HomeMy WebLinkAbout143-24 RESOLUTION
Page 1
113 West Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 575-8323
Resolution: 143-24
File Number: 2024-1836
INTENT TO ENACT STORMWATER UTILITY FEE (RESOLUTION OF INTENT):
A RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO ENACT A STORMWATER UTILITY ORDINANCE AND ESTABLISH A
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND WATER QUALITY FUND, AUTHORIZE ADDITIONAL SERVICES
RELATED TO IMPLEMENTATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH, AND TO APPROVE A BUDGET
ADJUSTMENT
WHEREAS, the Engineering Division, the City Council Stormwater Committee, and the City Council Water & Sewer
Committee have studied our community’s growing need to improve our stormwater management services; and
WHEREAS, with the help of a professional consultant with extensive experience in creating Stormwater Utilities
supported by appropriate and fair utility fees, these City Council committees and Engineering staff have devised the
fairest Stormwater Management Utility Fee possible and recommend this ordinance to the full City Council for
passage; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the Stormwater Utility Fee is necessary to equitably and efficiently
fund stormwater management services in order to provide for the safety, preserve the health, and promote the
prosperity of Fayetteville residents, businesses, and institutions; and
WHEREAS, the City Council also agrees with and adopts all the purposes explained in § 52.01 – Purpose of the
proposed new code section; and
WHEREAS, additional services authorized with this resolution of intent include development of the billing database
and billing tool that would allow property owners and residents to view their proposed fee as a portion of the continued
public outreach efforts, which could include engaging a consultant or additional temporary staff.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FAYETTEVILLE,
ARKANSAS:
Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby expresses its intent to enact Chapter 52
Stormwater Management Utility Fee as shown in Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby approves a budget adjustment, a copy of
which is attached to this Resolution, to appropriate funds for additional services including development of the billing
database and a billing tool to allow property owners and residents to view their proposed fees.
Resolution: 143-24
File Number: 2024-1836
PASSED and APPROVED on May 21 , 2024
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Mailing address:
113 W. Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
www.fayetteville-ar.gov
CITY COUNCIL MEMO
2024-1836
MEETING OF MAY 21, 2024
TO: Mayor Jordan and City Council
THRU: Chris Brown, Public Works Director
FROM: Alan Pugh, Staff Engineer
SUBJECT: Approval of a resolution of intent to adopt Chapter 52, Stormwater Management and
Water Quality Utility, of the City of Fayetteville Code or Ordinances establishing a
Stormwater Management and Water Quality Fund, authorization to perform additional
services and approval of a budget adjustment
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of a resolution of intent to adopt Chapter 52, Stormwater Management and Water
Quality Utility, of the City of Fayetteville Code or Ordinances establishing a Stormwater Management and
Water Quality Fund, authorization to perform additional services and approval of a budget adjustment.
BACKGROUND:
Like many cities throughout the state and nation, the City of Fayetteville experiences issues with management
of its stormwater utility system. These issues stem from many sources including, but not limited to, compliance
with the mandated Municipal Separate Stormwater System (MS4) requirements, aging infrastructure,
maintenance of system capacity, personnel to perform systematic inspections and the lack of formal drainage
systems in many older areas of the City. To address these concerns, the City has historically funded the
stormwater program through the Sales Tax Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and the Street Fund for
capital and operational/maintenance functions, respectively. However, there are many needs within the City
that require funding from these sources and, at least in recent years, the funding for stormwater has been
inadequate to comprehensively address stormwater management within the City. To develop a
comprehensive solution, additional funding is required for personnel and equipment as well as multiple capital
projects, many of which will require more than $1 million dollars for each project. Given the current levels, it
would take many years to address just one of those projects.
In June, 2018, the City Council recognized these needs and approved with a consultant contract for a
feasibility study (Resolution 131-18) and amended that agreement on two occasions (Resolutions 209-19 and
250-19) to provide additional investigation and details. That study was completed in August of 2019 and
updated in 2022 with more recent program costs, impervious area and associated fees. The Council also
passed a resolution of intent to establish a stormwater utility in July of 2022 (Resolution 157-22)
DISCUSSION:
The study recognized several areas that are currently underfunded, with the gap between the funding and
actual costs to provide the services increasing every year. These needs include categories such as:
• Operation and Maintenance
• Engineering and Planning
Mailing address:
113 W. Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
www.fayetteville-ar.gov
• Regulatory Compliance
• Capital Improvement Projects
The costs associated with these categories were based on a level and extent of service agreed upon by
council early in the program discussions as well as estimates of future regulatory compliance costs and
expansion of the stormwater system as Fayetteville continues to grow. The costs associated with the
recommended stormwater utility program can be found below.
