Purpose: To alleviate the rising cost of stormwater management by discounting charges for ratepayers who manage stormwater on-site, thereby decreasing the damaging effects that urban development has on watershed health.

As ratepayers share financial responsibility for water, sewer and stormwater services, the City Council sought to improve fairness and affordability of these rates with the Clean River Rewards Stormwater Discount Program. The Bureau of Environmental Services offers a full or partial discount for controlling peak runoff by imitating pre-development runoff characteristics. Ratepayers can utilize a variety of stormwater management techniques to reduce their on-site stormwater management service charge, which accounts for 35% of total stormwater charges. Single-family homeowners are encouraged to register online with the expectation that potential on-site inspections will demonstrate compliance. Commercial, industrial and multifamily properties are required to calculate their discount in coordination with the City. The transition to this new rate system and implementation of the Clean River Rewards program was accomplished through seven ordinances over a six-year period. The Council’s actions and roadblocks throughout this period are summarized in the attached “Legislative Challenges” document.

The City developed the program in response to the rising cost of stormwater management charges and growing public discontent. Outreach efforts required that the City carefully consider the needs of combined sewer residents, separate sewer residents, those enrolled in a previous discount program and those negatively affected by delays in implementation. The resulting outreach strategy utilized direct mail and bill inserts to communicate changes, newspaper notices, door-to-door canvassing, a ratepayer task force, Citizen Advisory Committee hearings, informational presentations and multiple meetings through the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. After the program was established, technical assistance brochures were published and workshops were held to educate ratepayers on how to design, construct, operate and maintain their on-site stormwater management facilities.

The environmental goal of the program was to reduce the impact of a completely “built out” urban area on watershed health by reducing stormwater volume and flow rate, lowering the surface water temperatures and reducing pollutant and sediment conveyance. To date, there has been a 2,804-acre reduction in stormwater managed by the City. The City now processes 853 million fewer gallons of stormwater.

The Bureau of Environmental Services estimated that 97,000 single-family residences and 14,000 commercial property owners would take advantage of the discount. As of FY 10-11, 34,145 single-family residences have registered for the program and receive a 93% discount on average. The commercial, multifamily and industrial program had 1,999 registered ratepayers that receive a 65% discount on average.

For single-family residences, any of the discounts below can be combined for a maximum 100% discount for on-site stormwater charges (currently $7.83 per month). An on-line calculator is provided for residents to evaluate their potential savings.

— 100% discount applied when all roof drainage is fully retained on-site (for example: drywells, French drains, soakage trenches, cisterns, rain barrels, or ecoroofs)
— 67% discount applied when roof discharges are detained or partially retained (for example: holding facility, stormwater planter or pond that slowly releases water from the property)
— 25% discount applied when total impervious surfaces are <1000 sq. ft.
— 8% discount when 4 or more trees (taller than 15 ft.) are present

Commercial, multi-family and industrial ratepayer discounts are based on the extent and effectiveness of on-site systems to control pollution, flow rate and disposal of stormwater runoff from all developed areas. These three components are weighed equally. A maximum 100% discount (currently $2.45/1000 sq. ft. per month) is awarded when the size of stormwater facilities are properly proportional to the total developed area, as defined by the Bureau of Environmental Services. An excel calculator is provided for ratepayers to simplify the registration process.

It was predicted that the first year implementation budget would require $404,500 in spending for the City, and depend on $300,000 in loaned resources from city staff. Since stormwater charges are adjusted to keep the program revenue-neutral, the ratepayers assumed all program development costs. Spending was allocated for program forms and materials, information systems, professional services and program implementation. Loaned resources by city staff were utilized for the evaluation of stormwater facilities, calculation of stormwater incentives, drafting of program materials, public outreach efforts, GIS modeling, Planning Group services and Business Services program management.