Stormwater pollution occurs every time runoff carries away a wide variety of contaminants as it runs across roads, parking lots, construction sites, golf courses, lawns, and other surfaces in the City of Austell. In addition, there are a number of other sources of pollution to stormwater and urban streams that occur during both wet and dry weather, including sanitary sewer leaks, illicit connections, and septic tank problems.
Stormwater pollution prevention is aimed at reducing and/or preventing the contamination of stormwater runoff at its source, before it has an opportunity to pollute the runoff flow and enter the conveyance system. Stormwater pollution prevention practices, also known as source controls, are an important way to prevent water quality problems in stormwater runoff from a variety of sources. The intent of source control practices is to prevent stormwater from coming in contact with pollutants in the first place rather than using downstream structural controls to treat the runoff and remove pollutants.
Pollution prevention includes the following categories of measures:
- Materials management (use, exposure, and disposal/recycling controls)
- Spill prevention and cleanup
- Removal and illicit connections
- Prevention of illegal dumping
- Street and storm drain maintenance
- Public information and education