Memorandum
City of Lawrence
Public Works
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TO: |
David P. Cronin, P.E., City Engineer |
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FROM: |
Matt Bond, P.E., Stormwater Engineer |
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CC: |
Charles Soules, P.E., Director of Public Works |
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Date: |
June 30, 2015 |
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RE: |
City Managers Report - Stormwater Utility Billing Procedures |
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Due to recent resident inquires this report has been drafted to help explain the process used for stormwater utility billing. The stormwater utility was formed in 1993 to provide a funding source for the maintenance and improvements to the storm sewer system. All parcels of land in the City of Lawrence are subject to the stormwater utility fee, including the City and other tax-exempt properties. The stormwater fee is based on the square footage of impervious surface on the property. Impervious surface is defined as the area of ground covered by roofs, concrete or asphalt.
ERU stands for Equivalent Residential Unit, which is the area of impervious surface on an average single-family residential property. In Lawrence, this was determined to be 2,366 square feet. The number of ERU's assigned to a commercial property should be the total impervious surface divided by 2,366.
Total impervious surface is not known for every residential property; therefore the number of ERU's is based on building footprints as follows:
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Area (sq. ft.) |
ERU's |
Monthly Charge |
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APARTMENT footprint per unit |
Up to 750 |
0.37 |
$1.48 |
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751 + |
0.66 |
$2.64 |
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SINGLE-FAMILY footprint |
Up to 1,000 |
0.67 |
$2.68 |
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1,001 to 1,800 |
1.00 |
$4.00 |
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1,801 to 3,000 |
1.25 |
$5.00 |
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3,001 to 4,800 |
1.80 |
$7.20 |
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4,801 + |
2.60 |
$10.00 |
The current monthly rate per ERU is $4.00, effective January, 1, 2003. Therefore as an example, the stormwater fee for a NON-residential lot that has 10,000 square feet of impervious surface would be calculated as follows:
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10,000 ft.2 |
X |
$4.00 |
= |
$16.91 |
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2,366 ft.2/ERU |
ERU |