1. URBAN WATERSHEDS
ISSUE 19
FALL 2016
A STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
DIVISION PUBLICATION
THIS ISSUE
P.1 We Need Your Help!
P.2 Summer Internship
P.2 Helping Make Runoff From Your
Property Cleaner
P.3 Get Ready! The Streams &
Stormwater Competition
is Coming The City of Raleigh
We Need Your Help
Help keep grass clippings and
leaves off our streets and out of
our streams. Left in the street,
grass clippings and leaves not
only are an eyesore and a hazard
to cyclists and motorists, they
damage our creeks and lakes, clog
storm drains, cause flooding, and
increase maintenance costs. They
also can lead to citations and fines
Street runoff of rainwater washes
grass clippings, leaves, and other
debris into storm drains and
neighborhood stormwater conveyance systems. This material not only clogs up the system, it
ends up in our creeks and lakes where it decays, using up oxygen and releasing nitrogen and
phosphorous – fertilizers that feed algal blooms and can kill fish and other aquatic life. For
these and other reasons, City code prohibits leaving your yard waste in the street, and City
inspectors can issue citations and fines to residents and contractors who do not comply.
There are simple ways to maintain attractive landscapes without casting yard waste into the street:
• Leave grass clippings on the lawn (they are fertilizer);
• Direct mowers to cast clippings away from pavements when possible;
• Sweep or blow clippings from pavements back onto the lawn;
• Mix grass clippings with leaves and soil to make compost, a soil conditioner;
• Properly prepare leaves and other yard waste for curbside pickup by the City; and
• Utilize the Seasonal Leaf Collection program starting in November.
The City’s Transportation Field Services Division runs the Seasonal Loose Leaf Collection program and curbside collection service over a
12-week period, usually from November to February.
For more information on the Seasonal Loose Leaf program, up-to-date route schedules and guidelines, please visit www.raleighnc.gov, search
for: Seasonal Loose Leaf Collection or phone 919-996-3720. You can also view what the SodFather has to say about yard waste here.
PAGE 1
Looking Ahead
Annual Seasonal Loose Leaf
Collection typically - November to
mid-February
Curbside Collection of Used
Cooking Oil and Grease
November 1st – January 15th
Stormwater Around
the City
Sparkcon Raleigh September 15 –
18, 2016
Raleigh’s Neighborhood Exchange
10/17/16
Fall Stormwater Volunteer Stream
Monitoring Workshop – 10/15/16
Registration is now open
Volunteer with the Stormwater
Division at the Fall Foster-a-Stream
Cleanup – 10/22/16 – location
TBD email
StormwaterVolunteer@raleighnc.gov
or phone 919-996-3940 for more
information.
MORE INFO
P.4 Contact Information
raleighnc.gov

2. PAGE 2
Summer Internship
The Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources Department and the
Stormwater Management Division were very fortunate to share an
intern this summer.
Tamara Wells came to us as through the Doris Duke Conservation
Scholars Program. Tamara spent a total of eight weeks working
with the City, the first two weeks with the Parks, Recreation, and
Cultural Resources Department at the Durant Nature Preserve. There
she mapped invasive species in Raleigh Parks, assisted with outdoor
education programs, and did some water quality sampling. She also
participated in an outdoor summer camp on the “ins and outs” of
survival in the wild instructing children how to build a shelter out of
the surrounding forest.
While working in the Stormwater Division, Tamara focused on the Storm Drain Marking Volunteer Program, this is one of four
Volunteer programs that the Stormwater Division offers. Tamara updated the maps showing the locations of all the storm drains
that have been labeled by volunteers. The program consists of applying 4” plastic disks to unmarked storm drain inlets that state, “No
Dumping-Drains to the Neuse”. This is a reminder that the only thing that should go into a stormdrain is rainwater. She also had the
opportunity to work with the Geographic Information Service (GIS) team to provide mapping and analysis services for the City, assisted
with testing water quality at local streams, attend a Stormwater Capital Improvement project meeting on the reconstruction of a dam,
and assisted Water Quality staff at the Walnut Creek Wetland Center for an afternoon program for teen girls in a STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) workshop.
In Tamara’s own words ”Working with the City of Raleigh was a great learning experience. This internship has broadened my
understanding of conservation. Now, I have a deeper understanding of how to manage stormwater, support healthy natural resources,
and complement sustainable growth within a vibrant community”
We are grateful for Tamara’s hard work and all the interns who worked in the City of Raleigh this summer and wish her the best as she
continues her studies.
If you are interested in volunteering with the Stormwater Division, please visit www.raleighnc.gov and search Stormwater Volunteers.
Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program.
Help with Making Runoff from Your Property Cleaner
The City of Raleigh now can contribute up to 90 percent of the cost of installing a stormwater treatment device on your property to
help make stormwater runoff cleaner and our streams healthier. These devices treat runoff by soaking it into the ground, irrigating
landscaping, using it for toilet flushing or for washing, instead of using potable water. They include rain gardens, rainwater cisterns,
green roofs, permeable pavers and pavements, removing conventional pavements, and stream buffer planting. Through the City’s
Stormwater Quality Cost Share Program, which is funded by your stormwater fees, the City will contribute 75 percent or 90 percent of
the cost of designing and installing a device on your property, depending on its location.
In addition to benefitting the City’s system of stormwater
pipes and culverts as well as streams the City strives to
protect and improve, these projects also can enhance
properties and benefit property owners. For example,
rainwater captured in cisterns can be used to irrigate
landscapes and gardens and for toilet flushing and washing,
saving on water bills. Also, removing conventional
pavements (impervious surfaces) and restoring the ground
to a natural condition may allow the owner to reduce the
property’s stormwater utility fee, which is based on square
feet of impervious surface.
Since the City initiated the Stormwater Quality Cost Share
Program in 2009, it has contributed up to 75 percent of the
cost of installing stormwater quality devices anywhere in
(Continued)

