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Section 2 - Scope of Services_for CD2.1 PROJECT APPROACH The City of South Miami (City) is located within Miami-Dade County and has a total area of approximately 2.3 square miles, with 2.1 square miles being contiguous. The City’s residential, commercial/industrial, and transportation land uses account for approximately 92% of the City’s total area, and the City is basically built out to these existing land uses, with the exception of some small vacant areas scattered throughout the City. With regards to topography, the main portion of the City lies in an area with higher topographic elevations along the eastern and western limits of the City, with a low topographic “valley” bordering a secondary canal system made up of the Broad, Ludlam Glades, and Twin Lakes Canals. These canals discharge into the C-2 Canal, otherwise known as the Snapper Creek Canal, which is a primary canal within Miami Dade County. The C-2 Canal also collects runoff from areas west of the City and eventually discharges into Biscayne Bay. These low lying areas within the City are prone to flooding, evidenced by their inclusion in FEMA Flood Zone AE which is defined as areas inundated by the 100-year flood. To compound the storm water management challenges brought upon by the City’s land use and topographic attributes, the vast majority of the City lies within a much large hydrologic watershed known as the C-2 Basin. This watershed extends westward to other highly urbanized areas with their own topographic and stormwater management challenges. These areas also connect to the C-2 Canal and rely heavily on this canal’s conveyance capacity to relieve flooding during critical storm events. Land Use % of City  Residential 56.3%  Transportation 24.0%  Commercial/Industrial 11.7%  Parks 3.3%  Water 2.4%  Vacant/Other 2.3%  Total 100.0%  For the purposes of water quality, water retention/detention, exfiltration, and infiltration, provide the most cost-effective methods for treating stormwater runoff. On the other hand, flooding impacts residents, business owners, and the municipal staff in charge of controlling flooding. In the end, the City not only has a responsibility to the residents and business owners to help protect their investments and livelihoods, but also a responsibility to the environment and the future. The City’s highly urbanized areas and low topographic elevations, as well as the environmentally sensitive receiving water bodies, create a challenge when it comes to stormwater and floodplain management. For these reasons, a sound Stormwater Management Program and Plan (SWMP) will help to set a solid basis and framework for managing stormwater runoff in ways that minimize both environmental and social impacts. Knowledge of the area as well as experience studying, proposing, implementing, and managing proven stormwater management techniques are critical to the creation of a successful SWMP. The ADA Team’s unique and extensive experience in developing these types of SWMPs and designing stormwater management facilities for locations with conditions such as those found within the City of South Miami provide a keen insight into the needs and wants of the City. Additionally, the ADA Team’s extensive knowledge of local, state, and federal water quality and quantity criteria enable the Team to provide the City with solutions which are both viable and cost effective in overcoming the challenging conditions within the City of South Miami. The ADA Team is the team that can lead this effort and our proven track record is a testament to this ability. SWMPs should be updated at least every five (5) years as required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as part of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Therefore, the purpose of this project is to create an updated comprehensive SWMP to meet the following objectives: Develop comprehensive hydrologic and hydraulic models to: Establish existing conditions flood protection LOS; Identify high priority drainage basins not previously identified by the 1997 SWMP that are known to have significant flooding levels; Identify drainage basins that are experiencing improved LOS based on Capital Improvement Projects implemented by the City since 1997; Assess current and anticipated future land uses; Prioritize drainage basins and problem areas based on level of flooding and quality of stormwater discharges; and Evaluate, rank, and prioritize cost-effective stormwater infrastructure improvements to meet the City’s demand for the appropriate LOS. Develop a phased five-year Capital Improvement Plan Establish sustainable stormwater policies Assist the City with improving the current NFIP Community Rating Community Rating System (CRS) Score Stormwater Management Plan The ADA Team has prepared numerous comprehensive SWMP within Miami-Dade County of similar magnitude and planning objectives. In addition, ADA is currently updating the City of Miami SWMP, which includes a total upland area of 34 square miles and will achieve very similar objectives as required for this project. ADA, as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District 6 Miscellaneous Drainage Design consultant since 2002, has also implemented numerous drainage improvement projects within areas similar to the City, including gravity and pressure drainage wells, drainage pump stations, and innovative pollution control best management practices. With this vast experience, the ADA Team will be able to bring a fresh and proven perspective in successfully updating the City’s SWMP. Over the years, ADA has refined an approach to municipal