Stormwater

What is Stormwater?

Stormwater is the discharge of water due to runoff from precipitation. Stormwater runoff occurs when precipitation from rain or snow melt flows over impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces are areas that impede the infiltration of water into the soil. Concrete, asphalt, rooftops and even severely compacted areas of soil are considered impervious. Stormwater can pick up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants. These substances are then carried into storm sewer systems or directly to a waterway. This discharge can destroy aquatic habitat, lessen aesthetic value, and threaten public health with contaminated food, drinking water supplies, and recreational waterways.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Stormwater Division is to protect public health, safety, and the environment through the effective management, operation and maintenance of the stormwater systems, to provide vector control services designed to educate the public and to detect, reduce or eliminate potential disease carrying vectors. Call the Stormwater Hotline to report any Illicit Discharge at 304-817-0011.

Commitment

Our purpose is to preserve and protect the local watersheds and streams from pollution and flooding through the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) that are defined in the City's Stormwater Management Plan. We must effectively and efficiently utilize all fees and educational materials in the management of the City's permitted stormwater runoff so the highest possible quality of water will be achieved.

Stormwater Design Manual

The Stormwater Management Design Manual is provided for guidance to property owners, developers, and consultants in the application and permitting process in obtaining a Stormwater Permit, specifically for land disturbance projects within the City of Bluefield Watershed.

Stormwater Education and Outreach

What we do on land eventually effects our water resources and global warming. That's why it is important to inform residents and especially young people how changes in their everyday actions can help save local waterways. On this page, we give you some tips on how you can make a big difference for the community with small changes for yourself. To understand stormwater management better, we clear up some of the confusion with explaining definitions on the list below:

Definitions

Erosion and Sediment

EPA Stormwater Facts

General Tips

Some of the most common household activities can have an unhealthy impact on our water quality, from washing the car to killing weeds. Each time it rains, storm water, or water not absorbed by the ground, carries pollutants into our waters. Here are some tips to help keep our waters clean.

Agriculture & Lawn Care

Manage animal waste to minimize contamination or surface water and ground water and obey local animal waste laws.
Keep leaves, grass clippings and other debris away from storm drains, gutters and waterways. These outlets drain directly into lakes, streams and rivers and can contribute to harmful algae blooms and fish kills.
Sweep debris from sidewalks and driveways rather than washing debris away.
Run your mower with the vent closed. Clippings left on the lawn can dramatically reduce the need for additional nitrogen (from fertilizers).
Choose plants, trees and other landscaping elements that will do well in your area with little watering. Start a compost pile of leaves and grass clippings to serve as a naturally rich fertilizer and mulch. Otherwise, bag leaves and grass and set out for pick-up.
Whenever possible, protect drinking water by using less pesticides and fertilizers.
Dispose of pesticides, containers and tanks according to directions on containers. Use lawn care products (ie: fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides) sparingly.

Automotive Care

If you spill an engine degreaser, oil, brake fluid, tire cleaner or anti-freeze, do not hose it off. It will then eventually reach local streams and lakes. Instead, sprinkle sawdust, cornmeal, cat litter or a commercial absorbent over the spill. Let soak and sweep up.
Consider taking your car to a car wash or washing it on the grass, where the ground can absorb water and pollutants can be filtered.
Fix any car leaks to avoid contaminating our watershed with oil. One quart of motor oil can contaminate up to 2 million gallons of water.
Dispose of oil, antifreeze, paints and other household chemicals properly and according to instructions on containers.

Conservation & Prevention

Save hundreds of gallons of water with ease by putting a spray nozzle on your hose and turning off the hose between rinses.
Ask carpet cleaners, painters, and contractors how they keep pollutants from entering the groundwater system.
Plant trees and vegetation. The root system stabilizes the ground and slows runoff and erosion.
Before draining swimming pool, let the water stand until it no longer contains chlorine and other pool cleaners.
Clean and maintain boats away from water.
Use a drop cloth and vacuum paint chips and dust.
Fuel up cars and boats carefully.
Report hazardous spills, illegal dumping, blockages, and unusual odors.

Rain Barrels

Rain Barrel with Garden

If you are looking for ways to save on your water bills and ensure that your plants and grass don't suffer in the next drought, consider an old-fashioned technology - rainwater harvesting with rain barrels.

A rain barrel collects and stores rainwater from your rooftop which can be used for a variety of non-potable uses including: watering your indoor plants and outdoor landscape. Using a rain barrel is a great first step to healthier rivers and streams and to reduce your need for municipal water supplies.Rain barrels help slow down rain runoff so it can drain naturally into the ground. It also assists in keeping excess water out of sewer systems and keeps rain runoff from collecting pollutants (fertilizers, pet waste, salt, gas, oil, etc.) as it flows to nearby waterways.

There are manufactured rain barrels on the market, or you can construct your own with large plastic drums or even garbage cans. Rain barrels can be purchased at a variety of retail centers or made by using simple materials.Some simple planning will prevent the most common problems with rain-saving.If this all seems like a lot of work for a little water, remember that one inch of rain falling on 1,000 square feet of roof adds up to 623 gallons. That’s enough to keep a lot of plants happy!

