Storm water Management in North Georgia and North Carolina Mountains

Storm water Management in North Carolina and North Georgia Mountains

Storm water runoff is the rain and snow melt that runs off streets, rooftops, parking lots, lawns and other land surfaces. As communities develop, more impervious surfaces are created and less rainfall can soak into the ground. thus increases flooding and stream bank erosion. For some communities, there is federal, state, and local law regulating the quantity, quality and temperature of storm water.

Regarding quality, storm water picks up pollutants as it flows across land surfaces. Pollutants include:

• Sediment from bare areas like construction sites.
• Pesticides and fertilizers from lawns, parks and roadsides.
• Bacteria and disease causing organisms from pet waste and failing septic systems.
• Oil and grease from car leaks, gas stations and industrial areas.
• Salt used on roads and driveways.
• Toxic chemicals from leaks, spills and auto wear exhaust.

Sometimes pollutants (e.g. used oil, paint thinners, etc.) are illegally dumped directly into storm drains and waterways.

Storm water may eventually enter underground pipes called storm sewers. Unlike sanitary sewers, storm sewers do not lead to a treatment plant. So storm water runoff directed to storm sewers usually receives no treatment before entering our streams, rivers and lakes. The result can be the contamination of our drinking water supplies, prohibitions on swimming, fishing, or boating uses and loss of aquatic species like trout, in other words, dilution in NOT the solution to pollution.

Temperature is of concern because trout and other mountain aquatic species rely upon cool mountain streams. water from driveways, rooftops, and places like parking lots is much warmer and thus warms up the streams. The end result is the loss of those cold water species.

Here are things you can do to help:

• Retain or create a 50 foot buffer between water and the impervious surface (driveways, parking areas etc.)
• Keep your vehicle from leaking fluids.
• Wash your car on the lawn, not on the driveway.
• Stop soil erosion by seeding bare property.
• Never pour oil, paint thinners, or other pollutants into the storm drain, the waterway or in your lawn. take them to a recycling center.
• Minimize the use of fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn
• Keep pet waste, glass clippings and other debris out of the stream.

These are also forms of pollution. Clean litter from the street or storm drain. point your gutter drain into the grass and away from the stream. Design all new construction to prevent runoff and storm water pollution. there are ways of making your driveway and other surfaces permeable so that the ground will absorb the storm water.

Private water systems in Western North Carolina and North Georgia Mountains

Municipal water systems