Community/Residents

May the footprints you leave behind show that you have walked in kindness toward the earth and everything living. - Inspired by American Indian Philosophy

Vital Role

Every homeowner plays a vital role in maintaining our healthy backyard streams to our major waterways. In fact, homeowners are the best line of defense in the battle to preserve water quality.

Pollutants

Stormwater washes across our lawns, driveways, streets, and storm drains picking up pollutants along the way. Any pollutant that is in or on the ground and is not absorbed into the ground gets picked up by runoff and carried to the nearest stream. In your yard, stormwater runoff can pick up:

• Car fluids like oil and antifreeze
• Chlorine from backyard pools
• Detergent
• Dirt and grease from driveways and streets
• Excessive pesticides and fertilizers
• Grass clippings
• Nitrogen from pet waste and failing septics
• Sediment

All of these are pollutants and detrimental to the health of our waterways and aquatic life. Make just a few changes to prevent pollutants from getting into runoff, and add a few new habits such as composting and recycling to make a big difference in protecting water quality.

Resources

Provided are a few websites to visit that provide good information on water quality pollution control at home. The last three websites offer information on a variety of topics that may be of interest to the homeowner. You can also visit the Publications page and the Resources page of this Stormwater website for more information.