Stormwater Management

When It Rains, It Drains

Understanding Storm Water and How It Can Affect Your Money, Safety, Health and the Environment

What happens when it rains?

Rain is an important part of nature’s water cycle, but there are times it can do more damage than good. Problems related to storm water runoff can include:

Flooding caused by too much storm water flowing over hardened surfaces such as roads and parking lots, instead of soaking into the ground.
Increases in spending on maintaining storm drains and the storm sewer system that become clogged with excessive amounts of dirt and debris.
Decreases in sportfish populations because storm water carriers sediment and pollutants that degrade important fish habitat.
More expensive treatment technologies to remove harmful pollutants carried by storm water into our drinking water supplies.
Closed beaches due to high levels of bacteria carried by storm water that make swimming unsafe.

We can help rain restore its good reputation while protecting our health and environ-ment while saving money for ourselves and our community.

What is Storm Water?

Storm water is water from precipitation that flows across the ground and pavement when it rains or when snow and ice melt. The water seeps into the ground or drains into what we call storm sewers. These are the drains you see at street corners or at low points on the sides of streets. Collectively, the draining water is called storm water runoff.

Why is Storm water “Good Rain Gone Wrong”?

Storm water becomes a problem when it picks up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants as it flows or when it causes flooding and erosion of stream banks. Storm water travels through a system of pipes and roadside ditches that make up storm sewer systems. It eventually flows directly to a lake, rive, stream, wetland, or coastal water. All of the pollutants storm water carriers along the way empty into our waters, too, because storm water does not get treated!

Things to consider:

Pets
Pet wastes left on the ground get carried away by storm water, contributing harmful bacteria, parasites and viruses to our water.

Vehicles
Vehicles drip fludis (oil, grease, gasoline, antifreeze, brake fulids, etc.) onto paved areas where storm water runoff carries them through our storm drains and into our water.

Lawn Care
Chemicals used to grown and maintain beautiful lawns and gardens, if not used properly, can run off into the storm drains when it rains or when we water our lawns and gardens.

Construction Sites
Waste from chemicals and materials used in construction can wash into the storm sewer system when it rains. Soil that erodes from construction sites causes environmental degradation, including harming fish and shellfish populations that are important for recreation and our economy.

MS4 "Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System"

Small MS4 Program Overview

Stormwater Phase II Final Rule Fact Sheet Series (EPA)

Stormwater pollution is caused by so many different activities that traditional regulatory controls cannot handle the problem. Polluted storm water runoff is often transported to municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) and ultimately discharged into local rivers and streams without treatment. EPA's Storm Water Phase II Rule establishes an MS4 storm water management program that is intended to improve the nation's waterways by reducing the quantity of pollutants that storm water picks up and carries into storm sewer systems during storm events. Common pollutants include oil and grease from roadways, pesticides from lawns, sediment from construction sites, and carelessly discarded trash, such as cigarette butts, paper wrappers and plastic bottles.

The Six MS4 program elements, termed "minimum control measures," are outlined below:

1. Public Education and Outreach
Distributing educational materials and performing outreach to inform citizens about the impacts polluted storm water runoff discharges can have on water quality.

2. Public Participation and Involvement
Providing opportunities for citizens to participate in program development and implementation, including effectively publicizing public hearings and/or encouraging citizen representatives on a storm water management panel.

3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
Developing and implementing a plan to detect and eliminate illicit discharges to the storm sewer system (includings developing a system map and informing the community about hazards associated with illegal discharges and improper disposal of waste.)

4. Construction Site Runoff Control
Developing, implementing, and enforcing an erosion and sediment control program for construction activities that disturb one or more acres of land (controls could include silt fences and temporary storm water detention ponds).

5. Post-Construction Runoff Control
Developing, implementing, and enforcing a program to address discharges of post-construction storm water runof from new development and redevelopment areas. Applicable controls could include preventative actions such as protecting sensitive areas (e.g., wetlands) or the use of structural BMPs such as grassed swales or porous pavement.

6. Pollution Prevention / Good Housekeeping
Developing and implementing a program with the goal of preventing or reducing pollutant runoff from municipal operations. The program must include municipal staff training on pollution prevention measures and techniques (e.g., regular street weeping, reduction in the use of pesticides or street salt, or frequent catch-basin cleaning) or its chosen BMPs and measurable goals for each minimum control measure. To help permittees identify the most appropriate BMPs for their programs, EPA will issue a "menu" of BMPs to serve as guidance. NPDES permitting authorities can modify the EPA menu or develop their own list.

Restoring Rain’s Reputation:
What Everyone Can Do To Help

Rain by nature is important for replenishing drinking water supplies, recreation, and healthy wildlife habitats. It only becomes a problem when pollutants from our activities like car maintenance, lawn care, and dog walking are left on the ground for rain to wash away. Here are some of the most important ways to prevent storm water pollution:

Properly dispose of hazardous substances such as used oil, cleaning supplies and paint – never pour them down any part of the storm sewer system and report anyone who does.
Use pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides properly and efficiently to prevent excess runoff.
Look for signs of soil and other pollutants, such as debris and chemicals, leaving construction sites in storm water runoff or tracked into roads by construction vehicles. Report poorly managed construction sites that could impact storm water runoff to your community.
Install innovative storm water practices on residential property, such as rain barrels or rain gardens, that capture storm water and keep it on site instead of letting it drain away into the storm sewer system.
Report any discharges from storm water outfalls during times of dry weather – a sign that there could be a problem with the storm sewer system.
Storm materials that could pollute storm water indoors and use containers for outdoor storage that do not rust or leak to eliminate exposure of materials to storm water.

Where to go to continue the information flow:

Your community is preventing storm water pollution through a storm water management program. This program addresses storm water pollution from construction, new development, illegal dumping to the storm sewer system, and pollution prevention and good housekeeping practices in municipal operations. It will also continue to educate the community and get everyone involved in making sure the only thing that storm water contributes to our water is . . . water! Contact your community’s storm water management program coordinator of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for more information about storm water management.

PA Department of Environmental Protection

If we all work together and make little changes in our behavior and daily activities, we can make a great impact on the quality of our water!!

For any questions or concerns regarding storm water or to report illicit discharges or construction site runoff, please contact the Township Engineer, Michael Reinert, at 610-286-1622, x101 or via e-mail at mreinert@technicon2.com.

What is an Illicit Discharge?

Federal regulations define an illicit discharge as any discharge to the storm sewer system that is not composed entirely of stormwater. There are exceptions to this rule such as firefighting activities, landscape irrigation, foundation drains, water from crawl space pumps etc. Sources of illicit discharges include: sanitary wastewater, failing septic systems, car wash waste water, improper oil disposal, radiator flushing disposal, spills from roadway accidents, improper disposal of household toxics or improper use of pesticides and herbicides etc. Illicit discharges enter the system either through direct connections (deliberate pipe hookups to the storm drain system) or indirect connections (spills collected by drain outlets, or deliberate dumping down the storm drain.) These illicit discharges drain directly to the creeks and streams and may be loaded with a large amount of harmful and toxic substances. These pollutants enter the aquatic system and degrade the water quality and threaten wildlife and human health.

To watch the video "After the Storm", click on the following link to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web Site.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Other Sites to visit:

Montgomery County Planning Commission

Montgomery County Health Department
Montgomery County Conversation District
Perkiomen Watershed Conservency

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