Our stormwater fee is charged to each property in the city based on the amount of impervious area on that parcel. Impervious area is any man-made surface that prevents or limits water soaking into the ground. Instead, stormwater runs off these hard surfaces, contributing to flooding and river pollution.

Since more impervious surface area means more stormwater runoff that needs to be managed, charging for stormwater services based on impervious area is the industry standard for stormwater utilities. This method is more equitable than charging for stormwater management based on water meter usage.

Impervious area is shaded in blue on this aerial image of a property.

Impervious area includes:

• private streets
• roofs
• driveways
• concrete pads
• structures
• mobile homes
• private sidewalks/walkways
• parking lots
• patios and decks
• athletic facilities and artificial turf
• pools (above ground and in-ground)
• compacted earth or clay
• gravel that is installed and maintained for vehicle travel or parking
• trails (paved or unpaved)

Visit our Stormwater Fee FAQ page for more.