Does water from storm sewers get cleaned?

Question

Does water from storm sewers get cleaned?

Answer 1

No.  The water gets pumped straight into lakes and streams.  That's why you should never change your oil in your car on the street and let the waste oil run into the drain.

Answer 2

Some places yes, others no.  Depends on local conditions.

Answer 3

No, water from roads is piped to closet collecting pond, stream or river. Any oil, or any other contaminant is sent right in and sent downstream.

Answer 4

Almost never is it cleaned before being put back into the environment.   Victoria in BC even pumps untreated sewage into the ocean.....is that gross or what?

Answer 5

There is a great little video produced by the Delaware County (PA) Conservation District. It's entitled "Storm Sewers Don't Go to the Treatment Plant".

Some of the answers saying that storm sewer water sometimes goes to the treatment plant come from people who, I think, are confusing storm sewers with combined sewers (carrying both storm water and sewage). These sewers are old ones and lead to increased loads being dumped at the plants and all-too-frequent overflows after a rain or an abrupt snow melt.

Answer 6

Only If they get plugged up

Answer 7

It depends.  In some areas, this water goes through a treatment plant.  But in heavy rains the plants are quickly overwhelmed and the runoff is diverted to outflow pipes which lead to rivers, lakes or the ocean.

Answer 8

Most of the time it receives a primary treatment which is a grid that collects plastic bags.  In some cases it is cleaned but more often than not it is piped into streams although often storm water is piped into the sea along with sewage and industrial effluent.  The nutrients from urban storm water and industry is responsible for the eutrophication of many rivers and streams all over the world and after heavy rainfall nutrients from terrogenious sources delivered via storm water drains can cause algae bloomes.

Answer 9

The odds are no.