RARITAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Hunterdon County) – Raritan Township has established the first stormwater utility in the Upper Raritan River watershed, marking a major milestone in the region’s approach to managing flooding, infrastructure resilience and water pollution.
The new utility creates a dedicated and equitable funding source for stormwater management by charging property owners based on the amount of impervious surface—such as rooftops and pavement—that generates runoff. The model shifts away from relying on general tax revenue or sewer fees, which often exempt large institutional properties such as schools, religious buildings and hospitals.
“Properties that contribute the most runoff will now pay their fair share,” said officials from the Raritan Headwaters Association (RHA), which applauded the move as a transformative step in sustainable infrastructure planning.
Under the new system, fees collected through the utility will be deposited into a legally protected enterprise fund, which may only be used for stormwater-related expenses. These include drainage system maintenance, green infrastructure upgrades, flood mitigation efforts and public education initiatives.
The creation of a stormwater utility comes amid a growing need for targeted local investment. Hurricane Ida in 2021 devastated Hunterdon County, killing six people and damaging homes, roads and bridges. New Jersey ranks third nationally in repetitive-loss flood-prone properties, with nearly 70% of those locations having flooded five or more times.
Raritan Township now joins only two other municipalities in New Jersey—New Brunswick and Maplewood—in implementing a stormwater utility. New Brunswick’s program, launched in 2024, revealed that more than half of contributing properties had previously been exempt from property taxes but now pay into the system based on runoff impact.
By adopting a similar model, Raritan Township becomes the first in the Raritan Headwaters watershed to implement a fair, sustainable and legally protected mechanism for stormwater funding.
RHA said it looks forward to working with the township on green infrastructure planning, watershed protection and community education.
“This is a smart, fair and future-focused approach,” the association said in a statement. “Every stormwater dollar now works harder and more equitably to protect our homes, roads and rivers.”
