Stormwater Utility

March 2021 - Stormwater Discharge Public Notice

Background

During the 2006-2007 budget deliberations, the City Council decided to adopt a Storm Water Utility as a way to continue the work required to meet federal mandates for storm water while simultaneously creating a funding mechanism that more fairly distributes the cost of this program and provide tax relief to residents of Lewiston. These federal mandates included requirements of the Clean Water Act and include the City’s responsibilities to address Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), and NPDES Permitting (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) among others.

The storm water utility fee is based upon the impervious surface a property has, which directly correlates to the amount of amount of run-off generated from that property. Residential properties generate less run-off than parcels with large parking lots, but residential property taxes were paying 53% of the costs of these services, while tax exempt properties paid nothing.

The storm water utility corrected this inequity and reduced the City’s mill rate. If the $1.9 million in requirements were paid for with property taxes, it would cost $1.27 per $1,000 valuation. A typical single family home in the community valued at $80,000 would pay an additional $102 in property taxes toward these services. With the Storm Water Utility, this same home will pay $44.

Links to the following additional storm water information:

Stormwater Utility Updated Brochure
Stormwater Fee Schedule and Credit Policy
Direct Drainage Areas Study map
Stormwater Utility Calculation Tool - 2014 (36KB Microsoft Excel File)
City Ordinance - Chapter 74 - Utilities
Includes: Article III. Non-Storm Water Discharge
Article IV. Stormwater Utility

MS4 Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP) - June 2022
Final MEDEP Order - Permit 4 - 2022

SPECIAL NOTICE:

Sec 1 Title 30-A M.R.SA., § 3406

An Act To Allow Municipalities To Place Liens for Failure To Pay Stormwater Assessments

Be advised, effective October 15, 2013, the City of Lewiston will begin pursuing delinquent stormwater charges through the lien process.

In accordance with Section 1 of Title 30-A M.R.SA., § 3406, any person failing to pay the stormwater service fee when due shall be subject to having a stormwater lien recorded against their property, to secure the payment of the outstanding charges. Said lien will be filed at the Androscoggin Registry of Deeds. To prevent the recording of the lien, all past due stormwater and interest charged must be paid. This lien takes precedence over all other claims on the real estate, excepting only claims for taxes and sewer.

If a lien is filed, you may lose your property unless you pay the charges, plus interest & the costs associated with the lien.

Information on stormwater requirements

Stormwater NPDES Phase II Information
Hart Brook Watershed Management Plan

Lewiston Public Works in-house efforts to address stormwater requirements (see next page(s))

Public Works In-House Efforts to Address Stormwater
The NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System) Phase II program requires the City develop and implement a plan to meet the program requirements which address six minimum control measures. The actions below respond to minimum control measure Number 6: “Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping” and ensure we are in compliance with that aspect of our permit.

Good Housekeeping - Storm Water Collection Systems Operations 

Every Spring crews from each Highway District are assigned several duties including Street and Sidewalk Sweeping, Roadside Mowing, Catch Basin Cleaning and Inspections, and Maintenance of Storm Structures (pipes, catch-basins, ditches, culverts). These assignments begin as soon as weather conditions allow. These services are provided for several reasons: pedestrian and vehicle safety, aesthetic value and conformance to environmental regulations and policies.

Street and Sidewalk Sweeping

In early spring, when weather and road conditions permit, two sweeping shifts (day/night) are established to address the build-up of sand left on the streets during the winter season. The night shift sweeps the inner core of the City (with boundaries being Russell St., East Avenue, and the Androscoggin River). Because of the congestion in the downtown area, sweeping these streets at night increases production and avoids interfering with parking in the downtown area during the day. Once the night sweeping program is completed in the downtown area, maintenance sweeping begins and this continues until evenings are too cold (usually mid-November).

The day shift sweeping concentrates on sweeping the arterial streets outside the downtown area described above. The City is divided into three sweeping corridors (Main St., Lisbon St. and Sabattus St.). Main arterial streets and collector streets are first priority and are completed before all other streets in these corridors are swept. The remaining streets are swept in order of priority. The Department rotates the order each of the corridors are swept. Each year a different corridor is swept first such that every three years each of the corridors gets its turn as the first, second or third area to be completed. In the spring, sidewalks are swept to remove sand and material left during the previous winter. This effort is coordinated so that the streets where these sidewalks are located are swept soon after the sidewalk sweeping is completed.