By Arlington County

At the December County Board meeting, the Board adopted an ordinance to establish a Stormwater Utility, adopted a resolution regarding Stormwater fee relief, and set the Stormwater Utility Equivalent Residential Unit annual rate. The Board’s action also repeals the current Sanitary District Tax, effective December 31, 2023.  

The County’s Stormwater Management Fund is currently supported by the Sanitary District Tax, which generates funding based on property assessments. The tax is currently set at $0.017 per one hundred dollars of assessed valuation of all taxable real estate. This ordinance proposes replacing the Sanitary District Tax formula with a $258 per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) Rate. An ERU in Arlington County is calculated to be 2,400 square feet of impervious area. The rationale for using the amount of impervious area on each property, rather than all taxable real estate, is that it directly correlates with stormwater runoff that contributes to the County’s stormwater system. Basing the rate structure on the amount of impervious area provides a nexus between the fee charged to each property and the amount of services provided by the County. 

The approved Stormwater fee relief program will provide 100 percent fee relief for senior and disabled residential property owners, and disabled veterans and surviving spouses, that currently qualify for real estate tax exemptions and deferrals.