What’s In Your City Bill?

All bills include a minimum charge which is based on the size of your water meter.

The recycling charge is a flat fee which is charged to every residence in the city. It is your choice to recycle or not, however this fee cannot be removed from your bill if you chose to not recycle..

The sewer is based on your 4 month winter reading and will be the same charge for the year. If you are gone for the months that we average your sewer, we will take a percent of your total average usage for the year. This way you are not paying sewer on water that you use outside during the summer (i.e. to fill pools, irrigation, watering plants, washing vehicles), you will also pay a base charge for sewer.

Fee for maintaining infrastructure for water that travels through the storm sewer system or drainage ponds

Since the recent annexation, there has been inquiries about the storm water fee that is on all utility bills. The following are answers to frequently asked questions related to Rogers stormwater management.

What is a stormwater utility?

A dedicated revenue source for operation and maintenance of the City’s storm water systems.  Mn State Statute section 444.075 authorized local governments to create storm water utilities in 1983.

Why is Storm Water Management Important?

The City’s storm sewer system conveys rain runoff through ditches, pipes, ponds, and swales to streams, lakes and wetlands.  Management of this system is important to:

• Preserve natural resources

• Protect people and property

• Improve water quality

• Reduce flooding and insurance risk

What does stormwater utility pay for?

• Operation and Maintenance

  • Portion of salaries dedicated to stormwater

  • Street sweeping

  • Inspections and maintenance

  • Pond sediment removal

  • Drainage system repair

• Capital Improvements

  • Storm sewer replacement and upsizing

  • Construction of ponds and other stormwater treatment infrastructure

  • Equipment replacement

• Local, State, and Federal Requirements

  • Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit through the NPDES program

    • $13,000 - $23,000 annually (Includes inspection, reporting, education, and more.)

  • Waste Load Reductions for Impaired Waters for Lake Henry, Rush Creek, Diamond Lake, French Lake, Crow River

  • Elm Creek Watershed Management Commission

    • Stormwater Management Plan

• Other Storm Water Management Programs

  • Planning, education, studies

  • Administration of Wetland Conservation Act as Local Governing Unit

  • Review of stormwater management plans for redevelopment projects

Properties with a connection are billed for water based on usage. We bill in per thousand gallon units, example if your usage reads 6 you used 6 thousand gallons of water for that billing cycle.