Stormwater Utility
A stormwater utility is the most equitable way to cover the costs of stormwater services provided throughout the city. With this type of utility, fees are not distributed evenly across all properties. Instead, they are based on each property’s impervious surface area. Examples of common impervious surfaces include:
- Rooftops
- Sidewalks
- Driveways
- Patios
- parking lots
- storage areas
- compacted gravel surfaces
Properties with more impervious area contribute more stormwater runoff into the City’s stormwater system; thus, those properties pay a larger stormwater utility fee.
For more information, see Chapter 143 of the Altoona Code of Ordinances.
ERU
Altoona’s stormwater utility fees are based on an equivalent residential unit (ERU). A single ERU is equal to the amount of impervious surface on an average residential property. To determine the size of an ERU, Altoona evaluated 10% of existing residential properties. The result was an ERU value of 4,000 square feet of impervious surface.
Utility Rates & Billing
Residential properties are all assessed at one ERU. Commercial businesses are assessed based on how many ERUs of impervious surface they have. For example, a business with 12,000 sq. ft. of impervious surface will be charged for three ERUs per month.
Stormwater utility fees are billed monthly along with other City utilities. The cost per ERU is established by the City Council. See Chapter 144 of the Altoona Code of Ordinances for more information.
You can find the current stormwater utility rates and billing schedules on our Utility Billing webpage: