CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services serves the City of Charlotte by improving surface waters and moving rainwater safely through storm drainage systems. May 10-14 is Infrastructure week, which highlights the critical role that infrastructure, including the publish storm drain system, plays in our daily likes.
“The storm drain system is all around us as we’re walking, biking, driving throughout our neighborhoods,” said Alyssa Dodd, Charlotte Mecklenburg Storm Water Services. “So we don’t really think about it, but we often pass these storm drains and what’s important is what’s underground.”
Storm water is rainwater that doesn’t soak into the ground. It runs off hard surfaces like rooftops, paved driveways, streets, sidewalks and parking lots. There are pipes underground that help move that rainwater from streets to creeks and streams.
Many pipes are connected to the greenway. People often don’t realize what’s flowing from the roads is eventually going into the creeks.
“It’s really important to make sure only rain goes down the storm drain because it goes directly to our creeks and it isn’t treated at a treatment plant,” Dodd said.
Clearing the storm drain of debris is important. Storm drains often get clogged with leaves, grass clippings, trash and other debris. Storm drains can’t function property if they are blocked and the excess water can back up onto the street.
“We have more than 100,000 storm drains across the city of Charlotte. We appreciate when residents help us and check storm drains to make sure they are clear of debris,” Dodd said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services works hard to keep up with aging infrastructure, but also helping to adjust to the development in Charlotte.
“On any given day we’re working on more than 400 projects to improve the storm drainage system across our city,” Dodd said. “We’re constantly working because nothing lasts forever. We’ve got to replace, repair and improve our storm drainage infrastructure.”
You can help by reporting drainage concerns and storm water pollution to 311 or using the CLT+ app.
This article contains commercial content from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services.