"Public education" is a common battle cry in the fight to clean up our water. Here are some tips.
Water streaming off your property ends up in lakes and streams, bearing harmful chemicals. To keep it at home:
• Direct downspouts to grassy areas.
• Aerate your lawn.
• Use rain barrels or plant a rain garden in a low area.
To minimize pollutants:
• Mulch or compost grass clippings and leaves, keeping them off streets.
• Use zero-phosphorus lawn fertilizer.
• Fertilize in autumn, if at all; mulching helps fertilize.
• Leave a natural (or at least unfertilized) buffer of 15 to 25 feet along lakes, streams and wetlands. Some watershed residents can get paid to put in filter strips near ditches and streams.
• Don't send nasty substances such as motor oil, gas, leftover paint or pesticides into area waterways. Storm drains don't take them to treatment plants.
In Scott County, call 952-496-8652 for drop-off locations and times. Dakota County's recycling zone is at 3365 Dodd Road, Eagan. Call 651-905-4520.
• Keep vehicles well-tuned and leak-free.
• Use a commercial car wash that treats or recycles its wastewater, or wash your car on your yard so the water sinks into the ground.
