Fees

​​Fees & Billing FAQs

Call 3-1-1 (or 704-336-7600) if you have questions about your Storm Water Services fee or bill.

CharMeck 311, open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., serves as the customer contact center for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services.

Most customers receive a monthly City of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County water services bill that includes the Storm Water Services fee as well as Charlotte Water drinking water and wastewater fees. While different departments and organizations provide these services, the fees and charges are included on one bill to simplify the billing and payment process for customers.

You may pay your water services bill online, by phone, or in person at authorized payment locations. Visit the Bill Payment Options page for more information.

  • Repairing public storm drainage infrastructure
  • Reducing flood risks
  • Improving surface waters


The Storm Water Services fee is based on a property’s impervious surface area such as rooftops and concrete driveways. The more impervious surfaces, the more stormwater runoff flows from the property into the storm drainage system. Properties with the least amount of impervious surface area pay the lowest Storm Water Services fee. 

Impervious surfaces are hard surfaces that do not allow rainwater to absorb into the ground.

Common examples of impervious surface include rooftops and concrete driveways.

Areas covered with grass, trees, gardens, and gravel are not included when measuring impervious surface area for purposes of determining the Storm Water Services fee. However, gravel is considered impervious surface for many stormwater regulations.


Impervious surfaces are identified and measured using aerial photography for each parcel in Mecklenburg County.

Your parcel’s impervious surface area is listed on the front of your City of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County water services bill. To view your property's impervious area go to https://mcmap.org/geoportal/ then type in your address and click on impervious.

Call 3-1-1 (or 704-336-7600) if you have questions about your parcel’s impervious area or would like to request an inspector to validate the square footage.


Detached Single-Family Residential properties (one individual, detached, single-family home on a parcel) are in one of four billing tiers based on the property’s total amount of impervious surface. Each property in the tier is billed the same amount.

Tier 1:  <2,000 square feet of impervious surface
Tier 2:  2,000 to 2,999 square feet of impervious surface
Tier 3:  3,000 to 4,999 square feet of impervious surface
Tier 4:  5,000 or more square feet of impervious surface

All Other properties (commercial buildings; attached single-family homes such as duplexes, triplexes and apartments; multiple single-family structures on one parcel) are billed for the actual amount of impervious area on the property.

Property owners may qualify for a Storm Water Services fee credit if:

all or nearly all of their stormwater runoff drains either directly into the Catawba River or directly into an adjoining county

-OR-

the property owner has significantly reduced the amount of runoff through a stormwater control measure or pond that captures and holds it.

Property owners may qualify for a fee credit by reducing impacts to the storm drainage system. The four questions below will help you quickly assess if your property might qualify. For more details, please read the specific fee credit policies.

Does your property border a neighboring county?

If so, you may qualify for the County Line Fee Credit. Your property line must be the same as the Mecklenburg County line and all stormwater runoff must flow directly into the neighboring county. Property owners who qualify for this credit pay no Storm Water Services fee.

County Line Fee Credit Policy

Does your property border the water’s edge of the Catawba River, Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, or Mountain Island Lake?

If so, you may qualify for the Catawba River Fee Credit. All stormwater runoff must flow directly into the river or lake without entering a storm drainage system. Property owners who qualify may receive a fee credit up to 96.4%.

Catawba River Fee Credit Policy

Do you have a pond on your property?

If so, you may qualify for the Pond Fee Credit. Your property must have a pond that captures and holds stormwater runoff and the pond must meet additional criteria. Property owners who qualify may receive a fee credit up to 48%.

Pond Fee Credit Policy

Do you have an existing Stormwater Control Measure (SCM) that was designed by an engineer or landscape architect?

If so, you may qualify for the Stormwater Control Measure Fee Credit. Your property must have a specially designed control measure, such as a rain garden, level spreader, sand filter, or engineered pond. To request this credit, you must submit (1) an as-built survey of the control measure and (2) the credit application form with supporting calculations prepared and sealed by an engineer or landscape architect.

Stormwater Control Measure Fee Credit Application

Questions about fee credits?

Properties inside City of Charlotte limits contact:

Rylee Hernandez

phone contect 980.287.5624​

email Rylee.Hernandez@charlottenc.gov

Properties outside City of Charlotte limits contact:

David​ Goode, PE

phone contect 980.314.3235

email David.Goode@MeckNC.gov

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