Stormwater runoff...yeuch. PBS Frontline takes us from sewers to tap water

Ever wonder what becomes of that rainwater that runs off pesticide-treated lawns, golf courses, and farm fields? What about the hormone-disupting pharmaceuticals that we flush down the toilet because they are past their due date, leftover, or unwanted? Where does the polluted runoff from factory farms end up?

PBS Frontline is tracking our nation's dirty secret, our  sewer-to-tap water system, in a show called Poisoned Waters that will air April 21 on PBS. Mark your calendars! Dead fish, mutated frogs, its all here!

NRDC has tackled a lot of these issues head on, and supplied solutions that work. For example, our water program co-director, Nancy Stoner, says we can neutralize river damage from sewage and stormwater runoff by using a variety of approaches from traditional sewage treatment plants, underground storage tunnels for the sewage and stormwater mix that flows through the sewers when it rains, building rain gardens and green roofs, to getting people to plant native plants instead of lawns and put trash in waste receptacles or recycling bins instead of into the street (where it washes into the river when it rains). 

I have testified in the U.S. Senate on the impact to watersheds from pharmaceuticals improperly flushed down toilets or in waste from factory farms. The Associated Press reported that pharmaceutical residues were detected in the drinking water of 24 major metropolitan areas across the country serving 41 million people. Detected drugs included antibiotics, anti-convulsants, and mood stabilizer drugs.

Our own in-house Smartgrowth expert, Kaid Benfield, is full of success stories of on-the-ground solutions to stormwater runoff that include smart growth and sustainable development.

NRDC is fighting the problem of watershed pollution by promoting smart solutions that are sustainable, practical, and create green jobs.

We want to hear from you! Share your own successful solutions by posting a comment below.