HELP KEEP OUR WATER CLEAN

Storm water runoff from your street, sidewalk and driveway flows directly through sotrm drains and ditches to streams, wetlands,  and lakes.  This runoff washes pollutants into surface waters harming water quality and fish habitat.

Your everyday activities can help preserve the health and well-being of nearby waters like Indian Creek & Squaw Creek.  Below are some tips to help you make sure water pollution doesn't start in your backyard.

KEEP RUNOFF CLEAN

 ♦  Sweep you walks and driveway instead of hosing them down.  Soil, grit and debris from paved surfaces often contain contaminants that pollute water.

♦  Wash your vehicle on grass or gravel areas to prevent wash water from running into storm drains.  Wash water can contain oils and detergents that harm water quality.

♦  Maintain your vehicle regularly.  Oil leaking from vehicles contains toxic metals.  Rain picks up these materials and carries them to area streams, lakes, and wetlands where they pollute water and harm fish.

♦  Recycle used motor oil and dispose of household hazardous waste properly.  Call 373-4771 for information on recycling or disposal sites near you.  Never dump oil or other hazardous wastes down a storm drain or pour it on the ground.

♦  Use safe, non-toxic solutions to manage plant problems.  For information about effective ways to manage pests with toxic chemicals, call the Linn County Extension, Master Gardener at 377-9837.

♦  Preserve vegetation.  Plants filter pollutants from runoff, and prevent erosion.  Plants near waterways provide habitat for fish and wildlife and shield streams from extreme temperatures.

♦  Control animal access to streams.  Aminal wastes degrade water quality and livestock can trample and erode streambanks

♦  Buy low phosphate detergents.

♦  Put trash in garbage cans.

 

^{A stormwater runoff diagram, detailing many common pollution sources.}

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP'S)

The City of Marion is encouraging and utilizing BMP's as described in the SUDAS Erosion and Sediment Control Manual.  Please go to www.iowasudas.org, www.ctre.iastate.edu/erosion & www.fairshared.com for accepted practices and designs. 

Marion is also using the FAIR (Filter-Absorb-Infiltrate-Retain) to obtain better water quality.  Please contact the Engineering Office at 743-6340 to obtain your manual copy. Go to www.fairshared.com

www.iamu.org

www.iowastormwater.org

A brochure, A Citizen's Guide to Understanding Stormwater, is available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file for viewing.

There is a lot that can be done to help mitigate stormwater pollution, which can be caused by anything ranging from improper disposal of hazardous materials to overuse of lawn care products.

A list of common pollution sources would include: batteries, fertilizers, household cleaners, motor oil, painting materials, pesticides and pet excrement.

Chapter 155 (Erosion and Sediment Control) and Chapter 156 (Storm Water Management) are portions of the city's Municipal Code of Ordinances which deal with stormwater management.

For more information, please explore the following links to pages dealing with stormwater management and stormwater quality:
Virginia Stormwater Management Program
Building Environmental Education Solutions - Stormwater Quality
Sacramento Stormwater Management Program
Athens-Clarke County Stormwater Management Program
Maryland's Stormwater Management Program
Greater Vancouver Regional District - Stormwater

For questions or concerns regarding any stormwater related issue, please call the City of Marion Stormwater Hotline: (319) 743-6340.

If you would like to report illegal or illicit discharges of non-stormwater, non-irrigation runoff to the stormwater system, please use either the online form or our printable form. Questions and discussion of Stormwater Management should be done in the forum created for that specific purpose.