CMWEA'S 2010 Top Ten
Water Protection Tips

Thanks for checking out our Top Ten Water Protection Tips — simple things we all can do to help protect our shared water resources. From drinking water quality and wildlife health, to preserving recreation opportunities and the environment overall, making these tips part of our everyday habits will add up to healthier water for everyone.

1. Exposed Soil Repair.
Is Stormwater leaving you exposed? Where there is exposed soil the impact of raindrops can dislodge soil particles and carry them away. Once the soil particles are on the move they can end up polluting the nearest lake, river or wetland. The best way to cure exposed soil is to put a diaper on it (get vegetation growing on it). Plant your favorite native non-invasive seed mix and cover with a clean straw mulch or erosion control blanket. Use native vegetation or grass to cover and stabilize exposed soil on lawns to prevent sediment wash off.

2. Know Your Watershed.
Every raindrop that falls finds its way back to a body of water, whether that is through your lawn, across your field, into a storm sewer or down to your groundwater.  It is important to understand how your water can be impacted by local land use.  Knowing your watershed is a valuable tool in making land use decisions.

A watershed is all the land that drains into a body of water such as a lake, stream or river.  Land use changes affect how the water flows within its network of streams, wetlands, lakes or rivers.  Housing developments need storm drains to direct water from impervious surfaces.  Drainage ditches channel water to specific areas to make land suitable for agriculture.  As water travels throughout these systems, it may pick up pollutants such as fertilizer, chemicals, sediment and debris. 

A watershed is more than just land, it is also a community.  A watershed community includes all the people and natural resources located within a watershed.  Understanding how you impact water quality for those around you makes you an informed citizen, able to make responsible land use decisions.

Helpful Links:
For a list of watershed districts throughout MN:
http://www.bwsr.state.mn.us/planning/WD-WMO_overview.html
For information about water bodies in your watershed:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm

3. Keep Your Storm Drains Clean.
Keep leaves, grass clippings and other debris away from areas where they can be washed into storm drains. Storm drains convey rain water away from streets and property, but the rain water can carry leaves, grass clippings, trash and a variety of other water-degrading substances and deposit them directly into our local waterways. As a general rule, only rain belongs in the storm drain. Property owners are encouraged to take pride and care in maintaining yards, driveways, and the curb and gutter system to prevent debris and garbage from entering the storm drains. Please take ownership of your storm drain by keeping it clean and free of leaves, grass clippings, garbage and other debris.

4. Disconnect Your Gutters/Use A Rain Barrel.
Installing a rain barrel not only reduces your water bill, it also helps the environment!
When rain falls during a storm faster than the ground can absorb it or it lands on a hard surface, urban areas rely on storm drains to direct it away from homes and roads. Unfortunately the path water must take to get to storm drains involves coming into contact with a wide variety of contaminants, including salts used to de-ice roads and sidewalks, oil and heavy metals from vehicles, fertilizers and pesticides from lawns, sediment from exposed soil, bacteria from trash left on curbsides, and animal waste. As a result, stormwater runoff contributes a significant amount of pollution to our lakes and rivers. This runoff can be greatly reduced by diverting rainwater from your downspouts and storing in a rain barrel for later use. The more people that use rain barrels, the greater the effect we can have on the health of our waters.

5.  What Is All This Infiltration Talk About?

“What is all this infiltration talk about, what is and why do it”

Infiltration is the movement of rain or snowmelt water from the surface and into the soil. Why is this so important to understand and quantify?...Well, naturally infiltration takes a big portion of precipitation (rain or snowmelt) into the ground. Water that does not infiltrate moves quickly over land, reaches streams and lakes in fairly short times, and can cause soil erosion and flooding. In contrast, infiltrated water is either retained in the upper layers of soil close to the ground surface (and is used by plants!) or moves slowly towards aquifers and groundwater, recharging one of our major sources of drinking water.

Wherever there is urban development, there will be surely an increase of paved surfaces. Increasing artificially the proportion of impervious areas (driveways, streets, parking lots, houses) will result in a decrease in infiltrated precipitation, and a corresponding increase in fast overland flows (those that most likely will produce flooding and erosion). Increasing volumes of overland flows also implies larger amounts of sediments and other pollutants reaching natural streams very quickly.

So why we should encourage infiltration? There are a number of good reasons: infiltration replenishes groundwater reservoirs and decreases the amounts of water that will otherwise flow overland causing flooding and deterioration of surface water quality. What can we do to encourage infiltration? Build pervious sidewalks and driveways, for example. Divert rainfall flows that will inevitably happen on impervious surfaces (parking lots, driveways, etc) to pervious areas, avoiding diverting to the city stormwater drain system. Increase vegetated areas, as vegetation slows the movement of surface runoff, thus giving water time to infiltrate. All these can be done at home: it is important to keep in mind that little individual contributions, when added, can have a big impact and make a difference in the large picture.

