Sanitary Sewer vs. Storm Drain

In Visalia, storm drains are SEPARATE from the sewer system.

The sewer system takes all the water from inside homes and businesses (such as sinks, bathtubs, washing machines, and toilets) and sends it to the Water Reclamation Facility where the water is cleaned before being released as recycled water for irrigation. The sewer system is maintained by Sanitary Collections.

VS.

The storm drain system takes all the water from outside homes and businesses (such as rain and overwatering of lawns) and sends it untreated to our local creeks, ditches, and basins.

The storm drain system is designed as a flood control system. It allows water from heavy rainstorms to flow quickly to our waterways to avoid flooding our streets, homes, and businesses. However, both stormwater and non-stormwater runoff from homes and businesses can pick up pollutants as large as shopping carts or as microscopic as bacteria. These pollutants are flushed into our waterways, impacting the environment.

Because runoff that gets into our storm drain system is untreated, it is extremely important we prevent pollutants from entering the storm drains and, ultimately, our waterways.