City of Moses Lake

Would you like more information on the City's Stormwater Utility? Here are some frequently asked questions.

The City began stormwater utility rate credit applications on February 1, 2010. You may also pick up an application at the Engineering Counter in City Hall, or download one here: Stormwater Utility Credit Application.

As of May, 2009, the City held a series of three open houses for the public to obtain information and make comment on the proposed stormwater utility rate structure.

May 6 from 7 to 9 p.m., Moses Lake Fire Station on Third Ave
May 14 from 7 to 9 p.m., Chief Moses Middle School cafeteria on Nelson Rd.
May 28 from 7 to 9 p.m., Chief Moses Middle School cafeteria on Nelson Rd.

Representatives from the City of Moses Lake Municipal Services Department and the Washington State Department of Ecology were available to answer any questions from the public.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is stormwater?
Stormwater is the runoff that results from rainfall and snowmelt. As rain and snow falls to earth in agricultural and undeveloped areas, it is either absorbed or it slowly runs off and dissipates. In a growing city like Moses Lake, where rooftops and paved areas not only prevent the water from being absorbed but help it run off at a much faster rate, problems arise. Inadequate drainage systems compound these serious problems associated with heavy rains and snow thaw.

Why is stormwater runoff a problem?
Stormwater can erode topsoil and stream banks and destroy aquatic habitats. Runoff accumulates in many areas of the city, causing nuisance flooding and possible threats to public health and safety. As the rain falls onto our streets and runs off, it carries with it pollutants such as gasoline, oil, antifreeze and heavy metals. Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers are washed from lawns and other green spaces.

Unlike sanitary sewers that go to a treatment plant, most stormwater is discharged directly to local water bodies. With the passage of time, these pollutants will buildup in our waterways and underground drainage systems causing significant environmental damage to our watershed and lake. These pollutants may also threaten our drinking water supply.

What's the difference between a storm drain and a sewer drain?
The sanitary sewer system and the storm drain system are two completely separate systems. The sanitary sewer system takes all household wastewater and routes it through piping into a treatment plant. The separate stormwater system routes rainwater off the streets, into the storm drains and usually empties into our lake and drywells without being treated.

Where does water pollution come from?
Water pollution is difficult to trace to a specific discharge point. Because it comes from many diverse sources, it is hard to control. Examples of common pollutants include fertilizers, pesticides, pet wastes, sediments, oils, salts, trace metals and litter. They come from farms, yards, roofs, construction sites, automobiles, and streets.

Who owns the stormwater system?
The City of Moses Lake owns and operates all of the stormwater infrastructure contained in the Stormwater Service Area, as defined below (See "Why a stormwater utility now?")

Who do I report drainage/flooding/pollution problems to? What are some examples of drainage problems?
If a storm drain in front of your house does not work properly and causes water to pond in the roadway and adjacent area, please call 509/764-3951 to report the problem. Drainage problems may include roadway or structural flooding, clogged or failing underground pipes and culverts, bank erosion or pollution affecting a waterbody. If you witness illicit dumping of materials into the stormwater system, or notice a problem, you may call the number above or use our reporting form online at http://www.ci.moses-lake.wa.us/index.php?page_id=2.

What is a Stormwater Utility? What kind of services does the City provide?
The stormwater program is charged with the maintenance and improvement of the City's stormwater systems located within the public rights-of-way. These systems consist of storm drains, catch basins, drywells, curb and gutter, underground pipes, open channels, culverts and creeks. A stormwater utility is a special assessment set up to generate funding specifically for stormwater management.

Businesses and residents within the City of Moses Lake pay a stormwater fee, and the revenue collected directly supports maintenance of the existing storm drain systems, development of drainage plans, water quality programs, and funds major capital expenses. The total Stormwater Utility budget for FY 2010 is approximately $630,000. The funds pay for the ongoing and routine maintenance of the drainage system, major capital expenses for new storm sewer construction, and EPA Phase II stormwater permit requirements.