Program Costs Current Budget Additional Needs Total Program
Operation and
Maintenance
$998,441 $1,508,000 $2,506,441
Engineering and
Planning
$67,000 $122,000 $189,000
Regulatory
Compliance
$193,000 $274,000 $467,000
Stormwater CIP $200,000 $913,400 $1,113,400
Administrative $0 $324,000 $324,000
Total $1,458,441 $3,141,400 $4,599,841
In response to the completed study and the need to find a sustainable funding source for the stormwater
management program, City staff has drafted Chapter 52, Stormwater Management and Water Quality
Utility, for consideration by City Council. The proposed ordinance would establish an equitable funding
source based on impervious areas, which can be directly correlated to the impact of any given property to
the stormwater system. The fee is proposed to be billed to sewer users with the City limits in a tiered
system. Properties with greater impervious areas would have a higher fee than smaller properties due to
the increased impact to the system. If there are multiple sewer customers on a single property, the total
impervious area would be allocated between those customers and the appropriate portion of the total fee
billed to each customer.
Staff have worked closely with the City Attorney’s office throughout the process and has modified the
program to address the concerns that have been raised. The City Attorney has expressed concern over
the legality of billing federal, state and county governments, and recommended that they be exempted.
Staff has included a revised monthly fee that reflects this recommendation. The monthly fee is estimated
to go to $1.35 per billing unit with those exemptions, which is a slight increase from the $1.30 per billing
unit discussed previously. That change is reflected in the table below and in the attached draft of Chapter
52.
The proposed fee would provide funding, in addition to that already being allocated from existing sources,
to operate and maintain as well as improve and expand the stormwater system. The fee tiers are as
shown below.
Tier
Tier Range (by square footage
of impervious area on a
property)
Billing Units Initial Monthly Fee
($1.35 per unit)
1 0≤2,000 1.25 $1.69
Mailing address:
113 W. Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
www.fayetteville-ar.gov
2 >2,000 to ≤ 3,500 2.75 $3.71
3 >3,500 to ≤ 5,000 4.25 $5.73
4 >5,000 to ≤ 6,500 5.75 $7.76
5 >6,500 to ≤ 8,000 7.25 $9.79
6 >8,000 Per Calc Billing Unit x Rate
This fee will close the existing funding gap and will fully fund a program to adequately manage stormwater
within the City of Fayetteville. The proposed program presents a sustainable and equitable method of
funding.
The additional services authorized with this proposal would include development of the billing database
and billing tool that would allow property owners and residents to view their proposed fee as a portion of
the continued public outreach efforts. This could include engaging a consultant and/or additional
temporary staff. If a consultant is engaged, the contract for the services will be brought back to the
council. However, council would be authorizing and to authorize the addition of up to 3.0 temporary full-
time equivalent positions for the GIS and utility financial services to backfill existing employees related
with the implementation of a Stormwater Utility with this resolution.
This would bring the City one step closer to implementing the program. The anticipated schedule moving
forward would be for the billing tool to be available to the public by October of this year and for the council
to consider the ordinance adopting the program prior to the end of the year with the goal of the fee being
included on sanitary sewer bills by August of 2025. Additional funding is anticipated to be necessary at the
time of adoption of Chapter 52 for aerial imagery and impervious data in order to establish the baseline of
impervious area for the program.
BUDGET/STAFF IMPACT:
The proposal would initially generate approximately $3 million in additional funding to be allocated to the
Stormwater Management and Water Quality program.
