Sorry for the non cat-related thread, but this really is an important thing to know. Even washing your car in the driveway is a bad idea, because all that soap and the heavy metals and stuff on your car ends up in the creek. This is important because a lot of people don't realize this difference, and dump their waste (motor oil, antifreeze, trash, etc) onto the streets and sidewalks, or even directly into the drain, and all of it ends up dumping straight into our streams and rivers.
Storm drains collect rainwater and other water runoff from surrounding lands, pipes it underground, and releases the water at an outfall into the nearest creek or other natural waterway. The waste goes to the wastewater treatment plant for processing. The sewer is connected directly to our pipes in our homes and businesses and only carries water waste. The ferals were not hiding in a sewer, they were hiding in a storm drain. Um, lots of people are going to quirk an eyebrow at this, but stick with me: this is important.
