Wake County Watershed Management is primarily a regulatory division. We issue permits for new development in Wake County and selected municipal areas. We inspect construction projects in those areas, as well. Once a project is complete, maintenance becomes the responsibility of the property owner.

Plan Review, Sedimentation and Erosion Control (Field Inspection), and Post Construction Stormwater: Watershed Management Staff Contact

Technical assistance and potential cost share program on drainage features: Wake Soil and Water Conservation District

Drainage in the road right of way (curb and gutter, swales, culvert maintenance): NCDOT or your municipality

Report a Spill by calling 911 if life, safety, health, or property is in immediate danger.

Other observed spills to surface waters should be reported to the Raleigh Regional Office’s general phone line, 919-791-4200, during normal working hours and to the State’s Emergency Operations Center line at 800-858-0368 after hours, weekends and on holidays. Get more specifics here about reporting environmental emergencies.

Illicit Discharges with the potential to significantly impact surface waters are prohibited by Wake County Stormwater Ordinance. Illicit discharges are flows to a stormwater conveyance that are not associated with stormwater runoff or an allowable discharge.  Examples of illicit discharges include, but are not limited to, oil, antifreeze, animal waste, chemicals and septic tank discharges. To report an illicit discharge, please contact Customer Service at 919-856-7400.

For information about Household Hazardous Waste, visit the Wake County Household Hazardous Waste page.

Stormwater runoff is the leading source of water pollution in our country. It can increase erosion and formation of gullies in upland areas, increase in-stream scour and erosion, increase sediment deposits in lower areas, degrade water quality, create peak storm flows that are higher and faster, and cause more frequent flooding.

In urban areas that have significant amounts of impervious surfaces, and in areas that are cleared of vegetation, the effects of stormwater runoff are much greater than in areas where soil and vegetation can absorb excess water.

You may be observing turbidity, which are suspended solids in the water.

If your pond water is not clear and looks orange or like chocolate milk after a heavy rain, the water is "turbid." Turbidity occurs when fine suspended particles of clay, silt, organic and inorganic matter, plankton and other microscopic organisms are picked up by water as it passes through a watershed. Turbidity levels are typically much higher in water from surface water sources such as streams, rivers and lakes, than from groundwater sources. Some surface water sources exhibit high turbidity levels during periods of high rainfall.

Construction sites can affect the turbidity of surface waters. Wake County regulates and inspects construction sites and requires that all disturbed soil be controlled through approved Best Management Practices (BMPs) to prevent sediment from directly entering local water systems. If maintained properly, these BMPs can also help to control turbidity.

Cloudy runoff should stop when the construction site is fully stabilized with vegetation. If there is active construction impacting your pond, please contact Wake County at 919-856-7436 or watershedmanagement@wake.gov.

All new home construction must install erosion control measures. Disturbances of less than one acre are required to have a driveway with a minimum 10-foot-wide-by-30-foot-long stone construction pad and silt fence consistent with Wake County Sedimentation and Erosion Control Section details installed. Seeding and mulching of disturbed area is required. Areas within 25 feet of the edge of pavement or gravel of the road must be stabilized before the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

If a builder has multiple lots that total to more than 1 acre of disturbance, than a Land Disturbance Permit is required.

If you have observed sediment or another pollutant leaving an active construction site, please contact Wake County at at 919-856-7436 or watershedmanagement@wake.gov, and we will investigate the problem.

Definition per N.C. Session Law 2024 (Senate Bill 166)

For the purposes of implementing State or local government stormwater programs, none of the following surfaces shall be considered "built-upon area" or an impervious or partially impervious surface:

1. A slatted deck.
2. The water area of a swimming pool.
3. A surface of number 57 stone, as designated by the American Society for Testing and Materials, laid at least four inches thick over a geotextile fabric.
4. A trail as defined in G.S. 113A-85 that is either unpaved or paved as long as the pavement is porous with a hydraulic conductivity greater than 0.001 centimeters per second (1.41 inches per hour).
5. Landscaping material, including, but not limited to, gravel, mulch, sand, and vegetation, placed on areas that receive pedestrian or bicycle traffic or on portions of driveways and parking areas that will not be compacted by the weight of a vehicle, such as the area between sections of pavement that support the weight of a vehicle.
6. Artificial turf, manufactured to allow water to drain through the backing of the turf, and installed according to the manufacturer's specifications over a pervious surface.”