ATTACHMENTS: SRF (#3), BA (#4), Exhibit A - Stormwater Management and Water Quality - Final Draft (#5),
2024-4 Letter of Support_Stormwater Utility_BWA (#6)
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City of Fayetteville, Arkansas
Legislation Text
113 West Mountain Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 575-8323
File #: 2024-1836
Approval of a resolution of intent to adopt Chapter 52, Stormwater Management and Water
Quality Utility, of the City of Fayetteville Code or Ordinances establishing a Stormwater
Management and Water Quality Fund, authorization to perform additional services and approval
of a budget adjustment
A RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO ENACT A STORMWATER UTILITY ORDINANCE AND
ESTABLISH A STORMWATER MANAGEMENT AND WATER QUALITY FUND, AUTHORIZE
ADDITIONAL SERVICES RELATED TO IMPLEMENTATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH, AND
TO APPROVE A BUDGET ADJUSTMENT
WHEREAS, the Engineering Division, the City Council Stormwater Committee, and the City Council
Water & Sewer Committee have studied our community’s growing need to improve our stormwater
management services; and
WHEREAS, with the help of a professional consultant with extensive experience in creating
Stormwater Utilities supported by appropriate and fair utility fees, these City Council committees and
Engineering staff have devised the fairest Stormwater Management Utility Fee possible and recommend
this ordinance to the full City Council for passage; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the Stormwater Utility Fee is necessary to equitably
and efficiently fund stormwater management services in order to provide for the safety, preserve the
health, and promote the prosperity of Fayetteville residents, businesses, and institutions; and
WHEREAS, the City Council also agrees with and adopts all the purposes explained in § 52.01 –
Purpose of the proposed new code section; and
WHEREAS, additional services authorized with this resolution of intent include development of the
billing database and billing tool that would allow property owners and residents to view their proposed
fee as a portion of the continued public outreach efforts, which could include engaging a consultant or
additional temporary staff.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS:
Section 1: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby expresses its intent to
enact Chapter 52 Stormwater Management Utility Fee as shown in Exhibit A attached hereto and
made a part hereof.
Resolution: 143-24
File Number: 2024-1836
Page 2
Section 2: That the City Council of the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas hereby approves a budget
adjustment, a copy of which is attached to this Resolution, to appropriate funds for additional services
including development of the billing database and a billing tool to allow property owners and residents
to view their proposed fees.
5/2/2024
Submitted Date
No
0.36$
-$
V20221130
Budgeted Item?
Does item have a direct cost?
Is a Budget Adjustment attached?
Total Amended Budget
Expenses (Actual+Encum)
Available Budget
Item Cost
Budget Adjustment
Remaining Budget
52,685.00$
52,684.64$
Yes
Yes 150,000.00$
150,000.36$
17008.1
Project Number
Budget Impact:
Stormwater Feasability Study
Fund
General Fund1010.090.6600-5314.00
Account Number
Project Title
City of Fayetteville Staff Review Form
2024-1836
Item ID
5/21/2024
City Council Meeting Date - Agenda Item Only
Approval of a resolution of intent to adopt Chapter 52, Stormwater Management and Water Quality Utility, of the
City of Fayetteville Code or Ordinances establishing a Stormwater Management and Water Quality Fund,
authorization to perform additional services and approval of a budget adjustment
N/A for Non-Agenda Item
Action Recommendation:
Submitted By
Chris Brown ENGINEERING (621)
Division / Department
Comments:
Purchase Order Number:
Change Order Number:
Previous Ordinance or Resolution #
131-18, 209-19,
250-19, 157-22
Approval Date:
Original Contract Number:
City of Fayetteville, Arkansas - Budget Adjustment (Agenda)
Budget Year Division
/Org2 ENGINEERING (621)
Adjustment Number
2024 Requestor:Chris Brown
BUDGET ADJUSTMENT DESCRIPTION / JUSTIFICATION:
Approval of a resolution of intent to adopt of Chapter 52, Stormwater Management and Water Quality Utility, of the City of
Fayetteville Code or Ordinances establishing a Stormwater Management and Water Quality Fund, authorization to perform
additional services and approval of a budget adjustment
COUNCIL DATE:5/21/2024
ITEM ID#:2024-1836
Holly Black
5/3/2024 11:11 AM
Budget Division Date
TYPE:D - (City Council)
JOURNAL #:
GLDATE:
RESOLUTION/ORDINANCE CHKD/POSTED:/
v.2024422TOTAL150,000 150,000
Increase / (Decrease)Project.Sub#
Account Number Expense Revenue Project Sub.Detl AT Account NameGLACCOUNTEXPENSEREVENUEPROJECTSUBATDESCRIPTION X
1010.090.6600-5314.00 150,000 -17008 1 EX Professional Services
1010.001.0001-4999.99 -150,000 RE Use Fund Balance - Current
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EXHIBIT A
CHAPTER 52. STORMWATER, FLOOD MANAGEMENT UTILITY
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CHAPTER 52: STORMWATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY FEE
ARTICLE I – GENERAL PROVISIONS
52.01 - Purpose
The Stormwater Management Utility Fee is hereby established to create an equitable, efficient, and
dedicated funding source for stormwater management services in the City of Fayetteville and provide
for the safety, preserve the health and promote the prosperity of Fayetteville residents, businesses and
institutions. The purposes for the Stormwater Management Fee further include:
(A) To establish an equitable, fair, efficient and dedicated funding source for stormwater management
services in the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas in addition to other taxpayer funds so that better long-
range planning can be achieved.
