Stormwater management

The stormwater fee is a public-law fee, the collection of which is not based on a contract but on legislation. The fee applies to all properties in the area affected by the stormwater system and its collection does not require a contract. 

The introduction of the stormwater fee is based on the Land Use and Building Act. The City Council of Kuopio decided to introduce the stormwater fee in the city plan area of the City of Kuopio on 23 October 2017. The Urban Structure Board of Kuopio decided on the grounds for determining the stormwater fee and the impact areas of the stormwater system on 12 December 2018. The Urban Structure Board reviewed the grounds for determining the stormwater fee on 30 October 2019. 

The stormwater fee covers the costs incurred by the municipality in the construction and maintenance of the stormwater system and its development and planning. In addition to draining the property, the stormwater system ensures that stormwaters in public areas, streets and parks are directed and treated in stormwater sewers, ditches and wetlands. With the stormwater fee, properties contribute to covering the costs incurred by the municipality in maintaining their own/controlled reservoirs and filtration basins, flood structures and wetlands. The municipality’s stormwater system benefits properties regardless of whether the property’s stormwater is derived from the property’s stormwater system to the municipality’s stormwater system or not. The annual cost of the stormwater system is approximately two million euros, which has previously been covered by wastewater charges. There are approximately 11,000 properties that receive an invoice for stormwater.  

In Kuopio, the following areas have been defined as affected by the stormwater system: central urban area, Kurkimäki urban area, Melalahti urban area, Vehmersalmi urban area, Karttula urban area, Nilsiä urban area, Maaninka urban area, Juankoski urban area, Muuruvesi urban area and Säyneinen urban area. The stormwater impact areas are reviewed approximately every five years. 

• Stormwater impact areas in the Kuopio Map Service 

The stormwater management legislation has changed in connection with the reform of the Land Use and Building Act (132/1999) and the Water Services Act (119/2001) in 2014. Stormwaters are no longer part of water services. The entire management of stormwater was transferred to chapter 13a of the Land Use and Building Act, which defines new tasks for the municipality. Responsibility for organising stormwater management in city plan areas was transferred to the municipality.  

The City Council of Kuopio decided (meeting 23 October 2017, section 39) that:  

• From 1 January 2018, the City of Kuopio will be responsible for the management of stormwater, including stormwater sewers, in areas covered by the city plan.  
• The city will introduce a public-law stormwater fee based on the weighted use and surface area of the property in the area affected by the stormwater system on and as of 1 January 2018. 
• The impact areas of the stormwater system are the zoned areas in Kuopio.  
• The Urban Structure Board decides on the amount of the fee.  

The stormwater system of a municipality is financed by the stormwater fee income of the municipality. The stormwater fee is only charged for built properties. Property refers to premises, plots and unseparated parcels.  

At its meeting on 12 December 2018, in section 238, the Urban Planning Board decided on the basis for determining the stormwater fee and the areas affected by the stormwater system. its meeting on 27 August 2018, the City Council repealed section 237 of Kuopion Vesi’s area of operation regarding stormwater drainage. The criteria for determining the stormwater fee were reviewed by the Urban Structure Board on 30 October 2019, section 211.   

The property’s stormwater fee is affected by the weighted use of the buildings. Buildings intended for different purposes can be located on the same property. The weighted purpose of use of the property is determined based on the ratio of the floor area of the buildings according to which use category to the floor area of all buildings is the highest.   

There are four use categories: single-family houses and secondary residences, row houses, apartment buildings and commercial, office or industrial buildings, etc. If the majority of the building’s apartment area is residential buildings, the use category is specified in the following order:  

• the use is defined as an apartment building if even one apartment building is located on the property;  

• the use is defined as a row house if the property does not have an apartment building on it, but even one row house is located on the plot;  
• the use is defined as a single-family house, a semi-detached house or a secondary residence if the property does not have apartment buildings or row houses, but even one single-family house or a semi-detached house or a secondary residence.  

Properties do not have to make any changes to stormwater management compared to the current situation. In the future, properties will only pay an annual stormwater fee. The stormwater fee does not apply to unbuilt properties. If a building is only being built on the property, the property is not included in the invoicing. The property will be included in invoicing once a commissioning inspection has been carried out on the building.   

Stormwater rate 2018–2022 

The property’s stormwater fee is affected by the weighted use of the buildings. Property means a real estate, a plot or a right to a property or a part of it, i.e. a leased area, indicated by a lease agreement. As a rule, the stormwater fee is determined according to the main purpose of the buildings. Buildings intended for different purposes can be located on the same property, in which case the weighted use of the buildings varies. The weighted purpose of use of the property is determined based on the ratio of the floor area of the buildings according to which use category to the floor area of all buildings is the highest. There are four use categories: single-family houses and secondary residences, row houses, apartment buildings and commercial, office or industrial buildings, etc. If the majority of the building’s apartment area is residential buildings, the use category is specified in the following order:  

• the use is defined as an apartment building if even one apartment building is located on the property;  
• the use is defined as a row house if the property does not have an apartment building on it, but even one row house is located on the plot; 
• the use is defined as a single-family house, a semi-detached house or a secondary residence if the property does not have apartment buildings or row houses, but even one single-family house or a semi-detached house or a secondary residence.  

