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Water & Sewer

      
   
Smart Growth for Water and Sewer Utilities

What is “Smart Growth”?
Smart Growth refers to laws enacted in 1999 that require comprehensive planning of cities, villages, towns, counties and regional planning commissions.  This law calls for consideration of nine planning elements:

  1. Background and demographic information of local governments
  2. Housing supply
  3. Transportation needs
  4. Utility and community facilities
  5. Agricultural, natural and cultural resources
  6. Development of economic base
  7. Intergovernmental cooperation
  8. Land use, and
  9. Implementation of proposed changes. 

All of these elements include the compilation of the local government unit’s objectives, policies, goals, maps and programs.

This guidance will center on the four elements related to water;

4. Utility and community facilities
5. Agricultural, natural and cultural resources
7. Intergovernmental cooperation and
8. Land use.  

All of these elements should be considered to develop a comprehensive regional plan.  Most of this document is in the form of questions to guide a regional planner with water and sewer systems.

Utility and Community Facilities
The goals of the community should reflect the needs of its population.  What are the demographics of the community?  Does the prevailing age of the community require special water quality or distribution needs of its water system.   What is the projected population growth of the community?

How does the community control growth? Does the community want growth or does it want to inhibit growth?  Does the community want a lot of services and is it willing to pay for those services?  Surveys and referendums can be used to help understand and establish the vision and goals of a community.

Who pays for the cost of improvements?  Do the new customers that cause the additional capacity needed by the water system pay for it through impact fees?  Has a public facilities needs assessment study been undertaken per Wis. Stat. § 66.0617(4).  Are existing customers affected by the growth of the community?  Does the water system qualify for grants? Are the right-of-ways adequate for all utility growth? 

Distribution System
The utility should assess its water and sewer system personnel and assets to determine their adequacy to meet future needs.  Some questions that might guide this thinking include:

(1) Are utility personnel adequately trained to meet the present and future needs of the utility and its customers?

(2) What is the quality of the water and does it meet quality regulations?  Is the treatment equipment adequate? Are the operators trained to optimize the process of water treatment?

(3) Does the utility have an accurate map of its distribution system?  Is there a data base linked to the map (GIS)? Are there right-of-way (ROW) easements for all distribution equipment?  Are there conflicts with other utilities in the ROW? Does the utility have adequate resources to marks it facilities when notified by Diggers Hotline of construction activity in its service territory?

(4)What is the condition of the distribution equipment? Does it need to be maintained or replaced?  What databases are employed by the water system to keep it maintained?  Is construction planning coordinated with other city departments? Does the distribution system provide adequate water flow and pressure for customer service and fire protection?  Does the distribution system leak excessive water?  Does the water utility know where its water goes or how it is used?  Does the utility have construction standards and are new facilities inspected to verify standards before being accepted as part of the water system?

(5) How will construction and maintenance be financed?  Does the water system qualify for grants?  When replacing water main, services, and hydrants, can there be some efficiency gained by sharing the cost with road replacement projects of the Street Department?  Is new distribution growth financed through: (a) Special assessments? (b) Customer payments?  (c) Developer contributions?

(6) Safe Water Supply
Does the utility have contingency plans for losing sources of water supply, contamination of water supply or the loss of energy?  Does the water system have enough stored water to supply its customers for one day?  What happens to the supply if a fire occurs during the emergency? 

Are all access points to the water supply secured with locked enclosure or vents that make contamination of the water difficult?  Has the utility taken advantage of additional security measures like: fencing, lighting, security cameras, motion detectors and routine police visits to water storage tanks, pump houses, and treatment facilities?

In cases of emergency do utility personnel have an up-to-date list of contacts with phone numbers and addresses?  Do the utility personnel know what types of information these contacts will need to be able to take action?  Has the utility designated a person who will be the media contact so the public can remain informed throughout an emergency?

Agricultural, natural and cultural resources
The utility should make an assessment of the ability of its water sources to provide a sustainable supply of water to its planning region.

Source of Water Supply and Growth
What factors should be considered in planning long term sustainable water supplies for the planning area?  How much water is needed for sustainable water supply?  Is the water supply adequate?  Is the community in the Great Lakes basin?  Does the community or county straddle the divide between the Great Lakes basin and the Mississippi River basin?  Do the Great Lakes provide a feasible source of water?

State Great Lakes Basin.jpg

(1) Is groundwater the source of water supply?  What are the geological characteristics of this source of supply?  Does the utility have a well head protection program? What is the chemical makeup of this groundwater? What technology do the utility use to treat the water to meet EPA and DNR standards?  Are there more efficient methods of treating water at this time and is it cost effective to replace the current treatment with a new treatment process? Is the treatment plant near capacity?

Are more wells needed?  Does the community have wells located in Groundwater Management Area which regulates the siting of new wells? Is the groundwater aquifer sustainable or is there a decline in the water table?  If the groundwater supply is not sustainable, is there a feasible alternative like a surface water supply?  Can a water conservation program forestall the extra capacity requirements of the water system?

(2) Is surface water the source of water supply? What is the chemical makeup of the surface water? What technology do the utility use to treat the water to bring it up to EPA and DNR standards?  Are their superior methods of treating water at this time and is it cost effective to replace the current treatment with a new treatment process? Is the treatment plant near capacity?

Is the water source Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Winnebago or the Mississippi River? Does the utility get diverted water from the Great Lakes basin?  Is the utility a straddling community or a community in straddling county that is interested in obtaining water from the great lakes basin?  Does the utility have to return water to the Great Lakes basin?  Can a water conservation program forestall the extra capacity requirements of the water system?

