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Stormwater Management Utility Fee
What is the Stormwater Management Utility Fee
The Stormwater Utility Fee is a charge for service assessed for all property owners, including homeowners, businesses, houses of worship, governments and schools. The utility fee is necessary for the City to comply with state and federal clean water requirements and to maintain stormwater conveyance and treatment systems.
This fee is structured to recover costs for the services the City must provide to protect public safety, property and the environment, and to share these costs among all property owners fairly and equitably.
The City’s Stormwater Utility Fee is based on the amount of impervious area for each property. The fee helps pay for maintenance associated with the demand placed on the stormwater system because of the impervious surface.
Impervious surfaces, such as roofs, driveways and parking lots, produce more runoff from rainstorms than vegetated areas produce. Stormwater runoff typically flows through the City’s public stormwater treatment facilities and/or storm drain pipes into streams. These are part of the City’s stormwater management system.
The cost to manage this system is being distributed to all property owners based on this fee. While the stormwater impact of any one property may seem small, the cumulative effect of impervious areas greatly affects stormwater runoff quality and rate of stream erosion.
How the Fee is Calculated
The City estimated imperviousness of residential properties based on statistical sampling. The median amount of impervious surface for these properties was calculated at 2,330 square feet, which is called an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). An ERU represents the impervious area found on a typical single-family detached house lot in the City, including rooftops, patios, walkways, garages and carports. It is the basis of the fee calculation for all other property owners.
The City measured the impervious square footage for all non-residential properties using aerial photography. A stormwater management utility rate was developed to fairly allocate costs based on each property’s share of impervious area. Single-family detached house owners pay for one ERU as a flat rate and all other property owners pay the fee calculated from this ERU rate multiplied by the amount of impervious area within their properties, expressed in multiples of ERUs.
This non-residential impervious surface measurement will be updated every two years based on updated aerial photography. The ERU rate is subject to change based on the program’s funding needs. It is set through Mayor and Council approval during the annual budget process.
The fee appears as a line item on property tax bills, which Montgomery County sends each July. For owners that do not pay property taxes, such as nonprofit institutions, a property tax bill is generated that lists only the Stormwater Utility Fee. Owners of multiple parcels within the City of Rockville will receive a bill for each parcel.
Why the Fee is Needed
Stormwater is rainwater that “runs off” from impervious areas (rooftops, parking lots, driveways, etc.) and lawns at a much faster rate than it would from woods or large grassy areas. This runoff flows quickly through stormdrain pipes into the City’s streams. It can flood streets, erode stream banks and topple trees.
Runoff also picks up pollutants such as grit, oil and heavy metals from autos, pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, and sediment from bare spots. These pollutants impair Rockville’s streams, the Potomac River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.
Stormwater management facilities treat runoff by trapping pollutants and trash, and slowing the water’s release rate, which reduces downstream erosion. The City is required via federal and state law to manage and treat stormwater. In addition, public safety requires conveyance of stormwater to avoid flooding and downstream property damage.
How the Fee is Used
The Stormwater Utility Fee is used to maintain, improve, expand and, when necessary, replace the City’s stormwater and storm drainage infrastructure. This results in reduced flooding and improved stream quality, making the City attractive, safe and environmentally sustainable. These activities protect stormdrain pipes from collapse and stormwater management facilities from dam failures.
The City also uses the fee to fund City efforts to comply with state and federal Clean Water Act regulations including National Pollution Discharge and Elimination Systems (NPDES) and Total Maximum Daily Load implementation.
Specific activities include, but are not limited to:
What is the Fee Credit and How Do I Apply
Owners of private stormwater management facilities may apply for a credit to reduce the property's annual stormwater management utility fee. The credit is available to owners who structurally maintain and operate an approved stormwater management facility, such as a pond, sand filter, bioretention or other designed facility.
The credit helps offset ongoing costs for regular inspections, maintenance and repairs made to the owner's private stormwater management facilities. It does not apply to stormwater management facilities maintained by the City of Rockville, or facilities where the owner provides only aesthetic maintenance, such as mowing or enhanced landscaping. Owners receiving credits must submit, every three years, recertification inspection reports to document that their stormwater management facilities continue to be properly maintained.
Fee credits are prorated based on the amount of impervious area treated within the property, and by the type and age of the stormwater management facility. The stormwater management facility must be operating as originally designed and be in good condition.
Applications for credit for the current year are already being processed. However, applications will be accepted for next year.
To receive the fee credit in time for July stormwater utility fee bills, credit applications must be submitted to Rockville Department Public Works by April 15 and approved by May 15. Applications after those dates will be reviewed and any approved credits will be applied to next year's stormwater management utility fee bill.
The application requires documentation and an inspection report prepared by a professional engineer. A $150 application fee is due with the completed application and supporting documentation.
Why is This a Fee and Not a Tax
The utility fee places the cost to maintain the stormwater system on property owners who contribute the most runoff. Stormwater runoff is directly proportional to the amount of impervious area on a property. By using the stormwater utility fee that is based on a property’s impervious area, residential properties pay only about one-third of the money needed. This is equitable because single-family homes account for about one-third of the City’s impervious areas.