Stormwater Management Program

Charleston County has partnered with Clemson Cooperative Extension/Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium (ACSEC) to help educate and raise awareness of potential issues associated with polluted stormwater runoff and how to protect our water resources. Several trainings, workshops, youth programs, and other resources are offered throughout the year on a variety of stormwater topics. For more information on educational programs and water resource information please visit our partners at: https://www.clemson.edu/extension/carolinaclear/index.html.

Charleston County has partnered with Clemson Cooperative Extension/Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium (ACSEC)to provide activities and events relating to water quality preservation and education to the citizens of Charleston County. Our partners provide several ways for citizens to get involved such as attending their Healthy Pond Series discussions, partaking in the Stream Bank Repair program, joining the Master Rain Gardener initiative, and much more! For more information on how to get involved, please visit or partners at: https://www.clemson.edu/extension/carolinaclear/regional-consortiums/acsec/programs.html.

Charleston County's Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) program focuses on keeping our stormwater inventory map up to date, identifying priority areas where the likelihood of illicit discharges is higher, conducting field screening, and identifying and eliminating any sources of pollution. This portion of our program is constantly evolving in order to provide the best possible detection services for the citizens of Charleston County. Citizens are encouraged to email Stormwater@CharlestonCounty.org or call 843-202-7639 if they see any polluting of our beautiful Charleston waterways.

Charleston County's Construction Site Stormwater Runoff is managed through our permitting and inspections procedures. All projects are reviewed and inspected for compliance with our Stormwater Permitting Standards and Procedures Manual. For more information on Stormwater Permitting please click here.

The Post-Construction Management program gives the County the authority to require private property owners to control stormwater runoff from sites being developed or redeveloped. Private property owners are responsible for the perpetual maintenance of their Best Management Practices (BMPs) in order for their site to continue functioning as designed. The County performs annual on-site Post-Construction inspections to ensure the Private property owners are properly performing the necessary maintenance of their BMPs. The County strives to continue to develop and update these site performance standards to maintain the safety and well-being of its citizens.

Charleston County has implemented a range of BMPs targeted to reduce pollutants from County-Owned facilities and storm sewer systems. A Countywide inventory of major municipal facilities has been developed and each facility is assessed for potential pollutant discharges. All Facilities are inspected annually to ensure proper maintenance is being conducted, stormwater BMPs are functioning properly, and employees are being trained on pollution prevention and good housekeeping methods at each County facility.