definition for: #stormwater

Stormwater refers to precipitation in the form of rain and snowmelt. As stormwater runs off over lawns, roads and rooftops, it picks up pesticides, road salts, heavy metals, oils, bacteria, and other harmful pollutants and transports them through municipal sewers into streams, rivers and lakes. The sheer force and volume of polluted runoff causes increased flooding risks and channel erosion that degrades aquatic habitat and limits recreational uses of water bodies.