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Wake County presents 50‑year "Wake 1 Water" plan to Garner council; public comment open through Oct. 10
Summary
Wake County staff briefed Garner council on a 50‑year integrated water resources plan addressing supply, reuse, stormwater, land conservation and flood resilience; draft plan is out for public comment through Oct. 10 and will be sent to the Wake County Board of Commissioners for final approval in early 2026.
Nancy Daley, Wake County Water Resources program manager, briefed the Garner Town Council on the Wake 1 Water Plan, a 50‑year integrated strategy for water supply, wastewater, stormwater, groundwater, land conservation and flood resilience across Wake County.
Daley said the plan grew from a three‑year collaboration with municipalities and community partners through the Wake County Water Partnership, and she emphasized the plan’s multi‑benefit approach: “The Wake 1 Water Plan provides an integrated framework for managing finite water resources through collaborative multi benefit projects and policies.”
The plan’s four focus areas are optimized water supply (including reuse and inter‑utility partnerships), water quality and hydrology improvements (green stormwater infrastructure, rain gardens, tree canopy), land conservation and preservation (open space and farmland protection), and flood resilience (education, dam safety, floodplain mapping). Daley described a public engagement program that included two countywide surveys reaching more than 2,800 respondents, technical workshops and stakeholder meetings with agriculture, builders and chambers of commerce.
Daley highlighted drivers for action: population growth (the county is projected to double by mid‑century), emerging contaminants that require advanced treatment, growing data‑center water demand, extreme precipitation and drought cycles, and the need to preserve groundwater and surface water in the face of increasing development. She described the Triangle Water Supply Partnership’s parallel 50‑year planning work and said Wake 1 Water will coordinate with those municipal and utility plans.
The draft Wake 1 Water Plan was on public review with comments accepted through Oct. 10, 2025; Wake County planned a noon webinar the day after this council meeting and intends to bring the plan to the Wake County Board of Commissioners in early 2026 for final approval. Daley and staff asked Garner to remain engaged on subcommittees and to help promote public outreach and local implementation strategies.
Why it matters: the plan outlines county‑level strategies that could affect local permitting, utility investment, stormwater and conservation priorities and potential future infrastructure costs that can influence land use and development decisions in Garner.
