WHAT IS STORM WATER?

Storm water drainage lines are located throughout the entire city.  Rain water flows off urban streets, parking lots, construction sites, and neighborhoods, where it is then channeled into the city's storm water drainage system of pipes and ditches.  Its final destination is our creeks, bays, lakes and oceans. 

There are two important aspects of Storm Water . . . Quantity and Quality. The Storm Water Department strives to maintain the City's system to provide adequate levels of flood protection and pollution prevention efforts.

Quantity

The City of Corpus Christi has two separate drainage systems . . . Storm Water and Wastewater. The Storm Water drainage system is a system of roadside ditches, underground pipes and culverts, and major collector ditches which channel rainfall runoffuntreated directly to our bays. The Wastewater system is a network of underground pipes to transport wastewater to treatment plants.

There are two basic methods by which rainfall runoff is collected from adjacent properties. In areas where there is no curb and gutter, the streets are elevated above the surrounding ground level, and runoff from the adjacent properties and street pavement is collected by the roadside ditches which in turn run into the major ditches. In areas where curb and gutter is installed, the street elevation is below the surrounding land. The curb and gutter, as well as the street, collects the runoff and carries it to curb inlets. The inlets are connected to an underground pipe system which channels the runoff to the major ditches.

The system, whether it be ditches or pipes, is designed to accommodate the runoff from a storm of a specific intensity (how fast the rain falls) and duration (how long the storm lasts). If a storm event exceeds the design parameters, the excess runoff can not be accommodated by the system and is "stored" in the roadside ditches or, in the case of a curbed street, in the street itself. Once the event has passed, the water is carried off through the system in a relatively short time.

Quality

Storm water is untreated and drains directly into drainage ditches and ultimately to area streams and bays. The system serves to carry rainwater off urban streets, parking lots, construction sites, neighborhoods, and agricultural lands. As the water runs off these surfaces, various pollutants including oils, dirts, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers are carried into the drainage system and into area streams and bays.

In 1995, the City received a permit from the EPA to drain storm water into our bays. The permit was a negotiated management plan to control the discharge of pollutants into storm water runoff. Several pollution prevention inspection, monitoring, and educational programs were initiated and are ongoing.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

How to keep storm water runoff clean

• Dispose of motor oil properly.
• Minimize the use of pesticides and fertilizers, follow directions carefully.
• Dispose of household hazardous waste properly. Solid Waste Services has special disposal days. Call 826-1631.

How to keep the storm water system flowing

• Put litter, including cigarette butts and food containers in garbage cans.
• Dispose of yard clippings properly.
• Do not blow or sweep grass clippings into the drainage system.