system is trying to encourage conservation,” he said.

On infrastructure and resiliency, Duncan said the district has prioritized capital reinvestment to avoid sudden rate shocks. He explained the district’s policy to place surpluses into a capital improvements plan and to seek moderate, steady rate increases to fund reinvestment. “Our goal is to have a 3 to 5% increase each year in water rates that allows us to reinvest in our infrastructure,” he said, adding that steady adjustments prevent the large spikes the district experienced in the 1990s.

Duncan described recent projects designed to increase redundancy, citing a new pump station near Route 15 that improves reliability between Essex Junction and Essex Town. He also noted growing costs for insurance and cybersecurity coverage and said the board has begun competitive bidding for non-health insurance and is continuing to evaluate options for benefits and property coverage.

Council members thanked Duncan for the presentation and noted they had reviewed the district’s budget materials. The meeting included an invitation to the public to tour the Champlain Water District plant and an announcement of the district’s annual meeting on April 1 at 403 Queen City Park Road.

The council did not take any formal action on rates, contracts or regulations during the presentation; the item was an informational briefing and question period.