kitchener’s stormwater utility - apwaservices initiative. • aecom partnered with cdm to assist...

Kitchener’s Stormwater Utility By K. Grant Murphy & Ray Tufgar

APWA Sustainability Conference – PortlandJune 29, 2011 1

Kitchener’s

Stormwater

Utility K. Grant Murphy, M.D.Ed., P.Eng. City of Kitchener

Ray Tufgar, M.Eng., P.Eng., MBA

AECOM

APWA Sustainability Conference

June 29, 2011

• Review Stormwater Feasibility Study– Part 1 - Service Level Study – Part 2 - Funding Mechanism Review

• Kitchener’s Stormwater Rate• Implementation of Stormwater Utility• Lessons Learned

Presentation Agenda

• Flood control structures ensure public safety.

• Effective drainage conveys overland flows to prevent property damage.

• Water quality facilities protect aquatic and terrestrial habitat.

• Infiltration facilities protect source water ensuring a safe drinking water supply.

• Erosion protection to stabilize slopes, affecting public and private property.

What is Stormwater Management? (SWM)



Kitchener Ontario Canada

• Population – 229,400

• Local municipal council within the two tier Region of Waterloo

• Located in south-western Ontario

• 1 hour west of Toronto

Kitchener’s SWM System

• 137 square kilometres

• 100 km open watercourses

• 700 km of sewers

• 10000 catchbasins

• 100 SWM ponds

$265M ofSWM Assets

(2011)

Emerging Challenges

• Pipes, culverts, and outfalls are aging; streambanks are eroding and hardening and SWM ponds are filling with sediment.

• Routine inspection and maintenance to ensure good working order

• New construction of infrastructure requires adequate review and inspection.

• Increased urbanization and climate change alters runoff characteristics

• Regulated by Ontario Water Resources Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act and the Canadian Fisheries Act.



• Kitchener and Waterloo worked collaboratively, as part of a shared services initiative.

• AECOM partnered with CDM to assist Waterloo and Kitchener.

• Stormwater Management Feasibility Study was completed between 2005 & 2009.– Part 1 - Service Level Study - investigated

current and future anticipated stormwater expenditures.

– Part 2 - Funding Mechanism Review - an equitable, self-supporting, and dedicated funding mechanism

Stormwater Management Feasibility Study

StormwaterStormwaterManagementManagement

Public InvolvementPrograms

Capital Projects

Administration / Enforcement

Finance

EmergencyResponse

Operations / Maintenance

Engineering /Support Services



Capital Projects


Finance

EmergencyResponse



Part 1 - Service Level Study

Current Service Level = $ 8.9M

Sustainable Service Level = $ 13.0M

• Need for increased service level for stormwater management programming.

• Kitchener Council approved increase in January 2010

$4.1MINCREASE

• Stormwater has historically been taxpayer funded.

• Inequity … amount property owners pay through property taxes vs. amount of service they use.

• Residential property taxpayers subsidize tax exempt properties and large commercial/industrial properties.

• Four (4) funding options were reviewed which identified strengths, weaknesses and potential costs to ratepayers.

• Municipalities across North America are moving towards a fee-based funding model to achieve greater fairness and equity.

Part 2 - Funding Mechanism Review



Comparing Funding Methods

Funding Method

Dedicated Funding Source

Fair & Equitable Allocation

Contribution from

Tax Exempt Properties

Incentives for On-Site

Stormwater Management

Effort to Administrate

1. Stormwater Rate Yes Yes Yes Yes High

2. Dedicated Tax Levy Yes No No No

Low/ Medium

3. Stormwater Flat Fee Yes Partly - if

tieredYes Possibly Medium

4. Status Quo No No No No Low

• Flat Fee

• Runoff Coefficient

• Intensity of Development Factor

• Residential Flat Rate

– Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU)

– Single Family Unit (SFU)

• Tiered Residential Rate

• Level-of-Service / Geography Base

• Impervious Area Measurements

(all properties, each year)

Lev

el o

f E

ffor

tL

evel

of

Eff

ort

Acc

ura

cyA

ccu

racy

0%

100%

Common Billing Unit Methods

Kitchener’s Stormwater RateMajor Milestones

Conduct Consultation

& Analysis

Finalize Feasibility Study &

Approve Service Level

Approve Rate Methodology

Approve Rate

Schedule & By-law

2005 to 2008

June 14, 2010

Early 2010

2008 to 2009



patio

Small Single Detached168 m2 = 0.6 SFU

Multi-Unit Residential 1 Dwelling Unit = 0.2 - 1.0 SFU

Large Single Detached344 m2 = 1.3 SFU

Average Single Detached259 m2 = 1.0 SFU

Office Building

Pavement

Non-ResidentialImpervious Area

Units =SFU Area

RoadRoad

RoadRoad

Par

king

Par

king

ParkingParking

club house

SFU = Single Family Unit

Tiered Flat Fee Billing Unit Method

patio

patio

1

2

4

3

5

fractional billing units per non-single residential dwelling units

� Single Unit Res.� Multi-Unit Res.� Condominiums� Townhouses

� Governmental� Commercial� Institutional� Industrial

1 billing unit per single detached home

Parcel Impervious Area= Units

SFU Base Area*

SFU Billing Unit Method

* SFU = Single Family Unit* 2010 Kitchener SFU Base Area: 259 m2 (2,900 ft2)

