CRWD’s New Facility Management Division
Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) seeks to protect, manage, and improve water resources within its jurisdiction. Since the District was established in 1998, CRWD has helped to construct stormwater infrastructure and over 2,435 Best Management Practices (BMPs) on land throughout the District with many public partners.
Through in-person meetings and online surveys conducted during creation of the Facility Management Program Plan, CRWD heard from public partners about their difficulty tracking, inspecting, planning, funding, and managing maintenance needs for their stormwater BMPs. Maintenance of these constructed facilities is a top priority of the District because it leads to better water quality, flood control, and longer-lasting infrastructure.
In December 2023, the Board of Managers voted to approve the creation of the new Facility Management Division and appoint Forrest Kelley as division manager. The Facility Management Program and Division are intended to improve the function and performance of stormwater infrastructure through collaboration with our public partners on the operation and maintenance of small-scale and regional stormwater BMPs.
The Facility Management Division will implement three collaborative approaches to stormwater facility operation and maintenance as outlined in the Facility Management Plan:
- Pooled BMP Maintenance Services
- Regional Facility Assistance
- Regional Facility Ownership
The Facility Management Program’s goal is to increase water quality and BMP performance, improve the aesthetics of surface stormwater features, optimize the performance of aging infrastructure, and efficiently use funding to protect public infrastructure.
In the coming year, the Facility Management Division will assume operation and maintenance of the Trout Brook Storm Sewer Interceptor, oversee implementation of the Pooled BMP Maintenance Services program, and coordinate with public entities to determine appropriate partnerships to take on additional responsibilities for regional flood control systems.
The new Facility Management Division manager, Forrest Kelley, has been with CRWD for 17 years and was previously the Regulatory Division manager. Following Forrest’s appointment to the Facility Management Division, Elizabeth Hosch was promoted to Regulatory Division manager. She joined CRWD’s Regulatory Division in 2014 and has experience coordinating the Rules and Permitting Programs.
