Storm Drain Pollution
Where does all that runoff water go?
With miles and miles of sandy shores that line the Atlantic and lovely coastal communities, Rhode Island rightfully earns its title as The Ocean State. But maintaining that title comes with some serious citizen responsibility and those responsibilities can start right in your neighborhood.
You know those storm drains in the street you pass by when you’re out walking your dog or riding your bike? Those metal grates in the street that prevent your neighborhood from flooding after a rainstorm? Well, have you ever thought about where exactly all that storm water runoff goes? Long story short, all that runoff ends up in our local streams, rivers, and eventually, the ocean— and it isn’t filtered or treated in any way.
Okay…so what’s the problem? It’s just water.
That is the problem, it’s not just water flowing through the storm drains. Often times, the runoff collects pollutants such as oil, gasoline, soap suds, cigarette butts, plastics, trash, pet waste, paint, lawn fertilizers, and other harmful materials. These pollutants not only threaten the water quality, but they can cause fish and other aquatic life to die.
Say you just treated your yard with a healthy blend of fertilizer consisting primarily of nitrogen and phosphorous and all is well in the world. The next day an unexpected rainstorm hits and a small river forms along the edge of your lawn and heads right to the nearest storm drain. It is highly likely that the fertilizer you just put down has merged with the rainwater and is making its way to the nearest body of water. It’s still all good though because nitrogen and phosphorous are natural ingredients that life requires for survival. Well, not necessarily. While some of the ingredients in fertilizers are considered to be essential to life, too much of them can lead to algae growth in our waters. Excessive algae growth can lead to beach closures and the suffocating of fish and other marine life. So if you have to fertilize, try to do it sparingly.
Perhaps your taking your kids to the local duck pond this week to feed them that stale loaf of bread that’s been sitting in your pantry. Better than wasting it, right? Wrong. For starters, it is illegal to feed ducks and geese in Rhode Island. Secondly, waterfowl become dependent on humans feeding them which can lead to large populations of ducks or geese in one area. Did you know that a single goose can produce one pound of poop per day? Now, close your eyes and imagine 200 human-dependent geese flocking to the same small area each day, a pile of 200 pounds of geese poop, and a big rain storm coming through. There’s a very likely chance that the runoff water combined with the bacteria found in goose poop can lead to water contamination.
Maybe you just unscrewed the cap to your water bottle and it happens to fall near a storm drain. No big deal, casually slide that sucker into the storm drain with your shoe and watch it disappear! Kidding, please do not do that. That cap is going to travel through a series of pipes, perhaps breakdown a bit, eventually spill out into the ocean, maybe a fish will mistake it for food, eat it, and then your husband will catch that fish for dinner, you’ll filet it up, and maybe indulge in a little plastic yourself.
Are you catching my drift here?
It doesn’t matter if you are miles and miles away from a body of water— storm drains lead to rivers, streams, lakes, bays, and eventually the ocean. Everything that the rain washes away from our lawns and streets is destined to disrupt the environment.
Now that you know that, there are ways you can help prevent such disruption. I call on you to be the gatekeepers of your neighborhood storm drains! Here are a few quick and easy ways you can protect our local waters:
Take a walk and bring a reusable bag with you to pick up any litter you find on your neighborhood streets
Go easy on the lawn fertilizers and be mindful of where hazardous materials could end up
Choose organic forms of pest control in your yard
Don’t sweep grass clippings and yard waste into storm drains
Don’t feed the waterfowl
Clean up after your dogs— even if it’s in your own yard
Dispose of hazardous waste properly by making an appointment with the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation
Organize a storm drain marking project with Save The Bay
In Rhode Island, our lifestyles are centered around the ocean. Whether it be the fun we have swimming at the beach or the local oysters we enjoy on a Friday night, our waters provide us with an abundance of fun and nourishment, so the least we can all do is work to protect it. Are you in?
For more information, please email me at audrey@whalestrailsandales.com
References:
Save The Bay, Bay-Friendly Living. RPI Printing, 2017.
