Flooding or drainage problem
Water rising, a creek out of its banks, or anything dangerous right now: call 911 — that’s the county’s own guidance during a flood, not just a suggestion.
A clogged ditch, blocked culvert, or standing water — not an emergency: whose surface it’s on decides who’s responsible. On a town street, call that town’s public works below. On a state road, call NCDOT Division 14 below. On your own property, state guidance is clear that maintaining it is on you (or whoever it’s shared with) — no government office maintains a private drainage system.
Rebuilding after a flood, or building in a flood-prone area: Development Services below issues flood-hazard permits, and any repairs past basic cleanup need one too.
Checking your flood risk or real-time river levels: see readyhaywood.com’s flood maps and river gauges.
Want alerts before the next one hits: see sign up for emergency alerts.
What to expect: a public ditch gets triaged behind active hazards; a private one is yours to clear.
Who to call
7 offices can be the right one, depending on the details above.
Waynesville Public Works
- Main: 828-456-3706
- Utility Billing — Start/Stop Service (Finance Dept., Hazelwood Office): 828-456-3515
Monday–Friday, 7:00 AM–4:00 PM
129 Legion Drive, Waynesville, NC 28786
Handles residential/commercial trash, recycling, and bulk/yard-waste collection inside town limits. Collection day depends on where you live in town — call to confirm yours. Curbside trash must be out by 7:00 AM on your collection day; bulky items and yard waste follow a separate posted pickup calendar, not your regular weekly trash day. This Main number is also Water/Sewer Maintenance's line for leaks, outages, and low pressure — the Town maintains water/sewer lines only up to the meter or tap; beyond that is the property owner's job. Starting or stopping water/sewer/electric service (new applications, not maintenance) goes through the separate Utility Billing number above at the Finance Dept.'s Hazelwood Office, 280 Georgia Avenue — bring photo ID and a lease or closing-statement copy. After hours or on a holiday, Water/Sewer Maintenance issues route through the Waynesville Police non-emergency line, 828-456-5363.
Canton Water & Sewer / Street & Sanitation
- Main (Town Hall): 828-648-2363
- Water/Sewer After-Hours Emergency: 828-648-2376
- Water Filter Plant (water quality issues): 828-646-3414
Monday–Friday, 7:30 AM–4:00 PM (closed office holidays). After-hours water/sewer emergency line staffed 24/7.
85 Summer Street, Canton, NC 28716
Canton doesn't have separate public-works phone lines from Town Hall — the Water & Sewer Department (water/sewer lines, hydrants, storm drainage, pump stations) and the Street & Sanitation Department (street maintenance/pothole reporting, WastePro trash & recycling contract, brush/leaf pickup) are both reached through the same main Town Hall number during office hours. WastePro handles the physical trash pickup, but missed-collection reports go to Town Hall, not WastePro directly. Collection is weekly, every Thursday (since January 9, 2025) — trash and recycling both go out that day. The town provides a recycling bin; residents supply their own trash cans (up to 3 per household, 39-gallon/50-lb max).
Maggie Valley Public Works
- Public Works Director: 828-400-9494
- Public Works Director (Town Hall ext.): 828-926-0866 ext. 112
3987 Soco Road, Maggie Valley, NC 28751
Covers streets/snow removal, curbside garbage (Mondays) and recycling (Tuesdays), and the Town's sewer/wastewater system — reachable via Public Works Director Seth Boyd. Maggie Valley's drinking water is NOT run by the Town; it's a separate government entity, the Maggie Valley Sanitary District (see that entry).
Clyde Public Works
- Main (Town Hall): 828-627-2566
Monday–Friday, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM and 1:00 PM–5:00 PM
8437 Carolina Blvd, Clyde, NC 28721
Clyde has no separate public-works phone line or office — Public Works Director Richard Hodge II is reached through Town Hall's main number. Per the Town's own About page, Clyde provides police protection, water, sewer, garbage collection, street lighting, and street maintenance directly; there is no separate water/sewer utility department to merge or split out. Garbage and recycling are collected weekly, the same day for both (day depends on your address/route) — recycling goes in the town-issued cart via contractor Henson Waste. Report a missed collection to Town Hall.
NCDOT Division 14
- Main: 828-586-2141
253 Webster Road, Sylva, NC 28779
Division 14 covers Haywood and nine other western counties. To report a pothole online instead of calling, use NCDOT's statewide reporting form: https://www.ncdot.gov/contact/Pages/form.aspx?UnitName=pothole&sourceUrl=/contact/
Development Services
- Main: 828-452-6638
- Fire Marshal (burn permits, burn-day questions): 828-452-6717
157 Paragon Parkway, Suite 200, Clyde, NC 28721
The county doesn't have a standalone "Code Enforcement" office — Development Services handles building inspections, permits, planning, and zoning/erosion-control enforcement (fax 828-452-6791). Separately, the county's public-nuisance ordinance — Chapter 159, Public Health and Solid Waste Awareness and Compliance — is enforced by Environmental Health working in conjunction with the Planning Department and the Sheriff's Office, and it applies only in the unincorporated areas of the county. It covers accumulation of trash, objects that hold water and breed mosquitoes, and rodent harborages; the county's stated goal is voluntary compliance, with court action only when that fails. For nuisance calls, see Haywood County Environmental Health — the enforcing division, at the same Paragon Parkway campus, with its own direct line. Note that the county's Code Enforcement page itself lists only the agency-wide Health & Human Services front desk, which is the number carried under Haywood County Public Health: https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/456/Code-Enforcement. The county's Fire Marshal's Office is also organized under Development Services (site breadcrumb: Development Services > Building Inspections > Fire Marshal) — it handles burning-permit questions, whether burning is allowed on a given day, and burn bans; the actual permit itself is issued by the NC Forest Service's online system, not this office.
Haywood County Emergency Management
- Main: 828-452-6600
141 Hemlock Street, Waynesville, NC 28786
Managed under Haywood County Emergency Services. Public preparedness info and alerts: readyhaywood.com.
Related questions
Every office on one page
It happens: you call, and it turns out to be someone else's job. The cheat sheet puts every number on this site in one place, grouped by who runs it, so the next one to try is right there.