City of West Palm Beach Year 1 of A Successful New Era in South Florida Stormwater Management

Transcription

1 City of West Palm Beach Year 1 of A Successful New Era in South Florida Stormwater Management December 9, 2016 Florida Stormwater Association Winter Conference Poonam Kalkat, Utilities Director, City of West Palm Beach Elizabeth Perez, President, Collective Water Resources

2

3 2014: Other Issues FEMA released preliminary DFIRMs Numeric Nutrient Criteria (NNC) City wanted to be prepared Needed to have baseline information Needed to understand pollutant loads Ordinances and SOPs needed revision CRS Verification Visit looming (2016) Sea level rise, climate change becoming more urgent Maintenance plans needed (canals in particular) Where can improvements be made? Cost savings? Wanted to be AHEAD of the curve

4 WPB SWMP 2016 Traditional SWMPs focused on hard civil solutions Surface water system water supply is also on the line A more comprehensive planning effort was necessary Focused on managing the overall the system well Stormwater as a source to be protected Improving cost effectiveness throughout Education was a critical component

5 Successes Entering Year 1 1. Comprehensive Databases and Models Assembled and Analyzed 2. SWMP Complete 3. Public, Elected Official, and Staff Agreement on Direction of Stormwater Utility 4. Acute Flooding CIPs Addressed or Underway 5. Alternative Funding Secured 6. Very Likely CRS Rating Increase (6 to 5) 7. Millions Saved In Flood Insurance ($8.2 Million Annually) 8. Hundreds of Millions Saved in TMDL Retrofits ($100 Million+)

6 Why Take A Different Road?

7 Structuring a Holistic Plan Volume 1: SWMP Document Commissioner and public friendly Volume 2: Tech Memos Written throughout development of plan Written for technical professionals Volume 3: Map Atlas Stand-alone and linked to two previous volumes Electronic Archive

8 CIP Development Eng. Utilities Public O&M CW Team Comm -ission Input Ranked List Area of Concern DB (434 Entries) Alternatives Staff + City Watersheds Vetting Commission Vetting Rapid Assessment Tidal Prioritization Failure Analyses Tiered List 30-Year Plan

9 Alternatives: Rapid Assessment Proactive Prevention of Failures Weighted Highest By Staff Mitigation of Flooding Mitigation of Repetitive Losses Reduction of Climate Change/SLR Impacts Reduction of Flooding on Roadways Ease and Cost of Maintenance Cooperating Partners Funding and Programmatic CRS Points Water Supply Benefits Ecological Lift Water Quality Improvements Land Acquisition Use of LID/GI or Hydrologic Restoration Synergy Between City Departments Public Support Multi-Use Benefits

10 30-Year Plan Tiered List 32 High Priority Projects Across 5 Major Categories $25 Million A: Traditional Civil/Stormwater Projects B: LID and Water Quality C: North City Rehab D: South City Rehab E: Complex Integrated Projects Potential Futures (LOS) Analysis -Includes sea level rise/climate change 13 Fast-Track R&R Projects $710,00 14 Near-Term Moderate Priority Projects $6 Million *Programmatic Measures Needed to Realize Full Benefits

11 Problem Area Map

12 High Priority Projects

13 Sea Level Rise/Climate Change Typical vulnerability analyses do not provide helpful information at a City scale and would potentially leave gaps - another methodology was needed Analysis of Potential Futures: Phase 1 Hydrologic Baseline Climate change is also important due to City s water supply (surface) Data/tools created as part of the SWMP created perfect synergy Many sensitivities and groundwater issues must be vetted/tested Specific hydrologic zones for City SLR - ICPR Model Used/2 Scenarios, Southeast Florida Climate Compact Scenarios, Year 2046 Analyses being completed currently

14 LID In The City Major lit review and analysis conducted as part of SWMP (TM-10) City-Wide and Localized Analyses Two Demonstration Projects Underway Datura Green Streets Gregory Road Green Streets LID Manual and staff position being considered

