Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 05-25-2010 Regular — reading text

Alison McDowell Senior Grant Manager Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance 109 Greenway Trail Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 21- 22_  CITY COUNCIL MEETING May 25, 2010 Consent Agenda Submission of Grant Application Synopsis: Application for a FDEP grant to modify an existing stormwater retention pond in the Gap Creek watershed area Agenda Item Number: 8. 3  CITY OF FORT WANTON BEACH MEMORANDUM To: Robert T. Mearns, City Manager From: Sam Wilson, Stormwater Operations Manager Through: Michael D. Beedie, P. E., Engineering & Utility Services Director Date: May 18, 2010 Subject: Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program Grant Proposal for Rain Gardens in the Gap Creek Watershed 1. BACKGROUND: 1. 1 Gap Creek is located in the Greater Fort Walton Beach area of Okaloosa County. The headwaters of the creek are in the wetlands west of Martin Luther King Boulevard. The creek exists as two tributaries that flow eastward and join near the Overbrook Subdivision, continuing eastward and flowing into Cinco Bayou at the Gap Creek Bridge on Beal Parkway ( State Road 189). Cinco Bayou is a Class III water body that is used heavily as a recreational area and outfalls into western Choctawhatchee Bay. The watershed surrounding Gap Creek is approximately 2. 9 square miles in area. 1. 2 Most of the Gap Creek watershed is built out, primarily consisting of residential neighborhoods constructed between the 1950' s and the present. There is an industrial park area, the Fort Walton Beach Commerce and Technology Park, which exists primarily south of Lovejoy Road and some commercial and multi -family development west of Martin Luther King Boulevard. The undeveloped portion of the watershed is limited to the western edge and northwestern corners of the watershed, which are part of Hurlburt Field / Eglin Air Force Base and are comprised of wetland and forested areas, and a patch of wetlands in the central portion of the watershed north of the creek. 1. 3 In January of 2008, the City partnered with Okaloosa County to identify stormwater Best Management Practice ( BMP) opportunities for improving the pollutant reduction capability within the Gap Creek watershed. The result of this partnership was the Gap Creek Water Quality Study ( GCWQS), which was completed by HDR Engineering, Inc. One of the objectives for the project was to identify opportunities for upgrading existing stormwater treatment BMPs and provide for additional stormwater retrofit opportunities. This document identified several million dollars worth of needed water quality improvements within the City of Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa County. 23- 2. DISCUSSION: 2. 1 Staff is in the process of finding ways to maximize and secure funding for the Gap Creek watershed. Currently, there are available grant monies through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection' s ( FDEP) Nonpoint Source Management section. The FDEP has received funding from the United States Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) through Section 319 of the Federal Clean Water Act. The grant funds the FDEP administers are used to implement projects to reduce nonpoint sources of pollution. Nonpoint source ( NPS) pollution refers to diffuse sources of pollution, such as stormwater runoff from urban areas and agricultural operations. 2.2 Using the GCWQS and feed back from local business owners and homeowners within the Commerce and Technology Park and the Sylvania Heights Community, Staff identified Sites 7 and 23 of the study on Bay Street NW and Burnette Avenue NW as possible areas to implement stormwater BMP' s. 2. 3 Staff is currently working with Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc., the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, the Northwest Florida Water Management District, Okaloosa County, and the Sylvania Heights Community to prepare the documentation necessary to submit a Section 319 grant application with supporting documentation to the FDEP for the following project: 2. 3. 1 The proposed improvements include the modification of an existing retention pond to a rain garden with bottom infiltration at the northeast corner of Bay Street NW ( Site 7) and the installation of a bioretention area with bottom infiltration at the current gravel cul -de -sac area at the end of Burnette Avenue NW ( Site 23). The overall objectives of the project are as follows: 2. 3. 1 Provide stormwater treatment for 8 medium density residential acres of drainage area within the Gap Creek Basin that directly impacts water quality of Cinco Bayou and Choctawhatchee Bay. 2. 3. 