Date: 23 January 2024 | USA
Time: 1:00PM Mountain Time
Presented by: Rachel Henderson, Stormwater Technician & Alexandra O'Connor, Stormwater Coordinator | City of San Marcos
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 1 hour
Type of Course: Webinar - Live
Structural Controls are implemented to manage flooding and maintain water quality within urban watersheds, however they require routine inspections and maintenance to function as designed. The City of San Marcos implemented a successful inspection/maintenance program on a shoe- string budget, and our program has inspired other cities in Texas to start their own. In 2016, the San Marcos City Council passed an ordinance which included Section 86.531- Maintenance and Repair of Structural Controls, laying the groundwork for what would become our Post Construction Structural Control Inspection Program. The ordinance reinforced our city’s requirement for all existing and new Stormwater Management Structural Controls on private and city owned property to be inspected annually by a pre-qualified engineer. In 2020, the ordinance was updated from annual to triennial (once every three years) inspections.
The decision to have a ‘hybrid’ style inspection program was based on the procedures of larger city’s but with concessions made for our existing personnel and budget constraints. Our experiences in developing and launching this program without a clear playbook has been challenging and ever evolving. However, after seven years of administering this program our department has learned several lessons that could be helpful for other municipalities of comparable size to tackle this type of project. By sharing our challenges and solutions, we hope to help other cities with alternatives for these type of inspection programs that can better fit a smaller city’s budget.
Learning Objective: Attendees will learn how to develop and manage a structural control inspection program with budgetary constraints, gain support from their community and back the program with regulation.
