The Athens-Clarke County (ACC) Stormwater Advisory Committee directed staff and a consulting team to develop a stormwater utility rate structure that will charge properties in the county based on both the quantity and quality of the water that it contributes to the stormwater management system.

John Ferris of Earth Tech, the environmental engineering firm contracted in January to develop a stormwater utility for Athens-Clarke presented the group with five possible rate structures to choose from. In the end, the advisory committee, made up of local citizens and staff, preferred that the utility fee be based on a rate structure that reflects not only the amount of water flowing off of a property but also the quality of that water as it enters the stormwater system.

"Both of these factors impact the cost of providing stormwater management," says Jason Peek, the ACC Transportation and Public Works engineering administrator who serves as the committee's chair.

Water quantity is typically related to the amount of impervious area on the property, while water quality in stormwater management is focused towards lessening the impact of common urban pollutants such as sediment, automotive fluids, and litter before stormwater is discharged into area rivers and streams, explains Peek.

Stormwater utilities are becoming increasingly common as county and municipal governments across the country work to comply with the federal government's extension of the 1972 Clean Water Act. The new rules, which took effect in March of 2003, require designated jurisdictions to develop or to expand stormwater programs in order to meet new state and federal guidelines.

Proper stormwater management has been deemed as imperative for the sake of local water quality, environmental protection, and safeguarding of infrastructure, among other reasons, adds Peek.

The advisory committee recommended that Athens-Clarke develop a stormwater utility after the mayor and commission charged the group with exploring funding options for the stormwater management program in August 2003.

"A user fee is a method of providing revenue for stormwater programs in a fair and equitable manner," says Ferris. "Property owners are assessed according to how their property contributes to the total cost of managing stormwater in the county."

The Stormwater Advisory Committee is made up of representatives from local non-profit organizations, the Athens-Clarke Homebuilders Association, the University of Georgia, concerned citizens, and Athens-Clarke County staff. The committee provides input and makes recommendations concerning Athens-Clarke County's Stormwater Program. Later this summer, the committee will make a recommendation on the stormwater utility with the final decision to be made by the Mayor and Commission.

For more information, visit the Stormwater Management Web site at www.accstormwater.com.