Rose Garden Bioretention Area

Stormwater Smart Initiative


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How We Work Smarter Work We're Doing Stormwater Educational Displays

Raleigh Stormwater is "Stormwater Smart." Our goal is to be the "smartest" stormwater program possible. We're focused on providing the most innovative, cost-effective, and equitable services to you and the entire community. You pay for these services through the stormwater utility fee.

How We Work Smarter

Here's what we plan to do better! Services will do more to reduce impacts from flooding, erosion, and water pollution in Raleigh.

  1. Get diverse community input on projects and policies. We want to understand your needs and identify good, equitable solutions to stormwater issues. 
  2. Plan projects looking at the entire watershed instead of focusing on one project or area at a time. This will help us upgrade the stormwater system in your neighborhood in a holistic way
  3. Improve how we track flooding and handle impacts from hazardous flooding.
  4. Use green stormwater infrastructure on projects to help keep pollution out of waterways. 
  5. Require better design and stormwater controls on buildings. This will help keep sediment - a major cause of pollution - on sites and out of streams. It also will manage how stormwater flows from a property, which helps reduce flooding.
  6. Make sure we are reaching and engaging with you. This includes using trusted, established channels and working with community leaders/groups.
GoalsFocus
Level of Service
  • Work with a variety of community organizations and members who have a diverse background and perspective on stormwater issues. 
  • Update watershed planning so it is more holistic. Our staff is working to address multiple stormwater needs instead of working on one project at a time.
  • Make sure that the services we provide meet community needs. 
Improving our Stormwater Program
  • Expand our flood monitoring network. We're looking closely at how rainstorms move throughout the city and how that's impacting flooding in the area. 
  • Be more efficient by improving how we work and the tools we use to manage the stormwater system
  • Fix infrastructure before it fails to save money and keep people safe. 
  • Use innovative practices and technologies to improve safety warnings when there is flooding. 
Good Use of Resources
  • Leverage new work environments to be more productive and improve work-life balance so that staff continues to provide good customer service. 
  • Encourage regulation changes that help keep new development out of floodprone areas.
  • Explore a variety of funding sources to complete more projects in a shorter timeframe. 
Collaborate with Others
  • Work closely with other City of Raleigh departments to deliver integrated services and projects.
  • Do stream restorations with sewer and greenway protection projects. 
  • Bring more innovative green stormwater infrastructure to the city to reduce water pollution. 
Meet or Exceed Regulatory Requirements
  • Use better control measures and design standards to reduce stormwater impacts that occur when we build in Raleigh.  
  • Be more proactive with stormwater maintenance to save on cost and make the system more reliable.  
  • Lower water levels automatically from the office at more lakes across the city. This allows us to work more efficiently and safely. We also can more proactively protect people from downstream flooding.  
Build Community Trust
  • Make sure the community is more informed and prepared for heavy rainfall and storms. 
  • Improve relationships with community groups. 

Work We're Doing

A planted bioretention area at Raleigh Rose Garden that helps protect Beaverdam Creek from water pollution. 

A camera used to track road flooding in Raleigh. The camera helps us see when an area is flooding so we can put proper safety measures in place. 

Creek flooding over a greenway bridge on Rose Lane.

A view of the USGS rain gauge installed at Fire Station 15 in Raleigh. The gauge will tell us how much rain is falling in this area. 

Stormwater Educational Displays

Scroll through the images to learn more about the stormwater educational displays installed in Raleigh!

Healing Continuum

The Healing Continuum sculpture serves as educational art that informs and engages the community about the Walnut Creek Gravel Wetland. The gravel wetland slows down and captures runoff coming from Peterson Street and other nearby streets, sidewalks, and buildings, and removes pollutants before it enters Watson Branch, which then drains into Walnut Creek. In addition to its water quality benefits, the gravel wetland is planted with native plants to provide habitat and food sources for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.

On the side of the sculpture facing the creek, visitors will find a diagram of the wetland and its components, a built-in window for viewing the wetland, and a description of how it functions. 

Photo by Negin Naseri

Contact

 

Wayne Miles, PE
Stormwater Program Manager
wayne.miles@raleighnc.gov
919-996-3964

Department:
Engineering Services

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