Oregon Citizens Asked to Help Stop the Runoff

Storm water management pays for Oregon’s Julie Morris. Morris, who lives in North Portland's Kenton neighborhood, already pocketed a one-time reimbursement from the city when she disconnected her downspouts and put in a rain barrel almost two years ago, according to a report in the Oregonian.

Next fall, Morris will also be eligible for a rate reduction that could save her 35% of storm water fees.

"I think (more incentives) are a good idea. It's just another piece of fixing the problem with our sewer overflowing in the river," Morris said.

The city's holding two hearings to work out the details of a new storm water rate reduction program to benefit residents such as Morris. The result will be a revision to a program originally passed in 2000 but stalled because of billing system problems.

Residential ratepayers now pay a storm water management fee of $14.26 a month. Under the proposed program, residents who manage their storm water can whittle their bill to about $12.50. For residents who don't manage storm water, bills would climb 40%, reaching nearly $20 a month, by next fall.

"The burden is shifted from those people who do something on their property to those people who don't or can't do anything on their property," said Dan Vizzini, project manager for the storm water discount program.

Storm water fees cover the costs of managing rainwater from roofs, driveways and city streets. Though the discount would help reduce the amount of storm water in the sewer system, the main reason behind the program is to adjust rates, Vizzini said.

"Essentially, the council wanted a program that made the amount you pay more responsive to what you do," he said.

Still, some people in the city have to do more than others to manage storm water, which makes the proposal controversial. In east Portland, for example, where the ground is porous, storm water management is easier than in Southwest Portland, where the ground doesn't absorb water as easily, said Linc Mann, spokesman for environmental services.

"There's support on the council for carving out a geographic area where people automatically get the discount, and those are primarily in east county," Mann said.

The program will start next fall, with a registration period beginning in the spring. Under the proposal, residents could receive discounts for managing storm water by disconnecting downspouts, putting in rain barrels, installing eco-roofs or adding landscaping features such as swales. Even having a lot of trees can earn a homeowner credits, Vizzini said.

The proposal allows the city to determine the discount rate along a sliding scale, depending on how a homeowner answers a questionnaire. Rainwater auditors will visit homes later to verify residents' answers. Depending on community feedback, lawmakers also might decide to scrap the sliding scale in favor of a flat all-or-nothing discount, Vizzini said.

"This program has two desired outcomes," he said. "One is to address concerns raised by rate-payers about fairness, and the other is to encourage people to do things that are helpful to the environment."

Source: Oregonian