Keep the Water Clean, Richfield!

As spring has descended in all its blustery glory, let’s use the feeling of renewal it brings with as an occasion to explore sustainable habits.  We are faced with months of less snow shoveling (Yes!) and more grass cutting and it can be done sustainably! We love our well-manicured lawns sans crab grass, and our flowerbeds bursting with petunias on steroids, and our tomato plants pesticide-perfect, but consider what all those chemicals are doing to Lake Nokomis, , and the ponds and marshes at . It is critical that we take steps to preserve our lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds while we enjoy and maintain our lawns.  

It is with all this in mind that I write about nonpoint source pollution. Nonpoint source pollution refers to pollutants that cannot be traced back to a single source, like industrial waste can be. The Clean Water Act of 1972 regulated or eliminated waste coming from industrial facilities and sewage treatment plants, so those aren’t really at issue any more. 

What has become a problem are the chemicals we use at home to maintain our lawns and gardens, the grass and leaf clippings we leave to run down the sewer, and the waste that leaks out of our cars.

According to Peggy Knapp of the Freshwater Society, 90 percent of water pollution today is nonpoint source pollution, and in Richfield this is coming primarily from city street runoff and from our lawns. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration has a good article here on how that happens; it’s easier than you think to pollute! It points out that leakage from our cars, lawn chemicals, and organic waste from our lawns get washed into our streams, marshes, and lakes through the sewer system every time we get a nice rain. This causes contaminants to enter the water, creating algae blooms, which are icky and suffocate the lake or pond, and ruining the ecosystems of the critters that live there.

There are ways that, as individuals and families, we can take steps to eliminate much of this nonpoint source pollution at home.  Take some tips from here, research on your own, or check out the Freshwater Society for more information. For instance, Lawn to Lake has some great tips on how to care for your lawn while keeping your local water clean. Some suggestions they make are:

• Use phosphorus-free fertilizer and aerate your lawn.
• Water in the early morning; only if there’s been less than 1 inch of rain.
• Mow grass to three to four inches and leave clippings on the lawn but sweep off of the pavement.

Other suggestions include:

• Pick up animal waste. This is an enormous source of nonpoint source pollution, even if it isn’t from your animal!
• Have leaks in your car fixed. 
• Wash your car with biodegradable, phosphorus-free soaps.
• Clean organic waste out of the gutters around your property, this includes clearing off sewer drains.  It may not be from your trees or lawn, but it will affect your water.
• Use organic and/or natural methods of fertilizing and keeping pests off your vegetable garden.

It is going to take a colossal, yet not unreasonable effort on everyone’s part to ensure that our grandchildren have a healthy planet to live on. Caring for the water that runs down the sewer drains in our neighborhoods is one of the very first steps we need to take to care for our local ecosystem. Minnesota, and Richfield, is rich in natural beauty, let’s keep it that way!