Depends on your location, since Wake County regulates impervious area for each lot.

In Swift Creek, you are limited to 6% or 12% built upon area. In other areas, of unincorporated Wake County, the maximum for residential uses on a lot is 30%; however, your limit may be 15% or a specific square footage depending on the stormwater permit requirements for your subdivision.

To determine the impervious area for your lot, the first step is to locate your lot on iMaps. Then, open the recorded plat for your subdivision by clicking on Book of Maps – looks like a sheet of paper (below the Deed Information in the main search page). Locate your lot and find the impervious limit (shown in square feet). Additional information regarding impervious area can be reviewed in Wake County's presentation on Residential Lot Impervious Surface Area.

If there is no limit shown, contact Watershed Management at 919-856-7436.

If you reside in Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville or another municipal area, contact the appropriate local government's Planning Office.

Options for Mitigation of Impervious 

1) If there is a Maximum Impervious Surface Area (MISA) on the lot shown on the recorded plat along with a perpetuity statement, an owner may be able to obtain additional impervious area from another owner within the same subdivision and the same phase; both lots would need to be re-recorded; please contact the Planning Department at 919-856-6216 for information.

2) An owner may be able to remove impervious surface and re-vegetate, or replace certain impervious surfaces with gravel or artificial turf; an as built survey may also be required. 

3) If there is NO Maximum Impervious Surface Area (MISA) on the lot shown on the recorded plat and NO perpetuity statement, a permit to install stormwater measures and treat runoff (measures include rain barrels, cisterns, underground tanks, rain gardens...) may be obtained with required permit application, fees, design details and calculations, surveys, and maintenance agreements.

Yes, with a stormwater deviation permit. Use of permeable pavement to offset impervious requires a stormwater permit and design and installation consistent with the NC BMP Manual. 

For individual lot stormwater deviations (to mitigate for impervious exceedance), we recommend discussing options with County staff as permeable pavement may not be the cheapest or quickest option.

Yes, however most drainage issues on private properties are civil matters.

Drainage Law in North Carolina is based on Common Law and court precedent. The law states that the person on the lower estate must receive and pass the water from the higher estate(s). Also, specific statutes prohibit the blockage of streams, drainageways and easements that remove water from higher elevations. For more specific information on the statutes go to www.ncga.state.nc.us.

Water flows downhill. A landowner may direct runoff down slope. If the higher landowner unreasonably diverts the flow of runoff, increases the flow, or contaminates the runoff in a way that causes material damage to the lower landowner, then the lower landowner can bring an action for an injunction and damages.

Landowners are considered equal under Common Law, whether they be private citizens, companies, road authorities, federal, state or local governments. So, if you get advice on Common Law drainage problems from a drainage contractor, a drainage engineer, a lawyer, a conservation authority or a government agency, remember that it's not their responsibility to solve the problem. Only the courts can make a final decision in a dispute. To obtain a ruling by a court, a civil action must be initiated by the damaged party.

The surface water can be redirected, streams may not be moved or piped without State and federal permits. You may not block the flow. You may reroute surface runoff to or near the predominant low point of your property; however, other state and federal rules may apply, such as riparian buffer rules or wetland rules. 

Drainage problems are private property issues. You may require a qualified private consultant. If the drainage problem involves a shared easement, be sure both owners are involved in a solution.

To move a drainage easement, you will need to re-record your plat. 

Drainage easements are created to designate areas for the passage of surface water runoff. Individual property owners are responsible for the maintenance of any portion of a recorded drainage easement that is located on their property. For example, if a 20' drainage easement is located straight down a property line, each property owner is responsible for the 10' of the easement that is on his or her property. Easement issues are a private civil matter. Wake County has no authority to enforce the drainage easements of individual property owners.

Public roads are maintained by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) in Wake County, whereas private roads are the responsibility of the property owner. Wake County does not maintain roads or drainage easements from roads.

Rural Lot Construction

If the disturbance (including tree removal) is less than one acre, no permit is required. Silt fence and construction entrance are still required. If the disturbance exceeds one acre, a permit is required.

Please contact Wake County Watershed Management to be exempted from the permit requirement.