The tax for stormwater is formed in such a way that the building’s purpose of use and possibly the floor area of the buildings affect the property’s stormwater fee. The amount of the stormwater fee (EUR/year) is determined on the basis of the weighted use of the buildings on the property and, if necessary, the floor area of the buildings on the property. The stormwater fee for an individual property is calculated using the following formula:  

• Stormwater fee = X * K * P * V  
• where X = stormwater fee unit price, EUR/year  
• K = weighted use coefficient of the property 
• P = floor coefficient of buildings in the property  
• V = reduction or increase coefficient  

The unit price of the stormwater fee is determined annually on the basis of the costs incurred in the planning, use, maintenance and construction of the municipal stormwater system. The purpose-of-use coefficients used to determine the stormwater fee are presented in Table 1 and the possible floor coefficients are presented in Table 2. Buildings intended for different purposes can be located on the same property. Table 3 shows the reduction coefficients.   

The invoice only applies to one owner or party. The owners or holders of the property are jointly and severally responsible for the property’s stormwater fee, in whose control the property is at the time of collection of the invoicing material. If there are several owners, the invoice is allocated to only one party in the following order:   

• The party has the largest share of ownership / the party receiving the invoice from the plot rental system, who lives at the address corresponding to the management unit.  

• The party has the largest share of ownership.  
• The address of the party is known.  
• The address of the party is not a foreign address.  
• The surname of the party in alphabetical order.  
• The first name of the party in alphabetical order.  

In the case of owner-occupied plots, the invoice is allocated to the owner of the property based on the title registration data available at the time of invoicing, as the City does not have information on leases or ownership rights of private entities. The property owner is responsible for the stormwater fee and any invoice collection measures. In the case of a privately owned plot, the property owner can still invoice the property holder if they so wish.   

For the rental plots the City, the invoice is allocated to the property holder. There is no comprehensive information available on rentals by other parties in the city. In the case of the owner of the property or rental area, the stormwater fee is directed to the party who is in the land rental system, if the party lives at the address specified by the management unit.  

The stormwater fee is charged to the owner or holder of the property who owns or controls the property at the time the invoicing material was collected.  

The default for stormwater invoicing is the weighted purpose of use according to the buildings located on the property Sometimes the purpose of the building does not correspond to reality. A property may also have several buildings whose purpose varies, for example by having a small workshop or similar in addition to a single-family house.   

If the invoice recipient feels that the stormwater fee for the property contains errors, a written reminder of the stormwater fee can be submitted using the reminder form (pdf, in Finnish). The reminder must be submitted within 14 days of receiving the invoice by e-mail to  hulevesi(at)kuopio.fi or by post to Kuopio Service Area for Urban Environment
municipal engineering planning / stormwater
P.O. Box 1097
70111 KUOPIO  

A stormwater fee is a public law fee that is directly enforceable without a court decision (or an official decision). The invoice must be paid unless a reminder is made of the payment. The applicable late payment interest and notice costs for sending a written payment request must be paid to the overdue invoice   

The stormwater fee must be paid regardless of a possible reminder. As a result of the reminder, an official decision is made and, if the reminder is justified, a new corrected stormwater fee or refund is sent to the person liable for payment.

The locations of the stormwater drains can be found on the sewer map, from which you can order a boundary assessment report from the municipal engineering planning of the city of Kuopio. The boundary point statement shows the water, wastewater and stormwater networks in the area. Unfortunately, the sewer map is not available online. 

In order to join the city’s stormwater sewage system, the property owner must first contact a private HVAC planner who will determine the property’s capabilities for joining the stormwater sewage network and, if necessary, prepare HVAC plans for the draining of property’s stormwater. At the same time, it is worth investigating the construction and renovation needs of the property’s water and sewage systems. 

The property’s stormwater system is connected to the city’s stormwater system in accordance with the stormwater boundary point statement. The boundary point statement specifies the location of the connection point (boundary point), the connection height and the retention water height. The boundary point statement is ordered from the urban environment service area by e-mail at hulevesi(at)kuopio.fi,, by calling +358 44 5199 or by using an electronic form. 

The City will build stormwater connections in a public area near the boundary of the plot, and the property will be responsible for building the connection to it. Stormwater connections for the properties will be built in new areas when building streets. The stormwater control structures of a property may not be located in a street or other public area without permission. If the property’s stormwater connection has not already been built or it needs change work, the construction of the site connection is ordered from the service area of the Urban Environment. 

Plot connections are built in the order they have been ordered. During the summer the work queue can be very long. 

No separate agreement will be drawn up on the conveyance of stormwater to the City’s stormwater system. There is no separate connection fee for connecting to the city’s stormwater system, nor is there a stormwater sewer construction fee for the plot.  

• Application to reduce the stormwater fee (pdf, in Finnish) 
• Reminder to the stormwater fee (pdf, in Finnish) 
• Boundary point statement order form 
• Exemption application for the obligation to connect to the stormwater system (pdf, in Finnish) 
• Instructions and form for ordering map materials 

• FAQ (.pdf)