Radnor BoC's past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior.

As Radnor's new stormwater management fee marches toward reality for residential, commercial properties, and institutions, the elephant in the room is the Board of Commissioners' total lack of credibility on the issue.

The BoC is not new to stormwater management; they have a long history, and it's not pretty. Millions of dollars have been spent with little or nothing to show for it. The absurd million dollar plus stormwater management system at Radnor Middle School does not function as designed. Reportedly, its inflow and outflow pipes are not even connected. That's why the area in front of the firehouse and school continues to flood. The upstream infiltration beds and nonstructural strategies were never realized, even though money was budgeted for the project and approved by the board.

And now the BoC plan for the taxpayers to shell out more money to potentially make the exact same mistakes over again.

When it comes to understanding stormwater management, two Commissioners are standouts, though for opposite reasons.

Fourth Ward Commissioner, Elaine Paul Schaffer, uniquely demonstrates an up-to-date understanding of Pennsylvania's Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) and, importantly, the limitations of the township's ability to mitigate the problem. She sees the need for, and benefit of, nonstructural (and significantly cheaper) BMPs.

Schaffer's opposite, when it comes to stormwater management, is the First Ward Commissioner, Jim Higgins. His position is that the Township should hurry up and do something. No need for analysis, no need for developing a fair process for determining sites and evaluating the success or failure of the project, no need to draft a comprehensive and thoughtful ordinance since it can always be revisited in the future. Higgins comes off as an old-school political hack and little else. Just throw money at it.

The problem for Higgins is that in his rush to,"Get something done," he has not set realistic expectations with his constituents. The township's ability to manage stormwater is limited and the benefits of its efforts will not be quickly realized. Wet basements will not necessarily be dried. It will be many, many, years and millions of tax dollars before the periodic flooding in North Wayne and Willow Ave. will be significantly mitigated.

I lived on Willow Avenue for 20 years. Then as now, Gulf Creek floods during high-water events. But, importantly, tremendous volumes of water also flow above ground and subterraneously downhill from VFMA and North Wayne to Willow Avenue and the adjacent creek. My sump pump ran 24/7 pumping out a steady stream of water even in drought years. Any stormwater management for this area (and elsewhere) must consider a comprehensive approach that incorporates natural systems and groundwater recharge at the high ground to assist with stormwater mitigation. The traditional stormwater detention basin is often placed in the floodplain where the stormwater problem is at its worse. Such a basin is costly, inefficient and quickly overrun in a relatively modest storm.

While the idea of a stormwater management fee makes sense, the ordinance needs to be tightened up significantly.

Pennsylvania's excellent Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual should be referenced in the ordinance and its structural and nonstructural BMPs fully embraced by the Township. The Board of Commissioners would be wise to ignore those voices on the board that think the only issue is how fast a shovel can get in the ground and to take the time to make the substantial changes needed to make the ordinance and the administration's procedures consistent with BMPs.

Past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. Radnor Township has a long history of failure managing its stormwater. Most systems were poorly designed, expensive and ineffective. In the past the Board of Commissioners demonstrated that they could barely operate a shade tree planting program with an annual budget of a few thousand dollars without it becoming a controversial, political, and petty boondoggle.

Now we are told that we should trust the Commissioners with an annual multimillion dollar Stormwater Management Fund with a site selection and evaluation process yet to be determined, but looking very much like the BoC's troubled Shade Tree Planting Program.

A fair process for determining worthwhile projects and evaluating their actual versus projected benefits must be developed.

Once the taxpayer's trust in the process and ordinance is lost, it won't be easily regained—go slow, get it right.

Below are:
Cahill Associates, Innovative Stormwater Management at the Radnor Middle School in Wayne Pennsylvania, Radnor Township Stormwater Program and Funding Implementation Project handout and Delaware Riverkeeper's comments regarding the Radnor Township Stormwater Management Ordinance.

   http://www.scribd.com/doc/164062507/Cahill

  http://www.scribd.com/doc/163875615/Twp-Strmwtr

 http://www.scribd.com/doc/163831083/Stormwater-User-Fee-Comment-Handout-8-20-13-2

http://www.scribd.com/doc/163829919/Stormwater-Utility-Comment-2-8-26-13