Why do we have to have a Stormwater Utility?
In order to meet new, federally-mandated regulations for discharging stormwater and pay for the associated storm sewer-related infrastructure costs, the City of Moses Lake has chosen to implement a stormwater fee rather than raise property taxes or cut services. The United States EPA issued new stormwater regulations in 1999 that require communities the size of Moses Lake to control water pollution by stormwater runoff. We are required to implement municipal stormwater programs that will reduce runoff pollution discharges.

The EPA has listed six control measures that communities must implement as part of the Stormwater Management Program. In addition to meeting the city's stormwater needs, Moses Lake's new stormwater utility will provide the city with the tools necessary to meet the new regulation requirements.

What happens if Moses Lake fails to meet the new regulations and requirements of the EPA and the Department of Ecology?

Violation of the permit could cost the City a significant amount in penalties. Under state law the penalties for a violation of the terms or conditions of the permit can be up to $10,000 per day for each violation. Under federal law the penalties are higher — up to $37,500 per day per violation. In both cases the violation of different permit conditions can be treated as separate violations which means the daily total for ignoring the permit could be significantly higher.

The City could also face additional suits from third parties. And if the violation is found to be willful or deliberate, for example if there is a deliberate decision to ignore the permit then criminal sanctions could apply.

How did Moses Lake develop its stormwater utility program?
The City developed its stormwater utility program utilizing guidance from the EPA, the State Department of Ecology, and by mirroring programs developed by and already in use in similar municipalities throughout the country.

What are the goals of Moses Lake's stormwater program?
The stormwater program focuses on reducing the potential for stormwater pollution, maintaining and improving the City's stormwater infrastructure, and improving and protecting the quality of our lake, wetlands and watershed.

Why a stormwater utility now? Why am I going to be charged a Stormwater fee?
In 2010, a stormwater fee will be placed on all properties within an identified Stormwater Service Area. This area represents the service area of the MS4 — Moses Lake's Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, and includes all of the area within the incorporated boundaries of the city of Moses Lake ('city limits'). Properties within that service area will be charged an annual fee to provide funding for stormwater management plans and basic stormwater services.

A stormwater utility fee is a user charge for stormwater services. It is the same as a fee for garbage collection or the availability of water or sewer service at your house or business. The City Council felt a fee was the best alternative for the City and community. Reasons for this choice include:

Water Quality — The City is committed to protecting both ground and surface water in our community. Stormwater is an element that can contaminate these water sources with the pollutants it carries, and we need a dedicated way to fund the maintenance of our storm sewer system.
Tax relief — Tax dollars fund stormwater maintenance and associated "best management practices" like street sweeping. Fees are also more broadly based with tax exempt property owners paying their fair share as well.
Behavioral Changes — Increased taxes discourage property improvements while fees discourage production of stormwater runoff. The fee gives property owners an incentive to make improvements and take pride in their properties, while taxes penalize owners who work to improve their properties.
Better planning — Consistent funding facilitates better long-range planning, which reduces overall costs to the City and community.

Who has to pay?
All developed property within the City of Moses Lake will pay the stormwater service fee. That includes houses, schools, public facilities, churches and businesses. The only exceptions are streets within the City. These areas are excluded because they are already designed to collect and carry stormwater runoff.

Will I still be charged even if it does not rain for a long time? / Will the City fee be influenced by the amount of rain?
The stormwater utility fee will in no way be related to the amount of rainfall as rain is an unpredictable natural phenomenon. Because stormwater charges are not based upon the frequency or amount of rainfall received, the stormwater utility fee will be administered regardless of rainfall. In fact, the best time to fix stormwater problems is when it is dry.

What services will be provided? What am I going to get out of this fee?
The list of services related to stormwater management is lengthy; but, in summary, the City works to build new stormwater runoff controls to maintain water quality , maintains existing stormwater facilities (such as public storm lines and structures) and reviews new development to confirm that they will comply with City standards.

