City Council rescinds stormwater fee to work on statewide solutions

Published on March 24, 2026

Cheyenne’s City Council voted to rescind the upcoming stormwater fee at its meeting on March 23, 2026, opting to work with the Wyoming Legislature on potential solutions for stormwater funding.

The fee, which had been scheduled to take effect in April, would have appeared on Board of Public Utilities bills and supported the management and maintenance of Cheyenne’s stormwater system – critical infrastructure that protects homes and businesses from flooding and water damage.

Under the proposed structure, fees were based on the amount of hard surface area on a property – such as rooftops, driveways, and other impervious surfaces – which directly impacts how much stormwater runoff enters the City’s drainage system. Most residential customers would have paid less than $10 per month.

Cheyenne’s stormwater system spans the entire city and includes approximately 135 miles of underground drainage pipes, thousands of inlets, 25 miles of open channels and creeks, and hundreds of detention ponds. Maintaining this system requires ongoing work, including sediment removal, inlet cleaning, and infrastructure upgrades.

As the system has expanded and the City has taken on additional infrastructure, officials identified the need for a dedicated, sustainable funding source. The stormwater fee, approved by City Council in December 2024, was projected to generate approximately $6 million annually to support these efforts.

Earlier this year, members of the Wyoming Legislature expressed interest in exploring statewide solutions to stormwater management and flooding, contingent on the City pausing implementation of the fee. The Legislature authorized municipalities to establish stormwater utility fees in 2020.

City officials will now work with the Legislature to evaluate alternative approaches to funding and maintaining Cheyenne’s stormwater infrastructure.