The impact of storm water pollution

Most people simply dislike staying inside because it is raining heavily. The truth is that anyone would rather go to out to enjoy a coffee with friends, rather than spending the day in front of the computer. Being prevented from going outside may seem like the biggest disadvantage, but in reality rainwater has other negative side effects that most people are not even aware of. Even though a separate piping system collects the rain that falls on the roof of the house, the rest of it flows freely into the streets and gutters. This is not in itself a problem, but after that the contaminated water makes its way to places inhabited by fish and other aquatic animals. Those who live near rivers are more than familiar with the effects of storm water pollution. The degradation that it can cause can affect the population in several ways.

Flooding and property damage usually occurs because of the increased volumes of lakes and streams. Areas where forests have been eradicated are the most endangered because the forest acts like a barrier against excess liquid. In some areas, even though forests still exists, asphalt is used to either fill in or replace them and this leads to the increase in the level of streams and rivers. Many companies like Xpress SW3P have efficient solutions for preventing such disasters. In the process of storm water management, specialists concentrate on adequate solutions such as dams, detention facilities and levees. Paved channels, pipes and stream banks are frequently in order to prevent flooding. Unless this solution is implemented, the area can suffer habitat loss and channel erosion. The aquatic habitat is altered because hydrology changes affect the shape and size of the river channels. Urban runoff also causes the erosion of stream banks and streambeds because they suspend the sediment that usually stays in place. Erosion can occur either gradually or suddenly as a result of the collapse of the stream bank; the erosion can come to affect the land as well. Another side effect of the storm is the sediments that tend to settle at the bottom of streams, rivers, lakes and even estuaries. The sediments thus settled have an impact on the habitat, in other words the vegetation and the spawning beds, in the sense that it can destroy them.

The fact is that not only aquatic habitats have to suffer from excessive rain. Urban runoff can end up affecting the lives of people as well. This is explained by the fact that contaminated water infiltrates public drinking supplies with all sorts of bacteria and toxic chemicals. Even swimming in polluted streams can lead to dangerous illnesses such as respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal illnesses. Unfiltered drinking supplies have a significant impact on agriculture as well, which in turn does not lead only to economic decrease, but to astronomic costs related to treatment. To conclude, it is clear that any city should have a well thought plan in order to prevent storm water pollution because the disasters that it can cause are expensive to manage.

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