Last Updated 07/16/2026
Morgantown Stormwater Ordinance
Article 929- Stormwater management and Surface Water Discharge Control
929.03 STORMWATER SERVICE CHARGES
(a) Users connected to or draining into the public stormwater system shall pay an equitable share of the actual cost of the operation, maintenance of, improvements to, and necessary additions to the stormwater system. Therefore, all owners or tenants of real property in the City of Morgantown and the City watershed shall be charged for the use of the stormwater system based on the amount of stormwater and rate of flow of stormwater which is projected to discharge into the stormwater system from the property.
(b) The City Council shall, by ordinance, set fees which will recover from users their fair share of costs for use of the stormwater system by property within and outside the corporate limits of the City of Morgantown and within the City watershed. Such fees will be for the operation and maintenance of, improvements to, and necessary additions to, the stormwater system
929.07 BILLING
The billing for stormwater service may be combined with the billing for other utility services provided by the Morgantown Utility Board.
929.08 COLLECTION
Unpaid stormwater service charges shall constitute just cause for disconnection of public water service to the non-paying property. The Director shall ensure sufficient notice of disconnection is issued no later than thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled disconnection, and that notice of disconnection is posted on the affected property no later than five (5) days prior to the scheduled disconnection. Water service shall be reactivated only upon full payment of the stormwater service charges or other payment arrangements approved by the Director. In the alternative, the Director may take appropriate legal action to collect unpaid charges.
929.10 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS.
- The use of the stormwater collection system shall be the collection and transportation of stormwater.
- No person shall place or cause to be placed any pollutant into the stormwater system other than stormwater, unless written approval has been granted by the Director. The Director may refuse to grant approval to discharge non-stormwater into the stormwater system for any reason or combination of reasons.
- The Morgantown Utility Board shall administer use of the stormwater system to all users within the City watershed, whether located within or outside City limits.
- No person shall cause or permit the introduction of any pollutant into the stormwater system, whether solid, liquid or gaseous, that will cause:
- Chemical reaction, either directly or indirectly with the materials of construction used in the stormwater system or that will impair the strength or durability of sewers or structures;
- Mechanical action that will destroy or damage sewers or structures;
- Restriction of the normal maintenance and inspection of sewers;
- Danger to public health and safety or to the environment;
- Conditions that create a public nuisance;
- An oil sheen or unusual color;
- Abnormal demand on the stormwater system capacity;
- An adverse effect upon the function of the stormwater system; or,
- The stormwater system to violate its NPDES permit or applicable receiving water standards and all other Federal, State, and local regulations.
- Any person or entity engaged in activities which will or may result in pollutants entering the storm drain system shall undertake best management practices to reduce such pollutants. Examples of such activities include, but are not limited to, ownership and/or operation of facilities that may be a source of pollutants, such as paved parking lots, gasoline stations, industrial facilities, and private roads/streets.
- No person shall throw, deposit, leave, maintain or cause to be thrown, deposited, left or maintained any refuse, rubbish, garbage, grease, petroleum products, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles and accumulations in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, storm drain inlet, catch basin, conduit or other drainage structures, parking area, or upon any private or public plot of land so that the same might become a pollutant, except where the pollutant is being temporarily stored in properly contained waste receptacles or is part of a well-defined compost system.
- No person shall cause or permit any dumpster, solid waste bin, or similar container to leak such that any pollutant is discharged into any street, alley, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin, conduit or other drainage structure, or upon any public or private plot of land in the urban watershed.
- No person shall use the stormwater system for discharge from any environmental cleanup that is regulated under federal or state law unless approved by the Director. Approval by the Director must be conditioned upon the discharge meeting all criteria for discharge under this article. Approval conditions may provide for measures appropriate to prevent harm due to possible exfiltration into the ground adjacent to the system or failure of any pretreatment system for the discharge.
- No person shall alter the configuration or condition of the stormwater system, or create a configuration or condition within the stormwater system, which adversely affects the function of the stormwater system.
- No person shall purposefully discharge or purposefully cause the discharge of stormwater from their property without the use of an approved connection to the City stormwater system. The intent of this item is to leave natural drainage unregulated, but to regulate any change to the natural drainage caused by manmade actions. Any person found to be in violation of this prohibition shall take appropriate action, subject to the approval of the Director, to stop and to prevent such discharge.
- If unable to achieve compliance through their own means, such person shall apply and pay for an extension of the City stormwater system to his/her property. In such cases, the work necessary within the private property to collect the stormwater and to connect to the City stormwater system shall be performed by and at the expense of the private party.
