Stormwater
Threats to our Water Supply: Natural Gas Drilling
Pharmaceuticals and PCPs
Stormwater
Phosphorus
Infrastructure Concerns
Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
Destruction of Wetlands
Watershed Home
Rain and snowmelt falling on hard or “impervious” surfaces such as streets, driveways, and rooftops is not soaked up as it would be naturally; instead this moving water, called stormwater or polluted runoff, runs quickly over these hard surfaces.
As the stormwater flows towards the nearest storm sewer, it picks up pollutants, including oil and antifreeze from streets and driveways, leaves and grass clippings from gutters and streets, animal wastes from lawns and gutters, and fertilizers and pesticides from lawns and gardens. The storm sewers drain directly into the closest waterbody. Therefore, by controlling the pollutants in stormwater, we can control the amount of pollution entering our lakes and streams.
Different land cover results in different percentages of runoff.
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