About the City of Schertz Drainage Utility

The City of Schertz Drainage Utility was established in 2003 under Ordinance 03-F-11 with a single crew consisting of a Foreman and a worker. They worked diligently to keep the City’s drainage infrastructure maintained with a single pickup truck and two open-cab tractors. Over the years, the division has grown slowly, expanding its operations. Today, the Drainage Division consists of 13 personnel, multiple tractors, and other specialized maintenance equipment to maintain and manage City drainage infrastructure.
Some of the responsibilities of the Drainage Division are:
  • Inspection & Maintenance of:
    • Drainage Channels & Ditches
    • Floodways
    • Culverts & Storm Drains
    • Undeveloped Right-Of-Ways
    • Alleys
    • MS4 Outfalls
    • Other Public Drainage Structures
  • Drainage Improvement Projects
  • Street Sweeping

Why is the Drainage Utility important?

Every time it rains, the stormwater is collected and conveyed through public drainage infrastructure. This infrastructure requires routine maintenance to ensure it performs as designed to protect people and property. Over time, this infrastructure can deteriorate due to environmental impacts, damage from weather events, or accidents. Every user of the Drainage Utility System impacts the capacity, operation, and maintenance of the system. All users are assessed a Drainage Utility Fee according to the calculation outlined below. These fees are used to maintain and improve the Drainage Utility System, maintain compliance with State and Federal regulations, and help fund other Drainage-related programs such as MS4, Stormwater, and Floodplain Management.

Who is a Drainage Utility System User?

Users are owners or occupants of improved or developed residential or commercial properties within the city limits of Schertz.

How is the Drainage Fee determined?

The Drainage Utility Fee uses a Living Equivalent Unit (LUE) for calculation. Residential lots are all assessed at one (1) LUE. Every non-residential developed parcel is measured for total impervious coverage. Once total impervious coverage is measured, the total LUE count is calculated, and the user fee is applied.
The Drainage Utility Ordinance (25-M-045) was updated and approved by City Council on Oct. 14th, 2025.
Drainage Fee Rates are calculated as follows:
All residential properties inside the city limits of Schertz are calculated as:
$8.00 x 1 LUE = $8.00 Monthly Drainage Fee
$8.00 monthly x 12 months = $96 Yearly Drainage Fee
Non-residential properties inside the city limits of Schertz are calculated as:
Total impervious coverage acreage multiplied by 5.77 equivalency factor = LUE Count
LUE count x $8.00 = Monthly Drainage Fee
 

Street Sweeping

Our Street Sweepers clean about 188 miles of roadway in the City of Schertz. The City of Schertz has recently made some changes to our sweeping program in order to accommodate our continued growth. Our goal is to sweep each subdivision and other areas of the city at minimum once every three months. During the fall season, we will make adjustments to ensure streets with heavy leaf deposits are swept more often to minimize Leaf buildup.
In order to provide the best level of service, the City asks that residents do not dump, push, sweep, or blow yard waste - including leaves, tree limbs, grass clippings, or brush - onto City streets or right-of-ways.
 

From the EPA: "Stormwater is rainwater or melted snow that runs off streets, lawns and other sites. When stormwater is absorbed into soil, it is filtered and ultimately replenishes aquifers or flows into streams and rivers."

We don't get much snow in this part of Texas so our primary concern is the runoff of rainwater. Developed areas with lots of impervious coverage (pavement and roofs), block stormwater from being absorbed into the ground naturally.

Impervious areas are numerous, but in the simplest explanation, it's any surface or area that prohibits absorption of rain into the ground. These surfaces typically increase the amount of stormwater runoff as well. This can include, but is not limited to, streets, driveways, parking lots, sidewalks and roofs.

Pervious surfaces or areas are typically anywhere that allows the direct absorption of rainwater. These areas are usually undeveloped or natural areas like lawns, gardens, flowerbeds, green spaces or detention basins.

They are considered impervious areas, yes. Gravel or unpaved parking areas are or can become compacted and act similarly to paved surfaces for stormwater runoff.

Additionally, unimproved surfaces cannot be used for parking or storage within City limits. For more information, please reach out to the Permitting Department.

