Stormwater Programs & Projects
The Town of Butner is in the watershed for Falls Lake, meaning that rain and other stormwater in Butner and Southern Granville County drain to Falls Lake. Falls Lake is also a drinking water supply. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of North Carolina have identified Falls Lake as being an impaired waterbody (Clean Water Act, Section 303(d) list), relative to its intended use as a drinking water supply, due to nutrients being deposited by runoff (nutrient loading). This led to a set of rules called the Falls Lake Nutrient Management Strategy and an expansion of the areas that require a state NPDES Phase II permit. This means that Butner must comply with two sets of state regulations, intended to keep the water quality in compliance with the Federal Clean Water Act.
The Falls Rules focus on the sediment/dirt and the nitrogen and phosphorus that are getting into the stormwater.
NPDES MS4 is a permit issued to the Town by the State Department of Environmental Quality to reduce pollutants in storm water to the maximum extent practicable to protect water quality.
The Town of Butner along with the City of Creedmoor, Town of Stem, Granville County and Person county have formed a regional stormwater utility, Granville-Person Stormwater Services, since all five jurisdictions are facing similar stormwater management considerations. The benefits of this cooperation are far-reaching. First and foremost, each jurisdiction will achieve cost savings through sharing staff, technology, and equipment with one another. Furthermore, the support network for stormwater infrastructure will be improved so service provision and customer relations can be managed seamlessly. As stormwater is by nature a regional concern, the cooperative effort makes sense as the best way to approach management.
