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1 <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />We have been able to identify 1716 U.S. stormwater utilities that have formed nationwide and 29 in <br />Canada. There are now 6 states with 100 or more stormwater utilities (SWUs). Forty states and DC have <br />at least one SWU. Figure 1 shows U.S. stormwater utilities by location. <br /> <br />As Figure 2 shows, one of the very disappointing aspects of the SWU map is that Louisiana and Mississippi <br />have missed a golden opportunity to encourage stormwater utilities. Twelve years after Hurricane <br />Katrina, neither of the hardest hit states has formed a SWU as far as we can tell. However, New Orleans <br />is considering a stormwater utility to maintain their extensive flood protection systems. Also, until <br />recently neither of the two states hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy (NJ and CT) had a stormwater utility. <br />Now Connecticut has its first (New London) and New Jersey has passed a state law allowing stormwater <br />utilities to form in the state. Anchorage, Alaska has let a contract to develop a stormwater utility. If these <br />come to fruition, we will have more states with SWUs. <br /> <br />One community official said, “We are too small to have a stormwater utility.” The smallest community <br />with a stormwater utility that we have found is Indian Creek Village, Florida with a 2010 census population <br />of 88 (no, this is not a misprint). The largest community is Los Angeles with a population exceeding <br />3,000,000. The average SWU community population is about 68500 and the median is 18,493. No <br />community is too small nor too large to have a stormwater utility. <br /> <br />At some point, this survey will become unnecessary as every community will have some appropriate <br />stormwater funding mechanism. When will this occur? We have identified 1681 SWUs in the U.S. and 29 <br />in Canada, and as this is written 22,389 communities participate in the National Flood Insurance Program <br />(NFIP) (FEMA’s Community Status Book: https://www.fema.gov/cis/nation.pdf). This survey will be <br />necessary for some years to come. <br /> <br />The Data <br /> <br />Part of our raw data is contained in the Table in Appendix A. As this is written, our survey contains data <br />on 1716 stormwater utilities (SWUs) located in 40 states and the District of Columbia (Figure 1). Based <br />on our current find rate, my best guess would be that there are more than 2000 SWUs in the U.S. More <br />are being formed all the time and we are aware of several that will form within the next few months. <br /> <br />Figure 2 shows the number of stormwater utilities by state. It also emphasizes that SWU formation is not <br />governed by politics. Red states supported the Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election <br />and blue states the Democratic candidate. At least 6 states have more than 100 SWUs. Democratic <br />leaning Washington and Minnesota have more than 100 SWUs while conservative leaning Texas, Ohio, <br />and Florida also have more than 100. <br /> <br />Nationwide, the average monthly single-family residential fee was $5.85, the standard deviation was <br />$4.50, and the median fee was $4.75. Most fees go up over time reflecting an increase in the Consumer <br />Price Index (CPI). Some communities actually tie the monthly fee to the CPI. However, several <br />communities have reduced their fees. The quartile fees are: 25% - $3.00, 50 % - $4.75, and 75 % - $7.15 <br />for an interquartile range of $4.15. <br />