(3) To what extent can the community and utility incorporate water conservation programs into water system planning?  Do regulations require the community to have a water conservation program?  Does the utility have a consumer education program on water conservation?  Does the water utility practice water conservation with accountability of its water use?  Does the utility promote the use of water efficient products? Does the utility use a rate structure that promotes less water use and provides financial incentives for customers to use efficient hardware?  Are there opportunities for the utility to promote water reuse or recycling?

(4) What are the water utility’s rates and how do they compare to other utilities in the area?  What is the total cost of delivered treated water?  What is the cost of treatment? What is the energy cost to deliver the water?  Are there more efficient ways of treating or delivering the water to the customers through: improved treatment processes, improved pumps and motors, or improved design of the distribution system?

Intergovernmental cooperation
A primary goal of integrated resource planning is to solicit participation from the public and improve the collaboration and coordination among the governmental institutions involved in water resource planning. To achieve this goal; water, wastewater and stormwater utility planning should integrate regional and local planning processes. Partnering between planning agencies will enable their utilities to utilize the expertise and funding of regional planning commissions to assess supply, determine environmental issues, project future demand of the region’s water resources and provide a forum to facilitate public involvement. Planning at a regional level may enable multiple utilities to pool resources in the development and implementation of a regional conservation program. 1

The Aspen Institute suggests “A sustainable water infrastructure integrates the traditional components (man-made or built) with the protection and restoration of natural systems (rivers, lakes, streams, groundwater aquifers, floodplains, floodways, and watersheds), conservation and efficiency, reuse and reclamation and the active incorporation of new decentralized technologies, green infrastructure and low impact development to ensure the long-term reliability and resilience of our water resources.”2 Natural systems like watersheds do not fit geographically into manmade water systems.  Intergovernmental cooperation between states, counties, cities, villages and towns will be necessary to develop a sustainable water infrastructure.

Federal and state government agencies are starting to collect data on how water behaves in watersheds and groundwater aquifers.  As our understanding improves on how water moves above and below the surface, we can plan to meet the goals of sustainable water infrastructure.

It would be good work for communities to develop partnerships with other communities within a watershed to plan for sustainable water.  Below is a map of large watersheds in Wisconsin.

Wis groundwater management units 7x7.jpg

Land use
“Since groundwater gets into the ground at the land surface, it makes sense that what happens on the land surface can have an impact on the groundwater.  In fact, it can affect both groundwater quality and quantity.” 3

Examples of sources of water contamination include: landfills; gasoline leaks for underground storage tanks; fertilizers and pesticides from farms, gold courses and lawns; intentional dumping of paint, motor oil and dry cleaning chemicals.  A comprehensive list of containments can be found on the DNR form “ Public Water Supply Potential Contaminant Use Inventory”.

Groundwater quantity is not sustainable when the water is withdrawn faster than its natural recharge.  There are increasing concern for lowering aquifers in the Lower Fox River Valley, southeast Wisconsin and Dane County and other areas around the state.

Impervious areas like roads, parking lots and shopping centers contribute to groundwater quality and quantity issues because there is less recharge to the groundwater, more flooding than the case before development and precipitation run off picks up fertilizers and other contaminants from the lawns, farm fields or other sources of nonpoint pollution.

Land use impact groundwater through our buildings, roads, and agricultural, commercial and industrial businesses.  “Water and sewer service plans, subdivision plans, wellhead or source water protection plan are all forms of land use planning that can mitigate groundwater impacts.”4

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has done a lot of work in the area of smart growth.  The DNR’s document; “Resources to Help You Protect Your Drinking Water Supply” lists some groundwater questions and some suggested sources of information to examine when considering each question:5

  1. Where does your community’s groundwater come from?
    1. What geological materials provide water for your community’s well? 
    2. What land area contributes recharge to you community’s well?
  2. Are there sensitive areas within the recharge area that warrant protection or special consideration?
  3. How much groundwater do your wells currently produce?
  4. What are the existing and potential contaminant sources that could impact your wells?
  5. Does the quality of the groundwater from your wills meet drinking water standards?

Answering the above questions can provide a framework for planning for water supply protection.

Another DNR document “Residential Development and Groundwater Resources” takes a look at how residential development effects groundwater.  This document looks at water supply and treatment; common issues to all residential development and makes some recommendations on minimizing the impacts of residential development.

Conclusion
In Wisconsin we take water for granted because of it abundance and convenience.  One of the major criteria for survival of a community in this nation it is because it is located near a source of water.  A community cannot grow or survive without it.  With populations continuing to grow in this country good clean water can become a scarce resource.  We are already seeing signs of unsustainable water in some areas of the state.  It is smart for each community to consider its growth and the future supply of sustainable quality water for its residents.

Footnotes

1.Urban and Regional Planning (URPL), Department of, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2009. “Implementing the Great Lakes Compact: Wisconsin Conservation and Efficiency Measures Report.” Extension Report 2009-01

2. Sustainable Water Systems Step One – Redefining the Nation’s Infrastructure Challenge; The Aspen Institute – Energy and Environment Program; 2009
3. Groundwater and Its Role in Comprehensive Planning, Comprehensive Planning and Groundwater Fact Sheet 1 ;Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council; http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/dwg/gw/pubs/SmartGrowth1.pdf;  July 2002 (Revised February, 2005)

4. Ibid Table 2 “The Relationship Of Groundwater To Other Elements Of Comprehensive Planning”

5. Resources to Help you Protect Your Drinking Water Supply”, Comprehensive Planning and Groundwater Fact Sheet 2, Groundwater Coordinating Council; http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/dwg/gw/pubs/SmartGrowth2.pdf, July 2002 (Revised February, 2005)