Video Story
Watch VideoCelebrating a one year old fee
Story By: Susan Davies
Source: KOAA
Published Wed Feb 27, 2008, 07:58 PM MST
Updated Wed Feb 27, 2008, 09:59 PM MST
A new fee is hardly something to celebrate. But that's what Colorado Springs Stormwater Enterprise is doing this week. The city's storm-water fee is a year old. Officials point to the completion of their first major capital project - the $2.34 million dollar Sand Creek Stabilization Project. The work was done along the banks of Sand Creek between Fountain and Academy Blvds. Colorado springs Utilities contributed significantly to the project because some of their wastewater pipes were vulnerable. Vice Mayor Larry Small admits, storm-water is not sexy like bridges or roads. He says people have a hard time relating to storm-water. But the city has a backlog of projects totalling more than $300 million dollars. The $15 million collected annually in storm-water fees will begin chipping away at that list of projects - some considered critical. Small says the work will protect the city's infrastructure. Storm-water erosion can be extremely destructive and expensive to fix. Until the enterprise was created, Colorado Springs was the largest city in the state without a storm-water enterprise.
