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Stormwater management utility seeks master plan to address aging infrastructure and flood risks
Summary
Deputy Director Arun Hindepore told council the Stormwater Management Utility is inspecting more inlets, televising pipes and preparing a citywide master plan to address aging assets, climate‑driven flood risk and an asset backlog including the Mill Creek Barrier Dam.
Arun Hindepore, deputy director for the City of Cincinnati Stormwater Management Utility (SMU), told the Budget and Finance Committee the utility is preparing a comprehensive master plan to address aging assets, rising flood risk and an identified inspection and repair backlog.
Hindepore said SMU met an agreed performance target to inspect 15,000 stormwater inlets in fiscal 2025 and has televised about 60% of the storm sewer network to date. ‘‘We are generally pretty happy with our results based on our quarterly output,’’ Hindepore told the committee.
The SMU presentation identified three main service‑delivery challenges: an aging system and asset management backlog (including the Mill Creek Barrier Dam), increasing flood risk and cross‑jurisdictional coordination needs, and constrained finances amid rising material and labor costs. Hindepore said the utility has rehabilitated roughly 13,000 feet (about 2.5 miles) of storm pipe using a dedicated lining contract and added about 3% more televised network coverage since July 1.
Hindepore described the master plan as a citywide, strategic stormwater management study that will prioritize vulnerable and underserved neighborhoods, incorporate Green Cincinnati Plan recommendations, and coordinate with internal partners including the Office of Emergency Services (OES), Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD), the Department of Transportation & Engineering (DOTE) and Parks.
Committee members asked about development review and capacity modeling. Hindepore said SMU staff review development applications to limit downstream overland flow impacts and that the master plan will include system‑wide modeling, similar to MSD’s work, to assess pipe capacity for 10‑, 25‑ and 100‑year storm events. He said SMU is already performing site‑specific capacity assessments in locations such as Lookout and Colerain Avenue in coordination with MSD.
Hindepore highlighted recent operational accomplishments: successful operation of the Mill Creek Barrier Dam during a major rain event in February, replacement of a transformer concrete slab at the barrier dam, expanded televised inspections to roughly 60% of the network, and completion of the first dedicated lining contract to rehabilitate ~13,000 feet of pipe.
Ending: The committee heard SMU’s plan to pursue a citywide master plan and continued rehabilitation; no formal votes or funding commitments were made during the session.
