Brunswick County reviews stormwater, floodplain and reclaimed-water changes; staff warns state law limits some options

Brunswick County officials on July 21 opened a multi-pronged review of stormwater, floodplain and reclaimed-water policy, with staff proposing ordinance amendments, a feasibility study for a countywide stormwater utility and a two-phase reclaimed-water ordinance/master plan process.

Neil Brooks, Brunswick County deputy manager, told the Board of Commissioners the county’s Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance dates to 1986 and is tied to federal programs that allow residents to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. “Having that Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance allows our citizens to participate in the national flood insurance program,” Brooks said during the presentation.

Brooks and county engineers outlined three near-term tracks: draft amendments to the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, draft amendments to the county Stormwater Ordinance and a feasibility study for a countywide stormwater utility. Staff said possible ordinance changes would include larger riparian buffers, moving stormwater ponds out of buffers, and designing stormwater systems to a higher “design storm” (staff described moving some standards toward a 100‑year, 24‑hour storm instead of the current 1/10/25‑year criteria used for some designs).

Bridget Flora, county stormwater staff, described the current riparian-buffer requirement…