Raleigh received an unprecedented amount of rain in the summer of 2024. Some areas received over 30 inches of rain between July 1^st and September 30^th. Many of these storms included high intensity rainfall. The drainage systems installed for most roads and subdivisions are designed for a 10-year storm and many systems have been overwhelmed by runoff this summer. 

Drainage in North Carolina is considered a private property issue. Property owners are responsible for maintaining drains and swales located on their property for runoff passage. Erosion on private property that is not caused by active construction activities is the responsibility of the property owner.

If a drain is damaged or clogged and is located in the road right of way, the owner of the road, NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) or a municipality, may be contacted to schedule clean out. NCDOT has a secondary road lookup on the web, Secondary Roads Database Lookup (ncdot.gov). If your road is in the database, contact NCDOT for maintenance

NCDOT: Road Maintenance & Maintenance Request FAQs.

Property owners interested in mitigating localized drainage issues on their property may consider installing Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI). GSI is an environmentally friendly way to manage stormwater runoff and improve water quality by slowing down the flow and allowing plants and soils to soak up the water and filter pollutants. For additional information on GSI, included funding assistance opportunities, please visit wake.gov/gsi.

Wake County Onsite Water Protection (OSWP) will be hosting an in-person Fall 2024 OSWP Installer and Designer Workshop on Thursday November 7, 2024, at the Booth Building located at 4000 Chi Road, Raleigh, NC 27603. The workshop will take place from 8:30 am until 5:00 pm. Professionals from AQWA, Crumpler Plastic Pipe, Inc, American Manufacturing Company, EGIS, and AECOM will present and/or provide product demonstrations. If you are interested, please click here to register. The workshop is free and will be submitted to the REHS Board for Continue Education Hours. 

Wake County Environmental Services General Fund Refund Policy is now available for Water Quality Division customers. If the fee was paid in the last two years (24 months), a direct refund may be issued to the customer if any of the following is true:

1. Staff have not performed work beyond administrative processing on the permit application or plan review request
2. Staff determine that a permit was applied for in error
3. Customers paid the permit fee up front and staff have not issued a sedimentation and erosion control (SEC) permit or a stormwater and flood (SWF) permit

If the fee was paid more than two years ago, no refund will be granted.

For more information or questions on refunds, please contact the Wake County Environmental Services Customer Support Center at 919-856-7400.

Permit applicants are reminded that Wake County will not close out your erosion control permit until the stormwater improvements are completed. During this fiscal year, stormwater staff will be inspecting projects that were permitted prior to 2019 that remain open. Staff will reach out as needed with requests for conversion, punch list items, recorded documents, etc.

If you have permit numbers beginning with S00, rather than SWF, please check your records for projects that have not received a

Certificate of Completion.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Wake County at 919-856-7436 or watershedmanagement@wake.gov



You may also submit anonymously through our complaint form found at https://www.wake.gov/departments-government/water-quality-division

Wake County Onsite Water Protection recently updated the Forms and Templates for wastewater permitting. The following items were updated to reflect 18E rules changes and department labels . Please click here for current septic system permitting forms and templates.  

• Application Requirements and Request Forms
• Innovative Septic System Forms
• Subdivision Submission and Review Forms
• Design Guidelines and Templates (i.e. Pressure manifold design template)
• Monitoring Forms
• Checklists

For additional information or questions, please contact a Wastewater Information Specialist at wastewater@wake.gov.

Is there a topic you'd like to see covered in a future newsletter? Send us your ideas at waternewsletter@wake.gov.

Know of others that would like to learn more about Wake County Water Quality Updates? Sign Up information is available on our website at the following link: Water Updates for Professionals

Wake County Water Updates | wake.gov/water