By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
Since earlier this year, the City of Burlington has known it is facing potential costs to monitor its storm water systems.
Now, the first step in that process is set to be taken.
On Tuesday, the City of Burlington Common Council discussed approving a task order with consulting engineers Kapur and Associates to develop and submit a storm water management plan to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for an estimated cost of $121,844.
The city has received a grant from the DNR to match up to 57 percent of cost, or up to $80,000. The city would cover the remaining $52,393 out of the general fund.
Tom Foht, of Kapur and Associates, said Tuesday night the study is the first step in making the city compliant with the Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit it must now hold because of its size.
Foht said the study will include a mapping and modeling of the city’s infrastructure as related to the storm water system – storm sewer catch basins, discharge outfalls, drainage ponds, rain gardens, manholes, and the like.
“What you have to do is find all your infrastructure,” Foht said. “You don’t know what you’ve got to do until you’re done with this first step.”
When asked, Foht said he was hopeful the city wouldn’t need to invest a large amount of money in creating a removal system. Alderman Tom Vos said he wanted to know what the DNR wanted removed – silts, oils?
Foht’s answer was simple: both of those, and other polluting agents. But Foht was also quick to say the DNR would not force expensive changes on the city. Instead, he said he is hopeful solutions like increasing street sweeping and keeping the runoff areas clean would do the trick.
However, the study needs to be done first. It will evaluate the entire storm water collection system in Burlington, and gauge where the water is going and when.
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