Agenda - Council Work Session - 12/07/2010

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IV -K Inflow and Infiltration (1/1) The Metropolitan Council's Water Resources Management Plan established an 1/1 surcharge. in 2007 on cities that are determined to be contributing unacceptable amounts of storm water to the MCES wastewater treatment system. Since the inception of the surcharge program, 46 cities have been identified as excessive I/I contributors. This number is subject to change, depending on rain events, and any city in the metropolitan area could be affected. While Metro Cities recognizes the importance of controlling I/I because it affects the size, and therefore the cost, of wastewater treatment systems and because excessive I/I in one city can affect development capacity of another city that lies down pipe, we are concerned about the potential for cities to incur increasingly exorbitant costs, and decreasing benefits, in their on -going efforts to mitigate excessive I /I. Metro Cities supports the recommendations of the 2010 1/1 Demand Charge Task Force for a second phase, on -going surcharge program to address 1/1 mitigation in the region. Metro Cities further supports adjustments to the flow methodology used to measure excess 1/1 that allow for the normalizing of precipitation variability. Metro Cities also encourages the Council to work with cities on community - specific issues that fall outside the scope of the task force report and recommendations. Metro Cities continues to monitor the surcharge program, and encourages the Metropolitan Council to support state financial assistance for Metro Area I/I mitigation through future Clean Water Legacy Act appropriations or similar legislation. Metro Cities supports continued state capital assistance to provide grants to metro area cities for the purpose of mitigating inflow and infiltration problems into municipal wastewater collection systems. IV -L Water Supply The 2005 Legislature authorized the Metropolitan Council to carry out planning activities to address the water supply needs of the Metro Area, and to establish a Water Supply Advisory Committee. Its work includes analyzing technical water supply /use data, the development of a master metro area water supply plan, recommendations for clarifying roles of local, regional and state governments and streamlining and consolidating approval processes, and recommendations for funding future planning and capital investments. The advisory committee completed work on a Master Water Supply Plan in March 2010. the plan as a framework for assisting and guiding communities in their water supply planning, without usurping local decision making processes. As the plan is implemented, many cities will conduct their own analyses for use in water supply planning. Local studies should be given equal weight in regional water supply planning. 2011 Legislative Policies 31