By Kyle Finerfrock,
Environmental Scientist
It is getting to be springtime and “Neighbor Joe” notices
that this coming Saturday is going to be a warm and sunny day. Joe spends all week coming up with a plan of
attack to start working on his yard and garage for this weekend. When the weekend finally arrives, he is
prepared. He is going to tune up his
lawn mower, spread some Weed and Feed in his yard and he is finally going to
tackle that garden shed full of old paints and mystery cans of products that
have been tucked away for a decade.
Saturday morning Joe gets an early start on the shed. He decides to “clean house” and get rid of
everything he hasn’t touched in years, including old paints, oil and
fertilizers. Joe notices (from the labels) that he just can’t throw all of
these partially filled containers in the trash bin. He’s got a full day of tasks to do and he
doesn’t have time to figure out where to take the chemicals to dispose of them
properly. So, Joe decides he really only
has a couple ounces of each product and feels like it won’t hurt anything to
just to dump them down the storm drain.
Next, Joe tackles the lawnmower that has been sitting all
winter. He starts working and
immediately wants to change the oil and put fresh gas in the tank. He looks around for a place to drain the oil,
but he does not have a proper container.
Instead, he just takes the lawn mower to the back of his yard and dumps
all the old oil and gas out onto the ground, thinking it will just filter
through the soil.
With the shed and the lawnmower complete, Joe moves on to
the task of fertilizing the lawn. He
breaks out the spreader and the fertilizer he just purchased and gets
started. Joe wants to have the greenest
lawn in the neighborhood this year and decides to put twice as much product on
his yard as recommended by the directions. Joe is feeling pretty productive
after accomplishing so many things today, so he decides it is time to wash the
car in the driveway. He squeezes a hefty
portion of soap into a bucket and starts washing the car. Lots of soap and suds run into the street and
the storm drain. Joe is feeling so proud
that he washes his car three times!
Ending Joe’s “perfect” and productive day, he has overlooked
one thing: the big rain storm coming in
the middle of the night. Unknown to Joe,
the rainstorm washes away most of the fertilizer he put down, it washes the gas
and oil in the back of the yard into the storm drain and the stormwater pond in
the back of his property. All of the
little bits of chemicals from all of the containers in Joe’s shed have now
found their way into the neighborhood stormwater management system as well – along with a
load of phosphates from the soap used in the three washes he put on his
car.
It is important to realize the importance of the individual
impact on the local watershed. The
excess runoff of fertilizer and fossil fuels into ponds can be very problematic
for your neighborhood pond and to the watershed. Fertilizers and car wash detergent contain
high levels of phosphate. Phosphates are
a major contributor to excess algae and aquatic weed growth. Fossil fuels like the oil and gasoline that
Joe dumped in his yard can be very harmful to a pond ecosystem. Fossil fuels can cause an oily film on the
water’s surface blocking out sunlight and preventing oxygen from entering the
pond. While these are problems in many
ponds, they can be easily prevented.
Many times lawns can be fertilized much less if the soil nutrient levels
are tested before fertilizer is applied.
If you need to wash your car, take it to a local car wash station. A lot of car washes have to send their waste
water through the local sewer system to be treated at a water treatment
plant. If you wash you car at home it is
best to wash it in your yard so that the runoff doesn’t go directly into the
storm drains. Household chemicals and
fossil fuels can be disposed of easily and properly by contacting your local
waste collection company. Remember that
storm drains are for rainwater only. The
health of your local pond and the entire watershed is dependent on the actions
you take around your home.
Kyle Finerfrock is an Environmental Scientist with SOLitude Lake Management. Serving VA, NC, SC, MD, DE, PA, WV, NJ & NY, SOLitude is an environmental firm offering a full array of lake, pond and fisheries management services and aquatic services and products. Call for a pond consultation with one of our experts. 888-480-5253 or visit www.solitudelakemanagement.com.
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