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Sugar Land is partnering with some municipal utility districts for stormwater management.
The big picture
Sugar Land City Council approved the creation of a stormwater coalition at June 16 and July 7 meetings to partner with entities in the same geographic area to jointly manage stormwater after several MUDs approached the city, Environmental Manager Christian Eubanks said.
As of July 21, the coalition includes the Burney Road and Imperial Redevelopment District MUDs.
The details
The coalition aims to avoid redundancy in stormwater management efforts, including the required five-year Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4, permit compliance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Eubanks said.
Key coalition features include:
The city will perform most MS4 program elements on behalf of all coalition members, while MUDs focus on maintaining their own facilities and participating in training, Eubanks said.
The cost
Each MUD in the program will be responsible for a one-time $5,000 application fee as well as a $2,500 annual participation fee, Eubanks said.
The fees are designed to cover setup and maintenance of the coalition, including legal, council and TCEQ coordination.
Looking ahead
Coalitions are optional for MUDs, although council member Suzanne Whatley said she hopes that all those located in the area get involved
“I think it's a great idea—it overwhelmingly brings everyone together on the same page,” she said. “I would hope that we would encourage all the MUDs to join at some point ... I would encourage us to look at ways to make everyone part of this so we can be consistent."
