Periods of rain are a fact of life in the Washington D.C. metro area. Rain very often puts a damper on many outdoor activities. During periods of rainy weather, many property or facility managers cancel their regularly scheduled sweeping services. Unfortunately, the consequence of this well intentioned action is that it does more harm than good to your parking lot and the environment.

Parking lots are covered with debris and pollutants whether you can see them or not. There are likely a lot of chemical pollutants on your parking lot too. Oil, fuel, grease, metals and other chemicals. Every time it rains, these chemicals are washed by rainwater into the storm drain and into waterways. A significant number of these waterways are part of a public water system.

Why is this a problem?

Across the U.S., unmanaged stormwater runoff causes and has caused severe damage to streams, lakes, and estuaries, especially in areas where land uses change from rural to urban activities. Here in the Washington D.C. area, stormwater pollution accounts for about 30 percent of the pollution in known polluted waterways.

It is estimated that one-third of all the polluted waters in our metro area are meaningfully polluted by stormwater runoff. Stormwater pollution has contributed to closing thousands of acres of productive shellfish growing beaches. Stormwater runoff can also close swimming beaches and contaminate drinking water supplies. These pollutants can also contribute to algae blooms, red tide, and fish kills.

At Atlantic Sweeping & Cleaning, we always recommend that customers maintain their regular scheduled sweeping services, even during the rainy season. We will happily work with you to postpone services if it is raining during your regularly scheduled service.