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What is Stormwater Pollution?

Stormwater (including urban runoff), pollution occurs whenever water containing pollutants, such as pesticides, fertilizer, pet waste, and litter enters the storm drain system. Storm drains are designed to prevent flooding from taking place, but they can also convey unwanted pollutants into our waterways.

View Stormwater Pollution Prevention Video

What is a Watershed?

A watershed is a basin-like landform that collects water whenever it rains or snows. Through gravity, water is channeled into soils, groundwater, creeks, streams, lakes and eventually drains into larger bodies of water such as the rivers and eventually the ocean.

The important thing to remember is that we all live in a watershed and whatever we do to the land affects water quality of the all communities living downstream. Water is a universal solvent and is affected by the land it travels across and the soil that it travels through.

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