Property owners may qualify for a storm water fee credit if: all or nearly all of their storm water runoff drains either directly into the Catawba River or directly into an adjoining county   - or -  the property owner has significantly reduced the amount of runoff through ponds or other on-site features to capture and hold storm water runoff.

Types of Storm Water fee credits
There are four types of storm water fee credits in Charlotte-Mecklenburg:
   1) County Line Credit
   2) Catawba River Credit
   3) Pond Credit
   4) BMP Credit (multi-family residences and businesses only)

County Line Credit
Fee exemptions may be granted if the property borders another county. To qualify, the property and the county line must be the same and all runoff must flow directly into the neighboring county. If the property qualifies for a County Line Fee Credit, the property owner pays no storm water fee.
County Line Fee Credit Policy

Catawba River Credit
Storm water fee reductions may be granted for some property on the water's edge of:
   • Lake Norman
   • Mountain Island Lake
   • Lake Wylie or
   • the Catawba River.
 
To qualify, all runoff must flow directly into the lake or river without entering a municipal drainage system. Storm water fees for qualifying property will be reduced up to 96.4% but are not eliminated.
Catawba River Fee Credit Policy

Pond Credit
A pond on your property may reduce your storm water fee if it meets certain criteria. This credit is not provided to qualifying customers automatically. Please call 311 (704-336-7600) for an on-site pond inspection, then apply for a fee credit. Fees for qualifying property may be reduced up to 48%.
Pond Fee Credit Policy for single-family properties

BMP or other Storm Water Management Credit
Multi-family residences and businesses that install specially-designed storm water controls such as rain gardens, level spreaders or wet ponds may qualify for a fee reduction. This credit is not provided to qualifying customers automatically. The Fee Credit Application must be completed by an engineer and submitted to Storm Water Services for review. This credit is not available to single-family residential properties.

For more information about any of Storm Water Services' fee credit policies, call 311 (704-336-7600).


(NOTE: The Fee Credit Application and Policy documents are Adobe PDFs and require Adobe Reader to view. You may download a free copy by visiting Adobe.com.)

Review of the Storm Water fee credit policy
All Storm Water fee credit policies were reviewed by staff in 2012. As a result, Storm Water Services’ internal process for determining which properties qualify for County Line Credits and Catawba River Credits was revised in 2013. Staff decided not to change the criteria used to determine which properties qualify for a fee reduction. Staff also decided not to change the formula used to calculate the amount of any fee reduction.