Stormwater is mostly rain and snow melt—
Simple, huh?
Well, that is until it lands on the ground and begins to flow down the roof tops, driveways, sidewalks and streets—then the problem is what to do with it.  You might think it just goes away, soaks into the ground or disappears down the storm drain without a concern.  But it doesn't—not like it did before we built cities.

 

Once upon a time, back in the old days, before there were so many of us living so close together on earth, the rain and snow fell and it was a good thing.  There were so many open spaces, like grasslands, prairies and forests that were all nourished by this rain and snow as it soaked into the ground.  And you could even drink it – straight from the sky or the stream – it was clean!

 

But now, with all of our buildings, houses, sidewalks, driveways, streets and parking lots, the water does not just go away by soaking into the ground.  Now, it causes runoff in the form of dirty stormwater.

 

With cities came the need to get rid of the stormwater runoff so we came up with storm drains – and we made the water from our yards and driveways, streets and parking lots flow into these storm drains.  But along with the water went pollution – lawn chemicals, pet poop, gas and oil, and all the trash that people carelessly throw into the street.  Then, it all flows from the storm drains directly into our rivers, lakes and streams.  And this is the same water that we use for swimming, fishing and drinking.  Scary!  Don’t you think?  But don’t be too scared – the water that we drink (from our own faucets and water fountains) is not the same water, exactly.  Even though we get our drinking water from lakes and rivers (that may be polluted by stormwater runoff), it still goes to the City Water Plant first (to be cleaned and treated) and then it comes to our homes, business and schools.

 

However, think about the poor fish and other wildlife that live in, and drink, the polluted water in the rivers, lakes and streams.  Not to mention all of us humans who like to swim in it, and sometimes end up swallowing some of it too.  That is not good.  We need to keep our waters clean!

 

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY?

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