Winter Springs staff propose new stormwater pond classifications and phased rate increases to fund infrastructure maintenance

City of Winter Springs staff and outside consultants presented a proposed stormwater pond maintenance program and accompanying rate study at a Commission workshop on April 1, 2026, asking the commission for concurrence on pond classifications and a phased schedule of rate increases.

The presentation, led by Clete Saunier, the city’s director of public works and utilities, and Julia Felter of Kimberly Horn, distinguished three pond types: public ponds on city-owned or dedicated land that receive stormwater from public infrastructure; hybrid ponds on private land that nonetheless receive public drainage or connect to public pipes; and private ponds that are served entirely by private drainage. The consultants reported a citywide inventory of 345 ponds distributed among state, county, public, hybrid and private ownership: 12 DOT ponds, 36 Seminole County ponds, 176 private ponds, 43 public ponds and 78 hybrids.

Staff recommended the city take on maintenance of stormwater infrastructure for public ponds and the infrastructure components of hybrid ponds (pipes, control structures and inlet/outlet areas) while leaving the water body and typical aquatic maintenance (mowing, algae treatment, aeration) to private owners or HOAs unless an emergency or a legal dedication demands otherwise. "We're asking for concurrence on the 3 pond classification definitions," Saunier told the commission, and staff said they expect to present a formal rate package for adoption after the commission confirms policy direction.

Consultant Joe Williams summarized the rate study. He said the utility currently charges $10 per ERU and generates roughly $2 million a year in stormwater revenue. The consultants estimated infrastructure improvements for hybrids at an average of about $152,000 per pond (estimated 15-year life for the improvements) and suggested improving roughly six hybrid ponds per year, which they estimated would require about $912,000 annually and would increase the average monthly stormwater bill by roughly $4–$5. "The rate is $10 right now. It's generating $2,000,000 of revenue," Williams said, adding that an initial $5 increase (to $15) this October is likely and could be followed by phased adjustments over the ensuing years, with a long-range scenario approaching about $20 per ERU by 2030 depending on funding decisions and use of outside capital.

Commissioners pressed staff on technical and equity questions. Pegasus Engineering’s David Hamstra explained that most ponds are stand-alone but ultimately discharge into creeks and Lake Jessup; he distinguished sediment that blocks inlet or outlet structures (which can cause local street flooding) from sediment beneath the waterline that does not meaningfully reduce flood storage. Hamstra warned that taking a proactive, large-scale maintenance approach for natural creeks faces significant permitting hurdles and recommended annual inspections, targeted permitting for identified choke points, and working with jurisdictional agencies for any dredging or channel work.

On legal access and enforcement, staff said the city’s plan includes annual visual inspections of hybrid infrastructure, a training program for inspectors, letters to HOAs or owners when maintenance is deficient, and emergency access or remediation where plats or easements allow the city to act and later seek reimbursement. Staff recommended keeping existing 25% credits for accounts that maintain qualifying private stormwater features, but said the inspection program will require revisiting credits and their eligibility once more complete records are available.

Several residents urged clearer parcel-level records and better public explanation of what a classification means for individual homeowners. "I would encourage some dialogue with residents before that spreadsheet gets locked in because there’s a lot of discussion on some of those things," Rick Mullen said during public comment, urging the city to digitize plats and surveys. Resident Gina Schaefer asked whether the 25% HOA credit would apply to her community; staff said credits would remain in place for now but that credit eligibility will be audited under the inspection program.

Commissioners asked staff to return with clearer, public-facing materials (a simplified slide that lists what the city will and will not do for public, hybrid and private ponds), an updated GIS overlay and a searchable dataset tying ponds to plats and maintenance responsibility. With those clarifications and additional outreach, the commission expressed consensus to proceed toward formal rate hearings; staff suggested the next rate presentation could be scheduled in late April, with the formal ordinance process following the city’s public-notice and ordinance-adoption rules.

The workshop did not include a formal vote. Staff will refine the classifications, confirm legal access or easement needs, finalize the inspection and appeals processes, and present a rate ordinance and supporting public materials for the commission’s consideration.