About Ditches
Ditches are designed to carry and redirect water, which keeps roadways and adjacent land clear and avoids infrastructure degradation that may be caused by inundation.
When ditches become filled with vegetation, sediment, or other items (such as trash) they lose their effectiveness.
If you live near a ditch, protect your property by keeping the banks clear of any brush or debris.
Who is Responsible for Ditch Maintenance?
Ditches filled with sediment, vegetation, or debris cannot hold as much water and cannot provide effective flood protection to adjacent land or roadways. Proper, preventative maintenance is therefore important to ensure drainage ditches are working as intended. The responsibility for this maintenance depends on the location of the ditch:
NC Department of Transportation is responsible for maintenance and preventative care right up to the right of way line (the publicly owned land on which NC DOT transportation projects are built). Members of the public can report drainage issues or culvert blockages to NC DOT.
Subdivisions are generally required to maintain their own drainage ditches.
Property owners are responsible for maintaining ditches and drainage pipes on private property.
Corrugated pipes allow tide water to flow up a creek and under Lennoxville Road just outside Beaufort, NC. Copyright: NC State University.
Saltwater Intrusion and Ditches
Ditches are designed to drain water that accumulates on the surface into streams, rivers, and eventually the ocean. However, when water levels are higher in the ocean and sounds than in these drainage ditches, they can push water ‘back up’ through ditches. Saltwater intrusion is already occurring across eastern North Carolina, including Down East, and ditches can exacerbate this problem by transporting saltier water farther inland than would be possible without a ditch. Saltwater intrusion leads to many issues, from negative impacts to freshwater wetlands and the species that rely on them, to infrastructure damage.