TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Jarad Hildenbrand, City Manager
FROM: Christopher Cash, Public Works Director
1. Subject
title
Acceptance and appropriation of $600,000 in Comprehensive Transportation Funding Programs - Project X Tier 1 2026 Environmental Cleanup Program Fund and appropriation of $183,000 in matching funds for White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave Water Quality Storm Drain Project
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2. Summary
The Orange County Transportation Authority approved the allocation of Tier 1 Environmental Cleanup Program funding and has awarded the City of Orange $600,000 for the White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave Water Quality Storm Drain Project. This funding has a match requirement of $183,000, bringing the project total to $783,000. The City intends to use this funding to install a Continuous Deflective Separator Unit on White Oak Ridge and 5 Connector Pipe Screen Units along Palmyra Avenue west of Main Street.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
1. Accept into the City’s revenue budget $600,000 in grant funds from the Orange County Transportation Authority Tier 1 Environmental Cleanup Program to Reimbursable Capital Projects (550):
550-5101-43499-275134-43 White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave WQ Storm Drain Project
2. Authorize the appropriation of $600,000 to Reimbursable Capital Projects (550):
550-5101-85102-275134-20 White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave WQ Storm Drain Project
3. Authorize the appropriation of $183,000 from the Sewer (601) unreserved fund balance to:
601-5101-85102-275134-20 White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave WQ Storm Drain Project
4. Approve the addition of the White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave Water Quality Storm Drain Project to the Measure M2 Seven-Year Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 through 2032-2033.
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4. Fiscal Impact
The total expenditure for this project is $783,000 and will be funded in White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Avenue Water Quality Storm Drain Improvement Project through:
601-5101-85102-275134-20 White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave WQ Storm Drain Project $183,000
550-5101-85102-275134-20 White Oak Ridge & Palmyra Ave WQ Storm Drain Project $ 600,000
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 5: Improve Infrastructure, Mobility, and Technology.
6. Discussion and Background
The City of Orange Public Works Department applied for and received funds through the Environmental Cleanup Tier 1 Grant Program managed by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). This program is a competitive grant program within Orange County that makes funds available to cities to help protect Orange County beaches and waterways from transportation-generated pollution and improve overall water quality. The City has been awarded $600,000 for installing a hydrodynamic separator at White Oak Ridge within the Santiago Hills Park, connector pipe screen units (CPS) units on Palmyra Avenue.
The project collects drainage from a total of 333 acres and is composed of commercial, industrial, single and multi-family residences. These areas combine to generate potentially significant amounts of leaves, trash, and other debris. The City has looked at various options to control trash and debris. Through the Orange Municipal Code, the City can enforce sections related to littering and nuisances and its weekly street sweeping program picks up a large amount of trash and debris.
However, anything not collected by the street sweepers has the potential to enter the storm drain system and impact the downstream water bodies. The proposed hydrodynamic separator is a Continuous Deflection Separator (CDS) unit and helps address this deficiency by capturing trash and debris and other gross pollutants via its trash screens, sediment chambers, and the use of an oil skimmer and hydrocarbon boom filters. The CDS unit will be placed within the Santiago Hills Park near White Oak Ridge. The proposed connector CPS units also help address this deficiency by capturing trash, debris, and other pollutants within each catch basin. CPS units will be installed in 5 catch basins on Palmyra Avenue.
The total project cost is estimated at $783,000, including 20% for design and construction management and 10% for construction contingency.
Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2027 and is expected to be completed by April 2027.
7. ATTACHMENTS
• Letter Agreement