Title
2024-2029 Preliminary Capital Facilities Plan
Recommended Action
Receive a briefing on the projects contained in the 2024-2029 Preliminary Capital Facilities Plan and provide feedback.
Report
Issue:
Receive a briefing on the 2024-2029 Preliminary Capital Facilities Plan for the Drinking Water, Storm and Surface Water and Wastewater utilities. The UAC is requested to forward a summary of comments to the Olympia Planning Commission by September 22, 2023. The UAC is also requested to forward their recommendation to the City Council by October 4, 2023.
Staff Contact:
Susan Clark, Engineering and Planning Supervisor, Public Works Water Resources and Drinking Water Utility, 360.753.8321
Presenters:
Susan Clark, Engineering and Planning Supervisor
Fran Love, Stormwater Engineer
David Dunn, Wastewater Engineer
Background and Analysis:
The Utility Advisory Committee (UAC) reviews City utility preliminary budgets, finances, capital investments, and rates annually. Staff will brief the UAC on the capital projects contained in the Preliminary Capital Facility Plan (CFP) for the Water Resources utilities (Storm and Surface Water and Wastewater) and for the Drinking Water Utility. A UAC review of the preliminary 2024 budget and rate analysis will follow in September and October.
The City’s three water related utilities are expected to provide uninterrupted public health services for our community. Our responsibilities include ensuring that drinking water meets water quality standards, sewer infrastructure safely conveys waste to the LOTT treatment facility, flooding is minimized, and our urban natural resources are protected. As municipal utilities, we must meet the needs of our community while maintaining and upgrading our increasingly aging infrastructure. Utility staff focus on effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of these services. Decisions regarding capital project needs are made during the development of management plans and through coordination amongst operations and engineering staff.
The 2024-2029 Preliminary CFP for each utility is attached and consists of ongoing programs, such as aging water main replacements and neighborhood sewer extensions, large scale projects spanning multiple years and new projects.
The revenues required to implement the CFP will be discussed in September and October.
Climate Analysis:
The mission of all three water-related utilities (Wastewater, Storm and Surface Water and Drinking Water) includes prioritizing environmental health. In practice this means that each utility implements capital projects which minimize exposure to harmful toxins, improve infrastructure function and reliability, and promote a sustainable environment. In the case of the Storm and Surface Water Utility, capital projects such as property acquisitions for habitat conservation directly support reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, Wastewater capital projects that address inflow and infiltration help reduce energy required to pump and treat sewage while Drinking Water Utility capital projects that address aging distribution system infrastructure can also help reduce energy use. As the design and construction of the individual capital projects contained in the CFP occurs, additional analysis of how each can be designed or constructed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be analyzed.
Equity Analysis:
The mission of all three water-related utilities (Wastewater, Storm and Surface Water and Drinking Water) includes prioritizing public and environmental health on behalf of all customers. In practice this means that each utility priorities capital projects which improve public health and safety outcomes, including minimizing exposure to harmful toxins, improving infrastructure function and reliability, and promoting a sustainable environment. Additionally, all three water-related utilities collect and use data on the condition of each utility's infrastructure to make maintenance, renewal and replacement decisions. Condition data helps each utility make equitable decisions since it focuses work on infrastructure most in need of maintenance, renewal or replacement. However, the utilities would benefit from continuing to use information from the Thurston Stormwater Equity Index to focus efforts and resources to ensure needed infrastructure investment is sited in areas to reduce service disparities and support equitable outcomes.
Capital projects implemented by the three water-related utilities (Wastewater, Storm and Surface water and Drinking Water) have the potential to both benefit and burden people who live, work, or visit proposed project areas during and after construction. Burdens may include road closures and other daily stressors associated with infrastructure construction projects. Some projects, such as green stormwater infrastructure and water and sewer extensions, may increase property values over time. This will benefit property owners, while burdening such owners with increased property taxes and renters with the potential for displacement. Potential benefits, burdens, and disparities will be further assessed during the initial planning phase of each project in the CFP, at which time strategies to minimize unintended harmful impacts while working toward equitable distribution of benefits will be identified.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
City water related utilities provide essential public health services to residential and commercial customers in our service area.
Options:
None at this time. Briefing only.
Financial Impact:
None at this time. However, utility rates impact our community by reducing the amount of money people can spend in the local economy.
Attachments:
CFP tables for the Storm and Surface Water Utility, the Drinking Water Utility and the Wastewater Utility