HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-16-023 - 2015 City of Kitchener Stormwater Management Monitoring Program
REPORT TO: Community & Infrastructure Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: March 7, 2016
SUBMITTED BY: Hans Gross, P.Eng., Director of Engineering
(519-741-2200 x 7410)
PREPARED BY: Nick Gollan, C.E.T., Manager, Stormwater Utility
(519-741-2200 x 7422)
Matt Wilson, M.Eng., P.Eng., Design & Construction Project
Manager (519-741-2200 x 7149)
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: February 25, 2016
REPORT NO.: INS-16-023
SUBJECT:2015 SWM Monitoring Report
___________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
That the 2015 Stormwater Audit Technical Memorandum as referenced in INS-16-
023 be endorsed by Council.
BACKGROUND:
In 1999, the City of Kitchener commenced a study to create a City-wide policy for
Stormwater management (SWM). The final report of the SWM Policy was approved at
Council on December 10, 2001 and subsequently filed as a Schedule 'B' Environmental
Assessment under the Municipal Engineers Association Class EA process.
As required by the 2001 SWM Policy the City of Kitchener has completed a stormwater
management monitoring program every year since 2002. A steering committee made up
of the City of Kitchener, Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA), the Region of
Waterloo and the City’s consultant, AECOM worked together on the 2015 annual
stormwater management monitoring program.
The 2001 SWM Policy also requires that Cash-In-Lieu (CiL) fees be collected on all
redevelopment / infill sites that do not connect to existing Stormwater quality control
facilities and do not implement their own on-site water quality stormwater controls. CiL
fees are not an option for properties that discharge untreated stormwater directly into a
watercourse (these sites are required to implement on site controls). The City uses the
collected CiL fees for such purposes as (but not limited to):
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994 for assistance.
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Construction of SWM facilities (SWMF) including new ponds;
Retrofitting existing SWM facilities to enhance performance;
Installing oil/grit separator (OGS) units; and
Perform maintenance on existing SWMFs.
REPORT:
This report summarizes the following areas where works were completed in 2015:
a) CiL Fee and work completed with SWM redevelopment/infill charge funds
b) SWMF retrofit program
c) SWM infrastructure maintenance program
d) Stream rehabilitation works
e) SWM monitoring 2015 program
f) SWM monitoring program recommendations for 2016
g) SWM Policy Review
Due to the volume of the full 2015 SWM Monitoring Program report (311 pages), it has
not been attached to this report however it can be downloaded from the City’s website:
http://www.kitchener.ca/en/livinginkitchener/stormwater_audits.asp
a) Cash-in-Lieu Fee:
The 2014 Cash-in-Lieu fee was $60,656/ha made effective in January 1 2014. As
ratified by Council the cash-in-lieu fees increased to $75,820.00/ha on January 1,
2015 based on inflation and the actual costs of building and retrofitting SWMFs. A
flat fee of 10% of the current CIL SWM charge ($7,582.00/ha) is to be charged for all
sites less than 0.1 ha in 2015.
One function of the annual Stormwater monitoring program is to indicate whether or
not the existing City of Kitchener SWM infrastructure and measures provide the
necessary water quality treatment. In particular the program attempts to determine if
City SWM infrastructure installed each year is sufficient to mitigate the
environmental impacts resulting from infill/redevelopment sites constructed in that
same year. In 2015, the City collected $581,083.46 in CiL charges from 7.66 ha of
infill/redevelopment.
b) SWMF Retrofit Program:
The 2001 SWM Policy focused on the SWM facility (SWMF) retrofit opportunities.
No retrofits to SWMFs were performed in 2015. However; two (2) oil-grit separators
were installed in 2015 treating 8.76 ha (Meinzinger) + 0.69 ha (Kennedy/Palmer) of
drainage area at a cost of $146,813.67. This provided a net gain of 1.79 ha in
treated area versus the area that the CiL fee was collected for.
In addition, over 2014 and 2015 educational signage was installed at all SWMFs to
inform the public not to use these facilities for recreational uses and to provide a
unique identification number for the public to use when reporting dumping or other
deficiencies. This should provide a more efficient response time by Operations staff.
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c) Stormwater Infrastructure Maintenance Program
Inspection / Clean out of City Owned OGS units:
The City of Kitchener retained Echelon Environmental in 2014 to inspect 46 City
owned oil and grit separator units installed on municipal property. According to the
report provided by Echelon Environmental dated January 31, 2015 it was found that
the majority of City’s OGS units were functioning well but many units had reached
the point that required clean-out.
In response to these findings in 2015 the City of Kitchener had the highest priority
OGS units cleaned at a cost of $69,995.66 using the CiL account. This money was
used by the City of Kitchener to hire a contractor to supply all labor, material and
equipment required for cleaning out of fifteen (15) existing OGS units including
disposal of all extracted materials.
Monitoring / Inspection / Clean out of City Owned SWMFs:
As part of the 2014 City of Kitchener Stormwater Management Monitoring Program a
study was conducted to determine if City owned SWMFs are functioning as they
were designed. Initial testing showed that 74% of the ponds are functioning
adequately. It further showed that 26% of SWMFs were full and releasing sediment
back into City watercourses. The study determined that the average TSS removal
efficiency of all SWMFs is 59% corresponding to MOECC guidelines for ‘basic’ water
quality treatment which is below the required levels of ‘normal’ or ‘enhanced’ water
quality treatment.
