Storm water, and how it is managed can greatly affect your quality of life. If not properly managed it can be very damaging to our lakes, our streams and our drinking water. Did you know that storm water runoff can contain higher amounts of pollutants than raw sanitary sewage. Or that storm water can contribute more than 80% of the pollutants affecting our lakes and reservoirs. Often we don't see the damage that improperly managed storm water runoff has caused, because we don't know what to look for. Other times the damage becomes so great that it cannot be missed. We can see the effect of improperly managed storm water in Putnam Lake where plumes of sediment can be seen extending into the lake.

Protecting our environment and managing storm water requires everyone's help.

Next: The Importance of Stormwater Runoff

This website has been made possible by funding from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.