(B) To lessen or deter hazards to persons, property and the environment caused by increased runoff,
obstructions to drainage and introduction of excessive silts, debris and pollutants into the drainage
system, lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and other water bodies in the City of Fayetteville, and to
otherwise promote the public health, safety and welfare of the public .
(C) To fund the City’s MS4 Stormwater Management Program for which it is expected to require a series
of minimum control measures and report on their progress annually. In addition to new measures with
each 5-year permit renewal, the City is projected to meet the population threshold of 100,000 by no
later than 2030 and would be designated a medium MS4 community, triggering additional mandated
activities.
(D) To administer the National Flood Insurance Program and its Community Rating System which
provides property owners with credits to reduce their flood insurance premiums,
(E) To equitably and legally address drainage needs, also known as stormwater management, to protect
public health, safety, and welfare and to reduce flooding on city streets thereby ensuring access of
emergency vehicles to all properties within the City during flood events, by providing resources for
construction, maintenance, and operation of stormwater facilities.
(F) To implement additional watershed improvements of the City’s waters in general, and specifically,
that of Beaver Lake, the City’s drinking water source, and the Illinois River.
52.02 - Definitions
The following definitions shall apply to this chapter:
Billing Unit shall mean the unit by which stormwater utility bills are calculated. A single billing unit shall be
equal to 1,000 square feet of impervious area.
Customer shall mean all persons or entities to whom the Stormwater Management Utility Fee is properly
billed. A customer is further defined as a person or an entity billed for sanitary sewer services within the
City limits.
Credit shall mean a conditional, renewable reduction in the amount of the fee owed by a customer in
accordance with the Sustainable Credit Framework.
EXHIBIT A
CHAPTER 52. STORMWATER, FLOOD MANAGEMENT UTILITY
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Public customer shall mean a local public agency including property of a school district within the City of
Fayetteville.
Public Stormwater System shall mean all stormwater conveyance systems located within the City of
Fayetteville right-of-way or public drainage easements. All other stormwater conveyance systems shall be
considered Private Stormwater Systems.
Stormwater Management Utility Fee is the utility fee authorized by state law to provide necessary funds
for a city to adequately address stormwater problems and needs through an equitable and fair utility fee
derived from an expert analysis of the amount of impervious surface of each property which causes
increased stormwater runoff that needs to be managed by the city to reduce or prevent flooding problems
for our citizens and businesses.
52.03 - Applicability
(A) The stormwater utility fee shall apply to all real property within the territorial jurisdiction of the City of
Fayetteville for which sanitary sewer is provided by the City and upon which the City may
constitutionally and legally assess such stormwater uti lity fee.
(B) City-owned real property constituting the municipal drainage system, including public streets, public
rights-of-way, drainage facilities, and related infrastructure is not served by a sanitary sewer and thus
is not subject to a stormwater utility fee.
(C) The requirements of this chapter do not relieve landowners, developers, other individuals, and entities
from their responsibility for complying with the obligations of other po rtions of the Unified
Development Code.
52.04—52.05 - Reserved
ARTICLE II – STORMWATER MANAGEMENT UTILITY FUND
52.06 - Establishment of a Stormwater Management Utility Fund
Pursuant to A.C.A. § 14-235-201 and other state law, the City of Fayetteville hereby creates a fund
entitled the “Stormwater Management Utility Fund” for the purpose of segregating, identifying, and
controlling revenues and expenses for operation of the City of Fayetteville Stormwater Management
Program and other storm-related equipment, construction, materials, supplies or services attributable to
these functions. The following revenue sources shall be deposited in said fund:
(A) All revenue collected by or on behalf of the Stormwater Management Utility Fee.
