Austin's Watershed Protection Department shared hypothetical charge calculations under the new fee structure.[/caption] The method for determining how much of a drainage fee to charge each resident or business on their water bill will now change based on Austin City Council action taken June 25. The drainage fee for single-family and multifamily residents is currently a flat rate of $9.80—with the exception of those who live in high rises six stories or taller. Austin's Watershed Department will change how it asses the drainage fee beginning Oct. 1 with the new fee anticipated to be seen on November's bill. The drainage fee will now take into consideration the percentage of impervious cover on a given property. Should the property's pavement or its building footprint take up a higher percentage of the property than green space, the drainage fee will be higher for that property. Impervious cover was taken higher into account when restructuring the drainage fee structure because the more impervious means the more water or debris runoff that property will contribute to the city's drainage system, according to city staff. This change comes after a court challenge found the existing way drainage fees are assessed is not "equitable" or "reasonable," according to Craig Bell, outreach coordinator for the city's Watershed Protection Department. However, the department intended on changing the fee structure for some time before the court ruling, he said. Under the new structure, 88 percent of multifamily residents are expected to see a decrease in their drainage fee. To help reduce the potentially increased burden placed on homeowners, Austin City Council approved a 50 percent cap on drainage fee increases. For instance, if a resident's bill should increase by $4.10, the actual increase will only be $2.05—meaning the final drainage fee charge would total $11.85, according to Watershed Protection Department documents. However, the baseline drainage fee may also need to increase to help compensate for multifamily residents paying less, Bell said. Such an increase would affect all customers. Changes from the Watershed Protection Department do affect all multifamily properties with more than four units, which will now have drainage fees assessed to the property owner and not individual tenants, Bell said. Condominium residents will also have the drainage fee billed to their respective homeowners associations instead of being billed to each unit.