Southgate's position on stormwater management






Ahead of the May 21 Stormwater Workshop, the Southgate Community Association's stance as given in an email to the County Commission is clear:

Subject: South Gate's Requests for the Upcoming Stormwater workshop

We strongly urge Commissioners to consider implementing the following policies at the next stormwater workshop on May 21:

  1. Make it crystal clear with a vote that Phillippi Creek is a stormwater conveyance in addition to a public navigable waterway.  It is the County's responsibility not property owners.  Ongoing maintenance is going to come with a price, so designating it as both navigable and stormwater allows for both funds to be available.  

  2. Assign full responsibility for sediment removal and ongoing maintenance of Phillippi Creek and its oxbows and canals to County Stormwater—with no additional cost to homeowners, without exhausting other avenues first, FEMA grants, etc.  Stormwater should coordinate with navigable waterways, WCIND. 

  3. Establish a long-term policy for full stormwater dredging bank to bank, seawall to seawall, and maintenance "high spot" dredging including the oxbows and canals. Navigable channels are a start, but for real stormwater conveyance we need more comprehensive dredging. 

  4. But dredging alone isn't enough. Commissioner Mast, you have asked us and many people what does "maintenance" mean.  After thinking about it and doing some research, what it means to us is a level of service.  This is a draft document that describes what a level of service might look like for the creek. We fully endorse it.  Some of the things in the document the County is already doing, but many aren't even on the radar. 

  5. Reorganize Stormwater and its field operations into a separate division either by itself or under a different department than Public Works, to increase transparency, improve accountability, and ensure budget clarity.

  6. Hold County Staff accountable for lack of progress in dredging Phillippi Creek. They wait until the last minute to file permits.  Even attending weekly meetings, there's much confusion as to what the phases are, and what is planned after the "High Spots." It's incredibly vague in the presentation you are going to see, and I think that is on purpose. We need a clear to follow plan, with a map of what permits have been filed by who, and for what. I strongly believe that once the "high spots" are done, county staff will wash their hands of Phillippi Creek. There seems to be no will to see Phillippi Creek as a stormwater conveyance.  


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