Drainage is how stormwater is collected and channeled away to natural or engineered water courses. This is accomplished by building and maintaining engineered and natural drainage systems.

Engineered drainage systems can be as simple as curbs and gutters on City streets to complex drainage channels and flood control devices. Essentially, any man-made structure to help collect and direct stormwater runoff.

Natural drainage systems are natural formations such as creeks, streams, rivers and tributaries. Some examples here in Schertz are the Cibolo Creek and Dietz Creek.

As the City grows and develops, additional funding is required to operate and maintain the drainage systems. The City has identified many Capital Improvement Projects related to drainage, which can be found on the CIP Dashboard.

It is important to maintain both engineered and natural drainage systems to help prevent flooding and to protect lives, property, and the environment. Runoff of stormwater can collect pollutants, debris, and sediment that can negatively impact wildlife habitats, plant life, water quality, and infrastructure.

Learn more about floodplain management.

The Drainage Fee is not a tax. The fees collected are used like other utilities, to fund all of that utilities operations and projects. Municipal Drainage Utility Systems were added to Texas Local Government Code in 1987, and the City of Schertz created it's Drainage Utility in 2003.

City of Schertz - Drainage Utility Ordinance

Texas Local Government Code - Drainage Utilities

The City of Schertz Utility Billing Department is responsible for billing and collection of water, sewer, drainage, solid waste and recycling receivables. The Drainage Utility Fee is added to utility bills separately as a monthly charge. Funds collected from Drainage Utility fees are accounted for in the Drainage Utility fund, separate from all other City revenues.

Yes, most cities in the area have a Drainage Utility and charge a Drainage Utility Fee. In fact, as of 2025, the State of Texas alone has 146 Stormwater or Drainage Utilities established.

Yes, if your property is within the city limits of Schertz, you are required to pay the Drainage Utility Fee assessed to your property. Even if there isn't any obvious infrastructure on or near your property, rainwater from your property will eventually find its way to the drainage system.

All single-family residential properties are billed the same way. For multi-family properties like apartments, it depends on how the utility bill is handled. You may see the fee on your individual bill, or it may be part of your rent and paid by the property owner. You may need to check your rental agreement for details or if you receive a utility bill, it should be stated there. If you have any questions regarding your bill, you can reach out to Utility Billing.

Fees collected by the Drainage Utility go into the Drainage Utility Fund, a separate revenue account from other City revenues. This fund is used for the operation and maintenance of the Drainage Utility and to fund Drainage Utility projects. Drainage Utility projects are outlined in the City's Capital Improvement Program and the operation and management funds can be found in the adopted budgets.

CIP Document

CIP Dashboard

Budget & Financial Information

As the City grows, so does the drainage system. Naturally, the larger the system, the more demand there is to maintain and operate it. The City has identified the need to increase the Drainage Utility Fee to keep up with demand and move towards a self-sustaining model. Ultimately the goal is to have no dependency of other revenue streams like the City's General Fund to complete drainage projects as it has had to do in the past.

If you think your drainage fee may have an error, you can reach out to either the Utility Billing Department or the Public Works Department.

Yes, under Texas Local Government Code Section 552, Subchapter C, the City of Schertz Drainage Utility is required to exempt the following:

  • A wholly sufficient and privately owned drainage system.
  • Property that is held in its natural state until developed.
  • A subdivided lot until a structure is built and a certificate of occupancy has been issued.

Additionally, the City of Schertz Drainage Utility is not required to, but has taken the option to exempt the following:

  • State, County and Municipal properties.
  • School Districts and Open-Enrollment Schools.
  • Cemeteries (only those closed to new burials).

For more information, see the Texas Local Government Code.

Whether we’re in a draught or not, it is imperative that we maintain our drainage infrastructure. It doesn’t take much to go from dry, dusty fields to potential flooding situations. Ensuring that the system is able to perform as designed to protect people and property is the primary reason why the City has decided to continue to invest in its infrastructure such as the Drainage Utility System.

Discharged from swimming pools or hot tubs are generally not allowed unless the water is de-chlorinated to less than one (1) part per million (ppm). The water can be discharged on the yard of the property that is located but cannot cross adjacent properties.

A notification does need to be made to the Public Works Department at least one business day in advance of the discharge.