Council Approves Storm Drain Master Plan Update

San Rafael's storm drain system needs $45.9 million in rehabilitation, and the city faces an annual funding shortfall.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Utilities

Council Approves Storm Drain Master Plan Update

Live Poll

Would you support a higher local stormwater fee to repair aging city drains?

The San Rafael City Council unanimously approved the 2026 storm drain master plan update at its Monday meeting. The plan estimates $45.9 million is needed to rehabilitate the storm drain system.

Why it matters

A majority of the system was built before 1950 and is aging and deteriorating, while competing priorities such as regulatory requirements and trash capture add pressure on limited funds. The city's current capacity to spend nearly $3.6 million a year leaves a gap in what the plan recommends for San Rafael residents.

The plan recommends $4.6 million annually for capital improvements and $4.4 million for general maintenance and operations, against a current fee that collects about $830,000 per year. The fee was last updated in fiscal 2000-2001 and adopted in 1995.

The players

San Rafael City Council

The elected governing body of the city of San Rafael, California, which holds authority over local infrastructure funding and policy.

The details

The plan covers 138 miles of pipes, 70 miles of ditches and channels, more than 8,000 structures, 12 pump stations and several levees. It proposes about $20.2 million in pump station work over the next 10 years, and repairs could extend the life of some corrugated metal pipe to a 30-year horizon.

1950: Majority of the storm drain system was constructed before this year.
1995: The city adopted the clean stormwater activity fee.
1996: The city identified $16.6 million in unfunded drainage improvements.
2000-2001 fiscal year: The stormwater fee was last updated.
November 9, 2026: The City Council approved the 2026 storm drain master plan update.

Roadmap

The plan builds on a stormwater fee adopted in 1995 that was last updated in fiscal 2000-2001 and now collects about $830,000 a year. Its recommendations point toward a funding level well above what that fee currently produces.

Residents served by the city's storm drain system will see how the council funds rehabilitation of pipes, pump stations and channels as the plan moves forward. The gap between recommended spending and current revenue will shape the level of work that can be completed.

The takeaway

Aging infrastructure carries long-term costs that often exceed what current fees collect, so a plan's funding gap is worth tracking alongside its repair schedule. Residents can follow how the city addresses the roughly $5.4 million annual shortfall.