Wauwatosa, WI Environmental Rules: Stormwater Management (2026)
Key Facts
- System established
- Municipal Code § 18.01.030
- Who pays
- Nearly all developed/vacant-improved lots
- Billing cycle
- Quarterly, often with water bill
- Rate basis
- Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU)
- Appeal window
- File reconsideration within 15 days
- Nonpayment
- Becomes a property lien
Summary
Wauwatosa runs a citywide stormwater management system funded by a mandatory quarterly user fee charged to nearly every developed and vacant improved property, established under Municipal Code Section 18.01.030. The council finds in Section 18.01.010 that unmanaged stormwater erodes land, damages property and pollutes waterways, justifying the fee-funded system.
18.01.010 Findings And Determinations It is found, determined and declared as follows: The management of stormwater and other surface water discharge within the city of Wauwatosa is a matter that affects the health, safety and welfare of the city, its citizens and businesses. Failure to effectively manage stormwater may create among other things, erosion of lands, damage to homes and businesses and created sedimentation and environmental damages to waterways within the city. ... 18.01.030 Stormwater Management System Established There is established a city of Wauwatosa stormwater management system.
Full Breakdown
Title 18, the Stormwater Utility, opens with the common council's formal findings under Section 18.01.010: that stormwater and surface water discharge in Wauwatosa affects the health, safety and welfare of the city, its citizens and businesses, that failure to manage it can erode land, damage homes and businesses, and cause sedimentation and environmental harm to waterways, and that the resulting stormwater management system benefits all real property in the city, including parcels not currently served by it. Section 18.01.030 formally establishes a city of Wauwatosa stormwater management system and authorizes the city to acquire, construct, operate, maintain, extend, replace, clean, dredge and finance the facilities the system needs, without limitation because of enumeration.
The system runs on a stormwater user fee imposed on every residential developed property, nonresidential developed property and vacant improved property in the city, except exempt property such as public rights-of-way, streets, alleys and sidewalks, under Section 18.01.040. The fee is billed quarterly, generally alongside the water bill for properties on city water service, and is calculated using an equivalent residential unit, or ERU, rate the common council sets by resolution under Section 18.01.050; nonresidential parcels are billed based on their total impervious area divided by the average ERU impervious area, times the ERU rate. Owners and non-owner users of a property are jointly and severally liable for the fee.
Property owners who believe their fee determination is wrong can seek a fee adjustment from the director of public works under Section 18.01.060, limited to nonresidential customers, and can request reconsideration and then appeal to the Board of Public Works under Section 18.01.070; a reconsideration request must be filed within fifteen days of the director's notice, and the board's decision on appeal is final. Delinquent stormwater fees follow the same billing, delinquency and lien procedure as water and sewer charges under Section 13.04.170.
Violations & Fines
Failure to pay the stormwater user fee is treated as a delinquent utility charge under Section 13.04.170, the same lien and collection procedure used for water and sewer bills, and can result in the unpaid balance being placed as a special charge against the property. Fee-adjustment requests filed more than fifteen days after the director's decision are barred, and the original determination becomes final.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Wauwatosa's stormwater user fee based on?
Do I still pay the stormwater fee if my property isn't connected to the storm sewer?
How do I dispute my stormwater fee bill?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Wauwatosa
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Stormwater Management in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Milwaukee County handle stormwater management.