Why You Should Consider Disconnecting Your Downspout From the Sewer System
11/19/25
“Why should you consider disconnecting your downspout from the sewer system?”
Downspouts carry water from rooftop gutters to the ground. Many homes have their downspouts connected to the sewer system by default. In combined sanitary sewer areas, this means that rain that falls on rooftops will enter the same pipes that carry sanitary waste. During rainstorms, the amount of water entering sewer lines from downspouts may be so large that it overwhelms the system, resulting in a combined sewer overflow event. If you own a building, you can reduce the chance of CSO occurrence by disconnecting your downspout and directing it to infiltrative material. Not only will the sewers get less overwhelmed, but this opens the opportunity to provide much-needed water to your own vegetation. This is Why You Should Consider Disconnecting Your Downspout From the Sewer System.
“How can we use pipes to channel water away from the roof gutters of buildings?”
Water piles up on roofs during rain events. Gutters are installed on roofs to channel water away. To avoid buildup in the gutters, people can install Downspouts, pipes connected to gutters to allow water to move away into safer areas such as sewers or a retention basin. Downspouts are a simple yet effective method to prevent building damage.
“How can neighborhood residents take care of their local catch basins?”
Catch basins accumulate debris underneath and on top of their grating. If this mess is left uncleaned, then floods may pile up, and the inside of pipes may become less functional. While it takes advanced equipment to clean underneath the grating, sweeping away debris from the top is very straightforward. Municipal governments have established Adopt a Catch Basin Programs to invite residents to routinely clean the catch basins in their neighborhoods. Residents may be assigned a particular catch basin to clear. Adopt a catch basin programs go a long way to make neighborhoods healthier and more resilient to climate change.
“How can we prevent erosion using structures that slow down water flow?”
Water flowing too fast in a specific area can lead to erosion. We can slow water down to prevent erosion, not only by removing harsh friction but also by allowing sediment to settle and replenish eroded gullies. Slower water also has more time to infiltrate and recharge groundwater levels. So what if we create miniature dams that impede the flow of water to moderate velocity and achieve sedimentation control? Well, this is the idea behind Check Dams. Check dams are a foundational part of erosion and stormwater management. Infrastructure designers can implement check dams in water quality swales to achieve synergy across both interventions. Check dams are usually implemented in channels or swales instead of live streams. It’s recommended to not build check dams in high-slope environments since the velocities of the incoming water may be too high for check dams to handle effectively.
“How do we categorize water quality swales that are saturated for most of the time?”
Water quality swales come in many different sizes. Dry swales are dry for most of the time, but there are also Wet Swales that remain saturated for most of the time. Wet swales are built into existing swales and store stormwater runoff within a collection of cells inside the channel. This setup can lead to conditions similar to those found in wetlands. Managers usually implement wet swales to treat and convey stormwater runoff, but not infiltration since they’re not designed for infiltration.
“How do we categorize water quality swales that are dry for most of the time?”
Water quality swales treat stormwater runoff using vegetated open channels. Not all of these interventions are designed the same. Some are dry for most of the time, giving them the name Dry Swales. Dry swales have specifically selected, highly permeable soil, an underdrain system, and surrounding check dams. Dry swales provide strong performance for metals and nitrate removal, but have higher costs from using highly permeable soils and underdrain systems.
“How can we treat stormwater runoff using vegetated open channels?”
Stormwater runoff can carry pollution into nearby water bodies. Government bodies may require building and construction operators to slow down and treat stormwater pollution loads coming from their properties. So what’s one way people can accomplish this without using a complicated system? Well, we know that vegetation naturally slows down water and absorbs pollutants while providing infiltration potential. We also know that directing water through a channel allows people to manage the direction of flow. So what if we were to create landscaped vegetation channels that can slow down water, allowing for sediments to settle, infiltration to occur, and pollutants/nutrients to get trapped? Well, this is the basis for Water Quality Swales. Water quality swale slopes are typically at a gentle 3 feet horizontal by 1 foot vertical slope to avoid quick channel flow and maximize surface area for filtration. Land-use managers should install water quality swales before impervious surfaces to enable proper infiltration.
“What is the largest sewage treatment plant in the western US, and what makes it special?”
The US has thousands of sewage treatment plants. The largest one west of the Mississippi, the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant, has many interesting properties. Located in the Los Angeles suburb of El Segundo, the Hyperion sewage treatment plant can treat nearly a half a billion gallons per day and recycles nearly 30 percent of its treated water for non-potable uses. The City of Los Angeles is working to make the Hyperion plant recycle 100 percent of its wastewater for beneficial reuse by 2035, including 174 million gallons per day of purified recycled water. These measures will help Los Angeles thrive in the drought-afflicted climate paradigm of the near future. The Hyperion sewage treatment plant is looking to add membrane bioreactor, reverse osmosis, and UV light disinfection capabilities to its processes.
“How does the U.S. designate an aquifer that’s the only or principal source of drinking water?”
Municipalities in the U.S. use a plethora of different sources for drinking water, from groundwater aquifers to coastal desalination plants. But some communities rely on a single aquifer for their only or principal source of drinking water. If this aquifer gets contaminated, then it could spell huge trouble for the community. To protect themselves, communities can apply to the EPA to have their aquifer designated as a Sole Source Aquifer if they receive 50 percent or more of their water from a single aquifer and have no reasonable alternative sources if the aquifer becomes contaminated. Sole source aquifer designation provides legal benefits for communities such as extra environmental review for projects that may damage the aquifer, increasing public awareness, and open up potential federal grants.
Isaac's Science Blog 