The Town of Chelmsford is working hard to protect water quality by keeping pollutants out of stormwater. We're also trying to prevent flooding and erosion by managing stormwater flow. Our community has to comply with new federal and state stormwater requirements and we need your help.

Have you ever wondered where all the water goes when it rains or after the snow melts? Some of it seeps into the ground or evaporates, but much of it runs off over the land or through storm drains and then flows into our streams and ponds. This runoff is called stormwater.

Stormwater picks up litter, sand, bacteria, oil, and other chemicals as it flows over the land, and it carries these pollutants to our streams, ponds, and wetlands. Runoff from paved surfaces, such as roads, parking lots, and rooftops, may contribute larger amounts of polluted stormwater.

Simply by putting fewer pollutants on the land, stormwater will be cleaner as it flows into our lakes and rivers. Cleaning up stormwater not only benefits your neighborhood and town, it benefits the entire network of water bodies and land that make up our watershed. We all need clean water for drinking, swimming, fishing, boating, and for protecting wildlife.