Stormwater Issues

Environmental scientists study the effects of stormwater running into bodies of water, and lawmakers have used what was learned from the studies to legislate better rules for the preservation of the planet's waterways. Even without strict legislation, individuals can make a difference and reduce the damage being done by becoming aware of stormwater issues and correcting or policing their own behaviors.

Unfiltered Stormwater

• Very often, stormwater coming from cities, highways and industrial sites goes unfiltered into surrounding lakes, streams and oceans. The quality of stormwater is often very poor because of human activity, and the water ends up polluting the bodies of water it flows into. Though cities are encouraged by environmentalists to create filtration systems, such as routing the water through wetlands, stormwater still flows from streets and gutters into creeks and rivers. Awareness of how human activity impacts stormwater and its runoff is one way to change some of the activity that causes pollution.

Urbanization

• Though urban planning habits are changing to require more open space in building developments, there are many cities that have too many impervious surfaces. City surfaces are covered with roads, highways, driveways, parking lots and sidewalks. Stormwater does not permeate these surfaces; instead, it flows over city surfaces and gathers pollution. The design of cities and towns has become more important and many developers today are required to include open space in their plans. The inclusion of more open space would reduce some of the difficulties regarding stormwater pollution by allowing the stormwater to be filtered naturally through the ground.

Poor Management

• Individuals as well as business, corporate and industrial facilities and farms contribute to the pollution that runs off into surrounding bodies of water. Fertilizers, soaps, pesticides, sediment from building sites and oil-based products are just a few of the things that are being found in stormwater runoff. In order to reduce the amount of pollution, better management practices need to be adopted. Many states and cities have legislated strict standards to prevent some of the pollution, but people and industry must also police themselves to prevent the pollution at its source. Los Angeles' Stormwater Program, founded in 1990, inspects 23,000 sites for compliance every two years.

Stormwater Quantity

• The sheer quantity of stormwater that goes into the environment at one time compromises the quality of streams, creeks, lakes and oceans. These bodies of water can rescue themselves naturally when they are contaminated with small amounts of stormwater, but cities and large developments are designed to get rid of the water quickly to prevent their residents from being flooded or allow the water to become stagnant. They are seldom designed to prevent waterways from being flooded. More conscientious planners find ways to make more of the water go toward support of trees and other vegetation. Cities that use and encourage residential and industrial use of catchments to hold the water and release it slowly have found that the health of nearby bodies of water is improved. As of 2011, both Portland, Oregon and Tuscon, Arizona have programs where catchments or rain harvesting systems are the primary focus for sustainability.