Ocean Pollution
- What is storm water and urban runoff?
- Where does urban runoff and storm water go?
- Why is preventing ocean pollution important?
Storm water is water from rain and snow melt that runs over the ground and flows into a City's storm drain system, eventually flowing directly into local waterways (streams and rivers) and water bodies (wetlands and oceans).
Urban runoff is excess water from sprinklers, pools being drained, washing off sidewalks or any other activity that causes non-rain water to flow to the storm drain system. Urban runoff carries various pollutants to local waterways especially during dry weather and summer months.
The City of Garden Grove's urban runoff and storm water flows through the City's storm drain into Bolsa Chica Wetlands and Huntington Harbor, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean.
Water pollution from storm water and urban runoff threatens storm water quality. This creates unsafe conditions for fishing, swimming and other water related activities. Poor water quality eventually impacts the health of residents, ecosystems and our planet.