Storm Drainage Utility

Summary

The City of Hurst has two major pressures to address storm water management needs. The first is a basic need to maintain a storm water quantity reality as 6.7 billion gallons of rainwater falls on the City each year, plus upstream flows from adjacent cities. This is a fundamental challenge that faces all cities as once-agricultural land is converted to urban land uses, rooftops, pavement, swimming pools and other non-permeable areas. These areas are considered impervious and are the basis of this utility report. The second pressure is that water quality improvement is mandated by federal and state agencies linked to certain prevention measures regarding the impurities that are carried into the streams through rainwater runoff. This requirement began in 1995 but is new for cities the size of Hurst. In 2008, these permit requirements were listed in the City's Stormwater Management Program (SWMP).

Both of these pressures are costly to address in terms of infrastructure and operating costs. The City has an investment of approximately $35 million in storm drainage infrastructure that needs to be maintained, rehabilitated, replaced or enhanced. The current backlog of identified drainage projects for the next five years encompasses over $21,000,000 in capital needs. By enhancing the drainage construction program and fulfilling other parts of the SWMP, the city residents will likely qualify for a 5-10% flood rate reduction with FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and Community Rating System (CRS) program.

Residential

The residential rates for the Storm Drainage fee are set at $4 per home. The city used the tax allocation district data as well as the city’s geographic information system to calculate the average impervious area for all homes (3,342 square feet). This citywide average determined the standard billing amount of impervious area. Impervious area does not allow water to soak into the soil and includes building footprints, concrete, asphalt, and so on. Those with irrigation only meters are not charged the Storm Drainage fee on that account.
Residential properties shall not have an individual appeals process since residential properties were calculated as a class, as allowed by state law.

Multi-family (including apartments, mobile home park, etc on master meter)

The equivalent rates for the Storm Drainage Utility are set at $1.93 per apartment unit. The city used the tax allocation district data as well as the city’s geographic information system to calculate the average impervious area for all apartment units.
Multi-family properties shall not have an appeals process since multi-family properties were calculated as a class, as allowed by state law.

Commercial or Non-residential

The equivalent rates for the Storm Drainage fee are set at $1.19 per 1000 square feet. Each commercial property was measured using the city’s geographic information system to determine the billing amount of impervious area. Impervious area does not allow water to soak into the soil and includes building footprints, concrete, asphalt, and so on. Those with irrigation only meters are not charged the Storm Drainage fee on that account. If you are a business owner and believe your Storm Drainage fee to be inaccurate, you will need to file a Storm Drainage Fee Appeals form (pdf-52kb).

Appeals Process

If an owner or a person legally authorized to represent a non-residential property owner wishes to appeal a storm drainage utility fee amount, they may do so by filing a notice of appeal with the City Engineer and paying a $100 application fee. Download Storm Drainage Fee Appeal form here. (pdf - 52kb)
An appeal can be filed by completing a form that describes the basis for the claimant appealing the data, including the provision of independent engineering reports supporting a more accurate impervious area calculation. The information submitted to the City must be complete in order to conduct an evaluation of the appeal.
A response will be provided within 10 days of the receipt of the completed appeal form and supporting material. Any utility billing adjustments made after July 1, 2009 shall be applied only to the next billing cycle following a decision made by the City of Hurst.