Oro Valley approves phased stormwater fee increase; staff outlines spending priorities and projects

Oro Valley’s mayor and council approved a phased, three-year increase to the town’s stormwater utility fee, and Stormwater Division Manager Dennis Roberts used the Jan. 15 Stormwater Utility Commission meeting to brief newly appointed commissioners on how the money will be used.

“The decision ensures we have resources needed to maintain compliance, improve infrastructure and continue serving the community effectively,” Roberts said, describing the council action taken on Jan. 14.

The utility currently charges single-family residential properties a flat fee of $4.50 per month. Roberts explained the system also bills commercial properties by impervious area using a standard equivalent residential unit, or ERU, defined in Oro Valley as 4,000 square feet of impervious surface. Staff presented worked examples and said the town has 19,754 residential accounts and 330 commercial accounts representing 8,839 ARUs (accounting units).

Roberts described the approved schedule for the phased increase: the first adjustment begins July 1, 2026, moving the per-ERU charge to roughly $5.17, with additional increases phased in the next two fiscal years and a full per-ERU rate of $6.50 effective July 1, 2028. Roberts said those increases will produce about $391,000 in additional annual revenue when fully implemented.

Roberts emphasized that the stormwater utility operates as an enterprise fund and that revenue from the fee is restricted to stormwater activities. “There’s no co-mingling between those two funds,” he said, describing the separation between stormwater revenues and the general fund.

Why it matters: Oro Valley’s stormwater program is responsible for planning, building and maintaining drainage infrastructure and for meeting state and federal stormwater-permit obligations under the small MS4 program administered by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ). Roberts told commissioners the utility must implement six minimum control measures required by the MS4 permit — from public education to illicit-discharge detection — and that no federal or state funding is provided for day-to-day compliance.

Roberts also outlined near-term priorities: strengthening long-term capital planning, improving system mapping and asset management, enhancing public outreach, and addressing high-priority erosion and drainage risks. He said staff has identified about 53 candidate capital projects; smaller efforts are estimated at roughly $15,000–$80,000, while larger projects can range from about $100,000 up to $1,000,000.

Commissioners asked questions about how fees are calculated, whether the increase affected commercial accounts and how the revenue will be allocated. Roberts confirmed the ERU formula applies to all property types and said 100 percent of fee revenue will be used for stormwater operations, maintenance, reserves and capital projects. He also said the Notice of Intent process for the rate review generated no public comments during the published NOI period.

Councilmember Harry Green, speaking earlier in the meeting, praised Roberts’ presentation to council: “He gave them the history … he knocked it out of the park,” Green said.

Next steps: Roberts said staff will present a prioritized 10-year capital improvement program and refined cost estimates to the commission at future meetings and will work with the commission on a formal rate-review schedule and related outreach.