Pollutants

Many people like the look of a neatly mowed, bright green lawn. Plus, many communities and Home Owners Associations require residents to maintain their lawns to a certain standard. Traditional lawn maintenance depends on regular mowing, watering and chemical applications—most notably, fertilizers. Lawn fertilizer contains nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, that encourage turfgrass to grow quickly. However, the fertilizer we put on our lawns also affects the health of our local rivers and streams. What Lawn Fertilizer Does to…

We all enjoy the bright colors of changing fall leaves. And when leaves litter our lawns, we might complain about having to continuously rake them. But how many of us make the connection that leaves impact stormwater systems and the health of local waterways? How Leaves Cause Problems for Local Drainage Systems During and after rainfall, stormwater brings leaves that have gathered on streets and sidewalks into storm drains. When large amounts of leaves collect in storm drains, leaves can…

Colorful leaves create beautiful scenes in our neighborhood throughout the fall season but quickly pile up in yards and streets. Did you know that fall leaves contribute up to half of the annual amount of phosphorus in urban stormwater in just the months of October and November? As the rain falls and flows through the piles of leaves, phosphorus quickly leaches out of leaves much like a tea bag in water. This “leaf tea” makes its way to our local…