Stormwater is a crucial element of our urban ecosystem, a recent social media post by St. Johns County informs us. Defined simply, it's the water from rain that does not soak into the ground but instead flows across impervious surfaces like rooftops, driveways, and streets. This water, according to St. Johns County's post, makes its way into storm drains and eventually into our rivers and oceans, often carrying with it pollutants and debris.
One might easily overlook those storm drains nestled on our streets, but they serve as direct conduits to the water bodies that shape our landscapes. With the tagline "ONLY RAIN SHOULD GO DOWN THE DRAIN," the county underscores an often-forgotten notion that what we discard or spill impacts not just the surface where it lands but the aquatic realms it eventually reaches. This innocent-looking runoff picks up all manner of contaminants, ranging from trash and sediment to oil and chemicals, St. Johns County's post describes.
To highlight the importance of clean stormwater, the St. Johns County's message is simple and devastatingly straightforward – what we allow to seep into the ground is, in turn, what ends up in our water supply. Moreover, they advocate for public participation in preserving the stormwater quality, suggesting that individual efforts can indeed "make a big splash."
The county echoes this environmental stewardship with hashtags such as #StormwaterMatters and #ProtectOurWater—creativeness in their social campaign to drive the message home.
