Stormwater rolling off 300 acres in northeast Durango could be a bit cleaner before it flows into the wetlands near the Animas River after next year.
The city is planning to build a new drainage basin on the south side of 32nd Street near the intersection with Holly Avenue in the spring. The basin should help filter some of the grease, dirt and metals stormwater carries off city streets before it flows into the Oxbow.
The basin will slow down the water and allow time for the sediment in the water to settle out before it flows into the river, said Keith Dougherty, a city engineer.
While it will help keep the water cleaner, the water does not have to meet a set standard because residential stormwater is not monitored by any agency for quality, he said.
It’s a project that has been discussed since the 1980s, but it has been delayed because the city funded other priorities, said Greg Hoch, Durango’s director of community development.
“Storm drainage always falls to the bottom of the priorities,” he said.
This summer the Durango City Council agreed to reappropriate funds from another drainage project to make the one at 32nd Street possible.
The city had set aside $650,000 over several years to replace a storm drain pipe that crossed U.S. Highway 550 at 12th Street. But city officials have asked for companies to bid on the project twice, once in 2014 and again this year. The city received only one bid each time, and both came in over budget, according to city documents.
So councilors decided in July to use $396,000 set aside for the pipe to help fund the basin. The basin is estimated to cost $452,500 total.
The Joint Planning Commission approved the project last week after a single nearby property owner voiced concerns.
“This is a big improvement over what we have now, even with some shortcomings,” said Tom Gorton, a La Plata County planning commissioner.
A project neighbor, Tony Whittle, asked the city to re-evaluate the drainage system on the north side of 32nd Street because he feels it is inadequate.
The city may take a broader look at storm drainage in 2016. City Manager Ron LeBlanc is proposing a stormwater master plan as part of next year’s budget. The city could set aside $100,000 for the plan in 2016 and more money in 2017 to finish it.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
