Two groups of students will work on this project. One group of students will interview municipalities throughout Western Washington that currently use LID stormwater equipment and technology. From this, the students will create a report and presentation on the current LID maintenance cost, challenges and benefits. A second group will assess the maintenance, materials, labor force required, monitoring costs, maintenance timelines and other associated costs with LID stormwater equipment and technology.
In January 2017, the City of Auburn was issued a declaration of covenant for the
maintenance and operation of Low Impact Development (LID) facilities, as part of
the Western Washington Phase II Municipal Stormwater permit provided by the
Washington State Department of Ecology. This permit required Auburn to begin
maintenance best management practices of the existing 22 facilities within city
limits and to develop new budgetary allocations for these facilities to fulfill permit
requirements. Maintenance and Operation (M&O) costs are new to Phase I and
Phase II permittees. Data from other areas remains limited, which challenges cost
forecasting accuracy.
This report offers an analysis of costs derived from a literature review and Phase
I permittee respondents’ data from western Washington to evaluate anticipated
costs and help streamline investments in LID. We specifically focus on exploring two
main types of LID facilities found in the City of Auburn: bioretention and permeable
pavements to evaluate M&O costs. We then offer suggestions for moving forward,
and a detailed outline for further research
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
Livable City Year Contact Info
Teri Thomson Randall
Program Manager
terir@uw.edu
206.221.9240
University Faculty Contact
Sara Brostrom
Environment Studies
Professor
Local Government / Community Contact
Shannon Howard
City of Auburn Solid Waste Division