The city of Reno is proposing to create a new stormwater program, which they anticipate will bring in nearly one half billion dollars over the next ten years. Why should you care? Well if you own a home in the city, you’ll end up helping support the program to the tune of $100+ a year; even worse if you happen to own a business with a substantial footprint. Currently part of the city’s wastewater fee goes toward stormwater improvements, albeit a small proportion.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, however, there’s much to question about the program the city is proposing. The city currently doesn't require developers to maintain pre-development runoff rates. So the city hasn’t done much to reduce flood flows and peaks. They do propose though to give larger land uses - commercial, industrial and institutional – steep discounts for putting in stormwater detention/retention features. How existing land uses are supposed to come up with the land for these measures, is, I guess a problem the city’s not worried about.
When it comes to stormwater controls, we should be asking even bigger questions.
Let’s take water supply. Almost all of our water detention exists in Lake Tahoe and California reservoirs. This has made our water supply far more resilient than most in the west. But our climate is changing. Less of our water will come in the form of snow, and whatever snowpack we have each year likely will be smaller and less long lasting. As we’ve recently witnessed, atmospheric rivers will likely deliver a greater percent of total precipitation. When these events occur, large amounts of water course through the region; even capturing a small percentage, especially in the urbanized portion of the Truckee watershed, could help replenish groundwater supplies, which we rely upon in the late summer and early fall months. Capturing some of this water through an aggressive stormwater detention program, not only would this make our summer time water supply more resilient, but would reduce pollution from stormwater. Pollutants collect and build up on the landscape in the periods between storms. Stormwater detention structures collect the “first flush” of a storm, using settling and infiltration to help cleanse it.
The second area where stormwater facilities should assist other community goals is open space. Using existing green space to retain and infiltrate stormwater, as well as helping to add to our open space acres. Residents and users of Reno’s urban trails, eg, along Steamboat Ditch are concerned that the city will use expanded stormwater financing to do what the aborted USDA proposal a few years ago didn't: namely harden the banks and channel, pipe portions of the ditch, thereby destroying the riparian habitat and green space that now exists. Western states have very little riparian area; whatever exists is precious. Our open ditches provide critical habitat during the summer months when ephemeral streams dry up.
Los Angeles and other western cities are looking at ways to expand open space within cities and retain floodwaters to replenish their aquifers through their stormwater infrastructure. Reno’s proposal is narrowly conceived and needs to be married with water supply and open space objectives. The city’s stormwater proposal went through a series of public meetings some time ago; however the comments received, and any alterations made as a result, have not been shared. Far greater public scrutiny is needed before this program is adopted by city council.