The newly established Stormwater Utility brought about 2 hours of discussions Monday night as the Warsaw Common Council discussed consumer fees and the tedious process that went into determining those fees.

All in all, Warsaw residents should be pleased with the low rate they’ll be expected to pay, but some “major users,” such as Warsaw Community Schools and the large manufacturers and industries, will be looking at bills that could top $1,800 a month.

Under state and federal mandates by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency, municipalities are now required to manage storm water runoff. That runoff is often polluted and discharges into local rivers and streams without treatment.

Municipalities with populations of 10,000 or more fall under the mandates and are labeled under the program, known as an MS4 Storm Water System.

In an effort to establish the utility rates, Christopher B. Burke Engineering LLC worked with the city. Rates are based on a measure called Equivalent Residential Unit, or ERU, and impervious surface areas. Impervious surface areas include things like sidewalks, driveways, patios and rooftops and are surfaces that prevent or impede infiltration of stormwater into the ground.

Warsaw has 52 miles of storm sewers and is 30 percent impervious surface. Railroads and public roads are exempt from fees.

Stormwater utility rates will be paid by both residential and non-residential users and will largely fund the operations and maintenance of the mandated MS4 Storm Water System. As proposed to the common council in ordinance form last night, it will take $1.1 million to manage the program the first year. Of that amount, 45 percent of the fees will come from the Warsaw Public Works operations, 10 percent will come from the Wastewater Utility and 44 percent will come from user fees.

The city is likely to adopt a base rate and variable rate fee schedule that will total a monthly bill of $2.95 for residential users. Non-residential real estate — schools, industries, etc. — will pay one base rate ($1.05) per sanitary utility tap and one variable rate ($1.90) for actual impervious surface areas based on calculated ERUs. In the case of Warsaw Community Schools, that will mean a monthly bill of about $1,800.

Theresa Sailor, stormwater coordinator, said rates will vary widely across the non-residential user spectrum because of the ERU calculations. Rates will vary from $40 a month up to the $5,400 range.

Representatives of Lewis Salvage were the only to attend last night’s meeting and expressed their concerns over the rates. With all 23 acres of impervious surface area, Lewis Salvage has installed and operates its own stormwater system.

Discussion of credits took up much of the meeting, but project manager Sheila McKinley of Christopher Burke Engineering, Sailor and city attorney Mike Valentine all agreed it is too soon to discuss credits. Valentine noted the proposed ordinance does allow for credits to be determined and it also has an appeals process.

City engineer James Emans also explained that it would take some “heroic changes” for anyone to go above and beyond the strict mandates of the EPA and IDEM. “Regulations placed on industries because of the nature of their business don’t necessarily apply” and won’t automatically mean credits, Emans added.

No action was taken on Ordinance 2014-03-01 that would establish the stormwater utility rates and charges. The matter will be discussed again at the council’s next meeting, set for 7 p.m. Monday, March 17.