FAQs • McPherson, KS • CivicEngage

What's the difference between a storm drain and a sanitary sewer drain?: The sanitary sewer system and the storm drain system are completely separate systems. The sanitary sewer system takes all household wastewater and routes it through a plumbing system to a treatment plant. The stormwater system routes rainwater off streets, into the storm drains which empty into water ways without being treated.

▼
Stormwater Utility Fee

1. What is a stormwater utility fee?: A stormwater utility fee is a charge for a public service provided by the City to manage stormwater quantity and quality.

2. What does the stormwater program do?: The stormwater program maintains and improves the City's stormwater systems located within the public street rights-of-way including storm drains, catch basins, underground pipes, open channels, culverts and creeks.

3. What are the City's goals for the stormwater program?: The stormwater program focuses on reducing the potential for the loss of life or property due to flooding and protecting the quality of our lakes and streams. Fees collected will support ongoing maintenance and capital improvements on the City's storm drainage infrastructure.

4. I rent the house that I live in so why will I be charged?: The stormwater utility fee will be included with the BPU bill. Thus, whoever pays the electrical bill will be charged the stormwater utility fee.

5. What is stormwater runoff?: Stormwater runoff is the water that flows off roofs, driveways, parking lots, streets and other hard surfaces during rainstorms. Hard surfaces cause the rainfall to pour into ditches, culverts, catch basins and storm sewers. The water does not receive any treatment before entering the streams and lakes.

6. What is water pollution?: Water pollution comes from diverse sources and is hard to control. Common pollutants include grass clippings, fertilizers, pesticides, pet waste, sediments, oils, salts and trace metals associated with farms, yards, roofs, construction sties, autos and streets. Uncontrolled stormwater can have detrimental effects on the environmental and financial health of a community.

7. What is the advantage of charging a stormwater fee rather than a tax?: Using a fee structure based on impervious surfaces allows for a more equitable method of charging for stormwater services. Fees are directly related to the service property owners receive from the City.

8. Will the City fee be influenced by the amount of rain?: The stormwater utility fee is not related to the amount of rainfall. The fee will fund ongoing maintenance and capital improvements on city maintained storm drainage infrastructure, as well as other water quality improvements and flood hazard mitigation programs.

9. What is the purpose of storm drains?: Storm drains are devices that capture stormwater and prevent flooding by transporting water away from urban areas and into the water ways.

10. What's the difference between a storm drain and a sanitary sewer drain?: The sanitary sewer system and the storm drain system are completely separate systems. The sanitary sewer system takes all household wastewater and routes it through a plumbing system to a treatment plant. The stormwater system routes rainwater off streets, into the storm drains which empty into water ways without being treated.

11. How will the rate on my bill be established?: The stormwater utility fee will be set by the McPherson City Commission. It is expected residential customers will pay $5 to $10 per month. Single-family homes, individual duplex units and individual apartments will pay the same monthly fee. Other properties will be charged by the number of Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) times a monthly charge of $5 to $10.

12. Can you give me an ERU charge example?: Properties not classified as a residential customer will be charged by the number of Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) times a monthly charge of $5 to $10. An ERU equals 3,318 square feet of the average impervious surface area found on a single-family property. The number of ERUs for non-residential properties is determined by dividing the amount of the property's impervious surface by 3,318. Thus, a 33,180 square foot building and parking lot is assigned 10 ERUs and will pay $50 to $100 per month since it is 10 times larger than an average home.

13. What is impervious surface area and how is it determined?: An impervious surface is any hard surface that does not absorb water and impedes the natural flow of water into the soil. The City measures impervious area using aerial photography data.