Vienna utility officials discuss Pond Run dredging, stormwater funding and possible incentives

At a recent meeting of the Vienna Utility Board, staff and members outlined a plan to dredge Pond Run and described limits on stormwater funding, while discussing incentives and ordinance enforcement to reduce street runoff.

The board was told the drawings for the Pond Run/dry-dam dredging project are complete and the project has entered environmental review, though staff said they still must coordinate with mall property owners and verify easements before work begins. "We have got the drawings completed. We're going through environmental now. We still need to meet with the folks at the mall just to make sure they're aware of what we're doing," a public works superintendent said.

The meeting featured an extended discussion about how stormwater work is funded. A utility manager said the city charges a monthly stormwater fee of $4 for residential accounts and $10 for commercial accounts, and that the city budget includes a roughly $100,000 annual charge tied to stormwater. "It's on a monthly fee for…