Surface Runoff

Briana Rudolph

What Is Surface Runoff?

During rainfall, it is common for a portion of the rain to immerse into the ground until the soil becomes saturated. After the soil is infiltrated to its maximal ability, the water pools on the surface, causing it to flow into any nearby low point. The excess water that flows over the land is known as surface runoff.

Why Is Surface Runoff A Negative Thing?

Surface Runoff is a negative, because it can carry detrimental substances such as herbicides and pathogens with it.

(Ex: E Coli breakout in Haiti after the flooding)

Why Is Surface Runoff A Positive Thing?

While surface runoff is extremely harmful to the environment, it also has its benefits.

Surface runoff benefits us in two ways.

2.

1. It restores surface water sources It helps us calculate how much we can harvest for future value.

What Are The Effects of Surface Runoff?

(((Lake Pontchartrain Basin)))

Human Impacts On Surface Runoff

Urbanization creates more impassable surfaces such as buildings and pavements, that keep the water from going into the soil, and to the aquifer. Instead, it is taken directly into streams or storm water runoff drains, where even flooding is not a considerable issue, erosion and siltation can be. An increase of runoff leads to the reduction of groundwater recharge, furthermore lowering the water table, making droughts exceedingly worse. This is a major setback for farmers and others who depend highly on water wells.

Ways To Stop Contaminating The Watershed

Surface runoff carries many endangering pollutants that ultimately destroy the waterbodies in the watershed.

You can help by:

Recycling used motor oil Cleaning up pet waste Use pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides properly

Wildlife Affected By Surface Runoffs

Contaminants are known for traveling through surface run offs. Surface runoffs many times end up bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. The contaminants the surface runoffs carry provide a prominent threat to various underwater species. Some threats they carry are:
Fish kills Imbalance of underwater populations Direct impacts on mating, egg/larvae viability, spawning, exc. Research shows that pesticides such as DDT can alter the gender of a fish genetically, turning a male fish into a female

Public Service Announcement

Stay Humane, Save The Drain!