A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ACCEPTING THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 LAND USE AND SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE, TO IMPLEMENT GENERATORS ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS FOR STORMWATER PUMP STATIONS.

The Administration recommends that the Commission adopt the Resolution approving the implementation of emergency generators for stormwater pump stations on a case by case basis.

The City of Miami Beach is committed to its flood mitigation program and to integrating resilience in all aspects of its infrastructure. One of the most important aspects of the flood mitigation program are effective pump stations that properly treat and convey the stormwater. Thus, by definition, one of the most important aspects of the program’s resilience is the ability to maintain the electrical service for these pump stations through shocks and stresses.

On Aug 1^st, 2017, during Tropical Storm Emily, power outages affected the operations of certain pump stations, including the pump stations located at Sunset Harbour. As a result of these outages the City experienced significant flooding in the Sunset Harbour community.

This flooding precipitated a Commission discussion on implementing emergency generators at every storm water pump station throughout the City.  At the September 13, 2017 which was continue to September 25, 2017 City Commission meeting, during a discussion item, it was recommended that all new stormwater pump stations would include backup power generators. Following suit, the Public Works Department ensured all design criteria for future projects include the provision of permanent generators at each pump station location.

While permanent generators are an excellent way to provide redundancy to the stormwater system, they often require additional engineering, site planning, aesthetic improvements, and community involvement. Residents that live in neighborhoods with proposed generators have, at times, expressed concerns related to their aesthetics, noise levels, and maintenance operations. This has been the case with critical neighborhood projects such as West Avenue and the First Street projects.

While the City is committed to resilience, and redundant power supplies are a key component of resilience, the City is also keenly interested in placemaking and enhancing neighborhood aesthetics. Fortunately, recent conversations with Florida Power and Light (FPL), the primary electric power supplier for the pump station, have revealed that the City may be able to establish electrical redundancy in the future without the use of backup generators.

On August 18, 2020, FPL agreed to potentially categorize the City’s stormwater pump stations as critical infrastructure. In cases where FPL categorizes the pump station as critical infrastructure, the stations would include dual primary feeds from independent substations with automatic transfer switches. By utilizing this configuration, if one of the electrical feeds is rendered in operable, the other primary feed would automatically supply power without interruption to the pump station.

These pump stations would be reviewed by FPL and the City’s Public Works Department during a project’s planning and design stage. In cases where FPL is able to provide dual primary feeds to a pump station, substantial electrical redundancy will be provided to the pump station. Thus, a backup generator may not be required.

Future projects may benefit from a cost and community impact perspective if backup generators are implemented on a case by case basis.

The Administration recommends that the Commission adopt the Resolution approving the implementation of emergency generators for stormwater pump stations on a case by case basis.