By HEATHER C. COX
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
The addition of a stormwater department to the City of San Benito 2012-13 proposed budget is in direct result of an unfunded state mandate, administrators said.
So what does that mean?
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Stormwater runoff occurs when precipitation from rain or snowmelt flows over the ground. Impervious surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, and streets prevent stormwater runoff from naturally soaking into the ground.”
The problem with stormwater runoff, also according to the EPA, is the tendency for this water to “pick up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants and flow into a storm sewer system or directly to a lake, stream, river, wetland, or coastal water. Anything that enters a storm sewer system is discharged untreated into the water bodies we use for swimming, fishing and providing drinking water.”
As a result of identifying the underlying issue of stormwater runoff, Texas instated a mandate for cities across the state which is intended to help alleviate the issue. The stormwater department, which will not be funded by the state, does come at an anticipated cost.
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