Lafayette updates council on water supply, storage and an integrated drought plan

LAFAYETTE, Colo. — Lafayette’s public works and water-resources staff on April 22 gave city council a technical update on current water-supply conditions, storage capacity, longer-term projects and a new integrated water efficiency and drought-response plan that staff will bring back for council review later this year.

Jeff Arthur, public works director, said the update was intended to give council a broad overview rather than immediate action recommendations. "We're not here tonight with any immediate recommendations for council action," Arthur said, and added staff would remain "vigilant" and ready to move quickly if conditions change.

Water resources manager Carrie Gishoff, water-resources analyst Mitch Zombek and other staff walked council through Lafayette’s portfolio. The city draws about 80% of its supply from the Boulder Creek Basin — diverting to Goose Haven and Baseline reservoirs and then to the Baseline treatment plant — and roughly 20% from the Upper Colorado River Basin via Colorado-Big Thompson (CBT) and Windy Gap allotments through Northern Water.

Gishoff explained how Colorado’s prior-appropriation system affects diversions and operation of head gates and described Lafayette’s existing storage and conveyance: Baseline Reservoir is roughly a 5,000 acre-foot reservoir of which Lafayette owns 70% (about 3,000 acre-feet of capacity), and two additional storage cells at Goose Haven were scheduled to come online this summer to expand near-term storage. The city currently owns nearly 1,200 CBT units that typically yield about 0.7 acre-foot per unit (roughly 800 acre-feet on average), staff said.

Staff summarized several regional and near-term projects affecting Lafayette’s supply and resilience: the Windy Gap Firming Project and Chimney Hollow Reservoir (Northern Water) — in which Lafayette has 900 acre-feet of ownership — the Gross Reservoir enlargement (which includes a 5,000 acre-foot environmental pool: Lafayette’s allocation was described as 3,000 acre-feet), and the longer-term Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) with a projected yield of about 1,800 acre-feet and a multi-billion-dollar cost estimate.

Mitch Zombek presented data indicators used for operational decisions: reservoir storage totals, snowpack and Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) readings, statewide reservoir storage, streamflow forecasts and soil-moisture percentiles. He told council that Lafayette’s system storage was roughly 82% of one-year supply at the time of the briefing and that local snow water equivalent was about 80% of median while year-to-date precipitation stood at about 94% of median.

Based on current indicators, staff recommended no immediate shift to additional demand-reduction measures beyond Lafayette’s year-round outdoor-watering rules (irrigation limited to three days per week, between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m.). Arthur and Gishoff said staff would continue to monitor conditions and would return with specific demand-management proposals if the plan’s triggers are met.

On drought planning, Gishoff described a new integrated water-efficiency and drought-response plan being developed with consultants (Interra) and the Growing Water Smart team. The plan will bring together conservation and drought-response measures, establish quantitative triggers and tiered response levels, and propose implementation metrics and outreach. Staff said they secured a state water-plan grant to cover approximately 70% of the plan cost, and the schedule calls for a draft later in 2025, a public 60-day review, and final council approval in the first quarter of 2026 before submittal to the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) for state approval.

Arthur also told council that the city is working with Raftelis financial consultants to update water rates, fees and tap/dedication policies. Staff noted that major capital projects — including potential new storage and treatment capacity — carry multiyear financing implications and that tap fees and new-customer contributions are part of the city’s strategy to align cost recovery for growth with rate affordability for existing customers.

Councilors asked technical questions about head gates and calls on the river, how CBT shares are acquired (generally market/auction-based within the district), and whether additional storage at Goose Haven would be exclusive to Lafayette (staff said the new cells would be for Lafayette storage). No formal motions or votes were taken; staff will return with the draft integrated plan and any rate proposals later this year.