Jefferson City officials have been working on plans to address stormwater issues - and so are Cole County officials.
County commissioners heard an update Tuesday on a potential stormwater ordinance.
The ordinance will have three elements: illicit discharge, detection and elimination (dumping, waste and hazardous materials); construction site runoff control; and post-construction site runoff control.
Public works officials have reviewed a draft ordinance with Luebbert Engineering and also met with Jefferson City Public Works staff to compare how the county's proposal could work with the city.
County Engineer Eric Landwehr told commissioners they should have something ready for review in a few weeks and would also want public comment on the proposal.
Landwehr said county staff are working to delineate a buffer area around the city in which a county ordinance would be in effect.
Stormwater problems have increased over the past year. Possible causes include rainfall exceeding the design of pavement and pipes; debris clogging pipes or inlets, with the first heavy rain of spring flushing debris from fall and winter; and bottom floor elevations of some basements being too low, in close proximity to creeks and/or below the low point of a road.
Two upcoming county stormwater projects will replace all stormwater inlets and pipes, then rebuild subdivision streets.
The Crossroads/Southtown Estates/Rustic Oaks subdivision project will be done this summer. The area south of Jefferson City off U.S. 54 includes parts of Monticello Road, Greenbrier Drive, Dewberry Drive, Horseshoe Road, Sycamore Lane and Rustic Lane. Approved in 2015, it took a year to complete the design work, along with getting easements. The project will be paid for with money from the county's half-cent capital improvement sales tax.
A project in the Meadowbrook Estates will be done next spring. Heavy rains last August caused flooding in several parts of the area, and public works officials said getting a jump on design work will help get construction started faster. The project is estimated to have a total cost of $1.5 million. The majority of the costs would be covered by the half-cent improvement sales tax.
Potential new stormwater projects include Charm Villa Drive; South Brooks Drive in three locations (Collier Lane/Collier Court, Shady Lane and Bradley Drive); and Scherr Drive/Amanda Drive.
Locations for projects where more analysis is needed include Gateway Drive/Brookview Drive, Lakewood Drive and Marine Corps League/CCPM.
At Tuesday's commission meeting, members of the Marine Corps league said they have been at their location in Apache Flats since 1992 and had drainage problems for several years. They've even had their air-conditioning units flooded.
Flood-prone areas identified include the Natchez Trace Estates Subdivision and Ravenwood Subdivision.
Several Natchez Trace residents told commissioners Tuesday something needed to be done and they appreciated the work the county has been doing. Richard Acton and Greg Hoffmeyer were among the group giving commissioners pictures of what occurred after past storms. The homeowners believe a major part of the problem is overflow from nearby Woodward Lake.
"There's not much of a levy there, and when there is a hard rain it pours over," Hoffmeyer said.
Landwehr said the rains last fall and this March could be described as 20-year rains. Although spotty, some locations got around 3 inches in an hour. He said there had been work done at the lake, such as installing a drain, but in situations like those, it doesn't help much.
To handle stormwater, potential detention locations have been identified, including property at Gateway Drive/Brookview Circle and property at Business 50/Veil of Tears.
"I appreciate your understanding, but our hands are tied because we have nothing on our books and dealing with DNR and EPA can be very time-consuming," Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle told the residents.
"New development created stormwater downstream, and that was exacerbated by this big event rain. We've got to do more with new development handling their own stormwater. We're going to have to look at detention ponds as a way to help."