Stormwater Runoff

In urban areas, a much greater proportion of rain becomes runoff because a higher proportion of the landscape is covered with surfaces that keep water from soaking into the earth. We call these surfaces “impervious surfaces”. Examples of impervious surfaces include rooftops, driveways, roads and parking lots. When it rains, runoff picks up pollutants on the surface of the earth or on impervious surfaces, carries those pollutants to the nearest storm drain and from there to the nearest creek. Stormwater is carefully managed in urban areas to prevent flooding and protect local waterbodies from pollution.