What is the Water Quality Protection Charge?
The Water Quality Protection Charge (WQPC) is an excise tax that is a line item on your property tax bill. WQPC funds many of the County's clean water initiatives including:
- Restoration of eroded stream banks
- Upgrades to stormwater ponds
- Storm drain cleaning and maintenance
- Stream monitoring
- Litter control programs
- Stormwater facility maintenance
- Installation of rain barrels, rain gardens and green roofs
The WQPC is calculated based on how much of your property is impervious (does not allow rain to be absorbed into the ground). As the county is developed, more area is covered in concrete, asphalt, driveways, and buildings that do not allow rain to be absorbed into the ground. Instead, that stormwater collects pollutants and runs off of the impervious surfaces causing damage to streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.This is also known as stormwater pollution.
The clean water initiatives funded by the WQPC remediate the environmental damage caused by stormwater pollution. Further, the WQPC funds programs that are needed to meet the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit from the state of Maryland.
The 2013-2014 Water Quality Protection Charge
Recent amendments to the law revise how the charge is calculated and require all properties with impervious area to be charged. For most homeowners, the WQPC will be less than last year.
Impervious Area Increase Phase-In
If your Water Quality Protection Charge impervious area increased since the 2012-2013 tax year, the increase will be phased in over the next three years. Your 2013-2014 tax bill will reflect 1/3 of the increase.
| Tax Year |
% of WQPC Increase Reflected on
the Property Tax Bill |
| 2013-2014 |
33% |
| 2014-2015 |
66% |
| 2015-2016 |
100% |
View the Impervious Area Phase In webpage for more information.
Credit Program
The new law also establishes a credit program which reduced the bill up to 60% for property owners who own and maintain on-site stormwater treatment in accordance with the maintenance requirements of the Department of Environmental Protection and a hardship exemption program for homeowners and 501(c)(3) non-profits.
Read the full Water Quality Protection Charge Regulation in Section 19-35 of the Code of Montgomery County Regulations.
The Credit Program is still in development. Please check back over the summer for full details.
How is the Water Quality Protection Charge Calculated?
Before calculating how much each property owner was charged, the County first determined how much impervious surface is on a typical property in Montgomery County. This number is called the Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU).
From the law:
"Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) is the statistical median of the total horizontal impervious area of developed single family detached residences in the County that serves as the base unit of assessment for the Water Quality Protection Charge. The designated ERU for Montgomery County equals 2,406 square feet of impervious surface."
Property owners are charged based on how much impervious surface is on the property. The rate of 1 ERU is set each tax year by the Montgomery County Council. For 2013-2014, the rate is $88.40.
1 ERU = 2,406 square feet = $88.40
How Was the Amount of Impervious Surface on My Property Determined?
Impervious surface data was gathered from imagery through geographic information systems (GIS) available from Montgomery County and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Impervious surface area is calculated by totaling the square footage of any surface area that doesn’t allow for rain water to be absorbed.
The impervious surface area for your property is the total of:
- Roof area
- Patio area
- Attached or Detached garage roof area
- Driveway surface area
- Basketball/tennis courts surface area
- Private parking lots surface area
- Other paved areas, such as concrete or asphalt
Not included in the total:
- Pools (Patios and paved areas around the pool are included)
- Wooden decks
- Front porches
- Walkways
- Public sidewalks
- Agricultural business buildings such as barns or silos.
- Agricultural driveways
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The 2013-2014 Rate Each tax year, the County determines the Rate of an ERU. For 2013-2104, the rate per ERU is $88.40. The WQPC is calculated based on what type of property owner you are and the amount of impervious surface area compared to the ERU.
For the specific charge of your property, go to the section that applies to the type of property owner you are.
Do you own:
Payment Process
The Water Quality Protection Charge is assessed along with the annual property tax bill on July 1 each year. Payment process and schedules follows the rules and regulations of the Division of Treasury.
Interest on the overdue payment accrues according to the same schedule and at the same rate charged for delinquent real property taxes until the owner has remitted the outstanding payment and interest. An unpaid WQPC is subject to all penalties and remedies that apply to unpaid real property taxes. If the unpaid charge becomes a lien against the property, the lien has the same priority as a lien imposed for nonpayment of real property taxes.
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