CITY OF SAN MATEO
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CITY OF SAN MATEO
Agenda Report
City Hall
330 W. 20th Avenue
San Mateo CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org
Agenda Number: 20 Section Name: {{section.name}} Account Number: 10-4679 File ID: {{item.tracking_number}} TO: City Council
FROM: Alex Khojikian, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Public Works Department
MEETING DATE: November 06, 2023
SUBJECT:
Wet Weather Preparations – Update
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive an update on the City's wet weather preparations.
BACKGROUND:
City staff have been engaging in a variety of actions to prepare for the upcoming rainy season. Many of these activities were presented to Council at the August 21, 2023 meeting, including actions for which additional resources were subsequently allocated by Council for implementation. The following sections provide an overview of the status of each of the actions presented to Council on August 21, as well as additional actions staff have been implementing that were not included in that presentation. Staff will also provide a summary presentation of the material in this report. Note that the categorization and lettering/numbering of the following items correlates to how they were presented at the August 21, 2023 meeting.
Immediate-Term Actions (No Additional Resources Required) A. Additional Marina Lagoon Pump Station pump vibration analysis at summer lagoon levels a. This action is complete.
B. Develop Marina Lagoon Alternatives Analysis for Pumping Below 95 feet a. City staff have executed an amendment to Schaaf & Wheeler’s existing agreement to evaluate alternatives including 1) contracting for a detailed hydraulic intake analysis to determine if existing pumps can safely lower the water level beyond standard winter operating levels, 2) installing a temporary rental pump system, 3) using one existing pump/gearbox/engine as a “sacrificial” pump with increased monitoring and anticipated replacement, and 4) constructing a new low-flow pump station adjacent to the existing pump station with pumps properly sized for lowering the lagoon levels below 95 feet.
C. Install debris rack at 4000 Pacific Boulevard Pump Station a. This action is complete.
D. Provide data on City’s website for Marina Lagoon levels and pumps running a. This action is nearly complete, with a beta version undergoing review and improvement by Public Works and Information Technology staff. Staff anticipate public roll-out of a public-facing webpage by December 1, 2023.
E. Implement additional safety systems for trash rack cleaning at Marina Lagoon Pump Station a. This action is complete.
F. Develop a RFP to update the 2004 Storm Drain Master Plan and develop a prioritized implementation strategy
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a. This action is underway, and combined with Short-Term Item 7, below, to perform a LiDAR aerial survey, as the survey data will feed directly into updated hydrologic and hydraulic modeling for the Master Plan.
G. Inspect and clean all City-owned trash capture devices a. This action is underway. All downtown trash capture devices have been cleaned, the remaining approximately 100 catch basins with trash capture devices are being cleaned with the overall catch basin cleaning work under Immediate-Term Actions Item 3, below.
H. Inspect and clean all City-owned trash racks
a. This action is underway – nearly all trash racks have been inspected and cleaned. The Laurelwood Dam trash rack is scheduled in the coming weeks and the Marina Lagoon Pump Station trash rack will be scraped for barnacles after November 1 when the lagoon level is lowered one foot toward winter operating levels.
I. Inspect and clean all storm pump station wet wells
a. This action is underway, with multiple stations already cleaned, and others scheduled for after November 1 when the Marina Lagoon is pumped down a foot toward winter operating levels.
J. Prepare traffic control/closures and stage materials for roads with known flooding concerns a. This action is underway, staff have already staged materials for road closures at key locations, including water walls and signs, and have other materials ready to deploy at the City’s Corporation Yard and storage yard on Ivy Road. Staff will have a mobile trailer pre-loaded with closure materials that can be readily deployed from the Corporation Yard, as needed.
K. Coordinate with Office of Emergency Services on wet weather planning and training a. This action is ongoing. City staff has met with Office of Emergency Services (OES) staff on multiple occasions to collaborate on development of a near-term Wet Weather Emergency Action Plan and a longer-term updated overall Emergency Action Plan for all potential disasters. Staff have provided supporting materials on Public Works wet weather preparation and planning activities to support OES’ efforts in developing the near-term document.
L. Work with community on Marina Lagoon Pump Station Standard Operating Procedures a. This action is nearing completion. Public Works staff have met with community volunteers with expertise in developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on numerous occasions to draft new SOPs for the Marina Lagoon Pump Station. To date, six chapters have been drafted.
M. Establish a Marina Lagoon Resident Flood Watch communication program a. This action is in progress. Staff are working with key Marina Lagoon representatives on communication and notification protocols/criteria to ensure residents can properly keep City staff informed of any lagoon issues during the rainy season.
N. Coordinate improved public outreach and messaging on emergency preparations a. This action is ongoing. A robust public information effort about stormwater issues and public safety preparedness was conducted as part of the Community Flood and Storm Protection Initiative leading up to Council’s action on the ballot. The City will continue to share safety messaging and emergency preparedness actions via City digital and print communication platforms. Staff are working on planning additional print mailings and digital communications to residents about ways they can prepare, and will provide updates on the City’s flood preparation web page as a hub of resources for the community. Staff will work to share this information with community partners for help disseminating these important public safety messages. Staff are also working with OES on notification procedures in the event of an emergency and will encourage residents to sign up for SMC Alerts and Nixle.
