Keeping Our Water Clean. How you can Help!

Managing water resources requires the help of many individuals. Along with water treatment facilities, small practices and lifestyle habitats contribute greatly to the improvement of water quality and safety of water resources. This page is here to share information about everyday cautions you can take to help improve our water quality here in Carver County. Visit www.cleanwatermn.org for more ideas!!

WAY TO KEEP WATER CLEAN

 1) Mulch or Compost Leaves and Grass Clippings

Grass clippings and leaves wash away with storm water runoff and bring excess nutrients to nearby water bodies. You can help reduce nutrient load to these water bodies be keeping leaves and grass clippings off hard surfaces (sidewalks, driveways, and streets, rain gutters ). By composting grass clippings and leaves, nutrients is added to your lawn reducing the need for fertilizers and the amount of fertilizer getting into the water.  Don't rake into the leaves street for street sweepers!!!

 



2) Keep Drains Clean.

 Storm drains drain to lakes and rivers without treatment. Therefore, it is important to keep them free of grass clippings, leaves, other debris, and NOT dump hazardous chemicals such as paint, gas, motor oil, soap etc. into them. Keeping storm drains clean will help improve water quality and keep the wildlife healthy and happy.
PARTICIPATE in the CARVER COUNTY COMMUNITY CLEAN UP on Oct. 23rd, 2010!! 

3) Keep Grass at or Above 3 Inches. 

Longer grass stays green longer and reduces the need for watering. Longer blades above grass mean deeper roots below grass thus increasing water infiltration and water conservation.

4)  Use Phosphorus-free Fertilizers

If you must use fertilizers, use ones that are phosphorus-free. Phosphorus is often the limiting nutrient in aquatic plant and algae growth, meaning excess phosphorus washing into lakes and streams will cause algae blooms.  Sweep excess fertilizers away from streets and sidewalks when finished applying. For green lawns, the safest methods for water quality are to use mulch, compost, and reduce mowing frequency.

5) Reduce Storm water Runoff

6) Redirect Your Gutters

If you don't have a rain barrel yet, redirect your roof gutters so they are draining onto your lawn, gardens, or rain gardens, instead of to impervious surface such as streets and driveways.     

7) Don't Leave Faucets Running.

Turn off water faucets that are not being used, such as when you are brushing you teeth. Fix your leaky faucets! Making these changes can save much more water than you think. To get an idea of how much water a leaky faucet wastes visit the drip accumulator from United States Geological Survey.  Water shortages are going to become increasingly common as freshwater supplies continue to be used faster than they can be recharged. Thus water conservation awareness and habits are important to start now.

8) Remove Pet Waste.

Although loveable and fuzzy, pet waste gets washed away with storm water and carries bacteria to near by water bodies. You can now improve our water and our environment by using Biobags, a disposable, compostable bag designed for collecting pet waste. Biobags! These bags breakdown and can be buried, composted in your yard away from potential rain and act as fertilizer for your lawn.

9) Fix Car Leaks Right Away.

Those drips of motor oil, anti-freeze, brake fluid and other liquids from you car end up in our waterways so fix them sooner rather than later.

10) Improve that Septic System

While properly managed septic systems recycle water back into the natural environment, failing systems result in sewage back ups, sewage in the house or surfacing in the yard or ditch. These failing systems are public and wildlife health threats.  For more information on septic systems and programs offered by Carver County, visit the Environmental Services Septic Systems page.

11) Don't Dump Hazardous Household Materials

As said before, drains lead to water bodies. Although the drain from your sinks and bathrooms go to water treatment facilities before entering lakes and rivers, these treatment facilities do not have a capabilities of removing every contaminant from the water. Thus, READ LABELS on your household products to see if they are harmful and how to properly dispose of them. The Environmental Center in Carver County takes many hazardous household materials. Dumping down the drain or on soil leaks these chemicals to surface and groundwater.

12) Keep Buffer Strips of Vegetation

If you are a landowner with a lake or river on your property, you can greatly improve the water quality simply by leaving a buffer strip of native vegetation surrounding that water body. The vegetation acts as a filter, capturing and containing pollutants that otherwise would have ended up in the water. It also serves as habitat for wildlife such as migrating birds.

Here are a number of things you can do in your own yard to help conserve water on a daily basis while still maintaining a beautiful yard!

• Water you lawn only 2-3 days a week at most. If you step on you lawn and grass springs back, it does not need to be watered.
• Water early in the morning when temperatures and winds are at their lowest levels to reduce evaporation.
• Turn off your sprinklers when it rains. Rain sensors and shutoff switches are inexpensive and can be retrofitted to almost any system.
• Keep your sprinklers back far enough from roads and sidewalks to impervious surfaces are not being watered.
• Resent your irrigation timers four times a year as the seasons change. Most homeowners overwater each fall by 25% or more because they don't readjust at the end of September when solar radiation is already halfway to winter lows.
• Use a trigger nozzle on hoses so water won't run except when you intend it to.
• Use a broom to clean driveways and other hardscapes.
• Remove dying plants and weeds that compete for available water.
• Maintain sharp blades on pruning shears and lawn mowers to reduce plant water loss.
• Aerate lawns and apply compost periodically to decrease compaction and improve penetration of water, air, and nutrients into roots zones. Lawns need aeration when water pools or runs off after only a few minutes of water.
• Avoid installing water features, even recycled water evaporates.