Stormwater Runoff

BE STORMWATER SAVVY AND STORMWATER WISE

One of the most significant, yet unrecognized, groups of water contaminants is stormwater pollutants. When it rains, stormwater runs over yards, streets, roads, highways, parking lots, parks, and playgrounds, carrying with it everything in its path, including debris and pollutants. Eventually, the water will travel to a stream, either over land or via a storm water drain. Storm drains are frequently located alongside streets and parking lots. Unlike sanitary sewers that divert water to a treatment plant directly from your home, storm drains lead directly to surrounding lakes and rivers without any type of treatments. All the debris and pollutants that were picked up by stormwater runoff, end up in your lakes and streams

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program

The Clean Water Act of 1972 set up the NPDES. The NPDES program required communities around the country with urbanized areas to begin tackling the issue of stormwater pollution. In recent years, several communities in Kent and Ottawa Counties were required to develop an illicit discharge elimination program (IDEP). The IDEP was required to include an investigation of the waters of the state to identify, and eventually eliminate, illicit discharges and connections to the storm sewer.