The revenues from this fee will be used to reduce the occurrence of street flooding, provide better planning for the future, increase the maintenance of the stormwater system, increase the frequency of storm system repair, reduce sedimentation and erosion, and reduce runoff-caused pollution. These fees also allow us to meet the water quality standards imposed upon the City by the EPA.

Why is a stormwater fee more equitable than a tax?
A property's value does not affect runoff, so property taxes are not the most equitable way to pay for stormwater services. For example, a high-rise building and a shopping mall may have similar appraised value and pay similar property taxes. However, the shopping mall produces much more runoff because of the amount of parking and rooftops. The fee system will ensure the customer pays only for the runoff they produce. Using a fee structure based on impervious surfaces will allow for a more equitable method of charging for stormwater services. Each customer will be charged based on the impervious surface of their property. It is all dollars paid, but there are some differences between a fee and a tax.

User equity — Fees are more proportional and give users more control. With fees, larger users pay more, and smaller users pay less. Users can also change how much they are charged by taking steps to manage runoff.
Dedicated funding — Fee income is segregated, and a stormwater fee can only be used for stormwater related costs. Tax dollars are available for almost any use, and competition for tax dollars usually results in infrastructure being under-funded.
Tax exempt property — Many properties in Moses Lake are granted tax exempt status, such as property owned by the City, County, School District and churches. Many of the tax exempt properties have large amounts of impervious area. This places more property tax burden on residents and local businesses, while a fee is charged to all users.

Why are churches and schools being billed? Why will non-residential and tax-exempt properties be required to pay?
All customers within Moses Lake, including schools and government-owned properties that have impervious surfaces must pay regardless of ownership or tax status, because they generate stormwater runoff that the City has to manage.
The service charge, just like water and sewer fees, is based upon the cost of services provided. Because this is not a tax, it is collected from all customers who receive service. Churches and schools contribute a significant amount of runoff to the City because of their size and amount of hard surface. They will be treated like all other customers under the rate structure.

The City has already been doing the work. Why can't you continue the same way? / Hasn't the City always had storm drains? Why am I being charged now when I haven't been in the past?
Recent federal regulations requiring a comprehensive stormwater quality management program necessitate that the City take a more active role in managing stormwater. The stormwater utility fee will enable the City to meet its responsibilities to manage the storm drain system more closely, study the contents of stormwater, seek out and eliminate illicit connections and illegal discharges and enforce codes more strictly. Additionally, many parts of the City stormwater system are aging and require more frequent maintenance and replacement.

Up to this point, the City's Public Works Division has been performing storm sewer work from the budget allotted to the Street department. For years, crews have swept the streets and performed emergency repairs on collapsed storm sewers, but the City was not able to do some larger maintenance items to maintain the system adequately. As the City's service area has grown, the Street department has been unable to meet the additional demands of the new stormwater requirements that have been federally imposed, with its limited staff and funding. Implementing a stormwater fee provides a dedicated funding source for the storm sewer maintenance and operation, and creates a new, separate department for stormwater administration.

Why not use property taxes to pay for the storm sewer? Will my property tax bill be reduced since the stormwater fee will replace some General Fund revenues?
The stormwater utility revenues will allow about $630,000 to return to the General Fund in 2010. It will be up to the City Council to decide what to do with these revenues. Since there are a number of critical and publicly-desired projects for other departments that are waiting to be funded, it is likely that the City Council will fund these critical projects considering the legislative tax reduction measures.

I have a septic tank. Why should I pay this fee?
The stormwater utility fee is used specifically to address citywide stormwater issues. Moses Lake has an MS4 - a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System. Stormwater and sanitary sewer wastewater are carried through two separate systems, and are unrelated.

A septic tank is used to treat wastewater at a specific location. This wastewater is water that comes out of individual households or businesses. Properties that use septic tanks are not charged for sanitary sewer service. It should be noted that properties that are connected to the sanitary sewer system do pay for the sanitary sewer service as well as the stormwater utility fee.

