2014 Annual Update - Clayton County Water Authority

Clayton County Water Authority
Stormwater Utility Annual Update
August 2014
Your Stormwater Dollars At Work
The Clayton County Water Authority’s Stormwater Utility (SWU) is
responsible for all stormwater activities for unincorporated Clayton
County and the cities of Forest Park, Jonesboro, Lake City, Lovejoy,
Morrow and Riverdale.
Stormwater Utility Services include:
• Construction plan
reviews and inspections
• Maintenance, repair
and replacement of
stormwater
infrastructure within the
road right-of-way, and
directly connected to the right-of-way
• Illicit discharge/illegal connection inspections
• Floodplain management
• Public education/public involvement
• Watershed improvement activities
Responsibilities of property owners and
local jurisdictions:
This diagram shows the service provided by CCWA’s Stormwater Utility.
These activities include Construction Plan Reviews and
Inspections, Floodplain Management, Illicit Discharge/Illegal
Connection Inspections and maintenance of stormwater
infrastructure within the road right-of-way and directly connected
to the right-of-way.
This annual report is produced to show a summary of the
activities that have been performed by Clayton County Water
Authority’s Stormwater Utility over the past year and how your
Stormwater dollars are being used.
Stormwater Utility Earns GAWP
Project of Excellence Award
CCWA’s Stormwater Utility recently earned the Georgia Association
of Water Professionals (GAWP) Water Resources/Stormwater Project
of Excellence for East Jesters Creek Phase 4 Nature Preserve &
Stream Restoration.
The Stormwater Utility partnered with the City of Lake City on a
combined Stream Restoration Project and Nature Preserve. While the
Stormwater Utility restored nearly 2,500 linear feet of stream, Lake
City created of a nature preserve system with over 9,000 linear feet of
walking trails, several bridges, pavilions and a lake.
• Remove debris from ditches or yards
• Maintain drainage ditches on private
property
• Maintain or clean curb and gutter
• Clean or mow roadside ditches
Top 3 Constituent Concerns
What are Stormwater Utility fees used for?
• Stormwater utility fees are dedicated exclusively to stormwater
management activities.
Who is responsible for neighborhood detention and retention pond
maintenance?
• The Homeowners Association or the developer is typically responsible
for maintaining neighborhood detention and retention ponds.
• For unfinished subdivision ponds, the developer or the bank holding
the lots is responsible.
Who is responsible for overflowing stormwater pipes or inlets?
• Overflows from stormwater facilities within or directly connected
to the right-of-way are the responsibility of the Stormwater Utility.
• All other overflows are the responsibility of the property owner.
To learn more about your Stormwater Utility, visit us online at www.ccwa.us.
Stormwater Maintenance Crews Completed More Than 1240 Work Orders
The SWU’s Engineering Technician and Maintenance Crews continue working
together to provide quality service when it comes to responding to customer calls.
On average, a customer complaint was responded to within 19 hours.
When a customer calls with a stormwater issue, the Stormwater Engineering
Technician is dispatched to check out every issue or complaint. During Fiscal Year
2013-14, this technician responded to 940 customer related calls.
Part of the maintenance activity includes an aggressive inspection program.
This helps our staff determine potential problem locations as well as being
compliant with our Stormwater Permit. Using both internal staff and outside
contractors, CCWA inspected over 17,000 structures which included the following:
• More than 4,000 catch basins and inlets
• More than 478,000 linear feet of storm drains
• More than 96,000 linear feet of ditches
• More than 200 stormwater ponds
The Stormwater Maintenance staff of 15 employees (2 pipe repair crews, 1 grading crew and 1
vacuum truck crew) addressed 1,242 work orders. Activities from these completed work orders
represent:
• More than 52,000 linear feet of storm drain lines
• More than 11,000 linear feet of graded ditches
• More than 300 cleaned/repaired catch basins
Maintenance costs for this work were slightly over $3.7 million. This map shows the locations of the
Work Orders that SWU Maintenance Crews completed from May 2013 to April 2014. The county map is
color-coded to show the county/city boundaries.
In addition to the maintenance work orders shown above, CCWA solicited the help of outside
construction firms to perform larger-scaled Capital Improvement Projects (CIP). These projects included
repair methods of “Remove and Replace” (R/R), as well as a newer technology called “Cured-In-Place Piping” (CIPP).
Using both methods, CCWA performed 26 large scaled CIP’s throughout the county last year. The 18 R/R and 8 CIPP jobs resulted in costs slightly
over $2.7 million.
Residential Stormwater Pollution
Solutions
CSU Students Help with Camp Creek
Restoration Project
You can impact the quantity and quality of stormwater through
your daily activities.
At Home
• Recycle or properly dispose of household products that contain
chemicals, such as insecticides, pesticides, paint, solvents and used
motor oil and other auto fluids.
• Don't pour them onto the ground or into storm drains.
• Use nontoxic (or less toxic) products when possible.
In Your Yard
• Use fertilizers and pesticides sparingly and follow label directions.
• Use organic mulch or safer pest control methods (such as spot
treatment) when possible.
• Compost or mulch yard waste. Don't leave it in the street or
dispose of it in storm drains or streams.
A group of Clayton State University (CSU) biology and ecology students
partnered with CCWA’s
Stormwater Utility and
engineering firm Brown and
Caldwell to plant permanent
vegetation along a
recently repaired segment of
Camp Creek off of Walker Road
in Riverdale.
CCWA performed a stream
restoration in 2009 along a 2,500 linear feet section of Camp Creek.
Some of the sections degraded over the past few years so a contractor
went back in to stabilize the area with rip-rap, soil and fabric.