stormwater issues, which provides the client with a simple, reliable, and effective stormwater management systems. Our Team’s approach forms the framework or context within which present challenges are identified, future challenges are anticipated, and both are resolved through effective planning. This integrated system embraces the major elements of community involvement, policy, manual development, master planning, and financing which then folds them into a common envelope. Our experience has taught us that community involvement, policy, manual development, master planning, and financing are interrelated, with each impacting the others. To be effective, such "systems" must be tailored to the community within which they will serve, and yet must also accommodate future changes in policy and/or development patterns. Rigidly constructed formula solutions will ultimately be costly to the client in lost time, wasted resources, and missed opportunities. It is this Team’s goal to give the City a dynamic program that will incorporate the best in current stormwater management practices while leaving room for "innovative flexibility”. The ADA Team will work to develop a comprehensive SWMP that will meet the desired scope of work, objectives, schedule, and available budget. The following subsections outline ADA Team’s approach, innovative ideas and the unique experience to facilitate completion of the SWMP within the budget and schedule constraints of the City. Based on our extensive stormwater management master planning and drainage design experience for municipal clients, the ADA Team proposes to develop the SWMP for the City by completing the following essential tasks that will address the scope of work items outlined in the RFP: Data Collection and Evaluation Existing Conditions Modeling Problem Area Identification and Ranking Identification of Future City Projects Fiscal Analysis and Ranking of Future Projects Stormwater Management Plan Report (SWMP) Development The following subsections will describe the activities to be performed under each task. TASK 1 – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Task 1.1 Data Collection One of the key elements in successfully preparing a SWMP is the quality and quantity of the available data. The ADA Team understands that the City has an extensive amount of data readily available to support development of the SWMP. In addition, the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM) has prepared numerous comprehensive SWMP for critical watersheds throughout the county and has developed exceptional stormwater master planning procedures. Some of the data obtained and procedures developed by DERM as part of these stormwater master plans can be used to facilitate and expedite the development of the City’s SWMP. ADA has worked with DERM in the development of the planning procedures and has implemented these procedures in the preparation of the SWMPs for the C-1, C-6, C-8 and C-9 watershed in Miami-Dade County. The ADA Team has also conducted data collection, analysis and modeling in the study area and will be able to meet the ambitious project schedule and limited budget because: much of the data is already in-house; the knowledge of the area and personnel within public and private agencies will allow efficient data access and coordination; several hydrologic, hydraulic and water quality modeling tools covering the area of the City are available in-house and the ADA Team has first-hand working knowledge of these; the knowledge of the various available databases will allow for easy retrieval of data; and the capability of the team and the in-house computer resources will allow efficient data compilation and processing. The ADA Team’s extensive experience working on the DERM stormwater master plans will provide the City with a team that has the ability to efficiently leverage and further refine the resources available. In other words, in an effort to provide a cost and time savings to the project, the ADA Team proposes to utilize and enhance the available C-2 Basin data and model for use as the basis for the City’s model. The C-2 Basin model takes into account the topographic limits of the watershed’s sub-basins which extend beyond the City’s limits - this is critical to developing a representative hydrologic/hydraulic model. This is critical because the City’s hydraulic and hydrologic boundaries extend well beyond its political boundaries. This method of leveraging existing models and data from Miami-Dade County has been successfully utilized in updating the City of Miami SWMP, which was performed by the ADA Team. This approach has also been used successfully by ADA for similar master planning activities in the City of Lauderhill, the City of Lauderdale Lakes, East County Water Control District, and the Town of Davie. Our approach will be to further refine the DERM model by obtaining and implementing additional data into the existing model. Each data collection subtask is described in the following subsections. Drainage Collection System Available drainage collection systems from the City and other sources will be validated and compiled into GIS shapefiles and geospatial databases to be used for the hydrologic/hydraulic model development. ADA is the FDOT District 6 Drainage consultant and has in-house conveyance infrastructure data for most of the major roadway drainage systems within the County. Additional compilation of data from the City, FDOT, and other entities will provide as-built drawings for structures, culvert inverts, outfall sizes, and other stormwater management elements for key drainage systems. Time Series of Rainfall