The City of San Luis Obispo’s focus on stormwater ensures water quality in our creeks, streams, lakes, and ocean remains high by reducing the potential for flooding, erosion, and various types of water pollution. Stormwater and watershed quality can be compromised not only from natural events like flooding, but also from activities such as changing the oil in your car, fertilizing your lawn, or painting your house. Studies across the U.S. have shown a correlation between the activities that occur within a watershed and diminishing water quality.

Protecting the stormwater in San Luis Obispo will help ensure high water quality not only for the citizens of our communities but also for the steelhead that navigate our local creeks, marine life in our ocean, and a variety of other animals that we share our surroundings with. For ways you can help protect our stormwater and create healthy watersheds for future generations check out our Take Action page.

Stormwater is runoff or the draining away from rain that flows off of streets, properties, and rooftops into storm drains.  Water travels from storm drain systems directly into local creeks and ultimately out to our local beaches. 

In San Luis Obispo wastewater and stormwater are two completely separate systems. Unlike wastewater, stormwater receives no treatment before it reaches our creeks and beaches. The lack of treatment of this water requires us to take extra precautions to keep our creeks and other bodies of water clean and safe. 

The quality of the water entering our storm drains can have an extreme impact on our environment. 

As water is discharged from our storm drain system into our creeks we must remember that stormwater affects local wildlife, drinking water sources, and San Luis Obispo Creek, which runs through downtown and is home to many threatened steelhead. 

Connect With Us

Keith Schwanemann

Stormwater Program Manager

P  805.781.7426     

E  kschwanemann@slocity.org