What Is Stormwater Pollution?
As rain (or stormwater runoff) or irrigation runoff flows across impervious surfaces like rooftops, paved roads, and even oversaturated lawns, it picks up and carries pollutants into our streams and creeks, which ultimately feed into our Bay and ocean. Pollutants such as litter, animal waste, sediment, pesticides, motor oil, and other urban chemicals make our waterways unsafe for recreational contact and fishing—and unsafe for the living creatures who call these waters home. Remember, stormwater is NOT treated so anything and everything that goes down a storm drain will ultimately reach the Bay or Ocean.
Flows To Bay, the public outreach arm of the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program, was established in 1990 to reduce the pollution carried by stormwater into local creeks, the San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean.
We aim help all San Mateo County residents understand that protecting our water resources is crucial and it can be done if we all work together and take actions to prevent stormwater pollution. Through the success of the city and county stormwater programs in the Bay Area, the water quality of the Bay will improve. With improved water quality, the marine ecosystem will become healthier. A healthier marine ecosystem will enhance the quality of life for all residents around the Bay and in the Ocean.
Stormwater Pollution Regulation
The Federal Clean Water Act and the California Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act requires that large urban areas discharging stormwater into the San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to prevent harmful pollutants from being dumped or washed by stormwater runoff into the stormwater system, then discharged into local water bodies. All 21 jurisdictions in San Mateo County have obtained the Municipal Regional Permit (MRP), and the Flows To Bay program works to prevent illicit discharges and progress towards more sustainable stormwater management in San Mateo County, including finding opportunities to use green infrastructure instead of traditional pipes and channels to manage flows and to capture and reuse rainwater where it makes sense.
Click here for more information on specific permit related activities coordinated through the program’s various subcommittees.