Time series of rainfall is desirable for model calibration and to assess climatological conditions during the calibration. Regional long-term data are available for rainfall stations within close proximity to the City, and may be used in calibration and to assess long-term conditions. Spatially distributed rainfall data is available from the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and includes the City’s area as shown below in Figure 1-1. The ADA Team has already compiled rainfall data that can be used for this project. / Figure 1-1: Spatially Distributed Rainfall Data The ADA Team also has spatially distributed 15-minute in-house rainfall data for Hurricane Irene or other extreme rainfall events that could be used for model calibration and verification. Radar-rainfall estimates where obtained from OneRain, Inc, Alexandria, VA. Radar-rainfall estimates were obtained in fifteen (15) minute increments with a spatial resolution of approximately 2 km x 2 km. OneRain’s radar-rainfall estimates are derived from composite images of radar reflectivity from the National Weather Service WSR-88D radars servicing the South Florida area and adjusted using a “mean-field” adjustment ratio. This ratio is developed from local rain gauges within the area of interest. The ADA Team also has in-house rainfall data that were used in the hydrologic, hydraulic and hydrogeologic model developed and calibrated as part of the DERM C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-5, C-6, and C-7, C-8, and C-9 SWMMP hydrologic/hydraulic models, which are in relatively close proximity to the City. / Figure 1-2: Topographic Data for the City Topographic Information Digital Elevation Model (DEM) GIS files are also available and already in-house, based on LiDAR data obtained by DERM for most of Miami-Dade County. The available information is adequate to establish stage-storage relationships within drainage basins. This information may be field verified with conventional survey techniques for a representative sample of the LiDAR data to ensure that this data is representative of the topography within the City. A representation of the DERM DEM within the City is presented in Figure 1-2. In Figure 1-2, elevations are presented relative to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD). Conversion to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 is approximately 1.50 feet higher than NAVD. DERM utilized this DEM in the C-1, C-2, C-3, C4, C-5, C-6, and C-7, C-8, and C-9 SWMMP hydrologic/hydraulic models. This DEM captures the vast majority of the topographic elements within the City. Roadways and waterways are clearly distinguishable and will provide sufficient topographic resolution for all modeling activities. Soil Property Information on soils is available from the SFWMD and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NCRS) database. This data is also in-house and ready to be utilized for the project - see Figure 1-3. The project team also has an extensive database of hydrologic properties of each soil that was used as part of the modeling performed by DERM. The database includes infiltration rates, water content at saturation, field capacity, and wilting point for each soil. In addition, the NRCS database includes hydrologic soil groups and infiltration and runoff characteristics for each group. The ADA Team has extensive experience utilizing the NCRS database as well as other soil data sources in the development of numerous H&H models throughout Florida. / Figure 1-3: Soils Data for the City Current and Proposed Land Use and Vegetation GIS data of current Land use is also available in-house. Future land use (2025) is currently being used by the project team as a part of other work that the ADA Team had conducted for DERM. At this time, it is not known if the City has a particular year defined for future land use. The project team will meet with the City at project inception to determine if 2025 is appropriate or if some other year is preferred. It is recommended that a 2050 planning year be evaluated if adequate land use projection data are available from the City in GIS format. / Figure 1-4: Land Use Data for the City Model Boundary Conditions The primary receiving water body for drainage systems within the City of South Miami is the C-2 Canal via the Broad, Ludlam Glades, and Twin Lakes Canals. Therefore, for calibration and design storm event modeling, the boundary condition of these models will be based on the conditions in the DERM C-2 Basin model. Additionally, with the current trend in global warming and the resulting rise in eustatic sea level, public awareness of the importance of sea level change considerations has increased dramatically. Recognizing that relative sea level change is potentially more important to stormwater management and drainage projects along coastal communities, the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) has based its policy on an assessment of the risk of accelerated sea level rise as compared to observed historic trends. As part of this project, the ADA Team will evaluate recent studies conducted and action plans implemented by the ACOE, such as ACOE Circular No. 1165-2-211, and other agencies to incorporate future sea-level change projections in the planning, engineering design, construction and operation of the proposed alternatives to be incorporated as part of the comprehensive SWMP for the City. The ADA Team will assess all boundary conditions within the model for incorporation of this data, where applicable. Task 1.2 Data Analysis and Processing All of the collected data will be analyzed and validated. Before any