No pollution: Keep storm drains non-toxic> 315th Airlift Wing> Article Show

2021-11-12 11:06:39 By : Ms. Sunni Wu

Earl Folg / released November 1, 2021

When the storm drain is blocked, rainwater will gather on the street and may become a hidden traffic hazard. Yes, they are fun to splash, but driving through them can be dangerous. The local government must send staff to clear rain drains and spend extra police with money that could have been used to buy playground equipment, fire trucks, or rent.

Pushing garbage and rubbish into the sewer is a costly practice. Letting garbage flow into the sewers is costly for cities, communities, and wildlife.

When the storm drain is blocked, rainwater will gather on the street and may become a hidden traffic hazard. Yes, they are fun to splash, but driving through them can be dangerous. The local government must send staff to clear rain drains and spend extra police with money that could have been used to buy playground equipment, fire trucks, or rent.

Almost everything you can think of may end in a rain drain. Footballs, beverage cans, bottles, plastic food bags, grease on the backyard grills, motor oil, paint and any garbage we leave behind may be blown out or washed out of the yard and left in the rain drain.

Putting chemicals in storm drains is particularly unhealthy for the environment. Solid objects such as garbage bags and lawn fertilizers usually get stuck before they reach the end of storm drains, but the chemicals will flow all the way to rivers and lakes. When this happens, wild animals and humans will suffer from exposure to these chemicals.

It's easy to think that you have very few things rushing into the sewer and no one will notice. Although this is illegal and you may not be caught, it still has an impact on the environment.

Sewers that smell like chemicals can be dangerous to children playing nearby, and some can even be life-threatening. A few years ago, two people died in Somerville, South Carolina, because of deadly gas accumulated in storm drains.

Certain chemicals are dangerous to fish even in small amounts. This can easily become dangerous for people who eat fish. Due to unsafe levels of water pollution, there are already places in the Greater Charleston area where anglers must limit the amount of fish they eat.

Other household chemicals should not be dumped in garbage or rainwater drains. Use chemicals completely or take them to a recycling center for proper disposal. Examples of household chemicals that should never be disposed of in storm drains include: window cleaner, motor oil, antifreeze, drain block remover, toilet cleaner, air freshener, insecticide, pool chemicals, fertilizer, and gasoline.

All these household products are safe when used as directed, but if abused or improperly disposed of, they can pose a danger to people and wild animals. The bottom line is: dumping chemicals or other garbage into storm drains, storm ditch, or storm down is inappropriate, illegal, and poses a danger to other people.