Why should I have to pay? I live on a hill and have no drainage problem / None of my water goes into the storm drains. Why do I have to pay?
Eventually all basins drain to the watershed, even if it's only the rainwater caught in your or your neighbor's backyard or ravine. Your property is also likely to generate runoff in a large "25 year" rain event, even if the ground absorbs it during "normal" events. Every property also generates traffic on the streets, which contributes to the pollutant load deposited on the streets and swept downstream in a rain event. It has been demonstrated that the amount of pollution generated from a property due to vehicle traffic corresponds directly to the amount of impervious surface area on the property. This is why impervious surface area was chosen as the method of rate determination.

In any event, you always benefit from adequate, properly-functioning drainage and flood control systems which decrease the likelihood of flooding, erosion, and unlimited pollutants from surface and stormwater runoff. You also benefit from the regulation and monitoring of the properties above and around you.

Finally, efforts to monitor and protect the watershed and lake provide benefits to everyone. You may not have a problem, but the runoff generated from your property is contributing to problems downstream. The approach being taken through this program recognizes that everyone contributes to the problem (runoff and pollution) and everyone will share in the results (improved water quality, reduced flooding, unimpaired access to roads, etc.).

Isn't there already a fund for stormwater or drainage?
No. Money from the City's General Fund has provided some limited funding in the past. A dedicated revenue stream was necessary to accomplish the Federal and State mandates for water quality improvement.

Where does the money go? Will the revenues from the fee go to the General Fund for everyone to use?
The revenue from the stormwater fee will be placed in a separate fund that, by ordinance, can only be spent for stormwater activities. This is one of the major advantages of this fee - it can only be used to deal with stormwater management issues.
Some of the important components of this program include:

development of stormwater design standards and regulations
increased maintenance/repair of the City's stormwater system
public information and education concerning stormwater issues
improve stormwater quality through monitoring and reduction of illicit discharges and pollutants
design, permitting and construction of stormwater projects
field inspection/enforcement of these standards

Are we the only city with a stormwater utility fee?
No. In Washington, there are many other cities and counties with a stormwater fee. Other cities in Eastern Washington that have a fee include Wenatchee, Spokane, Richland, Yakima, Pullman, Pasco, Ellensburg and Walla Walla.

Why has Moses Lake chosen to implement a separate fee for stormwater management?
By establishing a dedicated funding source through stormwater fees, the City can ensure that revenue required to manage and maintain this important system is available. A fee based on impervious surface area is an equitable way to charge and collect revenues for this program. (See "What is impervious surface" below)

What are the utility fees based on?
The stormwater utility fee is based on the amount of runoff generated by building roofs, driveways, parking lots and other impervious surfaces. Most of the other cities in Washington have chosen to base their fee on impervious ground cover as well.

What IS impervious surface?

An impervious surface is a surface which is covered with material that is resistant to infiltration by water, including but not limited to, most conventionally surfaced streets, roofs, sidewalks, patios, driveways, parking lots, and any other oiled, graveled, graded, compacted, or any other surface which impedes the natural filtration of surface water. Areas with more impervious surfaces generally contribute more to storm water runoff pollution and the amount (volume) of storm water runoff.

Swimming pool surrounds, concrete slabs, basketball or tennis courts, walks, artificial turf and storage areas are also examples of impervious surfaces. These improvements effect natural infiltration, creates more runoff, increases the rate of runoff and alters natural patterns of stormwater runoff that drains from an area.

How did the City determine impervious surface area?
Impervious area information is required for apartments, commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental and other non-residential properties. In order to determine how much impervious surface is on a piece of developed property, the City utilized Geographical Information System (GIS) maps of our area to determine the total square footage of the impervious surface on a parcel and the actual lot size. Parcel owners and lot lines were obtained from Grant County records.

In order to determine the average residential impervious area, because lot sizes and impervious surfaces vary from residential parcel to residential parcel, the sizes of impervious surface areas were averaged. In Moses Lake, the average amount of impervious surface per residential property is 4,000 square feet. This amount is classified as an Equivalent Residential Unit, or one ERU. Every Moses Lake home is equal to one ERU.

