Drought Fact Sheet #10

How Does Runoff Affect Our Water Supply?

Contaminants in Runoff Can Taint Our Water Supply
What Do We Mean When We Talk About Runoff? Runoff is surface water that flows across the land in order to get to a body of water such as a stream, lake, or wetland. Runoff often transports contaminants to these water bodies, reducing their usefulness as a source of water in the event of a drought. Because drought preparedness is concerned with decreased water quality and the loss of groundwater reserves, there is interest in all kinds of runoff, regardless of regulatory jurisdiction. Consequently, for the purposes of this discussion, runoff includes both stormwater and agricultural runoff. Stormwater runoff carries with it the contaminants that accumulate on roadways, in green space and on open storage areas. These can include sediment, oils and greases, pet waste, trace metals, and fertilizers and chemicals from lawns. Another potential source of stormwater runoff is found at construction sites. In areas where excavation has taken place, the natural soil surface is disturbed and easily eroded by a significant storm event (see Fact Sheet #6). Agricultural runoff can contain sediment, chemicals, and livestock waste. Possible sources include agricultural tillage, which can reduce ground cover and increase sediment release, livestock grazing, which can bring livestock waste directly or indirectly in contact with the waterway, and irrigation practices that release contaminant-laden water back into waterways. How Does Runoff Impact Our Water Supply? Believe it or not, increased runoff, can actually cause a stream to become drier in the long run (see Fact Sheet #8). Another key concern is that runoff transports sediment and dissolved contaminants to the waterway. The sediment itself is a seriously degrading factor, but the chemicals, bacteria and other contaminants that attach themselves to the

Stormwater runoff carries contaminants that accumulate on roadways, in green space and on open storage areas.

sediment worsen the impact. There are also dissolved contaminants in surface flow that are independent of the sediment. These can include salts as well as various residential and farm chemicals. Any runoff that flows directly into a waterway will carry with it some of these chemicals. In addition, when runoff is diverted into drainage systems that route water directly to the nearest river or stream, the water does not soak into the ground and is lost to groundwater recharge. How Can We Mitigate the Effects of Runoff? From the perspective of drought planning there are two primary effects that need to be addressed. The first is the impact of the pollutants on the surface water and its degradation as a water source in the event of a drought. The second is loss of recharge water through the direct discharge of runoff. One effective strategy is the development of undisturbed vegetated buffers along the edges of

streams and waterways to control runoff. These buffer areas can effectively intercept the runoff and filter sediment and the attached contaminants from the water through a number of natural processes that include vegetative uptake, chemical breakdown, uptake in the soil, and biodegradation. Additional details about these processes and an introduction to several helpful agencies and documents can be found at www.epa.gov/nps/agriculture.html An excellent paper that discusses agricultural runoff can be found at www.forester.net/sw_0305_impact.html The use of detention basins has gained widespread use in providing a way to increase stormwater recovery for groundwater recharge. The principle used in these basins involves holding the water long enough for sediment to settle out, and allowing a substantial portion of the stormwater to infiltrate into the groundwater supply after it is filtered and cleaned by the soil profile. An excellent source of additional stormwater information can be found at http://cfpub1.epa.gov/npdes/pubs.cfm?program_id=6 An excellent text that compares the various options for stormwater control can be found at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/usw_c.pdf Constructed wetlands provide another method to detain and treat stormwater or agricultural runoff before it continues through the hydrologic cycle. Constructed wetlands are different than natural wetlands in that they are designed with water treatment and detention in mind. They rely on the same treatment processes as the other methods discussed above, and can include the use of aquatic wildlife, and emergent vegetation to provide additional treatment. Existing natural wetlands (jurisdictional wetlands) cannot be used to treat runoff. Stormwater detention basins, grassed waterways, riparian buffers, and constructed wetlands are all effective ways to prevent runoff from entering and degrading surface water that we depend on for help in the event of a drought. Designs that prevent the

direct flow of runoff into waterways and provide a way for this detained water to be filtered through the natural soil to recharge the groundwater will have the greatest benefit to the prevention of drought. How does Runoff Impact Drought Planning? Increased surface water runoff effectively short circuits the natural processes that ensure water treatment and groundwater recharge. Every Drought Plan needs to carefully consider measures for the restoration of these natural systems. Encouraging local policy decisions that support measures to minimize runoff and encourage natural infiltration is an important step in the long-range preparation for a drought event. Remember, the groundwater beneath your community is your water savings account. It is what recharges your streams during the dry season. It is what you will be counting on when a drought event occurs (see Fact Sheet #2). The NARC&DC would like to thank the USDAs Natural Resources Conservation Service for their assistance in the development of this fact sheet.

Constructed wetlands provide another method to detain and treat stormwater or agricultural runoff.

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March, 2006