Wake County presents draft 50-year 'One Water' plan to Morrisville council; emphasizes reuse, resilience and municipal role

Nancy Dailey, Wake County’s water resources program manager, presented a draft 50-year Wake County One Water Plan that takes a holistic approach to water supply, wastewater, stormwater and groundwater. She told the Morrisville Town Council the plan aims to ensure long-term water availability and resilience as population and climate pressures increase.

Dailey said the plan blends water-supply planning with land-conservation, green stormwater infrastructure, groundwater protection, flood resilience and community education. She noted the draft’s public engagement—two surveys that together drew about 2,800 responses—and said the comment period had just closed; Wake County staff expect to bring a refined plan to the Wake County Board of Commissioners in early 2026.

The presentation highlighted several factual points for municipal planners: Wake County models project significant population growth through 2070 that will increase demand; roughly 40,000 private wells and about 80,000 septic systems serve county residents; and the plan includes strategies ranging from water reuse and cisterns to improved flood mapping and preservation of tree canopy and open space.

Councilmembers asked about municipal implementation, zoning, and the water demands of emerging industries such as data centers and AI facilities. Dailey said utilities and regional partners are developing complementary long-term water-supply plans and that the One Water plan will include short-, medium- and long-term action steps and implementation partners. She asked municipalities to identify opportunities and subject-matter expertise to support implementation and work through metrics and funding in the forthcoming implementation plan.

The council agreed to share links to the draft plan and public-comment materials with residents and to coordinate on follow-up actions and communications.