TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Kristoff Bauer, Deputy City Manager
FROM: Sheila Thomas-Ambat, P.E., Interim Public Services Director
DATE: December 3, 2018
Title
RE: Stormwater Infrastructure Maintenance Policy
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S): All
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
High quality built environment
Executive Summary:
The City has grown significantly over the past two decades however policies related to stormwater infrastructure maintenance have not kept up with this growth. Staff will provide an informative presentation to Council that highlights the challenges of maintaining, repairing, and replacing stormwater infrastructure in a City of over 200,000 residents.
Background:
Stormwater infrastructure consists of a network of catch basins, drop inlets, swales, pipes, and stormwater control measures (SCM’s) that carry stormwater runoff away from roadways and property, ultimately discharging it into creeks and streams. A great deal of this infrastructure is maintained by the City, but an even larger portion is located on private property and considered the responsibility of property owners.
Responsibility for stormwater infrastructure comes at a cost for the City. Equipment, supplies, and personnel are needed to perform maintenance with a cost proportional to the size of the system being maintained. Additionally, stormwater infrastructure has a life cycle cost that typically requires greater funding for repairs with age and ultimately capital funding for full replacement after the functional life of the system is over.
Peer cities of Fayetteville generally have well defined policies regarding the responsibility for stormwater infrastructure. Almost all North Carolina cities the size of Fayetteville or larger maintain stormwater infrastructure only in the public right-of-way.
Issues/Analysis:
City staff are not currently resourced with the personnel or equipment to proactively and consistently maintain the infrastructure located within the right-of-way in accordance with a defined level-of service. Maintaining the infrastructure outside of the right-of-way would require a significant increase in the operational budget and eventually an enormous investment in capital replacement. Without adoption of ordinance and policy changes, the City is in a position to inherit a significant liability in the form of future stormwater infrastructure maintenance, repair, and replacement.
Budget Impact:
Maintenance of off right-of-way stormwater infrastructure is estimated to be nearly $1.53 million annually and is projected to increase overtime. If the City were to take responsibility for off right-of-way infrastructure, it is estimated that capital replacement costs would be $4.17 million annually and increase significantly over time.
Options:
City Council adopts revisions to the ordinance, approves policy changes to future plat & easement requirements, adopts a policy of performing operations & maintenance only within the City Right-of-Way, and directs staff to develop a “Drainage Assistance Program” for future consideration by Council.
Do not adopt recommended ordinance revisions, do not adopt policy changes, do not direct staff to develop a “Drainage Assistance Program” and provide further direction to the staff.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends the City Council adopts revisions to the ordinance, approves policy changes to future plat & easement requirements, adopts a policy of performing operations & maintenance only within the City Right-of-Way, and directs staff to develop a “Drainage Assistance Program” for future consideration by Council.
Attachments:
Infrastructure Maintenance PowerPoint PDF