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EFFECTS OF
POLLUTANTS ON
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How Does Pollution get Into The Bay?
Understanding your Watershed!
A watershed is the land that
water flows over, or under, on its way to a creek or bay. Water travels down hills, across fields,
suburban lawns, and city streets to the lowest point (usually a creek) - or
it seeps into the soil and travels as groundwater. We all live in a watershed. In Eastern
Marin, there are eight distinct watersheds as outlined on this map. (For a full-size copy
of this map, call MCSTOPPP's information hotline at 485-3363.)In urban settings, water rushes more quickly across pavement and other impervious surfaces than it does in a natural setting, where it is allowed to soak into the ground. This rushing water can flow into the storm drains which connect directly with local creeks, Richardson Bay, San Pablo Bay and ultimately, San Francisco Bay! Unfortunately, it's not only water that gets into the storm drain.
During heavy rains (or hosing down of dirty areas), pollutants like motor oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and other toxic materials are scoured from streets, driveways, highways, gutters, buildings, construction sites and landscaped areas, and are carried to the storm drains which flow directly to local creeks and the Bay. During dry months, so many of these pollutants accumulate on impervious surfaces that experts refer to the first rain of the season as the "First Flush" as the pollutants are washed into local waterways. As the rainy season continues, pollutants continue to wash into the storm drain from urban activities such as car/pavement washing, gardening, lawn watering, etc.
To collect stormwater during heavy rains and treat it would be impractical and prohibitively expensive. Therefore, controlling these pollutants before they end up in storm drains is the key to effectively preventing stormwater pollution. For tips on how you can prevent pollutants from entering our storm drains, call MCSTOPPP's information hotline at 485-3363.