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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.” Stormwater billable area is calculated by adding up the developed area of a property (roofs, patios, driveways, etc.). 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.
Multifamily and mixed-use properties vary greatly in their characteristics. Generally, very dense properties with many dwelling units will see their bills increase to reflect the cost of serving them. Properties with a smaller number of dwelling units could see their bills stay about the same depending on how much stormwater billable area is on the property.
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 areas like rooftops, porous pavement, patios, and driveways. Please note: Overwater structures, such as floating homes and docks are not included as stormwater billable area.
Stormwater service units
The number of service units refers to the number of dwelling units on the property. One single-dwelling unit equals one stormwater service unit. For mixed-use and multifamily properties, service units will be billed at 0.65 for each dwelling unit. Analysis indicates that multifamily units, on average, have fewer people per unit than single-dwelling units.
Expanded Clean River Rewards eligibility
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. Multifamily and mixed-use properties may be eligible for the expanded and simplified Clean River Rewards discount program.
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.