The Town of Knightdale is a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) community, meaning that all our runoff is collected and conveyed through a series of drains, pipes, and ditches before discharging directly into our downstream waterways.
What is an Illicit Discharge?
An illicit discharge is any discharge, dumping, or spill into an MS4 that is not composed entirely of stormwater.
What is Allowable?
There are some exceptions when it comes to what we can and cannot discharge into our storm drain system.
Examples of allowable non-stormwater discharges include water line and fire hydrant flushing, landscape irrigation, uncontaminated pumped groundwater, foundation drains, air conditioning condensate, water from crawl space pumps, footing drains, lawn watering, dechlorinated swimming pool discharges, and flows from active firefighting activities.
A detailed list of all allowable discharges can be found in Chapter 9.4(j) of the Town's Unified Development Ordinance.
Importance of Prevention: As previously mentioned, all stormwater runoff eventually drains directly into our streams, lakes, and rivers without receiving any type of treatment.
Streams such as Mingo Creek are home to many important species of fish, waterfowl, and macroinvertebrates, all of which play a very important role in the overall health and resiliency of our North Carolina aquatic ecosystems.
It is important that we protect these waterways to help ensure they can be utilized and enjoyed for generations to come.
IDDE Hotline
What if I see someone dumping or discharging into the MS4?
The Town maintains an automated Illicit Discharge hotline that can be used 24/7 to report spills, discharges, or illegal dumping into the Town’s storm drain system. When reporting an illicit discharge, be sure to include as much information as possible to help assist staff with our follow-up investigation.
The hotline can be reached at (919) 217-2257
Town Efforts
The Town implements a Stormwater Management Program to monitor and protect the storm drainage system from point source pollution.
The Town educates its residents about stormwater pollution and provides outreach and involvement opportunities to help prevent or remediate stormwater pollution.
The Town regulates what is discharged into our stormwater system through the Illicit Discharge Ordinance and ensures new development does their part through erosion control and stormwater review, permitting, and enforcement.
The Town of Knightdale also ensures that all municiple operations are conducted in a manner to prevent pollution through our Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping Program.
What can you do to help?
Be a part of the conversation!
Spread the word about stormwater pollution and help us protect our environment at home.
Clean water starts with you and me. At home, be sure to dispose of any household chemicals safely or use non-hazardous products instead. When conducting yard work, be sure to use fertilizer and other enhancements products responsibly. Mulch and bag all unwanted yard waste and keep it out of the street and drop inlet system prior to litter pickup. Keep all vehicles serviced and use oil pans in case of any leaks.
Did you know? The EPA classifies pet waste as a dangerous pollutant – (Like Oil) be sure to pick up after your pets and dispose of their poop in a designated container.
If you are a food service business, be sure to manage your grease traps regularly to prevent an incidental spill or discharge. More information on food service facilities can be found here.
And most importantly DO NOT LITTER – Litter not only impacts the beauty of our Town, but it can also cause failures within our storm drain system. Please be sure to dispose of all unwanted waste in an appropriate bin that keeps it from entering the storm drain system.