Laura James swims inside a stormwater outfall in Puget Sound that she has come to call "The Monster" because of how much runoff billows from it when it rains.
credit:
Michael Bendixen/OPB
Diver Laura James says, “I see Puget Sound and our oceans as a reflection of us. They’re a reflection our humanity. And the storm drains are a conduit of our humanity running in there.”
credit:
Michael Bendixen
Stormwater pollution includes microscopic particles of heavy metals, such as copper from brake pads.
credit:
Katie Campbell
Studies have found that cigarette butts commonly found in stormwater runoff have lethal effects on fish. Photo by Katie Campbell
credit:
Katie Campbell
Stormwater is a toxic cocktail of road grime, grease, tire wear and any litter small enough to slip into storm drains. Photo by Katie Campbell
credit:
Katie Campbell
Many people in the Northwest assume that stormwater goes to a treatment facility, when in fact most stormwater is not treated at all and just empties into the nearest waterway.
credit:
Katie Campbell
A team of researchers recentely gathered runoff from a highway in Seattle to study the impacts of urban stormwater on aquatic life.
credit:
Katie Campbell
The two darker colored carboys contain straight highway runoff. The two lighter colored carboys contain runoff that has been filtered through soil columns.
credit:
Katie Campbell
These soil columns at the Washington Stormwater Center in Puyallup are filtering highway runoff in a similar fashion to what happens in a rain garden.
credit:
Katie Campbell
WSU postdoc researcher Jenifer McIntyre and NOAA research toxicologist Julann Spromberg are studying the effectiveness of rain gardens by filtering runoff through these soil columns.
credit:
Katie Campbell
Jenifer McIntyre, WSU researcher, scrutinizes 10 juvenile coho salmon that died after less than 12 hours of swimming in highway runoff.
credit:
Katie Campbell
Josh Robben, of Portland's Stormwater Retrofit Program, weeds a rain garden that is part of the Tabor to the River Project, a pilot program for green stormwater infrastructure.