Sometimes the pollutants are visible and obvious like trash and debris but other forms of pollution cant be seen at all such as oils chemicals and dissolved heavy metals. When rainwater hits impervious areas like roads rooftops and driveways it becomes stormwater.

Stormwater Pollutants Clean Water Education Partnership Cwep

Find out how to stop stormwater pollution reaching your local drains creeks rivers and bays.

What is stormwater pollution. Stormwater Pollution Prevention for Small Residential Construction Sites Brochure Two-Page Printer-Friendly Version PDF 2 pp 4 MB Best printed on 11 x 17 paper Contact Us to ask a question provide feedback or report a problem. Nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen can cause the overgrowth of algae resulting in oxygen depletion in waterways. As rain or stormwater runoff or irrigation runoff flows across impervious surfaces like rooftops paved roads and even oversaturated lawns it picks up and carries pollutants into our streams and creeks which ultimately feed into our Bay and ocean.

Also available as part of the Reducing Stormwater Pollution kit. Stormwater pollution is anything that is picked up and carried by stormwater runoff that can be considered harmful to rivers lakes streams and other natural water resources. Stormwater picks up potentially hazardous material like trash debris nutrients sediment metals oxygen demanding substances oils grease and bacteriapathogens.

Polluted stormwater degrades our lakes rivers wetlands and other waterways. It is often referred to as Polluted Runoff. Contaminated stormwater causes significant harm to streams lakes rivers and coasts.

As the runoff flows across the ground it picks up pollutants and carries them into local waterways such as rivers lakes and streams before eventually making its way into the ocean. Sometimes this stormwater runoff gets polluted. The result is stormwater pollution.

This helps us to protect our precious water reserves. That includes things like sediment pet waste leaky cars. Part of a series of fact sheets designed primarily to help mobile business avoid polluting the stormwater system.

Keeping our stormwater clean also provides us with new opportunities for stormwater harvesting and reuse. If you stop pollutants from reaching your local drains you can improve our creeks rivers and bays. Stormwater is the polluted runoff gathered from rain severe thunderstorms and even snow from roads parking lots and other impervious surfaces where runoff collects pollutants and carries them downstream ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay.

The stormwater picks up all the pollutants along its pathway. Sediment runs off into a road culvert image courtesy of Mobile Baykeeper. What is Stormwater Pollution.

Stormwater runoff can contain nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants from fertilizers and pet and yard waste. It is the only major source of water pollution that is increasing in Maryland. This is known as stormwater pollution.

What is stormwater pollution. During periods of heavy rainfall or snowmelt some wastewater systems are designed to occasionally overflow and discharge excess untreated sewage directly to nearby streams rivers or other water bodies. Polluted stormwater runoff is often considered a non-point source pollutant meaning that it comes from such varied and widespread sources across the landscape that it is difficult to identify where the pollution starts.

Unlike sanitary sewers stormwater is UNTREATED and deposits directly into our streams ponds lakes and rivers through a system of stormwater drains pipes and ditches. With less vegetation and more impervious surfaces parking lots roads buildings compacted soil developed areas allow less rain to infiltrate into the ground and more runoff is generated than in the undeveloped condition. The stormwater drain carries this water into Lake Macquarie wetlands lagoons and the ocean along with all the sediment rubbish grass clippings pet faeces chemicals and fertiliser it collects along the way.

When it rains some of the rainwater soaks into the ground and part of it flows over the ground and directly into creeks streams or rivers. Stormwater pollution is a problem for many organizations and communities that do not safeguard against rainwater runoff or harmful substances entering storm drains. Stormwater from urban areas is one type of nonpoint source pollution - pollution that comes from many diffuse sources.

Stormwater or polluted runoff is rain or melting snow that flows over the ground. Anything that stormwater encounters as it flows along the ground can potentially be a pollutant. What Is Stormwater Pollution.

The best way to reduce stormwater pollution is to stop it getting into the system in the first place. In urban or developed areas stormwater runs over pavement and parking lots picking up oil and other pollutants before flowing into a nearby river or stream. STORMWATER POLLUTANTS Stormwater runoff plays a large role in local water pollution.

Relationship between impervious surfaces and surface runoff. 20-AUG-2009 What impact is stormwater pollution having on Lake Macquarie. This water that runs off into the river is called runoff or sometimes stormwater runoff.