Stormwater

The Howard Village Board decided to create a storm water utility as it was the best way to:

• Support storm water management operations
• Allow all entities responsible for storm water runoff to pay for their share of the pollutants in the runoff

Prior to creation of the storm water utility, only taxable entities (residential and commercial properties) were paying for storm water costs. With the creation of the utility, tax exempt organizations also are required to pay their share of the cost of the utility.

Funding

The federal government created the need for more management of storm water through the enactment of a federal clean water act. The State of Wisconsin has been giving grant money to the village for the creation of a storm water management plan and installation of new detention ponds to help clean storm water runoff before the water enters into natural streams and rivers.

The Village of Howard uses grant funds for constructing and maintaining the new ponds, along with other infrastructure and equipment needed to manage the storm water.

Equivalent Residential Units

Billings for the storm water utility are added to the monthly water and sanitary sewer statements. Billings are based on equivalent residential units (ERUs) of impervious surface. One ERU is equal to 3,301-square-feet of impervious surface per parcel. For each home, business or non-profit organization, the ERUs are calculated to enable billing by the utility.
 
Some parcels will have more than one ERU and some will have less than one ERU. The ERU of 3,301-square-feet was derived by an average of all residential properties within the village.