Scoping and Funding Document
(Phase 1) Highway 64 Stormwater and Wastewater Coalition
1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Highway 64 Stormwater and Wastewater Coalition was formed to prepare for and mitigate the
environmental impacts associated with population growth by coordinating water quality planning efforts and
encouraging water resource stewardship. The purpose of the Phase 1 Scoping and Funding document is to
develop the scope of work for Coalition planning and outreach activities to be accomplished utilizing mitigation
funds provided by MNDOT to St. Croix County.
Coalition wastewater treatment and disposal is handled through Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems
(POWTS) and 7 permitted wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs). Treated effluent from POWTS and two
permitted WWTFs is discharged to groundwater. The other facilities discharge to surface waters within the
Apple River and Willow River watersheds.
Additional customers will increase demands on existing treatment facilities. Growth in rural areas will result in
additional POWTS and associated increases in septage (the contents of septic tanks). The proper handling of
septage will be become increasingly important within this growth corridor and St. Croix County as a whole, and
should be addressed in a comprehensive septage management plan.
Continued use of POWTS in unsewered areas of relatively high density may not be the best option. Growth
pressure will result in higher land prices and less land available for drain fields. Similarly, many municipalities
and members of the development community are seeking more sustainable approaches to wastewater and
stormwater management. Common wastewater systems or regionalization may be suitable for locations
currently experiencing or planned to experience dense rural development. Rural area wastewater planning will
identify and evaluate these needs, which will help the corridor grow sensibly.
An overall Sewer Service Area Master Plan is recommended to prepare for the anticipated urban growth. A
Sewer Service Master Plan would be provided for coalition members and therefore provide a commonality
among member’s wastewater planning efforts as a foundation for developing design flows and loadings. All
coalition members should evaluate their wastewater infrastructure in terms of current and anticipated
treatment requirements and evaluate feasibility of Water Quality Trading (WQT) and Adaptive Management
(AM) as potential phosphorus compliance options.
Lake St. Croix on the St. Croix River and Lake Mallalieu near the mouth of the Willow River are both impaired for
total phosphorus. Urban development to support population growth will contribute additional runoff and
pollutants to these waterbodies. Development and implementation of water quality plans for coalition
members will facilitate development while simultaneously protecting and improving these impaired
downstream waters.
Assessment of stormwater runoff conditions within the coalition should address; urban runoff conditions, rural
runoff conditions, and physical condition of the natural and constructed drainage system and the riparian areas
surrounding streams. Evaluations of development regulations are equally important to ensure that there will be
no unforeseen cumulative negative impacts to water resources within the coalition.
Scoping and Funding Document
(Phase 1) Highway 64 Stormwater and Wastewater Coalition
Areas where urban assessments will be completed will be inclusive of ‘urbanized’ areas within the municipal
limits of all member coalition communities. Rural assessments will be inclusive of all areas along the Willow
River water course from the downstream‐most limit of Coalition member communities to the first confluence of
branches along each branch of the river. Assessment of the Apple River and Trout Brook will only occur within
the limits of the Coalition Member communities.
There are varied methods municipalities employ to pay for improvements resulting from growth. MOU funds
offer the corridor a unique opportunity to properly plan for these improvements and leverage the investment of
MOU funds and local dollars to the greatest extent practical. None of the MOU money for stormwater and
wastewater can be used for capital improvements. There is however a number of grants programs which can be
used to expand the planning alternatives being considered.
Wastewater plans and stormwater management plans will identify capital improvement projects necessary to
maintain regulatory compliance under future conditions. The plans will also identify revenue sources to pay for
these projects, including viable grant programs.
Ongoing public outreach and education initiatives are needed to enhance understanding of appropriate
individual practices to protect water quality. These initiatives should incorporate a variety of media (e.g. web,
print, radio, television, etc.) and should be tailored to connect specific messages with specific audiences at
specific places and times of the year to maximize their education impact. It is recommended that planning
activities include tasks to enable this outreach and education role for the coalition.
Additional coordination and discussion regarding topics related to rural planning and public outreach and
education need to occur with members of St. Croix County staff and UW Extension staff. The outcome of those
meetings will enable us to complete this report and ensure that the available resources of the County, State, and
University of Wisconsin Extension Service are leveraged to the greatest extent practical. A strategy for
supplementing MOU dollars with other funds will be developed and incorporated into the final report or
subsequent addendum. Below is a summary of cost of services and anticipated schedule.
Table 1.1 – Cost of Services and Schedule
Item
Phase
Cost
Wastewater
Stormwater
Public Outreach and Education
Total
TBD
$357,000
90,000
TBD
Est.
Start
Date
Est.
Comp.
Date
3/2015
7/2015
3/2015
3/2015
12/2017
6/2016
12/2019
12/2019