A team of committee members is working to protect the future quality of one of Norman’s largest water resources.
Members of the Norman Stormwater Citizen Committee will present their stormwater funding package recommendation to Mayor Lynne Miller and city council members on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at City Hall.
Norman is the largest city in Oklahoma without a dedicated stormwater utility that provides necessary resources to address current problems with water quality and quantity, said Robert Nairn, OU David L. Boren professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science.
Nairn said as the city has developed over time, the current infrastructure cannot keep up with the water issues the city is seeing today.
“We built up more over time — we are seeing a greater influence of water that flows into Lake Thunderbird,” Nairn said. “Pollutant loads increase as cities build and expand, and that is what has happened in Norman.”
If the recommendation package is approved, an enterprise fund will be created to fund stormwater projects for the city.
“From a stormwater management perspective, we do not have dedicated funding to maintain and upgrade our stormwater management system,” Nairn said. “Without a utility fee, essentially anything the city does in terms of stormwater must come from another source.”
In August 2016, city council members produced a recommendation for a stormwater funding package that would address Norman stormwater issues, but the measure failed. The committee was formed shortly after.
City council members suggested that the Stormwater Citizen Committee members go out to the public and gain city feedback to produce another proposal, said Norman stormwater program manager Carrie Evenson.
“City council directed them to basically take their proposal out to the public and get some public input so that the council had some additional information on what the community felt was the best solution for our stormwater issues in Norman,” Evenson said.
Evenson said in doing so, the council would like to take the city's feedback into account when making a more informed decision on the best structure for a stormwater package.
The committee spent the last year reviewing Norman’s stormwater needs, as well as finding solutions to address stormwater in Norman, with hopes of a funding option being passed through a city municipal election.
The stormwater program funding proposal is split into two parts: part one includes a $59 million bond for a capital improvement program, and the second recommends a stormwater utility fee for infrastructure maintenance and operational needs.
“Council with staff input will develop language that they want to put on the ballot for this particular item, then it is heard in council. It has to do a first reading and a second reading, then it can be put on a ballot for election,” Evenson said.
Any fees or fee increases must be approved by a majority of voters in Norman, Evenson said.
“We need to be able to maintain our stormwater system and continue our education efforts so we can keep Lake Thunderbird in the quality it is,” Evenson said. “Maybe improve it a bit so it is there as our drinking source for many years to come.”