data is used, the data will be evaluated to ensure that it is representative. If the data is not representative or its accuracy is suspect, the data will be discarded. The data will be assessed within spreadsheet or database software. For example, rainfall will be plotted against stream flow and stages. High discharges and stages should be explained by high rainfall rates or man-made manipulation such as opening of gates and other system operational activities. If there is no correlation in the data then the model will not be able to simulate the condition appropriately. Rainfall, stage and streamflow records will also be statistically analyzed to determine wet, dry and average flow and rainfall conditions, as well as flood conditions. Frequency analysis of annual data will identify wet, dry and average years. Frequency analysis of maximum instantaneous flows will determine flood flows for various return intervals. The log-Pearson Type III will be used with the Weibull plotting position. For design storm events rainfall magnitude, duration and distribution will be used and will be consistent with those typically used by DERM and the SFWMD. The data will be stored electronically in GIS or in a native format, where necessary. Data analysis and processing will provide a framework for the hydrologic/hydraulic model development and, in general, development of the SWMP. Hydrologic data will be analyzed and processed so that as the model is developed, appropriate data is available for calibration, verification, and prediction. Prior to model development, the ADA Team will have a comprehensive understanding of the hydraulic and hydrologic processes within the City so that the model is calibrated to mimic the existing systems accurately. TASK 2 – EXISTING CONDITIONS MODELING Task 2.1 Sub-basin Delineation As part of the 1997 SWMP, drainage basins were delineated and identified. Additionally, as a part of the C-2 Basin SWMP, basins were also delineated for the areas encompassing the City. The drainage basin boundaries will be reevaluated using the available DEM data described previously and any stormwater management project data recently implemented by the City. These drainage basins will be further sub-divided as necessary to refine the hydrologic/hydraulic conditions of these basins to better assess the hydraulic conveyance and capacity of the City’s drainage systems. The sub-basins will be refined electronically using GIS tools readily available to our Team, to expedite development of the hydrologic and hydraulic models. Task 2.2 Existing Hydrologic/Hydraulic Model Development and Calibration Develop a stormwater model by using the available data. Data collected in Task 1 will be incorporated into the C-2 XP-SWMM hydrologic/hydraulic model previously developed by DERM, by further refining the model as needed. Special emphasis will be added to the areas of concern identified in the previous tasks. Details to be added to the XPSWMM model will include data from local collection and detention systems, key hydraulic features of drainage projects recently completed by the City, and hydrologic information (runoff coefficient, storage available, etc) from basin areas of a smaller scale than those in the existing model. Establish calibration parameters. Using the results of the evaluation of available data, a brief technical memorandum will be prepared to establish the calibration criteria to be used in the process. This technical memorandum will define the historical storm events that will be used to calibrate the model, the data that will be used to drive the model and the type of boundary conditions to be used. This task will follow the calibration and verification procedures and activities performed as a part of DERM’s C-2 XP-SWMM model development process. Model calibration and comparison with anecdotic information collected in Task 1. Available stage and flow data will be used for calibration and verification, in addition to anecdotal information from the City’s staff and residents of recent significant rainfall events. Historical rainfall depths will also be used to verify the results obtained from the developed model. Flooding stages obtained with the model for the calibration events will be compared with data obtained from water marks or interviews with local residents to verify the relative accuracy of the model. Task 2.3 Hydrologic/Hydraulic Modeling of Existing Conditions Once model calibration is completed, the ADA Team will perform design storm event production runs for existing and future land use conditions without future improvement alternatives. The design storm events to be simulated are the 5- and 10-year, 1-day storms and 25-, 50- and 100-year, 3-day storms. From the design storm event production runs, flood maps will be generated by combining model results with the DEM (Digital Elevation Model) of the project area. The ADA Team will prepare GIS plots showing areas of inundation of each sub-basin included in the model during the peak of the design storm events. These maps will be prepared by importing to GIS a “dbf” file created with the output of the XP-SWMM model. This method of displaying results, not only results in time savings during the alternative selection process, but also provides a great tool to demonstrate high risk areas. The graphic shown depicts an inundation map completed as part of a SWMP developed by ADA for the City of Miami. The developed flood plains will also be compared to FEMA flood plains. TASK 3 - PROBLEM AREA IDENTIFICATION AND RANKING DERM has established planning procedures to rank and prioritize problem areas and establish flood protection