Where does stormwater go?

The next time you are home during a rain shower, head outdoors with your boots and umbrella and watch where the rainwater goes. Does water soak into the ground quickly, or does it collect in puddles and flow off lawns and driveways? Do you see a stormwater superhighway? Is your rooftop connected to a gutter system that is adjacent to a sidewalk or driveway that drains into a concrete-lined ditch? Soil type affects how water infiltrates (soaks into the ground). As you might expect, water quickly infiltrates sandy soil, such as in the coastal plain or sandhills, but has a hard time seeping into fine-grained clay soils, such as those found in the piedmont or the rocky soils of the mountains.

During your walk, note how far it is to the nearest storm sewer, ditch, wetland, stream, or body of open water. Note whether runoff flows onto your land from adjacent streets, lawns, or stormwater systems. If you live at or near the bottom of a hill, you may have problems unique to your relatively low-lying position. Be sure to go out during more than one rain shower to get a good understanding of runoff flow during small and large storms.