Primary : Stormwater
Stormwater
Stormwater and Drainage - Where Does the Rain in Our City Go?
For more information about Stormwater, please visit the Drainage and Stormwater section of our main website.
What is stormwater?
Rainfall which runs off roofs and roads and other surfaces and flows into gutters, streams and rivers and creeks where it eventually flows into the bays. This water can carry with it all sorts of contaminants. Some are obvious such as plastic bags or detergents from people washing their cars, others are not so obvious such as nutrients and heavy metals.
What does Melbourne Water do?
Melbourne Water is responsible for regional drainage, flood protection and rivers and creeks management. This also involves the protection and improvement of the water qualitythroughout the Port Phillip and Westernport region, which includes 8000 kilometres of rivers and creeks, 1277 kilometres of drainage and 99 wetlands.
Local councils manage 25,000 kilometres of local drains, road networks, street and property drainage, which feed into the regional drains and rivers and creeks.
How do wetlands help the environment?
Wetlands are areas of land that contain pools of shallow water. Wetlands not only look good but also provide a habitat for native wildlife as well as a potential source of reusable water. There may also be the potential for sporting and recreational facilities, and agriculture and aquaculture farming around wetlands. Wetlands clean the stormwater that runs into them by catching any nasties that are caught up in the water.
View more information about wetlands in your area, or talk to your local council.
Useful Teacher Resources
A list of useful teacher resources can be found under Educational Resources.