After The Storm - Free VHS Copies

Polluted stormwater runoff can have many adverse effects on plants, fish, animals and people.

Sediment can cloud the water and make it difficult or impossible for aquatic plants to grown. Sediment also can destroy aquatic habitats.

Excess nutrients can cause algae blooms. When algae die, they sink to the bottom and decompose in a process that removes oxygen from the water. Fish and other aquatic organisms can't exist in water with low dissolved oxygen
levels.

Bacteria and other pathogens can wash into swimming areas and create health hazards, often making beach closures necessary.

Debris - plastic bags, six-pack rings, bottles, and cigarette butts - washed into waterbodies can choke, suffocate, or disable aquatic life like ducks, fish, turtles, and birds.

Household hazardous wastes like insecticides, pesticides, paint, solvents, used motor oil, and other auto fluids can poison aquatic life. Land animals and people can become sick from eating diseased fish and shellfish or ingesting polluted water.

Polluted stormwater often affects drinking water sources. This, in turn, can affect human health and increase drinking water treatment costs.



After The Storm

A new half hour television special about watersheds--After the Storm--co-produced by The Weather Channel (TWC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) premiered on TWC on Wednesday, February 4, 2004 at 8 pm and 11 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).


“I encourage everyone to tune in on February 4th to learn more about the threats facing our nation's waters from polluted runoff. After the Storm shows the connection between weather and watersheds and the importance of watershed protection. We all live in a watershed and we all have an impact on our environment."
-Benjamin Grumbles, EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator for Water


The show highlights three case studies-Santa Monica Bay, the Mississippi River Basin/Gulf of Mexico, and New York City- where polluted runoff threatens watersheds highly valued for recreation, commercial fisheries and navigation, and drinking water. Key scientists and water quality experts, and citizens involved in local and national watershed protection efforts provide insight into the problems as well as solutions to today's water quality challenges.

After the Storm also explains simple things people can do to protect their local watershed-such as picking up after one's dog, recycling household hazardous wastes, and conserving water.


VHS Copies of the After the Storm Video

VHS copies of the "After the Storm" program are available now. If you would like to order a free copy of the video, please call the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) at 513-489-8190 or 800-490-9198 or send an email to ncepimal@one.net.

When you request a VHS copy of the "After the Storm" (VHS), please refer to EPA document number: EPA 840-V-04-001.

This tape is intended for education and communication purposes in classrooms, at conferences, etc. It may also be aired on cable or other TV stations, as EPA now has the full rights to the program. Stations may air all or a portion of the program. If a portion of the program is aired, please ensure that you include in your broadcast that the program was co-produced by EPA and The Weather Channel.

The VHS copies of "After the Storm" include closed captioning so the program is accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Information excerpted from the EPA site at: http://www.epa.gov/weatherchannel/