[Archived] City of Alexandria Accepting Applications for Stormwater Utility Fee Credit Program

­­For Immediate Release: January 28, 2022

The City of Alexandria is accepting applications for its Stormwater Utility Fee (SWU) Credit Program through February 15.

The program allows businesses and residents to lower their annual SWU fees by participating in stormwater management practices on their private properties. The goal is to enhance stormwater management across Alexandria.

The SWU fee is used as a dedicated funding source to mitigate flooding and protect local water quality in the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. The City’s stormwater program accomplishes this by designing and building capital projects, enforcing local ordinances, and operating and maintaining the City’s stormwater infrastructure. The fee is based on the property’s impervious surface area, which prevents stormwater from naturally soaking into the ground and increases polluted runoff in stormwater sewer systems and waterways.

Stormwater management practices that offset these impacts and are eligible for the SWU fee credit include:

• Installing a rain barrel
• Planting a new native tree 
• Digging a rain garden 
• Maintaining existing stormwater management facilities

Stormwater management practices are eligible for the SWU fee credit for each year an application is submitted to the City with supporting documentation. Qualifying credits are reflected on real estate tax bills in May and November.

All applications for this year are due by February 15. Applications can be completed online through the Eco-City Alexandria Clean Waterways stormwater credit option on the City’s Real Estate Assessments webpage, emailed to stormwater@alexandriava.gov or printed and mailed to Stormwater Management, 2900-B Business Center Drive, Alexandria, VA 22314. 

Visit the Stormwater Utility Fee program website for more information.

For inquiries from the news media only, contact Andrea Blackford, Editorial Communications Manager, at andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.

To request reasonable disability accommodation, contact geralyn.taylor@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4084, Virginia Relay 711.