As part of the 2015 City of Kitchener Stormwater Monitoring Program total sediment
volumes were measured in the field at all SWMFs to help prioritize maintenance
work. The top 20 facilities most in need of maintenance are listed in the 2015 SWM
monitoring final report.
In 2015 the City of Kitchener performed sediment removal activities at 6 ponds
(Pond # 34, 36, 51, 174, 62, & 53) at a total cost of $293,001. In 2015 the City also
hired a consultant to complete a study to evaluate opportunities and constraints to
reusing sediment reclaimed from SWMFs. A significant portion of the costs were
associated with sampling sediment from various ponds and receiving lab analysis. A
portion of the cost of the study ($70,000) was paid for using the CiL account. This
work was deemed a priority due to the high cost of landfill disposal options for
SWMF sediment and this work will continue in 2016.
d) Stream Rehabilitation works:
In 2015 the City completed a Stream Naturalization Project on Filsinger Creek
(Reach 1). The project included the removal of 475 m of concrete channel which
was replaced with a natural channel to better handle urban runoff and reduce
sediment entering Victoria Park Lake. The approved tender price was $1.4 Million
including HST.
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e) SWM monitoring 2015 program:
In 2015 a consultant was hired to complete automated and manual water quality
monitoring in City of Kitchener watercourses, to measure the accumulated sediment
volume in all City owned SWMFs and comment on performance and maintenance
priorities, and to document the results of the study in a technical memorandum.
The results of the 2015 SWM monitoring program were presented at the
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Environmental Committee on February 18, 2016. In general the monitoring results
show some exceedances of certain water quality parameters from their respective
guidelines particularly with respect to chlorides, total phosphorous, dissolved
phosphorous, total suspended solids and to some extent metals.
In addition to the water quality monitoring results, the report provides a list of the top
20 City of Kitchener SWM facilities most in need of maintenance and also provides
an estimated clean out frequency for each facility to help determine the maintenance
cycle.
A number of actions were identified in the 2015 monitoring program to further the
comprehensiveness of stormwater management in the City of Kitchener and guide
future stormwater management initiatives and policy including the following
recommendations:
1. Increased use of Best Management Practices for Transportation corridor
maintenance (i.e. street sweeping, leaf collection, catch basin cleanouts, and
road salting operations);
2. Increase use of a treatment train approach for stormwater management including
the use of Low Impact Development technologies for source and conveyance
control; and
3. Increased maintenance of existing City SWM infrastructure;
The final report also provided some general recommendations to improve future
monitoring programs including:
1. A recommendation to place automated water quality monitoring equipment
strategically and aim at producing long-term data (10 consecutive years is
required for establishment of trends);
2. Identification of site specific receiving water targets for comparison to
measured results; and
3. Establishment of a reference station with natural or rural land uses (baseline
conditions) to compare the water quality results from urbanized areas.
f) SWM Monitoring Program Recommendations for 2016:
1. Automated water quality monitoring stations will be located at SR2 (Sandrock)
and SM1(Shoemaker);
2. Grab sample water quality sampling locations for 2016 were selected;
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3. The Balzer creek monitoring station (BZ1) and Idlewood 1 (IW1) stations were
originally included in the 2016 SWM Monitoring Program but due to
construction activities will instead be monitored using the construction budget
associated with each project. Automatic water sampling equipment is
recommended to monitor the impacts of the construction activities and
determine the benefits of the project work at each location. If available, the
monitoring results for BZ1 and IW1 will be reported / included in the 2016 SWM
Monitoring Program;
4. The results of the GRCA’s monitoring at two locations will be reported through
the 2016 SWM Monitoring Program; and
5. Biological monitoring, including fish and benthic invertebrate surveys, are
recommended for all stations monitored for water quality.
g) SWM Policy Review:
An Integrated Stormwater Management Master Plan (ISWM-MP) is currently
underway and will be completed in 2016. The ISWM-MP will serve as a decision
support tool, a methodology for the prioritization of works, a means to estimate
future SWM requirements and costs and a transparent community process by which
the City identifies and implements works.
The 2015 SWM Monitoring final report lists 15 recommendations to improve
stormwater management governance and stewardship within the watershed.
Recommendations from the 2015 annual monitoring program should be reviewed /
included in the ISWM-MP which, in turn, will guide how the annual monitoring
program is conducted over the foreseeable future.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION:
On February 18, 2016 the 2015 monitoring results were presented to the Environmental
Committee. A copy of the draft monitoring technical memorandum was made available
to committee members on February 8, 2016.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic
vision through the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The SWM Redevelopment/Infill fee (Cash-in-Lieu) contributions in 2015 were
$581,083.46. Funds are deposited into account 57500075 SWM CASH IN LIEU.
* The reporting cycle for the 2015 SWM monitoring program is January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Copies of the final documents have been forwarded to members of the Steering Committee
(City of Kitchener, GRCA and the Region of Waterloo). A final copy of the report is available for
review in the Office of the Mayor and Council.
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This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting.
CONCLUSION:
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2015 was the 14 year that the City's Stormwater Management Policy I-1135 has been in effect.
The results from the 2015 SWM Audit Monitoring Program are provided in the Technical
Memorandum.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Justin Readman, Executive Director of Infrastructure Services
Department
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