Here’s How Storm Water Fees Make a Difference

Published on August 27, 2025

Collage of storm drain, pipes, culverts and a floodplain

The stormwater fee you see on your water services bill is specifically dedicated to reducing flood risks, maintaining and improving public drainage infrastructure and helping protect our creeks and lakes.  

Why it matters: Your stormwater fee help to take care of storm drain inlets, pipes, and other parts of the system that collect rainwater and move it from streets to nearby creeks. It also helps pay for other important services including: 

  • Upgrading old drainage systems to help prevent street flooding 

  • Fixing and clearing blocked pipes to drain the rain 

  • Mapping flood-prone areas to reduce risks and protect people and property 

  • Enforcing rules that protect surface water quality and keep our waterways healthy 

  • Restoring natural areas like creeks, wetlands and floodplains 

  • Offering education and volunteer programs to engage the community 

How it works: Your stormwater fee is based on the amount of hard surface on your property—like your roof, driveway, and walkways. Rain can’t soak into these surfaces, so it runs off into the storm drain system. More hard surface means more runoff and a higher fee. Less hard surface means a lower fee.

  • Commercial properties and multifamily properties—like duplexes, triplexes and apartments—are billed for the actual amount of hard (impervious) surface on the property.  
  • Detached single-family residential properties are grouped into four tiers based on the amount of hard (impervious) surface. Each tier’s middle (median) value for hard surface is used to determine the stormwater fee for all properties within a tier. 

Four houses of differing sizes with rain flowing from the house to the storm drain in the street.

The graphic above is a drawing of four single-family detached houses increasing in size and hard (imperious) surfaces. Tier 1: < 2,000 square feet of impervious surface; Tier 2: 2,000 to 2,999 square feet of impervious surface; Tier 3: 3,000 to 4,999 square feet of impervious surface; Tier 4: 5,000 or more square feet of impervious surface.

Dive Deeper: Visit our Storm Water Services Fees page to learn more. To find out how much hard (impervious) surface is on your property: 

  1. Go to the Mecklenburg County GeoPortal 
  2. Type in your address 
  3. Click on “Impervious” to see your property’s hard surface area 

Related Links

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