DC Water has a plan to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs) by 96% in the District of Columbia. The Clean Rivers Project  comprises the construction of three large storage tunnels to capture and store wet weather runoff. Though the project is federally mandated, funding had not been earmarked for the project.

As the process stands now, the 130,000-plus account holders served for the District of Columbia — including residential and wholesale suburban customers — will pay the vast majority of project costs, estimated at $2.6 billion through 2025. To help allocate cost as equitably as possible among its customers, DC Water developed a stormwater fee based on impervious areas. Read more in the May issue of WE&T.