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Drainage improvements to cost $260M

Flooding problems are prompting the county to consider a way to get the work done quicker: a stormwater fee.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published June 26, 2006

Of all of the numbers that Michele Baker threw at the County Commission last week, $260-million was the most sobering.

That's the estimated cost of drainage improvements needed countywide to stem flooding problems and meet federal water quality standards.

"And when you look at the study, that's the low-ball," Baker, the county engineering program administrator, told commissioners.

The county spends about $100,000 a year on new drainage improvements: "We're not doing much but a little ditch maintenance," Baker said.

At that rate, it would take 2,600 years to finish the job.

That's why a county-hired consultant is working on a proposal to charge a stormwater fee to homeowners and businesses, to raise the millions of dollars needed to do the work sooner.

The proposal is to come before commissioners this fall, after consultant Camp Dresser & McKee gets more specific estimates for the drainage projects needed. As with any new fees, the County Commission would have to hold public hearings before voting on them.

But a report that went to commissioners last week gives a rough idea of the costs in store.

Using the $260-million estimate, the consultant said the work could be done in 23 years if homeowners pay $113 a year businesses also would contribute, based on the size of the property.

Other options provide lower fees, but it would take longer to do the work. If homeowners paid $79 a year, the improvements would take 31 years; if they paid $55 a year, the work would take 51 years. For a $35 annual fee, the improvements would be done in 74 years.

Those fees assume that everyone pays the same countywide. Commissioner Ted Schrader said he would rather see a proposal in which people pay for the specific projects in their drainage basin.

The report that comes to commissioners in the fall will have that option, too, Baker said.

As the proposals take shape, county officials plan to meet with residents in the soggiest basins to answer questions and enlist their support, Baker said.

"We had 30-plus years of drought where this really wasn't an issue," Baker told the Pasco Times. "Then we had the flooding in 1998, 2003 and 2004. The forecast now is for normal rainfall and heavier hurricane seasons.

"I think people will be asking us to fix these problems," she said, "and in order to fix these problems, we will need a funding source."

But the clock is ticking. If commissioners want to get a stormwater fee on the 2007 property tax bills, they will have to make a decision by Nov. 8, Assistant County Attorney Barbara Wilhite said.

"That's what we're shooting for," said Baker, although she said that will hinge on whether the consultant has the updated estimates in time.

The $260-million in new projects is only one piece of the county's drainage program. The county also plans to spend $450,000 on a firm that will identify every culvert, storm drain and holding pond in Pasco, so officials can come up with a maintenance plan to keep the water flowing.

As it is now, county crews do little preventative maintenance. Most of the time, they're called out to fix a problem after the flooding starts.

Camp Dresser & McKee found that the crews provide "less than full response to all complaints." Responding to all complaints would cost $2.1-million a year. Hiring the crews to perform all of the necessary preventative maintenance would run $8.8-million a year.

Those costs would be discussed with the stormwater utility proposals coming before commissioners later this year. Paying for everything likely would involve a mix of existing property tax dollars and a new stormwater fee, plus grants from the Southwest Florida Water Management District and other agencies, Baker said.

"Good report," Commissioner Ann Hildebrand told Baker after hearing the early estimates at Tuesday's meeting. "But just don't let it sit on the shelf. The longer we carry (on), the more expensive it's going to get."

Bridget Hall Grumet can be reached at (727) 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bgrumet@sptimes.com.

[Last modified June 26, 2006, 00:28:11]