Frequently Asked Questions

That depends on where the ditch is located.

Roadside ditches are maintained by VDOT. If it is along the road, it is in the VDOT right-of-way (ROW) and it is their responsibility to maintain and repair.

You can reach the local VDOT Residency Administrator’s office by phone at 757-253-5138, the Williamsburg Area Maintenance Headquarters at 757-253-5138, or the Seaford Area Maintenance Headquarters at 757-898-5151.

You can also submit a service request online at https://my.vdot.virginia.gov/, or call the central service center at 1-800-FOR-ROAD (367-7623).

If the ditch is not along the roadway, or if it is outside the VDOT ROW, then the county would maintain it (if it is in an easement dedicated to York County). If it is off the roadway and in a county easement, please call Department of Public Works at 757-890-3750 and we will have the stormwater engineers investigate the issue. You can also put in a service request on our website here.

Some easements are dedicated to Homeowners Associations (HOA’s) and would be their responsibility to fix.

To find out who owns or maintains the ditches and pipes, you should start by looking at the plat for your property or subdivision. If you don’t have a copy of this, you can find it on the county website by going to property information and looking up the address.  Once you are on the property in question, go to the map and under "Tools" on the upper right side, click on "Identify". Then go to the left side under "Layers" at the pop down box click on "Plat" link. Go back to the parcel in question and click on it again. Click the "More Information" link and you should be able to see the subdivision plat.

If that doesn’t work or you’re still not sure, go to the Customer Service Request Portal and put in your service request. You will be provided a work order request number.

York County Ordinance requires “Each septic tank and/or pumping chamber should be inspected and if necessary, pumped out and the solids removed at least once every five (5) years.”  Receipts must be sent to Department of Public Works for recording.  Homeowners with septic tanks are encouraged to create an inspection schedule to determine if more frequent inspection/pump out is necessary.

Receipts for septic tank inspection/pump out should be sent to 757-890-3759 (fax), emailed to septic@yorkcounty.gov, or mailed to:

York County Department of Public Works
Septic Tank Pump-Out
P.O. Box 532
Yorktown, Virginia 23690

On the County’s website go to Property Information Lookup and type in your street name. It will list the flood zones on the information for your property and the different elevations for the AE Zone. If you go to maps and then view Interactive Map it will show your property. On the left column check Buildings and Flood Zone (under Environmental) and it will show the flood zone with relation to your house.

Make sure there is nothing in or near ditches or pipes that can block drainage. To help yourself and your neighbors, keep your ditches clean of leaves and other debris. If a big storm is coming, check to make sure nothing is blocking drainage. Loose items can wash into drainage ways so make sure items are put away.

Unlike sewer, stormwater does not go to a treatment plant. Some stormwater goes to a pond or other system that will remove some of the pollutants, like fertilizer, before it goes downstream to a creek and then the Bay. Older developments (prior to 1985) usually go directly to the creeks.

An illicit discharge is anything other than stormwater. Pollutants that are intentionally dumped into stormwater are considered illicit and the polluter can be sited for a violation of the County Stormwater Ordinance if they are caught discharging in to the County Stormwater System.
Certain things are allowed. They are:
- Water line flushing
- Landscape irrigation
- Diverted stream flows or rising groundwater
- Infiltration of uncontaminated groundwater
- Public safety activities
- Pumping of uncontaminated groundwater from potable water sources, or foundation drains, irrigation waters, springs or water from crawl spaces or footing drains
- Air conditioning condensation
- Lawn watering
- Individual residential car washing
- Flows from riparian habitats or wetlands
- Dechlorinated swimming pool discharges
- Street flushing
- Those permitted by the State DEQ or DCR

You can help reduce pollution with these tips:
- Do not dump anything but clean water into the storm drains or ditches
- Apply fertilizers correctly
- Pick up dog waste

TMDL stands for Total Maximum Daily Load and it's an EPA term for the maximum amount of a pollutants (i.e. phosphorous, nitrogen, total suspended solids/silt) that is allowed in a creek or river on an average daily basis.