What You Need to Know to Take Care of Your Property

Stormwater is the water that runs off the land after precipitation, either rain or snowmelt. Rain or snow can drain down into the soil (called infiltration), evaporate back into the atmosphere, be used by plants, or flow into streams or water bodies. The water that runs off the land to streams or lakes is referred to as stormwater runoff.

Stormwater runoff happens in natural, undeveloped areas, but typically only for larger storms. For most areas in Pennsylvania that are wooded or natural meadows, it takes about an inch or more of rain to produce runoff.

After development, the natural wooded or meadow areas are replaced with roofs, driveways, sidewalks, and streets. These hard surfaces are called impervious surfaces, and they do not allow water to drain through them, unlike how rain can drain into soil (which is called a pervious surface). When rain falls on impervious surfaces, it runs off rather than infiltrating into the soil or being taken up by vegetation.

To continue reading please download the PDF.