Storm Water Management

 

The City of Pewaukee is a Phase 1 NR216 Permitted community through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).  The NR216 legislation came from ultimately from the Clean Water Act which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the WDNR.  As part of this regulation, the City was required to adopt a storm water and erosion control ordinance (Chapter 19) and enter into a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit.  Our first permit began November 1, 2004 and was just recently renewed (see link to view our permit). 

The current City Storm Water Management program has very minimal funding on an annual basis for basic maintenance and permit compliance.  Capital storm water management projects typically do not receive funding for various reasons including funding and complications with our assessment policy.  It is our opinion that the storm water management issues have been neglected for at least the last 15 years, probably more. 

The maintenance that does occur is very limited by funds and staffing time.  In 2008, the budget allocation for storm water related items was $41,416.  In 2009, $144,800 was allocated which included $91,300 to complete this Storm Water Utility Implementation Study leaving approximately $53,500 for projects and maintenance.  In 2010, $30,800 is allocated to the projects and maintenance.  Also in 2010, an additional $408,000 is allocated to a partially grant funded project ($184,000) for the Springdale Road flooding.  The funding maintenance that is currently funded include minor ditching work, catch basin cleaning, catch basin repair, and a minor amount of curb and gutter repair.

Due to state levy limits and the fiscal restraints of the community, the City is pursuing adoption of a Storm Water Management Utility to fund the unfunded mandates from the NR216 permit and to begin a program to address the ongoing maintenance issues that some citizens battle with after many precipitation events throughout the year. 

Storm Water Management – Update 10/5/2010

The City of Pewaukee has adopted a Storm Water Management Utility Ordinance (Chapter 26) on September 7, 2010. The storm water management utility establishes a funding mechanism (i.e. a storm water management fee) to complete the backlog of maintenance storm sewer and ditching work, flood mitigation projects, and water quality compliance. Two resolutions were passed as well. Resolution 10-9-26 establishes the fee rate and resolution 10-9-27 establishes the credit and rebate policy.

Recall the City of Pewaukee is a Phase 1 NR216 Permitted community through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). The NR216 legislation came ultimately from the Clean Water Act which is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the WDNR. As part of this regulation, the City was required to adopt a storm water and erosion control ordinance (Chapter 19) and enter into a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit. Our first permit began November 1, 2004 and was just recently renewed (see link to view our permit).

The discussion regarding the storm water utility has been going on and off for about 5 years. In 2009, the Common Council allocated the cost of the implementation study into the budget. During this time, staff had a presentation to the Council with preliminary numbers for a utility on February 15, 2010. The staff also created this Storm Water Management page to assist in disseminating information to our constituents. There were several meetings this issue was discussed at the Council level including the meetings of March 1 & 15, April 5, August 2 & 16, and finally concluding with a public hearing and adoption on September 7. The staff also had a public information meeting on July 22 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. In addition to the Council meetings, articles were in the Journal Sentinel and the Freeman. The City storm water utility was also discussed on talk radio.

In the link area, you can find the draft report and budget that were utilized in the adoption of the utility. You will also be able to find the 2011 budget within the City’s budget which is currently being drafted for Council review during the budget workshops. Also in the links area, you will be able to find some Frequently Asked Questions and other data regarding storm water management and regulations the City is required to follow.

The fee was adopted as an annual fee. This means that one time per year, you will be receiving a bill with your fee that is due and payable by November 1, 2010 of the year it is mailed. If you decide not to pay this bill before November 1st, it will be added to your tax bill as a special charge. For tax exempts, you will receive a “tax” bill like any other property with this special charge on it. The billing for 2011 will be sent the first week of October. After this initial billing, the bills will be mailed in summer.

Four classes of customer rates have been identified for the Stormwater Fee. Two of these are residential (single family and duplex). On average, the residential lots in the City have approximately 5, 339 square feet of impervious area (roofs, driveways, compacted soils or gravel, and parking lots). Therefore one (1) equivalent runoff unit (ERU) is equal to 5,339 square feet. Single family residences are divided into 3 tiers, based upon zoning classification. If your zoning code is Rs-1, 2, or 3, you fall into Tier 1 which equates to an ERU of 1.3. If your zoning code is Rs-4 or 5, you fall into Tier 2 which equates to an ERU of 1.1. If your zoning code is Rs-6 or 7, you fall into Tier 3 which equates to an ERU of 0.75. Duplexes (Rd-1 or 2) are charged the same as the middle single family tier. The third customer class is “Other Developed”, which includes multi-family homes, condominiums, as well as all developed commercial, industrial, governmental, institutional, and agricultural properties. The charge for these other development properties is calculated by dividing the total impervious area of the development by 5, 339 square feet. Typically, the charge for condominiums is calculated by dividing the total impervious area of the development by 5,339 square feet and then dividing by the number of dwellings units in the complex.

There is an established credit (continuous reduction in ERU) and rebate (a onetime refund) policy which may be used to reduce your ERU’s for your property. Resolution 10-9-27 establishes the policy for this. In addition, the guidance for the credits and rebates can be found under the links section of this webpage.

If you have additional questions that are not included in the frequently asked questions, please feel free to email us at publicworks@pewaukee.wi.us, submit a question utilizing the citizen portal, or contacting our office at 262-691-0804. Please note that we are expecting a large volume of emails and calls so it may take a few days to get back to you, but we will answer all questions as soon as we can. We appreciate your patience with this matter




Jeffrey Weigel, P.E.
Director of Public Works
Phone: (262) 691-0804
Fax: (262) 691-5729,
Email: publicworks@pewaukee.wi.us