Remember Only Rain Down the Storm Drain!

Tips...

Do you know where the storm drain goes?
The storm drain system in the City of Santa Barbara was designed to carry stormwater runoff from the streets into the creeks to prevent flooding during rainstorms. Some people think that runoff in the storm drains goes and into the El Estero Wastewater Treatment Plant. This is a common misconception. Anything that enters the storm drains ends up in creeks and flows to the ocean untreated. This includes non-point source pollution, such as motor oil, fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides and pet waste.

YOU can help reduce non-point source pollution and keep our creeks and ocean clean by doing the following:

• Use a broom to sweep your driveway. Rinsing your walkway with hose water can wash pollutants into the street where they make their way into the storm drain.

• Always pick up after your pet. Pet waste contains bacteria, therefore, when taking your dog for a walk, bring along a plastic grocery bag to pick up your dog’s waste. Then put it in the trash or flush it down the toilet. This insures that the bacteria will not get into waterways and end up in the ocean.

• Minimize the use of pesticides and herbicides in your garden. Consider alternatives to chemicals such as biological pest control and pulling out weeds by hand. If you must use chemicals in your garden, make sure to read the directions and always use the correct amount. This will stop excess chemicals from washing into waterways.

• Fix car leaks. Oil, antifreeze and other harmful chemicals leak onto streets, parking lots and driveways. When it rains, these harsh chemicals all wash to the creeks and ocean.

• Use the car wash. Commercial car washes recycle their water and make certain that the soapy water stays out of the storm drain. If you must wash your car at home, do so off of the pavement and use a bucket to contain the soapy water. Then pour suds down the sink or toilet so they will end up at the wastewater treatment plant. This will stop wash water from entering the storm drain.

• Never dump household hazardous waste or garden waste in the street or down the storm drain. Motor oil, antifreeze, paint, paint thinner, batteries and other common chemical cleaning products are considered Household Hazardous Waste and should only be disposed of at proper collection facilities. It is illegal to dump anything down the storm drain.

Business Owners Guide
Best Management Practices

The following are Best Management Practices that should be followed to prevent contamination of urban runoff and pollution of local creeks and the ocean. City of Santa Barbara Municipal Code Title 16 Liquid and Industrial Waste Disposal prohibits discharge of any pollutants into the storm water system.

Food and Restaurant | Automotive | Construction | Chemicals

Food and Restaurant Industry

Poor cleaning practices in some of the restaurants have been identified as one of the pollution problems in the storm drains.

City of Santa Barbara Public Works Department is working hard to minimized the pollution from the storm drain system. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THERE. Santa Barbara has more than 300 restaurants. Therefore, the number of gallons of water used for washing greasy utensils outside the sink will be in the range of thousands.

Good Cleaning Practices 

• Wash floormats, filters and garbage cans in a mop sink. DO NOT wash them in a parking lot, alley sidewalk or street.

• Please DO NOT hose spills down onto a parking lot, street gutter or storm drain.

• Keep dumpster area clean and lid closed. Use dry methods (sweeping, cat litter, sand, etc.) for spill clean up.

• Pour mopped water into a janitorial or mop sink DO NOT pour it out onto a parking lot alley sidewalk or street.

Automotive

Parking Lots:

• Pave the surfaces with concrete, not asphalt. Automotive fluids may dissolve asphalt, or may be absorbed into the blacktop and release later.

• Drain the surface to a single drain connected to the sanitary sewer. The drain may require an oil/water separator or oil/grease trap. The drain must be approved by the wastewater treatment plant staff.

• Grade the working area to be higher than the parking lot, or surrounded by a berm to prevent storm water run-on.

Lot Wash:

• Sweep or vacuum frequently rather than hosing to keep your businesses clean.

• Do not hose down service bays, parking lots, sidewalks or patios. Use a broom to clean up debris and dispose of it in the trash can.

• Remember anything that you hose down in a parking lot flows untreated into creeks and the ocean.

• Never wash down pavement or surfaces where materials have spilled. Use dry cleanup methods whenever possible.

Vehicle Wash:

• Don’t let vehicle wash water reach the street. Wash vehicles where water can be collected, treated and recycled.

