Storm sewers carry rainwater directly to a lake or river. The water is not cleaned up before it winds up in our lakes and rivers--and this can be a problem.
Rainwater moving into storm sewers can pick up all kinds of gunk on the ground--soil, oil, pesticide, fertilizer, litter, pet waste, and more. Then the sewer will carry all of this gunked-up water straight to our lake or river.
See the problem?
Heavy rain pours into the storm sewer drain (marked by yellow paint). Storm sewers carry rainwater and any pollution straight to a lake or river.