Welcome to the Town of Chapel Hill's
Stormwater Management Homepage

The Town of Chapel Hill is undertaking a new program to manage stormwater and related water resources issues within its jurisdiction. Pages at this site describe the many water resource-related projects and issues the Town is involved in.

Check this page regularly for news, current events, and announcements about stormwater and water resource issues in and around Chapel Hill. Previous news items and announcements can be found on our News Archive page.

Current Events and Announcements

New Preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps

Postcards were mailed to all property owners whose property falls within the floodplain as shown on the new preliminary flood insurance rate maps from FEMA and the State.  Some property owners who may not have previously been in a floodplain may be contacted by their mortgage company about getting flood insurance. 

Copies of the preliminary maps and the Flood Insurance Studies may be viewed at the Stormwater Management Office- 209 N. Columbia Street, or at the reference desk at the Chapel Hill Public Library.

For more information about the recent floodplain mapping, flood insurance and how to appeal a mortgage company’s requirement for flood insurance, go to the following websites:

www.ncfloodmaps.com — There are several links on the right side of the page.
Digital Flood Maps: The State does not yet have the data for Chapel Hill available in their Digital Flood Maps/GIS system. They tell us they are working on it. We welcome you to come to our office or the library to review paper copies of the maps.

Public Documents Fact Sheet Information: This link has a gamut of topics, but we highly recommend reading “A Reference for Flood Insurance Policy Holders-Fact Sheet on Grandfathering” if you are contacted by your mortgage company about flood insurance.

www.fema.gov/nfip has a good overview of flood insurance and hazard mitigation. You might find frequently asked questions under, “Ask the Expert”.

For more information, call the Stormwater Management Division at 969-7246.

Information on Stormwater Billing and Fees

The Billing & Funding section of the Stormwater Programming page has information on how bills are calculated.   Stormwater fees will be included as part of the 2005 County tax bill for Chapel Hill properties within Orange County.  Chapel Hill properties within Durham County will receive separate bills issued by the Town of Chapel Hill. 

Stormwater Advisory Board

The Stormwater Management Utility Advisory Board consists of eleven (11) members appointed by the Town Council. Board representation includes six members who are single-family residential property owners who live within Town Limits, four members who are owners or employees of companies within Town Limits that own property used for multi-family, business, commercial, or non-profit purposes, and one member representing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Board also has two liaisons to the Town Council.

Board Members: Alan Rimer, Chair; Philip Berke, Vice Chair; Karen Vanderwall, Donald R. Brewer, Milton Heath, Jr., Patricia E. Hughes, C. Suzanne Lea, Warren Mitchell, Philip Post, and Tony Bayless. UNC-Chapel Hill’s representative to the Board is Margaret D. Holton, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Stormwater Manager.

Town Council Liaisons: Ed Harrison and Bill Strom

Advisory Board meetings are open to the public and meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:00pm in the Chapel Hill Library Meeting Room, 100 Library Drive. More information on the Advisory Board can be found on our Stormwater Programming page.