Pumping Station: What About Options C, D, or More?

Hogwash. Nonsense. These are the words that came to mind when I heard the city tell our council "There was going to be a pump station no matter what. It was whether we have a small one or a large one".

What? Since when does our representative council matter that little? Since when can so little information be provided, based upon incomplete planning, and presented as if the only options are regular or supersized?

So, to empower our representative system, and to demonstrate how to get options C, D, and invite the possibility of additional options, we've drafted the resolution for our council to stop this nonsense until a real, comprehensive plan can be created that involves all stakeholders from the beginning.
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- Whereas the construction and operation of a stormwater pump station is not included in the city of Oshkosh Parks Plan,

- Whereas the construction and operation of a stormwater pump station is not included in the city of Oshkosh Comprehensive Plan,

- Whereas construction and operation of a stormwater pump station has not been publicly noticed nor published on a Parks Advisory Board Agenda as of 12/14/2009. The Parks board is responsible for review and public feedback concerning land use and operations within the park system,

- Whereas the cost estimates for construction and operation of the proposed pumping station have been incomplete, failing to account for the significant increase in energy use created by a high volume pumping facility. According to the Wisconsin Water Association, water pumping is one of the most energy-intensive components for a municipality,

- Whereas the community input process concerning the pumping station has been inadequate, with requests for postponing the project to provide additional planning to take place by Oshkosh residents and the local League of Women Voters,

- Whereas the project details concerning a pumping station have not been extensively distributed to all stakeholders, including site design, noise level description, environmental impact assessment, and more,

- Whereas this project has not included a water quality assessment. State regulations concerning storm water management are based upon water quality improvement. However, this project has not identified water quality gains, nor has it provided alternative option assessments to compare improvements in water quality,

- Whereas the Miller's Bay area has already been identified by the professional Onterra study as a disturbed system, and adding significantly larger quantities of untreated and unfiltered water will have a severely negative impact on this already volatile area.

- Whereas the parks department and sustainability advisory board are collaborating on the development of a Miller's Bay Management Plan that focuses on water quality improvement. This proposal has not been presented to the sustainability advisory board nor has data been provided concerning the impacts it will have on this area.

- Whereas the EPA identifies effective storm water management programming as that which involves public education and outreach, public involvement, illicit discharge elimination, construction runoff elimination, and pollution prevention. The current proposal does little if any to address any of these essential components to effective storm water management.

- Whereas the Vision Oshkosh survey has called for the city to "Develop surface-runoff policies and plans that require diversion and collection of water to natural drainage and filtration areas", which is inconsistent with the current proposal to pump unfiltered water directly into our water system.

Therefore, be it resolved that the city stop all further action on the proposed pumping station in Menominee Park until the following provisions are met:
- A full cost analysis is completed, including financial requirements
- An environmental impact assessment is completed
- An extensive stakeholder involvement campaign is conducted, ensuring extensive understanding and acceptance of a project before construction
- Full review by related advisory boards is completed
- Complete water quality data is provided, including benefits and costs, and alternative options beyond big or small pumping
- A plan is developed to address any anticipated area disturbance or water contamination caused by the proposed pumping station

Therefore, be it further resolved, that the city of Oshkosh develop a municipal-wide comprehensive storm water management plan following researched and proven methods outlined by the DNR and EPA to ensure successfull programming that improves our water quality, reduces or eliminates flooding issues, and reflects a participatory community-wide process.

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Just like there are many ways to design a road intersection (yields, stop signs, roundabouts, overpass, etc), there are many ways to implement an effective storm water management program. It is not a "how big" or "gonna happen no matter what" system. Let's hope someone is willing to error on the side of planning. The right planning for this issue is to involve everyone from the beginning, draft up an honest cost benefit analysis for all available options, and present it honestly, and let the people elected to make such decisions decide based upon resident feedback, advisory board recommendations, city staff considerations, cost effectiveness, and environmental impact. Otherwise, stop what you're doing.

There goes another lunch time.

Posted in: Common Council Primary,eco-municipality,education,flood,Housing and Planning,Local Government,Our City,planning,sustainability,Water