(B) Revenue from contributions in-lieu of onsite detention or from developers as contributions for required
off-site drainage improvements, which may include bridge assessments.
(C) Any interest earned on monies held in the Stormwater Management Utility Fund.
(D) Any other revenue as may be determined appropriate by the City Council, including but not limited to
general revenue, bond and grant proceeds.
These revenues shall be used exclusively for the purposes listed in Article I – General Provisions.
EXHIBIT A
CHAPTER 52. STORMWATER, FLOOD MANAGEMENT UTILITY
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52.07 – Authorization of a Stormwater Management Utility Fee
The Stormwater Management Utility Fee is a utility fee that is hereby authorized to be charged on most
real property within the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The fee shall be billable to the City’s Sewer Utility
customers. The rate structure for the utility fee shall:
(A) Be based on the square footage of impervious area on a property,
(B) Be owner / customer type (residential, commercial, etc..)-neutral,
(C) Use a billing unit of 1,000 square feet of impervious area,
(D) Slot property within the following six-tier billing unit structure:
Tier
Tier Range (by square footage of
impervious area on a property)
Billing Units Initial Monthly Fee (Billing Unit
times Billing Rate)
1 Less than 2,000 1.25 $1.69
2 2,001 to 3,500 2.75 $3.71
3 3,501 to 5,000 4.25 $5.73
4 5,001 to 6,500 5.75 $7.76
5 6,501 to 8,000 7.25 $9.79
6 More than 8,000 See (F) See (F)
(E) For Tiers 1 through 5, the billing unit in the chart shall be multiplied by the billing rate per unit
rounded down to the nearest cent.
(F) For Tier 6, properties with impervious area greater than 8,000 square feet, the actual impervious area
is divided by 1,000 and multiplied by the monthly rate per billing unit.
(G) The initial rate per billing unit shall be $1.35. This rate shall be increased by 3% per year beginning in
the January 2026 billing period. No rates shall increase after 203 1 without a further rate study.
(H) Fees for sewer customers on properties with multiple sewer accounts shall be based on the individual
sewer customer’s percentage of total impervious area of the property or properties that may be
attributed to the customer’s account, included any areas of parking, common use areas, or other
impervious area on the attributable properties.
(I) Sewer customers or property owners may apply to have the fee for their property mitigated or
reduced by the Sustainable Credit Framework.
52.08 – Initial Charge for the Stormwater Management Utility Fee
The initial assessment of the Stormwater Management Utility Fee established shall be charged beginning
one year after the effective date of the ordinance.
52.09 – Level and Extent of Service Policies
The level of services funded by the Stormwater Management Utility Fees are dependent upon the amount
of revenue generated by this Utility Fee, as well as possible general fund, sales tax bond, grants and
other sources. These revenues shall fund the operation and maintenance, engineering and planning,
regulatory compliance, stormwater capital improvements and administration of the City of Fayetteville’s
MS4 Program. The most recently adopted version of the City of Fayetteville Drainage Criteria Manual
and Green Stormwater Practices will serve as the basis for the extent of stormwater service related to:
(A) Public roads, public rights of way and public detention ponds (detention pond maintenance limited to
activities necessary for proper functionality),
EXHIBIT A
CHAPTER 52. STORMWATER, FLOOD MANAGEMENT UTILITY
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(B) Drainage features within existing dedicated public easements (excluding private commercial
detention ponds).
(C) These services extend to the downstream end of the first private infrastructure connected to the City
of Fayetteville’s drainage system.
(D) Prior to City accepting responsibility for any private stormwater system, its owner must dedicate a
drainage easement to the City of sufficient size as determined by the City to allow access to and work
on the drainage facilities with appropriate equipment. The City Engineer shall determine the
sufficiency of the width and extent of easements.
52.10 - Reserved
ARTICLE III – ADMINISTRATION
52.11 – Administration and Appeals
(A) The City Engineer is responsible for the interpretation and administration of this chapter.
(B) Owners may appeal the initial amount of the Stormwater Management Utility Fee credit allowed
denial of exemption or other dispute to the City Engineer, who shall determine the validity of any such
appeal. The City Engineer shall set forth the requirements of any such appeal in the Drainage Criteria
Manual. The City Engineer shall report the amount of any requested credit to be allowed in writing to
the appellant and maintain such record by the Engineering Department for at least one year.
