danger
Presidents Day closure

Most City of Portland offices will be closed Monday, Feb. 17, to observe Presidents Day.

information
Portland is a Sanctuary City

Find sanctuary city resources from the City of Portland's Immigrant & Refugee Program, including free legal services and state resources for reporting hate crimes, bias incidents, discrimination, and violations of Oregon's sanctuary laws.

Guide to requesting a change to the stormwater billable area category assigned to your single-family residential property

Service
City of Portland water, sewer, and stormwater customers for single-family residences are assigned either a small, standard, or large stormwater billable area category. If you believe your assigned category should be different, you can learn how to request a change to your category on this page.

Completing the form should take 5-10 minutes, however, gathering required information may take longer.

On this Page

On July 1, 2024, the City changed from a flat rate structure to a category rate structure for single-family residential properties. Customers are assigned to a small, standard, or large category based on the amount of stormwater billable area on their property. For more information about this rate structure, visit the overview of stormwater rate changes for customers with houses.

Customers can request a change in their assigned category if they believe they should be assigned to a different stormwater billable area category.


Before you submit a request

Before you request a change to your assigned stormwater billable area category, please make sure the following criteria are met:

  • Your residential single-family property is within the City of Portland
  • There is only one dwelling unit on your property
  • There is only one City utility account per tax lot
  • You are the listed City utility account holder

Please read carefully: The City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services will make a final determination regarding the stormwater billable area associated with your property. Final determinations are not appealable. This process does not guarantee a change in your stormwater billable area category. If the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services determines that a change in your stormwater billing category is appropriate, that change will be effective as of the date your review is completed. In accordance with City of Portland Administrative Rule ENB 4.09, changes are not retroactive. 


How to submit a request

Submitting a request to change your stormwater billable area will take time. This process includes multiple steps and requires you to measure your property's stormwater billable area.

Requests can be submitted online, but it may be helpful to download and complete this worksheet to keep track of all the information you need to submit a request.

Step 1: Gather your account details

Property ID: This can be found in the Assessor Details for your property in PortlandMaps.com.

  • Go to PortlandMaps.com.
  • Type your property's address in the search bar and select it from the dropdown menu.
  • Under "Assessor," look for and click the "Assessor Detail" button.
  • Find and write down your Property ID.

City of Portland water, sewer, and stormwater account number: Your account number can be found in the top right corner of your bill. It is a 10-digit number written like this: 000-000-000-0.

Stormwater billable area category: Single-family residential customers are assigned to the small, standard, or large category based on the amount of stormwater billable area for the property. Find the stormwater billable area category for your property in the billing details section of your bill.

Step 2: Identify your property's stormwater billable area

Please identify all your stormwater billable areas, including all broken and non-contiguous surfaces, on your property:

  • All roof areas: This includes the main house and any garages, sheds, breezeways, farm buildings, pergolas, carports, or other roof structures.
  • Driveway and parking areas: This includes any blacktop, concrete, pavers, asphalt, or other paving or compacted surface for vehicle parking and storage.
  • All other hard surface areas: This includes sports courts, patios, pathways (including pathways with permeable gaps) or any other hard surface water runs off of.

Do not include hard surfaces in the public right-of-way, such as the street, curb, or sidewalk.

A graphic that shows an aerial view of a property with callouts and square footage of stormwater billable area such as house roof, garage roof, paved walkway, flagstone walkway, patio, shed roof, and driveway.

Step 3: Measure your stormwater billable area

Measuring online: To measure your stormwater billable area online, please use this stormwater billable area web application.

Stormwater Billable Area Measurement Tool

Measuring manually: If you plan to measure your stormwater billable area manually, you will need a tape measure, a pencil, and this worksheet.

Please be sure to measure all of your property's stormwater billable area before completing a request form. For example, the total stormwater billable area for the property in the graphic below is 2,526 sq ft.

  • Main house = 1,275 sq ft
  • Detached garage/carport = 400 sq ft
  • Shed = 150 sq ft
  • Driveway = 300 sq ft
  • Walkways (flagstones) = 48 sq ft
  • Walkways (paved) = 82 sq ft
  • Circular patio = 314 sq ft
  • Total stormwater billable area = 2,526 sq ft
A graphic showing an aerial view of a properties stormwater billable area features. Features include home, shed, and garage roof, patio, driveway, and walkways. It also has the dimension of each of those areas.

Step 4: Complete your request form

Please complete the online request form. If you need assistance completing the form or have questions about your stormwater billable area, please contact Portland Water Bureau Customer Service at 503-823-7770.

Submit a Request Form


After submitting a request

Once your completed form is received, the information you provided will be compared to the City of Portland Utility Billing data to confirm that your account is eligible for review. Depending on the communication preference you defined in the review request form, an email or mailed letter will be issued within two business days to inform you of the next steps. You will receive another communication once the review is complete.

If you have recently requested changes to your City of Portland Utility account, including a review of the number of dwelling units, a review of the number of accounts associated with a tax lot, a review of the account billing category (single family, multi-family, commercial, etc.), or a review of the physical location of the property (inside or outside the City of Portland), please allow one week to review and process this change prior to submitting your stormwater billable area category review request.

Please allow six weeks from the date the City confirms receipt of your request for the City of Portland Environmental Services to complete its review. You may contact the Portland Water Bureau at 503-823-7770 or by email at PWBCustomerService@portlandoregon.gov if you have not received a response to your request within six weeks.
 

Back to top