Title
Resolution No. 14-17, Sanitary Sewer Rate Increases
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Move to adopt Resolution No. 14-17, increasing sanitary sewer rates in accordance with the August 2014 FCS Final Model and rate adjustment recommendations for the Wastewater Rate Study.
BACKGROUND:
The City last updated its Sanitary Sewer Master Plan in 2003. Sewer master planning for a City of Oregon City's size and complexity is considered necessary every 10 years.
Over the last 2 years the City contracted with Brown and Caldwell (B&C) to evaluate the City’s sanitary sewer system and develop a Sanitary Sewer Master Plan (SSMP) which provides detailed collection system modeling results and the capital improvement project plans for existing and future development needs. The new SSMP identifies four areas within the City’s existing sanitary sewer collection system which currently have capacity deficiencies during wet weather (both the 5-yr-24-hr & 10-yr-24-hr design storm event conditions). In some cases these capacity deficiencies result in pipe system surcharge and limited overflows discharging inadequately treated sewage into surfacewater.
The City of Oregon City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan requires that the rate of community growth and development may not exceed the community's ability to provide essential public serves, including a sanitary sewer system. Policy 11.2.3 of the City’s Comprehensive Plan requires that the City “…provide enough collection capacity to meet standards established by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to avoid discharging inadequately treated sewage into surfacewater”.
The new master plan identifies areas with current system capacity concerns, build out capacity concerns, and areas within the system most likely to have leakage or other types of problems. Specifically, the plan is a detailed assessment based on a variety of information and analysis. The plan also provides the City with a detailed understanding ...
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