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Keep Your Lawn
Green and the Water
Blue
Using too much fertilizer and other lawn care products can
cause water pollution. The same rain that helps turn
your lawn green also washes excess fertilizers,
pesticides, and other pollutants into the nearest
creek, turning the water green, or
worse. Much of it makes its way downstream through
our creeks to the Little Miami River. To help
prevent pollution, have your soil tested to
determine how much fertilizer you really need. And
use lawn care products as instructed on the product
labels. Less is always more when it comes to water
quality.
Fertilizer is a
pollutant when it is washed off lawns and
gardens into streams, rivers and other bodies of
water. Fertilizer consists of plant nutrients that
help plants grow and reproduce. In the water these
nutrients feed naturally occurring algae and can
lead to massive algae blooms, particularly during
the warm summer months. An algae bloom is an
explosion in the algae population that turns the
water green, shutting out sunlight needed by
bottom-growing plants and leading to oxygen
depletion that kills fish and other aquatic
creatures.
This season, try applying no more fertilizer than
can actually be used by your lawn and the plants you
are tending. Here are some practical tips which
will limit the amount of fertilizer available to be
washed into storm drains and streams:
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Have your soil tested.
Then apply only the kinds and amounts of
nutrients that your grass and plants need.
Visit the Greene County OSU Extension Office
website,
www.greene.osu.edu or contact the Extension
Office at 372-9971, for additional information
on this topic.
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Once your soil has been tested, follow the
instructions that come with commercial
fertilizer to make sure you apply no more
than is required.
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Apply fertilizer in the
fall
when it is most beneficial to cool season grasses and least
likely to end up in runoff.
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Avoid leaving fertilizer on hard surfaces
such as sidewalks and driveways where they are
most likely to be washed into a storm drain,
where it will end up in a stream. Sweep
fertilizer off hard surfaces onto the lawn or
into the garden.
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If possible, avoid applying fertilizer just
before a rain storm.
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Pet Peeves
Here are GOOD reasons to pick up
after your pet:
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Stormwater carries pet waste and
other pollutants directly into storm drains and
then into creeks and rivers
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Animal waste adds nitrogen to the
water. Excess nitrogen depletes the water's
oxygen, which is necessary for healthy
underwater grasses, wildlife and fish
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Roundworms and hookworms
deposited by infected animals can live in the
soil for a long time and be transmitted to other
animals and humans
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Let's face it - no one likes to
step in pet waste and spread it into homes, cars
and businesses
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Scooping on a daily basis and
applying lime will help prevent odors
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It's easy to clean up by carrying
small plastic bags and paper towels in your
pocket. The bags can be secured and thrown away
in the garbage
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Most of all, your neighbors will
appreciate the good manners!
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Illicit Discharges – Storm Water
Illicit discharges into the city’s storm sewer
system can pose a serious health threat to the
natural habitat of our streams and rivers and affect
our quality of life. By identifying sources of
illicit discharges, potentially harmful storm water
runoff can be eliminated. Some examples of illicit
discharges could originate from
construction sites, trash or litter left on or near roadways,
residential overuse of fertilizers and pesticides,
heavy rainfall or deliberate dumping. If you
observe what you believe to be an illicit discharge,
please call the Bellbrook Service Department at
848-8415 or the Bellbrook Zoning Office at 848-8477
immediately.
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Using Nature to Go Green
Water conservation is always an important tool in
managing your environment, regardless of the
abundance of the natural water supplies. Landscaping
to minimize watering includes planning, using
drought-resistant plant species, improving soils and
using mulches to retain moisture in the soil. Plant
species such as sedums, potentillas, grasses and
herbs or other non-invasive ornamental plants have
low water needs and may adapt to drier landscapes.
Another “storm water savvy” technique is to store
roof rain water runoff in rain barrels for use in
gardens and on lawns. Directing your downspouts
away from your home’s foundation and onto lawn or
garden areas is another way of turning a potential
problem into a benefit. Create a rain garden in a
shallow basin on your
lot by planting moisture loving plants and then
direct your roof or driveway runoff to this area.
Water will filter into the ground rather than
running off the property to the nearest storm
drain. Rain gardens also create new habitats and
prevent storm water pollution problems from
beginning.
Deer have also become a major problem in suburban
areas due to the development of former forests and
woodlands and the use of more edible plant species
in traditional landscaping. Residents resort to
fences, repellents, or bright, flashy objects in an
effort to deter deer from destroying their
landscape. Most control measures only work for
short periods of time until deer become acclimated
to the sight or smell of the repellent. However,
deer tend to avoid plants with
thorny stems or prickly leaves and plants with
strong aromas, such as bayberry, boxwood, potentilla,
roses and hollies. Planting these types of species
can be an aid in “deer-proofing” your garden areas.
Simple changes such as described may help your
landscape contribute to the health of our
environment and the protection of our water quality.
Courtesy, NEMO
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Updated
04/05/10 |
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