and water quality LOS (FPLOS and WQLOS, respectively) for watersheds, basins or sub-basins. These procedures are documented in Part I, Volume 3, “Stormwater Planning Procedures” (DERM 1995) and have been approved by FEMA, SFWMD, and FDEP. However, because of the unique hydrologic, hydraulic, and topographic features within the City, the procedures may not adequately represent all high priority flooding areas correctly. Therefore, the ADA Team will revise the planning procedures developed by DERM, in close coordination with the City staff, to most adequately represent high priority flooding areas. This approach was used successfully as part of the City of Miami SWMP update performed by ADA. The ADA Team will use the revised DERM planning procedures and automated tools (GIS based) to rank all sub-basins delineated for the City and identify high-risk areas where flooding is prevelant. The ADA Team will also establish FPLOS for all sub-basins. The result of this ranking will be discussed with the appropriate City officials before the beginning of the alternative formulation process. ADA is well versed in implementing these planning procedures since it assisted DERM in developing them, have implemented the procedures for the C-1, C-8 and C-9 Basins in Miami-Dade County and is currently implementing revised procedures as part of the SWMP update for the City of Miami. The ADA Team will be able to implement these procedures without a “learning curve.” TASK 4 – Identification of Future City Projects Task 4.1 Identify future projects that will provide maximum benefits. The approach used by the ADA Team in previous stormwater management master plans (C-1, C-6, C-8, and C-9 Basins in Miami-Dade County) has been to evaluate first those problem areas that are affected by large scale issues (the “big picture” approach). This approach allows for identifying stormwater management projects of regional impact. The ancillary systems will then be defined around these regional solutions to maximize the level of service within the project area and adjacent sub-basins, rather than providing localized benefits. Another important component of the stormwater management master plan is the identification of runoff and pollution control techniques. This will not only address the issue of peak flows, but also will improve stormwater quality and groundwater recharge. Runoff control techniques will include regional stormwater management facilities, concentrated development, stormwater re-use, bio-swales, greenways, pollution control structures, drainage wells, etc. Task 4.2 Develop planning-level costs and implementation schedules for alternatives. The ADA Team will develop planning-level costs and implementation schedules for the highly ranked and feasible alternatives. The ADA Team has implemented proven cost estimating software such as MCACES, CostLink, and Timberline Precision and scheduling software such as Primavera P3E and P5, as part of numerous stormwater management master plans development projects in South Florida. ADA, as prime consultant, is also a licensed Engineering Construction firm and has extensive experience in developing project cost estimates and schedules. ADA Team’s approach also relies on professional estimators and certified contractors to administer the estimates and schedules. To ensure accurate pricing, ADA also incorporates an internally developed and maintained construction cost database, which can supplement the City’s, FDOT’s and Miami-Dade County’s currently maintained cost databases. Our team has the capability and experience in generating estimates that are conceptual, preliminary, or detailed. All of the estimates will be generated in CSI format and the detail of the estimate will depend solely on the design stage of the project. The industry standard for estimate accuracy is generally +/- 10%, but our goal is to get our estimates within 3-5%. Our team incorporates numerous state-of-the-art software programs and publications to generate estimates in the CSI format. The following software and publications are utilized: BSD Costlink RS Means 2006 National Construction Estimator MCACES Timberline As part of our cost management services, ADA can also provide cost control. Forecasting cost trouble spots before funds are committed and determining corrective action to minimize unnecessary expenditures will be our focus. Our cost control services will have three key objectives: Proactive Cost Control: Identify cost trouble spots before they happen for corrective or cost minimizing action. Monitor direct and indirect costs, and verify the coding of project cost accounts. Communication: Project Managers will be advised of the project expenditures with comparison to the budget. Project Progress: Since cost and schedule control are intertwined, both items will be reviewed and analyzed simultaneously. Task 4.3 Assessment of Future Conditions A “future conditions” assessment will be performed using the proposed systems identified in Task 4.1. A runoff extraction methodology will be performed in order to assess the effectiveness of proposed stormwater management projects. This simulation will identify the need of additional stormwater management structures and will be the first step toward the alternative formulation process. Results from the simulation of the design storm events under “future conditions” will be linked to the GIS database to facilitate its evaluation and visualization in light of the established criteria. Flood maps can be generated by combining model results with a modified DEM of the project area. The DEM might also be adapted to the proposed land use. This approach