Pollution Prevention

Here are a few simple things you can do to help keep our waterways clean:

Never dump anything down a storm drain or drainage ditch. Storm drains dump straight into larger waterways.
Never wash your driveway, instead sweep or use an outdoor vacuum.
Insulate your hot water pipes so it will take less time for the water in the faucet to get hot, wasting less water.
Never litter, on our streets or on our waterways.
If you wash your vehicle at home, do so on the lawn rather than on pavement.
Clean up after your pet! Keep fecal coliform bacteria (like Ecoli) out of our creeks!
Use fertilizer and pesticide only when needed. (Read the labels!) The more fertilizer in a creek, the more the algae grows, which can severely lower the oxygen in the water, which stresses or kills fish.
In low lying areas that collect water, plant a rain garden, or a collection of plants which love this bog-like type of environment!
Elephant Ears, Black-eyed Susans, Asters, and Canna Lilies are some easy to grow plants that do well in bog-like conditions. A rain garden helps use that standing water, and keeps it on the ground where it can seep back into the ground, recharging our aquifer system.
Water your lawn less often, but more deeply. This encourages a very strong root system, and makes your lawn need less watering over time.
Use drought tolerant or native plants in your landscaping. This method is called xeriscaping, and it requires a ton less effort to have a beautiful garden!