Stormwater Rate ScheduleType Code

Description Basis for ChargeNumber of

Dwelling UnitsMonthly Charge

per Property1

Annual Charge

per Property1

1 Residential Single Detached SmallDetached homes with building footprint size of 105 m2 or less

1 $6.30 $76

2 Residential Single Detached MediumDetached homes with building footprint

size between 106-236 m2 1 $10.50 $126

3 Residential Single Detached LargeDetached homes with building footprint

size of 237 m2 or more1 $13.80 $166

4 Residential Townhouse Per property (per Tax Roll ID number) 1 $7.50 $905 Residential Condominium Per property (per Tax Roll ID number) 1 $4.20 $50

Duplex $8.40 $101Triplex $12.60 $151

Four-plex $16.80 $202Five-plex $21.00 $252

7 Multi-Residential (>5 Units)Per property (according to number of dwelling units)

variesCharge = (# units) × ($2.10/month)

See Note 2

Charge = (# units) × ($25.20/year)

See Note 2

8 Non-Residential Smallest 26 - 1,051 m2 of impervious area $20.10 $241

9 Non-Residential Small 1,052 - 1,640 m2 of impervious area $53.70 $64410 Non-Residential Medium-Low 1,641 - 7,676 m2 of impervious area $140.70 $1,688

11 Non-Residential Medium-High 7,677 - 16,324 m2 of impervious area $410.70 $4,92812 Non-Residential Large 16,325 - 39,034 m2 of impervious area $995.40 $11,945

13 Non-Residential Largest 39,035 m2 or greater of impervious area $2,136.90 $25,643

Notes:1. Monthly stormwater rate charge per property to generate $11.56M/yr. Assumes 95% collection rate. All charges rounded to the nearest 30¢.2. Example: 10-unit apt. = $21.00/mo ($252/yr); 25-unit apt. = $52.50/mo ($630/yr); 100-unit apt. = $210.00/mo ($2,520/yr).3. Non-Residential tiers (Billing Codes 8-13) include both Taxable and Tax-Exempt properties.4. Non-Residential properties with less than 26.0 sq. m. of impervious area are not charged.

6 Multi-Residential (2-5 Units) Per building

n/a



Single Detached Medium

Building Footprint: 226 m2

Monthly Charge: $10.50

Annual Charge: $126

Rate Code 2

Multi-Residential (>5 Units)

No. of Dwelling Units: 6Unit Charge: $2.10


Annual Charge: $151

Rate Code 7

Non-Residential Medium-Low

Impervious Area: 2,452 m2


Annual Charge: $1,688

Rate Code 10



Non-Residential Largest

Impervious Area: 74,336 m2

Monthly Charge: $2,136.90

Annual Charge: $25,643

Rate Code 13

Revenue Distribution

Residential Single Detached,

60.6%

Multi-Residential, 13.5%

Non-Residential Taxable, 22.7%

Non-Residential Tax Exempt,

3.2%

Residential Single Detached,

42.4%

Multi-Residential, 13.8%

Non-Residential Taxable, 33.9%

Non-Residential Tax Exempt,

9.9%

Current Tax Levy25.9% Non-Residential74.1% Residential

Proposed Rate (18% shift)43.8% Non-Residential56.2% Residential

Utility Implementation 2010-2011 and Beyond…

• Resourcing Utility Implementation• Billing System Implementation• Public Communication• Coupled Rate Credit Policy• Delivering on Expectations





Capital Projects


Finance

EmergencyResponse





Capital Projects


Finance

EmergencyResponse



Resourcing for Implementation

• The workload is being borne by existing staff who are already over-extended and the resourcing situation is no longer sustainable.

• During 2010, resources are deployed to deliver stormwater management program.

• Council approved the hiring of four (4) new positions:– stormwater utility manager– operations supervisor– engineering project manager – revenue analyst

2010 Billing System Implementation

1. Update GIS impervious area mapping and estimates.

2. Assign SWM rate type codes from approved rate schedule to properties

3. Link GIS data to City billing records to assign a rate code and monthly billing amount.

4. Finalize master stormwater billing file data.5. Incorporate into the City’s corporate tax and

utility billing system (CIS).6. Prepare procedures manual to maintain the

master billing data file. 7. Special cases have arisen… golf courses,

farming operations and gravel pit operations.8. First SWM utility bills issued in February 2011

2011 Stormwater Utility Bills

• Over 68,000 bills issued on property owner’s utility bills

• As April 15th, 2011 - 230 billing errors or adjustments need to be made

• Less than ½ percent of properties incorrectly billed

• 8 “error” scenarios have been identified

• Adjustments are being made in May 2011.



