FAQs

What's the big deal? It's just rain, right?: Stormwater runoff can carry pollutants, both chemical and organic, into local streams and lakes. Since the stormwater sewer system is tied to these water bodies the pollutants that runoff can contain will eventually get into the stream ecosystems and do harm.

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Stormwater Quality

1. Does Stormwater Quality come to schools?: Yes, we have two Water Quality Specialists who are available to present a stormwater quality lesson to groups of all ages. Our focus for the lesson is on the importance of safeguarding our ponds, streams, and lakes for generations to come. Our interactive water pollution model, Enviroscape, demonstrates how everyday actions like fertilizing, lack of automobile maintenance, soil erosion and illegal dumping can harm our waterways. Offering a hands-on approach, the model also shows the effects of pollution in waterways by allowing students to pollute with harmless, simulated chemicals and make it rain with spray bottles. The lesson's length is typically 30 – 45 minutes depending on the level of participation. We also have several educational giveaways for participants. To schedule a lesson, please contact Nancy Kennedy at (405) 359-4772.

2. What is stormwater?: Stormwater is all of the water discharged during any given rain event that will eventually reach a storm drain or storm sewer system.

3. What's the big deal? It's just rain, right?: Stormwater runoff can carry pollutants, both chemical and organic, into local streams and lakes. Since the stormwater sewer system is tied to these water bodies the pollutants that runoff can contain will eventually get into the stream ecosystems and do harm.

4. Is stormwater runoff treated at the wastewater treatment plant before being discharged to waterbodies?: No, this is a common misconception. The City of Edmond operates a wastewater collection system comprised of "separate" sewers. Separate systems are comprised of two independent piping systems: one system for "sanitary" sewage (i.e., sewage from homes and businesses) and one system for stormwater. Stormwater, unlike sanitary sewage, is not piped to the wastewater treatment plant. Instead, stormwater enters the stormwater pipe system carrying pollutants such as sediment, pet waste, pesticides, fertilizers, automobile fluids (such as gasoline, oil, and antifreeze), deicing products, yard wastes, and litter. These contaminants are then discharged untreated into our streams.