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What is a Watershed?
A watershed is an area of land where rainwater collects, flows, or drains to a larger body of water. This can be a lake, stream, river, or ocean.
This is how the rainwater moves after it falls from the sky:
- Flows into smaller streams or tributaries, like Crabtree Creek and Walnut Creek;
- Goes through the stormwater system in the city; and,
- Empties into the Neuse River!
There are 36 different watersheds in Raleigh. Each watershed is connected to a stream and the land around it where the water flows. This covers the entire city, including your community!
Find Your Watershed
Search your address in map to find out which watershed you live in. You can also view a PDF watersheds map.
Select the watershed in the table to learn more! We are continually updating this table with more information.
| Watersheds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Beaverdam East | Hare Snipe | Rochester |
| Beaverdam Knightdale | Harris Creek | Rocky Branch |
| Beaverdam Southwest | Honeycutt Creek | Rocky Branch East |
| Big Branch | House | Simmons |
| Big Branch South | Lower Barton Creek | Southgate |
| Briar Creek | Marsh | Swift Creek |
| Bridges Branch | Mine | Sycamore |
| Bridges Creek | Neuse | Tom's Creek |
| Bushy | Perry Creek | Turkey |
| Crabtree | Pigeon House Branch | Upper Barton Creek |
| Falls Lake | Richland | Walnut |
| Haley's Branch | Richland Creek Wake Forest | Wildcat |
Protecting Our Watersheds
During heavy rainstorms, stormwater runoff picks up pollution from impervious surfaces (roads, buildings, driveways, etc.). This can affect the water quality of a stream.
Do Your Part!
We all live in a watershed and play an important role in protecting it. You can help protect watersheds by not littering and volunteering to clean up waterways in Raleigh.
Watershed Master Plans
Raleigh Stormwater is working on watershed master plans that will identify water quality and stormwater infrastructure needs throughout the city. These plans will be used to make informed and strategic decisions about stormwater projects planned over the next several decades.