Image by David Ledger – Artwork on storm drain at Yuba and Market Streets Redding
Do you ever wonder how the water, leaves, litter, pesticides, and other debris that goes into our storm drains are treated before they go into the Sacramento River? Well, they are not! All water you see going into storm drains goes directly into a nearby stream or river without any treatment.
This means the oil from your driveway, fertilizer or pesticides on your lawn, litter that flies out your car window, or pollutants purposely poured into a storm drain goes directly into the river. There are several storm drains on I-5 that collect the water with oil, tire particles, and trash from the freeway where it is directed to a local stream or city storm drain; from there it goes into the Sacramento River with no filtering or treatment. The dog poop your dog leaves on local trails, and any dangerous disease in it, will eventually reach the Sacramento River.
This is why it is important to keep our river clean. Some ways you can ensure you’re doing what you can include refraining from spraying pesticides on your lawns, washing your car on your lawn vs on your driveway, cleaning up your dog’s poop, removing litter in your curb’s gutter, and other methods recommended by the City of Redding Storm Water Management Program.
The current lack of storm water treatment will be changing in less than 7 years. The California Water Quality Control Board passed regulations in 2015 requiring municipalities to clean up their storm drain runoff including preventing all trash over 5 millimeters (under ¼” in thickness). Unfortunately, this still leaves the dog poop, pesticides, and other runoff to adversely affect the fish and other fauna in the river.
For a good overview of Redding’s Storm Water Management Program, go to Redding’s Storm Water Management webpage.