April is Stormwater Awareness Month!!
| Date | Stormwater Fact/Topic |
Week of April 1st: |
Happy Stormwater Awareness Month! In an average year, 39 billion gallons of untreated stormwater flow into Omaha area streams. That’s 310 Memorial Stadiums of water! Did you know when it rains debris in the street it washes into storm drains and flows to nearby streams? Keep Omaha streets free of trash and debris by picking up litter in your neighborhood. Want to help label storm drain inlets? Visit Keep Omaha Beautiful to volunteer! https://www.keepomahabeautiful.org/stormwater-volunteer.html |
Week of April 10th: |
Keep E. coli out of Omaha’s waters by picking up after your pets. Direct rinse water from car washing to a green area or use a commercial carwash which captures dirty rinse water. Did you know according to the USGS, of the water on Earth, 2.5% is freshwater and only 1% is usable? Did you know combined sewer systems carry both sewage and stormwater? Just a tenth of an inch of rain or snow melt can cause overflows. This can cause raw sewage to be released to local waterways. The CSO Program is working to decrease these overflows. |
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Did you know stormwater temperature increases while traveling across heat-absorbing hard surfaces, causing damage to freshwater habitats? By making more green places and directing runoff through them, we can reduce thermal pollution added by our urban setting. Check out the Sustainable Landscapes Manual for ideas for your green space: https://www.omahastormwater.org/resources/forms-downloads/#266-wpfd-manuals
A bioretention garden with native plants |
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Are you looking for something educational and fun for the kids? Try this environmental word search: https:// www.omahastormwater.org/…/4228/environmental-word-search.pdf Find more fun activities and ideas at: https://www.omahastormwater.org/residential/kids/ |
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Native perennials and grasses with deep roots help water infiltrate into the soil instead of running off. Trees can provide cooling shade four your house and property. Visit www.OmahaPlants.org for a great directory of plants, trees, and shrubs to use in your landscape.
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Week of April 17th: |
Did you know cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world. Stormwater runoff easily carries cigarette butts to rivers and lakes where they are deadly to fish and other marine life Properly dispose of cigarette butts; don’t litter it’s the law! To learn more visit www.omahastormwater.org |
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Did you know that in a 1” rain, over 600 gallons of water can run off a 1,000 sq. ft. roof? #OSAM Rain barrels capture stormwater runoff from roofs for later use. Visit https://www.omahastormwater.org/residential/rainbarrel/ for more information about rain harvesting and resources for building your own rain barrel. #OSAM |
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A rain barrel can collect some of this water for you to use later and reduces runoff volume. They are really easy to build and can be adapted to accommodate your setup. Rain barrels save water and help the environment. You can find instructions on how to create a rain barrel and useful tips on our website www.omahastormwater.org 
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| Did you know your grass doesn’t soak up as much as you may think? Up to 95% of stormwater can run off of a turf grass lawn. | |
Week of April 24th: |
Did you know Swimming pool chemicals have harmful impacts on aquatic life. Just 1 pint of chlorine in 20,000 gallons of water is poisonous to fish. Swimming pool water should always be drained to a sanitary sewer. Only rain down a storm drain! |
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Did you know about 1/10 of all plastic created every year ends up in our oceans, causing harm to aquatic life and smothering habitats?  Recycle your water bottles & plastics whenever possible; call 402-444-5238 for your nearest recycling drop-off location. |
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Did you know sediment is the #1 pollutant in Nebraska’s streams? You can help prevent sediment erosion by repairing bare spots in your lawn before they become a bigger problem. |
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Did you know every year the Mississippi River carries 1.5 million tons of nitrogen fertilizer creating a New Jersey-sized “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico? We’re all Downstream! Doing yard work this weekend? Reduce your impact on the Gulf and local waters by cleaning up grass clippings and limiting fertilizer use. |
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Did you know Omaha requires new construction and renovation projects to manage the first 1/2″ of runoff water before it leaves the site? Green Infrastructure strategies, such as rain gardens & permeable pavement, are used to reduce stormwater runoff & pollutants. |
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Did you knnow It is estimated that a single gram of dog feces can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria? Keep E. coli out of Omaha’s waters by picking up after your pets. Visit www.omahastormwater.org for more information
Civilian picking up after their dog |
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Did you know a faucet with a leak of only 15 drops per minute equals 788 gallons of water wasted a year? Checking your household faucets for leaks is an easy way to help conserve water. Visit WaterUseItWisely.com for more ways to conserve. |
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Green infrastructure involves the use of soils, plants, and land features in an effort to mimic natural processes that slow, sink, and spread stormwater where it falls. Learn more about green infrastructure and how you can absorb more water into your landscape by going to omahastormwater.org |
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Did you know over-watering or misdirecting sprinklers to hard surfaces increases runoff & wastes a lot of water? Direct your sprinkler heads to only water the lawn, not the pavement. Watering during the cool parts of the day also improves absorption! |
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