The Plight of Albany's Infrastructure

In a “study session” just before the April 15 Albany Councilmeeting, City Engineer Ray Chan presented a sobering picture of the status of Albany’s infrastructure.  He focused on four critical City infrastructure components: Wastewater, Stormwater, Pavement, and Sidewalks.  The inescapable conclusion is that Albany needs to spend alot more money on its infrastructure to provide the needed services,efficiently and to minimize life-cycle cost, and to avoid violations of (andfines related to) regulatory requirements .  It’s not clear if Albany can find the money and political will to do this. Albany’s budgets have for years been balanced by staff cutbacks, reduced services, and deferring some maintenance.  These actions have contributed to infrastructure conditions:

Wastewater  (Sanitary Sewers)
70% of Albany’s sewer pipes need to be fixed.  Albany contains 35 miles of sanitary sewer mains, and 14 miles of sanitary sewer “laterals” (lateral pipes connect from homes/businesses to sewer mains.   Since 1980, about 30% of the pipes have been repaired or replaced (thus averaging roughly 1% a year).  Albany needs to replace 3% - 4% of its pipes every year just to keep pace with the failure rate.  Effective pipe management requires ongoing condition assessment.   Pipe repair/replacement before emergency runs about $750 per section of pipe.   Emergency repair to a failed section of pipe can run up to $8,000. In 2012, Albany experienced 10 SSO’s(sanitary sewer overflows).  SSO’s can be public health risks.  To allow comparison among jurisdictions, SSO rates are expressed as ratios of SSO incidents per 100 miles of pipe.  Using that formula, Albany’s SSO ratio was 20 in 2012. Emeryville’s was 0; Berkeley’s was 2; Stege’s (El Cerrito, Kensington, and Richmond Annex) was 10.  Jurisdictionsanticipate tighter regulations on wastewater.  

Stormwater  (a separate pipe system from Wastewater)
Albany contains 11.7 miles of storm and cross drains, has 620 inlets and 255 manholes.  Not surprisingly, effective management of this system requires ongoing condition assessment.  But Albany does no condition assessment at all. Stormwater discharges into the Bay and is regulated because it can carry litter, pesticides, pet waste, and other contaminants.  Stormwater programs include trash capture devices, street sweeping, finding illicit discharges, educating thepublic.   Mr. Chan identified the potential consequences of an insufficient stormwater program as negative impact on local water quality; risk of improper drainage and potential flooding; penalties from Regional Water Board; inconsistency with City sustainability goals.

Pavement
Albany has 59 “lane miles” of pavement, with the majority (38) on residential streets.  Albany’s overall “pavement condition index” (PCI – a visual assessment) is rated at 59, in the “at risk” range (50 – 59). By comparison, Emeryville is at 78, Piedmont and El Cerrito are at 73, Berkeley is at 59, and Richmond is at 58.  Albany has been spending $400K/per year on pavement maintenance.  If fundingcontinues at that level, the PCI is projected to drop to 54 in the next 5 years.  Just to prevent further deterioration and remain at 59, Albany needs to spend $600K per year for the next 5 years.  If Albany wants to/canafford to improve the PCI to a level of 64 (middle of the “fair” range), itneeds to spend $950K per year for the next 5 years. Sidewalks Albany has 1.6M sq ft of sidewalk, and another 327K sq ft of curbs and gutters.   Albany Municipal code places responsibility for maintaining sidewalks on the adjacent property owner.   Albany has in its Active TransportationPlan a goal to, “Develop good connections for walking and bicycling withinAlbany and to neighboring cities.”  Keeping sidewalks walkable is the responsibility of the adjacent home or business owner, for structural repairs and vegetation control.  Mr. Chan said that in cases where a City-provided tree has harmed the sidewalk, the City sometimes could share the expense of sidewalk repair with the property owner.   Failure to repair damaged sidewalks risks tripping hazards, challenges for those in wheelchairs, and reduced interest in walking.

Parks and Open Space and City facilities
City Arborist Tony Wolcott spoke about maintenance of the City’s parks, open space, and facilities.  Albany has 21 acres of neighborhood parks (Memorial, Ocean View, Jewel’s Terrace, Opal Staniak Tot Lot, Ohlone Greenway) plus Albany Hill, Creekside Park, and the Waterfront Bulb (33 acres).  There are 7 facilities to maintain: City Hall, Senior Center, Community Center/Library, Fire Station, Teen Center, Child Care Center at Oceanview Park, Public Works Center (on Cleveland Ave).  7 staff are responsible for grounds and for building and systems maintenance and repair including HVAC equipment; smoke, fire, burglar; energy management; solar panels; grease traps; grounds; etc.  The same staff also provide Albany’s Urban Forestry program. Infrastructure

Priorities
It’s unlikely that Albany has enough money to address allinfrastructure conditions described April 15. Will Albany give priority to reducing sewer overflows?  Protecting water quality?  Keeping parks and facilities in good operating condition?  Getting pavement out of the “at risk” range?  Assessing sidewalks and developing a plan to improve walkability?   Will our elected officials find the judgment, political will and discipline to choose priorities thoughtfully, then stick to those choices?   I wish there was an update every year to City Engineer Chan's report, so infrastructure status was always in the forefront.