THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407080257
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: BY JAMES K. SPORE
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Property owners in Virginia Beach are receiving their storm-water utility bills in the mail this month. As surveys indicate, most residents are unclear what the fee is used for. Storm water utility fees provide funding necessary for flood control, water-quality improvements and to meet federal and state water-quality standards.
Storm water runoff is a problem in most cities and more so in Virginia Beach, where heavy clay soil consistency repels water absorption.
As storm runoff flows across yards, streets, ditches, and through drainage pipes, it picks up pollutants. Oils, detergents, pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals can be washed into our wetlands and waterways, thus polluting our waters and threatening marine life.
Recent surveys show that Virginia Beach residents consider clean water a high priority. The Storm Water Management Fund provides the needed dollars for services necessary to improve and ensure water quality and flood control as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency and Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality.
The federal storm-water regulations require local governments to reduce pollutants in their storm-water discharges. These requirements were passed on to the cities without any funding. The storm-water utility fee approved by City Council in 1992 is used solely for storm-water control and improvements, avoiding a citywide property tax in-crease.
The city's storm-water management system covers four primary aspects: compliance with the federal and state regulations, operations and maintenance of the storm-water system, ongoing Capital Improvement projects and customer service. The funds generated by the utility fee go directly to fulfilling these targeted areas.
Construction of new storm-water facilities are a part of the city's Capital Improvement Program. Operations and maintenance activities include dredging debris from the city's storm drainage system of pipes, ditches, ponds, lakes and canals and repairing and cleaning storm-water quality-control structures. In addition, storm-drainage discharges are monitored to ensure that water-quality standards are met.
Single-family homes are all charged the same $8.22 per-quarter fee. Non-residential and multifamily residential units are assessed a fee based on how much impervious surface they have compared to the amount of impervious surface of a residence. Impervious surface is any area of property that is covered or compacted so that water will not filter into it. Building roofs, streets, sidewalks and parking lots are examples of impervious sur-faces.
Not only does the fee work to fulfill the requirements of the federal, state and local governments; it also works to address Virginia Beach residents' concerns for clean water and a healthier environment both now and in the future. MEMO: James K. Spore is city manager of Virginia Beach.James K. Spore is city
manager of Virginia Beach. by CNB