6. Go Toxic-Free.
Any chemical that is used inside or outside your house eventually reaches the environment – whether polluting our indoor air, going down the drain to our lakes and rivers, going to the landfill, or simply sinking into the ground on your property – it all impacts the natural world. Most pollution in our waterways is not from single large sources, but accumulates from many smaller sources, called 'non-point-source' pollution.

To protect your own health and our environment, limit the number of chemicals that you use in and around your house, choose environmentally friendly alternatives, and be cautious with the toxins you do use and dispose of them properly.

Go Toxic-Free by:

1. Properly disposing of household hazardous waste.
2. Use phosphorus-free fertilizers.
3. Manage pests with a non-toxic pesticide.
4. Pick up pet waste.
5. Be careful when using deicers and salts. Try using kitty litter as an alternative and always sweep up any excess applied materials.
6. Stop the leak of fluids from your car.
7. Don’t wash your car in the driveway or on the street, take it to a carwash instead.

Helpful Links:
Disposal of Household Hazardous Waste http://www.co.stearns.mn.us/4872.htm
Phosphorus-free fertilizer http://156.98.19.245/download/phosphorus.pdf
Pesticides http://www.mda.state.mn.us/chemicals/pesticides/kidsperifaq.htm
Pet Waste and Car Care http://www.ci.stcloud.mn.us/Utilities/WhatToKnow.aspx#car

7. Naturalize Your Property.
Help to restore the natural water cycle on your property by using trees, shrubs and other plants to absorb rainfall. Replace hard surfaces with natural groundcovers and porous paving to allow rainfall to soak into the ground.

The trees and other vegetation on your property intercept rainfall and encourage storm water runoff to infiltrate into the ground, which filters pollutants and recharges our aquifers. Residential properties are an integral part of managing storm water runoff and improving the health of our lakes and rivers.

Naturalize your property in many ways:

1. Plant new trees and take care of the already established trees on your property.
2. Choose native flowers and shrubs for your landscaping to support habitat and natural ecosystems.
3. Choose native grasses and ground coverings as an alternative to turf grass.
4. Increase infiltration by reducing hard surfaces and choosing permeable paving.

Helpful Links:
Natural Lawn Care http://www.riversides.org/rainguide/riversides_hgr.php?cat=2&page=54&subpage=56
Selecting and taking care of trees http://www.mntrees.org/
Permeable pavement http://www.mapc.org/regional_planning/LID/permeable_paving.html

8. Get Involved.
The path to clean water begins at home, and we all need to do our part. Practice the Top Ten Water Protection Tips on your property to reduce stormwater runoff and protect surface and groundwater resources. Spread the word and get involved in community activities and issues that support protecting drinking water, improving the health of our lakes and rivers and managing stormwater runoff.

9. Try Not To Be Wasteful With Your Yard Waste. Waste Not/ Want Not.
Many communities ban outdoor burning and have laws that prohibit dumping of leaves and grass clippings into landfills. Composting has become an attractive way to manage yard waste. Yard waste includes grass clippings, leaves, tree and shrub trimmings, organic mulch, and plant materials from vegetable and flower gardens. Composting yard waste creates a humus soil amendment to use for potting plants or garden soils. The compost adds nutrients, but more importantly, it improves soil structure and water-holding capacity.

Helpful Links:
Your Sustainable Yard
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/M1237-4.pdf
Composting and Mulching
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/3296-05.html
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3296.html

10. What Are You Doing With Your Dog Waste?
Do you leave it to decay on the sidewalk or the grass near the street? If so, you may be causing pollution or health problems. Pets, children who play outside and adults who garden are most at risk for infection from the bacteria and parasites found in pet waste. Flies may also spread diseases from animal waste. Pollutants from improperly disposed pet waste may be washed into storm sewers by rain or melting snow. Storm sewers usually drain directly into our lakes and streams, carrying many pollutants along with the water. When animal waste ends up in a lake or stream it decomposes, using up oxygen and releasing its pollutant load. Storm water samples collected in cities almost always have high levels of bacteria..

Because they may pose a health hazard or create a nuisance, certain organic materials such as dog or cat feces should not be used to make compost. Good choices include flushing it down the toilet, putting it in the trash, or burying it in your yard.

Helpful Links:
Addressing Fecal Coliform Impairments http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/wq-strm7-07.pdf
Pet Waste – Ooooh, Not in the Water http://www.tappwater.org/what-pet.aspx?a=viewPost&PostID=2242

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