www.stormh2o.com/november-december-2005/stormwater-mana -
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Published on: 11/1/2005
Last Visited: 7/2/2008
Pat Collins is a former president of the Florida Association of Stormwater Utilities-now the Florida Stormwater Association-and has worked as a city engineer for the City of Venice, FL; served as a consultant for AMEC Earth & Environmental in Knoxville, TN; and worked in private consulting.He now serves as the city engineer for North Port, FL.He also has worked for Sarasota County, FL, and throughout his career as an engineer, he has always focused his efforts on drainage and stormwater.He started out of college designing infrastructure, sizing pipes and stormwater ponds, doing stormwater modeling, and getting permits from Florida's water management districts.
"Florida has always been one of the most progressive states in stormwater management, so throughout my career, I've either been on the design or regulatory side, working for some type of agency somewhere.My specialty is stormwater," Collins says.
...
"We need that stable funding source so that whatever our program is, we can sustain it," Collins says.
...
Collins believes wholeheartedly that Phase II has increased the general awareness of stormwater issues."In many parts of the country that previously weren't as sophisticated as Florida-California, Maryland, and the state of Washington-it was a real eye-opener for a lot of folks to even consider water quality," he says.
...
When it comes to educational issues, Collins borrows a phrase from former colleagues: "You have to have a compelling case.If you don't have a compelling case, the local citizens aren't going to support the plan."Education is key to making that case, Collins says.He's taken his case before members of the local chamber of commerce by challenging community members to help him in the cause of stormwater issues.He's also writing a column for the local newspaper that will help him highlight stormwater issues.
Total Maximum Daily LoadsWith an estimated 40% to 45% of the nation's waters classified as "impaired," TMDLs are on the radar for many stormwater programs.Water-quality concerns can sometimes be overshadowed by the unmet flooding and drainage problems a community is experiencing.
"We have to catch up with the rest of the state with our flood control issues, and then we also need to advance our local program so we can catch up with the rest of the folks who have been out there talking about TMDLs by developing a regional plan," says Collins.
...
Collins also was involved in a successful experimental project in Sarasota County using oil/grit separators to see what types of sediments, oils, and debris could be picked up in areas that predated modern stormwater regulations and had no controls.
...
Collins says North Port is now one of the state's largest land areas, but it comprises very small platted residential lots.
"They put down some 900 miles of roadway with these small lots that didn't necessarily have a good mix of land use," Collins says."They put in a bunch of infrastructure, which included more than 84 miles of canals.Our canals have control structures on them, and it's created an unusual circumstance for us, because in the last few years we've got these development rights that could support an estimated 250,000 people within the city limits."
While the area has been largely dormant for the past 40 years, since 2000, the number of parcels added to the city's tax rolls has doubled the total number for the first 30 years.
"In the last five years, we have grown faster than we did in the previous 40," Collins says.
...
To that end, Collins is involved in a consortium that consists of public employees, elected officials, scientists, political activists, and environmental activists who are studying watershed management."The trend today is departing from talking just about stormwater and looking at the entire watershed: groundwater, surface waters, stormwaters, our use of water, drinking water.We're trying to be stewards of water in all forms and for all uses," he says.The group is examining 26 basins or watersheds in Sarasota County-both developed and undeveloped-and formulating the important watershed issues.
The group has pulled together maps dating back to the 1800s to examine how watersheds have evolved over the years as development occurred."Looking at the maps or old aerial photos, we tried to decipher where drainage patterns were then and where they are today," Collins says.
...
Pat Collins is a former president of the Florida Association of Stormwater Utilities-now the Florida Stormwater Association-and has worked as a city engineer for the City of Venice, FL; served as a consultant for AMEC Earth & Environmental in Knoxville, TN; and worked in private consulting.He now serves as the city engineer for North Port, FL.He also has worked for Sarasota County, FL, and throughout his career as an engineer, he has always focused his efforts on drainage and stormwater.He started out of college designing infrastructure, sizing pipes and stormwater ponds, doing stormwater modeling, and getting permits from Florida's water management districts.
"Florida has always been one of the most progressive states in stormwater management, so throughout my career, I've either been on the design or regulatory side, working for some type of agency somewhere.My specialty is stormwater," Collins says.
...
"We need that stable funding source so that whatever our program is, we can sustain it," Collins says.
...
Collins believes wholeheartedly that Phase II has increased the general awareness of stormwater issues."In many parts of the country that previously weren't as sophisticated as Florida-California, Maryland, and the state of Washington-it was a real eye-opener for a lot of folks to even consider water quality," he says.
...
When it comes to educational issues, Collins borrows a phrase from former colleagues: "You have to have a compelling case.If you don't have a compelling case, the local citizens aren't going to support the plan."Education is key to making that case, Collins says.He's taken his case before members of the local chamber of commerce by challenging community members to help him in the cause of stormwater issues.He's also writing a column for the local newspaper that will help him highlight stormwater issues.
Total Maximum Daily LoadsWith an estimated 40% to 45% of the nation's waters classified as "impaired," TMDLs are on the radar for many stormwater programs.Water-quality concerns can sometimes be overshadowed by the unmet flooding and drainage problems a community is experiencing.
"We have to catch up with the rest of the state with our flood control issues, and then we also need to advance our local program so we can catch up with the rest of the folks who have been out there talking about TMDLs by developing a regional plan," says Collins.
...
Collins also was involved in a successful experimental project in Sarasota County using oil/grit separators to see what types of sediments, oils, and debris could be picked up in areas that predated modern stormwater regulations and had no controls.
...
Collins says North Port is now one of the state's largest land areas, but it comprises very small platted residential lots.
"They put down some 900 miles of roadway with these small lots that didn't necessarily have a good mix of land use," Collins says."They put in a bunch of infrastructure, which included more than 84 miles of canals.Our canals have control structures on them, and it's created an unusual circumstance for us, because in the last few years we've got these development rights that could support an estimated 250,000 people within the city limits."
While the area has been largely dormant for the past 40 years, since 2000, the number of parcels added to the city's tax rolls has doubled the total number for the first 30 years.
"In the last five years, we have grown faster than we did in the previous 40," Collins says.
...
To that end, Collins is involved in a consortium that consists of public employees, elected officials, scientists, political activists, and environmental activists who are studying watershed management."The trend today is departing from talking just about stormwater and looking at the entire watershed: groundwater, surface waters, stormwaters, our use of water, drinking water.We're trying to be stewards of water in all forms and for all uses," he says.The group is examining 26 basins or watersheds in Sarasota County-both developed and undeveloped-and formulating the important watershed issues.
The group has pulled together maps dating back to the 1800s to examine how watersheds have evolved over the years as development occurred."Looking at the maps or old aerial photos, we tried to decipher where drainage patterns were then and where they are today," Collins says.
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