NEWSLETTER

In this issue

President's Message
Feature Article
Project Spotlight
2016 Scholarship Program
Industry News
Member News
APWA New Members

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March 16, 2016
March Luncheon
Phoenix Transportation 2050 Update
Phoenix Country Club
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March 16, 2016
APWA BOD Meeting 
Phoenix Country Club
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March 30, 2016
APWA Southern Arizona Branch
Award Banquet 
Phoenix Tucson Electric Power
Downtown Headquarters
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April 10, 2016
APWA Spring Family Potluck Picnic 
McCormick Stillman Train Park
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April 15, 2016
Northern Branch Prescott Valley
Group Meeting 
Raven Cafe
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 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

I attended the Arizona Engineers Week Awards Dinner last week and as always, was so impressed with the talent and diversity our industry professionals represent. Awards were given to Engineer of the Year, Young Engineer, and Student Engineer. All of their accomplishments were exemplary. If the term “Knowledge is Power” has any bit of truth, our industry is certainly powerful. Speaking of knowledge, have you visited the APWA online Library (http://www.apwa.net/Memberslibrary/index) lately? Newest resources in Leadership & Management, Transportation, Utilities, Water, Emergency Management, and much more. FREE for members. Take a peak next time you have a few minutes online. 

The APWA Scholarship Applications for 2016 are now available on our website. Every year APWA awards up to $1500 to several students at all levels of education. Please see the application for details. If you know someone who is pursuing a career in public works, please share the information with them. APWA membership is not required. 

I trust you have seen details on our upcoming Annual Statewide Conference, (August 10-12 – El Conquistador, Tucson) and are as excited as I am.  Help us continue our tradition of success to make 2016 the best year in our history.  In order to accomplish this lofty goal, we request your continued involvement in as many events as possible and encourage you to solicit your colleagues and industry friends who may not already be involved in APWA to become involved.  APWA continues to offer a half-price annual membership fee for new members. 

Additionally, our sponsors continue to help our organization thrive, so please let our sponsors know how much they are appreciated by supporting them through ads or event participation. And if you have relationships with industry partners who are not already sponsors of APWA, please encourage them to become sponsors.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me, any member of our Board of Directors, or any Committee Chairs with any questions, comments, or concerns.  Our website http://arizona.apwa.net/  contains Board Member and Committee information for all of us. Sheila Hamilton, our administrator, is always available so please let her know if you are not receiving the newsletter or emails. I look forward to hearing from you or seeing you at one of our many events this year.

Sincerely,
Loretta Flick
ARIZONA CHAPTER PRESIDENT

FEATURE ARTICLE

Low Impact Development - Managing Stormwater Sustainably 

Trace Baker
Logan Simpson

Interest in low impact development (LID) has been growing significantly in Arizona, driven by concerns about flooding, water quality, the need to conserve water during drought conditions, and MS4 permit guidelines. LID is a method of managing stormwater as close to its source as possible, utilizing the landscape to convey and detain runoff so it can be used near where it falls. LID’s goal is to reduce runoff and mimic a site’s predevelopment hydrology by infiltrating, filtering, storing, evaporating, and detaining stormwater runoff. LID techniques, which can be used in existing sites as well as in new construction, improve water quality, reduce flooding, decrease the heat-island effect, conserve water, enhance landscapes, reduce infrastructure costs, and increase property values.

The focus on LID in Arizona has escalated since 2011, when the Pima County Arizona Low Impact Development Working Group was formed. The group is made up of government, private, and nonprofit stakeholders. It has gathered and produced a number of resources, including the Low Impact Development and Green Infrastructure Guidance Manual, a case studies catalog, and a cost-benefit analysis of LID techniques. They have even produced a series of case-study templates.

Other Arizona cities and agencies have recognized LID’s benefits and have begun to implement LID techniques into their projects. The cities of Mesa and Glendale commissioned a LID Toolkit, which includes design guidelines for public and private development and redevelopment. The Toolkit outlines LID techniques like curb cuts, vegetated swales, bioretention basins, and pervious pavements, and provides guidelines for selecting appropriate techniques on individual projects. 

Working toward Implementation
Agencies like the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality; the Pima Association of Governments (PAG); and regional flood control districts have joined organizations like STORM, which is made up of municipalities in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan Area, and the Sustainable Cities Network (SCN) to help raise awareness of LID techniques, model their use, and develop standards and specifications for construction. The Pima County LID Working Group helped develop a resolution supporting LID and green infrastructure that was passed by PAG in 2012. Several cities have evaluated how their codes can be made more LID-friendly and/or adopted the LID Toolkit. Hard data on flow volumes is being collected; the Maricopa County Flood Control District, for example, is using FLO-2D to develop a regional model for the Tempe Area Drainage Master Study. The Pima Arizona LID Working Group and SCN’s Standards and Specifications Subgroup are working to develop standards and specifications for LID features.

