10 easy tips
10 Easy Ways You Can Improve Watershed Health!
1. Save money and protect the watershed by using garden chemicals sparingly
including pesticides (bug killers), herbicides (weed killers), fungicides
(fungus/mold killers) and fertilizers. Read the label, use only what is directed,
and avoid applying if rain is forecast the next 24-hours.
2. To prevent sprinkler runoff as well as evaporation, water the yard
only as needed, early or late in the day using water efficient devices. Over-watering
can wash yard chemicals into the storm drain system and straight to our watershed.
3. Begin incorporating less-toxic practices into your yard management
program by learning more about Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu
4. Clean up outside your home including trash, leaves, yard clippings
and pet waste. Organic waste can not only block storm drains causing flooding
but can also reduce oxygen levels and increase harmful bacteria in our waters
hurting plant, animal and human life.
5. Control erosion around your property to prevent dirt and debris
being carried into the storm drain.
6. Divert rainspouts and garden hoses away from paved surfaces to prevent
water from carrying pollutants directly into storm drains. Provide landscaping
next to sidewalks and driveways to help collect and filter runoff from paved
surfaces.
7. Wash your car on an unpaved area or better yet, take it to a commercial
car wash where the wastewater will be treated.
8. If you change your own oil, or other vehicle fluid at home, be sure
to take the waste oil and materials to a certified recycling facility or
to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event.
9. Regularly maintain your car to avoid leaks of auto fluids onto driveways
and roads. Clean up chemical spills or automotive fluid leaks using kitty
litter or other absorbent materials (not your hose) on paved surfaces. Remember
to clean up and properly dispose of the used absorbent.
10. Rinse paint brushes, pans and rollers coated with water-based paint
in the sink. Take leftover latex and oil-based paints and solvents to a hazardous
waste collection event. Paints, solvents or any other “toxic” chemical
may never be disposed of in a storm drain, sink or onto the ground.