has been used by members of the ADA Team in several stormwater master plans. In the C-6 Basin Master Plan the DEM was used to create an automated evaluation of future conditions results. A process that generally takes a month of work was reduced to one day using this automated procedure. These types of tools and methodologies will assist in achieving the project objectives within budget and schedule. TASK 5 – FISCAL ANALYSIS AND RANKING OF FUTURE PROJECTS Once the alternatives are identified to address the high priority basins, a five-year fiscal analysis will be performed to identify the required capital expenditure schedule to fund the capital and O&M costs of the high priority projects. In order to ensure that there will be adequate funding to implement the high priority projects, the ADA Team will discuss with City staff the anticipated yearly budget for stormwater management projects and maintenance activities. Key discussions will include the funding mechanisms to be used by the City in relation to implementation of required improvements. The goal of the evaluation of financing totals would be to provide the City with a summary of projected system expenditures that will allow the City to anticipate and manage the system’s financial condition. Our approach is to develop a business model that will allow the City to accurately anticipate the future activities and maintenance activities regarding the City’s stormwater management systems. This model will produce the stormwater system’s projected operating results and cash flow for the next five fiscal years. This financial model will determine projected operating and maintenance expenses, capital expenditures and their respective funding sources. This model will also show the summarized activity within the utility’s operating accounts and the projected year-end cash balances for the stormwater system. The resulting model will give the City the ability to test the financial impact of various rates of customer growth, user rates and levels of capital expenditure scenarios and will make it possible to match funding requirements with available revenue sources. As part of this task, our Team will develop the following: A “base case” scenario which establishes the reference case for other scenarios to be compared to this scenario will be based on: Anticipated revenues generated from existing rates, charges and moderate increase in the number of customers and impervious area Anticipated system expenses projected using reasonable escalators Current, unadjusted Capital Improvement Program Existing debt structure Other costs including payments to the City, if any An alternative scenario that reflects the magnitude of rate changes that would be necessary, if any, to support projected revenue requirements including the current, unadjusted Capital Improvement Program An alternative scenario that adjusts the timing and costs associated with current Capital Improvement Program as well as allows for alternative funding strategies and integrates the findings of the Rate Design Task The proposed model will be designed to be flexible enough to accommodate additional scenarios should the City so desire. It is important to note that this model will integrate the City’s Capital Improvement Plan and anticipated system revenues and expenses and produce a concise summary by fiscal year in a comprehensible format. The model will allow the City to determine the optimum rate path for balancing the financial health of the system against political and other considerations. TASK 6 – STORMWATER MASTER PLAN REPORT (SWMP) DEVELOPMENT For each of the tasks described previously, a detailed technical memorandum will be prepared outlining the approach implemented, results derived from the analyses, and conclusions and recommendations. A draft technical memorandum will be initially provided to the City for review and comment. The ADA Team will revise each technical memorandum to incorporate City comments and prepare a final technical memorandum. A draft Comprehensive Stormwater Master Plan Report will then be prepared by consolidating all of the previously prepared technical memorandums. A detailed Executive Summary will also be prepared to allow City officials and residents to assess the SWMP quickly and adequately. In addition to the information addressed in the task outlined above, the SWMP will incorporate the following key stormwater management components: Impacts and considerations of current and future stormwater management regulations Necessary criteria and guidelines for developing a comprehensive stormwater ordinance Stormwater management system operation and maintenance guidelines Guidelines and criteria for future updates of the SWMP Necessary information to apply for an improved National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) score to reduce flood insurance rates for residents Throughout the SWMP development, the ADA Team will work with the City's political leadership and community representatives to develop a consensus stormwater management strategy. This will provide the foundation for decisions leading to the administrative, technical, financial, and land use policies that will govern the program. Stormwater policy and planning issues might include regional vs. local systems; overland vs. enclosed systems; capital investments vs. operating costs; public or private ownership; development restrictions; etc. Our Team’s experience developing stormwater ordinances has led us to utilize the following approach. First, we should include all relevant stakeholders in the process from the beginning such as the City commission, planning and