Max Chabot

Ms Toppan
Seniors Honors English
November 5, 2015
Stormwater Runoff
Stormwater runoff, an up-and-coming problem in America as well as across the
globe, is a problem that concerns the pollution of rainwater that flows into a locations
bodies of water. The points about this issue that will be addressed in the course of the
paper include: what stormwater runoff is in general, the implemented solutions for
stormwater runoff, and green infrastructure benefits. Stormwater runoff has disastrous
effects nationwide and worldwide. One-third of the polluted waters in Washington state
comes from stormwater runoff (Stormwater runoff pollu). This is concerning because
this type of pollution is very preventable, but steps are not being taken for prevention.
Also, it is very dangerous as it pertains to water, which is the most basic building block
of human biology. To put this into perspective, after one inch of rain onto a single-acre
parking lot, 27,000 gallons of stormwater runoff is generated (Stormwater runoff
pollu). This is a very large amount of water, and when considering only a small aspect
of pervious areas like parking lots in America and around the world, whether it be for a
supermarket or a strip-mall, this amount will only add up. For example, the U.S. Census
Bureau estimates that there are 105 million commercial parking spaces in America
(Overview of the...).
Now to answer the most general question: what is stormwater runoff?
Stormwater runoff happens when rainfall hits impervious areas taking water that would

be disposed of through the soil and instead sending it through a/the places sewer
system. This is a problem that is now being looked into since the city of Portland needs
to upgrade in order to follow the new federal Clean Water act (Billings). This is an act
that cities nationwide must follow and adapt to with the goal being to create a better
environmental status.
Impervious surfaces, usually man-made, are the building blocks which
stormwater runoff is based. An impervious area is a surface (like pavement, roofs,
patios, etc.) which does not eagerly take in water, therefore keeping the majority of the
water from reaching the ground (Proposed Stormwater) This is problematic because
the water, since it is not being absorbed by the soil, is picking up pollutants like
pesticides and fertilizers from lawns as well as smaller items like chewing gums
wrappers and cigarette butts, and delivering them into the sewer system.
As for where this issue pertains, it is widespread and worldwide; however, this
paper will be focused mainly on the problem in concern to the greater Portland area in
Maine. This stormwater runoff is a problem in Portland because during rainstorms the
sewer system overflows, causing this excess of stormwater to be dumped into nearby
waterways. [T]his storm water runoff carries pollution, which ends up in stream, rivers,
Portland Harbor, and Casco Bay (Housel). This affects everyone and everything from
swimmers to the marine ecology. This has many consequences on everything from the
health of the environment to the state of the economy.
Furthermore, by hurting the environment, its inhabitants also are negatively
affected. After a major rain shower, the storm water runoff that flows into Casco Bay
pollutes the water to the point that people would get sick if they swam in those waters.

(Proposed Stormwater...). If the effect is this disastrous for humans, then think of the
effect it has on the marine animals who live there such as fish, clams, and lobsters. This
could also have implications on the economy; Maine depends on marine life as a
cornerstone of its economy. A big economic factor in Maine is its seafood, whether it is
being exported or being cooked up and served in its many restaurants. According to
Huffington Post, the Portland-Auburn area has the eighth-highest number of restaurants
per capita for cities in the United States (Satran). A decrease in available seafood would
be disastrous to these restaurants that use seafood as a staple, and would be just as
bad for the average consumer who from time-to-time will go out to one of these
restaurants or a local fishery and purchase it separately.
Another cornerstone of Maines economy is tourism, which is directly related to
the amount of restaurants and among other aspects. Visitors contribute one in five
dollars of sales to Maines economy. Visitors support the equivalent of one in six Maine
jobs. Visitors generate 20% of the states Gross State Product (Maine and Tourism).
This is significant because this means tourism is a key component in keeping Maines
economy stable. Since Maines water, whether it is a shelter to the animals that people
consume or the place upon where a house or hotel sites for people to state, is a big part
of this; it is crucial that it stays clean. As a side note to tourism, there are many
celebrities who have vacation homes both in Portland as well as other parts of Maine.
Some of these well known people include John Travolta, Annie Proulx, and Martha
Stewart as well as born-and-raised Mainers such as Anna Kendrick and Patrick
Dempsey (Burnham).

So what are the solutions that are already in place and that will take place in the
future? The plan, which has already begun, is to store stormwater and sewage in the
combined sewer system in storage tanks at key locations along the sewer system
(Proposed Stormwater). What this would do is store the stormwater that occurs during
a rainfall and keep it out of Casco Bay by storing it in storage tanks that will, after the
storm, pump the water through the sewage treatment plant. In addition to storage tanks
are also a handful of sewer separation projects, an upgrade to the sewage treatment
plant, and the integration of some green infrastructure (Proposed Stormwater).
Another option was to completely replace every-last-bit of Portlands current combined
sewer system in favor of a separated sewer system. This was decided against because
of the much greater cost and complexity than would be had in the plan above (Proposed
Stormwater). This would be counter-productive because it would nullify all the work
and materials that have been used in the past, unlike the first plan which just modifies
the current structure and adapts it to fit the changing times and new laws.
Considering the amount of construction, as well as the materials and the manpower of construction workers needed, bills begin to add up, and need to be payed for
in some way. The city of Portland appointed a task force in order to solve this specific
subject. The Sustainable Storm Water Funding Task Force was appointed to study and
consider fair and equitable funding alternatives for operating, maintaining, and meeting
the capital cost requirements (Housel). This task force spent a long time going over any
and all possible ways to fund the projects necessary to fixing the problem. The
conclusion they ended up with was the charging of a fee. The Stormwater service
charge is a fee that all residents and business owners will have to pay based on their

