Roanoke Stormwater

River Sunrise from 9th St Bridge
Tinker Ped Bridge
Roanoke River Steam Rising
Together, we can transform our waterways into community assets, focal points, and a source of pride for those that live, work, learn, and play in the Upper Roanoke River Watershed.

Language Assistance

If you do not speak, read, or write English well, the City will provide an interpreter at no cost to you!  This is available for all services and programs the City offers.  For language assistance, please call 540-329-3257.

Asistencia Lingüística

Si usted no habla, lee, o escribe el inglés bien, ¡la Ciudad proporcionará un intérprete sin costo a usted!  La interpretación está disponible por todos servicios y programas que ofrece la Ciudad.   Para obtener asistencia lingüística, por favor llame a 540-329-3257.

Flood Resilience Planning - Community Survey

In 2022, the City of Roanoke was awarded a grant through the Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation’s Community Flood Preparedness Fund to prepare a “Flood Resilience Plan”. The Flood Resilience Plan will ensure the City will be better prepared, ready to respond, and able to recover from flood events. The planning study is anticipated to take around eight months to complete and the resulting Resilience Plan will enable City leaders to better understand flood­ing concerns throughout the entire City. This plan also positions the City to be able to access additional grant funding support in the future, towards resilience projects and strategies identified in the Plan.

*Click Here to Complete the Survey*

Versión en español: *Encuesta del Plan de Roanoke de Resiliencia a las Inundaciones*

Read the 2022 publication of "The State of Our Waters" here!

The Stormwater Utility was created to address water quality in the City of Roanoke. The city is mandated via federal and state agencies to control and eliminate stormwater pollution.

Like many rivers across the country, the health of the Roanoke River is impaired from pollution. Stormwater runoff contributes to this pollution from normal activities taking place around the city. Everyday activities such as walking the dog, fertilizing the lawn, driving cars and exposing bare soil can generate pollution. These pollutants wash into the stormdrain system and flow untreated into the nearest creek, ultimately reaching the Roanoke River. 

The resulting pollution reduces our community's ability to use our waterways for swimming, fishing, and drinking, and it adversely impacts wildlife populations. These problems create negative impacts on our community by reducing livability, suppressing the local economy, and increasing the cost of using our water as a natural resource. It is our goal to work together with citizens to improve the City of Roanoke's waterways so that they can be community assets for many years to come. 

Be Part of the Solution, Not the Pollution. 
Together, We Can Create a Clean Water Legacy!

See something, say something.

Report illicit discharges with the iRoanoke Mobile App or by calling 540-853-5900, or by email.

Did You Know?

There are 10,784 stormdrain inlets in the City of Roanoke.

The Roanoke River ends in the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina, not in the Chesapeake Bay.

9.7 miles of the Roanoke River (410 miles total) runs through the City of Roanoke. 

There are 711 stormdrain outfalls across the City of Roanoke that empty runoff directly into local streams. 

A 1,600 sq ft roof sheds almost 1,000 gallons of runoff during a 1" rain event.

The runoff from 1 acre of paved parking generates the same amount of annual runoff as 36 acres of forest or 20 acres of grassland.

Each year, streetsweeping removes an average of 1800 tons of sediment and debris from streets in the City of Roanoke.

A single deciduous tree can intercept from 500 to 760 gallons of rainfall per year; and a mature evergreen can intercept more than 4,000 gallons per year.

Think you know a lot about stormwater? Test your knowledge with this Stormwater Quiz.


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