Stormwater Utility

Public Works

Stormwater Utility

The stormwater utility is a stand-alone city utility that is used to pay for capital improvements, operations, maintenance, and meeting federal/state permit obligations. A property owner’s bill is determined by an equitable process intended to incentivize good stormwater management and simplify the administration of the utility. Rates are based on the quantity of hard surface area(s) on each parcel, including rooftops, parking lots, and driveways. This method is recognized nationwide as an appropriate and equitable method of measuring how much each property benefits from the City’s stormwater conveyance system.

Hard surface (or “impervious area”) is measured in units called “ERUs” or “Equivalent Residential Units”. 1 ERU is equivalent to 1/10th acre of impervious area and is charged per day per ERU, regardless of the land use (residential/commercial/industrial/etc.). Rate history:

$0.2631/day/ERU - FY24
$0.2505/day/ERU - FY23
$0.2386/day/ERU - FY22
$0.2272/day/ERU - FY21
$0.2164/day/ERU - FY20

There is also an incentive program property owners may use to reduce their stormwater utility fees. Interested property owners may submit an ERU reduction request application to begin the process. In addition to a property owner's ability to reduce their monthly stormwater utility fee, the City also has a cost-share program that assists in the installation of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs).

ERU Education Credit Checklist

The ERU system went into effect in 2016. City Council allowed for a transition from the old billing system to the new one, for property owners with large quantities of impervious area. Specifically, a property owner would pay a capped rate until 2022 or when the cap is larger than a property’s actual ERU count. The caps are as follows:

FY17 (July 2016 to June 2017) – 100 ERU Cap
FY18 (July 2017 to June 2018) – 200 ERU Cap
FY19 (July 2018 to June 2019) – 300 ERU Cap
FY20 (July 2019 to June 2020) – 400 ERU Cap
FY21 (July 2020 to June 2021) – 500 ERU Cap
FY22 (July 2021 to June 2022) – All lots charged their full ERU rate.

Outreach efforts to the City’s “most impacted customers” were done before the changes were instituted. Residents can view a copy of the final presentation provided as part of that outreach. If you have questions about your stormwater utility bill, please call Ben Worrell, Sewer Utilities Program Manager, at 319-286-5745, or email sewer@cedar-rapids.org.