10 Tips for Source Water Protection

Pet waste carries germs that can make dogs and kids sick. Pick it up and put it in the trash.
Add native trees, plants and groundcovers to your yard to support birds and pollinators. They are adapted to our long, dry summers and don’t require pesticides to stay healthy.
Avoid using weed and bug killers in your yard. They harm pollinators that help grow our food and most are toxic to pets and people.
Use slow release fertilizer or compost on your lawn once annually in fall. Overfertilizing causes harmful algal blooms that impact our water supply and ability to fish, swim, and boat.
Sweep driveways and sidewalks rather than hosing to the street. Dirt and other chemicals washed into our storm drains harm our local streams and rivers.
Drain / backflush pools and hot tubs into your lawn or a sewer cleanout pipe—not street drains. Residual pool and spa chemicals are harmful to fish and other animals that depend on clean streams and rivers.
Wash your vehicle at a car wash whenever possible or use rolled towels to divert the water from your driveway onto your landscape. Soil is a great filter for pollutants and water from your washer goes to a local wastewater plant where it’s treated before being released to our local waterways.
Keep your vehicle maintained to prevent leaks. Use a drip pan until you can see the mechanic. Tiny drips from thousands of cars = a lot of polluted water.
Before the rainy season, remove leaves from gutters and rake them away from storm drains. Be sure to dispose of leafy debris properly in your yard debris container or compost pile.
Learn where your water comes from and about how our region's water sources are being protected at the source. Find out who your water provider is and how they're protecting water at the source.