This Saturday, October 15 the rain intensified with the new storm. While the temperatures seem unseasonably warm, rain is always welcome in the desert. At 9:30 pm it is still raining and the temperature where I live in Reno is 50º F; not close to snowing, that’s for sure.
Rain, however, does result in rapid runoff from commercial and residential properties and parking lots and roads. Oil mobilized by rain in parking areas and roads runs off to adjacent streets, into the storm drains, and then into the Truckee River. Containing this toxic runoff requires a good storm drain plan that works to reduce and clean the runoff before it reaches the Truckee River. The community should focus more resources on cleaning pollution associated with rapid storm runoff.
A rain in Reno results in oil being mobilized and moving from parking lots to storm drains and into the Truckee River.
