Stormwater Pollutant Sources

When waste is left outside, it is easily transported to nearby waterways by storm water. Please pick up after your pet, and properly dispose of pet waste!

Atmospheric Deposition

Rainwater picks up chemicals, metals, and other toxic substances when it runs off our roofs, streets, and lawns. In a process called atmospheric deposition, mercury and nitrogen from auto and power plant emissions eventually settle on land and get washed into creeks and streams. There, it’s joined by corrosive dust from vehicle brakes, oil from leaking automobiles, and whatever pesticides, fertilizers, and household chemicals people poured onto the ground or into a storm drain.

Chemical Storage

Store chemicals away from rainwater and dispose of them properly. Maintain vehicles so they don’t leak. Wash your car at a car wash or on grass or gravel so water can sink in, instead of running off into storm drains, which do not treat water before releasing it to streams. Apply lawn chemicals in the correct dosages. These simple steps prevent many chemicals from entering our waterways.

When impervious surfaces are created through development, less rainwater soaks into the ground. If rainwater cannot soak into the ground, or infiltrate, it becomes runoff.

As more and more natural spaces are converted into developed areas, more and more storm water runoff is created. This increase in the volume of storm water pollution is a growing problem for municipal areas.

If improperly managed, elements of fertilizer can move into surface water through yard runoff or leach into ground water. The two main components of fertilizer that are of greatest concern are nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).

Litter is pollution. Litter thrown on the ground can end up in our storm drains, ditches, and streams. Stormwater runoff carries large quantities of street litter to streams, rivers, and lakes. Street litter is often made of plastics which take hundreds of years to biodegrade and can be harmful to birds and animals, which can become entangled in it or mistake it for food.

Stream Erosion

Stream erosion is caused by stormwater swiftly carried to waterways during rain events. When stormwater is routed through pipes to nearby streams and rivers, it picks up speed. As a result, the stormwater entering streams from drainage pipes scours away the stream beds and erodes the stream banks.

Stream bank erosion causes stream beds to deepen over time, which causes further instability in the stream system.  All this erosion adds sediment to the water, which has devastating effects on stream ecosystems. Sediment buries aquatic insect life and suffocates fish. Sediment also carries other harmful pollutants such as phosphorous that further worsen aquatic conditions for fish and other wildlife.

Vehicles are a source of many pollutants in storm water. Oil, antifreeze, and other fluids often leak from cars onto parking lots or are spilled during maintenance. Normal automobile use also creates copper and other heavy metal dust, which settles onto surfaces wherever vehicle exhaust exists.

Stormwater runoff carries both metal dust and toxic fluids to streams and rivers, where they can eventually become concentrated enough to disrupt aquatic ecosystems.

Below are some steps that residents can take to decrease erosion, pollution, and even reduce flooding:

• Pick up after your pet

• Use lawn chemicals sparingly - Go natural instead of using chemical products; consider compost or natural lawn-chemical alternatives.

• Use stormwater for your lawn and garden - You can do some things to control stormwater runoff and at the same time beneficially use this water for your lawn and garden. The idea is to allow the stormwater from your home’s hard surfaces to spread out and absorb into the ground or your lawn before it enters the storm water drainage system.
  One simple way to do this is to let your roof downspouts discharge to your yard instead of piping it underground to the nearest stream, storm water inlet, or street curb. Allowing the water to absorb into the ground or run across your lawn allows natural filtration and reduces the flow entering the nearby stream.

• Consider building a rain garden - If you are planning on installing a garden or a landscaping project, consider constructing a rain garden, which uses native plants and also can absorb rainwater into the ground and reduce stormwater runoff. Rain gardens are also an excellent choice for the low spot in your yard that holds water.

• Get a rain barrel - Rain barrels are another great way that you can capture roof runoff and beneficially use the rainwater for watering outside plants and lawns on dry days. Using captured rainwater can reduce your water bill, too. Rain barrels are available for sale at a number of local businesses.

• Don't dump waste -  Throw away all trash where it belongs. Learn more about solid waste disposal in Blue Springs by visiting the Residential Disposal page. In Blue Springs, trash disposal, recycling, and yard waste is made easy with curbside service. And, you can recycle items at Blue Springs Recycling Center.

• Don't shoot your grass clippings into the street / sidewalk - Point your mower so that it throws grass clippings onto your yard, not the street. To further reduce yard waste, use a mulching mower.
  For the best results for your lawn, "cut it high and let it lie." This means that when you mow the lawn, you cut it at a higher length so that the grass clippings mulch your lawn but won't choke your lawn. Alternatively, you could mow lower but more often.

• Recycle your hazardous waste - Hazardous waste includes household chemicals, paints, motor oil, cooking oils, etc.

• Don't allow soil to erode your property - Sediment is also a pollutant in streams. Keep up your lawn and use landscaping to avoid bare spots.

• Report illegal dumping - Illegal dumping is dumping of any waste upon any public right-of-way, city property or private property, without consent of the owner.