The January Storms Prove We Can't Put Off Funding Stormwater Infrastructure Anymore

March 6, 2024

Op Ed Originally Published in the "Voice of San Diego" Newsletter

By Michael Drennan and Jeff Cooper

Michael Drennan is the Director of Water Resources at NV5, a global engineering company with offices in San Diego. He also serves on the Board of Directors for ASCE’s San Diego Chapter. Jeff Cooper is Director of Infrastructure for NV5, and ASCE Region 9 California Past Board of Governors Member and current Treasurer.

San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera is leading a much-needed effort to generate the funding to address flooding and stormwater pollution issues in the city. Recent heavy rains have certainly brought attention to the situation, but these issues are not new. The lack of sufficient dedicated funding for the San Diego’s stormwater needs has been outlined in several reports over many years, including a report by the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst in 2021. Flooding and stormwater quality issues are the result of the City’s aging infrastructure, reduced or deferred maintenance (because of inadequate funding), and a growing backlog of critical capital projects.

San Diego is not alone. Many cities throughout California are facing similar challenges with funding stormwater infrastructure, particularly since the passage of Proposition 218 in 1996.  The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) produces an assessment of the nation’s infrastructure every four years in its “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.” Much of our infrastructure is reaching the end of its useful life and is crumbling due to a lack of funding for repair and maintenance. The Society, which is the largest and oldest engineering organization in the country, also produces state report cards that are led by state chapter leaders. The 2019 Report Card for California gave stormwater infrastructure a letter grade of “D+”!

The Need: In 1990, the city imposed a fee of 95 cents per month per single family home, and the fee has remained unchanged since then. (For reference, you could buy a gallon of gas in California in 1990 for 74 cents!) The current budget needed to run the city’s Stormwater Department is $48 million, just for operations and maintenance. The city’s 2021 Watershed Asset Management Plan includes estimates of approximately $5.5 billion through 2040 to address the capital improvements needed to achieve flooding and stormwater quality goals.

The Solution: To its credit, the Stormwater Division has been making progress in spite of this huge funding gap. Crews from the department routinely inspect and clean the massive network of underground pipelines, particularly in anticipation of imminent storm events, to help reduce flooding. In addition, the city received approval in 2022 for $733 million in loan funds from USEPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). These funds are helping to address some of the more urgent issues, but clearly more is needed. 

Elo-Rivera’s willingness to tackle this chronic issue is critical. Previous efforts have been floated but have never made it to the ballot box for various reasons: polling that indicated insufficient support, competing funding measures on the ballot, or simply the lack of a champion to lead the unpopular charge of a new tax. But these latest storms may help people recognize the time has come. Taxes are unpopular, but our parents raised us to appreciate the quality of life that taxes can provide. They taught us to be grateful for the opportunity to live within a society that pooled their resources to help pay for luxuries that we all now take for granted, like paved roads, clean water, and a public education system.  

A Jan. 31 Union Tribune article by David Garrick indicated that the proposed tax on the November ballot would require support from 2/3 of the city’s voters in order to comply with Proposition 218. But Proposition 218 provides other options (special assessments) that only require 50 percent approval, one where the measure is placed on the ballot by the City Council and each property owner gets a vote. In the case of the property owner ballot, the measure does not need to be timed with an official November election day, it can be initiated at any time. Proposition 218 is intended to require voter approval of tax increases, allowing the people to decide if they want to pool their resources to solve problems.

In 2018, Los Angeles County voters were provided an opportunity to consider a county-wide measure to address similar needs for stormwater funding, called Measure W. Those voters recognized the need, and that ballot measure was successful -- the county is now generating $280 million annually to address stormwater mitigation for 88 cities.  And in January 2024, the property owners in Manhattan Beach approved their Storm Drain Measure with a yes vote of 52.65%.  The additional funds will be used to address their aging stormwater infrastructure.  The voters of the city of San Diego may also see the importance of improving their quality of life by protecting homes, businesses, and shared spaces. Thank you again, Elo-Rivera, for your leadership of this important issue, and for giving the voters a chance to say yes. We salute you.