Q. What is the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) Stormwater Program?
Q.
Are sewers and storm drains the same thing?
Q. What can I do to prevent stormwater pollution?
Q.
Can any products be safely poured down the storm drains?
Q. How
do I report illegal dumping or suspicious discharges?
Q. NPDES FAQ's
Q. What is the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Stormwater Program?
A.
Polluted stormwater runoff is a leading cause of impairment
to the nearly 40 percent of surveyed U.S. water bodies which
do not meet water quality standards. Over land or via storm
sewer systems, polluted runoff is discharged, often
untreated, directly into local water bodies. When left
uncontrolled, this water pollution can result in the
destruction of fish, wildlife, and aquatic life habitats; a
loss in aesthetic value; and threats to public health due to
contaminated food, drinking water supplies, and recreational
waterways.
Mandated by Congress under the Clean Water Act, the NPDES
stormwater Program is a comprehensive two-phased national
program for addressing the non-agricultural sources of
stormwater discharges which adversely affect the quality of
our nation's waters. The program uses the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting mechanism to
require the implementation of controls designed to prevent
harmful pollutants from being washed by stormwater runoff
into local water bodies.
Q.
Are sewers and storm drains the same thing?
A.
No, they are not the same thing. The two are totally
separate systems from each other. A sanitary sewer system
collects waste from your sinks, toilets, showers, and
washing machines. The sewer system will then carry it to a
treatment facility before being discharged.
Stormwater is collected from our streets and then flows into
a separated system. This system goes untreated and flows
into local waterways, carrying all collected pollution with
it.
Q.
What can I do to prevent stormwater pollution?
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A. |
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Don't put anything in storm drains but
rainwater.
-
Avoid throwing litter into the street.
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Pick up after your pet.
-
Recycle your motor oil.
-
Bag, compost or recycle grass, tree limbs,
leaves, and other yard waste.
-
Use yard waste as mulch, as natural fertilizer,
or as ground cover.
-
Encourage local businesses to start a recycling
program if they don't already have one.
-
Don't use harsh, abrasive or toxic chemicals
around the house.
-
Recycle your grass, "Use a Mulching Mower".
-
Report illegal dumping.
-
Buy just what you need to do the job.
-
Be smart when you apply pesticides or
fertilizers.
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Q. Can any
products be safely poured down the storm drains?
A.
No! The only thing that should enter the storm drains is
rainwater. Everything that goes down the drain will end up
in our local rivers and lakes, Untreated.
Q. How do I
report illegal dumping or suspicious discharges?
A.
Contact the Stormwater Pollution Hotline at (402) 461-2339
or submit the
Illegal Dumping form.
Q. NPDES FAQ's
A.
View information on NPDES
FAQ's.
NPDES FAQ's
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