Salem committee backs $100,000 appropriation for stormwater utility study

The Salem City Administration Finance Committee voted June 26 to send a positive recommendation to the full Salem City Council to appropriate $100,000 from retained earnings in the water/sewer fund for a stormwater utility study.

The study is intended to produce a fee model that would allocate stormwater management costs by impervious surface — such as roofs and parking lots — rather than by water usage, and to identify potential credits for properties that already manage runoff on-site. The committee’s recommendation was made by Councilor Harvey and seconded by Councilor Stott and carried by the committee members present.

Committee members and city staff told the committee the study would separate stormwater costs from existing water and sewer rates and provide data needed to design an equitable fee. “Retained earnings is not from tax dollars, but customer fees that are collected,” Chair Merkel said during the discussion. The administration noted $50,000 already exists in the budget from last year but that recent contractor quotes indicate that amount is not sufficient to complete the study.

Deb Duhamel, Salem’s city engineer, described the regulatory and technical context the city faces. She said the city maintains an EPA Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit and conducts testing at outfalls; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not typically conduct the sampling itself and relies on the city’s results. “Any runoff from the streets…goes into pipes, and those pipes discharge either into a river or the ocean,” Duhamel said, adding that some discharges — such as pool water containing chlorine — can harm aquatic life if routed directly to catch basins and outfalls.

Duhamel explained how a stormwater utility fee is typically calculated: officials estimate the cost to maintain and upgrade stormwater infrastructure and allocate that cost across the city based on impervious surface area. She said the study would also establish a credit system so properties that already manage stormwater on-site would pay less. The study would account for ongoing permit costs as well as potential infrastructure work such as replacing or adding catch basins.

Committee members asked about precedents and how existing stormwater controls on newer developments would be treated. Duhamel said some New England municipalities have adopted such fees and that many communities in the Midwest use them; she added that the study would determine how to credit sites that have invested in on-site management versus older development that has not. Councilor Stott asked for examples of other towns and was invited to receive follow-up information by email.

At the end of the meeting, Councilor Harvey moved to forward the appropriation to the full council with a positive recommendation; Councilor Stott seconded. The chair recorded the motion as carrying by the committee members present. The full Salem City Council will consider the appropriation and any policy decisions that follow from the study at a future meeting.