By Councilor Mike Ward
(January 22, 2013)
This past year the city initiated its first Pre-Monsoon storm drainage cleanup initiative. While the city had always monitored and cleaned up public right-of-way drainages, for the first time the city inspected storm drainages on private property and notified the owners of problems that needed to be addressed. The city sent letters to approximately 400 property owners requesting to be allowed access on their property to conduct the inspections. The positive response was noteworthy.
During monsoon storms, yard waste and trash that collect in private washes are often washed downstream causing storm water blockages that can cause flooding, thus affecting other property owners. The cooperation of so many of our residents made a difference. The city paid to have the debris hauled away that was collected by residents from their property. Over 990 cubic feet, or 5 dumpster loads, of debris was removed. The cost of this pre-monsoon project including costs of cleaning the public right-of-way drainages was $53,944.
Everyone is reminded that they should not dump brush or trash in washes. Please also be aware that animal waste, chemicals, and other hazardous materials dumped into washes will find its way in to the protected waters of Oak Creek causing environmental damage.
Sedona lies at the confluence of five major watershed drainages that lead into Oak Creek. In 2003 it was recognized that the increasing urbanization of Sedona has resulted in increased runoff from homes, driveways, and parking lots. Water draining off of these hard surfaces was radically increasing the amount of storm water directed into the hundreds of small and large drainages that flow through the city into Oak Creek.
In 2005, the city completed a study that identified and prioritized improvements to major washes to limit flood damage caused by 25 year storms. The resulting storm water drainage master plan was estimated to cost the city $15 million dollars and take 15 years to implement. Protection from 100 year storms was deemed cost prohibitive.
Although the current recession slowed the start of the project, many major improvements to storm water drainage have been completed. Through FY 2011, phases 1, 2, and 3 of the Harmony-Windsong project between SR 89A and Lyric Drive in the Dry Creek watershed, was completed at a cost of $3.85 million. Also, approximately $2 million of the 2007 $17.9 million Excise Tax Bond revenue, of which $9.3 million was for sewering the Chapel area, was spent on storm water to reduce costs by consolidating the two projects.
Last year the City Council directed staff to accelerate both street maintenance repairs and storm water projects by using $6 million of capital and general fund reserves. The city’s FY 2011-2012 budget was increased from $30 million to $36 million (20%). This accelerated schedule allowed for both the completion of the Harmony project between Lyric Drive and Thunder Mountain Drive and addressed a major flow restriction in the AAA Industrial Park area affecting the Coffee Pot watershed drainage.
The design and construction cost of Phase 4 of the Harmony-Windsong project is $1.5 million. The design, easement acquisition and utility relocation costs for the AAA project are estimated at over $500,000. The construction costs are estimated at $1.7 million.
The City’s capital reserves currently stand at $11 million. However, once this year’s accelerated storm water and other capital projects are completed, that figure will be reduced to $5 million. After the completion of the Harmony-Windsong and Chapel drainage projects, many major storm water projects remain to be completed. The city is currently planning a storm water mitigation project in the lower Soldier Wash area that affects the historic Hart store and Tlaquepaque.
The current projected total cost of the 2005 city storm water master plan has risen from $15 million to more than $30 million, a massive project even by Phoenix standards. The remaining $5 million in the Capital reserve budget at the end of this fiscal year will fund the proposed storm water improvements for the coming FY 2014. A looming question will be how to fund the continuation of the storm water master plan to mitigate flooding for residents in the other drainage areas while continuing to address the other capital infrastructure needs of the city.
The views that I am expressing are my personal opinions and not necessarily the opinion or position of the City of Sedona or the City Council.