We need your help!

Storm drain markers remind folks to keep pollution out of the storm drain. Even grass clippings, loose leaves, and pet waste can pollute Jordan Lake and drinking water sources. Help us get the word out!

Storm Drains Flow to Streams

Did you know - the drains that run along our curbs and in parking lots collect rainwater? This water flows from the street, to storm drains, and then to the nearest stream or lake.

As water moves along the ground, it can pick up pollution - like oil, grease, pet waste, and trash. It's important to make sure that only rain goes down the drain so that waterways don't become polluted.

Also, storm drains clogged with debris can cause your street to flood.

Marking Storm Drains

Leaving a message on your neighborhood storm drain will remind others to avoid dumping harmful items into the drain. You'll help reduce water pollution and protect the environment, too.

Here's how to do it:

• Know where you want to go? Check out the Storm Drain Marking Map below to see if your street is available. We can mark drains on streets with a red line.
• Get all the supplies that you need to volunteer. Email Sammy for details at sbauer@townofchapelhill.org.
  
• Use a brush to clean off the surface of the storm drain. 
• Apply adhesive to the back of the storm drain marker. 
• Stick the marker on the storm drain. 
• Let it dry. 
• Let the neighbors know by putting up door hangers

What are the Requirements?

• Volunteers must be at least 10 years old
• Volunteers or guardians must sign the Participant Agreement
• Sign up two weeks in advance
• Send us your data using the Storm Drain Marking Data Sheet

Annual Fall and Spring Litter Cleanups Need YOU! 

Year-round cleanups may be scheduled by request.

The Town of Chapel Hill sponsors annual spring and fall litter cleanups in our community's watersheds. Here's how you can participate!

Choose a scheduled event, or identify an area that you are concerned about, then call to register yourself and/or your group to clean it up! The area does not need to be directly in or along a creek or stream; most storm drains lead directly to creeks, so by cleaning up roads, you are helping to prevent the litter from reaching waterways!  

Groups wanting to adopt a stream area, or to clean up litter throughout the year, may contact Stormwater Management at 919-969-7246.  Supplies, maps and data sheets will be provided.

In addition to checking this page for future cleanups, Like and Follow the Town of Chapel Hill's Stormwater Management Facebook page to learn about opportunities to get involved in nurturing our watersheds and community.

Thank you to the Scouts and citizens who are independently tackling littered areas around town and along streams, collecting the trash before it reaches Jordan Lake.  We encourage everyone who walks or bikes to pick up and properly dispose of litter that they may see.  Picking up just one piece of litter per day per person can make a huge difference!  If you'd like, take a selfie and send it to us for posting on Facebook!  Fran DiGiano, cofounder of Clean Jordan Lake, estimates that TWO TONS of trash wash into the drinking water and recreation reservoir from its vast watershed with every storm of one inch or more.   YIKES! You can help!

And REMEMBER: "Gotta put a bottle in the bin!!"  RECYCLE your empty, clean cans and bottles at home, at work, and when traveling!    

Resources 

Poster of litter & decomposition time

Instructions for Group Leaders

Parental Permission Form for Minors (required for youth under 18 years of age)

Safety Guidelines

Group Registration and Waiver (only for check-in on the day of the event)

Data Sheet for Litter Cleanup

Other North Carolina Litter Prevention Programs

    NCDOT Beautification Program

    Keep North Carolina Beautiful

    Clean Jordan Lake

    Report illegal dumping in Orange County, NC

EPA Trash Free Waters

The Town’s Stormwater Management staff offers:

• Technical assistance to teachers and school officials
• Resource materials for classrooms and students
• School Presentations K-12.

We visit Chapel Hill schools with a variety of programs, scheduling primarily through the elementary schools’ science coordinators and science teachers on the high school and middle school levels. Programs are also given for after school groups.

We involve students in water quality and stream ecology projects and presentations, litter cleanups, and with storm drain labeling. A School Stormwater Patrol is offered at schools wanting to participate. Each school receives rain gauges for monitoring amounts of rainfall, safety vests and supplies to label all storm drains on the school campus. They also receive contour maps of their school, a Schoolyard Grade Card, and assistance in identifying remedial action for areas with erosion and drainage problems. Student participants earn Stormwater Patrol certificates.

Through the use of the EnviroScape, a hands on watershed model, students and teachers review best management practices to prevent pollution, like maintaining buffers along streams, using other erosion control measures, taking thoughtful care of yards and homes, and picking up after pets.

The Stormwater Division office also serves as a site for high school service learning and internships.

Virtual Resources

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person presentations are on pause. We are happy to join your digital classroom for a Stormwater presentation.

Learning about water quality parameters? Check out the Water Quality 101 video series on YouTube to learn about temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, nutrients, electrical conductivity, and turbidity.

Clean Water Education Partnership Outreach

Triangle J Council of Governments' Clean Water Education Partnership (CWEP), of which the Town of Chapel Hill is a member and active participant, provides a budget and staffing to help educate the public about the importance of watershed stewardship. CWEP television, cinema and radio spots, CWEP campaign statistics and additional media resources may be found here.

Stormwater Management YouTube Videos & PSAs

• The Sodfather Lawn Care Tips
• Rubber Ducky General Stormwater Pollution
• You're the Solution: Johnny Fishpatrick Protecting Storm Drains   
• Fertilizer PSA 
• Grass Clippings PSA 
• Fall Leaves PSA 
• Buffer Improvement PSA 
• Water Pollution Prevention for Restaurants: Spanish 
• Water Pollution Prevention for Restaurants: English

 Town of Chapel Hill Stormwater Management E-newsletters, "The Current"

• 2022 Summer: Flood and Hurricane Preparation
  
• 2022 Winter/Spring: First Annual Orange County Creek Week!
  
• 2021 Fall: Yard Trimmings, Booker Creek Working Group, and Volunteer Opportunities
  
• 2021 Summer: How to Prepare for Hurricane Season
  
• 2021 Spring: Booker Creek Basin Park; Get Involved; Litter Spotlight; Tips for Fertilizer Use
• 2018 Spring: Drainage Solutions; Hurricane Season Preparation; Water Quality Indicators
• 2016-2017 Winter: Illicit Discharges and Lower Booker Creek Subwatershed Study
• 2016 Spring: Mosquitoes and Stormwater 
• 2015 Winter: Winter Ice and Snow         
• 2014 Spring: Tips for Fertilizer Use and Pool Maintenance
• 2013 Winter: Storm Drains, Leaves and Stream Stewardship
• 2013 Summer Flood Edition: Flooding and Drainage

 
Town of Chapel Hill Stormwater Radio PSAs

• Only Rain Down the Storm Drain

 
Brochures

• General Brochure: Town of Chapel Hill Stormwater Management
• How to Build A Rain Garden  
• Got Creek? Rules for Use & Maintenance of Streamside Land
• Pet Waste
• Paint and Stain
• Managing Yard Waste