Water Supply Coordinating Council
February 1, 2012
Final Minutes
ADMINISTRATIVE – KathyStiller
Meeting was called to order at 10:10 a.m. by KathyStiller, followed by introductions. Attendance list is below.
Minutes
TheOctober 26, 2012 minutes were corrected requested by Vic Singer to be revised regarding his discussion with Kathy Stiller on the DGS ground water monitoring project. He offered substitute language which was accepted by Kathy. The revision has been made accordingly. This exchange also prompted a request that only the final minutes be posted, rather than the draft minutes, as had been posted from the previous meeting. All agreed.
Final minutes will be posted online at
WATER CONDITIONS REPORT – DGS – Stefanie Baxter
Stefpresented a summary of hydrologic conditions, with the full analysis found on In general the conditions in January were above normal, while last year at this time it was approaching water shortage. This is a continuing effect of the large excess over the previous months. Stream flows that were below or much below normal in the first half of 2011 had recovered since then. However, the excess amounts would “fall off” shortly and the index will drop sharply. Stewart asked if it was a record surplus and Stef said actually the index was highest in December, 1996 at 30.
FORECAST SYNOPSIS – Dan Leathers, State Climatologist
No report was available due to the absence of Dr. Leathers.
Explanatory Note: Dr. Leathers was inexplicably missing from the email distribution list and was unaware of the meeting. This has since been corrected.
WATER UTILITY REPORTS
Artesian– Joe DiNunzio: Joe reported demand was down, continuing a declining trend since implementation of the plumbingcode revisions. Ground-water levels were seasonally normal.ASR has 10 MG in storage, with the plan to recharge back to 130 MG by May.
Newark–Roy Simonson: Roy reported demand was typical of January, and that there had been some increase due to population growth. Stef asked about the impact of the student population. Roy said they do drive demand.
New Castle-Chip Patterson: Chip explained the City had been implementing various system improvements over the past three years and would begin anew with a five year improvement plan. Otherwise they were in good shape.
United Water Delaware– Susan Skomorucha: Susan said demand was running in the 16 to 17 MGD range, being slightly above normal for the period, and that their ASR system had 16 MG in storage.
Wilmington– Matt Miller: Matt stated demand was rather low at about 15 MGD, from a more typical 18 or 20 MGD, but this has actually helped to do some system maintenance work, for example at Porter reservoir. He said Hoopes Reservoir was down two feet from full.
Sussex Shores – Not present
Tidewater - Sheila Shannon: Sheila reported that Tidewater’s previous quarter saw a decline in demand. She too believes this is a reflection of conservation measures similar to what Artesian has experienced.
KENT-SUSSEX WATER SUPPLY PLAN – DGS: Pete McLaughlin/Amanda Lawson
WRA:Jerry Kauffman
Pete reviewed the current proposed schedule and is aiming for a completion of DGS’s portion of the work by May, 2012. As an aside he noted the influx of businesses in the Middletown area, and with the resource planning work in place in Southern New Castle County, he believes the work we are doing for Kent and Sussex will be just as valuable when growth starts to increase downstate.
He reiterated the project goals and he and Amanda provided some details on progress since October, and admitted they were still behind but making steady progress. They were nearly done mapping for the confined aquifers, but still needed to resolve the boundaries and up-dip limit for the Pocomoke. Gaps in Tidewater’s data were being filled, and likewise for Artesian where usage data was needed for several new production wells. The most complete records for agricultural use were from 2005 and 2006, and they had no records for 2008. They planned to meet with DNREC to do a data review, and likewise with USGS to review usage in the ag and domestic supply sectors. They wanted to complete this by the end of the month. Vic asked about usage estimation methods in the ag sector, and Pete explained it is based on irrigation census data. Laura Mensch advised Pete to ask Secretary Kee for a contact on irrigation data. Pete said he had already set up a meeting to talk to DDA’s James Adkins (DDA’s irrigation expert). Discussion on the DGS work ended with some additional details on the water use data.
Jerry wrapped up the segment by emphasizing that we strive for a first draft in March, a second in April, and the final in May for delivery by June 15th. Kathy suggested the legislature be given briefing by early June at the latest.
GROUNDWATER AVAILABILITY PROJECTS IN SOUTHERN NEW CASTLE COUNTY (SNCC) & NORTHERN KENT COUNTY (NKC) – DGS – Scott Andres
Scott stated the project P.O. was in the works and if things go according to plan, they can begin drilling in May. He said the DGS was appearing before the JFC today and would be proposing a similar project in other locations in the state, but did not elaborate where. He noted that this has been a unique experience for him being it was the first time DGS was doing a project using state funds.
Lead by Kathy there was discussion on future funding for the project, for example the lack of utility money toward it, the bridge funding to cover work in FY13, and how to secure the funding for FY 14 selling the project as priorityfor the bond bill committee.
OTHER BUSINESS
Bruce reminded the demand projections for the utility filings are due in March. Jerry said he would take care of it and Stewart requested he be copied, along with, of course, Artesian and United. Victor thought perhaps a meeting should be held to review the projections, but Kathy was skeptical that would be justified.
Kathy closed with a review of some of the key issues she is involved with now in the DRBC gas well drilling and fracking controversy. David Wunsch noted that he had just co-authored an issue paper for the National Ground Water Association on the subject.
NEXT MEETING – CHAIR
May 2, 10:00 a.m. to Noon.
ADJOURN
Meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
These minutesare not intended to be a detailed record. They are for the use of the Water Supply Coordinating Council members in supplementing their personal notes and recall of Council discussions and presentations and to provide information to Council members unable to attend. Minutes recorded and submitted by S. Lovell.
Attendees: Listed alphabetically by last name.
First Name / Last NameScott / Andres
Stefanie / Baxter
Joseph / DiNunzio
First Name / Last Name
Lorraine / Fleming
Hal / Godwin
Mary Ellen / Gray
First Name / Last Name
George / Haggerty
Ed / Hallock
Andrew / Homsey
Thomas / Hubbard
Paul / Hyland
Charles / Jenner
Gerald / Kauffman
Bruce / Kraeuter
Amanda / Lawson
Stewart / Lovell
Andrea / Maucher
Peter / McLaughlin
Laura / Mensch
Dorothy / Miller
Bill / O’Brien
Nancy / Parker
Chip / Patterson
Ruth / Price
Thom / Roth
John / Rudd
Joanne / Rufft
Sheila / Shannon
Roy / Simonson
First Name / Last Name
Victor / Singer
Tom / Hubbard
Kathleen / Stiller
Robert / Tudor
LeFeisha / Williamson
Martin / Wollaston
David / Wunsch