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Definition of Stormwater

Stormwater creation

Stormwater is a component of the overall water cycle.

  • Precipitation falls to earth,
    • Some of which is absorbed into the ground.
    • Some of which makes its way into streams and rivers.
    • Eventually to oceans.
  • Stormwater consists of
    • Rainwater
    • Snowmelt
    • Even water from a garden hose or car wash
  • Runs off of a surface (like driveways, parking lots, or rooftops)
  • Goes into a gutter, ditch, or roadside drain, and ultimately into the storm drain system.
  • In our area, stormwater does not go to a treatment plant, so any pollutants carried in the stormwater are discharged into waterways and the environment.
Photograph of field with bales of hay and the desert mountains and cliffs that make up the Bookcliffs that stretch almost 200 miles across western Colorado and eastern Utah.

What is a stormwater drain system?

  • In a natural environment, stormwater will soak into soils and soft surfaces, and some also runs into area streams.
  • In our urban setting, a greater amount of stormwater runs off
    • Rooftops
    • Sidewalks
    • Parking lots
    • Asphalt
    • Other such impervious surfaces
  • Then goes into the storm drain system, and eventually into area waterways.