Public Communication

http://www.kitchener.ca/en/livinginkitchener/Stormwater_Utility.asp

… investment in source water… protecting the environment… consistency in our billing rules

Public Consultation & Input

• 2005 to 2008 – a series of facilitated Stormwater Advisory Committee (SWAC) meetings, & public open house forums

• November 2007 - facilitated meetings with focus groups to provide additional public feedback

• October 2008 - draft final report issued to SWAC for final comments.

• October 2009 – final report presented to Council

• February 2010 - meetings with Chamber of Commerce

• March 2010 - mail-outs to school boards and charitable organizations

• April 2010 - open house for “Places of Worship”

• Email updates to SWAC about the final rate structure.



Public Awareness of Stormwater Utility Bills

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

# C

ust

om

er

Inquir

ies

0

4

8

Customer inqui ries to customer

service centre

47 194 272 329 223 123 140 104

Customer inqui ries escalated to

engineering division

10 35 50 73 51 30 30 20

Newspaper arti cles about city

budget del iberations

3 3 5 7 4 1 0 1

Feb 7-11Feb 14-

18

Feb 22-

25

Feb 28-

Mar 4

Mar 7-

11

Mar 14-

18

Mar 21-

25

Mar 28-

Apr 1

Budget Approval

First Utility Bills Issued

Spring Break

Public Feedback – Finalization of Rate

• Chamber of Commerce … “not another tax” … and ensuring that it is revenue neutral shift to a rate base

• Pacing of stormwater rate phase-in… to act with a sense of urgency.

• Lobbying by tax exempt properties for special consideration:– School Boards – Places of Worship– Charitable Organizations

• Refinement of rate tiers and more differentiation within the non-residential tiers

• Develop a credit policy for both non-residential or residential… and make it retroactive to beginning of billing period.

Stormwater Rate Credit Policy

• Property owners may qualify for stormwater rate credits when they can demonstrate:– their existing or proposed stormwater facilities – or applied best management practices provide

the municipality with a cost savings that the municipality otherwise would incur as part of their efforts to manage stormwater.

• The amount of reduction will be determined by the municipality on a case-by-case basis.

• Credit policy will be retroactive to January 1, 2011.



Typical Credit Policy

Credit Category Credit PointsStormwater Volume Control Credit (maximum 30%)Stormwater Quality Control StructuralBMP Credit

(maximum 20%)

Integrated Non-Structural BMP Credit (maximum 10%)Education Credit (maximum 5%)

CREDIT SUBMITTAL (add 1, 2, 3 & 4) (maximum 50% of total rate charged)

• Stormwater rate credits for Best Management Practices (BMPs) would be additive

• As long as the private BMPs are functioning as approved, and as demonstrated by self-certification and inspections, then the credit will be applied to the charged fee.

Stormwater Rate Credit Policy Work Plan

• Currently reviewing other jurisdictions and additional work will be carried out during 2011 to fully explore alternatives for credit policy implementation.

• A process similar to an environmental assessment will be followed:– Identification of a problem or opportunity– Identification, assessment of impacts, and evaluation of

alternative solutions– Selection of a preferred solution– Preparation of the policy

• Public consultation will be integrated into this process and will include at least two (2) public information centres at which the public will have opportunity to provide input and feedback.

• Credit policy alternatives will be presented to Council in November 2011 showing various advantages and disadvantages of each.

Lessons Learned in Kitchener... getting started...

1. Define basic principles and assess the need to proceed

2. Work with a consultant with a good mix of engineering, financial and public relations experience

3. Expect that this will take more than three (3) years to go from concept to implementation

4. Ensure that there is support from senior management to “bully on”



Lessons Learned in Kitchener... feasibility study...

5. Define program service level with a dedicated funding source

6. Allocate costs to property owners in a fair and equitable manner

7. Review various funding options and couple this with detailed a credit policy

8. Ensure a revenue neutral shift from tax to rate base

9. Avoid a transition from the tax base to the rate base over a period of years.

Lessons Learned in Kitchener... implementing ...

10. Develop simple & effective messages… source water protection & environmental sustainability

11. Look for partners to get your message across to Council and the public

– Chamber of Commerce– Conservation Authority– Industry Associations, Environmental Associations

12. Apply rate structure in a consistent manner and “protect” the utility rate base… avoid “special deals” unrelated to utility values.

13. Apply rate & credit policies to property owners not tenants… where there is the most ability to influence behaviours

Kitchener’s Story

• Stormwater programming shifted from tax base to rate base.

• Stormwater rate model based on measured “impervious area”.

• Applies to all property owners starting on January 1, 2011.

• Credit rate policy is work in progress.



Questions

Grant Murphy P.Eng.519 [email protected]

Ray Tufgar 519 [email protected]

The more you The more you The more you The more you

pave… the more you pave… the more you pave… the more you pave… the more you

paypaypaypay

kitchener’s stormwater utility - apwaservices initiative. • aecom partnered with cdm to assist...

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