I have detention ponds/drywells/other stormwater collection systems on my property that I pay to maintain. Do I still have to pay the stormwater fee?
Yes, the stormwater fee is designed to maintain and improve the City infrastructure, not private systems. You may, however, apply for an on-site system credit adjustment, which may reduce your rate by up to 50%.

How are fees determined? How much will I pay?
Single-family residential homes, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and manufactured homes will be charged a flat fee of $5 per residential unit per month. Stormwater rates in other cities range from $4 to $8 per month.

Other properties (such as commercial, industrial, and multifamily homes) will be charged based on the amount of impervious surface on the property. These charges are by square footage of impervious surface, and range in amount from $5 per month to $150 per month. There are seven categories of non-residential rates, as follows:

Non-residential #1 Up to 6,000 s.f. $5.00

Non-residential #2 6,001 to 15,000 s.f. $8.50

Non-residential #3 15,001 to 30,000 s.f. $12.50

Non-residential #4 30,001 to 60,000 s.f. $25.00

Non-residential #5 60,001 to 120,000 s.f. $50.00

Non-residential #6 120,001 to 240,000 s.f. $100.00

Non-residential #7 Over 240,000 s.f. $150.00

What is a residential dwelling unit?
A dwelling unit means a single unit that provides complete, independent living facilities for one or more persons including permanent provision for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.

I have a retail store in a shopping center and currently receive a water bill. Will I get the stormwater bill as well?
Only if you are the owner of record of the parcel your building is standing on. All impervious area within one parcel will be consolidated into one bill.

All impervious area within a multi-tenant facility such as a shopping center or apartment complex on one parcel is consolidated into one bill. (If in a multi-tenant facility there are multiple parcel numbers then there will be multiple bills, otherwise there will be one consolidated bill.) The bill will be sent to the owner of record for that parcel, as shown on the database maintained by the Grant County Appraisers Office, rather than to individual tenants, regardless of whether the tenants are currently carrying separate utility accounts with the City. If the parcel owner does not currently have a utility account with the City, one will be established. If the parcel owner currently has a utility account, the stormwater fee will be added to that account.

I am the parcel owner of a commercial property on which several tenant businesses reside. Why am I being billed for all of them? Why does each business not have to pay its own fee?
The City decided to set the billing system up on a parcel basis, similar to the billing format in other cities. The decision was made to bill our commercial stormwater fees to parcel owners because of the difficulty and time-extensiveness of determining and keeping updated records for leasees and renters of commercial properties, which can have a high degree of turnover. This reduces staff time and overhead cost for administering the billing system, and this savings is passed on to the utility. In addition, the rate still needs to be paid when the leased building(s) are vacant.

It is expected that parcel owners will most likely pass along these fees to their tenants in addition to the tenants' normal rental charges, defraying the total amount that these large parcel owners are liable to pay each month.

How can I be exempted from the stormwater charges?
The only exempted properties are public roads, railroad tracks, public airport runways, and undeveloped property.

How can I reduce my fee?
There is no credit or reduction available for residential properties. For commercial properties, a credit can be obtained for three special circumstances:

Commercial properties which collect and retain stormwater in a permissive rainwater harvesting system (credits can be up to a 10% reduction).
Industrial properties which are already covered by an individual NPDES Industrial Stormwater Discharge Permit may qualify for an additional credit of up to 80%.
Commercial properties which retain and treat all of their runoff in an on-site system (using appropriate Best Management Practices and design as approved by the Department of Ecology) may qualify for a credit of up to 50%.

These credits will not be cumulative, and require an application process from the Stormwater Department. Please call 764-3792 for more information.

Of course, commercial properties, for example, can reduce their fee by reducing the amount of impervious area (e.g. providing more grassed and vegetated areas).

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS? Email us at mshields@ci.moses-lake.wa.us.