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New stormwater rate categories for single-family residential properties
In the past, Environmental Services billed all houses a flat rate for stormwater services. Regardless of a property’s stormwater billable area (roofs, patios, driveways, etc.), all customers were charged for stormwater services based on a calculation using 2,400 square feet of stormwater billable area. This meant that homes with larger amounts of stormwater billable area were billed the same as homes with less, even though the costs of serving properties of different sizes are not the same.
Environmental Services is retiring the flat rate and implementing a new structure for billing single family residential properties for stormwater. Under the new rate structure, single family residential properties will be placed into small, standard, or large categories based on the amount of stormwater billable area on that property. Properties in the small category will be billed less. Properties in the large category will be billed more. The standard category is the same as the current flat rate.
Most residential customers (about 60%) will remain in the standard category. Another 23% will be placed in the category for smaller stormwater billable area. Customers with properties in the large category (about 17% of single-family customers) will see their bills increase to correspond with the cost of providing them service.
Please note: Each property has unique characteristics, so it’s not possible to give exact figures. The amounts listed are an example that reflects the bill for a typical single-family residential account. The specific amount of each bill will depend on the characteristics of the property and the amount of water used by each household.
| Small Category | Standard Category | Large Category |
|---|---|---|
*1,500 square feet or less of stormwater billable area.
| 1,501 to 2,700 square feet of stormwater billable area.
| 2,701 square feet or more of stormwater billable area.
|
*Where there are three or more individually metered single-family dwellings on one tax lot, the City will bill each dwelling 1,000 square feet per unit. Each individually metered customer will see a $37.66 decrease in the stormwater portion of their bill per 90 days.
If you believe your assigned category should be different, you may be able to request a change to your category.
New stormwater billing method
Environmental Services will no longer use “on-site” and “off-site” stormwater charges. Instead, you will be billed using a combination of “stormwater billable area” and “service units.” This will help ensure that Environmental Services is more accurately billing each customer based on the cost of serving that customer, as well as bring Environmental Services’ billing practices more closely in line with other sewer and stormwater utilities across the country.
Stormwater billable area
Stormwater billable area is the developed area of a property. Development prevents stormwater from flowing naturally or soaking into the ground. This includes area like rooftops, porous pavement, patios, and driveways. Please note: Overwater structures, such as floating homes and docks, are not included as stormwater billable area.
How can I calculate my stormwater billable area?
Using a tape measure, find the length and width in feet of your property’s stormwater billable area. You can also use the Stormwater Billable Area Measurement Tool.
Then, add up all of your stormwater billable area features to get your total stormwater billable area.
- Main house: 35 ft x 35 ft = 1,275 sq ft (1,225 sq ft + 50 sq ft of entry)
- Detached garage/carport: 25 ft x 16 ft = 400 sq ft
- Shed: 15 ft x 10 ft = 150 sq ft
- Driveway: 30 ft x 10 ft = 300 sq ft
- Walkways (flagstones): 48 ft x 1 ft = 48 sq ft
- Walkways (paved): 41 ft x 2 ft = 82 sq ft
- Circular patio: π x 102 ft = 314 sq ft
Total measured stormwater billable area = 2,569 sq ft
This worksheet can also be used to help measure your property’s stormwater billable area.
Stormwater service units
Stormwater service units refer to the number of dwelling units on the property. Customers with single-family residential properties (including ADUs, duplexes, triplexes and four-plexes) will be billed based on the number of dwelling units on the property.
Residential properties with more than one dwelling unit (ADUs, duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes)
Residential properties with more than one dwelling unit will continue to be billed at the flat rate per unit for stormwater billable area. They will also be billed for the number of dwelling units (service units) on their property. Properties with three or more service units will be billed at a slightly lower rate per unit. For information on properties with more than four dwelling units or mixed-use properties, please visit the multi-family and mixed-use property information webpage.
Expanded Clean River Rewards eligibility
Properties with houses, including those with ADUs and up to four-plexes, may be eligible for the expanded and simplified Clean River Rewards discount program for residential properties. Clean River Rewards offers up to a 35 percent discount on your stormwater charges. Customers who safely manage some or all of their property's stormwater runoff on their properties can register for a discount on their stormwater charges.
If you currently participate in Clean River Rewards you don‘t need to take any action to maintain your discount over this transition. Your current discount will be automatically converted to the new discount calculation.
The way the discount is displayed on the bill will change, but the value of the discount will not change. The discount will go from being displayed as a percentage of on-site stormwater charges to being displayed as a percentage of all stormwater charges. The program’s maximum discount is now 35 percent, which is equal to what was 100 percent of the on-site charge. If you aren’t participating in the stormwater discount program, find more information on how to participate.
Changes to sanitary sewer rates
The way sanitary sewer charges are billed will remain unchanged and not appear different on your bill. However, we're adjusting rates so that a larger portion of your bill goes towards stormwater services and a smaller portion goes to sanitary sewer services. Residential customers will see a decrease in their sanitary sewer rate, while non-residential customers will see a small increase in their sanitary sewer rate.