By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
City council members July 25 unanimously adopted a manual to guide future design and construction of storm water drainage facilities.
Mayor Al Arreola called for a motion approving an ordinance to adopt the “City of Del Rio Storm Water Design Manual” and making the manual’s requirements part of the construction standards in the “subdivisions” chapter of the city’s code of ordinances.
Mayor Pro-tem Steve Webb made the motion to approve the ordinance, with Councilman Jim DeReus giving the second.
In an informational handout provided to the council, the purpose of the storm water design manual is explained as follows:
“To establish standard principles and practices for the design and construction of storm drainage facilities within the city of Del Rio, Texas, and within its extraterritorial jurisdiction. The design factors, formulas, graphs and procedures described (in the manual) are intended to serve as guidelines for the solution of drainage problems involving the volume and rate of flow, method of collection, storage, conveyance and disposal of storm water and erosion protection from storm water flows.”
The summary adds, “Ultimate responsibility for actual design, however, remains with the design engineer. Sound engineering judgment must always be applied. Users of this manual should be knowledgeable and experienced in the theory and application of drainage engineering. Any deviations from the requirements of the manual must be approved by the (city’s) director of public works.”
In further explanation of the background of the ordinance, the informational handout reads, “Staff and members of the community have been confronted with occasional examples of completed construction projects that exploited arguable ambiguities or lack of detail for drainage and erosion control requirements and that such examples have become more apparent with the recent increase in development activity.”
The stated policy of the city’s stormwater management policy, included near the front of the manual, “is to protect and provide for the safety and welfare of the community, to mitigate flood damage and soil erosion to private and public property within the community and to provide for water quality protection.”
City council members unanimously approved Webb’s motion to approve the ordinance without comment.
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