Downed tree on a road
A tree down across the road is a safety call first, a maintenance call second.
Blocking the road or hanging dangerously: call the Sheriff’s non-emergency line below, or 911 if it’s an active hazard. NCDOT’s own guidance is to notify law enforcement immediately when a road unexpectedly becomes unsafe — they loop in the right maintenance crew.
Already off to the shoulder, just needs hauling away:
- Town street: call your town’s public works department below.
- State road: NCDOT treats a fallen tree as highway debris — report it through NCDOT Division 14, or use the Highway Debris/Dead Animals form.
What to expect: after a storm, crews clear the busiest roads first. A tree on a quiet side street can wait longer than one on a main route.
Who to call
6 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/
Haywood County Sheriff's Office
- Dispatch (non-emergency): 828-452-6666
- Front Office: 828-452-6768
1620 Brown Avenue, Waynesville, NC 28786
For a life-threatening emergency, call 911. The Haywood County 9-1-1 Communications Center answers both emergency and non-emergency calls for service 24 hours a day at the dispatch number above.
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.