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Aspen staff seek council sign‑off to modernize urban runoff manual, add flexible stormwater options
Summary
Engineering staff and consultants proposed updates to Aspen's Urban Runoff Management Plan to modernize stormwater control measures (dry wells, permeable pavement, rain gardens), update technical rainfall/mudflow data and improve manual usability; council asked for more analysis of thresholds and costs.
City staff and RightWater consultant Andrew Earls presented a proposed update to Aspen's Urban Runoff Management Plan (URMP), which staff described as the city's playbook for treating the "first flush" of runoff to protect the Roaring Fork River.
"The URMP provides the standards and guidance for managing and treating stormwater runoff," PJ Murray said, summarizing the manual's role in setting treatment and detention requirements for development within city limits. Staff recommended three guiding principles for the update: modernize stormwater control measures (SCMs) to include options such as permeable pavements and receiving pervious areas; update technical data (rainfall, mudflow) and mudflow mapping; and improve readability and online usability of the manual.
Consultant Andrew Earls explained common BMPs and their benefits, noting Aspen's infiltration‑friendly soils support infiltration solutions. He gave a lifecycle example: a typical dry well could remove on the order of 350 pounds of sediment over a 30‑year life and that aggregated treatment across the West End could remove substantially more. Staff asked council to confirm direction while continuing technical updates and returning with implementation detail on controversial policy elements.
