Water Quality Protection Charges

The Water Quality Protection Charge (WQPC) 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 impervious concrete, asphalt, driveways, and buildings. 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. Update Frequency : Annually

[
  "Environment"
]