Title
Resolution to Authorize a Grant Application to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy High Water Infrastructure Grant Program for the City of Ann Arbor Comprehensive Stormwater Plan. (Total Project Cost $500,000; Grant amount $400,000)
Memorandum
This resolution authorizes a grant application to the EGLE State High Water Infrastructure Grant Program for an update and realignment of the City of Ann Arbor’s Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan.
Ann Arbor’s municipal stormwater management program utilizes science, recognized standards and best practices, and system data to evaluate, analyze and inform planning for system operations, maintenance, improvements, rehabilitation and eventual replacement. This approach has resulted in achieving the level and methods of stormwater management that property owners and other stakeholders in the community have expressed as being desirable in prior studies conducted in 2008 and 2018, but more recently, property owners, residents, and businesses are experiencing storm events that are more frequent and of significantly greater magnitude due to climate change. This trend is expected to continue in the future and potentially worsen. As a result, there is a need to plan for and create resiliency in the utility system infrastructure that manages stormwater for properties in the City that use the system. The City’s existing approach to managing stormwater is made up of several studies and various creekshed plans. Staff would like to seek this grant funding to update the City’s Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan to incorporate and align the existing plans and studies into a single plan that not only provides a cohesive philosophy to guide staff and inform decisions, but that also incorporates resiliency and climate adaptation strategies as key elements of decision-making and design.
This project will validate and document the City of Ann Arbor’s approach for how stormwater is managed in the City. Key elements of the project include:
• Alignment of multiple stormwater and creekshed plans and studies across the City.
• An update of the City’s Stormwater Management Model - an analytical tool to assist in improving the planning and subsequent mitigation design;
• Validation of the Level of Service Principles for the stormwater system, based on community engagement and input;
• A study focused on Ann Arbor's urban forest and other green infrastructure in terms of updating both its alignment with currently recognized stormwater management science and practices and its effectiveness as part of the management of stormwater for properties in the City;
• Analysis of current and proposed capital improvement projects to review climate readiness and adaptation;
• Review and Update of City Design Standards to address updated rainfall projections;
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• Collaboration and streamlined efforts to incorporate overarching principles from the City’s Hazard Mitigation Plan;
For this application, we have sought and received commitments of support from SEMCOG, Huron River Watershed Council, and the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner Office.
Budget/Fiscal Impact: This project is identified in the Capital Improvements Plan, starting in July 2023. There is a 20% cost share required for this grant program. As currently written, the grant proposes a total project cost of $500,000 over a period of up to 18 months, with a match of staff time, in addition to a cash match in the amount of $100,000. Matching funds are available in the approved Stormwater Sewer System Fund.
Staff
Prepared by: Jennifer Lawson, Water Quality Manager
Reviewed by: Brian Steglitz, Interim Public Services Area Administrator
Approved by: Milton Dohoney Jr., City Administrator
Body
Whereas, Ann Arbor residents continue to be impacted due to increased precipitation and changing rainfall patterns, and these impacts are increasing in frequency and magnitude due to climate change;
Whereas, The City has a Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan consisting of various elements some of which need updating and alignment;
Whereas, The City’s street trees and the overall urban forest, together with other green infrastructure and other best management practices, play a significant part in the City’s stormwater management, and updating the City’s Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan would provide an opportunity to further study, better understand, evaluate, and quantify the effectiveness of the City’s street trees, the community’s urban forest, and other green infrastructure and best management practices on stormwater management;
Whereas, Funding is available from the State High Water Infrastructure Grant Program to update the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan and incorporate resiliency and climate adaptation strategies for stormwater management;
Whereas, The total project cost to update the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan is estimated at about $500,000. This will consist of $400,000 in grant funds and $100,000 in local match; and
Whereas, Local match funds are available in the approved Stormwater Sewer System Fund;
RESOLVED, That City Council approves the submission of a grant application to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy High Water Infrastructure Grant Program in the amount of $500,000 total project cost ($400,000 grant with $100,000 local match) and commits that the local match shall be provided if the project is funded; and
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator is authorized to take all appropriate actions to implement this resolution.
Sponsored by: Mayor Taylor