The city is moving ahead with the second phase of its Integrated Management Plan for Wastewater and Stormwater after the Columbia City Council approved it on Aug. 17.
The plan lets the city direct and prioritize how funds are spent to address maintenance, capital and regulatory needs for sewer and stormwater management as the community sees fit.
During the Aug. 17 City Council meeting, Columbia Utilities Director Erin Keys said the plan was initially created because the city was faced with an Administrative Order on Consent. An AOC is a legally binding agreement between an agency like the Environmental Protection Agency or Department of Natural Resources and a party that has caused environmental damages.
“More than a decade ago, the city was faced with an Administrative Order on Consent that was going to require the utilities to spend more than $57 million on infrastructure work — as dictated by the regulatory agencies — that may not have completely benefited our community,” Keys said.
The second phase of the project is aimed at protecting public health and the environment. Phase Two wastewater projects include replacing privately maintained older sewers with publicly owned sanitary sewer systems, expanding wastewater collection systems without impacting current capacity, inflow and infiltration reduction.
Phase Two stormwater projects include the implementation of flood management projects, adequately funding and staffing as well as renewing and maintaining the existing corrugated metal pipe system.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources first notified the city of the potential need for an AOC due to sanitary sewer overflows and certain discharge violations in 2011. Between 2011 and 2014, the city completed a $67.1 million upgrade to the Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility and joined the Hinkson Creek Collaborative Adaptive Management process to help address problems with water quality.
In 2016, the city approved an ordinance allowing then-City Manager Mike Matthes to make a deal with HDR of Columbia to develop the Integrated Management Plan, according to council documents. HDR is a global engineering firm specializing in large-scale infrastructure projects.
The first phase of the plan was put into action in 2018 when the Department of Natural Resources approved the city’s 20-year plan, according to council documents. It focused primarily on maintaining, rehabilitating and improving the city’s existing infrastructure.
