|
California’s waterways are being polluted by home and garden pesticides and fertilizers.
Problems occur when people dump garden chemicals down drains or when chemical residues are washed into
gutters, storm drains, and streams by rain, garden watering, or cleaning up with the garden hose. Garden chemicals
not only threaten aquatic life, they can also affect the quality of our drinking water. Follow these tips to
keep our rivers, creeks, and oceans clean.
What Can You Do To Protect Water Quality?
|
-
Limit your use of pesticides. Use nonchemical methods or least-toxic pesticides wherever possible. Ask
a UC Master Gardener for help with pest problems.
- Avoid using pyrethroid insecticides. These products, including
bifenthrin, cypermethrin, and permethrin, are among the most toxic to aquatic animals.
- Control ants by reducing food sources, excluding them from
homes, and using baits in containers, instead of spraying. Don’t use insecticides for lawn insects
unless you are sure you have a problem.
- Cut back on fertilizer. More is not better. Actively growing
turf, flowering shrubs, and some annuals and fruit trees require regular feeding, but ornamental trees
do not. Use a mulching mower to recycle lawn clippings and reduce your fertilizer applications.
- Use slow-release fertilizers, including composted organic
fertilizers, which are less likely to move into water. Be sure to measure and apply them according to label
directions.
- Don’t let fertilizer or pesticides get onto hard surfaces
like sidewalks or driveways. Sweep any material that accidentally lands on hard surfaces back onto lawn.
- Dispose of garden chemicals correctly. Never sweep, hose off,
or pour leftover pesticides or fertilizers into drains or gutters. Dispose of unused products at your
local household hazardous waste site.
Call 1-800-CLEANUP (1-800-253-2687) for a site near you!
|
Reduce Runoff by Making Your Landscape Water Efficient!
|
- Reduce your landscape’s need for water. Choose water-efficient plants and garden designs.
- Minimize runoff by using mulches in beds and permeable materials
for walkways and driveways. Aerate and add organic matter such as compost to heavy or compacted soils.
Install terraces or other features on slopes to keep water on-site.
- Check and maintain your irrigation system so water does not
run off your landscape onto hard surfaces and into gutters.
- Improve watering efficiency and distribution by using equipment
such as drip irrigation, soaker hoses, and “smart” irrigation controllers and rotor heads.
Minimize the use of pesticides that pollute our waterways. Use nonchemical alternatives or less toxic pesticide products whenever possible. Read product labels carefully and follow instructions on proper use, storage, and disposal. |
