Fiscal Note
The proposed resolution authorizes an amendment to the non-competitive agreement with the USGS to install and manage rain gauge and flow monitoring stations as part of the City’s watershed and flood studies. It also authorizes the USGS to monitor select watersheds that install green infrastructure (GI) practices. The estimated contract cost will be increased by $152,500 for 5 years, for a total contract amount of $436,500 for the City of Madison and increase of $43,667 for the USGS.
These efforts are funded in the 2020 Adopted Stormwater Utility Operating Budget and are broken down as follows:
City Funding 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Total
Adopted $65,000 $53,500 $54,000 $55,000 $56,500 $284,000
Amended $86,500 $80,000 $87,000 $88,000 $94,500 $436,500
Proposed Increase $21,500 $27,000 $33,000 $33,000 $38,000 $152,500
The additional costs will be supported through existing budget authority. No additional appropriation is required.
Title
Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an amendment to the non-competitive service contract with the USGS for Urban Flood Monitoring and Watershed Response to Reduced Impervious Cover through Implementation of Green Infrastructure to include monitoring and testing for chloride in conjunction with the City’s watershed and flood studies and hereby rescinding RES-20-00514. (13th AD)
Body
PREAMBLE
To support the watershed and flood studies, the City will need to provide rain gauge and flow monitoring in the watersheds in order to calibrate the models for accuracy based on known rain fall events. This contract will be a multi-year analysis (2020-2025) to assist in monitoring activities and analyze the implementation of green infrastructure (GI) practice to minimize stormwater runoff entering storm drains. Although much is known on the stormwater volume reduction benefits of individual GI practices, very little is known about the watershed response to a collection of practices.
WHEREAS, the Common Council has authorized funding for continued watershed study efforts as part of the adopted 2020 Stormwater Utility Operating Budget; and
WHEREAS, rain gauge and flow monitoring data are necessary for completion of the stormwater models and are needed to accurately calibrate the models to meet real life rainfall events; and
WHEREAS, the USGS has successfully completed similar types of data monitoring for other studies, including contract work for rain gauge and flow monitoring in 2019 for the City of Madison, and
WHEREAS, some existing monitoring locations that are no longer in use may be reinstated for use by the USGS to meet the City’s needs for the watershed and flood studies; and
WHEREAS, reuse of some of the existing data monitoring sites will be a cost savings to the City versus contracting for the installation of new locations; and
WHEREAS, the USGS will also manage the monitoring locations for the City for the duration of the agreement; and
WHEREAS, the USGS will monitor and collect data related to the implementation of Green Infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the data collected by the USGS on GI will help to better understand the effectiveness of practices on a larger watershed, to determine if a waterbody impaired by urban land use could ever be able to revert to pre-settlement conditions through implementation of GI alone, what temporal scale municipalities should expect when developing plans for watershed and ecosystem restoration, and if hydrologic models that make use of GI simulations accurate or misleading towards long-term watershed health; and
WHEREAS, the Common Council approved Noncompetitive Selection Request Form with the original contract; and
WHEREAS, The City and the USGS have included chloride monitoring to be added to the pilot area in order to determine chloride concentrations to better inform the water quality benefits of distributed green infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, the USGS will provide additional continued support to the rain and flow monitoring equipment and network the City has implemented for watershed studies citywide.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized to execute Amendment 1 to the agreement with USGS for Urban Flood Monitoring and Watershed Response to Reduced Impervious Cover through Implementation of Green Infrastructure in conjunction with the City’s watershed and flood studies for an amount not to exceed $305,500 over 5 years.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that resolution RES-20-00514 is hereby rescinded.