With all the recent buzz over stormwater treatment, what is Hoel Engineerings opinion about the program?
Stormwater Management (SWM) is a good idea. Did you know that urban stormwater contains at least as much pollutant load as our raw sewage? Our biggest issue with SWM is the fact that the parking lots, roads, highways, farms, and golf courses are some of the biggest polluters that we have around us, and very little consideration is given to that fact. Roads, highways, and parking lots discharge oil, antifreeze, asbestos, metallic and carbon brake dust, hydrocarbon particulate, and huge amounts of pollutant-loaded sediment into our groundwater and stream systems. Farms discharge huge amounts of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticide residues into our groundwater and stream systems. Similarly for golf courses. How do you think they get the hundreds of acres of golf greens and fairways looking so nice – they don’t have weed pickers, and lawns requires loads of fertilizers and water to look good. And where does the residue drain, but into the downstream watercourses, ponds, and watertables.
