North Carolina Town’s Asset Management Journey Highlighted in Stormwater Solutions
The May/June issue of Stormwater Solutions magazine highlights efforts by the Town of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, to complete an inventory of unmapped downtown infrastructure that will help them better manage their MS4 assets.
Trey Shanks, Freese and Nichols’ Group Manager for Infrastructure Management Consulting, bylined the article with Seth Brown, Executive Director of the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance, and Jennifer Mitchell, Fuquay-Varina’s Environmental Program Coordinator.
As the article explains:
“The practice of asset management is well understood and consistently applied in the drinking water and wastewater sectors, but asset management is less developed in the stormwater sector.
“The results of the 2022 Water Environment Federation (WEF) National MS4 Needs Assessment Survey reflect that less than half of MS4 programs have an asset management program. It is likely that among those with an asset management plan, many are not robust compared to more well-established infrastructure sectors. But this is starting to change. The experience of one North Carolina community highlights the path forward. …
“MS4s are designed to convey stormwater runoff efficiently and effectively from crowded roadways to the wide-open spaces of the local stream or lake. While MS4s convey stormwater, they also have the potential to transport pollutants that can reduce the quality of receiving water. Operators must consider employing a structured asset management approach to prepare for future development and the increased stormwater discharge volumes while maintaining the quality of stormwater discharged from the MS4.
“Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, is undertaking an asset management journey to inventory older, unmapped infrastructure in the town’s two downtowns to implement an approach to managing its MS4 assets. The town has a robust inventory of assets except for those downtown areas, and this project will fill the gap.”
In addition to describing the town’s asset management journey, the article shares expertise on developing and executing successful MS4 infrastructure asset management.