- Any party receiving a warning Notice of Violation and/or an Order from the Director requiring correction of such conditions may appeal.
929.11 ILLICIT CONNECTIONS
It is prohibited to establish, use, maintain or continue illicit connections to the municipal stormwater system, or to commence or continue any illicit discharges to the municipal stormwater system.
929.19 ENFORCEMENT
- No person shall cause or allow any discharge into the municipal separate storm sewer system in violation of the City’s NPDES permit, the Clean Water Act and/or this Article.
- No person shall construct or maintain any property, residence or business not in compliance with the standards of this article.
- The Director and other authorized employees of the City bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted, after reasonable notice, to enter upon all properties in the City watershed for the purposes of inspection, observation, measurement, sampling and testing in accordance with the provisions of this article.
- The Director is authorized to take appropriate legal action to require compliance with this article.
- The Director is authorized to issue warning notices of violations for any conditions found to violate the requirements provided in this article. A warning notice of a violation of this article shall be served upon the alleged violator by personal delivery or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The warning notice shall state the nature of the violation, the potential penalty, the action required to correct the violation, and a time limit for making the correction.
- Violations of this article shall be a criminal misdemeanor, subject to criminal citation and punishable by a fine of up to five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each and every day or portion thereof that a person or entity fails or refuses to remedy a violation shall be considered a separate offense. Citations may be issued against any person or firm who has violated or continues to violate any section of this article or any of the following:
- Failing to comply with a valid order issued under this article; and/or
- Failing to allow entry, inspection or monitoring; and/or
- Violation of reporting requirements or falsification of reports.
- If, after reasonable warning notice, a person fails to comply with this article within the time limit included in the notice, the Director may seek issuance of a criminal citation by appropriate law enforcement authorities.
- In addition to any other remedy, the Director, after thirty (30) calendar days written notice and five (5) calendar days notice posted on the affected property, is authorized to disconnect water service, sanitary sewer and stormwater sewer services to any property in violation of this article. The notice shall state that persons affected may within five (5) calendar days provide the Director with any information or reasons as to why services should not be disconnected.
- The Director is authorized to take all steps necessary to immediately and without notice halt any discharge of pollutants which reasonably appear to present an imminent danger to the health or welfare of persons or to the environment of the City watershed. A person or entity causing such discharge shall immediately eliminate the violation. If such person or entity fails to immediately eliminate the violation, the Director may take all steps necessary to eliminate the discharge.
- When the Director finds that a person or entity has violated or continues to violate any section of this article, the Director may petition a court of competent jurisdiction for the issuance of a permanent or temporary injunction, as appropriate, which restrains or compels specific compliance with this article. The Director may also seek such other action as is appropriate for legal and/or equitable relief, including a requirement that the person or entity conduct an environmental remediation. A petition for injunctive relief shall not be a bar against or a prerequisite for taking any other action against the person or entity. The Director may recover from a violator reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs and other expenses associated with the enforcement of this article, as well as the cost of actual damages incurred by the City.
- Persons aggrieved by any determination of the Director in enforcing this article may appeal that determination to the Morgantown Utility Board.
929.23 MAINTENANCE OF STORMWATER FACILITIES.
- Private stormwater facilities located in private property and within the City watershed shall be maintained by the owner or other responsible party and shall be repaired and/or replaced by such person when such facilities are no longer functioning as designed.
- Disposal of waste from maintenance of private facilities shall be conducted in accordance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.
- Records of installation and maintenance and repair shall be retained by the owner or other responsible party for a period of five (5) years and shall be made available to the Director upon request.
- The Director may perform corrective or maintenance work, which shall be at the owner’s expense, upon any failure to maintain facilities or correct problems with facilities after receiving due reasonable notice from the Director.
- Routine maintenance of detention/retention facilities shall be conducted by the owner of the facility in accordance with this article and guidance of the Director.
929.24 INSPECTION
- Stormwater systems within the City watershed shall be inspected by the Director during and after construction to assure consistency with the approved stormwater management plan.
- All stormwater systems within the City watershed shall be subject to the authority of the Director to ensure compliance with this article and may be inspected when deemed necessary.
- The owner of a private stormwater system, or other responsible party designated by the owner, shall make annual inspections of the facilities, including any detention/retention facility, and maintain records of such inspections for a period of five (5) years.
- Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any of the provisions of this article, or whenever the Director has reasonable cause to believe that there exists in any building or upon any premises any condition which may constitute a violation of the provisions of this article, the Director may enter such building or premises at all reasonable times to inspect the same or perform any duty imposed by this article; provided that:
- If such building or premises is occupied, he or she first shall present proper credentials and request entry; and
- If such building or premises is unoccupied, he or she first shall make a reasonable effort to locate the owner or other persons having charge or control of the building or premises and request entry.
- The property owner or occupant has the right to refuse entry but, in the event such entry is refused, the Director is hereby empowered to seek assistance from any court of competent jurisdiction in obtaining such entry and performing such inspection.
- Routine or area inspections shall be based upon such reasonable selection processes as may be deemed necessary to carry out the objectives of this article, including but not limited to, random sampling and/or sampling in areas with evidence of stormwater pollution, illicit discharges, or similar factors.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the stormwater fee in Morgantown?
Stormwater fees in Morgantown are set by the City Council and administered by the Morgantown Utility Board (MUB). As of July 1, 2025, residential properties in a single-family dwelling pay a flat monthly charge of $7.58. For all other properties, including commercial, industrial, and multi-family, the fee is $3.03 per 1,000 square feet of impervious area per month. Properties in the Forest-Poplar watershed pay an additional debt service surcharge of $12.49 per month (residential) or $4.99 per 1,000 square feet (commercial). Stormwater billing is typically combined with other MUB utility charges.
Who is responsible for maintaining private stormwater systems in Morgantown?
Under Article 929.23, property owners are responsible for maintaining all private stormwater facilities located on their property within the City watershed. This includes detention and retention ponds, catch basins, storm drains, inlets, and any other stormwater control measures. Facilities must be repaired or replaced when they are no longer functioning as designed. If an owner fails to maintain facilities after receiving reasonable notice from the Director, MUB may perform the corrective work and bill the expense to the property owner.
Are annual stormwater inspections required for private properties in Morgantown?
Yes. Article 929.24 requires that owners of private stormwater systems perform annual inspections of their facilities, including any detention or retention facility, and maintain records of those inspections for a minimum of five years. Records must be made available to the Director upon request. The City, through MUB, also retains the right to inspect any stormwater system within the City watershed at any time to ensure compliance with Article 929
How long do I need to keep stormwater maintenance records in Morgantown?
Article 929.23 requires that records of installation, maintenance, and repair of private stormwater facilities be retained for a minimum of five years. These records must be made available to the MUB Director upon request. AQUALIS provides inspection reports and maintenance documentation in formats that satisfy this recordkeeping requirement.
What happens if I receive a stormwater Notice of Violation (NOV) in Morgantown?
Under Article 929.19, MUB can issue a warning Notice of Violation by personal delivery or certified mail. The notice will state the nature of the violation, the potential penalty, the required corrective action, and a deadline for correction. Violations of Article 929 are classified as criminal misdemeanors, with fines of up to $500 per day. Each day of non-compliance is considered a separate offense. If you fail to comply within the stated time limit, the Director may seek a criminal citation through law enforcement. AQUALIS provides rapid NOV response with documentation and corrective action plans accepted by MUB.
Does my business need a stormwater permit in Morgantown?
Any land disturbing activity within the City watershed requires a MUB stormwater permit unless specifically exempted under Article 929.13(c). Commercial properties with significant impervious surfaces, including parking lots, loading areas, and outdoor storage, are also subject to best management practice (BMP) requirements to reduce pollutants entering the storm drain system. Businesses engaged in activities that may produce stormwater pollution, including fueling stations, vehicle maintenance facilities, industrial operations, and paved parking lots, must implement BMPs under Article 929.10. Contact MUB at [email protected] or reach out to AQUALIS for permit and BMP compliance assistance.
What stormwater services does AQUALIS provide for properties in Morgantown?
AQUALIS provides comprehensive stormwater management services for commercial properties, HOAs, and institutional facilities in Morgantown and throughout West Virginia. Services include annual stormwater inspections and documentation that satisfy Article 929.24 recordkeeping requirements, retention and detention pond management and dredging, catch basin and storm drain cleaning and repair, CCTV pipe inspection, stormwater NOV response and corrective action documentation, and BMP installation and maintenance. AQUALIS documentation is prepared to meet MUB submission standards. Contact AQUALIS to get started.
The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Regulations change frequently — AQUALIS makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of this content, and any reliance on it is at your own risk. Consult a qualified professional or your local regulatory authority to confirm requirements applicable to your specific property.