• Wash vehicles at an appropriate off-site facility. If equipment must be washed on-site, do not use soaps solvents, degreasers, or steam cleaning equipment, and prevent wash from entering the storm drain.

Construction

• Keep all scrap materials such as metal, wood or paper from entering the storm drain system. Keep separate and recycle when possible.

• Do not work or store materials in areas exposed to rain or runoff. If work must be done outside, construct a separate, bermed area that does not drain directly into a storm drain.

• Protect all storm drain inlets using filter fabric cloth or other best management practices to prevent sediments from entering the storm drainage system during construction activities.

• Schedule clearing or heavy earth moving activities for periods of dry weather. Cover exposed piles of soil, construction materials and waste with a plastic sheeting or temporary roofs. Use terracing, rip rap, sand bags, rocks, straw bales or vegetation to reduce runoff velocity and to trap sediments. Before it rains, sweep and remove materials from surfaces that drain to storm drains, creeks, or channels.

• Prevent soil erosion. Delineate clearing limits, easements, setbacks, sensitive or critical areas, trees, drainage courses, and buffer zones to prevent excessive or unnecessary disturbances and exposure.

Cement:

• Keep fresh concrete and cement mortars out of gutters, storm drains, and creeks.

• Avoid mixing excess amounts of fresh concrete or cement mortar on-site.

• Store dry and wet materials under cover protected from rainfall and runoff.

• Wash out concrete transit mixers only when in designated wash-out areas. Whenever possible recycle washout by pumping back into the mixer for reuse. Never dispose of washout into the streets, storm drains, drainage ditches, or creeks.

• Whenever possible, return contents of mixer barrel to the yard for recycling. Dispose of small amounts of excess concrete, grout, and morter in the trash.

Waste Management:

• Store materials in closed or covered areas.

• Keep covers on all trash cans.

• Keep the area around your trash receptacles free of debris.

• Keep trash receptacles in a covered area to prevent wind or rain from getting into the trash.

• Prevent liquids from leaking out of the trash area and entering the storm drain system.

• Maximize trash cans to prevent public littering.

• Waste being held for recycling or disposal should be held separate and covered.

• Practice source reduction- reduce waste by ordering only the amount you need to finish the job.

• Recycle leftover materials whenever possible. Materials such as concrete, asphalt, scrap metal, solvents, degreasers, cleared vegetation, paper, rock, and vehicle maintenance materials such as used oil, antifreeze, batteries, and tires are recyclable.

• Be sure that trailers carrying your materials are covered during transit.

Chemicals

Painting:

• Never clean brushes or rinse paint containers into a street, gutter, storm drain, or creek.

• Paint type and disposal.

• Water based paint brushes may be rinsed in a drain leading to the sanitary sewer (i.e., indoor plumbing). Excess paint may be disposed of as hazardous waste.

• Oil-based paint, thinners and sludges must be disposed of as hazardous waste.

• Latex paint may be recycled.

Oil and Solvents:

• Keep vehicles in good working order to prevent leaks. Refuel vehicles and heavy equipment in one designated location on the site and take care to clean up spills immediately.

• Recycle motor oil and solvents.

• Routinely check equipment to wipe spills and repair leaks.

• Apply absorbents on any oil leaks that may appear in parking lots. Properly dispose of absorbents before it rains. Some absorbents include: wipes, kitty litter, other organic based absorbents. And use catch or drip pans.

• Never pour fluids down the storm drain, on a paved area or on the ground.

Herbicides, Pesticides and other Chemicals:

• Properly label use, store and dispose of hazardous products.

• Use nontoxic products for cleaning.

• Store all products in covered and secure locations.

• Do not over-apply pesticides or fertilizers and follow manufacturers instructions for mixing and applying materials.

The City of Santa Barbara is working to improve the water quality of the creeks and the ocean. Let’s all do our part to keep the waterways clean!

Remember Only Rain Down the Storm Drain!

Documents...

The above document is available here to view, download, and print in Adobe Acrobat format. The Adobe Acrobat reader is available for free from Adobe. For more information on installing and using Acrobat, see Acrobat Instructions.

• Download stormdrain/business owners guide flyer

Related Links...

• Project Clean Water
• The South Coast Watershed Resource Center