(C) After exhausting administrative means with the City Engineer, customers desiring to further appeal of
an impervious area estimate, fee or credit can be heard by The City Water and Sewer Committee
pursuant to Chapter 155: Appeals."
52.12 – Sustainable Credit Framework
(A) A Sustainable Credit Framework will be established by the City Council that provides all Stormwater
Management Utility customers with an opportunity to reduce their normal fees. Customers may
qualify for renewable fee reductions by demonstrating activities or stormwater practices that increase
the water quality and thereby reduce the water quality and quantity burden imposed on the City of
Fayetteville’s drainage system. Activities eligible for credit include the following:
(1) Compliance with an industrial stormwater permit.
(2) Public customers that establish contracts, or Interlocal Cooperation Agreements, with the City
under § 25-20-104 will receive a credit recognizing the value of their public efforts to reduce
stormwater runoff, in accordance with the terms of the interlocal agreement.
(3) Using shared parking lots to minimize the creation of new impervious area
(4) Property retrofits using Water Quality, Flood, and Tree Mitigation Measures from the Drainage
Criteria Manual.
(5) Attendance at approved Stormwater Education Program and Stormwater Stewardship Activities.
(6) Demonstration of no direct discharge of stormwater.
EXHIBIT A
CHAPTER 52. STORMWATER, FLOOD MANAGEMENT UTILITY
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(B) The final Sustainable Credit Framework , including appropriate application forms and instructions, will
be developed and available to customers a minimum of 6 months in advance of the effective date of
the initial collection of the Stormwater Management Utility Fee.
52.13 - Billing and collection
The Stormwater Management and Fee shall be administered and collected in the same manner as the
City’s sewer utility.
52.14—52.15 - Reserved
Becky Roark
Executive Director, Beaver Watershed Alliance
PO Box 762
Elkins, AR 72727
Becky@beaverwatershedalliance.org
479-305-9701
April 10, 2024
City of Fayetteville Council Members
113 West Mountain St.
Fayetteville, AR 72701
RE: Support for Stormwater Utility
Dear City of Fayetteville Council Members,
I am writing to express strong support for the implementation of a stormwater utility in Fayetteville and its positive
impact on the Beaver Lake watershed. Beaver Watershed Alliance is a 501c3 nonprofit watershed group, formed in
2011, working to protect, enhance and sustain Beaver Lake and the integrity of its watershed. We work closely with
the City of Fayetteville and residents to engage the public in conservation stewardship, work alongside city staff to
install green infrastructure and have celebrated many success stories in water quality achievements over the past
decade. However, with the growth outpacing the resources for water quality protection and restoration needs, we
believe that this initiative is crucial for the future of water quality in the Town Branch watershed and West Fork
watershed, which are major tributaries to Beaver Lake, and an additional safeguard to keep high-quality drinking
water rates low for residents.
Increased urbanization and land development have led to a rise in stormwater runoff, which poses significant
threats to water quality and ecosystem health. Pollution from sediment, nutrients, and contaminants can degrade
water quality, harm aquatic life, and jeopardize public health. Sediments are costly to the drinking water utilities to
remove and dispose.
By implementing a stormwater utility, Fayetteville can take proactive measures to mitigate the adverse effects of
stormwater runoff and protect the integrity of the Beaver Lake watershed. The revenue generated from a
stormwater utility fee could be invested in critical infrastructure projects, including green infrastructure, detention
pond management, and erosion control measures, which help to reduce runoff volume and pollutant loads.
Additionally, funding can support educational programs and outreach efforts to raise awareness about the
importance of watershed stewardship and encourage sustainable practices among residents and businesses.
We urge you, as members of the City of Fayetteville Council, to consider the positive outcomes from the
implementation of a stormwater utility as a critical step towards safeguarding the Beaver Lake watershed and
ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come. Your leadership and commitment to environmental
stewardship will not only benefit our community and watersheds today but leave a legacy of conservation and
responsible resource management in our region.
Received By: Alan Pugh 05/14/2024 3:05
P.M.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to seeing the City of Fayetteville continue as a
leader in stormwater management and water quality protection.
Sincerely,
Becky Roark
Executive Director
Beaver Watershed Alliance
becky@beaverwatershedalliance.org