2 Reduce the nonpoint source pollutant loading of nutrients, suspended solids, heavy metals, and other urban non -point source pollutants in the Choctawhatchee Bay system. Restore and protect the natural biological communities, recreational and aesthetic qualities of this diverse resource for future generations. 2. 3. 3 Provide additional storage and attenuation of stormwater to help reduce non -point source pollution in an industrial area that has a potential for significant pollutant loading related to this type of land use activities in the watershed. Attenuation of flow to provide flood relief for downstream areas near Gap Creek. 2. 3. 4 Increase public awareness of the value of area water resources, the importance of preventing non -point source pollution, and best management practices for pollution prevention. 24-  2. 4 The deadline to submit grant applications for the Section 319 program is May 28, 2010. Upon approval by City Council to submit the proposed Section 319 grant application, Staff will forward the package to FDEP for their review. 2. 5 If awarded, the funding would not be available from FDEP until approximately September 2011. 3. FINANCIAL INFORMATION: 3. 1 The total estimated cost to complete the proposed improvements is $ 50, 500. The Section 319 program requires a 40% match from the City and supporting agencies. The match will be acquired through in -kind services and cash, which is available through the Stormwater Utility via personnel, materials, equipment, CIP 5403 ( Water Quality Initiative), and the supporting agencies. 4. RECOMMENDATION: 4. 1 Staff requests City Council approval to submit a FY 2011 Section 319 Grant Proposal Application for the improvement of water quality of the Gap Creek Watershed to modify an existing retention pond to a rain garden with bottom infiltration at the northeast corner of Bay Street NW and to install a bioretention area with bottom infiltration at the current gravel cul -de -sac area at the end of Burnette Avenue NW. 5. ATTACHMENTS: 5. 1 Section 319 Grant Application 5. 2 Letters of Support from Okaloosa County and Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance 5. 3 Project Drawing 6. SIGNATURE BLOCK: 6. 1 Submitted By: h .0- Aerations Manager Sam Wilson, Stormwa 6. 2 Reviewed and Concur: Michael D. Beedie, P. E. Engineering & Utility Services Director 6. 3 Reviewed and Concur: Brandy Wunker, Finance Director 6. 4 Reviewed for Agenda: / 0? I' YO rt T. Mearns Y Manager 25-  FY2011 SECTION 319 GRANT PROPOSAL APPLICATION PROJECT: GAP CREEK WATERSHED WATER QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS ( PHASE III) PROJECT FUNDING: $ 30, 000 FY2011 319 $ 20, 500 Match LEAD ORGANIZATION: City of Fort Walton Beach, Florida CONTACT PERSON: Mr. Michael Beedie, PE Name, Address, Phone) Engineering & Utility Services Director Engineering Services Department City of Fort Walton Beach P. O. Box 4009 Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549 850) 833 -9612 mbeedie @fwb. org COOPERATING ORGANIZATIONS: 1. City of Fort Walton Beach 2. Okaloosa County 3. Northwest Florida Water Management District 4. Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance PROJECT ABSTRACT: The stormwater management system in the Gap Creek Drainage Basin, located in both the City of Fort Walton Beach and in unincorporated Okaloosa County, is inadequate to provide full water quality treatment and flood attenuation. Runoff from portions of the basin receives little or no water quality treatment before discharging downstream into Gap Creek, a tributary to Class III Water Cinco Bayou. A stormwater master plan was prepared for Okaloosa County by HDR Engineering in April 2003; the Gap Creek watershed was modeled and shown to have one of the highest pollutant loading rates in Okaloosa County. In a 2008 cooperative effort, the Northwest Florida Water Management District, Okaloosa County and the City of Fort Walton Beach funded a detailed study of the Gap Creek watershed. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize stormwater Best Management Practice ( BMP) opportunities for enhancing treatment and pollutant loading reduction capability within the Gap Creek watershed. The proposed project includes retrofitting an existing gravel based cul de sac on Burnette Avenue with a planted bioretention area and retrofitting the existing retention pond at Bay Street with a rain garden. Monitoring will be conducted prior to and after completion of construction at the inflow and outflow of the proposed BMPs to determine the systems' effectiveness. The City will design and manage implementation of the improvements, manage the grant and execute all reporting activity. The District will provide technical assistance on the project and assistance and training