New City of Wilmington Stormwater Rates Begin September 1
Monthly charge raised 6% to fund important projects;
Pass-through fee collected via CFPUA bills to save city costs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Mike McGill
mike.mcgill@cfpua.org
O) (910) 332-6704
C) (910) 622-8472
Wilmington, NC (August 31, 2016): Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA), as the billing agent for City of Wilmington Stormwater Sevices, would like to remind our city customers that Wilmington’s new stormwater fee will take effect on September 1, 2016. For a typical residential home, the monthly fee will increase $.43 (6%) from $7.23 to $7.66 or from $14.46 to $15.32 on a typical bi-monthly bill.
The stormwater fee is billed and collected by CFPUA as part of our billing process to save the city money on billing costs. The collected money is transferred into the City of Wilmington's Stormwater Utility Fund and are used only for stormwater management activities within the city limits. The fee does not pay for CFPUA services.
The stormwater fee is being increased so Wilmington can keep up with expanded maintenance services as it funds large drainage improvement projects in problem areas. Among the major projects to be funded are two multi-million dollar efforts, one near the intersection of Brookshire Lane & Beasley Road and another near Clear Run Drive. Both projects will replace deteriorated, undersized infrastructure to improve drainage, stream restoration, and erosion control.
The stormwater fee is based on the amount of impervious (hard) surface area on a property and the cost of providing comprehensive stormwater management:
· Single Family households pay a basic flat rate of $7.66 per month ($15.32 per bi-monthly utility bill).
· Commercial–type properties typically have more impervious surface area than residential properties, thus creating more runoff and a greater burden on the stormwater drainage system. To determine a commercial fee, the city measures the amount of impervious surface area on a property and the owner is charged $7.66 per month for every 2,500 square feet of impervious surface (1 ERU).
· 1 Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) = 2500 square feet of impervious surface.
For more information, you can visit their website at www.wilmingtonnc.gov/departments/public-services/stormwater. It is can also be accessed through CFPUA’s homepage at www.cfpua.org. Just click on the City of Wilmington button.
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Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) was formed by the City of Wilmington and New Hanover County to combine their water and sewer operations. It began operations on July 1, 2008. Today, the Authority serves more than 67,000 water customer accounts and more than 65,000 wastewater customer accounts. It oversees more than 1,000 miles of water distribution mains and nearly 1,000 miles of sewer mains. For more information, visit www.cfpua.org or contact CFPUA’s Communications staff at communications@cfpua.org.