Rain and the Drain

Storm drains are a major key to river health. Learn more about them here!They’re on every street: concrete channels beneath our feet that lead to our river. Storm drains are an important and often overlooked component of a water system. These outlets collect urban runoff, which cannot penetrate the ground due to paved surfaces like roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and driveways. Water sheds off these hard surfaces into storm drains and is delivered unfiltered into the river. In addition to gathering water, storm drains gather everything else that runs down a street: lawn fertilizer and chemicals, road salts, cigarette butts, pet feces, and everything in-between! States across the nation are noticing the consequences of unprotected storm drains. In California, cat feces running into storm drains that dumped into the ocean killed off local sea otter populations. Washington and Oregon stopped using road salt when they discovered the runoff harmed area fish populations.Protecting your river starts with protecting your storm drains. In order to keep runoff river ready, practice the following storm drain safe tips:

• Pick up pet waste
• Keep lawn fertilizer off sidewalks
• Dispose of any litter, including cigarette butts, cans, and other small debris
• Don’t pour anything, especially chemicals, down the drain
• Fix leaky vehicles to prevent chemicals from leaking on the streets
• Use road and sidewalk salt sparingly
• Cover storm drains when doing construction work to prevent soil and waste from washing into them
• Wash your vehicle on your lawn to keep soaps out of storm drains
• Consider replacing driveways, patios, and other hard surfaces with permeable pavers

For more information, check out the advice of Sioux Falls’ 2016 Annual Stormwater Seminar!