Rain Gardens

Garden Flowers

Beautify your property while controlling stormwater runoff.

A rain garden is a landscaped area planted to wild flowers and other native vegetation that soaks up rain water, mainly from the roof of a house or other building. The rain garden fills with a few inches of water after a storm and the water slowly filters into the ground rather than running off to a storm drain. Compared to a conventional patch of lawn, a rain garden allows more water to soak into the ground.

By building a rain garden at your home, you can play a valuable role in changing these trends.

Environmental Benefits

Increase the amount of water that filters into the ground, which recharges local and regional aquifers
Help protect communities from flooding and drainage problems
Help protect streams and lakes from pollutants carried by urban stormwater – lawn fertilizers and pesticides, oil and other fluids that leak from cars, and numerous harmful substances that wash off roofs and paved areas
Enhance the beauty of yards and neighborhoods
Provide valuable habitat for birds, butterflies and bees

Pet Waste

Dog in Grass

While typically considered a dirty job, proper pet waste disposal is one that responsible pet owners have to do. Aside from being a common courtesy for the community in which one lives, safe pet waste disposal also provides a number of health benefits for both humans and animals alike. It can protect against exposure to bacterial infections and parasites while also supporting immune systems. The appropriate disposal of waste can even contribute to a healthier and more robust environment.

Health Risks Posed by Pet Waste

Coming into contact with pet waste can pose several different health risks, including potential bacterial infections and parasitic infestation. An example of a bacterial infection that can present in humans as a result of exposure to pet waste is campylobacteriosis. Transmittable parasites and intestinal worms found in pet excrement include cryptosporidium, toxocariasis, and toxoplasmosis. While the symptoms of each type of bacterial infection and parasite vary, some of them have led to health issues serious enough to result in death. This is one of the many reasons why the proper disposal of pet waste can be considered an important public health issue.

The cleaning of areas exposed to pet excrement is a necessary step to reduce the risk of accidental infection in vulnerable populations. Adventurous children who play outdoors are susceptible to the microscopic dangers found in pet waste. Adults who garden may unknowingly handle pet waste, as animals are naturally attracted to grass and foliage as places to relieve themselves. Infectious pet waste can even pose a threat to other animals. Feces examined or eaten by curious animals can harbor diseases and parasites that can take up residence in a pet’s body and cause a multitude of problems.

Pet Waste Can Affect Water Quality

Despite ensuring that your pets don’t defecate directly into water sources, their waste can still affect community and natural bodies of water. Some pet owners may erroneously assume that depositing excrement into a storm sewer is a viable disposal method. Storm sewers, however, empty into lakes and streams. Along with polluting the water with bacteria and parasites, pet waste that finds its way to natural bodies of water promotes the flowering of unwanted algae and weeds. Chemical reactions that take place in the water after coming into contact with pet waste can also negatively affect wildlife and contribute to the reduction of fish populations.What can you do?Carry a pooper scooper or plastic bags, seal the waste in a plastic bag and put it in the garbage.Flush it down a toilet, as long as it’s not mixed with litter or other materials. This is the best method because your septic system or community sewage plant will treat the waste.

Never dump pet waste or plastic bags containing waste into a storm drain.

Report Stormwater Pollution

Illicit Discharge

If you have information about pollution being spilled, dumped or discharged into the stormwater drainage system, which includes storm drains, ditches, swales, creeks, lakes, ponds, streets, or directly into a waterway, please let us know by calling the Stormwater Hotline at 304-817-0011 or the Stormwater Department directly at 304-327-2401 x 2462 or 2463.

Examples of what you can report:

Foam, bubbles, or a milky appearance in a ditch or waterway Grass clippings or leaves covering street or a storm drain
A strange odor coming from a storm drain
Spilled or dumped auto fluids (motor oil, antifreeze, brake fluid, etc) or chemicals (paint, cleaners, etc) on the street or into a storm drain Pet waste dumped on street or a storm drain Wastewater piped to a creek or ditch (i.e. from a washing machine, floor drain)Household grease dumped into storm drain
Washing equipment outdoors using chemicals Sediment flowing off a construction site

When contacting us, please leave the following information (if known):

Date and time of Incident
Location
Source & Type of Pollution
Responsible Party

Effects of Stormwater Pollution

Polluted stormwater runoff can have many adverse effects on plants, fish, animals, and people, including:

Sediment can cloud the water and make it difficult or impossible for aquatic plants to grow. Sediment also can destroy aquatic habitats.
Excess nutrients can cause algae blooms. When algae die, they sink to the bottom and decompose in a process that removes oxygen from the water. Fish and other aquatic organisms can’t exist in water with low dissolved oxygen levels.
Bacteria and other pathogens can wash into swimming areas and create health hazards, often making beach closures necessary.
Debris—plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles, and cigarette butts—washed into water bodies can choke, suffocate, or disable aquatic life like ducks, fish, turtles, and birds.
Household hazardous wastes like insecticides, pesticides, paint, solvents, used motor oil, and other auto fluids can poison aquatic life. Land animals and people can become sick or die from eating diseased fish and shellfish or ingesting polluted water.
Polluted stormwater often affects drinking water sources. This, in turn, can affect human health and increase drinking water treatment costs.