Stormwater Utility

How is the Stormwater fee calculated?

The stormwater rate for a given parcel of property is calculated based on the impervious area of the parcel. The amount of impervious area is measured in square feet. This square footage is converted to an Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). One ERU is 2,780 square feet, and represents the impervious area of a typical single-family home in Braintree. The rate for 1 ERU is $16.95/quarter ($67.80/annually).

All single-family homes, regardless of actual impervious area, have a rate of 1 (one) ERU. Multi-family residential properties and nonresidential properties pay $16.95/quarter per ERU on their parcel of land. For some parcels, this calculation results in homeowners paying a partial ERU based on the total amount of impervious area and the amount of units at the property.  

ERUs are calculated on a parcel basis, with a maximum billing of 116.7 ERUs. If a parcel has more than 116.7 ERUs, the owner pays the maximum rate of $1,978.07/quarter. When a parcel is shared by multiple tenants, the owner has discretion over whether Stormwater is billed to individual tenants or to the property owner alone.

Why is there a stormwater utility fee?

In 2017, Braintree was presented with new federal requirements to reduce the amount of polluted stormwater runoff it discharges to waterways. This means the Town is required to increase its investment in stormwater infrastructure without any funding by the federal government.

The Town formerly funded stormwater infrastructure through property taxes. One alternative for funding stormwater infrastructure is through a stormwater utility, which is based on user fees for the amount of hardened or impervious surface – such as parking lots, driveways, and buildings – that cause stormwater runoff on each parcel. Like water and sewer fees, a stormwater utility allocates cost based on the amount of use, in this case, the amount of stormwater being generated.

Click here Version OptionsStormwater UtilityHeadline to read the ordinance establishing the stormwater enterprise fee.

Quarterly Fee Examples