Don't Pollute the Delta

Water from storm runoff sends trash, fertilizers, chemicals to waterways

Alex Breitler

01/08/2008

The runoff from storms such as those that hit California last week flows straight to the Delta; it’s not treated first.

Officials who are increasingly concerned about runoff from wintertime storms say there’s more that can be done, and everyone — citizens and their government — can play a part.

Cities are vast islands of concrete and asphalt. Rainwater that once percolated into the ground beneath your home now spatters off your rooftop, dribbles to the gutter and plunges out of sight.

Along the way, it picks up some unseemly characters — garbage, fertilizer and chemicals that can harm fish and wildlife and threaten human health. What’s to be done? Our cities are here to stay, and many experts say that global warming promises more frequent,
intense, gutter-washing rainstorms.

“We do not need to think of a city as some sort of sacrifice” that will unavoidably harm the environment, said Bruce Ferguson, a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Georgia.

Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com.

What planners and builders can do

• Streets can be built with a porous asphalt that allows water to drain through the pavement. This material has been used on stretches of Highway 49 in the Mother Lode, according to the EPA.
• Similar types of porous concrete also are available and have been used in a parking lot at Bannister Park in Fair Oaks.

What’s at stake

• Polluted stormwater can cause health advisories to be issued in public waterways such as the Delta and may contribute to algae blooms like those at Mildred and Sherman islands in 2007.
• It can affect the amount of money made from tourism and recreation.
• Stormwater runoff also frequently washes garbage into waterways, including plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles and cigarette butts.
• Pollution in the Delta means it becomes more costly for cities to treat their drinking water.

Simple solutions

• Make sure your car doesn’t leak oil or other fluids. If it does, clean it up, but don’t hose fluids into the street.
• Wash your car on the grass or at a car- wash so that dirt and soap don’t spill into storm drains.
• Use lawn fertilizers “sparingly,” the Environmental Protection Agency says. Never apply before a heavy rain.
• Don’t place yard waste in the gutter.
• Don’t overwater your lawn.
• Pick up after your pets; dispose of their waste in the garbage, not the gutter.

The next step

• Plant a rain garden. These are specially designed areas where rainwater can be diverted and soak into the ground, nourishing native plants.
• Buy or build a rain barrel. These
mosquito-proof containers collect water from your rooftop and save it for use later on your lawn or garden.

And we’re not talking a few drips and drops. A single storm dropping 1 inch of rain on a roof of about 1,000 square feet could yield about 550 gallons of water.

To learn more, visit www.rain-barrel.net.

By the numbers

The city of Stockton in a 2005 survey learned more about residents’ understanding of stormwater runoff:

• 31 percent believed that the storm drain and sewer systems share the same underground pipes; 28 percent were unsure. “Much confusion continues to exist,” the surveyors concluded.
• 51 percent of people incorrectly agreed that stormwater is sent to a treatment plant before it’s released into the environment.
• 45 percent of those who live near a body of water said the water is “very dirty”; 31 percent said “somewhat dirty.” One percent said “very clean.”