City of Carter Lake Storm Water Management
Storm water runoff occurs when precipitation from rain or snowmelt flows over the ground. Surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, and streets prevent storm water runoff from naturally soaking into the ground.
Polluted storm water runoff can have many adverse effects on plants, fish, animals and people.
Sediment can cloud the water and make it difficult or impossible for aquatic plants to grow. Sediment also can destroy aquatic habitats.
Excess nutrients can cause algae blooms, including toxin producing "blue green algae". Carter Lake has had problems with cyanobacteria, or "blue green algae" the past several years. Cyanobacteria can produce toxins dangerous to humans and animals that contact or ingest affected water. When algae die, they sink to the bottom and decompose in a process that removes oxygen from the water. Fish and other aquatic organisms can't exist in water with low dissolved oxygen levels.
Bacteria and other pathogens can wash into the lake and create health hazards.
Debris - plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles, and cigarette butts - washed into lakes, streams, or rivers can choke, suffocate, or disable aquatic life like ducks, fish, turtles, and birds.
Household hazardous wastes like insecticides, pesticides, paint, solvents, used motor oil, and other auto fluids can poison aquatic life. Land animals and people can become sick from eating diseased fish or ingesting polluted water.
Polluted storm water often affects drinking water sources. This, in turn, can affect human health and increase drinking water treatment costs.Storm water runoff is regulated at the federal level by the Environmental Protection Agency. Storm water regulations help ensure mitigation of pollutants and potential pollutants in storm water. The public plays an active role in helping keep storm water clean. The best way to protect our water sources through storm water management is to limit what enters storm sewers and waterways. The public is warned against dumping anything but clean water into storm sewers. Dumping hazardous materials into the storm drainage system is illegal.
The intent of the federal storm water regulation is to improve water quality by reducing or eliminating contaminants in storm water.
Anything that enters a storm sewer system is discharged untreated into the lake we use for swimming, fishing and boating. The primary method to control storm water quality is through the use of best management practices. IA DNR: Water Quality
A simple attractive best management practice to help treat storm water runoff is a rain garden. A rain garden is an attractive landscaping feature planted with perennial native plants. It is a bowl-shaped garden, designed to absorb storm water run-off from impervious surfaces such as roofs and parking lots.
Rain gardens can be small, formal, homeowner style gardens, (like the one in the picture above) or, large complex bioretention gardens (like the two being built along the shoreline of the Carter Lake Club area) , or anywhere in between.
Rain gardens are designed to capture the first inch or two of runoff from a storm event. The first inch and a half of water that runs off of the roof, street, or parking lot contains almost all of the nasty stuff that will wash off. The depression holds the water and will allow it to infiltrate into the soil. The plants will help filter the sediment out, utilize the water and any excess nutrients the water may be carrying. About 85% of the single event storms in Iowa and Nebraska result in an inch and a half of rainfall or less, so a working rain garden will capture and help clean the runoff from most of the rainfall events during the year. It’s not necessary to capture all of the rainfall to be effective. If there is a 5 or 6 - inch rain, the first inch or two gets treated by the rain garden and what runs off after that (the runoff that bypasses the rain garden) is fairly clean.
10 Things You Can do to Prevent Storm Water Runoff Pollution.1. Use fertilizers sparingly and sweep up driveways, sidewalks, and gutters.
2. Never dump anything down storm drains or in the lake.
3. Seed bare spots in your yard.
4. Compost your yard waste.
5. Use less toxic pesticides, follow labels, and learn how to prevent pest problems.
6. Direct downspouts away from paved surfaces; consider a rain garden to capture runoff.
7. Take your car to the carwash instead of washing it in the driveway.
8. Check your car for leaks and recycle your motor oil.
9. Pick up after your pet.
10. Have your septic tank pumped and system inspected regularly.
Residents are encouraged to submit complaints to the City on storm water issues to help keep track of potential problems in the City.
To report any issues, call the Carter Lake City Hall at 712-347-6320.
REMEMBER: ONLY RAIN IN THE DRAIN!
ONLINE COMPLAINT REPORTINGWastewater and sewage from inside your home is treated and cleaned by waste water treatment plants or septic fields. Storm drains in the street outside your home flow directly to the streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean without treatment.
No one is allowed to dump waste of any kind onto street surfaces, drainage pipes and ditches, or into storm drains - they are only for rainwater.
If you see someone dump anything onto street surfaces, into storm drains, or into any other device built to contain rainfall or runoff, please report it by calling 1-712-347-6320 or use the form below.
If you see evidence of dumping, but did not see the act, please report the location.
Your complaint will be forwarded to storm water officials in the area the activity occurred.
To report an Emergency, call 911.
(do not use this form to report an emergency)Please provide one form of contact information so you can be updated on the complaint investigation. Contact information is also necessary if we need additional information about the complaint. All personal information
received will not be released unless it is requested; however, this information is a public record.
All personal information is kept confidential!online October 2006
