Did you hear our public service announcements on WGVU? Those were all recorded by local students who want to help protect our lakes and rivers.

When it rains, some water soaks into the ground in areas with plants and trees. But rainwater can’t soak through hard materials like roads and buildings. Instead, it flows over these impermeable surfaces.

As the water flows, it picks up pollution on these surfaces. For example, as rain flows over a road, it can pick up oil and heavy metals from cars. It can pick up fertilizer and pet waste from lawns. It can also cause erosion and carry away soil. Rainwater moves these pollutants down storm drains and through underground pipes. 

In Grand Rapids, water entering storm drains goes directly to the Grand River, along with the pollutants it picked up. This pollution can make it difficult for fish, insects, and other living things to survive.

Pollution picked up by rainwater as it flows over the ground is called “nonpoint source pollution”. We call it that because you can’t identify a single “point” where the pollution is coming from. It happens anywhere rain falls.

Hear students share tips on how to reduce pollution from stormwater. Students worked with WGVU, the local PBS/NPR affiliate in Grand Rapids, to record this public service announcement. This work was funded by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Groundswell partnered with WGVU to create a series of educational videos about nonpoint source pollution. Watch the videos to learn more about NPS pollution and what you can do to help protect our water.

These PSAs were produced in partnership with WGVU Public Media. The work was sponsored by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.