TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kelly Strickland, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Sheila Thomas-Ambat, Public Services Director
Alicia Lanier, Stormwater Project Manager - Special Projects
DATE: February 6, 2026
RE:Title
Watershed Master Plan - Beaver Creek 1 and Buckhead Creek Top Proposed Solutions
Title
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COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Supports Goal 3. City Investment in Today and Tomorrow, through the Strategic Objective 3.1 Enhance City street connectivity, traffic flow, and stormwater systems
Executive Summary:
Staff seeks concurrence from City Council to approve staff to program the proposed solutions from the Buckhead Creek and Beaver Creek 1 Watershed Studies into the annual CIP prioritization process and pursue grants as applicable.
Background:
The Buckhead Creek Watershed Study has identified 33 proposed solutions at a total estimated planning level cost of $156M. The top 3 proposed solutions range in severity score from 12 to 27 and in estimated costs from $3.6M to $14.7M. The majority of these solutions include capacity expansion.
The Beaver Creek 1 Watershed Study has identified 22 proposed solutions at a total estimated planning level cost of $63.4M. The top 5 proposed solutions range in severity score from 8 to 22 and in estimated costs from $820K to $8.4M. The majority of these solutions include capacity expansion and stream restoration.
Issues/Analysis:
The top proposed solutions are represented as examples of the total 33 proposed solutions for the Buckhead Creek Watershed and the total 22 proposed solutions for the Beaver Creek 1 Watershed. While these are the top proposed solutions for the Buckhead Creek and Beaver Creek 1 Watersheds, all the proposed solutions from Buckhead Creek and Beaver Creek 1 Watersheds will be programmed into the CIP along with proposed solutions from other completed watersheds, with Council’s approval. Proposed solutions presented herein are not moving forward to project development at this time. However, approval enables staff to program them into the Stormwater CIP prioritization process.
The prioritization of proposed solutions takes into consideration several factors before recommending them to Council for project development. Solutions are sorted based on Concern Area Score (“Worst First”) and efficacy. Staff then targets an equitable distribution between watersheds as well as strategic selections, such as a project’s ability to be considered for grant funding or a project’s proximity to other construction related activities (i.e. NCDOT improvements or Resurfacing) and incorporates other co-benefits into the decision-making process.
The prioritization of proposed solutions should not be viewed as a static list to be done in sequential order. As study areas are completed, new proposed solutions are developed that adjust priority ranking and flexibility exists in those proposed solutions ranking the highest.
All proposed solutions recommended to move forward to project development thus far have been brought before Council for approval.
Budget Impact:
There is no impact to the General Fund.
Options:
1. Buckhead Creek Watershed: Council provides consensus to approve the 33 proposed solutions from the Buckhead Creek Watershed Study to enable staff to program them into the annual CIP prioritization process and pursue grants as applicable.
2. Buckhead Creek Watershed: Council does not provide consensus to approve the 33 proposed solutions from the Buckhead Creek Watershed Study and remands back to staff with additional guidance.
3. Beaver Creek 1 Watershed: Council provides consensus to approve the 22 proposed solutions from the Beaver Creek 1 Watershed Study to enable staff to program them into the annual CIP prioritization process and pursue grants as applicable.
4. Beaver Creek 1 Watershed: Council does not provide consensus to approve the 22 proposed solutions from the Beaver Creek 1 Watershed Study and remands back to staff with additional guidance.
Recommended Action::Recommended Action
Buckhead Creek Watershed: Council provides consensus to approve the 33 proposed solutions from the Buckhead Creek Watershed Study to enable staff to program them into the annual CIP prioritization process and pursue grants as applicable.
Beaver Creek 1 Watershed: Council provides consensus to approve the 22 proposed solutions from the Beaver Creek 1 Watershed Study to enable staff to program them into the annual CIP prioritization process and pursue grants as applicable.
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Attachments:
BV1 and Buckhead PS_02022026_Lanier.pdf