Recognizing the need for better operations and maintenance (O&M) of stormwater facilities in their watershed, the Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) selected SRF to assist in the creation of a Comprehensive Facilities Management Program. The goal of the program was to help their partners – member cities, the county, parks and recreation units, and school districts – with the management and maintenance of constructed stormwater best management practices (BMPs). CRWD understood that assisting partners with regular maintenance of BMPs results in improved water quality treatment and flood control while protecting and lengthening the service life of valuable public infrastructure.
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The final program focused on three approaches:
- Approach 1: Pooled BMP Maintenance Services in which CRWD leads an annual program managing and administering maintenance contractors for qualifying publicly-owned stormwater facilities within the watershed’s district boundary;
- Approach 2: Regional Facility Maintenance Assistance in which CRWD provides ongoing O&M support for regional facilities; and
- Approach 3: Regional Facility Ownership in which CRWD may consider ownership of regional facilities when there is alignment and an opportunity to build on CRWD goals.
Program Development
To help develop the program, SRF completed the following tasks:
Project understanding and literature review
In an early workshop, CRWD staff shared the goals and challenges with BMP maintenance and what they have been hearing from partners, staff, and Board members. SRF conducted a literature review summarizing local, regional, and national efforts for interagency maintenance cooperation.
Expert interviews
Interviews were conducted with several agencies or organizations who are applying a partnership-based approach to facility management and/or have expertise in facility programs nationwide.
Partner engagement
Learning from the previous tasks, the team wanted to verify and better understand partner O&M challenges and needs. First, a survey was created and disseminated to stakeholders. The project team then conducted small group interviews to learn more about their current methods, challenges, and goals. Key challenges include staffing shortages, budgetary shortfalls, the administrative burden of managing contracts, and lack of expertise in specialized maintenance activities.
Policy, criteria, and framework development
The decision-making criteria included development of process flowcharts, a qualitative risk and benefits outline, and identification of issues and questions. The three different program approaches were defined in a policy statement with eligibility criteria.
Facilities Management Program Report
A final report was compiled with program details for the different approaches of support and tasks mentioned above.
Other components of the report include:
- An evaluation procedure for Regional Facility Assessment and Cost Benefit Analyses
- Project Consideration Forms for partners to submit to CRWD
- Reference information on Maintenance Types and Theory and Contractor Management
- Permit Considerations that may need to be considered for maintenance activities and when they would be triggered
- Staff guidance for the roll out of the new program and department at CRWD
The following two process flow charts outline the steps for implementing the two different approaches.
Approach #1
Approach #2
Case Studies
Finally, SRF completed case studies to help move forward the development and implementation of the program for two sample sites for Approach 2 outlining benefits, costs, and risks of taking on long term maintenance obligations.
Implementation
SRF assisted with the implementation of a pooled maintenance service provided to partners, with the first year focused on rain garden maintenance.
You can learn more about CRWD’s new facility management division here.