Stormwater Overview
Stormwater runoff is created when rain or snow melt falls on hard surfaces like asphalt or buildings. These barriers, also known as impervious surfaces, prevent the water from inflitrating the soil. Instead the runoff flows over the ground until collected by a drainage system and transported away. While often an efficient way to reduce flooding, the downside is that pollutants picked up by the stormwater are deposited, untreated, directly into our local waterbodies. Common pollutants found in stormwater are bacteria, nutrients, oil/trash, de-icing materials, and excess sediment. These pollutants can contaminate the water we use.
When left uncontrolled, this water pollution can cause the destruction of habitats for fish, wildlife, and aquatic life; a loos in aesthetic value; and threats to public health because of contaminated food, drinking water, and recreational waterways.
To combat the negative consequences that contaminated stormwater can create, a more holistic approach is needed, rather than the traditional drainage pipe network. This restores stormwater to its rightful place where runoff is inflitrated into the ground near its generation spot. Soil and vegetation act as natural filters and prevent pollutants from contaminating larger volumes of water. This is accomplished by using low impact development (LID) techniques that preserve natural resources during construction and using "green" infrastructure that mimics beneficial natural processes, along with recognizing and reducing sources of pollution.