Only Rain Down The Drain
Understanding Where Rain Water Goes
To understand how water becomes polluted, we need to understand the watershed concept. Simply put, a watershed is the area of land that drains into a particular waterbody. For example, the Genesee River watershed is 2,480 square miles in size and extends all the way to Pennsylvania. Rain and melting snow seeps into the ground or drains downslope through a network of channels and streams, and ultimately reaches the Genesee River and Lake Ontario. If you've ever used a funnel, you get the idea of how a watershed works.
The Importance of Stormwater
As our towns and cities developed, we constructed roads, parking lots, and driveways that disrupt the natural flow of water. When rain lands on these hard surfaces, it is not able to seep into the ground and instead becomes stormwater runoff. The runoff flows into a storm drain and travels through a network of pipes to the nearest waterway. This network of storm drains and pipes is known as the storm sewer system and are intended to prevent flooding. In rural areas, the stormwater system is generally made up of ditches, rather than storm drains and pipes.
Stormwater & Sanitary Sewer Systems Differences
What goes into storm drains goes into our waterways.
In most of Monroe County, the storm sewer system is a separate system of pipes/ditches and is not part of the sanitary sewer system that transports sewage from our homes to the water resource recovery facility. This is a very important concept to understand because water that enters the storm sewer is transported to the nearest waterway, and ultimately to Lake Ontario, without being treated at a sewage treatment plant.
The City of Rochester is an exception. In certain areas of the City, stormwater and sanitary waste flow in a combined system. That is, both stormwater and sewage are transported through the same system of pipes and are treated at the Frank E. Van Lare Water Resource Recovery Facility.
Regardless of where you live, it’s important to remember Only Rain Down the Drain!
Stormwater’s Effect on Water Quality
An unintended consequence of the stormwater system is that pollutants such as automotive fluids, fertilizers and pesticides, bacteria, sediments, litter, and pet waste are quickly transported from parking lots, roads, and driveways to the nearest waterway. Stormwater pollution results from many of our everyday activities such as how we care for and maintain our cars, lawns, and pets. The good news is that these are sources of pollution that we can do something about TODAY!
When we think about water pollution, many of us think of industrial and municipal wastewater. The sources of these pollutants have made major improvements to their processes and have been regulated for many years. As a result, stormwater is now the most significant source of pollution to many of our local waterways.
Local Water Quality
Waterway Conditions
In general, water quality in the Genesee River, Lake Ontario, and other local waterways has greatly improved since the 1970s because of major investments in infrastructure, government regulations, and other efforts.
Determining Water Quality
New York State, many local municipalities, and research institutions monitor and study local water quality conditions. In our region, Monroe County conducts regular monitoring of water quality. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) publishes a "Priority Waterbodies List" that documents polluted waterways in the State. This list and many associated documents can be viewed on the DEC website.
Lake Ontario’s Water Quality
The Lake Ontario watershed is 24,720 square miles in size and is the most downstream of the five Great Lakes. Water quality conditions in Lake Ontario are highly variable. Although water quality in the open waters of the Lake has greatly improved in recent decades, the near-shore areas are still degraded. The Rochester Embayment (that area of Lake Ontario formed by the indentation of the Monroe County shoreline between Bogus Point in the town of Parma and Nine Mile Point in the town of Webster) has long been an area of concern for poor water quality.
Algae Blooms and Bacteria
Among the most visible water quality problems in the Embayment are the nuisance algae blooms forming along the shoreline that impact swimming at Ontario and Durand Beaches. An important nutrient that drives algae growth in Lake Ontario is phosphorus. This nutrient comes from a variety of sources including lawn and agricultural fertilizers, air pollution, pet waste, and leaky septic systems. When there is an excess of phosphorus, algae can grow and reproduce rapidly.
Why is the beach closed?
In addition to being unsightly, algae blooms create favorable conditions for bacteria to multiply. High bacteria levels are also associated with heavy rains. Stormwater can contain high levels of bacteria that wash off pavement and rooftops. When bacteria levels are high enough to cause health risks, the beaches are closed. For example, at Ontario Beach, Health Department officials determine whether it’s safe to swim based on bacterial levels and conditions on that day.
Safe Fish Consumption
Fish consumption advisories are another significant water quality problem in Lake Ontario and other local waterways. Fish may contain dangerous chemicals in amounts considered too high by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). People can consume these chemicals when eating fish. The NYSDOH recommends that women of childbearing age and children under the age of 15 should not eat any fish from Lake Ontario and the waters that contain contaminated fish. Others should limit their fish consumption according to the specific advisory for that body of water.
Genesee River Water Quality
Residents often assume that the Genesee River is highly polluted because of its muddy appearance. However, much of this sediment load is naturally occurring and associated with the highly erodible soils in the watershed. Agriculture and construction activities in the watershed also contribute sediment.
Water quality in the Genesee River varies greatly. For instance, the lower Genesee River watershed (City of Rochester) includes significant industrial and urban areas. Therefore, in this section of the river, one finds the types of water quality problems commonly associated with these land uses, such as contaminated sediments and degraded aquatic life.
However, the Genesee River has benefited greatly from an innovative program in the 1970s to reduce the impact from the combined sewers that serve parts of the City of Rochester. Prior to this program, the treatment capacity of the combined system was often exceeded during large rainstorms. When this happened, an untreated combination of stormwater and sewage would be discharged into the river. As a solution, large tunnels were constructed to store the combined stormwater and sewage during rainstorms so that they can be treated later when capacity becomes available.
The upper reaches of the Genesee River are not as impacted as the lower sections near Rochester, and the sources of pollution there are generally associated with agricultural activities and wastewater discharges.
Creeks, Ponds & Bay Conditions
Many of our smaller streams, ponds, and bays have also shown significant improvements in water quality. In some cases, this has been the result of infrastructure improvements. For example, in the past, many towns and villages operated their own sewage treatment plants and discharged into local streams. Over the last few decades, many of these small treatment plants have been taken offline. Instead, sewage treatment is provided by larger regional facilities, such as the Frank E. Van Lare Water Resource Recovery Facility which discharges into Lake Ontario. With these improvements, stormwater runoff, construction, and agriculture are now the principal sources of pollution to our smaller waterways.