Stormwater utility fees and household affordability of urban water services

Bibliographic Data

ID21697221
AuthorsErik Porse (0000-0002-6691-2104, a Office of Water Programs, California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6025, USA, corresponding author), Maureen Kerner (a Office of Water Programs, California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6025, USA), Joel Shinneman (a Office of Water Programs, California State University, Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6025, USA), Jonathan Kaplan (0000-0002-6610-0528, California State University System), Jonathan D Kaplan (California State University, Sacramento), Samuel Stone (0000-0002-3736-9325, California State University System), Mary L Cadenasso (0000-0002-6521-067X, University of California System)
Year2022
Volume24
Issue6
Pages998-1013
Publication date2022-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWater Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1366-7017 • E-ISSN: 1996-9759
PublisherIWA Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.2166/wp.2022.024
OpenAlexW4280613137
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited24

Stormwater utility fees provide dedicated revenues for managing stormwater. In setting fees, household-level affordability should be considered. Existing research does not address methods to evaluate the affordability of stormwater utility fees, especially alongside other household water costs. This paper aims to fill that gap. We present a scenario-based approach to evaluate household affordability of stormwater utility fees in a municipality, which considers other essential household water service charges. We estimate the relative contribution of stormwater utility fees to total household water costs and evaluate affordability across income brackets by integrating data for socioeconomic status, land use, water utility charges, and impervious surface cover. Using data for a case study region, results indicate that stormwater utility fees are small contributors to overall household urban water costs and comprise no more than 2% of the median household income across nearly all income quintiles. For low-income households, stormwater charges only exceed 1% of the household income for the lowest-income brackets (<$20,000) and still represent a small portion of household water costs. The analysis demonstrates a generalizable approach that can be applied everywhere when evaluating a stormwater utility fee as a funding strategy

Agricultural economics · Business · Economics · Environmental planning · Geography · Household income · Impervious surface · Population · Revenue · Socioeconomic status · Stormwater · Surface runoff · Water resource management · Environmental Science · Urban Stormwater Management Solutions · Water resources management and optimization · Water Systems and Optimization · Finance

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