What is Stormwater and What Happens to it After it Goes into the Storm Drains?
Stormwater is mainly a collection of the rain that falls on our roofs and other surfaces then washes out onto our streets, sometimes through piping systems, and down into the storm drains. These drains mostly go unnoticed until they are clogged by an accumulation of leaves or debris after a rain storm. The water that makes it into the storm drain goes through piping that leads straight into the river. Yes, you heard that right it doesn’t go through a treatment plant to remove pollutants like engine oil or pesticides, it drains right into our waterways. That is why the signs say ‘NO DUMPING – DRAINS TO WATERWAYS’ because it truly does.
Learn more in Follow the Water’s post about rainwater https://followthewater.info/drains-to-stream-it-really-does/.