Sewer district officials notify homeowners of new stormwater fee for program aimed at flooding

CLEVELAND, Ohio--Regional sewer officials have begun sending out more than a quarter-million letters notifying residential customers that they will be charged a new fee beginning Jan. 1 to pay for an ongoing $35 million annual program aimed at curbing flooding across the region.

The fee will cost the typical homeowner served by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District about $5 a month -- less for senior citizens or lower-income residents who qualify for assistance.

The fee will be charged to homeowners and show up on their quarterly water and sewer bill. The amount is based on the square footage of hard surface -- including roof tops, driveways, and patios. The idea is that the owners of homes that produce larger volumes of stormwater runoff should pay more to fix the area's problems.

For residential properties, sewer officials have created a three-tier fee schedule. Tier 1 properties, those with less than 2,000 square feet of hard surface, will be charged $3.03 a month. Tier 2 properties with 2,000 to 3,999 square feet of impervious surface will be charged $5.05 monthly, and properties with 4,000 or more square feet will pay $9.09.

The sewer district has two programs meant to provide financial help for people with limited incomes.

The "Homestead" program is for senior citizens age 65 or older or disabled homeowners with an income of $30,500 or less. People who are approved for this program will pay a monthly stormwater fee of $2.03 regardless the amount of hard surface on their property.

There also is an "Affordability" program for any homeowner whose income is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. That's currently $44,700 for a family of four. This program provides a 40 percent reduction of the appropriate tier fee.

Property owners can only participate in one assistance program. For more information, call the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District at 216-881-8247.

Owers can check the square footage of hard surface on their property online at neorsd.org/findmyfee.

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Sewer district officials notify homeowners of new stormwater fee for program aimed at flooding