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Stormwater Pollution

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Stormwater runoff and stormwater pollution begins when rain and snow precipitation flows over the surfaces of our yards, fields, woods, streets, parking lots, and roofs. These watertight areas do not allow the stormwater runoff to naturally soak into the ground. Stormwater picks up dirt, chemicals, debris, fertilizers, oils, bacteria, and other pollutants and migrate into the storm sewer system or directly into a lake, river, creek, wetland, or coastal water. All the pollution that enters the storm sewers or the bodies of water directly is untreated, and can affect the fish and wildlife, areas we use for swimming, fishing, and drinking water (GOV). Sediment can destroy aquatic habitats; they make it hard and sometimes impossible for aquatic …show more content…

An example of this would be runoff from a suburban development that flows directly into a body of water. It is difficult to prove that fertilizer dissolved in stormwater runoff that flows over the land to a body of water came from a specific yard. There is no single pipe that can be regulated, and there are many possible origins of the pollution. This is a complicated definition, however, because in a 1987 amendment to the Clean Water Act, Congress classified stormwater runoff from industrial and municipal storm sewer systems as a point source. Additionally, runoff from agriculture is exempt from being defined as a point source. Though the main focus of the Clean Water Act is on controlling point source pollution, the Act also addresses nonpoint sources of pollution, since they cause a significant amount of the pollution in streams, lakes, and estuaries. The states are mainly responsible for setting up nonpoint source controls, under section 319 and 208 of the Clean Water Act. Section 319 requires the state to identify waters that cannot meet the goals of the Clean Water Act without controls on nonpoint source pollution, and to develop a management program to address the problem. Section 208 authorizes the EPA to develop guidelines to identify waterways that are heavily polluted from urban and industrial activities. The states should then designate local government officials to develop a management plan (Moya & Fono,

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