Illicit discharge and connection prohibitions.
Winston-Salem Code of Ordinances § 75-6
in effectSec. 75-6. - Illicit discharge and connection prohibitions.
(a) Illicit discharges.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to allow, directly or indirectly, anything other than stormwater, whether solid, liquid or vegetative, to be discharged, deposited or placed in such location that it may reach or be blown or scattered into the MS4, except for the following:
a. Water line flushing.
b. Landscape irrigation.
c. Rising ground waters.
d. Diverted stream flows.
e. Pumped ground water.
f. Ground water infiltration to storm sewers.
g. Discharges from potable water sources.
h. Irrigation water.
i. Foundation drains.
j. Springs.
k. Water from crawl space pumps and basement sump pumps.
l. Footing drains.
m. Noncommercial car washing.
n. Flows from habitats and wetlands.
o. Street wash waters.
p. Discharges from firefighting activities.
q. Discharges from swimming pools if free and total chlorine is less than one ppm.
r. Discharges associated with emergency removal and treatment activities for hazardous materials if authorized by the federal, state or local government on-scene coordinator.
s. Maintenance activities of the storm drainage system requiring flushing or cleaning with potable water.
t. Illicit discharge permitted under an NPDES permit, waiver, or waste discharge order issued to the user and administered under the authority of the EPA, or DWQ, provided that the user is in full compliance with all requirements of the permit, waiver, or order and other applicable laws and regulations. Discharges specified in writing by the stormwater manager as being necessary to protect public health and safety or discharges that have been filtered through an approved pretreatment system that consistently demonstrate no discharge of pollutants.
u. Dye testing, but only if the user has notified the stormwater manager at least 24 hours prior to the time of the test.
(2) If any of the above illicit discharge exceptions are found to be polluted and may therefore negatively impact the quality of the waters of the state, the polluted illicit discharge exception shall be deemed unlawful and shall not be allowed into the MS4. These conditions shall be determined by the stormwater manager or designee. These polluted illicit discharges, though listed as an exception above, shall be regulated as an illicit connection or discharge.
(b) Illicit connections. The construction, use, maintenance or continued existence of illicit connections is prohibited. This prohibition expressly includes, without limitation, illicit connections made in the past, regardless of whether the connection was permissible under law or practices applicable or prevailing at the time of connection."
(Ord. No. 4536, § 1, 10-24-05; Ord. No. 24-0425, § 1, 9-16-24)
Source: City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Code of Ordinances, City Charter and Related Laws (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/nc/winston-salem/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIICOOR_CH75STMA_ARTIILSTDICO_S75-6ILDICOPRFetched: 11/1/2026