Storm Water Drainage and Wastewater Treatment Are Vital (Outdoor Design Backgrounder)
23 November 2011
As long as humans have been gathering to live together in groups, storm water drainage has been an important consideration. Ancient cities used gutters to drain away storm water, but today’s growing municipalities often find that storm water drainage requires a bit more than just a roadside gutter to get the job done. Storm drains and sewers are necessary to keep roads from flooding and to safeguard homes and businesses. However, the situation is more complicated than that and municipalities will also need to consider wastewater treatment. What do you need to know about storm water drainage and wastewater treatment?
Storm Water Drainage Creates Wastewater Treatment Concerns
While installing storm water drainage systems like underground sewers and storm drains will solve your town’s flooding problem, they lead to a greater concern. All the water siphoned off the roadways via your storm water drainage system has to go somewhere. However, you have to be very careful with where that flow is directed. It can be tempting to route the flow of storm water drainage out into an existing waterway so that it is carried away, but that causes pollution and puts you in danger of EPA fines. A better choice is to look into wastewater treatment options for storm water drainage. Not using wastewater treatment solutions is a bad idea.
The Problem with Not Using Wastewater Treatment for Storm Water Drainage
As mentioned, storm water drainage can cause pollution in waterways. This is because garbage, oil, gasoline and many other chemicals and pollutants are carried along with the storm water drainage and dumped into the nearby water source. Some municipalities have designed their storm water drainage system to dump into sinkholes instead of watershed areas. The problem with this scenario is that this pollutes ground water, which is often also drinking water. Storm water drainage is best handled with wastewater treatment solutions.
Connect to a Wastewater Treatment Plant
For growing cities and towns, the only real way to treat storm water drainage is to connect your existing infrastructure to a wastewater treatment facility. If there is no nearby facility, then construction of a waste water treatment plant is the best solution. In the interim, storm water drainage can be protected through innovative programs such as Missouri’s Storm Drain Stenciling Program, as well as through educating the public about the dangers of storm water drainage and the need for wastewater treatment.
This article is published by Outdoor Design Source, Australia's most comprehensive external works directory of products and services. Featuring suppliers for landscaping, playground equipment, shade structures and outdoor lighting in all its applications to erosion control, drainage, street & outdoor furniture, retaining walls, wholesale nurseries and so much more. Outdoor Design Source is the essential reference for all specifiers in the landscape, civil and amenities industry.