public works, the City floodplain management board, developers, neighborhood groups, homeowner associations, etc. Careful coordination with NFIP/CRS Coordinators and the Insurance Service Office (ISO) is crucial to achieving the greatest number of points. The maximizing of the points available under Activity 450 - CRS Credit for Stormwater Management is an established goal for the City. Currently, the ADA Team is undertaking a similar process for the City of Miami in developing their SWMP and improving their CRS rating. Communication with the NFIP/CRS Coordinators and the ISO during the development process of the SWMP has resulted in minor adjustments to the SWMP that will result in additional credits attained when the SWMP is submitted to CRS. This experience will facilitate and optimize the development of the City’s SWMP for maximum CRS credit. This approach will also greatly enhance buy-in of the ordinance. Also, the City should consider enhancing or establishing current criteria for construction erosion control, post construction water quality, peak runoff rate control, and runoff volume control, with special emphasis on what total build-out conditions might be for the City. The City needs to develop stormwater runoff credits for the use of low impact development (LID) techniques and LEED building designs to reduce the amount of runoff leaving a project site. Craft the ordinance such that developers first consider LID and LEED approaches, followed by more traditional stormwater mitigation techniques. Finally, we must ensure that the stormwater ordinance works appropriately with other relevant City ordinances. This overall approach will place the City at the forefront of sustainable, cost-effective stormwater management. Once defined, the policy options should be opened to public review and comment so that those most affected may be given an opportunity to express their views. These policies may then be published as a guide or protocol to provide direction for the planning process, and will eventually become incorporated into the controlling stormwater management ordinances. Quality Control and Quality Assurance The ADA Team strongly believes that we are solely accountable and responsible for the quality of our deliverables and designs. To ensure that we achieve a high degree of excellence in our planning, design, and stormwater master plan deliverable preparation, our proven Quality Assurance and Control Plan will be implemented for all project assignments. The Quality Assurance and Control Plan is one of the key elements of each Project Management Plan (PMP) and consists of two major components: Quality personnel involved in the actual design process and peer review Quality and methodology used in reviewing deliverables and end products. Our team has taken an affirmative first step by providing a team composed of highly qualified and proven professionals. The second component consists of an independent and autonomous peer review of each and every assignment. It will be the responsibility of our Project Manager to assure that this plan is implemented throughout the entire duration of the contract. The Quality Assurance and Control Plan will be initiated at the project’s kick-off and will continue through the life of the project. This process is applied to all facets of the project and is not just implemented prior to a project deliverable deadline. This process will be a systematic review that will document all findings. Our detailed and comprehensive Quality Assurance and Control Plan will significantly reduce the City’s review efforts. The independent peer review team will also review our submittals, technical assessment and drainage calculations. This will afford the City the benefit of two independent reviews to enhance the quality assurance of the project. The peer review will concentrate on two major areas: Quality of the implementation of stormwater management master plan development activities Quality of calculations, reports and final deliverables The quality of the implementation of permit activities will investigate the intent of the permit requirement, methodology, technical adequacy, cost-effectiveness, and consistency with the scope of work. The quality of the deliverables will ensure that complete, and easy to understand, reports and annual reports are developed. Communication Protocols In order to execute a project successfully within the available schedule and budget, it is essential to have effective communication and coordination with team members, the City Project Manager, technical staff, residents and governmental and private stakeholders. These protocols are defined in the PMP to guide the communications and interactions throughout the project duration. Communication and coordination will be accomplished through regular bi-monthly or monthly progress reports, workshops, regularly scheduled meetings, and electronic communications (e-mail, phone, fax, web conferencing), as appropriate. Progress reports are the preferred method to communicate with the City for such issues as: Schedule performance updates Summary of activities completed in the past reporting period Activities to be initiated or completed the following reporting period Action items that may be necessary to bring the project back on schedule, if applicable. Once the project is awarded, the ADA Team Project Manager will serve as the principal point of contact between the City and the team. ADA’s management team and key technical staff will be presented at the project initiation meeting. ADA will also present the communication and coordination protocols defined in the PMP for the project.