“State of the Stormwater” touches on different projects and proposed fee increase

SALISBURY — Public Works Assistant Director Michael Hanna gave a presentation entitled “State of the Stormwater” to the Salisbury City Council at its March 19 meeting to provide an update on where things stand with the department and their plans for the future.

In 2021, Stormwater partnered with HDR Engineering to construct a masterplan for “implementation of capital improvement projects and supporting initiatives.” The masterplan is made for the designing, planning and funding for 15 years of Stormwater needs and undertakings for the city.

To pay for these projects, the Stormwater fees were changed in the 2024 fiscal year to $4.81 per ERU or equivalent residential unit. In the 2025 fiscal year, there is a proposed increase of 10 percent to $5.29 per ERU.

Single family properties pay one ERU a month, whereas multifamily or commercial properties have to pay one ERU per 2,500 square feet of impervious surface area or “anywhere that water will not penetrate or infiltrate into the soil.”

The Stormwater fees also go towards leaf collection, street sweeping, as well as public education and involvement.

Some of the infrastructure projects that have been completed include replacing 60 feet of pipe at Johnson Street and improvements to 14th Street has led to no flooding in the area.

Upcoming CIP projects involve a Jackson Street drainage study, a Long Street drainage improvement study, and a Sunset Drive drainage improvement study that aims to replace aging infrastructure and to address “minor flooding concerns.”

Hanna said Stormwater “has been trying to think outside the box when it comes to water quality” and one of those ideas is the Mahaley Branch Stream restoration project. The stream flows through Forest Hills Park and Horizons Unlimited with Hanna describing it as having “great potential.” Stormwater has worked with McAdams Engineering on a feasibility study and is now seeking grants for construction.

“How can we make a failing, blown out stream that has erosion issues causing water quality impacts and make an impact to our citizens?” Hanna said.

In the past year, Stormwater has been given the Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Investments Program (LASII) grant from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The $400,000 grant funds a “system inventory and condition assessment” that will be compared to the current CIP in order to make any necessary modifications to it. The grant period began this month and will be finished in February 2025.

City Manager Jim Greene said the council will establish the upcoming budget based on approval of the CIP and proposed rate increase.

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