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Hooper City staff report 83 stormwater audit findings, seek time and resources to complete MS4 mapping
Summary
City staff told the Hooper City Council at a May 15 work meeting that a recent stormwater compliance review produced 83 findings; the city has one month to submit a plan and six months to complete it, but staff said they will request extensions because mapping older infrastructure will require substantial GIS work and funding.
Hooper City staff reported at a May 15 work meeting that a recent stormwater compliance review produced 83 findings and set short deadlines for the city to respond.
City staff said the audit requires the city to deliver a corrective plan within roughly one month and then implement the plan within six months. Staff told the council and attendees that many items are clerical or documentation tasks but that one requirement — a comprehensive storm sewer system map for the city’s MS4 — will be labor intensive because older infrastructure is not mapped in the city’s GIS system.
The staff presentation described how the city’s remediation work was prioritized in three phases (two months each for immediate, near-term and final tasks) and assigned responsibilities among staff. The city estimated the GIS mapping work alone would be about 100 hours and said a contractor (referred to in the meeting as “JV”) indicated an intern might help reduce costs. Staff said they have asked the reviewing agency for an extension, proposing as much as four years to complete the mapping work instead of the one-year timeframe the auditors applied.
Staff emphasized that while some corrective items will require physical repairs, most items are paperwork, reporting and ordinance clarifications. The presentation identified several ordinance gaps that could require council action, including a rule clarifying where discharges from private swimming pools may go (staff noted an ordinance should specify that only dechlorinated pool water may be discharged and raised questions about saltwater pool discharges into the storm system).
City finance staff and public works staff told the council that there will likely be costs associated with addressing the findings and that the council will be informed when staff has better cost estimates. Staff said the stormwater fund currently includes engineering and maintenance line items (engineering fees and storm-drain maintenance were discussed) and that, if necessary, the council will be asked to amend the budget or transfer funds to cover remediation.
Next steps: staff will (1) seek a formal extension from the reviewing agency, (2) prepare the one-month corrective plan and (3) return to the council with estimated costs and any recommended ordinance changes.
