Everyone’s seen the signs on storm drains and gutters that
read
”
No dumping. Flows to bay.
”
But with the Monterey Bay more than 20 miles away, and the San
Francisco Bay even farther, some choose not to heed the signs,
reasoning that stuff dumped down the drain won’t actually make it
to either bay.
Everyone’s seen the signs on storm drains and gutters that read “No dumping. Flows to bay.” But with the Monterey Bay more than 20 miles away, and the San Francisco Bay even farther, some choose not to heed the signs, reasoning that stuff dumped down the drain won’t actually make it to either bay.
It may take a while, but eventually contaminants like oil, paint and even sediment will flow into the San Francisco or Monterey bays through streams or through underground water seepage. Those contaminants could even end up in the drinking water supply.
“It’s an ongoing concern because people do dump stuff in the drain,” said San Benito Water District Manager John Gregg. “It goes into the stream bed and soaks into the ground water flowing out of Hollister. If you don’t want to drink it sooner or later, don’t put it in the ground.”
Because storm drain runoff travels through underground pipes separate from the sewage system into larger bodies of water, it will often carry the pollutants that have been washed off the street and those that have been poured down drains, including that oil from the oil change you just gave your car.
Just a pint of oil dumped in a storm drain can create a one-acre slick in open water, according to the Santa Clara Valley Urban Runoff Pollution Prevention Program.
“When the first rain comes, it is always the worst with the runoff from the parking surfaces and horse ranches.” said Steve Homan, the program manager for Santa Clara County’s Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program.
But water contamination is not the only side effect. Polluted storm water can lead to health risks as bacteria builds up in the drains and creeks. And catch basins, devices connected to the storm drain pipe system located in the street or curb, can become clogged and begin to smell.
Good planning by land owners and businesses helps to control waterway pollution, Homan said.
He said he responds to about 40 complaints a year about property owners who haven’t complied with ordinances designed to keep silt out of streams. Most of the complaints are from south Santa Clara County, and about half are actual problems that need to be fixed.
“Even though it is sometimes organic, lose sediment is a pollutant,” Homan said. “All the sediment ends in stream and clogs up gravel where fish lay eggs. Some metals are washed down from the foothills then. Men living in watersheds create pollution. There are lots of activities that affect water quality.”
Although it could take a while, anything dumped into the storm drains eventually finds its way into the ocean. Even things as small as cigarette butts are washed away in drains.
“It takes many years to go a mile,” Gregg said. “It is just a question of how close it is to a well and what direction the ground water is flowing. The Hollister, Gilroy and San Juan basins are essentially closed basins. Usually anything that gets in the ground will stay here. There is no real difference between this area and others.”
The South Valley region has four main watersheds, land areas that drain into creeks or other bodies of water, that are directly affected by storm runoff – the Panoche-San Luis Reservoir Watershed, the Parajo Watershed, the Coyote Watershed and the Uvas/Llagas Watershed. These areas are monitored by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, but the individual cities are responsible for the cleanup in urban areas, while the county takes care of the rural areas of these watersheds.
“In terms of illegal dumping, we haven’t had any trouble,” said Miguel Trujillo, a chemical control specialist at the Building, Life and Environmental Safety Division for the city of Gilroy. “But what we have is people throwing engine oil in, and then we have to come out and clean it up.”
Trujillo, who reports to the fire marshal, receives calls from the Communications Department in Gilroy when there are hazardous materials spills, and he oversees their cleanup.
“We’re not a big city, so we don’t have our response team,” Trujillo said. “The city has a vac truck that they use to pump everything out of the storm drains. And they empty it in the sewage area.”
The cost for each cleanup can run between $2,000 to $10,000, Trujillo said, and is passed on to the responsible party whenever possible.
Sometimes an outside contractor must be brought in to handle certain spills. That was the case when a truck diesel tank ruptured after a collision about three months ago at Gilroy Garlic Farm. The diesel flowed into a local holding pond and took about three days to cleanup, Trujillo said.
Earlier in the year, there was a solvent spill into the storm drain on Santa Teresa Road outside Gilroy. It wasn’t quite as extensive as the other one, but still required immediate action to prevent it spreading.
Dumping pollutants down the drain is a crime and could fetch a fine of $1,000 or more.
Anyone with information on illegal dumping in storm drains should call the local city hazards removal department. In Gilroy, call (408) 846-0350; in Morgan Hill call (408) 776-7337 and in Hollister call (831) 636-4355.
Places that take used oil
Gilroy
AutoZone
363 E 10th St
Harry Marx Mitsubishi
8655 Monterey Rd
Jiffy Lube
701 First St.
SpeeDee Oil Change
& Tune-up
7970 Monterey St.
Hollister
AutoZone
351 McCray St
Kragen Auto Parts
1707 Airline Hwy
Morgan Hill
Kragen Auto Parts
16060 Monterey Rd. Ste 100
SpeeDee Oil Change and Tune-Up
890 Tennant Station
Tips for preventing runoff
• Liquid Wastes: Never put anything but clean water into a gutter, open drainage ditch or down a storm drain. These all lead to our rivers, creeks, lakes and the ocean, with no water quality treatment along the way.
• Pesticides: For household and backyard pest control, try alternative measures that can be less expensive and less harmful to the environment. To learn how, use these web sites: www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/ PMG/selectnewpest.home. html and centralsan.org/education/ipm/intro.html and www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/WATER/U/index.html.
• Fertilizers: Instead of chemical fertilizers, try using compost. You can make your own from kitchen and yard waste. To safely dispose of pesticides and other toxics, use Household Hazardous Waste Collection Programs. To locate one in your area, go to www.earth 911.org. Above all, apply no pesticides or fertilizers when rain is expected.
• Yard Clippings/Food Waste: Compost your yard and kitchen waste.
• Animal Wastes: Pick up animal wastes and dispose of them in garbage cans or the toilet. Use plastic bags to clean up animal waste while walking your animal.
• Car Washes: When washing vehicles and other equipment outdoors, try to confine all cleaning materials to a bucket. Following the cleaning, dump this wash or rinse water down inside drains such as your kitchen sink or toilet. These drains lead to wastewater treatment plants, whereas the street outside your house almost always leads directly to local creeks, rivers, lakes and the ocean.
• Car Maintenance: Always recycle used motor oil. Never dump motor oil down a storm drain, in a gutter or on any roadside areas.
• Household Cleaning: Use nontoxic cleaning alternatives. For a list of alternatives go to www.ci.dover.nh.us/community/environmental/alternat.htm.
• Reuse and recycle materials whenever possible.
– www.waterboards.ca.gov/nps
