Storm Water Pollution: The Nations Most Serious Water Quality Problem

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Storm Water PollutionThe Nations Most Serious
Water Quality Problem
(this power point is from CIPE, to learn more
about Mapping an Ocean Sanctuary see
www.evisual.org)
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Storm Water Pollution

• With most industrial and sewage disposal problems
  now under control, storm water runoff is now the
  most serious water quality problem facing the
  nation.
• Urban runoff is the most important problem for
  coastal waters. Agricultural runoff is the main
  problem for lakes and rivers.

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Urban Runoff Pollution

• Urban areas are a problem because of
• - The dense concentration of
• people and their vehicles.
• - All the hard surfaces.
• When an area becomes more than 25 impervious,
  water quality problems are almost certain to
  occur.

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Impervious Surfaces
Definition hard, nonporous surfaces which do
not allow water to penetrate.
Driveways Roads Parking Lots Sidewalks
Offices Stores Houses Patios
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Urban Pollutants

• Oil from automobile drippings and exhaust
• fall out
• Copper from brake linings, and other heavy metals
• Bacteria from domestic animals and other sources
• Nutrients and pesticides from lawns and parks
• Trash and sediments
• Etc.

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Santa Barbara, California

• Beaches and creeks are monitored
• weekly during the rainy season.
• Signs must be posted when
• bacteria levels exceed safe limits.

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LandSat 7

• It passes over every part of Earth every few
  days.
• Its sensors detect the color of the Earths
  surface, heat, and infrared radiation.

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LandSat Image

• The Channel Islands and area surrounding Santa
  Barbara (boxed area) are visible.
• Image analysts identify features such as crops,
  wetlands, and highly developed areas.

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Land Cover Classification
Close up of CA coast surrounding Santa Barbara
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Areas of Extensive Impervious Surface
LandSat sees the red areas as made up almost
entirely of concrete, asphalt, and rooftops all
man-made surfaces.
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Using GIS to Analyze LandSat Data

• GIS can be used to study the image and identify
  areas with specific types of land cover.
• Red areas are very developed.

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Using GIS to Analyze LandSat Data
Highly developed areas of the city can be easily
identified and target for water pollution
reduction efforts.
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EPA Storm Water Program

• 4,200 small communities (under 100,000
  population) must begin to deal with EPA storm
  water regulations by March, 2003
• Plans must be fully implemented 5 years
  thereafter

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What could we do?

• Use GIS to locate streets and storm drains in
  high risk areas
• Clean the streets in high risk areas more
  frequently
• Install filters in high risk storm drains
• Plant some trees