Equity Funding with Water and Wastewater Districts 2015 PWOI Conference Newport Beach

Introduction of Panel  Heather Ballenger, Public Works Director, City of Walnut Creek  John Presleigh, Public Works Director, County of Santa Cruz  Sarah Abramson Sikich, Vice President, Heal the Bay  Mitch Avalon – Consultant, CEAC  Moderator – Stephen Kowalewski, Deputy Director, Contra Costa County Public Works

Discussion Objective Understand the Stormwater Utility Initiative and how/why it will benefit your agency, and what actions should everyone be taking to prepare for this legislative effort.

Definition of Stormwater AB 1362 Author Assembly member Gordon, Co-Author Senator Wolk "Stormwater" means any system of public improvements or service intended to provide for the quality, conservation, control, or conveyance of waters that land on or drain across the natural or man-made landscape.

Stormwater facilities include… Regional Flood Protection Stormwater Quality Stormwater Retention and Infiltration Community Drainage

Putting the Issue in Context What happened to land us where we are?  Desire for “Green” Infrastructure, better water quality, reduction in pollutants  Proposition 13  Proposition Water Sectors: Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater (the inequity in how funded)  Regulatory Requirements  Deferred Maintenance/Aging Infrastructure

 Clean Water  Local Drainage  Project Impacts to Water Quality  Fiscal Constraints (how is it funded now and do you see the need increasing)

History of Our Clean Water Program  Support Clean Water Act goals  Stormwater Utility Assessment established ($19 – $35/ERU) Revenue generated: $1,250,000/year Expenditures (FY 14-15): $1,456,000 (forecasted to increase) Reserve expended in 4 years

First Round of MRP  Added stringent C.3 development runoff controls  Water quality monitoring (TMDL)  40% trash reduction goal Full trash capture devices Capital cost & long-term maintenance Trash hot spots cleanup  Stringent tracking, documentation & reporting Expired in 2014

Second Round of MRP  70% trash reduction goal Homeless encampment issues Tracking & reporting trash control activities  Green Infrastructure for TMDL and Runoff Controls $ to construct and $$ to operate & maintain Lack of space Added inspections In Negotiation with Water Board

History of Our Clean Water Funding  2012 – Community Clean Water Initiative (Countywide) Took 6 yrs. of planning Cost $1,000,000 Defeated  Without new funding source, will have rely on General Funds  Storm water is only one piece of the puzzle

Storm Drain Maintenance  Walnut Creek has 100 miles of Storm Drain Piecemeal development over the last 100 years Overlapping jurisdictions Incomplete system mapping and assessment  Storm Drain Maintenance Plan Replacement Value of $90 million $1.8 million / year need (50 year design life) Annual Capital Budget of $150,000  Problem is “Out of Sight, Out of Mind”

Flood Protection  100-Year Flood Plain in Walnut Creek Require major infrastructure upgrades Do not meet cost / benefit requirements for federal assistance  Localized Flooding (<10-Year Storm) Recurring problems most winters Burden falls to Operations and Maintenance Staff Smaller projects, but still expensive - $6 million for Walnut Blvd. drainage improvements

City Perspective – Takeaways  Walnut Creek Supports Clean Water Goals  Compliance Costs Increasing Exponentially  Will Soon Require General Fund Support  City’s Storm Drain System is Aging  Little Capital Funding Available  No Public Advocates: “Friends of the Concrete Culvert”

 Flood Control District issues  Local Drainage (unincorporated County)  Environmental Permitting  50-year Plan  Homelessness  Channel Maintenance  Fiscal Constraints

 text Rio Del Mar Flooding

Private Culvert - Pinewood

Pajaro River - Homeless Encampment

Snug Harbor Project in Live Oak Before and After

Santa Cruz County has an extensive number of aging stormwater facilities requiring major repairs or replacement at an estimated cost of $50 million. It will be economically and environmentally advantageous, where possible, to daylight large culverts and restore the natural urban creeks (a 50-year plan or earlier). NPDES compliance now costs the various County Flood Control Districts over $200,000 annually; and trash TMDL is expected to be adopted in April 2015 which will increase costs further. We have many drainage areas with combined private and public stormwater systems. Many of these private stormwater systems are in need of significant repairs and should be incorporated into the larger County Flood Control Districts. There is a need for a consistent funding source for the flood control and water quality programs that will allow us to properly maintain the infrastructure like the proposed “Stormwater Initiative.”

