In an effort to address aging storm water infrastructure in Canfield and Boardman, ABC Water and Storm Water District will implement a plan to raise money by charging a storm water utility fee.
According to district board members, the ABC Water and Storm Water District will begin charging residents a fee based on their storm water runoff next year. How much the fee will be is still to be confirmed.
An engineer’s study approved by the board in 2013 will provide the date for calculating a base rate for equivalent residential units (ERU). Each property will be evaluated to determine its ERU amounts, which would be dependent on how much of the property was made up of waterproof surfaces.
Boardman and Canfield have aging storm water infrastructure built between the 1940s and 1960s. The townships will likely have to call on brochure printers to help inform the public of the need for the storm water runoff fees, and how the money collected and grant money will be used to update or replace the system.
The ABC district has yet to become functional despite having been formed in 2009 to address the storm water issues facing its townships. One of the biggest advantages provided by ABC is its ability to permit the townships to tap into federal grant money, which was something they could not do individually.
