Agenda - Public Works Committee - 03/31/2015

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Updated Surface Water Management Plan (SWMP) City of Ramsey, Minnesota efficiently utilized by ponding storm water in designated ponding areas and allowing smaller diameter pipes to be used as outfall lines. Equally as important as flood control and cost considerations, is the use of ponding areas to: 1. Improve water quality; 2. Return storm water to the groundwater table; 3. Increase water amenities in developments for aesthetic, recreational and wildlife purposes. For water quality ponds, the storage below the outlet is the most important consideration. The area and depth of the ponds may differ from the values presented here, storage below the outlet must be provided so that the prescribed pollutant loading of the system is not exceeded. From time to time, local developers proposed enhancing required storm water ponds to also serve as an amenity for new development. Most frequently, this entails allowing the storm water pond to consistently maintain a certain level water. Amenity aspects are maximized by careful planning in the initial development of any residential or industrial area and by integrating the ponding system into an overall comprehensive SWMP. However, care should be given to make the developer responsible for the design water level to serve as the amenity above and beyond the base storm water requirements. If development plans show a permanent water level, it is strongly advised that the City include a provision in its development agreements making the developer and ultimately the subdivision or development area responsible for maintaining the water level. The City's review should include wording that specifically addresses water quality and hydraulics and not the permanent water level. The Anoka Sand Plain is known for its high infiltration capacity as well as its fluctuating water levels. The City of Ramsey should not be involved in maintaining or engineering water level maintenance. The wildlife aspects of the ponding areas shall be maximized in design and the proper location of the trail system will allow good access to these areas for wildlife observation. It is extremely important that each area be re-evaluated at the time of final design to confirm the criteria used in this study and to make any changes that a proposed development may dictate. Special consideration must be given to areas that develop differently than shown in the Comprehensive SWMP, especially when a higher runoff coefficient (higher impervious surface ratio) is likely to result from development. All storm sewer facilities, especially those conveying large quantities of water at high velocities, shall be designed with efficient hydraulic characteristics. Special attention shall be given during final design to those lines that have extreme slopes and create high hydraulic heads. The Best Management Practices (BMPs) recommended by the MPCA shall be followed wherever necessary or plausible. Before the City would enforce any of these BMPs, they first need to be adopted by ordinance on a case by case basis. This paragraph is not intended to be a blanket adoption of BMPs. Section IV March 20, 2015 Page 33