Barrington officials have started early work on establishing a stormwater enterprise fund, and part of that fund would require a new fee from all residential and commercial property owners.

According to Barrington Planning, Building, and Resilience Director Herb Durfee, stormwater enterprise funds or stormwater utilities are used to pay for infrastructure maintenance and to meet federal environmental requirements. 

“Rather than relying entirely on property taxes, these utilities typically fund their programs through fees based on the amount of impervious surface area on a property,” Durfee wrote in a recent message to the Barrington Times. 

Durfee detailed how the new fee is, by definition, not a tax but rather a charge for the service of providing stormwater management.

Currently the Barrington Department of Public Works handles drainage projects and fulfills all Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management requirements. The DPW budget includes a line item dedicated to drainage projects. Some stormwater management projects are funded through grant programs. 

Durfee said the town is receiving some free technical assistance from the Southeast New England Program, which is conducting some feasibility analysis related to establishing a stormwater enterprise fund. He added that Southeast New England Program is partnering with the New England Environmental Finance Center, which “is allowing the consulting services of Horsley Witten Group to help conduct the technical assistance/feasibility study.”

Durfee said Bristol completed a similar analysis a few years ago.

According to Durfee, most towns use an “ERU” model — Equivalent Residential Unit — to structure stormwater utility rates.

“Under this system, single-family residential homes are typically grouped into a flat fee or basic tiers,” Durfee wrote, “while commercial, industrial, and multi-family properties are charged proportionally based on the exact square footage of their impervious surface area (such as roofs, driveways, and parking lots).”

Durfee said that there are credits that can be built into the rate structure based on property owners’ efforts to address stormwater on their parcels. 

Officials said that a fee that funds stormwater utilities is not a tax. They said it should be viewed as any other utility charge — they compared it to the sewer/wastewater fee or the a fee paid to the local water authority. Durfee wrote that the costs associated with stormwater management are often hidden if the town does not have a dedicated stormwater fee. 

Durfee expects there will be some opportunities for public engagement on the topic. He added that an ad-hoc stormwater committee is being assembled — it will include staff members, residents, and people with statewide experience on the topic. 

Different neighborhoods in Barrington use different stormwater management strategies, officials confirmed. Some have water retention areas or ditches, while others rely on sheet flow. Town officials confirmed that some neighborhoods do not have stormwater drainage systems.