Prioritization Of Requests

The timing or scheduling of a drainage request resolution differs depending upon whether a capital improvement or a maintenance activity is needed to resolve the drainage need.  In cases where a maintenance activity is appropriate, the first issue is to establish the maintenance program to which the request would be assigned.  The two maintenance programs for purposes of scheduling drainage requests are the Single Request Program and the Neighborhood Maintenance Program.  The program assignment will govern the scheduling of the request.  In the cases where a capital improvement is appropriate, various factors are reviewed to establish a relative priority for the request under review versus all other drainage requests awaiting a capital improvement.

The two methods for establishing prioritization are described in the following sections:

Program Assignment of Maintenance Drainage Requests

MSD's Maintenance Division resolves requests within either of two programs: the Single Request Program or the Neighborhood Maintenance Program.  The assignment of a request to one of these programs affects its schedule for resolution.  As a general rule, MSD schedules higher severity requests through the Single Requests Program and requests of lesser severity tend to be addressed through the Neighborhood Maintenance Program.  Those requests assigned to the Single Requests Program will be addressed based on necessary weather conditions and resource availability.  It is MSD's goal to maintain a schedule for the Single Requests Program such that resolution of the problem occurs within one year.   Requests assigned to the Neighborhood Program will be resolved based on the two year schedule for this program and the volume of requests within the program versus the resource constraints.

Included within the Single Requests Program are the Routine Mowing Program and the Rain Event Program.  The Routine Mowing Program has a schedule set each year prior to the beginning of the mowing season.  When the Rain Event Program is in operation, most other Maintenance Programs are placed on hold and their resources are applied within the Rain Event Program.

Generally, MSD attempts to address drainage requests on the basis of severity.  Thus, requests which involve flood damage to property or a risk to human life are MSD's highest priorities.  The resolution of a request with a relatively low severity request may be hastened in situations where a property owner (or other party external to MSD) agrees to share in the cost of drainage improvement.

The following provides a general description of the types of drainage needs that should be assigned to the Single Request Program and to the Neighborhood Maintenance Program.  It is not possible to exactly describe all of the requests which should fall into each of these two programs.  Thus general descriptions have been created and it becomes incumbent upon the MSD personnel reviewing the request to interpret these descriptions against the drainage request under review and to apply a consistent assignment of each request relative to all other drainage requests received by MSD.  It must be understood that the application of these descriptions can best be made by the MSD personnel investigating the request, who has at his or her disposal all pertinent information and the advantage of a field review:

Single Requests

Neighborhood Requests

Note:  A request which by its general nature should be placed in the Single Program may be addressed in the Neighborhood Program where the schedule for the particular neighborhood involved is appropriate.

Prioritization continued