Most elementary school children are familiar with the scientific concept of the water cycle, and at its very basic it is pretty simple – water that has collected on the earth is evaporated by the sun, it condenses into clouds at higher altitudes and returns to earth as one of numerous forms of precipitation.

Over the eons nature has generally used the water cycle to the benefit of mankind. There are exceptions when there may be too little water at a particular location – drought – or too much – flooding. For the purposes of this series, we are considering the issues related to too much precipitation.

Clean Water Act

In 1972 the U.S. Congress passed the federal Clean Water Act with the objective to control pollutants that entered the water systems in the U.S. Among actions taken by that act and subsequent amendments is the separation of storm runoff collection from the collection and treatment of wastewater systems (sewer).

In Fountain Hills the Sanitary District, which is a separate municipal jurisdiction from the Town of Fountain Hills, maintains and operates the closed sewer systems in the community. The district is cognizant of potential infiltration from storm runoff and monitors that closely. Infiltration happens on occasion, but if it does it has the potential to disrupt the sanitary treatment process.

Sanitary District Manager Dana Trompke notes that the district has more than 30 miles of sewer lines in washes through town. As the system is gravity driven, washes are a logical downhill route for the lines.

Pressurized water mains, reclaimed water mains and buried utility cables also cross the washes.

“While most infrastructure is designed to withstand typical flood events and up to a 100-year flood event, even the best-designed infrastructure can be damaged or destroyed by severe intense storm events,” Trompke said. “The force of the raging water can lift up concrete or scour away the ground surrounding foundations underneath infrastructure or bridges.

“Mother Nature always finds a way. Utility providers, such as EPCOR and the Sanitary District, are trained and staffed to react quickly to restore any service disruptions caused by storms.”

Responsibilities

The Clean Water Act also specifies the responsibilities of municipalities in maintaining the clean water standards. The rules require cities and towns to obtain a permit that specifies the measures that must be taken to prevent pollution from entering the stormwater collection system. The permits are administered by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and Fountain Hills has maintained a permit since 2003. The annual permit cost is currently $5,000 for municipalities with a population between 10,000 and 100,000.

The main requirement is establishing and maintaining a Storm Water Management Plan (SWMP).

Fountain Hills is required to prohibit non-storm water discharges into the storm water system and to implement enforcement procedures.

To meet federal requirements, the Fountain Hills Town Council adopted its Storm Water Management Plan which includes six Minimum Control Measures with Best Management Practices (BMPs) and measurable goals for each:

*Construction of storm water runoff controls.

*Illicit discharge detection and elimination.

*Pollution prevention.

*Post- construction storm water management.

*Public education and outreach.

*Public participation/involvement.

Fountain Hills is a member of Storm Water Outreach for Regional Municipalities (STORM), an organization made up of 23 municipal organizations.

The STORM organization helps provide educational material relating to storm water management and provides a forum for discussion of best management practices for participating munic­ipalities.

One can visit the STORM website for more information at azstorm.org.

Scope/Cost

The infrastructure in Fountain Hills impacted by the regulations includes 73,200 feet of storm drain, 1.9 million linear feet of curb and gutter and 177 miles of streets to sweep. There are also 407 catch basins to be inspected, 700 acres of Town-owned washes and the six dams with ADWR jurisdiction but owned by the Town.

In the five years from 2008 to 2014 the Town spent $1.2 million administering these environmental needs. The annual costs exceeded $500,000 in 2015. The 2023 budget includes $160,000 for drainage maintenance and repair and $210,000 for wash maintenance.

These costs are generally part of the General Fund Budget, although some may be reflected in the Street or Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF), as state shared revenues.

However, there are capital projects related to flood control and storm water drainage that are separate. Between 2014 and 2017 the Town spent nearly $1.4 million for culvert installation where Ashbrook Wash crosses Saguaro Boulevard and Bayfield Drive. That reflects only the Town’s share and not that paid by the Maricopa County Flood Control District.

In 2020 and 2021 the Town spent about $2.2 million to replace a collapsed storm drain on Panorama Drive around Fountain Lake. That was Phase I of a project that is continuing into the current fiscal year.

While some of these costs can be anticipated and planned for annually some, and these are usually the costliest, border on emergency situations and are not anticipated, such as the collapse of the storm drain or flooding in Golden Eagle Park.

For much of a decade following the adoption of the Storm Water Management Plan per federal law, the Town of Fountain Hills and councils struggled with planning for these costs and finding the funding to meet these requirements. An effort to adopt, collect and maintain an Environmental Fee for Fountain Hills will be discussed next.