1. Berks County Water & Sewer Association Stormwater and You

2. Volume of All Water (larger blue ball 860 miles in diameter) Volume of Fresh Water for drinking (middle blue ball - 169.5 miles in diameter) Volume of freshwater lakes and rivers (small blue dot - 34.9 miles in diameter) Source: USGS 3. Stormwater Affects Everyone! Rain and snow melt carries valuable topsoil from your property. Runoff also carries contaminants (sediment/manure/fertilizers/pesticides) which can infiltrate into groundwater. This can impact wells and springs, as well as carry contaminants into streams where livestock drink. 4. Stormdrain in Roadway 5. Groundwater Flow 3D 6. Groundwater Flow 2D 7. Stream Flow Rt. 183 - Bernville Road 8. 25 Hour Time of Travel Route 183 9. 5 Hour Time of Travel 10. Surface Water Flow 5 hours to Dam 25 hours to Dam 45 hours to Dam 63 hours to Dam 11. RAWA Spill Way Lake Ontelaunee 12. WBWA Blue Marsh Lake & Tulpehocken Creek 13. Western Berks Water Authority Plant Building Mural Top: Service Area/Water Use; Bottom: Watershed and Source Area 14. What is in the WATER? Herbicides Pesticides Sediment Excess Nutrients Nitrogen Phosphorus 15. Why are excess Nitrates bad? 16. Higher nitrogen and phosphorus levels Lead to less diversity 17. Excess Nutrients/Algae 18. Septic System Malfunction Stream Bank Erosion Sedimentation Issues How do contaminants reach our water supplies ? 19. How can we protect our water supplies? 20. Grassed Waterways 21. MOWING How close are you mowing to a stream? Are you mowing areas, regularly that could be let to grow? Do your drains get clogged with grass/debris? 22. Who can Help? Berks County Conservation District NRCS Penn State Cooperative Extension