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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />February 23, 1993 <br />File: 230-161-80 <br /> <br />DRAFT <br /> <br />Honorable Mayor and City Council <br />City of Elk River <br />720 Dodge Avenue NW <br />Elk River, MN 55330 <br /> <br />RE: STORM WATER MASTER PLAN - POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS <br /> <br />Dear Council Members: <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The City of Elk River currently has no written policies regarding storm water management <br />creating difficulty for City staff and council members in the review of proposed development. <br />The council has authorized the first stage in preparation of a Storm Water Management Plan. <br />This stage will propose various policies for City consideration. <br /> <br />Providing adequate storm drainage facilities is an important requirement in the development <br />of any municipality. As an area develops from rural to urban, culvert and drainageways <br />which were adequate for rural runoff can beCome overloaded and flood, and property damage <br />can occur. The function of a storm drainage system is to minimize economic loss and <br />inconvenience due to this periodic flooding of streets, basements and other low lying areas. <br />The desired goal to reach is when storm flooding damage, plus the cost of storm sewer <br />installation, reaches a minimum. Storm drainage facilities can also reduce inconveniences and <br />hazards caused by flooding. <br /> <br />Frequently, the downstream area of a drainage basin develops earlier than the remainder of <br />the basin. When this happens, drainage facilities that are installed as part of the early <br />development may be sized solely for the development occurring without consideration of the <br />development of the remainder of the basin. A storm drainage master plan considers the entire <br />drainage basin and avoids costly errors, such as replacement of inadequate storm sewer pipe <br />in developed areas. <br /> <br />If a storm drainage master plan is implemented, planning and construction of required <br />facilities is established in the early development stages of a drainage basin. Required storm <br />sewer piping and ponding areas can be easily incorporated into a developer's plan. Regional <br />ponding areas can be planned, land can be obtained, and possibly integrated into a City park. <br />The cost of acquiring drainage easements will be low when the land is still rural compared to <br />its cost after development of the area has increased the land value. <br /> <br />161-1101.fcb <br />