Bowling Green staff outline stormwater utility plan; city approves purchase of 1112 Cave Mill Road for flood control

City staff on Tuesday updated Bowling Green City Commission members on a proposed stormwater utility that would fund inspections, repairs and larger water-quality projects and described a fee-in-lieu option that would let developers pay into a city-managed fund instead of installing on-site treatment. Commissioners later approved the purchase of 1112 Cave Mill Road as a site for additional stormwater capacity.

The update, presented by Courtney Howe of the environmental compliance division, said staff and consultants are drafting ordinance language and expect to present an ordinance for a vote in two to three months, with an intended utility launch of January 1. Howe described a draft fee structure under consideration of $4 per month for single-family residences and duplexes and $2 per month for multifamily units and mobile home community units. Commercial and industrial rates would be calculated from an equivalent residential unit (ERU) based on the average impervious area of a single-family residence in Bowling Green; the consultant is measuring a selected representative area of the city to set that baseline ERU.

Howe said the city is studying existing…