Do you know what is in your storm water?

     With a sizable area of the country sitting in storm water left behind by hurricane Sandy and a winter storm, I would like to again focus on storm water.  This week I would like to ask you:  Do you know what is in your storm water?  I would be willing to bet that a number of people who never thought about storm water before this week could now answer that question - at least to some extent.
     Storm water is water that has hit the ground through rainfall.  In a natural, not man altered environment, the bulk of this water will infiltrate into the ground, work its way through the soil and into the water table and may eventually emerge back on the surface having been cleaned by the soil as water in creeks, streams, ponds and ultimately the oceans.
     Man has interfered with this system through his building of structures and paving of roads, parking and walks.  As a result, we have more storm water to deal with when we have rain.  This storm water washes downhill instead of soaking into the soil.  When it does, it picks up a good deal of contaminates - both natural and man caused.
     Rain falls through the air near the earth and as it does, it collects gasses that can be dissolved in the water.  The primary gas that is picked up in the fall to earth is nitrogen.  This is an element that is greatly needed by plants.  In nature this is the primary way that nitrogen is disseminated into the soil.  When impervious areas are created, rain does not soak into the soil and is instead concentrated and allowed to run off into streams.  Nitrogen in concentrations cause algae in water areas like slow-moving streams and ponds to grow rapidly.  As it dies, it decomposes and the process of decomposition robs the water of dissolved oxygen.  This leads to the death of fish and other organisms that depend on that dissolved oxygen.
     A similar kind of die-off can occur when soil is allowed to flow off a site as erosion.  The soil left unprotected dissolves in water running downhill.  It clouds the water killing aquatic plants.  When the plants die off and decompose, they too use up the dissolved oxygen leaving none for the aquatic organisms that depend on it.
     Storm water also tends to pick up anything that will float in it and anything that will dissolve in it as it heads downhill.  That translates to picking up garbage that might be laying in the path of the water.  This also means that it picks up all kinds of waste that can be dissolved into the water.  Water flowing off farms and yards will pick up excess insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers.  Water flowing off parking lots and streets will pick up fluids like motor oil that might leak out of cars.  It will also pick up whatever people might toss out onto the soil like paints, solvents and other chemicals.
     Water washing downhill will also pick up whatever pathogens might be left on the soil surface.  In a natural system, waste from the animals living in the area will be broken down and treated where it is deposited.  With the addition of pets and livestock to that natural system, excess pathogens are deposited.  Cats and dogs, along with livestock like cattle, pigs and poultry can provide huge increases in the bacteria and other pathogens that end up in the surface water if people are not careful to pick up and treat the waste from their animals.  After all, those animals would not naturally be concentrated in one area.
     It is important to remember what will end up in the storm water.  Everyone has to deal with that water at some point in the system.  We all need to work to keep that water clean and safe.

Do you know where your storm water is going?

     As we face the very real possibility of a weekend dominated by remnants of a hurricane merging with a winter storm, I would like to ask you the following.  Do you know where your storm water is going?  If you know that it vaguely goes downhill but know very little else about it, you are not alone.  Very few people know or really even care where it goes as long as it goes away from them.  Most people want enough rain to keep their grass and trees green and healthy in due season but not so much as to pond and flood.  Unfortunately, rain is not always that controlled and refined.  It frequently comes in great amounts or stops coming at all for long periods of time.
     Rain is sometimes better classified as 'feast or famine'.  That is where storm water management becomes important.
     Rain hits all kinds of surfaces when in comes down.  In a natural environment, it hits mostly plant canopies and soil.  The exception to this is in places where rock covers the surface.  Even in the rocky natural setting, rain hits the ground and has the opportunity to infiltrate down through the soil and eventually into the water table.  During a light rain, most or all of the water hitting the ground will soak in.  During a heavy rain, some will soak in and the rest will run off downhill until it reaches a concentrated area such as an intermittent stream or a creek.  Even the water that runs off is slowed and as it flows downhill allowed additional opportunities to infiltrate due to the plants and humus layer that covers the surface of the soil.
     People don't tend to live on pristine sites.  They construct houses, pave driveways and walks and alter the plants covering the soil.  Roofs and paving create areas where water in incapable of even reaching the soil.  These areas are impervious meaning that no water can infiltrate into the soil.   People cut down trees that otherwise would have helped to direct the water down their trunks and into the soil and plant areas of grass which does allow for infiltration but at a different rate.  In addition water traveling over the soil flows at a different rate, usually much faster, after the site has been altered.
     The end result of all this activity is an increase in water leaving sites and filling creeks, stream bed and bank degradation and downstream flooding.  To many people this is the inevitable by-product of human habitation and this is worsened by a thriving economy that fosters building.   
     This excess water doesn't have to leave your site.  Consider adding measures to collect it and allow it to stay on your site where it was intended to remain.  A couple of easy and obvious do-it-yourself choices are great possibilities.  The easiest and most obvious measure is to add a rainwater collection barrel to the end of your downspouts.  This collects water from your roof and makes it available for future garden watering needs.  You can also consider adding a rain garden.  This is a garden designed to collect and store water in the soil and release it through the evapotranspiration of the plants in the garden.  Finally, you can use permeable paving in place of the impermeable paving choices (such as concrete, asphalt and gravel) most frequently used for drives and walks.
    Every drop of rain collected and retained on your site is a step toward helping return the streams of your area to a healthy state.