Cost-Benefit Analysis
Progress is being made toward cost-benefit analysis, too. The Pima County Regional Flood Control District and PAG teamed up to produce a cost-benefit study. The study takes into account construction and maintenance costs of various LID techniques as well as the value of community benefits like reduced flooding, increased property values, reduced risk of heat-related deaths, and reduced CO2 emissions. The City of Tempe is currently conducting a Water Infrastructure Authority-funded study of the Loma Vista neighborhood. The study focuses on determining how many private landowners would need to utilize LID techniques to achieve the same benefit that could be achieved by conventional stormwater management techniques.

Little systematic data has been collected to date regarding the cost of maintaining LID features, however. Arizona communities who may be collecting this data are encouraged to contact Wayne Colebank, PLA at Logan Simpson at wcolebank@logansimpson.com. Logan Simpson will share the data received.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
New Master Plans for Kachina Village Improvement District
By: David Prinzhorn, PE, Senior Engineer, Civiltec Engineering Inc.

The Kachina Village Improvement District (KVID) was formed in 1965 to provide water and wastewater services for the residents of the local community. KVID is a division of the Coconino County Public Works Department and is committed to providing clean, safe drinking water and wastewater collection and treatment services to its residents. Kachina Village is an unincorporated community approximately 10 miles south of Flagstaff, west of I-17 and adjacent to the national forest. Encompassing approximately 700 acres the community has a population of 2,662 (as of the 2010 Census). The community offers a full range of infrastructure including water, sewer and other utilities, public streets, full-service fire protection, community-oriented law enforcement, and park and open space amenities. As of December 2015, the community had 1,387 active utility service connections. 

Water service is provided through a 17-mile network of underground pipelines served from three booster pump stations and four water storage reservoirs. The KVID water system consists of wells, distribution mains, pump stations, reservoirs and disinfection facilities. All water provided is groundwater pumped from the Coconino Regional Aquifer. 

Wastewater is collected through a gravity wastewater disposal system for transport to the KVID wastewater treatment plant for further processing. Treated wastewater effluent is delivered to a series of evaporation ponds located at the northern edge of the community. These evaporation ponds also provide an ideal habitat for local and migrating wildlife. The KVID wastewater system consists of gravity mains, force mains, manholes, cleanouts, lift stations, a wastewater treatment plant and effluent evaporation ponds.

Civiltec Engineering, Inc. (Civiltec) is working with KVID to prepare new Water and Wastewater Master Plans. The purpose of the Master Plans is to establish a realistic and affordable plan of operations for the next 20-year horizon as it relates to the community water and wastewater system. The results of the current facility condition assessments indicate an ongoing need to perform regularly scheduled maintenance and capital improvements to maintain the systems reliability and long-term value to the citizens. This maintenance and capital improvement program does incur cost, and these costs must be recovered by the utility through its rate structure in order to remain self-supporting. 

KVID requires the construction and calibration of a new hydraulic model for the water and wastewater system. The study area is approximately 1.2 square miles. These models will be built based on as-built drawings and other field data collected (water valves, equipment information, sewer manholes, etc.). Civiltec will map the GIS data and prepare water and wastewater system models using Bentley WaterGems and SewerGEMS software.
“This is an exciting project for a rural client with the same infrastructure rehabilitation needs as any large City,” said Civiltec Senior Engineer, David Prinzhorn. “Our understanding of water and wastewater operations and maintenance affords Civiltec a unique perspective to assist this client with their long-term goals of providing a safe and reliable water supply and trouble-free wastewater services.”

Additional tasks for KVID include:

• reviewing current utility operations and maintenance practices
• assessing current equipment conditions
• preparing a 20-year Capital Improvement Plan
• planning for future population growth, water demands, and wastewater generation
• an analysis of historic energy usage, performing an updated equipment energy audit, and development of recommendations to decrease operating costs
• performing an assessment of the current and future regulatory environment and requirements
• assisting in the development of a Water Conservation Program

The 30% document submittal was completed in January and the overall project is scheduled to be completed by mid-August. The work is being performed from Civiltec’s Peoria office with survey support from Civiltec’s Prescott office.