Information compiled from the Tucson Stormwater Management Study Bulletin
Problems created by storm water runoff, even in our Sonoran Desert environment, are physical, visual, environmental and economic.
When it rains in Tucson, storm water runoff picks up materials from our streets, parking lots, yards and washes. Sources of pollution are cars, improper storage of toxic materials, dumping in driveways or streets and erosion at construction sites. The runoff carries all kinds of substances, some of them harmful or toxic. Severe spills into the drainage system could end up in our groundwater supply.
The City of Tucson is looking at approaches to prevent storm water contamination and to clean up excessive pollutants in the drainage system before environmental damage occurs.
Programs will include city maintenance, construction and land development, business practices, spill prevention, used motor oil recycling and hazardous waste disposal.
The City of Tucson has begun a sampling and monitoring program to determine just what storm water quality problems exist in our community. Sampling is being done at some typical locations: residential, industrial and commercial.
The goal of this effort is to develop controls and a plan that will lead to prevention of problems before they occur.
The city filed a storm water permit application with the Environmental Protection Agency in Nov. '92. The permit is required under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program.
Household items with label warnings tell us to be careful of how we use them. Examples are "toxic," "acid," "poison," "flammable" and "caustic."
Leftovers of these materials, and other things like used motor oil, must be disposed of properly - not poured down the drain, put in the trash or dumped on the ground.
We can't afford to let these materials mix with storm water runoff because they could contaminate our drinking water supply.