Immediate-Term Actions
1. Perform maintenance on all five diesel engines, upgrade wiring, programming, and alarms, and purchase a spare pump lubricator system at Marina Lagoon Pump Station
a. Engine maintenance is ongoing. One engine has been serviced to date, and three more have been scheduled. Unfortunately, supply chain issues have delayed scheduling maintenance activities while
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Cummins, the engine manufacturer, secures the required parts for maintaining the engines. Staff will need to closely monitor the weather forecast to determine if it is safe to proceed with maintenance on any engines that is currently scheduled later this calendar year. It is important to note the engines will continue to operate as normal, regardless of when the maintenance takes place. b. Upgrades to the wiring, programming, and alarms is underway, with much of the wiring and programming work being done by Telstar and Thunderbird already complete. Insurance issues delayed execution of a contract with Enterprise Automation but have since been resolved and a contract specific to the Marina Lagoon Pump Station is being executed under the City Manager’s authority, with a larger amendment to address other City needs coming to Council on November 20. Staff anticipates the bulk of the wiring and programming work, to include updated level sensing equipment, will be done by November 15, with the alarm work by Enterprise Automation being finished by December 1. c. A spare pump lubricator system has been ordered and is being fabricated, with expected delivery in the coming weeks.
d. Upgrades to the cathodic protection system that helps prevent corrosion to the pumps have been contracted and new equipment is on order and will be installed in the coming weeks.
2. Deploy up to five (5) Sand Bag stations throughout the City for upcoming rainy season, with focus on areas with history of flooding, and coordinate with community volunteers for filling bags, monitoring stations a. Staff deployed four Sand Bag stations as of October 14, one at the Anchor Road parking lot near the Bay Trail, one in the parking lot of Parkside Aquatic Park, one in the parking lot at the City’s Corporation Yard, and one in the parking lot of Beresford Park. Staff is continuing to explore opportunities for community volunteers to support monitoring the stations.
3. Inspect and clean all catch basins before rainy season and recurring cleaning at hot spots throughout rainy season a. Public Works staff has been working diligently on cleaning catch basins east of Highway 101. As of the writing of this report, staff have cleaned approximately 1,400 catch basins, focused in areas east of Highway 101. Staff anticipate having all catch basins east of El Camino Real cleaned within the next month.
Staff continues to pursue outside contract support for cleaning catch basins but has had difficulty finding contractors that are available and can perform the work for a reasonable cost.
Short-Term Actions
4. Localized lagoon maintenance dredging under existing permit a. This action is still pending. Staff will begin RFP development for this initiative this month.
5. Localized, small-scale drainage improvements
a. This action is still pending, but staff anticipate developing a package of priority locations to put out to bid in the coming months.
6. Camera monitoring of priority creeks/trash racks
a. This action is still pending.
7. LiDAR aerial survey (Ground surface, creeks, and lagoon bathymetric) a. This action, as described above, is being integrated into a Request for Proposals to update the City’s Storm Drain Master Plan. Staff anticipate having the RFP advertising for response in the next month.
Mid-Term Actions
8. Storm Drain Master Plan update
a. This action is still pending, but a Request for Proposals is under development as described above and will be advertising for response in the next month. Staff did identify $600,000 of approved funds to begin work on updating the Master Plan, in addition to the funds Council appropriated for the LiDAR aerial survey.
9. Marina Lagoon dredging: Design, environmental, and permitting a. This action is still pending and connected to getting updated LiDAR aerial survey data to have updated bathymetry information for the Marina Lagoon.
Additional Activities
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•Staff submitted Water Resources Development Act questionnaires to Senator Padilla for key storm drain/flood control infrastructure improvements and Marina Lagoon dredging. Staff continues working with the City’s legislative advocate to pursue potential earmark and/or grant funding for key projects. As part of his "Day in the District” visit to the City of San Mateo, staff brought Congressmember Kevin Mullin to the south end of the Marina Lagoon to see the impacts of sedimentation and highlight the need for potential federal support of future dredging activities.
•Staff submitted requests to the various resource agencies for emergency approval of creek/channel cleaning efforts at key locations and is in the process of securing consultant support to pursue a multi-year jurisdictional permit to perform creek/channel maintenance on an ongoing basis for sections that are owned/maintained by the City. Staff continues to collaborate with OneShoreline’s grant-funded project to secure resources agency permits for maintenance activities on multiple creek segments in San Mateo County, including multiple segments of San Mateo Creek.
•Staff proceeded with Council’s direction to pursue the Community Flood and Storm Protection Initiative. Staff engaged the community through a number of activities, including hosting a table at all five General Plan Town Hall meetings. The Council held a public hearing on the proposed stormwater fee on October 16, at which time it was determined a majority protest against the fee did not exist, and staff prepared the ballot and associated guide for mailing on November 1. Ballots are due December 17, 2023, and staff anticipate bringing the results to Council in January 2024.
•For weather-related events, San Mateo Consolidated (SMC) Fire assesses potential impacts ahead of the event and responds accordingly. For potentially excessive wet weather periods, SMC Fire may add crews to offset high call volumes and provide specialized equipment needed for water rescues and flooding situations. SMC Fire will also place Command Staff personnel on standby to assist with operational requirements as needed. Additionally, on a regional level, SMC Fire may participate in the prepositioning of county wide OES resources that are combined and made available to assist with jurisdictional needs throughout the county and the region. Police and San Mateo Consolidated Fire will be appropriately staffed to respond to calls for service and staff the Emergency Operations Center if necessary.
•On November 1, 2023, City staff hosted a cross departmental team meeting regarding storm preparation and response activities. The meeting included representatives from the Fire Department, Office of Emergency Management, Police Department, Public Works Department, Parks and Recreation Department, City Manager‘s Office and Community Development Department.
BUDGET IMPACT:
There is no budget impact associated with this information update.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION:
This informational update is not a project subject to CEQA, because it is an organizational or administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. (CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(5).)
NOTICE PROVIDED
All meeting noticing requirements were met.
ATTACHMENTS
None
STAFF CONTACT
Matt Fabry, Deputy Director
[email protected]
650 522 7309