Lawn Care & Water Quality - Tips for Reducing Rain Run-off

Lawn Care & Water Quality - Straw Hat Lawn & Landscape, LLC

At Straw Hat Lawn & Landscape, we strive to reduce our environmental impact. Here are a few tips for reducing rain water run-off.

If you look in the street outside of your home or office and search the parking lots around town, you will probably find storm sewer inlets. Did you ever wonder where they go? A common misconception about storm sewers is that they go to a waste water treatment plant.

This is not the case. Storm sewers transport storm water (rain and melting snow) to the nearest river, lake, stream or wetland. Storm water often contains materials found on streets and parking lots such as oil, antifreeze, gasoline, soil, litter, pet wastes, fertilizers, pesticides, leaves and grass clippings. When these materials enter lakes and streams, they become pollutants that pollute the water, kill fish and close beaches.

Follow these simple clean-water tips and become part of the solution to water quality problems.

What you can do to help:

• Do not allow soil, leaves or grass clippings to accumulate on your driveway, sidewalk or in the street.

• Do not use the storm sewer for disposing motor oil, antifreeze, pesticides, paints, solvents, or other materials.

• Sweep (do not wash) fertilizer and soil off driveways and walkways onto the lawn. Any debris remaining on paved areas will quickly be washed into the nearest storm sewer during the next rainfall.

• Minimize your use of de-icing materials on sidewalks and driveways.

• Dispose of pet wastes by flushing them down the toilet or burying them

• Plant trees, shrubs or ground covers.

• Maintain a healthy lawn.

• Redirect down spouts from paved areas to vegetated areas.

• Install gravel trenches along driveways or patios.

• Use porous materials such as wooden planks or bricks for walkways and patios.

• If building a new home, have the driveway and walkways graded so water flows onto lawn areas.

• Use a rain barrel to catch and store water for gardens.

• Wash your car on the lawn, not the driveway.

Straw Hat Lawn & Landscape - Lawn Maintenance