When we sang “rain, rain, go away” as children, we never thought about where the rain actually went. Nowadays, we no longer have that luxury. Not just rain, but melted snow, runoff from vehicle washing, grit, leaves, sand, oil and more flow into catch basins designed to prevent flooding or icing. Ultimately, though, this discharge has the potential to pollute lakes, rivers, streams--and even the ocean.
As always, federal and state environmental regulators have a system in place to assist in controlling the potential negative impact of storm water runoff. The EPA regulates it through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and has authorized many states to implement and monitor the NPDES program.
While your school may already be in compliance with NPDES, it cannot be left to one individual to enforce it. All students and employees should understand the different actions that can protect bodies of water from harmful storm water discharges--and use common sense to mitigate the impact.
Proceed through this section of the tour to become more informed about college storm water controls as they relate to environmental issues.