3. PAGE 3
Raleigh. This changed in March 2015 when the Raleigh City Council designated five areas for providing additional incentive to property
owners for installing these devices. These areas, which total approximately one-sixth of Raleigh, are called Water Quality Priority
Target Areas. The City now will contribute up to 90 percent of the cost of stormwater quality projects in these areas:
Northern Raleigh - Area that drains to Perry Creek and the drinking water supply watershed of Falls Lake;
Central Raleigh - Downtown business district and area that drains to Pigeon House Branch; and,
Southern Raleigh - Watershed of Swift Creek.
If you are interested in exploring whether a stormwater treatment device might be appropriate for your property, visit www.raleighnc.
gov, or contact us via email or call the Stormwater Management Division at 919-996-3940. We can meet with you on your property to
explore ideas.
Get Ready!
The Streams & Stormwater Video Competition is coming!
The Stormwater Management Division is
once again participating in the Environmental
Awards program for 2017. Here is a chance for
you, as a City of Raleigh high school student to
have your voice heard and your message seen.
You even have a chance at winning a cash prize
if your video is chosen as one of the competition
winners! All you have to do is start preparing
now for the 2017 Streams & Stormwater
Competition by creating a 60-second video on
how to prevent everyday actions and activities
from affecting the ecosystem and polluting our
streams, lakes and water! Registration will open
in the fall and winners will be announced at the
annual City of Raleigh Environmental Awards
Celebration in April 2017.
Be sure to check the Stormwater Management
page on the City website for more information
on the Streams and Stormwater Competition as it becomes available. You can also email Carmela Teichman, phone 919-996-4032 or
visit the Environmental Awards Program page on raleighnc.gov
Need ideas for your video? Check out the 2016 winners here.

4. ISSUE 8
WINTER 2013 THIS ISSUE MORE INFO
ISSUE 19
FALL 2016
A STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
DIVISION PUBLICATION
THIS ISSUE
P.1 We Need Your Help!
P.2 Summer Internship
P.2 Helping Make Runoff From Your
Property Cleaner
P.3 Get Ready! The Streams &
Stormwater Competition
is Coming
The City of Raleigh
MORE INFO
raleighnc.gov
P.4 Contact Information
Stormwater Division
Contacts
Stormwater Staff & Fee Inquiries 919-996-3940 or StormwaterFee@raleighnc.gov
RaleighStormwater@raleighnc.gov
Illicit Discharge Response IllegalDischarge@raleighnc.gov
Sedimentation and Erosion Control Lauren Witherspoon
Floodplain Inquiries Ben Brown
Drainage Concerns on Private Property Chris Stanley
Drainage Concerns in the Street 919-996-6446
Volunteer Opportunities StormwaterVolunteers@raleighnc.gov
Raleigh’s Stormwater
Website Resources
City of Raleigh www.raleighnc.gov
Stormwater Management Division “stormwater division”
Adopt-A-Stream Volunteer Program “adopt a stream”
Storm Drain Marking Volunteer Program “drain marking”
Stream Monitoring Volunteer Program “volunteer stream monitoring”
Report Water Pollution IllegalDischarge@raleighnc.gov
Flood Information “flooding”
Additional Educational
& Volunteer Resources
Clean Water Education Partnership www.nccleanwater.org
North Carolina Stormwater and
Runoff Pollution www.ncstormwater.org
North Carolina Watershed
Stewardship Network www.ncwatershednetwork.org
Sound Rivers (Neuse Riverkeepers) soundrivers.org
River Guardian Foundation www.riverguardfdn.org
THE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT MISSION
Manage stormwater to preserve and protect life, support healthy natural resources, and complement sustainable growth within
a vibrant community.