Stormwater

The Stormwater Utility Fee is a funding mechanism to maintain stormwater infrastructure, prevent flooding, mitigate damage from costly natural disasters, and meet the requirements of the City’s state and federally-mandated stormwater permit.

You will be billed $0.220 per 50 sq ft of impervious surface. Please note that each property will be evaluated on its specific impervious area.

The equitably funded utility will be charged to all properties in the City, including typically tax-exempt organizations. City-owned properties and cemeteries are exempt. 

Residential customers will be billed every other month on their existing utility bill with water, sewer, and trash. Non-residential customers will be billed monthly on their existing utility bill unless their property did not have a pre-existing utility bill. Then, a special stormwater utility bill will be mailed to them monthly.

Winchester is one of 30 localities in Virginia with a Stormwater Utility Fee.

Stormwater improvement projects, starting with constructing four wet ponds to retain stormwater runoff and aesthetically improve North Cameron and North Kent Streets. By the end of 2024, construction should be underway on ten additional stormwater capital improvement projects.

Yes! You can lower your bill by up to 50% by installing rain barrels or rain gardens, planting trees, signing a “No Fertilizer Pledge,” or participating in the City’s “Pickup Parties.”

The City’s policy is to review any bill in question. If you still have a concern, you can file a formal appeal.

Yes, the fee will still apply, but a credit may be available.

Yes! The City has been discussing adding a Stormwater Utility Fee since 2008, and was most recently brought to council again in 2022 and approved in 2023. Below is a list of all public input sessions related to the 2023 approval.

• January 1, 2024 - Proposed billing start date
• Beginning at the March 14, 2023 Council Meeting – Council will continue the discussion of the rate and credit proposal (will take at least two meetings to finalize – earliest the rate could be adopted is the March 28, 2023 meeting)
• February 7, 2023 - Potential fees and credits discussed at the Finance Committee meeting
• January 26, 2023 - Improvement projects, maintenance, and regulations discussed at the Planning and Economic Development Committee meeting
• July 12, 2022 - Council unanimously approved the creation of a stormwater utility at the regular meeting (presented at the 6/14/22 Work Session, first reading held at the 6/28/22 Council Meeting)

Winchester is one of 30 localities in Virginia with a stormwater utility fee. The City faces increasing unfunded mandates to monitor and maintain the stormwater system. Also, the infrastructure in the City is aging, and the costs of operating and maintaining the public stormwater system are growing. A properly operating stormwater system is critical to protecting public health and safety, minimizing flooding, and meeting water quality protection requirements. The Stormwater Utility Fee allows the City to have a dedicated, stable fund to support needed investment in the public stormwater management system.