By Sara Kohn
Alexandria, VA – Alexandria residents, associations, and business owners can use the city’s stormwater utility fee credit program to protect their property and the Potomac River. Property owners can install eligible stormwater and conservation practices on their property and get a two-year reduction in annual stormwater utility fees. Eligible practices include rain gardens, conservation landscaping (native plantings, no fertilizer yard pledge), butterfly and pollinator gardens, microhabitats, native mature trees, rain barrels, green roofs, detention basins, and permeable pavers, to name just a few!
Property owners can get up to a 50% reduction in fees by installing various practices listed on the options menu. Credit applications open from December 1 until February 15.
The city also offers a 50/50 match in grant funding of up to $5,000 to residents who install flood mitigation practices on their property. The program was recently updated to include a 50/50 match up to $25,000 for eligible flood mitigation measures on Association common areas. Flood mitigation grant applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Jesse Maines, Chief of Alexandria’s Stormwater Management Division, noted that while these water quality and floodproofing measures are sound stormwater management practices, they also beautify Alexandria properties and ultimately protect our environment, the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay.
For more information on these exciting programs, email [email protected] and check out the Stormwater Utility Fee Credit Program, Residential Properties Credit Menu, Associations Credit Menu, and Flood Mitigation Grant Program at www.alexandriava.gov.
