Watershead Protection Fee (WPF) vs. Stormwater Utility Fund ...What it means to YOU!

The word is out…..Mary­land passed a law in 2012 requiring each County to develop a pro­gram to bet­ter man­age stormwa­ter and to cre­ate a fund to pay for those projects.

In Jan­u­ary, 2013 HoCo came up with a plan to cre­ate a ded­i­cated Water­shed Pro­tec­tion Fee — more com­monly referred to as the stormwa­ter util­ity fund. This state-required fund will be fun­da­men­tal in the County’s efforts to man­age the only grow­ing source of pol­lu­tion to our streams and the Chesapeake Bay because stormwa­ter runoff is respon­si­ble for 20% of the pol­lu­tion to the Chesa­peake Bay.

Over the last year, County staff has worked hard to design a water­shed restora­tion fund that addresses stormwa­ter main­te­nance short­com­ings. A committee com­posed of home­own­ers, busi­ness own­ers, the faith com­mu­nity, the envi­ron­men­tal com­mu­nity, the office man­age­ment com­mu­nity and the engi­neer­ing com­mu­nity sought to under­stand the chal­lenges, iden­tify issues and work toward a fair assess­ment of all prop­er­ties within the community. The Watershed Protection Fee (WPF) is to go into effect July 1st and will provides a sustainable, dedicated source of revenue for the purpose of operating, maintaining, and improving the physical infrastructure of the County’s stormwater management system, and for practices to improve stormwater quality. The funds may also be used to support educational stormwater programs in an effort to engage communities and enlist their support in identifying problems and working on solutions to improve water quality.

Who will Pay?

Any property with impervious areas, such as rooftops, driveways, parking pads, etc., contributes to stormwater runoff and impacts the storm sewer system. Including:

• Residential properties
• Commercial and industrial properties
• Non-profit organization
• Private schools
• Federal properties
• Vacant properties with impervious surfaces

While you may not have an evident drainage problem on your property, runoff generated from your parcel contributes to problems downstream. The approach being taken through this program recognizes that everyone contributes to the problem of runoff, and everyone benefits from improved water quality and reduced flooding potential.

What and How will you be CHARGED?

Users are charged a fee based on the amount of impervious area on their property that allows stormwater to run off, untreated, which is then managed by the County’s stormwater system. Thus, the Fee is tied to the amount a property impacts the system.

The Fee is then used to operate, maintain, and improve the stormwater drainage system in the same way that water bill payments are used to operate, maintain, and improve the water delivery system.

Everyone will pay the same rate of $15 for each “units” of 500 square feet of impervious area on their property. A parcel’s total impervious area is divided by 500, rounded to the nearest whole number, and multiplied by $15 to determine the fee.  For example, a property with 2,800 square feet of impervious area has 6 units (2800 ÷ 500 = 5.6, rounded to nearest whole number). The annual fee for the property would $90 (6 units x $15 per unit). You can reduce your fee by taking a variety of measures to manage the stormwater from your property.

HERE is what I’m bring charged…..but I did not figure it out based on the above formula.  HoCo makes it simple…see below.

File Number: prior to 1/1/2001

A computer program will analyze existing infrared aerial photography already used by the County and the State, to distinguish impervious surfaces in contrast to areas that can absorb stormwater, such as lawns and gardens. 

Click here for what you will be charged. https://data.howardcountymd.gov/GImperviousCalculation/GImperviousCalculation.asp

For more information on the Watershead Protected Fee or the Stormwater Utility Fund, go to https://livegreenhoward.com/water/stormwater