Stormwater Fee

The Stormwater Fee, which is part of your monthly water utility bill, helps pay for maintenance, repairs and expansion of the City’s stormwater system.

Storm drain with grate. Yellow curb behind and concrete surrounding.

Stormwater runoff—rain or snowmelt that flows over hard surfaces—can carry pollutants into our rivers, overwhelm drainage systems and cause localized flooding. To manage these challenges, the City of Bend maintains an extensive stormwater system that includes pipes, catch basins, and treatment facilities. The Stormwater Fee ensures this system remains effective and resilient, supporting both public safety and environmental health.

Current Stormwater Fee Rate

$8.16 per ERU* as of July 1, 2025

*Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU). One ERU is equal to 3,800 square feet of “impervious surface” coverage —the average amount for a single-family home in Bend. “Impervious surfaces” are hard, non-porous surfaces that don’t absorb water.

How the Fee is Calculated

The monthly stormwater fee is based on the amount of impervious surfaces on your property – those hard, non-porous surfaces that prevent or slow down water soaking into the ground. Common examples of impervious surfaces include building roofs, walkways, patios, driveways, parking lots, concrete or asphalt paving, gravel roads and packed dirt.

Appealing Stormwater Fees

If you think the impervious surface coverage calculated for your site is wrong, you can take the following steps to appeal:

  1. Check the links below for information, instructions, and forms to start the appeal process.
  2. To request a map showing the impervious surface designation for your site, contact the City of Bend Stormwater division at 541-317-3000, ext. 2.
  3. Provide your contact information, account number, and, if available, your tax lot number.

Apply for a Stormwater Credit

If you own a commercial, industrial, or multi-family property in Bend, you may be able to lower your stormwater bill. The City of Bend offers credits to property owners who go above and beyond in managing stormwater on-site. This helps reduce flooding, protect water quality, and lower the City’s costs. To learn how the credit program works and whether your property qualifies:

Stormwater Fee History

On June 20, 2007, City Council approved a $4 monthly service charge for each equivalent residential unit (ERU) to help fund the stormwater utility. This fee started on July 1, 2007, and was created to support the cost of managing stormwater in our community. Over time, the fee has been adjusted to keep up with the cost of providing these important services:

  • In July 2015, the fee increased to $5 per ERU
  • In July 2017, it went up to $5.30
  • In July 2018, it rose to $5.46
  • And in July 2019, it increased again to $5.62

Community Involvement

When the fee was established, the City formed a Stormwater Utility Fee Citizens Task Force to work together and give feedback about how the fee should be set up. The City is updating the Stormwater Master Plan and will revisit the fee structure, and these processes include community engagement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Approximately $6.2 to 6.8 million annually. This program will fund operations, maintenance, capital improvements, development review, utility administrative services, field inspection and stormwater quality regulatory compliance.

The service charge is based on the amount of impervious surface area within a property. Impervious surface area is the best indicator of how much you use the stormwater system. Single-family homes provide the basis for the rate in that the average amount of impervious area on a single-family residence in Bend, based on a sample of 100 randomly selected lots, is just over 3,800 square feet or 1 equivalent residential unit (ERU). 

All non-single-family parcels pay a multiple of this base rate according to their measured impervious area.

Bills are based on a housing unit’s water meter. When two or more housing units share a meter, it’s considered “multi-family” housing.

For a person who lives in a multi-family home that was permitted to have its own meter when it was built, the City bills the owner of that unit as a single-family dwelling.

Most multi-family units share one big meter, so we bill the owner’s association for all the charges on one bill since all the owners are sharing a meter and we cannot parse out who used what, and the stormwater charge is determined by the amount of impervious surface for the tax lot.

No, the fee is an ongoing monthly service charge for the development of a stormwater maintenance program, operations, facilities, and water quality compliance.

Yes. It includes a review of the accuracy of the City’s measurements or the calculation of the service fee for non-residential customers. Appeal and credit programs exist. The City also reviews costs of services and fee structures regularly in alignment with plans, such as the Stormwater Master Plan.

Impervious area on non-residential properties was originally measured from June 2006 satellite photos with the actual measurement done via computer imaging. This produces a high degree of accuracy. A process is in place to record the impervious surface area of new, and redevelopments constructed since June 2006.

Give us a call at 541-317-3000, ext. 2 and we will be happy to see what can be done.

Yes. Large and small communities throughout the nation have adopted stormwater control programs and applied user fees. Most of the Portland Metro cities and many other Oregon cities have stormwater utilities in place.

You might not have a problem, but the runoff generated from your property contributes to the overall problem. For example, fertilizer from your lawn adds phosphates, a key pollutant carried in storm sewers. Eventually, everybody will share improved water quality and environment, better access to public roads and right-of-ways during storm events and reduced flooding on our transportation systems.

Your property may not be physically connected to the drainage system in the same manner as water or sewer, but you and your property are still being provided with service. How? The City’s stormwater program improves and maintains those upstream stormwater facilities that protect your property. They establish design criteria and regulate development that helps control off site stormwater problems. The program is taking steps to reduce stormwater pollutants that affect the Deschutes River and the drinking water quality of all community members in Bend (whether they have City of Bend, private well, Avion, or Roats water service. Every property and person in Bend is served by these activities.

There are credits available for those providing water quantity and quality facilities beyond City standards. The City has established a service charge reduction for those having qualifying facilities on-site. Depending on the design of the facility, this may be eligible for a credit. Credit application forms are available here: Stormwater Utility Service Charge Credit Program Application Packet. If you believe the City has incorrectly estimated the impervious area on your property, or if you have removed impervious surfaces or restored compacted soil, you may be eligible for an adjustment and can follow instructions provided in the Stormwater Impervious Surface Coverage Appeals Form.

Contacts