Managing Stormwater: Wake County’s Approach

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

Wake County administers its own volume control stormwater ordinance for unincorporated areas with Target Curve Number runoff volume requirements for residential development. Both residential and commercial developments adhere to the Neuse Rules, and depending on location may also be subject to the Falls Lake or Jordan Lake Rules. While implementation of the Jordan Rules has been delayed, the tool will account for them once they are in effect. With administration of three different State regulatory watersheds, in addition to local regulations, it became necessary to streamline development submittals into one comprehensive tool. The Wake County stormwater submittal tool was redesigned to include the State’s Neuse/Falls/Jordan nutrient requirements. The model presented in the tool has been accepted through a vetting process by engineers that are involved in local development plans and was reviewed by the State. Reduced misinterpretation for designers resulting in decreased complexity and time to create development designs is a direct benefit of the Wake County Stormwater Hybrid Design Tool. The tool reduces redundancy in the submittal process for compliance with multiple stormwater regulations resulting in time and cost savings to customers.