Storm Water Awareness

1. Eastern Virginia Medical School Storm Water Awareness

2. Storm Water Program • Clean Water Act • Environmental Protection Agency • Phase I 1990 – large municipal systems • Phase II 1999 – additional municipal systems • 2004 National Water Quality Inventory • Of assessed U.S. water bodies, 44% of rivers (miles), 64% of lakes (acres), and 30% of bays and estuaries (sq. mi.) are impaired by pollution. • Do not meet water quality standards • Not clean enough for swimming and fishing • Leading sources include atmospheric deposition, agriculture runoff, and hydrologic modifications.

3. Storm Water Program • Virginia • Department of Environmental Quality • Permits • EVMS obtained permit in 2003 • Erosion and Sediment Control • Best Management Practices (BMPs) • Education requirements • Control measures

4. What is it? • Storm water is water from rain or melting snow that does not soak into the ground. • It flows from rooftops, over paved areas and bare soil, and through sloped lawns.

5. Pollutants • Runoff collects and transports soil, pet manure, salt, pesticides, fertilizer, oil and grease, leaves, litter and other potential pollutants.

6. Yard Waste/Fertilizer • Sometimes we dump or sweep pollutants down the drain. • We also spread lawn chemicals that end up in the street, and subsequently into storm drains.

7. Washing the car • Rinse water, as well as grease and oil, from washing your car drains to the curb then to the storm sewer.

8. Scoop the poop! • Pet droppings contain bacteria and other pathogens. • When our pets leave those little surprises, rain washes all that waste into our storm drains.

9. Hazardous Waste • Paint, pesticides, used motor oil, solvents, etc. • At EVMS, dispose via Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) • At home, Household Hazardous Waste Facilities and Collection Schedule • For more information, contact SPSA

10. Household Hazardous Waste • Chesapeake Transfer Station 901 Hollowell Lane Chesapeake, VA 23320 • Open: • M-F (7:00AM – 3:00PM) • Sat (7:00AM – Noon) • Regional Landfill 1 Bob Foeller Drive Suffolk, VA 23434 • Open: • M-F (8:00AM – 4:00PM) • Sat (8:00AM – Noon)

11. Household Hazardous Waste • Norfolk Transfer Station 3136 Woodland Avenue Norfolk, VA 23507 • Open: • Sat and Sun(Noon – 4:00PM) • Landstown Transfer Station 1825 Concert Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23453 • Used motor oil drop-off only • Open: • M-F (5:00AM – 5:00PM) • Sat (7:00AM – Noon)

12. Where does it go? • Rain carries pollutants to streams, wetlands, lakes and coastal waters. • Storm drains carry runoff from a neighborhood to the nearest body of water. • Storm sewers DO NOT carry storm water to wastewater treatment plants!

13. Why the concern? • Excess nutrients cause algae blooms. • When algae die, they remove oxygen from the water. • Fish and other aquatic life cannot exist in water with low oxygen levels. • Bacteria can wash into swimming areas and create health hazards, often making beach closures necessary. Algae

14. Why the concern? • Debris – plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles, and cigarette butts – washed into water bodies can choke, suffocate, or disable aquatic life. • Household hazardous wastes like insecticides, pesticides, paint, solvents, used motor oil, and other auto fluids can poison aquatic life.

15. Illicit Discharges • An illegal and/or improper waste discharge into a storm drain system and receiving waters • Example: connection of a floor drain in a business to a storm sewer

16. Illicit Discharges • Pouring used motor oil down a storm sewer catch basin rather than properly recycling the waste oil. • One quart of used motor oil can contaminate 250,000 gallons of drinking water and spread an oil slick the size of two football fields.

17. Oil Spill? • Do-it-yourselfers • Home oil change • 200 million gallons per year • Exxon Valdez oil spill – 1989 • 11 million gallons of oil spilled

18. Impacts • Flooding • Clogged drainage ditches in neighborhoods • Beaches closed due to contamination • Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach • Increased mercury in fish • Lake Whitehurst and Lake Trashmore • Oyster yield decreased • Reduced water quality

19. What can we do? • Yard waste • Sweep clippings back onto the lawn. • Rake up pine needles and leaves and recycle them. • Landscaping • Eliminate bare spots and paved areas. • Plant grass, ground covers or flower beds. • Pet droppings • Pick up droppings, bury them, or, if not mixed with other material, flush down the toilet.

20. What can we do? • Hazardous chemicals • Store safely, read manufacturers directions, and dispose at a household hazardous waste facility. • Car washing • Wash your car on the lawn or use a commercial car wash. • Report illicit discharges • At EVMS, report to EH&S. • At home, call your local Public Works Department.

21. Effects of Pollutants • Polluted storm water often affects drinking water sources. This, in turn, can affect human health and increase drinking water treatment costs. • You dump it, you drink it!

22. EVMS Concerns  • Lawn maintenance • Yard waste – do not blow in the street • Pesticides and herbicides – apply per manufacturer’s instructions

23. EVMS Issues • Hazardous chemicals • Dispose via EH&S, not in drains • Recycle waste oil and antifreeze • Ice melting products • Spread only on the sidewalk according to manufacturer’s instructions • Raw materials • Mulch, sand, dirt, rocks • Prevent washing into storm drains

24. Remember… • Only Rain Should Go Down the Drain!