1. What has changed?
Single-family homes in all of Charlotte-Mecklenburg are grouped into one of four billing tiers based on the amount of impervious area (hard surface) on the property. Homes with the least amount of impervious surface pay the lowest Storm Water rates while homes with the largest amount of impervious surface pay the highest Storm Water rates. This took effect July 1, 2009.
As before, customers pay one total Storm Water fee, usually as a monthly charge. That single payment is then divided to cover storm water management costs in the county as well as in the city or town where the customer lives.
2. How were residential storm water fees determined in the past?
Most single-family residences in Charlotte-Mecklenburg had been grouped into two billing tiers based on the amount of impervious surface. However, the countywide Storm Water rate and the Town of Davidson had used one billing tier for single-family residential customers.
3. Under the new structure, will my Storm Water fee go up, down or stay the same?
That depends on:
1) the amount of impervious surface on your property (which tier your property is in)
2) where you live. Storm Water rates are different in the City of Charlotte, each of the six Towns, and the unincorporated areas.
4. Why change to four tiers?
At public meetings, elected officials on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners and Davidson Town Board said they chose to go with four tiers because they believe it is a more equitable billing system. Technology has also improved, making it easier and more cost-effective to calculate each residential property's impervious area.
5. What are the billing tiers?
Tier I – Up to 1,999 square feet of impervious area
Tier II – 2,000 to 2,999 square feet of impervious area
Tier III – 3,000 to 4,999 square feet of impervious area
Tier IV – 5,000 or more square feet of impervious area
See the Storm Water rates for each tier
Remember: Impervious area is NOT the same as the heated square footage of your home. Impervious surface area includes driveways, rooftops, garages, outbuildings, sheds, patios, and private sidewalks.
6. How do I know which tier my house is in?
Use the interactive Geospatial Portal. Click that link, then type your address in the upper left. Click on the Environment tab. The impervious area for that address will be listed. Compare the size of your impervious area to the tier sizes listed in Question #5.
The size of your property's impervious area is also listed on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility bills starting in August 2009.
7. What is considered impervious surface?
Hard surfaces do not let rain sink into the ground. Common examples of impervious surface include rooftops on a home, garage, or shed; concrete, brick or asphalt driveways; private sidewalks and walkways; concrete or brick patios; outdoor tennis or basketball courts, and private swimming pool aprons.
8. What is not counted as impervious area?
Areas covered with grass, trees, gardens, and gravel are not counted as impervious surfaces. Wooden decks are also not counted as impervious as long as there is no permanent roof over the deck.
9. Why is impervious surface used to determine a home's storm water fee?
Rainfall runs off hard surfaces. The more hard surface that is on your property, the more storm water runoff that flows off your property into storm drainage ditches, channels and pipes.
10. How is the size of the impervious area on my parcel determined?
Aerial photos are taken during the winter and early spring when leaves have fallen off the trees. The aerial photo shows the impervious surfaces on each parcel. Computer software is used to draw around the edges of the hard surfaces shown on the photo to calculate the impervious square footage for each parcel.
11. What if I disagree with the impervious square footage listed on my bill?
To request a re-verification of your home's impervious area, call 311. An inspector will be assigned to recalculate your property's impervious surface area using aerial photos. If you disagree with the re-verification, an inspector can be sent to your home to walk your property with a measuring wheel.
12. If I disagree with the inspector's re-measurement, what options do I have?
Customers who disagree with re-measurement results can appeal to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Advisory Committee.
13. What is storm water?
Rain that is not absorbed into the ground becomes storm water. That excess water flows into storm drains, ditches and channels, which take the water directly into creeks. Storm water is not treated to remove pollution.
14. How does storm water cause pollution and flooding?
As storm water flows across land, it picks up contaminants such as oil drippings from cars, fertilizers and pesticides from lawns, dirt particles, and bacteria from pet waste. All of that pollution is carried directly into creeks, which then flow to the lakes that supply our drinking water. 70% of the pollution in our creeks and lakes is carried there by storm water runoff. Increased storm water runoff can also cause erosion, street flooding and creek flooding.
15. What types of property are considered single-family residential?
The four-tier residential billing structure applies to homes that are zoned, designed and built as a residence for one family, and are completely detached from other residential or commercial structures.
Commercial Storm Water rates apply to:
a. duplexes, triplexes, apartments, or other multi-family homes
b. any structure for which a business license is on file for that address
c. businesses or commercial enterprises
d. public buildings.
16. How are Commercial Storm Water rates calculated?
Storm Water fees for commercial customers are also based on the amount of impervious surface on the property. Commercial fees are calculated based on Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs.) The ERU in Charlotte-Mecklenburg is 2,613 square feet. The change to four residential billing tiers does not affect commercial Storm Water customers.
17. Why aren't storm water fees included in my property taxes?
Property taxes are based on the dollar value of your home. The dollar value is not an accurate indicator of how much storm water flows from your property into the public drainage system. With a separate storm water fee, those who contribute the most storm water runoff to the system pay the most.
18. Isn't this essentially a tax on rain water?
The Storm Water fee is a user fee—because it charges property owners for a service. That service is managing the storm water runoff coming from their property.
19. What services do I get from paying a Storm Water fee?
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services uses fee dollars to:
- Protect lives and property from flooding
- Restore stream channels and surrounding floodplains
- Replace broken or undersized storm water pipes and culverts
- Clear blockages from stream channels and storm drain pipes
- Improve water quality in creeks and lakes
- Comply with federal and state requirements for water quality
- Fix qualifying storm water drainage problems on private property
- Obtain state and federal grants for storm water projects
- Integrate flood mitigation, water quality, stream restoration, and greenway expansion
Those services are not included in your property tax bill.
20. What are the Major System and Minor System?
The City of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and six incorporated Towns have a single Storm Water utility, but have divided storm water responsibilities among themselves based on the "Major" and "Minor" storm water systems. This avoids duplication of services.
The Major System is all named creeks and regulated floodplains. The Major System fee provides funds to maintain and improve the named creeks, to map flood risks and regulate floodplain development in each watershed, and to monitor and improve water quality in creeks and lakes. Mecklenburg County administers the Major System storm water programs, even those inside City and Town limits. The Major System fee is applied Countywide.
The Minor System fee provides funds for the City of Charlotte, unincorporated Mecklenburg County, and the six Towns to address drainage improvement and water quality needs in their specific jurisdictions. The Minor System is defined as tributaries, pipes, storm drain catch basins, and culverts on public or private property and in the street right-of-way draining less than one square mile of land. When you pay your storm water bill, a specified amount goes to Mecklenburg County for the Major System and a specified amount goes to your City or Town for the Minor System.
21. What if I don't pay my storm water fee?
Customers who don't pay their Storm Water Services fee risk having their water service turned off. Any payment on a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility (CMU) bill is first applied to the storm water fee, then to water and sewer charges. If you do not have CMU water or sewer service (such as customers with wells or private septic systems) and choose not to pay your storm water fee, your unpaid storm water account will be turned over to a collection agency.
22. Is Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities?
They are separate agencies with separate budgets. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities (CMU) fees are billed together to make it easier for customers and the local governments. CMU maintains the customer database and CMU handles the billing and collection of fees for storm water customers as well the billing and collection for water/sewer customers.
23. How is the public being told of the changes in Storm Water billing rates?
1) Public hearings at meetings of the Charlotte City Council, Davidson Town Board and
Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners
2) An insert in the August 2009 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility bills
3) Updates on http://stormwater.charmeck.org
