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<br />SECTION 1 <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />The goal of improved water quality in the streams of <br /> <br /> <br />Colorado and throughout the nation requires a comprehensive <br /> <br /> <br />analysis of all sources of pOllution. For many years, the <br /> <br /> <br />emphasis has been placed on municipal and industrial point source <br /> <br /> <br />discharges with the objective of reducing or eliminating pollu- <br /> <br /> <br />tant discharges. <br /> <br /> <br />However, improved treatment plants do not always result <br /> <br /> <br />in a proportionate improvement in overall water quality. While <br /> <br /> <br />urban point waste sources are becoming less threatening, other <br /> <br /> <br />non-point sources of water impairment typically go untreated and <br /> <br /> <br />are becoming relatively more significant. This was demonstrated <br /> <br /> <br />in a discussion concerning a Council on Environmental Quality <br /> <br /> <br />study which indicated that in 80 percent of the urban areas <br /> <br /> <br />studied, downstream quality was not controlled by point sources <br /> <br /> <br />(Bowen, 1972). <br /> <br /> <br />Urban stormwater runoff is considered a non-point source <br /> <br /> <br />of water pollution and is generated by precipitation which washes <br /> <br /> <br />and cleanses an urban environment, and then transports collected <br /> <br /> <br />residues to the nearest natural or man-made watercourse. Con- <br /> <br /> <br />sidering that precipitation cleanses a variety of objects in the <br /> <br /> <br />urban environment, including homes, cars, streets, shopping <br /> <br /> <br />centers, etc., it is not surprising that urban storm waters <br /> <br /> <br />contain substantial amounts of pollutants. Many recent studies <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />i <br /> <br />... <br />