Watersheds: the portion of a landscape that drains to a particular stream, river, or other body of water. If rain falls on saturated soil, it will run off downhill. Runoff from all the surfaces in a watershed eventually will reach the stream or river, which the watershed is named.
Stormdrains: the inlet in a parking lot or street gutter where water runs into the pipes underground which transport rainwater to our local waterways UNTREATED.
Permeable: a material that allows other substances to flow through it. An example would be soil that water can filter or seep through.
Untreated: the water is not altered, cleaned or changed before it is discharged into our local waterways. Whatever materials or substances run with the rain into the storm drain system will end up in our local waterways.
NPDES: As authorized by the Clean Water Act, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls water pollution by regulating sources that discharge pollutants into waters of the United States. The City’s discharge of stormwater is covered under the NPDES program and requires the City to have a municipal stormwater permit.
