Issue 5

Landowner's Toolbox

You Can Help Ensure Good Water Quality

By now, you have a sense how interconnected our water systems are, literally flowing from the mountains to the sea. There’s a lot you can do on your own property—whether you have a small yard in the city or hundreds of acres in the country—to help improve water quality.

In Your Own Backyard

Prevent wastes from your home or yard—landscaping debris, pet waste, automotive products, household chemicals, paint and home restoration products—from getting into streets and washing down storm drains.

Collect water from your roof into barrels or rain gardens, or disperse it through grass, mulch, or gravel.

Plant in tune with the climate of your area so that you can minimize watering your lawn and garden.

Keep the exposure of bare ground to a minimum. Compost, mulch, and/or plant immediately after exposing bare soil. Separate bare soil from surface waters; don’t allow water to flow across or through bare ground to surface waters.

Avoid disturbing the soil on steep slopes. Keep these and other sensitive areas planted, ideally with native plants.

Use pesticides and lawn chemicals conservatively, and time applications for the least runoff. Think about replacing your lawn with native ground coverings to reduce the use of chemicals.

Replace paved areas with vegetation or permeable material wherever possible.

In Rural Settings

Leave a forested or vegetative buffer near streams and around wetland areas. Stabilize eroding shorelines.

For farming and livestock operations, use Best Management Practices (BMP) such as low tillage, cover cropping, mulching, filter strips, integrated pest management, and animal waste management, to keep agricultural contaminants away from streams. Avoid compacting the soil with heavy machinery.

Keep livestock well away from streams and rivers.

When building roads, use BMPs, staying away from streams and adhering to local grade requirements. Design roads to disperse runoff properly. (BMP guidelines and manuals are available from your State forestry agency.)