Who thinks up this stuff? This AM on NECN News, I heard

[Paper Roses]

one of the anchors give a report that there is a proposal before the State House to charge homeowners and businesses a fee for the water that drains from their property into storm drains.

I waited from about 7:30 to now-8:45 for the loop to repeat so that I could listen more carefully. Have not heard it again. Perhaps the story was bogus and was pulled. If it is a real consideration by the state, how in heck do they figure it out? Another multi-million commission to study drain water? It did mention that it could cost office complexes up to $100,000 per year.

I cannot even fathom how some proposal like this, if real, could even be given serious consideration.
Anyone else hear this? I went to the NECN web site to see if there was any info on this but there was nothing.

This proposal is not just dumb, it is unworkable.
As a side note, we pay huge money for water and sewer bills. This, I imagine would somehow be connected.

[Blaukraut]

1. Actually, not so far-fetched

I didn't hear the report, but I do know that Germany has been doing this for several years now. Homeowners and businesses get charged for water usage AND waste water. The way the waste water amount is determined (in addition to tap water intake) is by measuring hard surfaces on the property, such as roofs and paved driveways/parking lots. Soft surfaces like yards and gardens are exempt because they absorb water. So basically you not only pay for tap water going down the drain, but precipitation is also taken into account.

This new way of charging for water usage has had some (intended?) consequences, other than the obvious one of customers conserving water to save money: Many homeowners and businesses have changed to soft surfaces by pulling up pavement and seeding grass and other plant life around their properties.

I'm not saying this is a good or fair law, but it was approved and hailed by the water conservation society and environmental protection agency.