15 Water Quality General Data Issues (January 2016 Listings for Lake Worth Lagoon) Improper use of coded data to calculate total nitrogen in Lake Worth Lagoon (i.e mg/l) Utilizing open water DO criteria for Grassy Water Preserve therefore listed for DO. GWP is an expansive wetland with naturally low DO. Applying the incorrect TP standards (Pine Lake listing resulted) In Lake Mangonia, 14 samples were analyzed outside of proper holding times

16 Comprehensive Approach The City of West Palm Beach has chosen to be proactive and to take a comprehensive approach to their CRS Program: Repetitive Loss Area Analysis Program for Public Information Floodplain Management Plan Stormwater Master Plan

17 Anticipated Benefits Increase to Class 5 CRS Rating, One of the Highest in the State Secure FEMA grants to supplement City s funds for flood-related capital improvements Reduce flood insurance premiums for all flood insurance policy holders in City of West Palm Beach $7 Million $800-$1250/Homeowner New FEMA Maps (Due to City Advocacy) CLASS 6 SAVINGS: $1 Million Citywide $90 - $250/Homeowner CLASS 5 SAVINGS: $1.2 Million Citywide $113 - $315/Homeowner CURRENT 2017, Class 5

18 CRS Verification Visit Show me the points! Open space is a strong category for the City Program for Public Information (PPI)/City Watersheds Committee Floodplain Management Plan Update (a simplified re-shuffling of the SWMP) Reviewers do not like reliance on water management district standards Mapping will likely be worth a lot of points GIS (City had almost all of the information because of the SWMP presentation is key) Not always intuitive per Florida stormwater nomenclature what we should show

19 CRS Verification Visit Mapping/modeling credits only receive credit where BFEs increase over current, methodology is secondary for most of Florida 100-year prerequisite is a global issue in South Florida, new sea level rise analysis requirement will also be a challenge CRS prescription for Watershed Management Plan is not necessarily Florida-friendly 2017 Manual will be more challenging throughout Florida Fewer communities with high ratings? Application of riverine criteria to Florida continually makes CRS challenging Unpublished specifics also makes challenging

20 Lessons Learned (Liz) DATA DATA DATA FEMA/CRS guidelines don t always align well with Florida (especially South Florida) Goals for an effective stormwater program must be determined by staff (and then look for the Federal incentives and programs that match well) Not about dodging FDEP or FEMA, but understanding true level of impairment and planning for flooding Because of pressures of sea level rise, coastal stormwater managers need to roll this analysis/consideration into annual planning this starts with a sound data foundation (which can take years to develop) Start and end with staff vision, worked with staff daily from many departments

21 Lessons Learned (Poonam) ONE WATER Everyone worked very hard together and often The City really listened to and worked with the public Reached out early and often to elected officials educated them about the implications of their decisions on an ongoing basis, made information accessible and easy to use Must really look at things comprehensively Not just stormwater master planning, this is really true of all types of utilities We really need to be in this together Demonstrated the interconnectivity of various issues

22 Remaining Plans for Year 1 Design-Build: $25 Million for High Priority Projects Authoring Stormwater Manual Explore RAP for Lake Worth Lagoon Mobilization for LID Manual Continued Outreach and Education Second Round of Ordinance Modifications

23 With Gratitude Citizens of West Palm Beach City Watersheds Committee Sustainability Committee Water Advisory Board Mayor Jeri Muoio + Staff City Commission Scott Kelly Penni Redford Josh McDermott Ralph Wall Tracy Ward John Maxstead Stephon Harris Many other dedicated staff Task Leaders, Consultant Team: Stephanie Dunham and Amelia Fontaine (Collective Water) Tony Janicki and Jon Perry (Janicki Environmental) Justin Gregory and Brett Cunningham (Jones Edmunds) Suzie Dombrowski (Chen Moore) Earl King and Joan Van Stone (CRS Max)

24 Questions?