Lind residents discuss stormwater solutions

 

Last updated 10/30/2014 at Noon



Maintenance of existing and any new stormwater infrastructure was the number one priority for Stantec engineer Alan Gay and grant writer Meredith Noble during the second planning meeting of the Lind Stormwater Project.

Gay presented community members with the recommended facilities to reduce the stormwater runoff that goes through town and into the Lind Coulee. He estimated that with the implementation of the entire plan the town could expect to collect 21-percent of stormwater run-off.

The plan was broken down into seven best management practices.

The first part of the program would be to secure maintenance for the town’s infrastructure by purchasing a used vactor truck. This would allow town crews to clear existing culverts throughout the town, which would alleviate some of the issues the town currently faces.

The second part of the project would be to construct a rainwater cistern and infiltration chambers north of the Lind-Ritzville Middle School tennis courts. According to the modeling Stantec did, the cistern would collect five percent of the run-off that flows through the town and into the coulee. The water could then be used for irrigation purposes. Gay estimated that in summer months the cistern would, at most, only contain enough water for three days worth of irrigation but the repurposing of stormwater after its collection would help the town’s application be more competitive with the Department of Ecology.

The third portion of the proposed project would be a bio-retention swale located south of Eighth Street across from the Avista sub-station. Swales work to collect and hold run-off until it evaporates or is absorbed into the ground. To reduce maintenance costs it would be planted with native plants and grasses to help reduce sediment and chemical pollution of the coulee.

It was estimated that this would also collect five percent of runoff water as well.

The fourth package of the project would be to terrace and plant the slope north of Third Street and west of N Street. The terracing would slow down water flow. Terracing would also allow plants to more easily take hold on the slope and act as a sediment trap. Gay estimated this solution would be able to collect a further five percent of stormwater runoff.

Package five and six would be infiltration chambers along Sixth Street, which would collect 2.5 and 3.5 percent of run-off respectively.

The final portion of the project would be to improve water conveyance from Third Street to Florenz Street.

In addition to alleviating the problems the town currently experiences, the Stormwater project will also prevent runoff from affecting the Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Gay said with .015 inches of precipitation they were able to detect a measurable increase in water flow to the plant.

He also said that in a 25-year storm event the amount of water flow to the WWTP would cause a lot of damage to the plant. Contributing to this problem would be the shutting down of the safety valve of the treatment plant, mandated by Ecology.

The estimated cost of the entire project would be $930,000. With Lind qualifying as a hardship community, it would be responsible for paying back 15 percent of the total project cost. This would mean a monthly rate increase of $2.60 per month to citizens. However, Gay said operating expenses were projected at $1,500 each month, which would require a further $5.77 each month from ratepayers.

Gay discussed possible funding options the town could pursue but ultimately said the best way would be to add the cost onto current sewer bills. This would raise Lind Sewer rates to nearly $70.

Gay said the town needed to consider the cost of the project against the potential costs of damage to the treatment plant and the rest of the town caused by runoff.

Another way to reduce the financial impact, Gay said, would be to phase the project out. He said that to be competitive for funding the town would need to request funding for at least the first four practices in the project. This would cut the rate increase almost in half.

He then said after the first phase had been established for a year the town could pursue additional funding from Ecology to finish the project.

Noble said there would be more communities seeking grant funding for stormwater projects at this time but Lind would be more competitive because of data from the phase one impact on stormwater run-off.

During the meeting there was some concern from citizens present the lack of projects on the south side of Lind. Gay explained why the proposed projects focused on the north side of the coulee.

“We did consider several BMP’s,” he said, “especially the two main drainage ways down there but they didn’t reach the score level of the seven that we came up with in terms of water quality.”

“It wasn’t as beneficial as addressing the stuff that’s getting a lot more pollutant load on it and contributing a lot more sediment,” Noble said, “ but if we do go about this phase route I think it means it’s still a definite possibility to do something with it on another phase.

Larry Koch was also concerned about increasing rates without having more of the town present to hear about it. He wanted to see another meeting with a larger percentage of residents present. Noble said she had made flyers to put up in town and Denise Snead, town clerk, said she had called members of the community to inform them about the meeting. .

After this meeting Gay and Noble prepared the grant proposal and presented it to the Lind Town Council at their regular Oct. 28 meeting for final approval before submitting it to Ecology. However, the town did not approve it.

Instead the council scheduled a special meeting for Monday, Nov. 3, at Lind Town Hall.

Mayor Jamie Schmunk was concerned about the additional charges concerning maintenance.

Community members are invited to voice their input on the proposal.

 

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