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Montgomery County is refunding more than $440,000 to hundreds of homeowners associations, apartment complexes, office buildings churches and shopping malls that paid too much for a fee on impervious surface on their properties.

The massive refund stems from a batch of appeals filed two months ago by the Montgomery Village Foundation and eight homeowners associations in the Village, which saw an unexpected jump in their Water Quality Protection Charge. Taken together, the fees jumped from less than $14,000 last year to nearly $50,000 this year. Some of the 140 distinct parcels were charged more than 600 percent more than the year before.

All told, East Village, Patton Ridge, North Village, Northgate, Eastgate, Whetstone, Stedwick and Middle Village were refunded more than $50,000. East Village netted the biggest rebate, $15,854.26.

In the case of the 17 parcels that the Montgomery Village Foundation appealed, the county accepted 11 and denied six.

Going beyond the Montgomery Village appeals, County Executive Isiah Leggett extended the refund to all parcels that were similarly charged. More than 20,000 separate parcels will either be credited to their account for next year or refunded outright.

"From the beginning, he felt that the increase in charges was unexpected and seemed to be unfair," said Leggett spokesman Patrick K. Lacefield. "This is not money that we expected to get… When we budgeted last year, we did not expect that changing these calibrations would create X amount of dollars. It doesn't affect this year's budget adversely."

After increasing the flat rate 40 percent, the county expects to bring in nearly $8.5 million. Revenue generated through the Water Quality Protection Charge helps keep the county's stormwater system up to grade.

This year, the county's Department of Environmental Protection took over the charge and implemented a land measuring system to more accurately determine the amount of impervious surface on a given parcel. However, that system was not used across the entire county.

DEP says the new measuring system will be used countywide next year.

"We didn't do anything wrong. There was a policy decision to go back to use last year's impervious [calculation], primarily to give residents a break," said Steve Shofar, chief of the DEP's watershed management division.

The county is looking at possibly phasing in the new charge to ease the impact of the increases.

Village leaders are pleased with the county's decision, but will keep close watch over how future water fee calculations will hurt HOA's bottom lines.

"We've got to look at it for next year and what they come with," said Montgomery Village Foundation board president Bob Hydorn. "... Once they come with them correctly, then we'll move forward."