Urban Stormwater
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What is Urban Stormwater?
When it rains, or the snow melts in Utah, where do you think all the water goes? Does it soak into the ground? Does it sit in puddles until it evaporates? The water actually does both of these things. Some of the water will also flow over the land surface, heading downhill to the nearest stream or ditch. We call this stormwater runoff.
In cities and towns, the water can't soak through the pavement, rooftops, and concrete, like it can into the soil. This means that there's more stormwater runoff in cities than in forests and fields. The water flows off impervious surfaces such as driveways, rooftops, sidewalks, and parking lots, and usually flows straight into a storm drain. These grates in the road connect to pipes which carry the water directly to your local stream or lake.
The percent of impervious surface in a small watershed is a good indicator of potential water quality impacts in streams draining that area. The streams in watersheds with more than 10% impervious cover will probably have impacted water quality. The more impervious cover, the greater the risk.
When it rains, or the snow melts in Utah, where do you think all the water goes? Does it soak into the ground? Does it sit in puddles until it evaporates? The water actually does both of these things. Some of the water will also flow over the land surface, heading downhill to the nearest stream or ditch. We call this stormwater runoff.
In cities and towns, the water can't soak through the pavement, rooftops, and concrete, like it can into the soil. This means that there's more stormwater runoff in cities than in forests and fields. The water flows off impervious surfaces such as driveways, rooftops, sidewalks, and parking lots, and usually flows straight into a storm drain. These grates in the road connect to pipes which carry the water directly to your local stream or lake.
The percent of impervious surface in a small watershed is a good indicator of potential water quality impacts in streams draining that area. The streams in watersheds with more than 10% impervious cover will probably have impacted water quality. The more impervious cover, the greater the risk.
What can we do to reduce water quality impacts of stormwater?
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Reduce the impervious area associated with roads and parking(60% of the impervious surface in an urban area is transportation associated).
- Identify and protect critical habitat areas, including wetlands,sensitive waters and areas with highly erosive soils.
- Manage development and redevelopment to reduce runoff and
protect water quality through better design and best management
practices. - Encourage landscaping using plants with low water needs
- Educate the public on how they can reduce water pollution from
yards, automobiles and pets. - Encourage open space development and the use of buffer strips.
Publications about stormwater
Identifying Risks to Water Quality in Urban Areas
using Impervious Surface Analysis
Community Actions to Reduce Water Quality
Impacts of Stormwater
To view more stormwater resources, click here!
Stormwater Publications