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Stanfiec <br />CITY OF ELK RIVER -STORM WATER UTILITY <br />STORM WATER UTILITY <br />June 25, 2012 <br />3.0 STORM WATER UTILITY <br />3.1 PROPOSED STORM WATER UTILITY BUDGET WITH CURRENT MS4 <br />REGULATIONS <br />The City staff has developed an estimated budget for the storm water utility based on no <br />changes to the current MS4 regulations. The proposed budget is shown in Table 1. The <br />expenditures are very similar to items that the City has budgeted for in recent years. <br />There are mandatory items that the City must budget for that are required by the current MS4 <br />permit. Twenty percent of all sediment ponds must be inspected on an annual basis. The ponds <br />are designed to retain storm water runoff and to capture pollutants and sediment. There are <br />approximately 110 sediment ponds in the City of Elk River. The City has not removed any of <br />the sediment in the ponds, and this is an item that the City will need to budget for in the coming <br />years. <br />The MPCA requires testing of sediment for copper, arsenic and polycyclic aromatic <br />hydrocarbons (PAHs), both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic within the sediment prior to <br />excavation. Excavation of 3,000 cubic yards or greater of sediment requires a MPCA permit <br />review. If the sediment contamination exceeds MPCA requirements the sediment must be <br />removed and disposed of at a permitted landfill. It can be very expensive to remove and <br />dispose of the sediment in accordance with MPCA regulations. <br />An average pond is 1 acre in size. Excavation of 2 feet of sediment would generate over 3,000 <br />cubic yards of material. Removal and disposal of the sediment per MPCA requirements would <br />have an average cost over $150,000. The City has budgeted $75,000 starting in 2013 with an <br />annual increase of $25,000 each year. <br />Lake Orono is listed as impaired water by the MPCA. One of the activities that are scheduled in <br />the next five years is to dredge the lake and remove excess sediment accumulation that <br />typically contains phosphorus and other contaminants. The staff has budgeted $800,000 for <br />this expenditure. The City is also budgeting $5,000 starting in 2013 and providing this amount <br />every other year for taking depth measurements on the amount of sediment buildup in Lake <br />Orono. <br />Maintaining the status quo of sources for funding the Storm Water Utility budget, general <br />property taxes and impact fees, will create a bottom line deficit in 2014. <br />Project No. 193802143 3.5 <br />