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Water Quality

Keeping our water clean starts with thinking about what’s going down our drains. Storm drains are located along roadway curbs and are visible in most neighborhoods and public spaces in Prince William County. All of the dirty water that flows into our local storm drains, whether from rainfall or snowmelt, is directly carried to the Occoquan Reservoir, the Potomac River, the Chesapeake Bay, and finally, the Atlantic Ocean. Consequently, any present litter or pollutants (such as engine oil, cleaning products, etc.) on the pavement is also washed down the drain and enters our oceans, thereby contaminating our drinking water, the natural food chain, and the health of wildlife habitats.

Storm drain labeling is a preventative measure in keeping litter out of the water. Volunteers can help educate the community on the scope of this issue by using a KPWB stencil to label drains appropriately. Labels note to the public that any litter or contaminants dumped near our roadways is likely to flow into a storm drain and will not be treated before entering the ocean.

Volunteers can expect to...

  • Take note of any unlabeled storm drains in your neighborhood or local public spaces
  • Pick up label stenciling supplies from KPWB (to include gloves, wooden stencil, spray paint, hard bristle brush)
  • Use personal vehicle to travel to storm drains
  • Apply stencil by (1) brushing off excess debris, (2) laying wooden stencil flat on top of the drain at the appropriate rotation, (3) spray painting the message onto the concrete, and (4) lifting the stencil away carefully
  • Take a photo of each newly labeled drains with your device’s geolocation turned on
  • Send photos and drain location to KPWB through email or by sharing through a Google Photo Album
Questions? Email Us!
Questions? Email Us!
Questions? Email Us!

A common misconception about storm drains is that all stormwater is being treated before flowing into our natural bodies of water and has no impact on the safety of local drinking water. Another common belief is that the earth can’t run out of fresh water because we know how to clean and reuse water. These ideas are largely incorrect. Looking at our own community, we know that the Bull Run watershed feeds into the Occoquan Reservoir, which provides nearly 17 million gallons of drinking water for over half of Prince William’s county population. The Occoquan Reservoir is a primary drinking water source for over 800,000 people in Northern Virginia. Local storm water (and any present pollutants or litter) enters the Bull Run watershed, flows into the Occoquan Reservoir, then into the Potomac River, then into the Chesapeake Bay, and then into the Atlantic Ocean. Some water is taken from the Occoquan Reservoir to be cleaned for drinking, and the rest of this contaminated water is not treated at all before entering our oceans. The water collected for drinking water is treated, but remember—dirty water can only be treated so many times before the quality is permanently affected. This water comes out of the cleaning process less and less clean with each treatment. Littered water has countless adverse effects on human health and the health of our natural ecosystems. The way water moves through soil, through larger bodies of water, through storm drains, easily picking up pollutants along the way, is exactly why we need to continue being conscious of keeping our streets free of litter.

Educating the community about stormwater management and stormwater pollution prevention is also beneficial for important community infrastructure. Too much litter in our storm drain system can cause blockages within the drain structures, possibly resulting in flooding and erosion problems. The absence of this litter accumulation can prevent unnecessary stress and damage to waterways, private property, etc.

Environmental Management Services

The Environmental Management Division in our county provides a number of services to improve the daily life and safety of our community. They are responsible for oversight of much of the site and land development functions in the county as well as maintaining the county’s storm water infrastructure and efforts to improve local streams and waterways.

Learn About Local Water Quality
Learn About Local Water Quality
Learn About Local Water Quality

Do you have project ideas concerning water quality?

KPWB supports a wide variety of programs and projects in our county that don’t always fall under just one category. Water quality in particular is a subject that nearly all of our programs have an affect on, based on the nature of how pollution typically reaches our water sources. KPWB is always looking to team up with more community members and businesses who have a water quality related project idea in mind that could use our support.

Email us below with the details of your project and we’ll see what we can do to help.

Email Your Idea
Email Your Idea
Email Your Idea