logo

Stormwater FAQ

Stormwater FAQ

What is a watershed?
watershed is an area of land where surface water drains to a single point such as a creek, lake or bay. In forested or unpaved areas, rain falls on trees and vegetation, infiltrates into the soil, and replenishes groundwater aquifers. The rainwater is slowly discharged to downstream creeks in a non-urban watershed boundary, where surface water generally flows downhill from higher elevation points.

However, in urban watersheds, rain travels rapidly over paved areas such as roads, driveways, rooftops, and parking lots (i.e., stormwater runoff). In addition, aquifers are replenished less, with much less infiltration occurring. Once on paved surfaces, rain reaches storm drain inlets, entering a stormwater conveyance system, otherwise known as a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4). These large volumes of water are rapidly carried  to creeks and other waterbodies by MS4s, causing localized flooding, soil erosion, and aquatic habitat loss.  

The City of Burlingame’s watershed contains natural creeks, impacted creeks (e.g., straightened or concrete channels), culverts (concrete tunnels under roads or bridges) and storm drain pipes. View a map of the City’s storm drain system here.
How is the City's storm drain system being maintained?
The City is continuously working to update and maintain its storm drain system, which includes the storm drain inlets, gutters, pipes and outfalls to creeks and the Bay. In January 2009, the City Council authorized a storm drain fee ballot measure to provide $39 million dollars’ worth of infrastructure improvements to the City’s aging system. The Public Works Department has been focusing funding areas throughout the City that experienced flooding and public safety issues in the past. Visit this page to read more about the Storm Drain Capital Improvement Program.


Public Works has also been working to increase its knowledge and understanding of the City’s storm drain system. With the help of an AmeriCorps intern, staff has been creating a complete inventory of all the storm drain inlets throughout the City. While inventorying these inlets, data was also collected on the amount of trash and debris in the inlets. This data will help the City to identify inlets that collect the most organic debris and trash, identify high priority inlets for cleaning and more frequent maintenance as well as help the City to identify possible sources of trash and debris. 

What is stormwater?
Stormwater is rain that flows over driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, streets, rooftops, or any other surface that cannot absorb water. As water travels over these surfaces, it picks up dirt, trash, oil, grease, pesticides, fertilizers, pet waste, and other pollutants and carries them all into a storm drain system. Storm drains in Burlingame are separate from the sanitary sewer system, which means that anything that enters the storm drain will flow directly into our waterways untreated. 
What are the impacts of stormwater runoff?
Stormwater runoff does not flow to a treatment plant. Instead, it flows directly into local creeks (e.g., Mills Creek, Sanchez Creek, and Easton Creek) or the San Francisco Bay. Stormwater runoff degrades the water quality of these waterbodies; increases erosive creek flows; degrades aquatic habitat; and affects recreational uses of beaches. Learn more about how residents and businesses can prevent pollutants from entering the City’s storm drain system.

Stormwater runoff also affects water supplies, because much of the water that hits paved surfaces does not infiltrate into the ground. Retaining rain or stormwater on land is important for maintaining abundant groundwater supplies.  

How does the City of Burlingame manage its stormwater?
The storm drains direct stormwater runoff to receiving waters in order to quickly minimize flooding. However, rainwater collects various pollutants from the streets, rooftops, driveways and other paved areas throughout the City, which travel together to our local creeks and the Bay without any treatment. To prevent and minimize stormwater pollution, the City follows the Municipal Regional Stormwater National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit (MRP), a permit that regulates stormwater activities throughout the State. The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board is one of nine regional boards that make up the State Water Resources Control Board which aims to protect water quality across the State by issuing and overseeing compliance of the permit. The MRP requires that each permittee submit an annual report each September to summarize its compliance activities for the previous fiscal year. The City of Burlingame’s FY 2015-16 Annual Report can be viewed here. 
The MRP focuses on reducing the pollutants that are discharged into creeks, the Bay and other waterbodies in the Bay Area region. The City of Burlingame manages and enforces activities as outlined in the MRP that include: 1) private/public development and construction; 2) municipal infrastructure maintenance; 3) industrial and commercial businesses; 4) illegal dumping or discharges into the storm drain system; 5) creek/watershed monitoring; and 6) pesticide application. In addition, specific requirements are listed regarding the following pollutants: 1) trash; 2) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); 3) mercury; and 4) copper. The City carries out a stormwater management program to comply with the MRP and coordinates activities and shares resources with other San Mateo County permittees through the San Mateo Countywide Water Pollution Prevention Program. 
The City is continuously improving its stormwater management program to not only comply with the MRP, but to improve the quality of its creeks and neighboring Bay. For example, Public Works recently finished the first phase of a pilot study to improve its street sweeping program. The City modified street sweeping schedules in certain neighborhoods to test whether street sweepers could reach the curb more effectively to collect more organic debris and trash. Over the next few months, the pilot will continue by identifying potential issues in industrial/commercial areas and outreaching to specific businesses to improve their trash management practices. 
What can you put down the storm drain?
Only rain down the drain. Local ordinances prohibit anything other than rainwater from entering the storm drain system, since it can degrade our local waterways. Remember, never pour anything into a gutter, street, or storm drain.
What do I do if I see someone dumping something down a storm drain?
Please call Public Works at 650-558-7670 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. During any other time, please call the Burlingame Police Department at 650-777-4100.