What is the difference between a sewer and storm drain?
The main difference between sanitary sewer drains and storm drains is that the contents of the sanitary sewer drain go through various treatment processes at a wastewater treatment facility in order to meet state and federal regulations regarding the quality of water being released back into circulation. Storm drains on the other hand, act as channels to funnel runoff away from urbanized areas quickly as possible to prevent flooding and deposits the untreated water into nearby waterways. The duration between rain events, the amount of vehicle traffic, the amount of impervious surfaces, and the quantity of various debris materials lying around is positively correlated to biological and physical stream degradation.
