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Stormwater Secrets: : How Moore, Lee and Harnett towns could solve water problems
More in Government:
In Moore, Lee and Harnett counties, stormwater is not just runoff, it is an untapped resource that could ease water shortages, but inconsistent municipal rules and outdated land use plans leave communities at risk of flooding, pollution, and missed opportunities for long-term water management.
Historically, developers preserved aesthetic landscapes with rolling hills and their stream pathways and have sometimes built structures on lots more suitable for ponds than habitable units.
Some roads and municipal streets did not install drainage culverts, but used ditches which, with time and water pressure, filled with sediment and increased flooding on roads and the land.
Land use plans failed when they allowed the reduction of the natural water mitigation system, trees, which fell to parking lots and increased development.
That is the case in some subdivisions in Moore, Lee and Harnett municipalities.
The Problems
Stormwater pollutes waterways and lands with paint, concrete acids that change the soil ph levels, agricultural chemicals that kill living organisms and sediment that suffocates living organisms from stormwater. When proven, fines can be enacted in the thousands to millions.
Stormwater laws vary in municipalities and often property owners must try to solve the problem and because it is usually a neighborhood problem instead of an isolated problem, they end up pouring money down the drain.
Municipalities report flooded areas and law enforcement sets up cones and reroutes traffic and tout, “Turn around. Don’t drown.”
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is responsible for stormwater mitigation on county roads.
Agriculture practices evolved and in the 1960s farmers who mitigated stormwater with natural means sold to developers.
According to a civil engineer, some developers “value engineer” stormwater mitigation by either removing drainage pipes or not installing them to save money and using ditches instead. This is allowable under some municipalities’ land use plans.
State, local, federal and individual landowners fall into legal issues on how stormwater is handled, according to Moore County Engineer Tom Blue.
However, stormwater can be disposed of or used, provided it does not cause harm to people or property. It can even be utilized by municipalities or individuals.
The Good News: Utilizing Stormwater
The United States Environmental Protection Agency shares that stormwater in East Coast cities can overwhelm wastewater plants that capture and treat it through combined sewer overflows. Climate change is increasing stormwater volume, straining utilities.
Properly treated, stormwater could be stored in aquifers for drinking water, aquifer recharge, urban park development and for agricultural purposes.
Competition in Financial Planning and Free and Paid Assistance
Despite growing water availability concern, a vulnerability by more than half of North Carolina municipalities, fewer than one in five have a long-range water resource plan. Increasing the urgency in competition, most are actively seeking grants from the same sources to support water planning and management initiatives.
The 2024 University of North Carolina Water and Wastewater Utility Management Survey (UNCWMS) revealed 78.4% of municipalities plan to compete for grants for water plans and only 20.7% of municipalities had a long-range water resource plan.
“In 2024, water system/source reliability was identified as a vulnerability by 52 percent of respondents, an increase of 50 percentage points since 2018,” according to the UNCWMS.
UNC’s and the University of Maryland’s Environmental Finance Centers collaborated with the US Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water in a two-year study for Integrated Planning Information for Municipal Stormwater and Wastewater.
The study produced free public resources, webinars, recordings and workshops to assist in stormwater management.
North Carolina is home to many civil engineering companies specializing in stormwater management.
The following sources supplied information on individual municipalities and general information: American Legal Publishing, the University of North Carolina, individual municipalities’ code ordinances and they are listed at the end of the article.
Moore Municipalities
Aberdeen’s stormwater municipal codes are the strongest in Moore County. They require strict permitting with a strong focus on low-impact development and quality best management practices, though measured performance is not emphasized, and maintenance enforcement is robust through recorded agreements and inspections; violations can result in a gross misdemeanor.
Southern Pines incorporates stormwater standards in its unified development ordinance (UDO). It requires post-construction runoff velocity for 10-year storms to stay within defined thresholds or match pre-development velocities, according to American Legal Publishing. If those velocity targets cannot be met, designs must be able to tolerate up to a 10% increase. The ordinance also provides detailed, quantitative performance standards and lists acceptable best management practices, including vegetated swales, energy dissipators, and erosion-resistant liners.
Pinehurst requires permits for subdivisions, applies some standards in overlay zones, measures performance only against overlay thresholds, relies mostly on developers for maintenance with minimal village enforcement, and does not clearly specify penalties.
Lee Municipalities
Sanford has the most inclusive stormwater management framework among the three municipalities. Its UDO includes provisions for environmental control, such as sedimentation and erosion control, and designates a section for future stormwater management regulations. Sanford’s planning documents refer to the need for stormwater management, indicating a proactive stance toward addressing stormwater issues.
Broadway, while part of the Sanford-Broadway-Lee County planning jurisdiction, currently lacks a dedicated stormwater ordinance. The UDO includes a reserved section for stormwater management, suggesting that stormwater regulations are anticipated but have not yet been implemented.
Cumnock does not have a local stormwater ordinance. According to Lee County Planning Board records, both Broadway and Cumnock rely on North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality stormwater rules and regulations, rather than having their own local ordinances.
Harnett Municipalities
Lillington has the most comprehensive rules, with its UDO specifying drainage structure requirements, minimum culvert sizes, and designs capable of handling a 10-year storm, giving developers clear, enforceable standards.
Coats relies on subdivision regulations that outline procedures for land development, but its publicly available information lacks specific technical standards or maintenance requirements.
Dunn and Erwin include stormwater provisions in their general codes of ordinances, but both provide minimal guidance on design criteria or ongoing system maintenance, limiting enforceability.
The Future
A recent study highlighted in Inside Climate News reveals that atmospheric rivers, narrow corridors of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere, are increasing over the Eastern U.S., including North Carolina. Between 1980 and 2020, the frequency of these events rose by nearly 5% per decade, with parts of the Southeast experiencing significant increases in rainfall rates. This suggests atmospheric rivers could double the amount of rain falling in some Southeastern regions over the next 20 years. While atmospheric rivers have long been recognized for their impact on the West Coast, this study underscores their growing significance on the East Coast, including North Carolina, where they contribute to extreme rainfall and flooding events.
For the consumer: North Carolina Real Estate laws hark, “buyer beware,” because the history and future health and safety of any property is the responsibility of the purchaser, especially in Moore, Lee and Harnett.
What’s the good news?
Profits await industrious entrepreneurs selling their stormwater back to their cities before cities jump on the stormwater collection bandwagon and sell it back to residents.
This is an ongoing series and will cover some individual municipalities.
Stay tuned to learn how Lillington is a leader in proactive stormwater mitigation and plans a stormwater utility fee.
Aug. 15, 2025
Stephanie M. Sellers
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09082025/atmospheric-rivers-move-east/
https://www.epa.gov/waterreuse/capturing-stormwater-source-water-reuse-resources
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/southernpines/latest/spines_nc/0-0-0-4404
https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/pinehurst/latest/pinehurst_nc/0-0-0-1
https://library.municode.com/nc/dunn/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH21UT
https://library.municode.com/nc/erwin/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH36ZO_ARTXVGEPR
https://www.sanfordnc.net/DocumentCenter/View/5022/UDO-Article-9—Environmental-Control-Regulations
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF10988
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