Stormwater Management Plan, Page 3
Stormwater Quality
Stormwater quality is of growing concern in municipal drainage
management. Tulsa has geared up to meet new federal requirements
for stormwater discharge NPDES permits (National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System permits). Tulsa's most serious problem
with runoff quality was found to be sediment, which is being
addressed through vigorous regulation of erosion from construction
projects.
The city is also emphasizing street sweeping, environmental
monitoring, and stormwater laboratory services as part of its
stormwater quality program.
Maintenance and Operations
City leaders clearly saw the need for better maintenance when
the 1984 flood swamped debris-choked creeks and channels, clogged
and collapsed sewers, and neglected pump stations. The resulting
public and private costs were enormous.
The flood triggered a search for stable, continual maintenance
funding. The answer came in 1986, when city fathers approved a
drainage utility fee. Now maintenance is an essential element of
Tulsa's program.
The contrast is telling:
In 1980, the city spent about $400,000 on stormwater maintenance.
By comparison, in 1993, the city was able to spend about $6 million
on stormwater maintenance.
The difference was the stormwater utility fee.
The maintenance program's first goal is to keep systems operating
at full capacity.
The system includes hundreds of miles of surface channels and
floodplains, thousands of miles of underground sewers, public
detention basins, pump stations, roadside ditches, bridges, and the
curbs and inlets along the street system.
The list of duties continues to expand, extending through turf
control and tree planting, debris removal, emergency response
during storms, and management of maintenance trails along
drainageways.
Emergency Management
Capricious climate makes Tulsa vulnerable to weather
emergencies, particularly tornadoes, violent thunderstorms, and
floods.
Overall responsibility during emergencies lies with the city-county
Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency; but in flood management,
TAEMA shares its lead with Tulsa's Public Works Department.
Tulsa's emergency management goal is to reduce hazard and damage
before, during and after storms.
Forecasting and Warning
Flash floods require the earliest possible warnings. Tulsa's
system works in cooperation with the National Weather Service, news
media, TAEMA, and the City of Tulsa. A computerized ALERT system
includes 39 rain, 19 stream, and seven detention gauges that report
changes as they happen. The system is based on detailed basin
inventories and includes a hydrologic program that develops stream
and flood forecasts, to be released for appropriate action before
flooding occurs.
Response
Emergency response is triggered by the possibility of severe
weather anywhere in the community. Response teams are guided by
detailed plans and protocols - and their extensive field experience
during emergencies. The plans also identify critical facilities
with hazardous materials, vulnerable occupants, and essential
community functions.
Recovery and mitigation
Traditionally, recovery meant rebuilding as fast as possible.
But recurring disasters have taught Tulsans that rebuilding in kind
can mean reinvesting in disaster. Tulsa today emphasizes mitigation
projects, which seek to make the response to each disaster reduce
future losses. For example, hundreds of flooded homes have been
relocated to dry sites. In addition, the city is updating its
flood-hazard mitigation plans, to include actions to be taken
before, during, and after a flood.
Public Awareness
The City pushes public information and involvement to keep
citizens aware that floods frequent Tulsa, requiring prudent
preparation.
Diverse information pieces include flood maps, brochures, news
releases, fact sheets, reports, slide shows, videos, direct
mailings, displays, speeches and presentations, roadway signs, and
individual contacts - anything and everything possible to get out
the word.
For example, the city mails periodic notices to floodplain
occupants, warning them of hazards, offering them flood
preparedness tips, and urging them to buy flood insurance.
Tulsa's stormwater ordinances include requirements that full
information about flood hazards must be provided by property
sellers to prospective buyers, and by landlords to tenants.
