Needs Analysis

Stormwater Program Needs Analysis

The Stormwater Program Needs Analysis is the first step toward developing the Business Plan that is the necessary foundation for a successful stormwater utility program implementation

The primary benefit for having a stormwater needs analysis for any Community is to provide staff with a better understanding of what current stormwater level of service the community is providing and at what cost to the community. Furthermore, staff typically need evidence and support documentation from an experienced outside source to show the elected officials the need for the dedicated funding source, the stormwater utility program and what level of burden the general fund was supporting.

Almost 100% of communities that ERC talks to about the concept of a stormwater program Needs Analysis agree that this type of inexpensive approach makes sense for their community. The community can invest a relatively small amount of funds to receive enough useful information through the Needs Analysis process to allow the
Elected Officials to make a "go" or "no go" decision on proceeding with creating and implementing a stormwater utility program. In addition, the community staff will receive a useful study that organizes and provides an inventory all of the stormwater activities which can be used internally by staff from that point forward, whether the elected officials decide to proceed or not.

The following are typical results of performing a Stormwater Needs Analysis for the most communities:

An organized list and inventory of all stormwater activities currently being performed within the community.
A cost associated with the list of all stormwater activities currently being performed within the community.
Condition of Data that is required in order to implement a stormwater billing system and a precise cost to implement the billing system in the future.
An estimate of an ERU based rate that will be needed to support the current stormwater activities.
An estimate of the General Fund and other fund relief associated with the current stormwater activities.
A presentation to the Elected Officials illustrating the results of the needs analysis study.

Click Here to download our Storm Water Needs Analysis Data Request pdf document