Ann Arbor storm water rates and environmental goals

Like Moses coming down the mountain with the 10 commandments, Ann Arbor is proclaiming its own 10 environmentally conscious goals and implementing a new storm water policy that promises to be more environmentally friendly.

The City Council has come up with 10 environmental conscious goals that it hopes will make the city a cleaner, healthier and better place. These include:

• CLEAN AIR Eliminate air toxics, criteria pollutants, and persistent bioaccmulative toxins (PBT)
• CLEAN WATER Ensure safe water for drinking, recreation, other uses, and other species
• EFFICIENT MOBILITY Provide efficient transportation alternatives
• HEALTH PROMOTING URBAN ENVIRONMENT Ensure that the built environment promotes public health and improvements to the natural environment
• LOCAL FOOD SUFFICIENCY Conserve, protect, and restore local agriculture and aquaculture resources
• RESPONSIBLE RESOURCE USE Produce zero waste
• SAFE COMMUNITY Eliminate damage to public health and property from natural and other hazards
• STABLE CLIMATE Eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and other negative climate impacts
• SUSTAINABLE ENERGY Produce and Use 100% renewable energy
• VIABLE ECOSYSTEMS Conserve, protect, and restore aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

The city is also lessening the financial burden on homeowners who lessen the amount of storm water runoff from their homes. A four-tier billing system has been created for owners of single- and two-family homes. Which tier a home falls into depends on the amount of its impervious area – the hard surfaces that don't absorb water such as rooftops, and pavement. Previously homeowners paid a flat fee of $22.75 per quarter for storm water.

The idea is to encourage homeowners to install more environmentally friendly options that absorb storm water, such as green roofs or rain barrels. These help lessen the pressure on the sewer system and prevents pollutants, such as fertilizer or oil, from running into local bodies of water via storm water runoff.

For information on the new system or the city's environmental goals, call (734) 994-2766 or visit http://www.a2gov.org/storm.

Source: City of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke