How could our water be cleaner?

Answer 1

One of the best ways to make our water cleaner is to require all new construction to put their storm drains into the sewer system. Many cities are built near major rivers or streams. They were built near streams not only because the cities population needed the river for drinking water, but because boats and barges allowed commercial goods and people to travel to and from the city on the river. But now, we usually travel by car and the river is not used as a major source of transportation, but it still gets contaminated from the people who live in the city. Our sewers use to run into the river, but now they go to treatment plants, but our storm waste (that which runs off of the roof of our houses, from watering our lawns, and washing our cars) go to storm drains which go to the rivers. Great amounts of detergents, pesticides, herbicides, oil from our cars...go into the rivers from the storm drains. If new storm drains were to be routed to the treatment plants, then all of this waste would be taken out before the water was returned to the rivers. This is one major way our water could be cleaner.