Stormwater Runoff

Solutions to Stormwater Runoff

Clean Water Action https://www.cleanwateraction.org/features/solutions-stormwater-runoff

Stormwater runoff also picks up and carries with it many different pollutants that are found on paved surfaces such as sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, bacteria, oil and grease, trash, pesticides and metals. These pollutants come from a variety of sour-ces, including pet waste, lawn fertilization, cars, construction sites, illegal dumping and spills, and pesticide application.

There is a simple way to solve this problem. The best way to treat stormwater is to treat it where it falls, as it falls. When green infrastructure is put in place, stormwater re-enters the water table without picking up harmful chemicals from nonporous surfaces. Native plants helps to act as a sponge, soaking up water where it falls. The water is then filtered naturally through roots and soil before then making its way back into aquifers. This is why raingardens, wetlands, bio-swales, porous pavement, and other green infrastructure upgrades go a long way toward solving this major water quality issue.

Trees and Stormwater Runoff 

Center for Watershed Protection https://cwp.org/reducing-stormwater-runoff/?fbclid=IwAR2zl3tt1S3E8EmRmagUjuUwiJRygTIRFoVh01vF8FAYARONfDbQPwZrewE

Trees and forests improve stream quality and watershed health primarily by de-creasing the amount of stormwater runoff and pollutants that reaches our local waters. Trees and forests reduce stormwater runoff by capturing and storing rainfall in the canopy and releasing water into the atmosphere through evapotrans-piration. In addition, tree roots and leaf litter create soil conditions that promote the infil-tration of rainwater into the soil. This helps to replenish our groundwater supply and maintain streamflow during dry periods. 

The presence of trees also helps to slow down and temporarily store runoff, which further promotes infiltration, and decreases flooding and erosion downstream. Trees and forests reduce pollutants by taking up nutrients and other pollutants from soils and water through their roots, and by transforming pollutants into less harmful substances. In general, trees are most effective at reducing runoff from smaller, more frequent storms.