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'` STORMWATER SERVICE CHARGE <br />METHODOLOGY PAPER <br />1.0 Introduction <br />This report provides an overview of the methodology used to establish the revised Stormwater <br />Service charges for the City of Eugene. The report begins by providing background on the basis for <br />and purpose of the service charge. Later sections go into detail on the basic method used to calculate <br />a customer's charge and a process for seeking charge adjustments. Bracketed comments. are intended <br />for explanation but are not officially adopted as part of this document. <br />2.0 Basis For The Charge <br />The City of Eugene has collected funds to support stormwater capital and operational needs as part <br />of the City's sewer service charge since the 1960s. In 1983, the City separated the sewer service <br />charge. into sanitary and storm service charge components. The basis of the charge was water meter <br />size, with residentiai.properties paying a flat fee and commercialrndustrial customers paying based <br />on the size of their water meter. The concept behind the fee is that a customer pays for the <br />stormwater services provided by the City of Eugene in general proportion to the amount of service <br />provided to the customer. Everything else being equal, the greater the water usage,. which is <br />correlated to some degree with runoff, the greater the fee. <br />Several adopted goals and policies support the use of stormwater service charges. These goals and <br />policies are listed in the Comprehensive Stormwater Management Plan. <br />3.0 RevisedService Charge Practices <br />-~ <br />:~ o'Jan1~,I <~~-t ~i1 e City of Eugene E~r~~ert#~-chargesd a Stormwater service charge to all <br />sanitary sewer customers. Any person who occupiesd property that is,~as connected to the sanitary <br />sewer system ~~~ charged a Stormwater service charge drat-is-based on the size of their water <br />meter. In general, service charges ~fe~rMU set by allocating the cost of a program to the customers <br />based on their relative use of the. system. A customer's water meter size, though, has, at best, an <br />indirect relationship to the. custome#'s relative effect on the stormwater system. <br />The amount of impervious surface (hard surfaces such as roof tops and driveways) is a much better <br />measurement of the customer's demand on the public stormwater system. Impervious surfaces <br />increase both the amount and rate of stormwater runoff compared to natural conditions. The more <br />impervious surface, the greater will be the need for the community to provide stormwater service and <br />thus .the greater the impact the customer will have on the system. Changing the basis for the service <br />charge changes the customer base. Except as provided in Section 6 of this methodology, it is <br />Stormwater Service Charge: Methodology Paper -Page l <br />Draft Revisions -April i0, 1995 <br />