At its Aug. 19 meeting the Vero Beach City Council inched a bit closer to creating a stormwater utility to help reduce urban runoff that is polluting the Indian River Lagoon.
That is a good thing because a staff report discussed by the Council, along with information provided to Vero Beach 32963 by Public Works Director Monty Falls, makes it clear the city desperately needs a stormwater utility of some kind to keep up with repair and replacement of aging stormwater infrastructure and to install new filtration equipment to keep a wide range of pollutants out of our ailing estuary.
When rain falls on grasslands, farms or forests, only 10 percent of it runs off into streams and other water bodies. When rain falls on roofs, streets and other impervious surfaces, 55 percent runs off into water bodies – in our case the lagoon.
Urban stormwater carries sediment; oil, grease and toxic chemicals from motor vehicles; pesticides and nutrients from lawns and gardens; viruses, bacteria and nutrients from pet waste and failing septic systems; heavy metals from roof shingles, motor vehicles and other sources; and thermal pollution from dark impervious surfaces such as streets and rooftops, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
These pollutants harm fish and wildlife populations, kill native vegetation, foul drinking water supplies, and make recreational areas unsafe and unpleasant and have the potential to threaten human health.
Today, only 34 percent of Vero’s urban runoff goes through a baffle box or some other type of filtration before entering the lagoon. According to the staff report, stormwater pollution control projects planned by the city will cost $3.4 million. At the current rate of funding, it will be 19 years before those projects are complete – and even then the city will not be treating 100 percent of its urban runoff.
Winger wants more stormwater treated sooner.
“Runoff is one of the big three polluters,” he says. “We have stormwater, septic and muck to deal with. We don’t know which one is the worst polluter but we have all three of them in spades.
“I would like to make it our target to get the planned projects done in 3 to 5 years, instead of 19 years. That would be our goal.”
A stormwater utility would help with that goal by creating a dedicated source of funding for stormwater control and cleanup projects.
Winger estimates that a $3 to $5 monthly fee paid by property owners would generate $600,000 to help keep dolphins and other aquatic life from being smothered by algae blooms and poisoned by chemicals and infections.
The idea of a stormwater utility is not a radical innovation. They are widespread throughout Florida, and the cities of Palm Bay, Sebastian, Fellsmere and Fort Pierce all use the utility mechanism to fund stormwater improvements.
In most cities stormwater fees are added to utility bills, which would help capture revenue from some of the 44 percent of property in Vero Beach not subject to property taxes.
“There are very few people in this town who would object to paying $3, $4 or $5 per month to help the lagoon,” Winger says.
Having a utility would also improve Vero’s odds of getting grant money for stormwater improvements from the state and federal government, reducing the cost to local residents for a cleaner, healthier environment.
“Most grant applications for stormwater-related projects include a scoring component that gives preference to applicants with a dedicated stormwater funding sources,” according to the staff report.
Creating a stormwater utility is a no-brainer from a government finance and ecology point of view, but it is a complicated undertaking.
“We are just starting down the path,” says Winger, who hopes to have a utility in place by early next year.”
On the 19th, the council voted to instruct City Manager Jim O’Connor to gather more information about how stormwater utilities function in Sebastian and Fellsmere.
Once staff and council pour over those details and get a better idea of how a utility would work in Vero an expert consultant will likely be hired to provide a clear, comprehensive picture of how much money a stormwater utility will require to be effective and how one can best be structured.
Winger says the public will have to buy into the plan before it goes ahead and that it will have sunset provision so the fee goes away after the stormwater projects are complete.