What is Stormwater?
Stormwater is water that comes from precipitation, such as rain, snowmelt, and hail. In urban areas, stormwater can run off impervious surfaces like parking lots, buildings, and roads, and pick up pollutants and debris from these surfaces. This polluted runoff can then flow into nearby streams, rivers, lakes, bays, or oceans, where it can cause water quality problems and threaten public health.
Stormwater runoff can also lead to flooding and drainage system malfunctions. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that a city block with roads and rooftops can generate more than five times as much runoff as a forested area of the same size.
However, stormwater can also have benefits, such as increasing water infiltration and soil water holding capacity, absorbing pollutants, and helping vegetation grow. In more natural areas, like forests and wetlands, stormwater can soak into the ground or be filtered and stored. Stormwater infrastructure can also help manage stormwater, and can include detention basins, ditches, canals, channels, piped systems, and roadway conveyance systems.
What You Can Do To Help?
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Clean up spills immediately
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Fertilize only your yard, not your driveway or sidewalk
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Wash you car on the lawn or at a commercial car wash
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Sweep your driveway and sidewalk, then throw the debris away in a trash can
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Do not hose down your driveway and sidewalk
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Dispose of paint, pesticides, solvents, and batteries appropriately
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Compost yard waste such as grass clippings, tree trimmings, and leaves
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Do not sweep or blow leaves and yard waste into gutters or storm drains
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If you see a drain that is clogged with debris, clean it out
What is Illicit Discharge?
- Per the Small MS4 permit an illicit discharge means any discharge to a storm drain that is not composed entirely of storm water except permitted discharges. This could be sediment laden water, fertilizer mixed with storm water, paint (including washing of materials), concrete washout, oils/fuels, excessive trash, excessive debris, etc. to a storm drain inlet.
If you see an illicit discharge please call
435-752-0431 (24 hours a day.)
Chet Olsen-
Stormwater & Streets Manager
Chet's Email
