Sunday, Sep. 28, 2008

Kennewick looks to charge for runoff

John Trumbo, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK -- There soon may be more going into the street drains in Kennewick than runoff from watering the lawn, washing the family car and the occasion rainstorm.

Add to that a trickle of $1.80 a month coming from your wallet for a stormwater utility charge.

The service which has been available to city residents at no extra cost, may soon have to be a tax to pay for federal and state requirements, said City Manager Bob Hammond.

He said increasing regulations from the federal government and Washington's Department of Ecology on how cities monitor and handle stormwater is draining available funds.

"These are unfunded mandates," said Hammond, who has told the council that the day is coming when Kennewick will have to add a stormwater utility charge that totals about $21.60 a year per household.

If Kennewick adds the stormwater utility to monthly city bills, it will follow what West Richland, Richland and Pasco already have been doing.

West Richland charges $2.80 a month per home, while Pasco and Richland charge $1.80. Commercial properties are charged differently.

The estimated $840,000 a year that Kennewick would be collected from the stormwater tax will help the city meet laws requiring cleaning drain pipes and catch basins and monitoring the city's dry wells that receive the stormwater and help it seep back into the ground.

Hammond said dry wells are a big part of how Kennewick processes stormwater.

"We certainly don't want dry wells to go away. We are one of the few areas in the state that have dry wells," he said.

Kennewick maintains about 2,100 dry wells that are connected to storm drains. The system is designed to quickly catch any initial rush of water and then allow the water to seep out more slowly into the groundwater system.

Bruce Beauchene, city utility services manager, said each year city crews inspect each dry well and catch basin in the city to ensure they are working properly.

Federal and state stormwater requirements have to be met if the dry wells are going to continue to be used. "(Losing them) would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and there would have to be public hearings," Hammond said.

Beauchene said a stormwater management system that didn't use dry wells would require an extensive network of pipes connecting manholes and catch basins before allowing it to be released into the Columbia River.

"It would be a huge capital expenditure," Beauchene said.

Kennewick has been able to do the required maintenance and cleaning of the stormwater system without having to tap residents for more money, Hammond said.

But new rules require cities to pay the state to oversee stormwater programs to ensure that no pollutants are getting into groundwater.

"We've done some of this as good business practices, but now it is mandated," he said.

Councilman Bob Parks said it looks like a state money grab.

"So they want to charge us $50,000 a year just to monitor us?" Parks asked during a recent council meeting. "Sounds like Ecology is screwing us so they can build a bigger bureaucracy."

Hammond said he was only giving the council a heads-up about what could be coming.

"We have gaps in our funding. Even with not filling (some top administrative positions), we have to do something. This is a reasonable thing," Hammond told the council.

He expects to bring the stormwater issue back before the council early next year.