Hurricane Irma
As we continue our recovery and cleanup efforts, please visit the Emergency website for the latest information on openings and closings in Miami-Dade County.
Stormwater Utility
The Stormwater Utility was established in 1991 to properly manage the environmental impact of stormwater pollution and to provide adequate flood protection.
The Utility was created to help solve the problem of polluted stormwater and to improve the drainage capability of areas that are susceptible to flooding. Impervious areas create barriers to rainwater, limiting the ability of water to soak into the ground and recharge our aquifer. Special structures need to be built to drain these areas.
Fees collected by the Stormwater Utility go toward the planning, construction, operation and maintenance of stormwater management systems – such as canal and drainage improvement projects and secondary drainage systems - in unincorporated portions of the County and within certain municipalities.
They also go toward reducing pollution caused by silt, oil, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides and other litter carried by the stormwater to the drainage systems and canals that have been developed to prevent flooding during heavy rainfall. Stormwater drains not only have to remove water from the streets as quickly as possible, but they also have to deal with all of the contaminants that get picked up along the way.
For more information about the Stormwater Utility, call 305-372-6688 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
How Utility Fees are calculated
Stormwater Utility Fees are assigned to all developed residential and non-residential properties and are determined as a function of equivalent residential units (ERU) for residential properties and by determining the impervious area for non-residential properties.
Instead of tacking the fee to everyone’s property tax, the Utility measures the size of a given property that is impervious to rainwater and calculates the fee based on that figure.
That way, the Stormwater Utility charges a fee based on the runoff generated from those impervious surfaces (like rooftops and parking lots), since this runoff is what the Stormwater Utility will to have to handle.
For residential properties, the Utility conducted a statistical analysis to establish an ERU. The value of one ERU is set at 1,548 square feet and incurs a charge of $5 per month for residential homes. The $5-a-month Utility fee is one of the lowest rates in the state of Florida.
Commercial, industrial and other non-residential properties are calculated using the same ERU concept, but account for the exact footage of a facility and all impervious surfaces when determining the total monthly stormwater fee.
To determine the Stormwater Utility fee for non-residential properties, take the total square footage of the property’s impervious surfaces, divide by 1,548 (the size of one ERU) and multiply by $5 (the cost of one ERU). As an example, a non-residential property with a total impervious area of 4,644 square feet would pay $15 per month in Stormwater Utility fees (using this calculation: 4,644 / 1,548 X $5 = $15).
Paying your Utility bill
If you are billed directly by the Miami-Dade County Stormwater Utility, you may pay your bill online.
If you are billed the stormwater fee on your Miami-Dade Water and Sewer bill, you can make a payment on the Water and Sewer Department website.
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