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Scary Facts about Stormwater
It's scary how many tons of sediment each year
enter our lakes and rivers via stormwater runoff, not to mention nutrients and
other chemicals that impair water quality.
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The Center for Watershed Protection’s research has demonstrated
that as little as eight percent impervious coverage of a watershed can
result in degradation of water quality. |
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At 25% impervious coverage,
the waterways have lost most of their biological diversity and have
significant impairments. |
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A two-acre single home lot has about 12%
impervious cover and a shopping center has over 90% impervious cover. |
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Although low-density development (i.e. large lot sizes) reduces impervious surfaces
on each lot, it leads to increased impervious surfaces elsewhere, because
of
more roads and parking that sprawling development requires. |
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Roads and
parking lots can account for more than 60% of a low-density development’s
impervious area. |
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Large lawns might seem capable of absorbing
runoff from adjacent surfaces, but they are typically compacted by
construction equipment and can generate up to 90% as much runoff as
pavement. |
These frightening facts point to the importance of using
stormwater prevention
and control measures such as best
management practices that increase infiltration and treat stormwater on
site, low-impact
or cluster development, preserving
or restoring natural vegetation, and other
watershed management techniques. For more information on these
topics, contact F. X. Browne, Inc. at info@fxbrowne.com.
Source: RiverLink.
Stormwater Fact Sheet #1: Stormwater Problems & Impacts: Why All The
Fuss? http://www.riverlink.org/stormwaterseriesfinal1.pdf
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