CSU students volunteered their afternoon on February 21 to plant the
willow tree live stakes and learn more about the stream repair project.
Routine Inspection Reveals Failing Culverts
Professional Place – Riverdale | $85,000
As part of CCWA’s Stormwater Infrastructure Inspection, dual 72” corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culverts going under Professional Place
near Upper Riverdale Road were determined to be in failure mode. The corrosion allowed massive voids to appear under and around these
pipes. CCWA staff scheduled to replace the two pipes at an estimated cost of $145,000.
During this period, it was determined that Atlanta Gas Light Company (AGL) was scheduled to install a new gas main down the middle of
Professional Place. AGL’s planned construction required a portion of the same dual 72” culverts to be removed. CCWA partnered with AGL in
the replacement of the culverts.
The 20” gas main was installed under the dual culverts as AGL contractors progressed through the area. CCWA contractors were on site
immediately to remove the remaining 128’ of metal pipe culvert sections and replace them with new reinforced concrete pipe (RCP)
culverts.
New catch basins and a headwall were also installed. The RCP culverts were re-connected to an existing junction box and the system
was placed back into service.
As AGL finished their work in the area, they repaved the road as CCWA replaced the sidewalks and curb & gutter. The partnering effort
saved CCWA’s Stormwater Utility nearly $60,000 from estimated costs.
BEFORE
Stormwater Staff
Updating County’s
Floodplain Maps
After two years of extensive studies and
analysis, CCWA revised the County’s
Floodplain Maps, as guided by FEMA. Since
the County’s maps were last updated in
2007, several factors have altered the
current mapping conditions, such as natural
and physical changes caused by land use,
development and erosion. The updated maps
will give staff a better understanding of local
risk assessment, floodplain management,
land use and emergency planning.
Floodplain Maps have been submitted to
FEMA for review. The final maps are in the
FEMA review approval process.
A public information campaign will take
place in early 2015 to notify residents whose
property will be moving in or out of identified
floodplain areas. Any resident whose
property has changed either way will be
invited to a community forum to view the
map changes and ask questions. Visit
ccwa.us for more information.
AFTER
Connecting With Our Community
Stormwater staff participates in numerous Career Day events at Clayton County Public
Schools. Through these events, they are able to connect with thousands of students and educate
them about the damaging effects of stormwater pollution and what they can do to protect our
water quality. The photos show staff with students at Kendrick Middle School and Mt. Zion
Primary School.
CCWA staff also participated in the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District’s inaugural
Children’s Water Festival at Welcome All Park in South Fulton in May. More than 400 4th Grade
students from the City of Atlanta, Clayton County, Fulton County, Henry County and DeKalb
County school districts participated in this hands-on day of water education. Students from
Fountain Elementary represented Clayton County.
According to CCWA Water Resources Engineer Shayla Nealy, the goal of the event was to
provide quality water education opportunities to as many students as possible and remind the
kids about the direct connection we have on the quality and quantity of the water in our rivers,
lakes, and streams.
Residents Turn In More than 57,000 lbs. of Household Hazardous
Waste During Spring Amnesty Day Event
Every April, the CCWA’s Stormwater Utility hosts a Household Hazardous Waste Amnesty Day to give residents the chance to
dispose of a variety of household items, such as used paints, oil, pesticides, cleaners, batteries and even pharmaceuticals.
CCWA contracted with Perma-Fix of South Georgia to provide collection services during the free, four hour event on Saturday, April
26 at the W.B. Casey Water Reclamation Facility on Flint River Road
in Jonesboro. Perma-Fix serviced 212 vehicles and processed
57,000 lbs. of waste. The event cost approximately $32,677.62
(the cost of the contractor collecting and properly disposing of the
items) and goes a long way to keeping these pollutants out of our
local creeks, streams and landfill. Clayton County Police
Department assisted this year with the collection of over-thecounter and prescription medication.
The majority of waste collected was old oil and latex paints,
solvents, along with used motor oil and anti-freeze. Clayton County
Landfill assisted with refuse collection. Thank you to all Clayton
County residents and volunteers who participated in our 2014 event!
To Report A Stormwater Issue, to
report flooding, a clogged drain or
other stormwater issue, contact our
Call Center at 770.960.5200
Visit
www.ccwa.us
2014 Rivers Alive Stream Cleanup
Saturday, October 18, 2014
10 a.m. – Noon
Join fellow volunteers at our annual stream cleanup event as we
remove trash, litter and debris from one of our local creeks. This is a
location
great volunteer opportunity for scouts, civic groups, church groups,
environmental clubs and families.
The objective of this annual event is to get local residents involved in
preserving and protecting our local waterways. CCWA’s Stormwater staff works
throughout
the year to educate residents about the
damage stormwater pollution does to our
local waterways and how they can
prevent this pollution from making its
way into our drinking water.
Last year, 171 community volunteers
worked together to clean a portion of the
Flint River at Swint Elementary School.
Come help us set a new volunteer record
this year. For more information, call
770.960.5200, or visit www.ccwa.us.
for this year’s
Clayton County Water Authority
1600 Battle Creek Road
Morrow, GA 30260
Customer Service: 770.960.5200
Business Office: 770.961.2130
www.ccwa.us
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
AND LEADERSHIP
Marie Barber, Chairperson
Oscar Blalock, Vice Chairman
John Westervelt, Secretary/Treasurer
John Chafin, Board Member
Rodney Givens, Board Member
Sophia Haynes, Board Member
Elizabeth G. Armstrong, Board Member
P. Michael Thomas, General Manager
Jim Poff, Assistant General Manager
Kevin Osbey, Assistant General Manager