The Sugar Land City Council has approved a new charge designed to generate more funds for stormwater management. The City Council approved the rate changes during a Dec. 6 Sugar Land City Council meeting.

Officials said during the meeting the adaptive rate will be used to generate some $2.2 million in funds that will be used to develop a stronger drainage system across the city.

The rate will be charged to each home and business, and is adaptive based on the size of each property’s impervious area, or the amount of area on a property that groundwater cannot penetrate, such as concrete driveways or foundations.

For single-family homes, the monthly rate is listed below and is based on impervious area square footage.

• Tier 1: 0-3,500 square feet ($1.98)
• Tier 2: 3,501-4,800 square feet ($2.96)
• Tier 3: 4,801 square feet and up ($4.44)

Annually, Tier 1 homes would pay $23.76; Tier 2 homes would pay $35.52; and Tier 3 homes would pay $53.28.

There is a separate rate for commercial and multifamily properties as well as places of worship. The rate for these entities is the total square footage of the impervious area divided by 4,200 and multiplied by $2.96. For example, a 48,000-square-foot property that includes 34,000 square feet of impervious surface area would pay $287.54 annually. That comes by dividing 34,000 by 4,200, then multiplying by $2.96 for the monthly fee. Multiplying by 12 would then calculate the annual fee.

The ordinance takes effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and will be included in residents' and businesses' monthly water bills.

Read the full ordinance here.