Water Quality
Water Quality
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Illegal Dumping
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Causes and Consequences of Urban Runoff lkeane After it rains, streets look cleaner and that's a problem. Stormwater rushing over paved surfaces picks up everything and then flows directly - or via storms drains - into streams, lakes and ultimately to the ocean. |
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Watershed Watch House The Watershed Watch House will provide you with information about preventing water pollution. |
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Household Grease Alert! Please place all household grease in the trash, where it will be taken to a disposal station that is equiped to contain grease. |
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Urban Run Off A sewer system and a storm drain system are not the same. These two systems are completely different. The water that goes down a sink or toilet in you home or business flows to a wastewater treatment plant where it is treated and filtered. Water that flows down driveways and streets and into a gutter goes into a storm drain which flows directly to a lake, river or the ocean. This water may pick up pollutants along the way which are never treated. Watershed pollution is everyone's problem and everyone needs to be a part of the solution. |
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The Ocean Begins at Your Front Door Most people believe that the largest source of water pollution in urban areas comes from specific sources such as factories and sewage treatment plants. In fact, the largest source of water pollution comes from city streets, neighborhoods, construction sites, and parking lots. Anything we use outside homes can be blown or washed into the storm drains. A little water from a garden hose or rain can also send materials into the storm drains. Storm drains are separate from our sanitary sewer systems; unlike water in sanitary sewers (from sinks or toilets) water in the storm drains is not treated before entering our waterways. For information about how to help prevent water pollution, see: http://www.ocwatersheds.com/PublicEd/index.html The City also publishes a newsletter about water pollution and conservation three times a year. Scroll down to the bottom of the home page and click on “Water Words”. |
In Laguna Woods, it is illegal to dump or spill anything but rain water down a catch basin or into a storm drainage facility. According to Municipal Code Chapter 4.14, a person or business that knowingly of negligently discharges pollutants into a storm drainage facility may be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $1,000 or by imprisonment for a period of not more than six months, or both.To report illegal dumping, spills, or other water pollution issues, contact Laguna Woods City Hall at (949) 639-0555 or the 24-hour Orange County Water Pollution hotline at 1-877-897-7455.
Nearly 25 percent of sewer line breaks are caused by grease from household cooking. Grease poured down the kitchen drain enters and clogs sewer pipes between your home and the main line in the street. Sewer line breaks often permit polluted material to enter the storm drain system where it flows into our streams, lakes and oceans.
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