This July, more than 1,000 water protection experts descended on dry and dusty Denver, Colorado for StormCon 2006, a four day conference all about, ironically, stormwater.
Why all the fuss? Stormwater is the single largest source of water pollution in the U.S.
Under natural conditions, most rainfall or snowmelt is absorbed into the ground where it recharges groundwater aquifers, providing drinking water and consistent flow for streams and rivers. Stormwater is rain that falls on hard surfaces, is collected in gutters and stormwater drains and is released through pipes directly into waterways. Stormwater coursing over roads and parking lots picks up gasoline, motor oil, salt and deicing agents and heavy metals. Stormwater running through suburban neighborhoods picks up sediment, lawn chemicals, yard debris, pet waste and litter. Agricultural stormwater can contain pesticides, fertilizers and manure pathogens. Construction sites alone lose nearly 100 million tons of sediment in stormwater each year, smothering aquatic life.
Stormwater pollution destroys aquatic habitats and poisons drinking water supplies, resulting in drinking water advisories and beach closures. High levels of nutrients in stormwater from fertilizer and animal waste cause anoxic deadzones and speed eutrophication, the death of a waterbody. Rushing stormwater erodes and scours rivers and streams, clogs outlets with sediment, increases flooding and smothers aquatic organisms.
The federal government first began regulating stormwater from cities and large industries in 1990. In 1999, those regulations began targeting smaller municipalities and construction sites. Knowledge about stormwater pollution and prevention has increased considerably in the past 16 years. StormCon provides a forum to learn about the latest research and newest technologies, and allows stormwater managers to share their experiences and increase the level of expertise in this young field.
At StormCon’s bustling marketplace, solutions to stormwater pollution were presented by 155 vendors. Technologies ranged from the elegantly simple to intricate products where pollution prevention occurs on the microscopic level.
Some of the most promising approaches support low impact development. Traditional stormwater management relies on collecting, conveying and storing stormwater for eventual treatment and discharge. Low impact development’s goal is to stop pollution before it starts by promoting infiltration into groundwater, evaporation or rainwater reuse. Low impact development can be as simple as using permeable pavement or porous pavers instead of asphalt or concrete for roads, driveways and sidewalks. While asphalt is completely impermeable, permeable pavement can infiltrate up to seven inches of rain per hour.
New this year were companies offering third-party verification of the effectiveness of stormwater pollution prevention products. In a relatively new field such as stormwater abatement, time tested products simply aren’t available, and it can be frustrating and costly to distinguish products that work from the snake oil.
Stormwater pollution is a pervasive, yet entirely solvable, water pollution problem. StormCon 2006 provides the needed central event for the stormwater community to fuel progress towards permanently stopping stormwater pollution. |