The Need for Stormwater Management
Recent research by the US Environmental Protection Agency finds stormwater runoff to be the leading source of water quality impairments to estuaries and the third largest source of impairments to lakes. Pollutants from untreated stormwater runoff can harm fish and wildlife, kill native vegetation, taint drinking water supplies and foul recreational areas. Stormwater runoff also increases the volume and rate at which water moves across the land and into lakes and streams, leading to erosion and flooding.
The Dynamics of Stormwater
Stormwater falling on land that has been disturbed for construction flows rapidly off the site to surface waters, carrying large amounts of eroded soil, plus pollutants from vehicles and construction processes. After construction is finished, parts of the site are usually covered by pavement, buildings and other impervious surfaces. Water can no longer be absorbed into these areas, so more stormwater remains on the land surface, to run off quickly overland or through storm drains.
Runoff from developed sites typically carries soil and sediments, road salts, nutrients and pesticides, fluids from motor vehicles and toxic chemicals in amounts that are damaging to natural resources. Generally speaking, damage to resources from development is directly proportional to the amount of impervious surface on the developed site. Studies show that water resources are damaged whenever impervious surface area within a watershed exceeds 25 to 30 percent, and degradation can be detected with as little as 10 percent impervious surface.
Protecting Local Quality of Life by Managing Stormwater
Problems from stormwater vary in severity, depending on soil and surface water conditions and on the way people use land and other resources. But unless stormwater runoff is controlled, it always harms local quality of life, whether through high-visibility occurrences such as floods and washouts, or through subtler and more pervasive losses, like degradation of drinking water, swimming or fishing or a general weakening of natural systems, with loss of native species and increase of invasive species.
The state/federal stormwater program provides a framework to help localities manage stormwater effectively and protect quality of life. When stormwater runoff is kept to pre-development amounts and quality, benefits accrue throughout the local community and beyond.
* Public health is protected when water is kept clean for drinking, contact recreation and the harvest of fish, shellfish and other edible resources; reducing the physical hazards of flooding, erosion and subsidence also protects public health. * The environment improves when pollution and sedimentation of water bodies are reduced and groundwater recharge is increased. Important biological resources, natural habitats and ecosystems become healthier and more productive. * The local economy reaps numerous benefits, including: protection for property values (by avoiding flooding, erosion and related costs to property owners, and by buffering developed areas from flooding); promotion of sustainable resources; improved tourism attracted by stable beaches and banks, clean swimming areas and successful fishing. * Local governance benefits when the community determines stormwater management goals and oversees construction/post-construction measures, as well as when local citizens participate in stormwater management decisions.
NON POINT SOURCE POLLUTION:
Why is there still water that's too dirty for swimming, fishing or drinking? Why are native species of plants and animals disappearing from many rivers, lakes and coastal waters?
Nonpoint Source Pollution
Nonpoint source pollution (NPS) occurs when rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation flows over land or through the ground, picks up pollutants, and delivers them into rivers, lakes, coastal waters or ground water. Imagine the path taken by a drop of rain from the time it hits the ground to when it reaches a river, ground water, or the ocean. Any pollutant it picks up on its journey can ultimately affect natural habitats and the living organisms they sustain. Nonpoint source pollution, particularly sediment, also alters the shape and flow of streams and other aquatic systems and may promote conditions for nonnative species invasion. NPS pollution is widespread and it can occur any time activities disturb the land.
Tremendous advances have been made to clean up the aquatic environment by controlling pollution from point sources such as industries and sewage treatment plants. Unfortunately, we have not done enough to control runoff from diffuse, or nonpoint, sources. Today, nonpoint source pollution, or runoff, remains our largest cause of water quality problems. It's the main reason that approximately 40 percent of our rivers, lakes and estuaries are not clean enough to allow basic uses such as fishing or swimming.
Runoff from urban areas is the largest cause of water quality impairments to estuaries such as the Long Island Sound and the New York-New Jersey Harbor estuary. Concern over polluted runoff has resulted in an ever increasing number of state and federal laws. The federal government recently enacted the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) and Phase II stormwater regulations. In addition to implementing these federal programs, many states have passed laws altering local land use (planning and zoning) processes and building codes to address the problem of nonpoint source pollution. Polluted runoff is one of the most important matters being addressed by local governments in New York today.
RUNOFF CONTAMINANTS Impacts
The most common nonpoint pollutants are sediment and nutrients. These contaminants wash into water bodies from lawns, roads, construction sites, and other areas of disturbance. Runoff pollutants include fertilizers, pesticides, pathogens (bacteria and viruses), salts, oil, grease, toxic chemicals, and heavy metals. Beach closures, destroyed habitat, unsafe drinking water, fish kills, and many other severe environmental, economic and human health problems result from these wide-spread pollutants. Each year, polluted runoff threatens community vitality. Restoration and protection of coastal resources costs millions.
YOU CAN HELP
BE PART OF THE POLLUTION SOLUTION
* WASHING YOUR CAR
Wash your car on a grassy area so the ground can filter the water naturally.
Use soap sparingly and use non-phosphate detergents.
Use a high-pressure, low-volume hose that has a trigger nozzle to save water.
Empty your bucket of used, soapy water down the sink, not on the driveway or in the street.
Best of all, take your car to a commercial car wash. Most car washes reuse wash - water several times, before sending it to a sewage treatment plant.
* RECYCLE GRASS CLIPPINGS ON YOUR LAWN
Use fertilizers sparingly. Lawns and many plants do not need as much fertilizer as you might think.
Don't bag grass clippings. Use a mulching lawn mower. Grass clipping recycling with a mulching mower puts nutrients on your lawn reducing the need for fertilizers and chemicals which pollute stormwater runoff.
Don't fertilize before a rainstorm.
Wash your spreader and equipment on a pervious area like the lawn, not on the driveway. This allows natural absorption of excess fertilizer.
* AUTOMOBILE OIL
Check your car often for drips and oil leaks and fix them promptly.
Have your car tuned up regularly to reduce oil use.
Use ground cloths or drip pans under your vehicle if you have leaks or are doing engine work.
Recycle used motor oil. Many auto supply stores, car-care centers, and gas stations will accept used oil. Check with your local service station.
Clean up spills immediately; you can use kitty litter or sand to soak up the liquid.
Collect all used oil in containers with tight-fitting lids. Old plastic jugs are excellent for this purpose.
Do not mix waste oil with gasoline, solvents, or other engine fluids. This contaminates the oil, which may be reused, and may form a more hazardous chemical.
Never dump motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid, or other engine fluids down storm drains, into road gutters, on the ground, or into a ditch.
* PET WASTE
Scoop up pet waste.
Flush the waste - as long as the droppings are not mixed with litter or other materials. This method is best because then your community sewage system treats the pet waste.
Seal the waste in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage.
Bury the waste. Never dump pet waste into a storm drain.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THESE AND OTHER TOPICS TO PREVENT POLLUTION OF RIVERS, STREAMS AND WATER BODIES GO TO:
Westchester Grassroots Health Lawn Program
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Long Island Sound Study
New York NEMO (Nonpoint Education of Municipal Officials) PROGRAM
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