The Main Causes And Effects Of Stormwater Pollution?

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Have you ever considered what creates a puddle? When it rains the water drops combine into a stream of water. The water flows across multiple surfaces, picking up contamination within its path. When the flow of water reaches an indentation within a sidewalk, road or other impermeable surface some of the water within the trickle of water pools in and remains there until evaporation is completed. This process is an example of stormwater runoff, one of the main causes for today’s water pollution. Stormwater runoff is precipitation that flows across the land rather than seeping into the ground (North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources). Pollution of stormwater runoff occurs when people use or alter the land (North Carolina Department of Environment and …show more content…

Soil erosion takes top soil, a valuable resource for agriculture (Queensland Government). Losing the top soil causes to have a decline in yield (Queensland Government). Erosion greatly impacts cropping land by reducing the soil’s ability to retain nutrients, exposing subsoil, and producing a higher rate of water runoff (Queensland Government). Surprisingly, stormwater runoff increases the rate of erosion (Gaffield). Thus, both processes are increasing each other at the same time. In addition to effecting agriculture, erosion harms the waterways. The sediment produced from erosion is carried into water sources. The addition of sediment can cause various problems because the eroded soil can contain a multitude of chemicals (Queensland Government). Erosion does not just harm the natural environment, it also effects infrastructures, like buildings and roads (Queensland Government). If the amount of stormwater increases then the rate at which erosion occurs quickens, thus stormwater must be regulated to prevent erosion from filling stream beds with sedimentation, clogging drainage structures, and degrading the water quality

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