Wake Forest preparing residents for new Stormwater Utility Fee coming July 1
Wake Forest property owners will begin paying a new Stormwater Utility Fee this summer. Aimed at maintaining and improving the Town’s stormwater collection system, the new fee will also support a new Stormwater Utility responsible for meeting stricter, unfunded regulations established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NC Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ).
Effective July 1, the new fee will be billed annually to all Wake and Franklin County property owners within the Wake Forest corporate limits in conjunction with their respective county tax bills. Exempt properties will be billed annually by the Town.
Wake Forest property owners can learn the amount of their annual fee (based on residential or non-residential rates) by visiting the Town website at https://bit.ly/WFStormwaterUtility, clicking on the Stormwater Utility Fee Information Map, and entering their address in the search bar.
The amount of the payment is based on the size of the impervious area on a given property, such as roofs, driveways, and parking lots - that do not absorb rainfall. Runoff from impervious areas often leads to flooding and increases the burden on the Town's stormwater collection system. The Stormwater Utility Fee collected from property owners will go into a dedicated fund to pay for operating, maintaining, and improving Wake Forest’s stormwater infrastructure.
The new utility fee rate is set at $44 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). The ERU is the billing unit for the stormwater utility and is equivalent to 1,200 square feet, the median impervious area for residential properties within Tier 1.
Single-family property owners with impervious areas that total 0-1,500 square feet (Tier 1) will pay the lowest fee at $44 per year. Tier 2 (1,501-4,700 square feet) will pay $121 per year, while Tier 3 (greater than 4,700 square feet) will pay $231 per year.
The Town will bill non-residential property owners the Tier 1 residential rate. Non-residential property owners can calculate their rate with the following equation:
Total Site Impervious (sf)/1,200 (sf) x $44 = Total Annual Stormwater Utility Fee
In August 2023, a Stormwater Utility Advisory Group recommended the creation of a Stormwater Utility as a means of addressing the stricter, unfunded stormwater regulations under the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit and NPDES regulations created by EPA and NCDEQ. Three months later, in November 2023, the Board of Commissioners adopted the Stormwater Utility Fee to meet the funding needs for the new Stormwater Utility.
Wake Forest residents will soon receive a postcard in the mail with information about the new Stormwater Utility Fee. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/WFStormwaterUtility or email Assistant Stormwater Engineer Nick Nolte at [email protected].