Document Type

Vignette

Publication Date

5-2021

Keywords

State of the Salish Sea, Salish Sea, stormwater, estuary, Puget Sound, urbanization, watersheds, pollution

Abstract

One of the primary terrestrial pressures on the Salish Sea estuarine and marine environment is urban stormwater runoff. When rainfall runs across hard, impervious surfaces, rather than soaking into the soil, it picks up and delivers toxic contaminants directly to nearby streams, rivers, and eventually the Salish Sea. In fact, for most toxic substances, surface runoff is the largest contributing source of loading to Puget Sound. Unfortunately, the Salish Sea’s relationship with stormwater effluent is no outlier; stormwater is the fastest growing cause of surface water impairment in the United States as urbanization transitions forested and other natural landscapes to hard, impervious surfaces. Given that the Salish Sea is expected to house another 5 million people by 2040, stormwater interventions will be necessary in order to break the relationship between urbanization and stormwater-caused ecological degradation.

Publication Title

State of the Salish Sea

First Page

86

Last Page

88

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25710/vfhb-3a69

Sponsorship/Conference/Institution

Salish Sea Institute

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

Download

Share

COinS