impervious areas and will be effective in Portland in January 2016. The average
homeowner would pay an estimated increase of $4.50 a month (Billings). This amount,
even though eventually will add up over time, is not that great of an expense to pay due
to the fee being spread out all over Portlands residents. Other cities in Maine have
taken the same initiative, such as Bangor and Lewiston, with Lewiston taking part in it
for the last six years (Billings). There are some exceptions to this fee, and they include
[p]roperties with less than 400 square feet of impervious area will be exempt from the
fee as well as City, State, and private roads, the airport runway, and railroad tracks
(Proposed Stormwater). The areas exempt are either too small to make a significant
difference or way too big with way too much impervious area to tax. Also, it makes
sense that City and State properties would not have to pay the fee because that would
mean more money out of the taxpayers pocket; the same taxpayers that are paying the
fee on their own properties. In addition, Portland will offer credits to property owners
who take steps to reduce or eliminate runoff by building rain gardens, dry wells or
retention ponds (Billings). This allows for homeowners to go and independently try to
help be apart of the solution, as well as receive some lessened out-of-pocket expense
from this fee. Some may argue that these fees are illegal; however, [s]tormwater
service charges are legal. State and federal courts have ruled that stormwater fees are
necessary to maintain the public stormwater system and such fees represent a more
fair and equitable way for the community to share the cost of a public service
(Proposed Stormwater...). Although many residents will most surely be upset with the
money they will have to pay out, they have to understand that this will lead to a healthier
environment that will benefit both them and the future generations to come.

With every solution comes downfalls. The biggest downfall to this fee is the fee
itself; many people, whether a homeowner or a business owner, will be forced to pay
more money out of pocket in addition to other expenses like property taxes and excise
taxes. Opponents often refer to the fee as a rain tax, specifically named because they
feel that the fee is being administered solely based on how much rain falls on their
property - rain in which they cannot control. However, this name is not correct in terms
of the language. It is not a tax on rain, but rather on impervious surfaces (Pelton). This
is significant because it would be unjustifiable to make people pay money on something
that they cannot control, like rain falling on their property. However, it is justifiable to do
so on surfaces that are man-made, and therefore did not need to be created and are
only hurting the natural environment.
Green infrastructure, if looking to lower the stormwater fee, is a great way to do
so:
Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, and natural processes to manage
water and create healthier urban environments. At the scale of a city or county,
green infrastructure refers to the patchwork of natural areas that provides habitat,
flood protection, cleaner air, and cleaner water. At the scale of a neighborhood or
site, green infrastructure refers to stormwater management systems that mimic
nature by soaking up and storing water (What is Green Infrastructure?).
This quote shows how separate entities - a city or country scale compared to a
neighborhood or site - refers to green infrastructure differently. It also explains the what
is done and what is achieved.

There are many different ways to integrate green infrastructure. One of these
ways is through blue-green roofing. The combination blue-green roof takes advantage
of the mechanisms of retention, detention, and evapotranspiration to reduce stormwater
runoff (Adgate and Walker). Retention is necessary in order for controlling how and
where this stormwater will flow. Detention serves to only to hold the water temporarily
(as a side note/example, retention ponds hold water year round while detention ponds
only holds water for a short amount of time). Evapotranspiration is the process in which
water is sent from the land to the atmosphere (evaporation) and also through plants
(transpiration) (Evapotranspiration). Another such way is pervious pavement. While
typical pavement prevents the stormwater from seeping into the soil underneath, soil
that would naturally collect and filter the stormwater and the pollutants it brings, new
advances on pavement have brought multiple solutions. Different forms of pervious
pavement have been made, all of which set out to accomplish the same task. Each of
them allow a much greater amount of water through the pavement and into the soil.
Unfortunately, one downfall to pervious pavement is that it costs more due to the higher
price of materials. Some of the downfalls are Porous asphalt is 10-15% higher [in cost]
than regular asphalt. Porous concrete is approximately 25% greater than regular
concrete. Pavers can be as much as four times the expense of either regular concrete
or asphalt (Pervious Pavement). This is a major downfall to this alternative option, as
spending extra money is not something that local, state, or the federal government
afford to do much of. What isnt included in this quote is the added costs of maintenance
as well as this pavement can only be used in specific locations, and cannot just be put
anywhere.

Stormwater runoff is negatively affecting water sources, and within that is

affecting the locations environment, as well as its inhabitants like marine life. This paper
has shown this through first explaining what stormwater runoff is in general, and then
transitioning into the implemented solutions and green infrastructure. In essence, if this
epidemic is not reformed and solutions are not in place it would mean a disastrous
effect affect on life, even with an issue that seems as small as this. To reform, it will take
more than one community or one state or even one country to cure. It will take the effort
of all, from individual people to entire continents, to end stormwater runoff for good.

Works Cited
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