It is the middle of January and most of your New Year’s resolutions have fallen by the wayside. But have no fear, it’s never too late to get better connected to our environment. One way to do that is to prevent stormwater runoff pollution. Stormwater runoff has become one of the primary pollutants to our rivers and streams and the quality of stormwater runoff is something we all can take part in improving.
The first thing you can do is to learn where your stormwater runoff goes. Locate your home on a map and see where the closest stream is—that’s where your stormwater runoff goes. You can protect your local waterway along with its receiving water by following these Good-to-Do behaviors to make sure nothing but rain goes down the storm drain:
- Sweep the gutter in front of your house and keep the driveway clear of yard litter.
- Do not fertilize unless you know what your yard actually needs. Soil tests are cheap and can be obtained from several locations including Virginia Tech and local labs.
- Do not feed the wildlife. They don’t need us to feed them. Bread is bad for their systems and feeding results in abnormally high populations that the environment can’t support. If you go on vacation, the dependent wildlife starve and all that extra food turns into, you guessed it, POOP.
- Pick up dog waste after taking walks and being in the back yard. Modern sanitary sewer systems keep human wastes out of the water so it is not hard to guess the source of most of the bacteria in our rivers and streams.
- Keep fats, oils and grease out of the drain because sanitary sewers can get clogged with grease and food scraps. If you see a manhole overflowing. Call it in immediately. Cities count on their citizens as their eyes and ears.
- Report improperly managed construction sites. If you see one that is a mess, REPORT IT. Remember you are the eyes and ears of the City.
Hope you have a clean, green new year!
Blog article written by askHRgreen.org committee member Bill Johnston, City of Virginia Beach V.P.D.E.S. Permit Administrator, Department Of Public Works, Engineering