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City outlines green stormwater infrastructure plan; ADEQ 604B grant funded evaluation and pilot sites
Summary
Public Works presented a green stormwater infrastructure strategy, cited a completed ADEQ 604B evaluation tool, and proposed candidate sites and a maintenance program to reduce runoff, sediment and nutrient loads into city lakes and creeks.
City of Prescott Public Works on July 1 presented an overview of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) efforts, an ADEQ 604B‑funded site evaluation and a proposed program for design, construction and ongoing maintenance aimed at reducing polluted runoff to city lakes and creeks.
Matt Killeen, Environmental Program Manager, described GSI as a set of measures that "slow it, spread it, sink it" — capturing stormwater where it falls for beneficial use and filtration. Killeen told the subcommittee the city used grant funds to develop a weighted site evaluation matrix that emphasizes grant‑relevant factors (including equity scoring) and that the program is included in the proposed FY‑26 budget with design and construction phases planned.
Killeen said the city will prioritize sites it controls (open space and certain municipal parcels) for initial installations and will pursue partnerships and incentive programs for private development to deploy GSI. He cited the Acker Detention Basin (funded in part by Tenney Ranch subdivision funds) as an example of a successful, maturing basin that provides recharge, habitat and flood‑risk reduction. The presentation also discussed the need for a targeted maintenance program: many existing GSI features have suffered from inconsistent upkeep because responsibilities fall between Streets, Recreation Services and other groups.
Killeen said the city will borrow maintenance approaches from successful programs such as Tucson's "Storm to Shade" and develop a dedicated landscape contract and staffing plan to maintain GSI installations. He also described coordination with other municipal facilities (water reclamation plants, Sun Dog wastewater treatment plant) as candidates for GSI projects.
Council members raised concerns about neighborhood outreach and past experience with the Eastwood/Hillcrest ("Taco Basin") site, where some neighbors initially disliked the design. Killeen and staff said they would proactively engage neighborhood associations, replicate successful volunteer and community planting programs where appropriate, and include dedicated maintenance budgets to avoid the earlier design‑and‑maintenance problems.
Staff said the ADEQ 604B evaluation has produced a prioritized candidate list and that project managers — including Jeremy Cordova — will lead design and construction once council or budget approvals are in place. The presentation positioned watershed scale GSI as complementary to lake treatments: fewer sediments and nutrients arriving at lakes should reduce the frequency and scale of future lake treatments.
