Stormwater Education, Outreach, and Public Participation

Share Stormwater Education, Outreach, and Public Participation on Facebook Share Stormwater Education, Outreach, and Public Participation on Twitter Share Stormwater Education, Outreach, and Public Participation on Linkedin Email Stormwater Education, Outreach, and Public Participation link
Stormwater staff collecting stream samples

Our stormwater division provides programs, projects, and services to improve stormwater quality and manage stormwater quantity.

Public education, outreach, participation, and involvement are essential to our work because increased public awareness of stormwater promotes community practices that help us better manage stormwater in Chapel Hill.

Our work is guided by a few key documents that can be found on our website:

  • Stormwater Management Plan: requirement of the federal and state government, which we update routinely as part of our National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
  • Stormwater Master Plan: strategic document built from extensive community engagement and adopted by Council in 2014
  • Subwatershed Studies: one of many initiatives called for in the Master Plan and adopted by Council to help move us toward our goals

This page highlights what we do and provides information on educational and volunteer opportunities, serving as one way the community can learn about our work and share feedback with us.

Our stormwater division provides programs, projects, and services to improve stormwater quality and manage stormwater quantity.

Public education, outreach, participation, and involvement are essential to our work because increased public awareness of stormwater promotes community practices that help us better manage stormwater in Chapel Hill.

Our work is guided by a few key documents that can be found on our website:

  • Stormwater Management Plan: requirement of the federal and state government, which we update routinely as part of our National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit
  • Stormwater Master Plan: strategic document built from extensive community engagement and adopted by Council in 2014
  • Subwatershed Studies: one of many initiatives called for in the Master Plan and adopted by Council to help move us toward our goals

This page highlights what we do and provides information on educational and volunteer opportunities, serving as one way the community can learn about our work and share feedback with us.

  • Join Us for a Stormwater Open House

    Share Join Us for a Stormwater Open House on Facebook Share Join Us for a Stormwater Open House on Twitter Share Join Us for a Stormwater Open House on Linkedin Email Join Us for a Stormwater Open House link

    Join us at one of our two open-house sessions to learn about what our Stormwater team has been up to.

    Learn about our Stormwater Management Plan, find out what stormwater projects are happening around town, and share your ideas.

    Date: Tuesday, June 16th

    Time: 12 to 2:00 p.m. or 6 to 8 p.m.

    Location: Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Dr. Room B

    Join us at one of our two open-house sessions to learn about what our Stormwater team has been up to.

    Learn about our Stormwater Management Plan, find out what stormwater projects are happening around town, and share your ideas.

    Date: Tuesday, June 16th

    Time: 12 to 2:00 p.m. or 6 to 8 p.m.

    Location: Chapel Hill Public Library, 100 Library Dr. Room B

  • Crafts with the Stormwater team!

    Share Crafts with the Stormwater team! on Facebook Share Crafts with the Stormwater team! on Twitter Share Crafts with the Stormwater team! on Linkedin Email Crafts with the Stormwater team! link
    supporting image

    On Saturday, April 25th, our we made Caddisfly Cases with children at the Magical Hill event at the Chapel Hill Community Center.

    Caddisflies are insects that live in creeks as larvae. They're important, both as food for fish and also as indicators of good water quality. They can't live in polluted water, so when we find them in our streams, we know the water quality is good.

    There are several types that live here in Chapel Hill, and some of them use a sticky silk substance (imagine spider silk combined with double sided tape) to build themselves protective cases out of whatever is around them in the stream. They use pebbles and bits of sticks and anything else they can find.

    At Magical Hill, we made the Caddisfly Cases out of colorful construction paper, and everyone got a caddisfly larva on a wooden craft stick to "live" inside the case they made. We decorated the cases with things like spare buttons, puzzle pieces, pom poms, rhinestones, and colorful tissue paper, as if the caddisfly larva had built its case out of what it could find around us.

    On Saturday, April 25th, our we made Caddisfly Cases with children at the Magical Hill event at the Chapel Hill Community Center.

    Caddisflies are insects that live in creeks as larvae. They're important, both as food for fish and also as indicators of good water quality. They can't live in polluted water, so when we find them in our streams, we know the water quality is good.

    There are several types that live here in Chapel Hill, and some of them use a sticky silk substance (imagine spider silk combined with double sided tape) to build themselves protective cases out of whatever is around them in the stream. They use pebbles and bits of sticks and anything else they can find.

    At Magical Hill, we made the Caddisfly Cases out of colorful construction paper, and everyone got a caddisfly larva on a wooden craft stick to "live" inside the case they made. We decorated the cases with things like spare buttons, puzzle pieces, pom poms, rhinestones, and colorful tissue paper, as if the caddisfly larva had built its case out of what it could find around us.

Page last updated: 28 May 2026, 03:09 PM