Developing a Framework for a Sustainable Stormwater Utility

Learn how to establish, develop, and evaluate a stormwater utility in your community.

As the regulatory requirements for stormwater management continue to put financial pressure on municipal governments, more and more communities are either required to implement a stormwater program or improve their existing program to meet NPDES MS4 stormwater permit requirements and capital needs for asset renewal and upgrades. In particular, implementation of a stormwater utility and establishing a sustainable approach for funding the stormwater program is often a daunting one, considering the potential political, public and legal challenges standing in the way.

This topic will present a proven framework for a sustainable stormwater program, including the establishment of the need for the program, the identification of an appropriate funding strategy, green infrastructure funding, and process of building public support for your program. An evaluation framework using a program score card will be described for the continuous improvement of any stormwater program. In addition, successful case studies that have followed this framework will be presented. This topic is critical for any community that is either considering pursuit of a stormwater program or the improvement of its existing program in the coming years.

Learning Objectives

- You will be able to identify and understand stormwater utility drivers and funding options.

- You will be able to describe the elements of stormwater management programs.

- You will be able to review benefits of a public stakeholder process.

- You will be able to learn a framework for evaluating and improving your existing utility.