Reported sewage discharges in North Carolina

What the law requires. Under G.S. 143-215.1C(b), the operator of a sewer system or treatment plant must send a press release to the news media covering the county within 24 hours of finding that 1,000 gallons or more of untreated wastewater reached surface waters, and publish a newspaper notice in that county and in each significantly affected downstream county for 15,000 gallons or more. Each municipal or domestic sewer system or treatment plant with an average flow over 200,000 gallons a day must also give its customers and the Department of Environmental Quality a yearly report on its performance and its permit violations, within 60 days of the end of its calendar or fiscal year (G.S. 143-215.1C(a)); it summarizes the year, not single overflows. Every overflow that reaches surface water must also be reported to the Division of Water Resources (DWR) within 24 hours, in writing within five days. On the coast, the Division of Marine Fisheries issues a swimming advisory and posts signs at swimming waters affected by a wastewater spill (15A NCAC 18A .3404). No period after a discharge is set during which the water should be avoided. North Carolina has no combined sewers (sewage and rainwater in one pipe): its reported discharges are sanitary (sewage-only) overflows and bypasses.

What is published. DWR's public Sanitary Sewer Overflow Tracking Map lists every reported overflow from September 2022 on, from public and private sewer systems alike, with start and end times, the estimated volume and the volume that reached water, the stream as DWR names it, and a point; entries can reach the map a few days after the event. The Division of Marine Fisheries maps the current swimming advisories and precautionary storm-water advisories at its coastal monitoring stations. Algal bloom reports to DWR are published with their locations.

What is not published. Whether the press release was sent or the newspaper notice ran: copies are kept for a year and given to anyone who asks. An end time for the 2022 to 2025 history, and for some current reports. The dates a coastal advisory was issued and lifted: the map shows only the current status and keeps no history. Charlotte Water and Raleigh, the operators checked, announce overflows through the news media and news releases; no list of their overflows with a current status was found.

Known problems in the data. The 2022 to 2025 history repeats the start date as the end date on every row, so it gives no end, and some of its rows have no start date. Some incidents appear in both the history and the current year's reports. The operator's written five-day report can differ from the first report in its times and volume. Each year's reports are published as a new map layer. Stream names come with the state's stream index number ("Salem Creek - 13-17-36-15").

What this site does about it. Where the five-day report differs from the first, this site uses the earlier start, the later end and the larger volume. Incidents listed twice are linked and counted once. Reports from private sewer utilities are shown like any other operator's. With no period in law, this site applies 72 hours of caution from a reported end. Each coastal advisory is dated from when this site saw the agency map change: these dates are this site's own observation, not dates published by the Division of Marine Fisheries, and an advisory may have been issued earlier. An advisory the map has not re-confirmed for 14 days stops colouring the water and is listed as not re-confirmed. Algal bloom reports are shown as reports, not advisories, for seven days after the bloom was seen, with locations rounded to about 100 metres.

Of the 399 registered treatment-plant and sewer outfalls in North Carolina, 310 (78 percent) are tied to a water record on this site and 89 (22 percent) are not yet (the stream they discharge to has no record, or the location given could not be matched); an overflow at one of those appears on the map at its point with no water coloured.

Of this state's reports on this site, 100 percent are dated to the day or better; the newest dated report is from Oct 29, 2026. Coverage: Dated reports.