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| New Stormwater Management Ordinance A new stormwater management ordinance was adopted in June of 2004 that required more stringent stormwater requirements than the ones that were required when your subdivision was constructed. More than likely, the ponds you refer to were sized according to the Rational Method, which is a sizing formula that is no longer allowed because it undersizes detention ponds (hence one of the reasons for adopting a new ordinance). Also, traditional detention ponds only serve the purpose of detaining the flow in order to allow it to drain at the same flow rate as it did before the land was developed. While it may appear to evaporate or percolate into the soil, it is more likely the water is primarily being released slowly from the outlet structure into the downstream drainage system as this is what detention ponds are designed to do. Ponds are not supposed to hold water longer than about 2 to 3 days as this creates a mosquito nuisance and a drowning hazard that sometimes creates the need for fencing in order to prohibit children from getting into the pond. If this is not the case with the ponds in your subdivision, it may be that the pond needs maintenance in order for it to operate as it was designed. New regulations require that developments use approved stormwater management facilities to treat the quality of a certain volume of stormwater such as wet ponds or bioretention areas, among other things. The design standards adopted are all detailed in the Georgia Stormwater Management Manual. It may be that your subdivision's ponds meet some of the current criteria, but it is unlikely that they meet all the criteria. All properties in the development that drain to these facilities could potentially receive a credit. However, for anyone to receive a credit on their utility fee, the ponds must be re-evaluated by a professional engineer and shown to meet the current code. You may be interested in how much of a credit you could potentially receive. If the ponds meet all the quantity requirements of the current code, you could be exempted from the quantity portion of the stormwater fee, which for your parcel equates to $0.87 per month. It is not possible for traditional ponds to meet any of the water quality requirements, therefore, you would still have to pay the base charge and the water quality charge. If a design was completed and approved and the pond was modified with water quality components such as modifying the outlet structure and creating micropools within the pond in order to make it more of a wet pond, or stormwater wetland, you could be exempt from the water quality portion of the fee, which for your property is $0.29 per month. The base charge of $2.07 per month would not be exempted or reduced regardless of other credits received. (There again, stormwater wetlands sometimes require fencing because of permanently ponded water. However, in these facilities mosquitoes are typically prevented with "mosquito fish" that are allowed to live in the pond to eat mosquito larvae.) Unfortunately, it is not usually cost effective for single family homeowners to show existing stormwater facilities meet the current criteria in order to receive a credit because the fee for most single family homes is so minimal compared to other types of developments. In some cases with different situations, some things are "grandfathered in" when new standards are adopted. However, in the case of stormwater management facilities, it was not fair and equitable to offer credits to existing stormwater facilities that are known to be inadequate with the old design standards. I hope this answers your question adequately. If you would like to discuss further, you are welcome to give me a call. Thanks, |
