Ohio Stormwater Association
The Ohio Stormwater Association is a group of public and private citizens dedicated to advancing the management of stormwater and related natural resources through education, leadership, watershed-based coordination and technical assistance in Ohio. The Ohio Stormwater Association provides educational and networking opportunities for people focused on reducing the negative impacts of stormwater runoff. The Ohio Stormwater Association provides quarterly educational meetings on topics of interest to our members and helps to sponsor the Ohio Stormwater Conference being held each spring.
What is Stormwater?
Stormwater: The flow of water that results from precipitation and which occurs immediately following rainfall or as a result of snowmelt. When a rainfall event occurs, several things can happen to the precipitation. Some of the precipitation infiltrates into the soil surface, some is taken up by plants, and some is evaporated into the atmosphere. Stormwater is the rest of the precipitation that runs off land surfaces and impervious areas. Stormwater discharges are generated by precipitation and runoff from land, pavements, building rooftops and other surfaces. These hardened surfaces are called 'impervious surfaces' and they do not allow rainfall to infiltrate into the soil surface like natural vegetation, so more of the rainfall becomes stormwater runoff. Storm water runoff accumulates pollutants such as oil and grease, chemicals, nutrients, metals, and bacteria as it travels across land. Heavy precipitation or snowmelt can also cause sewer overflows that may contaminate water sources with untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, and other debris.Why be concerned about Stormwater?
Why be concerned about Stormwater? Stormwater runoff can have a number of impacts. As development and imperviousness increase in an area, the natural capacity of the soil and vegetation to infiltrate and take up rainfall decreases, and more rainfall becomes stormwater runoff. This can produce negative impacts by causing erosion of land areas and stream banks, by causing or increasing flooding and also by carrying pollutants to surface waters. Stormwater pollution affects us in ways that most people don't even realize. Trash on the beaches, growing algae plumes in lakes and bays, bacteria in our ocean, rivers and streams... Anything that can be washed into our waterways from the earth's surface when it rains - including oil and fluids from cars, fertilizer and pesticides from lawns and farms, or cigarette butts tossed to the ground - contributes to stormwater pollution.Stormwater
Are you as right as rain with stormwater? The more we know about stormwater issues such as flooding, pollution and stream erosion, the less likely it is that we are as right as rain (comfortable) with it. Whether your concerns relate directly to the water resources you manage or to the demands of regulatory programs, there is help! Help often comes as people with similar concerns and questions join together to delve deeper and learn from others.What we do
The Ohio Stormwater Association provides educational and networking opportunities for people focused on reducing the negative impacts of stormwater runoff. The Ohio Stormwater Association provides quarterly educational meetings on topics of interest to our members and helps to sponsor the Ohio Stormwater Conference being held each spring. Please consider on becoming a member and being a part of the solutions to stormwater management in Ohio.