Sarah Abramson Sikich, Vice President

The Problem 1 inch storm creates >10 billion gallons of runoff in LA County, polluting rivers, creeks, lakes and our coast Pollutants often exceed public health standards & water quality regulations Toxins and trash affect our health, drinking water supplies, and aquatic life Polluted water ways also threaten economy through lost tourism revenues, illness, and clean-up costs. Capturing this stormwater could also greatly benefit local water supplies generating >420,000 AF/year in urban areas

Surface Water Quality in Los Angeles County  Every major water body impaired and regulated  Over 40 regulations in effect or under development  Fines for non-compliance

 1.8 million people get sick every year after swimming at LA County beaches  Children, elderly, pregnant women & those with compromised immune systems are at greatest risk  LA County posts more beach water quality advisories than any other county in California Economic Impacts  130 million yearly trips to LA County beaches, generate $3.5 billion in spending  Stormwater-related gastroenteritis in LA & Orange counties results in more than $51 million annually in healthcare costs Health Impacts Stormwater pollution affects community wellbeing

Successful Water Quality Funding Measures Los Angeles– Prop O  Clean Water Bond  Passed with 76% in 2004  $500 million  39 Projects ID’d, 19 completed Santa Monica – Measure V  “Clean Beach Ocean Parcel Tax”  Passed with 67% in 2006  $3.9 million annually (combined with 1995 stormwater user fee)  Funds City’s Watershed Management Plan Echo Park, City of LA Pier Improvement, City of Santa Monica Sun Valley Park

LA County: Clean Water, Clean Beaches Measure Goal: Advance a long-term, stable, dedicated funding source to reduce water pollution & improve local water reliability Approach: Establish parcel fee based on amount of runoff a property generates (parcel size & land use) Establish clear criteria & oversight committee Status: In March 2013, Board of Supervisors voted not to pursue fee at that time, has not been reconsidered

Recommendations  Multipronged approach is needed to stormwater funding  Diverse stakeholder engagement is critical: business, environmental NGO, regulatory, municipal  Communications strategy is essential: outreach to affected stakeholders, public, decision-makers  Frame the benefits: economic, safety, health, environmental, beautification  Comprehensive Approach: operations & maintenance an important element  Transparency: Funding approach, criteria, and approval process is essential to garner support

Stormwater Initiative  Prop 218  Equality with Water and Wastewater  Three Pronged Approach Legislative Language Coalition/Polling Implementation/application of policy  2 step process for participants

218_ 1996 = Voting Requirements

Proposition 218 Voting Requirements Proposition 218 requires approval of a majority vote of property owners or two-thirds vote of electorate in the service area for any property related fee or charge except fees or charges for sewer, water and refuse collection

Current Water Portfolio Drinking Water Sector Sanitary Sewer Sector Stormwater Sector Quality Retention Drainage Flood Process Funding Management Water UtilitiesWastewater Utilities Cities, Counties, Flood Control Districts Voting Required Voting Exempt Rate Structure Resource Voting Exempt Rate Structure No Rate Structure

Contra Costa County Example 2012 Clean Water Funding Initiative Property related fee Ballot sent to all County property owners Process time: 1 ½ years Cost: $1.5 million Outcome: 60% “No” votes

Society’s Investment in Stormwater Annual Costs Based on $500,000 home/family in Walnut Creek

CEAC Strategy  Phase 1: Develop legislative language  Phase 2: Build a coalition of support for a successful campaign  Phase 3: Investigate implementation issues with a stormwater exemption

Stormwater Initiative Goal: “Utility” status for stormwater similar to water and wastewater Exempt stormwater agencies from voter requirements like water districts or sanitary districts Need a Constitutional Amendment approved by the legislature (67% vote) California voters will decide whether to grant an exemption for stormwater (50% vote) Stormwater is a valuable resource! Stormwater and its infrastructure is important for our health and prosperity

“Stormwater” means any system of public improvements or service intended to provide for the quality, conservation, control, or conveyance of waters that land on or drain across the natural or man- made landscape.

Stormwater Funding Initiative Process AB 1362 introduced, need Constitutional Amendment Aiming for 2016 election Coalition pushing Initiative forward Need campaign to support ballot measure

Two Step Process Step One: Ballot measure approves exemption, grants same authority to local government as water and wastewater districts to fund operations. Step Two: Each local government agency/area, if desired, goes through a political process to: –Establish a “utility” –Determine scope and level of services –Determine rates –Determine rate structure

Stormwater Funding Initiative It is not a TAX! Clarification of Proposition 218 exemptions Recognizes stormwater as a basic service Completes adequate funding for our total water portfolio

Next Steps  What you should be doing Educate yourself because there will be questions from your elected officials and the public  Timeline  Reference Materials Available  Workshop tomorrow, March 26, at 4:30 following the Flood Control Policy Committee meeting in the Patio Room

Thank You!